Roswell Fanatics

Title- Criminal Minds

Disclaimer- I don't own Roswell, and mean no infringement. It is owned by Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, UPN, WB, etc.

Category- CC, AU without Aliens

Rating- Mature to be on the safe side. There are also some disturbing scenes when we find out what happens to the six characters. Nothing overtly graphic, but it will contain some distrubing scenes. You might not want to read this if you can't deal with that.

Summary: Liz Parker, Alex Whitman, and Maria Deluca are roomates in their senior year at a small private college in Maryland. They all have hopes of a career in the FBI because of a traumatic experience they had in high school.

When Liz and Alex get an assignment to learn all they can about Max and Michael Evans, they are terrified that people may find out what happened to them, but soon realize that Max and Michael might be keeping a secret of their own. Both sides have a secret weapon, Liz and Alex have Maria Deluca and Max and Michael have their sister Isabel Evans.

Which team will find out the secret first, and more importantly, will it destroy each of their hopes of living a normal life?

AN: This is my first crack at a story without aliens. I'm usually a strictly alien girl, but this story has been rolling around in my head for awhile. I do not claim to know if this class actualy exists, but in my mind it does

I based the dog Nitro on my own dog. Here's a pic. He scares the hell out of people, but he is really a big baby. Isn't he cute?



Chapter 1

Liz Parker slowly walked back to her apartment, the dread showing in each step. She didn't understand why she had to take this stupid Psychology class that focused on interviewing and profiling suspects. Her major was forensic science, not criminal justice, but both degrees needed this class.

All she wanted to do was get her degree, get a job in a Federal lab, and help catch the bad guys. Was that so much to ask? She walked up to the door and started unlocking the locks, smiling when a big black and bronze head popped up in the window, pushing the curtains to the side.

She opened the door and carefully relocked all the locks, threw her keys on the table next to the picture of a smiling Liz, Maria, and Alex in their Crashdown gear, and smiled at the patient but impatient dog that was trying his best to sit even though all he wanted was to be cuddled by his master.

"Hi Nitro," she said, bending down and giving the 2 year old 140 pound dog a big hug. His butt was wiggling on the floor, trying hard not to jump on his master. "Did you have a good day today?" she asked, stroking his ears, laughing when she hit that spot and his back leg started thumping on the floor.

"I just let him out," Maria called from the kitchen.

"Thanks Ria," Liz called back, getting up and walking to the kitchen with Nitro following close to her left side. She remembered her gloomy mood and Maria carefully took in Liz's disturbed expression.

"You look like you need a beer," Maria said as she opened the refrigerator. She grabbed two and popped the caps, sitting down at the table with Liz.

"Thanks," Liz said, taking a long sip while scratching Nitro's ears.

Nitro's head popped up out of Liz's lap, his tail started wagging, and he trotted back out to the front door. Liz and Maria knew in a couple of minutes those locks would start turning and Alex would walk through the door. Animals were so much more keenly aware of their surroundings then humans.

"You better make that three," Liz said. "We got our assignments today."

Maria nodded her head in empathy and grabbed another beer. She had taken this class last year. It was no fun having someone dig around in your past, questioning your friends, trying to find out every last secret. She had been lucky and was paired with some bimbo that was just in criminal justice to find herself a hot FBI agent. The girl had learned nothing about Maria but she found it boringly easy to learn every last thing about the bimbo.

Just as Nitro had foreseen, they heard the locks turn and Alex walked through the door, juggling several Chinese cartons. "This just sucks," Alex mumbled as he placed them on the kitchen table.

The three of them shared the large apartment with Nitro, going to one of the best schools in the country for people who wanted a career in law enforcement, the CIA, the FBI, or Forensics. They all wanted careers in the FBI, Alex focusing on the IT aspect, Liz in Forensics, and Maria in Psychology/Profiling. They were in their senior year, and couldn't wait to get their feet wet in the field.

Liz pointed to the living room and Nitro begrudgingly went to his bed, the enticing smell of Chinese food swirling around his nostrils. She grabbed three plates and set them on the table and they passed the cartons to each other, obviously used to this ritual.

"It must be bad if we have Chinese," Maria said thoughtfully, using the chop sticks to pop some fried rice into her mouth. Some people ate Mac -n- Cheese or chocolate cake for comfort food, but their comfort food of choice was Chinese.

"We were assigned the Evan's," Alex said as he shuddered. "Liz got Max and I got....Michael." Unfortunately for Alex, it wasn't a certain Isabel Evans, but Michael Evans that was his assignment.

Maria let out a low whistle. "I told you you shouldn't put the class off," Maria reminded them. She remembered the guy that had been paired up with Isabel last year. He failed miserably in trying to find anything out about her.

The assignment was to find out as much as you could about the person and write a report. You weren't allowed to interview the person until after the first general report was turned in, learning as much as you could about them through family, friends, and research.

"Go ahead, rub it in," Liz said as she threw a fortune cookie at Maria.

"Sorry," Maria said sheepishly as she opened the fortune cookie. "Romance comes to life this year in a very unusual sort of way," she read and snorted, throwing down the little strip of paper. "I think that's your fortune, since you threw it," Maria insisted.

"I don't have time for that," Liz scoffed. If she wanted a premium job, she would need premium grades.

"Maybe you'll hook up with Max and that's how you'll learn all his dirty little secrets," Alex contemplated, to busy eating to see Liz's cheeks turn a little pink.

There was no doubt that Liz had noticed the mystery that was Max Evans. With his long locks that curled slightly at the ends, his beautiful hazel eyes, and body that was to die for, she'd have to be dead or a lesbian not to have noticed him. He was incredibly intense, and incredibly private.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Liz said, rolling her eyes. "At least since we have brothers we can help each other out."

"Oh, and I can be like the shady dude on the street agents pay to find out the dirt," Maria said, smiling triumphantly. She really did dig this part of her chosen career field, finding out things about people, studying them.

"Ok, so what do we know about them?" Alex asked, popping some sweet and sour pork into his mouth.

"Well they entered school last year, after doing a stint in the Army," Liz said. They had made quiet a stir in their little college when they arrived. Two strapping hunks showing up the second semester of their Junior year. Two years older and much more worldly than their classmates, they had made quite the splash.

"They live with their sister Isabel, who's our age and is studying Psychology like Maria," Alex said, not seeing the secret smiles that passed between Liz and Maria. It wasn't so much a secret that Alex harbored a huge crush on the untouchable Isabel Evans.

"Well if it makes you feel any better Liz, I think you got the better bargain," Maria said. "I had Michael in one of my classes last semester and he seemed to enjoy pissing me off. He was rude, arrogant, obnoxious...."

"We get the picture Maria," Alex said. "Oh, and gee, thanks for pointing that out!"

"No problem whatsoever," Maria said smiling.

"Anyway," Liz interrupted, "I think their parents are some high powered attorneys in DC. Maybe they grew up in this area. That should give us a little edge. They would have to go all the way to Roswell to find anything out about us."

The three of them sat in silence as they all thought about the other consequence of the assignment, people learning about them. No one knew about what had happened to them, the secret they all shared, the secret that had led all of them to want to work for the FBI. No, they had left the pitying looks and the egg shell walking back in Roswell, New Mexico.

Maria paled slightly. "Michael may have been a jackass, but he wasn't a dumb ass. What if they dig a little to deep?"

"They'll never find out," Alex said, placing his hand on Maria's. "That stuff is dead and buried. We were minors, so our names were never in any newspaper articles. They'd have to go to Roswell to learn.....to find out what happened. I don't think anyone would go to that extent for a stupid assignment."

"Absolutely Alex," Liz said, trying to be cheerful. None of their classmates knew about what they had endured, and they liked to keep it that way. "You know what though, Max and Michael might be hiding something too," she contemplated.

"How so?" Maria asked, taking a sip of her beer.

"Well, the three of them live together, they don't seem to make many friends outside of that circle, and they don't seem like the type that get into this type of field to make up for penis size."

"Yeah, well after the things I've heard about those two, that is definitely not a problem," Maria said. Even though she had an instant dislike of Michael, she couldn't help but wonder about him after things she had heard in the locker room at the school fitness center. With his closely shaved hair, bulging muscles, and I-don't-give-a-shit attitude he was quite irresistible.

After three years of school, they had pegged the people who wanted this type of career. There were the people like them, who had gone through a trauma and wanted to help others like them, there were the guys with Napoleon syndrome, looking for power that they never held, and the rare people that just wanted to help others. A life of public service was hard at times, didn't usually pay well, and was often unappreciated. People usually had a reason for going in that direction.

"They do tend to stick together," Alex said thoughtfully. "You would think that after their upbringing they would go into law like their parents, I mean a successful practice is just waiting for them."

"Maybe they are hiding a secret like us," Liz said. She just hoped that they found out the Evan's secret before they found out theirs.

Awww thanks for the FB everyone! I was a little timid to be doing a without aliens story, so I'm glad you are all enjoying it!

Thanks also for the compliments for my dog He really is 140 pounds. My best friend calls him "my little pony"...lol He's very, very sweet and is such a baby, but when we go for walks people will turn and go the other way when they see him coming! Oh, and when he barks by the window, it really does vibrate!

Chapter 2

Max sat in his car, nursing a cup of coffee. He looked up at the address on the piece of paper, ignoring the phone number with the little hearts underneath it. He didn't have a hard time finding out where she lived, three degrees of separation actually.

Isabel was acquaintances with a girl who knew a girl that lived in their apartment building. One dead sexy smile and a wink and he had Liz Parker's address from said girl. It was just to easy to not only learn her address, but also her general comings and goings.

He knew that getting Liz Parker for his subject made Isabel uneasy, worried she would figure out their secret. Max had never said two words to Ms. Parker, but he was a man and had definitely noticed those exotic brown eyes and perfect tear drop ass, not necessarily in that order. She also had the most beautiful head of hair he had ever seen, and when he saw her with her hair up he had to resist the urge to walk right up to her and take her hair down.

She was dangerous, this little slip of a woman. Most of the girls that went to this school were either health freaks with perfectly toned bodies, or science geeks that cared more for their minds than their looks. Liz was a hybrid of the two, obviously in great condition but she was a squint, going for a degree in Forensics. He could see himself wanting to know her, that she would be someone he would want to be with for more then a one night stand.

That was something Max Evans didn't do. He was a man, yes, he had needs. Max stuck to the girls that were the same as him, looking to get off. Unfortunately when Michael and him first came to school they hadn't foreseen the problems that scratching their respective itches at school would bring. They had both just got out of the service, had earned enough college credits to be half way through their junior year, and had been in Iraq the last six months. Both of them had a major itch to scratch that first semester.

It didn't matter that they told the women that they weren't into commitment, that they were a one time deal kind of guy. It seemed if you gave a girl a couple of earth shattering orgasms they attached them self to you like a second skin. Maybe it wasn't fair, and Max did have a heart, more then he was willing to admit, but he didn't ever want to get married, bring children into this messed up world. Why bother with a relationship if you knew you weren't capable of taking it to the finish line? He never did anything half assed in his life.

Max may have been unemotional and distant, but he wasn't selfish. He made sure they enjoyed it as much as he did, maybe more so, relishing the power and control it gave him. He was all about control, probably a by-product of what had happened when he and Michael were just 4 and Isabel was 2. No one knew about it, his parents had been very careful to use their position to cover everything up.

So why did Isabel look a bit unnerved when Michael and him and told her last night that Liz and Alex were their assignments?

Because even though they didn't know them well, they knew they were smart. Smart and dedicated to their studies. There was something there though, something that was a mystery that surrounded Liz, Alex, and their roommate Maria. They seemed to blend well enough, were friendly to everyone, but they really didn't seem to make any other good friends in three years of college. He had also watched Liz enough over the last months to see how aware she was of her surroundings, how she seemed to always be looking for something to jump out of the shadows.

Sure, probably no one else saw this but Max did, noticed the small signs, and he knew one thing. People that watched the shadows did that because something or someone had come out of those shadows and hurt them. He knew from experience.

He pulled the baseball hat a little lower on his head and slouched down as he saw Maria and Alex leave the apartment. Thankfully they left in the opposite direction of his jeep, laughing with their arms linked together. As soon as they were out of sight Max slid out of his car and trotted to the front door of Liz's apartment, hoping some mail had been carelessly left in the mailbox that hung on the wall next to the door.

With his cup of ambition in one hand he looked both ways and reached up to open the mailbox.

It was then that he saw the dog, the dog that had let out a "woof" so loud and deep that it made the front window vibrate. The "woof" that scared the hell out of Max so bad that every drop that was left of his coffee ended up on the front of his shirt, burning his skin.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, pulling the wet material from his chest and fanning his now hot skin. Thankfully his coffee hadn't been scalding since he had been sitting in the car for a half an hour, but it still stung. It was then that he noticed the door was open, and a very amused Liz Parker was looking at him. The big beast of a dog was looking at him too, his head cocked to the side like he was trying to figure this person out.

Liz, noticing the empty Starbucks container on the ground and how Max was fanning himself changed her look from amusement to concern. "Are you alright?" she asked softly.

"I....uh....what?" Max asked. He was usually so good at this, charming women, but at the moment, looking into her concerned eyes he felt like a 12 year old with his first crush.

"I said are you alright?" Liz said a little louder, pointing to his chest.

"Oh yeah, I'm great," Max said, looking sheepish. Liz smiled her most dazzling smile, reached into the mailbox, and pulled out the mail. She leaned back inside and tossed it on the table, grabbing her keys, and closing the door behind her.

"Alright then, see ya!" she said with a little wave as she started walking away from him.

"Are you ready to go for a walk baby boy?" she asked in a baby talk voice as the dog started bucking playfully, excited to go for a walk.

'Baby boy?' Max thought. That beast of a dog had to weigh 50 pounds more than Liz. Hell, the thing probably outweighed him. That animal wasn't a dog, it was a damn horse. It was then that he noticed her running shoes, that perfect ass swaying in tight running shorts, a snug t-shirt that was almost long enough to reach her shorts.

Almost, he realized as his eyes zeroed in on the perfectly tan skin on the small of her back.

Max swallowed hard as he watched her walk away, cursing Eileen or Ellen or Erica, whatever the hell her name was that gave him the address. She assured him that Liz left to go running before the roosters were up. Max looked at his watch. He guessed that the roosters on Eileen or Ellen or Erica's planet got up at 9 am.

Liz turned when she reached the end of the building and saw Max standing in the same spot. "Oh, hey Evans," she called as he looked up. "Real smooth," she said seductively with a brilliant smile, put her sunglasses on, turned, and bent over to grab Nitro's leash.

"Come on sweat heart," she said to a thrilled Nitro and they vanished around the building.

Max's eyes narrowed. That was a challenge if he ever heard one. Quickly he scanned the front of their apartment building and noticed something peculiar, very peculiar. All the other doors had the same thing, a door knob with a lock and a dead bolt.

Liz's apartment had that, plus three more dead bolts. He would have normally been pleased with the discovery, but the things adding up in his head did not bode well for Liz. She lived with a guy, who granted wasn't exactly James Bond, but a guy none the less, and still had four dead bolts that really weren't needed considering she had a dog that would consider most men a small snack.

Something very bad had happened to Liz, or Maria, or Alex, or all three of them. Maybe it was as bad as what he, Michael and Isabel had gone through. No, that couldn't be, not many people on this Earth would ever know the true evil that they had known when they were so small, but Liz had dealt with something bad.

Real bad.

"Stop it Ni," Liz whispered as she huddled under the big bush, her dog playfully nudging her arm, wanting to be pet. She watched as Max walked to his jeep, kicked the tire, got in, and sped away.

She let out a deep breath that she didn't know she was holding. 'Real smooth?' she thought as she shook her head. Liz couldn't believe how she had swayed her hips, how she had said that with such a tone. Even though she wasn't planning on becoming an Agent, she had taken enough classes to know she needed to have the upper hand.

"Score one for Parker," Liz said to Nitro, who was impatiently biting and pulling at the leash, wanting to go for his morning run. "Alright, alright," she laughed as she hopped up, dusted herself off, and took her ever faithful companion to his favorite activity.

I was debating on putting this with chapter two, and since Nibbles is reading and I know Michael and Maria are a favorite, I'll post 3 the same day.

Chapter 3

"I swear to god that fucking dog was laughing at me," Michael heard Max say over his speaker phone. He tried unsuccessfully not to laugh at his brother, but the thought of him standing there, dripping in coffee, while little Lizzie Parker sauntered out of her apartment was just to good.

"Great, now you are laughing at me," Max seethed. "You would think Ellen...Eileen...Elle would have told me that she had an attack trained killer dog."

"Did you ask?" Michael said, raising his eyebrows.

"Why the fuck would I ask if she had a 200 pound dog Michael?" Max said, irritated.

Michael decided to let it go. His brother was worked up, worked up big time. He didn't think Elizabeth Parker getting the best of him would affect him like this, so it must be something else.

"True," Michael conceded, for now. "Did you at least learn anything?"

"Yes I did," Max said, calming down. "It would probably be easier to get into Fort Knox than their apartment. Besides having a dog with a head bigger then mine, they installed four extra dead bolts to their door."

"Really?" Michael asked.

"Yeah," Max said softly. "I think something must have happened to one or all of them before college. No one is that paranoid without reason."

Michael thought of Maria Deluca, the fiery blond from his art class last year. It was an elective that actually didn't annoy him because he enjoyed drawing and painting. Generally speaking Michael thought college was a big waste of time, him and Max had learned more during their six years in the Army then any education a snooty college could provide.

Even though he tried to deny it, he couldn't help but acknowledge the knot that formed in his stomach. The thought that something had happened to Maria, that someone had hurt her....

Then he realized why Max was so worked up. Liz. Michael wasn't blind, and he was a trained soldier after all. He had noticed the side way glances Max had shot at Liz since they had started college last winter.

Michael and Max were a unit, fraternal twins to the public, and they both agreed that they wanted to spend their lives in public service. Isabel was a bit more adjusted than they were, as she was a lot younger when the incident happened. Her six month hell happened when she was just 2, and she didn't remember a whole lot.

They both felt guilty when they left for the service, but Isabel assured them that she needed it, needed to learn to stand on her own without their protection. When they had finally joined her at college, two years later than expected because the Army had re upped them for two extra years, all they learned was that she had taken on an ice princess persona to keep everyone away.

God knows Michael wasn't good at the whole Psychology/feelings thing, but even he knew that wasn't good. Even though she seemed more normal than Max and Michael, it was more then likely that she was just better at hiding it.

And Michael knew, without a doubt, that even though it was not their fault, nothing that they could have done, Isabel still felt like a freak for what they had went through, and out of all of them was more afraid of being judged or pitied because of it.

"No, no one is that paranoid unless they have good reason," Michael said, shaking his head from all those thoughts and getting back into the conversation with Max. "Look, I gotta go. I just pulled up to Deluca's work."

"Good luck," Max said. "I'm going to do some asking around once I get out of class. I think Alex's tech partner Justin is in my Civics class, so I'll see what I can find out," he said, glad that they could work on this project together. Two minds were better than one.

Michael hit the end call button and pulled into the parking lot. He knew Maria worked at the animal shelter that specialized in rehabilitating abused dogs. He walked in the small office, and not seeing anyone proceeded out the back door.

Maria had six rather large dogs sitting in front of a platform, and she was standing on a step stool diligently filling the bowls with food. Whenever one would try to eat, she would stop them in their tracks by holding up her hand.

Geeze, what was it with these chicks and big dogs?

He stood by the gate that separated him from her and the dogs, and decided to stay where he was for now until he could read the dogs intentions. These were not fluffy little poodles, but dogs that had been abused, been saved from dog fighting rings he imagined, seeing the long scar on the pit bulls face. He wasn't to sure that Maria should be in there with them.

He pushed the thought out of his mind. It was none of his concern, or so he tried to tell himself.

"So if you're the dog whisperer, how come Liz is the one with the big beast?" he called out.

Maria composed herself before turning to him, trying not to laugh at the thought of Max Evan's being startled by Nitro. Those two were so arrogant, so sure of their selves, that Maria found it hilarious that Mr. Evans could be taken down a peg or two. Liz's phone call telling her about her run in with Max had made her day. Now if she could just do that to Michael, it'd be the perfect day. She had seen him pull up and had been waiting for him to make his way back here.

He seen Maria's shoulders shrug and she said, "Because he chose her." She kept working, her back to Michael, and he now saw that she was scooping wet food in with the dry, mixing it with her hands.

'Gross,' thought Michael. He decided to chance it and opened the gate, coming to a stop next to Maria, his eyes on the dogs and all their eyes on him.

"They're sizing you up," Maria said as she kept working. "Deciding if you are the new Alpha of the group."

Michael snorted. "Whatever," he said, rolling his eyes behind his impassive sunglasses.

"So how long have you known Alex and Liz?" he asked.

"Forever," she said. "I take it it's my turn to be interviewed? You might as well not waste your time."

"Well I already learned that you have known them forever," he said, stressing the last word.

"That's hardly classified information," she shot back.

"So he chose her, eh?" Michael said, looking at Maria's profile. "Is that really why, or is it because she's more scared then you or Alex?"

He saw Maria stiffen, just for a brief moment, and he could feel that she was willing herself to relax.

"Why on Earth would we be afraid?" she said carefully.

"I guess that's what I need to find out," he said nonchalantly. "Most people don't install extra dead bolts and have huge dogs unless they are afraid."

Maria grabbed the towel that was hanging off the platform and slowly wiped the dog food off her hands. "I don't know what Max told you about Nitro, but Max would more then likely die of being licked to death than by a vicious dog attack," she said with a smirk.

"What if Max tried to hurt Liz? Would he lick him to death then?" Michael asked with a raised eyebrow.

'He'd rip his freaking throat out,' Maria thought to herself. "I don't know," she said instead as she shrugged. "He's very passive, a big wimp."

"Then why the locks?" he asked.

"Because duh," said, knocking on her head, "they were there when we moved in."

'Oh she's good,' Michael thought, and he almost would have believed her if her eyes wouldn't have shifted from him when she said it.

She was flat out lying.

"Uh huh," he said, his tone telling her he didn't believe a word of it.

Maria did not like where this was going, not at all. She decided to shift the conversation to her advantage, to her turf.

"Why do you find it so hard to believe that Nitro chose Liz?" she asked. "Do you not think that animals are more in tuned to what they need than humans?"

"They have better instincts sometimes, yes I'd agree to that," he said.

"Well when Nitro came here, he was just a couple months old. They wanted to raise him to fight, but it wasn't his nature. He was so scared, terrified that I couldn't leave him here. He had been stuck in a cage most of his life," she said. "He was timid with me, but when we got home, he just bounded up to Liz and jumped in her lap. She's what he needed, she's a gentle, kind soul. He needed that kind of healing after what he had been through."

Michael fought to keep his face impassive as Maria explained where Nitro had come from. "So you believe that he knew, just walking in a door, that Liz was what he needed?" he asked.

"Absolutely," Maria said. "In the animal world, there are no lies, there is no deception because they can smell it from a mile away. You simply are what you are. I wasn't kidding when I said they were sizing you up. A big strong guy like you walks in, the order of the pack changes," she said, reaching up to the trellis above the platform, leaning just a bit towards Michael.

"You would be the new Alpha male, and I'd be the Alpha female. These other dogs, well they would just be here to do our bidding, help raise our children, bring food. You would have had me on the ground, rubbing your scent on me, marking me as yours," she said, looking up at Michael from under her eyelashes.

"And I'd be powerless to stop you," she almost whispered, her face inches from his, "because I would want it. I would want to be yours, to have the most powerful pack member Father my children. I would have no choice but to submit to your every desire."

Michael didn't realize he was holding his breath, and as he was sure she was going to close the distance and kiss him he heard a loud bell ring, breaking him out of his stupor.

"Eat up guys," Maria said, ringing that damn bell that was hidden in the trellis, causing the dogs to come forward and start eating. Michael cursed under his breath, and Maria jumped down from her step stool.

"It's been interesting," Maria said, "but I really have a job to do so I hope you can show yourself out." She picked up the bucket of food, saluted Michael, and walked away towards the shed in the back of the exercise yard.

"What the hell just happened?" Michael asked himself. Here he was, excited, painfully excited, way more excited than he had ever been in his life, over a chick who was talking about getting pregnant by him, which was, in fact, his biggest nightmare. Christ she hadn't even touched him.

Maria smiled as she swung the bucket in her hand. Poor men, they just didn't have enough blood to run both heads at once.

'Score one for Deluca,' she thought evilly. She opened the shed door and the smile slowly faded from her face. At this point she was pretty sure that Liz could handle Max, and that she could handle Michael, but what would happen if they unleashed the blonde boobage that was Isabel Evans on Alex?

Thanks everyone! I just wanted to drop and line and say that I changed the disclaimer to include a warning:

Rating- Mature to be on the safe side. There are also some disturbing scenes when we find out what happens to the six characters. Nothing overtly graphic, but it will contain some distrubing scenes. You might not want to read this if you can't deal with that.

I just finished Chapter 5, where we find out what happened to Liz, Alex, and Maria. It kind of took a life of it's own, and it's a bit darker then I first envisioned. I'm not a good angst writer, so I would appreciate any feedback you can give me on that one.

Soooooooooooooooo since I am such a sucker for my feedbackers, and I know how another one of my favorites, chanks_girl, loves Alex and Isabel, I'm going to drop off yet another chapter for you all today.

This ones for chanks!

Chapter 4

Alex sat back in his chair, his arms crossed behind his head and smiled. He had successfully traced the email that was sent by the kidnapper from the scenario, way ahead of his classmates. Alex tried not to smirk to much when the Professor congratulated him, earning him a few dirty looks from those around him.

He wondered if these guys knew how important they could be to the FBI. They made up the smallest percentage of students at the small college, the IT faction, but Alex knew all to well that while those burly guys that broke through the doors were often the heroes, a lot of the time it was a geek like him that had shown him what door to knock down.

Sure, Alex would never forget that guy that had come barging in, never forget that voice that said, "Are you alright?" with such concern. To this day the sound of his voice was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard, more beautiful than any song, than any bubbling brook.

It was after he studied their case, needing to know how they were found, that Alex learned the break had come from an Agent Dipasco, who had successfully traced an off shore bank account's location. Sure, he knew what people were saying about them. At first it was the sorrowful eyes that greeted Alex and his best friends, then the vicious gossip that transpired once the jealousy set in about how much attention they were receiving. Kids were cruel, and the story about what happened to them grew as it was passed on from one to the next. He still needed to know, and was left a bit in awe when he found out that someone like him, someone that was a computer geek, was really their savior.

He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if they hadn't been found so quickly.

He only hoped that one day he could meet Agent Dipasco, let him know who he had saved, that while he may live as an unsung hero, in Alex's eyes he would be the biggest hero ever.

This assignment seemed particularly cruel to him, but he knew it was necessary. Most of the people in his class hadn't had something so traumatic happen to them, but someone digging around in your business was not fun for anyone. He knew the purpose of it, why if they wanted to work for the FBI someone could very well do the same thing to them.

Part of their job would entail testifying in court, and people with high powered lawyers would do all they could to discredit you. The more evidence you had on someone, the harder they would dig around in your past to shake you up, to make it seem like you had swayed the evidence in the prosecution's favor because of some past experience.

This also wasn't high school, and they were grown adults, most of them around 21 or 22 years old. Everything found was supposed to be confidential, shared only between the subjects of the assignment and the Professor. Alex knew that Professor Smith more then likely knew what happened to them as they all had to write essays on why they wanted to become a member of law enforcement to get into the college to begin with, an essay that was available to the staff.

He knew Liz and Maria were worried about what Michael and Max might find, but Alex wasn't. In his heart he knew they would keep it to themselves, they wouldn't spread it around like wildfire. It wouldn't be a repeat of their senior year of high school.

Alex was sure of this because he had a feeling that Max and Michael might have went through something similar, well not the same thing but something...bad. He had admired Isabel Evans from afar for the last three years, never dreaming someone like her would ever be interested in someone like him.

She was all poise and confidence to the outside world, but Alex could tell there was a lot more to her than that. She was kind, doing little things that most people wouldn't notice, like helping an elderly person across the street, giving a homeless person her left overs.

Cold ice princesses didn't do things like that.

Then there was the change in her demeanor when her brother's had joined her at school. It was like she had let out a collective breath she had been holding for three years. Oh, she was still the Queen Bee, but she was more relaxed, more what Alex thought must be her true self.

'She felt safe, and she hadn't felt that way in a long time,' Alex thought to himself sadly.

He shook his head forcefully away from these thoughts. He needed to concentrate on Michael, that was his assignment. He was sure to have a run in with Ms. Isabel soon enough. Alex wasn't surprised that Michael had already visited Maria, as they weren't allowed to question the subject of their project until after the initial phase was over. They had to learn all they could from family, co-workers, friends, and research to prepare them for their final interrogation, the phase that would count for half their grade. If they didn't do good, they could kiss a good grade goodbye, and more then likely kiss any chance of getting in the FBI goodbye as well.

Michael was scary, and Alex was secure enough in his manhood to admit that. He would need to rattle the hell out of him to get a good interview. He seemed like a such a stone wall, and Alex needed to break through that if he wanted his dreams to come true.

The bell rang and Alex heard his classmates groan, as some of them hadn't completed the trace. Alex sighed. He wasn't conceited or arrogant, but he knew he was light years ahead of his classmates. To think a stupid assignment could stop him from helping people that really needed his help pissed him off. He left the room in a bad mood, barely noticing for once that Isabel Evans had been waiting for him.

"Hey Alex!" Isabel shouted. "Wait up!"

Alex stopped in his tracks. He really didn't want to deal with this now. He had received the frantically typed texts from his best friends, and sure, Liz and Maria had used their feminine wiles to throw off Max and Michael, but they had used them in self defense, not to extract information. The more that Alex thought about Isabel using him to just gain information for a stupid assignment when he cared about her so much, the angrier he became.

"What's up Isabel?" he asked a little harsher then he intended as they left the building together.

Isabel was taken aback by Alex's tone. In spite of herself she had always liked Alex, the goofy computer geek who was really quite handsome in a studious, serious way.

"I...I just wanted to ask you something," Isabel said, flustered, confused by his attitude.

"Ok, ok, I'll spill," Alex said. "I dress like this," he said pointing to the top button she was so fond of unbuttoning, "because I want women to love me for my mind, and not use me for my body," he said sarcastically.

Isabel opened her mouth to speak, but Alex held up his hand. "Don't Isabel, just don't. If you try to seduce me for information on myself or Liz...Well, that's just low. If you want to try to seduce me in a couple of weeks when this assignment is over, I will be a more than willing participant, but if you do this now, well my opinion of you is not going to be good, and I don't want that to happen because I think very highly of you Isabel."

"Alex, what the hell are you talking about?" Isabel asked, her anger now matching Alex's.

He took in her confused eyes, the angry set of her jaw. 'Oh shit,' thought Alex.

"I..uh...you wanted to ask something...you wanted to ask me something?" Alex finished weakly, all his anger replaced by embarrassment.

"I was WONDERING if I could borrow your notes from Calahan's class," Isabel spit out. "My Grandma was sick last week and I missed that class."

Alex quickly slung his book bag off his shoulder and began rummaging through it. "Ah, wait a second, I'm just going to get in my time machine and go back a few minutes," he said, walking backwards in slow motion.

Isabel bit her lip to keep from smiling. He didn't deserve a smile right now.

"Hey Isabel, Hi!" he said cheerily while walking back to her. "I noticed you weren't in class last week so I figured you might need these notes?" he said lamely, searching for any signs of forgiveness.

Isabel snatched them from his hand. "Why yes Alex," she said pointedly. "I was just going to ask you that, thank you," she finished sarcastically.

"I'm sorry Isabel...I really am," he said sincerely. He knew how protective Max and Michael were over Isabel, how they watched her like a hawk when they were around. He should have known they wouldn't send her in to seduce him, or anyone for that matter. "This assignment really has us on edge, you know?" he asked, searching her face for a glimmer of understanding.

Isabel's face softened slightly. "I suppose so," she said in her best ice princess voice.

Alex thought for a second. Max and Michael weren't stupid. They had seen the dead bolts, they had seen Nitro. Alex was kidding himself if he thought they wouldn't find out about what happened to them. Max and Michael were just as passionate about getting in the FBI as him and Liz. Their family had money, connections. Sure, their hometown was a thousand miles away, but he was sure those two would stop at nothing to get to the truth. Max and Michael knew something was up, and if they wanted a good grade they needed to find it, and Alex knew the two soldiers would indeed find out about that horrible day.

He decided to throw Isabel a bone, she deserved it after the way he had treated her. "We know what it's like Isabel," he said, looking into her eyes. "We know what it's like to walk into a room and have everybody simultaneously stop talking, knowing they were whispering about you. We've seen the looks, been subjects of horrible gossip by mean spirited kids. Just know this, Isabel. No matter what Liz or I find, we would never do that to you, spread it around campus. Not only because we are not those kind of people, but because we lived it, and wouldn't wish that on our worst enemy."

Isabel nodded her head, taking in what Alex had just said. "And I am really sorry," he said in a soft voice.

"It's ok," Isabel said as he turned and walked away. "Hey Alex?" she called out.

He turned around with a puzzled look on his face. "Do you really think highly of me?" she asked.

Alex gave her that patented boyish grin and nodded his head, turned back around, and kept walking.

Isabel felt an unexpected flutter in her stomach as she watched the tall, lanky boy's retreating back.

He had just given her a golden nugget of information that she now wished she didn't have. She didn't want to think about something horrible happening to Alex, or Liz and Maria for that matter. Isabel sighed and started walking towards the quad to meet up with Max and Michael.

A small part admitted to herself that Alex had said that, told her that because he wanted her to know that if she had a secret, if Max and Michael had a secret, it would be safe with them.

She wondered what had transpired that day to make Alex act like that. He had assumed that she was going to try to seduce information out of him, and that thought left her puzzled. She had been so worried about Liz and Alex learning about their childhood that she didn't even stop to think that maybe they were hiding something.

Max and Michael must have figured that out. She didn't think Alex would say what he did unless it was clear those two were on the right path. Max had left early that morning even though he didn't have class until two, and Michael had cleared out pretty early also.

She knew they had to take their assignment seriously, like it was a real case, and she wondered how far they had taken it. Maybe they had tried to seduce Liz and Maria? Maybe that's why Alex was so upset.

Her brothers, and god help her she loved them with all her heart, were still a little bit stunted when it came to the opposite sex. Even though she shuddered to think of it, she knew how other women viewed them. They were strong, handsome, iiiick sexy, and had an air of danger.

They also honestly believed that if they told a woman that all they wanted was a one night stand, and if the woman agreed, that all she wanted was a one night stand also.

'Clueless,' Isabel thought, knowing her brother's didn't realize how many women out there thought that they could gain love by having sex. At least their libido's seemed to have calmed down, and they realized it was a biiiiiig mistake messing around with girls that attended the same college.

She didn't even want to think about them trying to use their natural umm charms against Liz and Maria. Sure, she didn't know them well, but she highly doubted they were the types of girls Max and Michael usually went for. Isabel had admired their easy friendship, how they seemed to know each other so well, and had wistfully wished she could have something like that.

Isabel had never really had a real friend, not since she had learned at the age of 6 why she had such terrible night terrors.

She spotted her brothers sitting at a table off to the side of the large quad, away from the other students, furiously writing in their notebooks. She stopped short of the table and placed her hand on her hip, tapping her foot.

They both looked up at her. "What the hell did you do to Maria and Liz today?" she asked accusingly.

"What did we do to them?" Michael asked incredulously. "Don't you mean what did they do to us?" he said as Isabel fought a small smile threatening to break out on her face.

'Good. It was time these two had a taste of their own medicine,' she thought as she sat down, listening to confusing stories of alpha males, dead bolts, and 200 pound dogs.

Thanks for the FB everyone!

Wait - you're going to tell us what happened in chapter five and not drag it out and tease us for months? That's an unusual way of writing fic. But I like it.

Strange but true Nibbles When it starts flowing and I get chapters ahead I just can't resist posting them cuz I am the world's most impatient person and I know how much I hate waiting Probably not the smartest way to post a fic, but there ya have it

Wow, I love the interaction we've seen so far. The boys are getting absolutely trampled by the girls and Alex is actually making some headway with the ice princess. Alex, by the way, seems like such a nice guy. I love him.

Wow Allison, coming from you that is such a huge compliment. I love this Alex too, and I think you all might love him a little more after this part if I did it right.

His encounter with Isabel was funny and pretty embarrassing....but so him. It was so cute howhe tried to make it better.

Oh thank you chanks! When I get a good comment from you on anything Stargazer it makes my day. I love my gazers, but it is the hardest for me to write for some reason? I never feel like I do the two justice, so I'm glad you liked it!

Oh, and good Candy comments from RhondaAnn and Nibbles? *thud* I love my Candy as much as the Dreamers, and I always hope to write them in character, even if it is a without alien. Thank you so much for your kind words


This chapter is actually how this story started in my mind, I just never wrote it because I just don't think I do angst justice. Fluffy funny I think I can do ok I guess, but angst? When I jumped out of my alien comfort zone I decided to just jump out with both feet and do the sad thing too.

I wanted the initial story to come from someone that was involved, but not there, and this conversation is what started it all in my head. We'll have Alex, Liz, and Maria weighing in on this in chapters to come, but I envisioned the discovery to be a rip the band aid off kind of thing, and it is going to mess with poor Max's mind considerably

Feedback on this one would be greatly appreciated, because I am way the hell out of my writing comfort zone right now I hope it moves you, if only a little.



Chapter 5

Max shifted his weight once more, his butt falling asleep from sitting so long. He brought his ever present coffee to his lips, drinking slowly, willing the dark liquid to warm his body. It was turning cold way to fast for his liking. It was only October, but it already felt like December. He took a deep breath and watched the air expel from his lungs. It almost smelled like snow was on it's way.

He looked down the familiar streets of Washington DC, the place he called home for the majority of his life. He looked down at the printed version of the newspaper clipping that had brought him here and couldn't help but grin a little as he took in Liz's Parker's radiant smile beaming back at him.

After days of finding nothing, learning nothing about his subject Max had finally started digging. As Michael so delicately pointed out, he wasn't going to learn anything by simply stalking Liz Parker.

He wasn't stalking her, really, just seeing her daily habits. You know, who she talked to, what she did. He might find someone to question. Much to his annoyance he got caught every time he followed her, that damn dog her constant company. The horse had spotted him yesterday when he was watching her run, seeing if she ever ran with a partner besides the beast, and as she slowed to a walk, got a water bottle out of the dog's backpack and poured him some water, that damn thing had looked right at him in his hiding place behind the bushes and narrowed it's eyes.

He sweared to Christ that damn dog had narrowed his eyes at him.

Liz had looked up to see what he was looking at, and Max silently cursed to himself. A smile broke out on her face as she scratched the beast from hell's ears.

"Who's a good boy?" she asked sweetly as Nitro wiggled his monstrously big body, elated with her praise. "Aww, who's Momma's little baby?" she said in that baby talk voice she used with him sometimes, which was absolutely ridiculous but incredibly adorable at the same time. She leaned down and gave him a kiss on his head and a big hug.

'Lucky son of a bitch,' Max had thought.

The dog had drank some water, Liz had picked up the makeshift bowl, put it back into his pack, and walked right past Max like he didn't exist. The dog didn't though.

"I swear Isabel," Max had told his sister later that day. "The fucking dog was amused. If he could stick out his tongue I'm sure he would have, followed by a ha! ha! ha! I won."

"Max, you do realize that you are jealous of a dog, don't you?" Isabel said, a twinkle in her eye that Max Did.Not.Like.

"Why would I be jealous of a dog?" he asked looking at his sister like she was crazy.

"Clueless," she muttered as she left the room. "Absolutely clueless."

She had been saying that a lot the last couple of days, to both him and Michael.

Max broke away from his recent memories, and looked at the picture again. He couldn't help but trace the lines of her face. She was perfectly lovely, glowing with such happiness.

It had taken his breath away when he had found it, Liz in an adorable strapless princess like dress with the crown on her head, waving from the parade float. After finding many dead links when searching for Liz Parker or Elizabeth Parker in Roswell New Mexico, Max had a flash of inspiration.

He had sometimes heard Maria and Alex call her Lizzie. So when he typed Lizzie Parker, Roswell New Mexico in the search engine, this little gem had popped up. He was sure all those broken links surrounding Liz or Elizabeth Parker in the Roswell Gazette were courtesy of Alex, but he had missed this one.

He could tell the difference in her. Sure, everyone is different when they are 17, but she looked so carefree, so happy. This Liz Parker didn't know that bad things happened in this world. She was innocent and invincible, as 17 years olds should be.

The real prize wasn't the adorable picture of a radiant Ms. Parker, no it had been the headline that had captured his attention at second glance.

"Kyle Valenti and Lizzie Parker Named Homecoming King and Queen"

It was then that he noticed the boy sitting next to her on the float, looking like the All-American teenager in his football uniform. While Liz smiled widely for the camera, Kyle stared adoringly at Liz.

He had quickly read the article. Liz's dream was going to Harvard. She wanted to be a molecular biologist since the 6th grade. Kyle wanted to join the Army after high school, make a career out of it.

And he had. Max knew this because Kyle was an acquaintance of his, they had spent some time together in Afghanistan and around the world. Why him or Michael hadn't thought of Kyle, who was teased relentlessly because of his hometown, was beyond Max. 'Some FBI Agent I'll make,' he snorted to himself.

He had immediately got on the phone, calling some old Army buddies, and within 4 degrees of separation he had found out that Kyle was in Washington for a couple of days before heading out to Georgia.

So that's why he sat here, outside the little bar, waiting for Kyle to show up. One of the guys had told him all the Army personnel went here, they offered cheap drinks to the boys in green and there were plenty of hot women.

If there was one thing Max had learned about Kyle, he liked to drink, and he liked the women. He briefly wondered if Liz and Kyle had a thing in high school, but quickly dismissed it. They were to different.

He thought he had a time line of when things happened now too. This was the fall of their Junior year in high school, and the Liz in this picture didn't watch shadows. Whatever happened to them had happened between then and the end of their Senior year, probably sooner since they had all had been at college for their first year and would have needed to apply by at least the beginning of their Senior year to get in.

Whatever caused Lizzie Parker's dreams to change so drastically must have happened the second part of her Junior year.

Max shifted again, wishing Kyle would just show up already. Max was a patient man. He knew stake outs were a part of the job, and he could be relentlessly patient when he wanted something.

As if some fairy godmother had heard his wish, he saw Kyle walking down the street, blowing warm air into his hands and rubbing them together. Max waited for him to enter the bar, waited five minutes, and followed.

His trained eyes quickly found Kyle sitting at the large square bar, his back to Max. Cautiously Max made his way to the other side of the bar, and got the bartender's attention.

"Hey buddy, I need a favor," Max said. "You see, I'm hear to meet some old Army buddies of mine, but I have a really long drive home. I can't afford to get trashed and be a hazard on the road, but I don't know how long I'll be able to resist the temptation once they start in on me being a wimp."

The bartender smiled at the responsible young man. If only more were like him. "Don't worry, I got your back," he said. "If you do shots, just make sure you ask for Vodka."

Max said his thanks and walked back around to the front of the bar.

"Holy Shit! Kyle Valenti you dirty dog you," Max said loudly, geniunely happy to see Kyle.

"EVAAAAANS! Evans! Evans! Evans!" Kyle yelled, jumping off his bar stool and grabbing Max in a great big bear hug. "It's been what, 3 years? Holy shit, are you turning into a hippy?" he asked, eyeing Max's longer than regulation locks.

"Never!" Max said, slapping Kyle on the back. "The ladies sure like it though," he said, winking at Kyle as they sat down at the bar.

"Yeah, in a boy band kind of way I bet," Kyle laughed. "You aren't trolling junior high schools or anything, right?"

Max rolled his eyes. He had forgotten about Kyle's dry sense of humor. They sat there for awhile, catching up, doing a couple of shots, Max's filled with water, Kyle's vodka.

"Woah, I better slow down," Kyle said after downing his third shot.

"Valenti? Slow down?" Max asked as he looked at him like he was insane.

Kyle held up his left hand. "A lot has changed in three years," he said, showing the platinum band on his ring finger. "I have a kid on the way too, my wife, Tess, well she is in Georgia waiting on me."

Max slapped Kyle on the back. "Congrats man," he said sincerely.

"Thanks," he said. "Someday it'll be you."

"I highly doubt that," Max said sarcastically.

"Believe what you want," Kyle said with a mysterious smile. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think there was someone in your life now. Before you would have left this place with that red head over there," he pointed to the comely red head, "or that blonde over there," he said, pointing to a blonde who was busting out of her top, "or, knowing you, possibly both of them," he said with a wicked grin. "You haven't noticed either of them, or any of the other women in here."

Max shrugged. "Not in the mood tonight."

Kyle threw his head back and laughed. "Max, we are in our early to mid twenties. We are ALWAYS in the mood, just sometimes something happens and we are only in the mood for one person."

Max just shook his head at Kyle's antics. "Ok, Ok, I won't make you admit you are in luuuurve," he said laughing.

"Alright, enough of this," Max said, changing the subject. "So are you ever going to tell me where you got that scar?"

Kyle's laughter died down, as a serious expression crossed his face, looking foreign on his usually jovial features. Back in Afghanistan they all had traded scar stories, everyone that was holed up for the night, and Kyle never once told why he had the small scar by his eye, in fact he had gotten angry, so angry everyone backed off.

"Would you believe me if I said it was from a computer geek that barely weighed 130 pounds soaking wet, back in high school? That he beat the piss out of me?" Kyle asked.

'Alex,' Max thought.

"What, were you not the muscle boy we know and love back then?" Max asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, more so. I was a football player back then, I trained relentlessly," he said, looking into his drink, swirling it around.

"So what, were you unconscious? Did you do his Mom or something?" Max asked, trying to be lighthearted.

"No, nothing like that," Kyle said quietly. "I hurt one of his best friends."

"You may be a jackass Valenti, but you don't seem the type to go around hurting innocent geeks," Max said, pushing the guilt down deep, the guilt that he was using his friend. He had to remind himself that this was for an assignment, a very important assignment. It was work. It would help him help people who needed it the most one day.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "His best friends were girls," he said. "One of them was my first love," he said almost wistfully.

"Ah," Max said, hating himself this very moment. "You dumped her?"

Kyle laughed bitterly. "Don't I wish," he said, shaking his head sadly. "No, what I did was much worse than that."

Max wanted to tell him to stop, wanted to confess his true intentions, but it seemed that now that he was talking, Kyle just couldn't stop.

"Some bad shit went down during spring break our Junior year," Kyle said. "I'm not getting into that, because I just may throw up all over the bar, thinking about it."

Max nodded and just listened. Gone was the Max investigating Liz Parker, replaced by the Max that was Kyle's friend. It was right there, within his grasp, but if Kyle didn't want to talk about it, Max decided that he wasn't going to ask.

"I was your typical high school jock, banging cheerleaders, partying. Then I started spending time with her," he said, a sad smile on his features. "We were even nominated Homecoming King and Queen our Junior year. She was...is special Max, so special. I fell head over heals for her, I mean I had it BAD."

Kyle sighed. "For the first time in my teenage life, I was afraid of asking a girl out. We were friends, sure, but I kept thinking she would never go out with me. She was a straight A student, wanted to go to Harvard, and I was just a dumb jock who wanted to be in the Army."

Kyle picked up his glass and swirled it around for Max to see. "Then, on Valentine's Day our Junior year I got seriously wasted, I mean out of my mind wasted," he laughed to himself. "I confessed my feelings to her, how I felt about her, how I didn't think I was good enough." He ran his fingers through is hair. "Christ Max I never would have believed that a girl who probably weighed no more then a buck five could make me feel that vulnerable."

"So yeah, she yelled at me Max," he said, a small smile playing on his lips. "She then began, very scientifically I might add, to list all my strong points on her fingers. Street Smart. Loyal. Fun. Brave. Big Heart. She told me if I ever came down on myself like that again she would beat the hell out of me, and Max, I believed her," Kyle laughed.

"She sounds like a great girl," Max said softly.

"The best, the very best," Kyle said as Max swallowed a lump forming in his throat as he noticed the unshed tears in Kyle's eyes. "Anyway," he said, discreetly brushing his eyes with his hands, "she told me to go home and that when I was sober she would allow me to kiss her," he said as he and Max chuckled.

"I had six weeks of pure bliss, I was completely over the moon," Kyle said dreamily. "I'm not naive, I know it would have come to an end even if they never would have left for that damn trip. She always saw the best in people Max, and God was she stubborn. We would have been that flaming couple that burnt out the minute they went their separate ways for college, and God how I wish that's how it went down."

"Kyle, you don't have to tell me..." Max started to say

"I want to Max, I have to...to tell somebody," he said shakily. "They left for Florida for Spring Break. I was so pissed at my Dad, he wouldn't let me go even though there was a chaperon. I was pissed at Lizzie for leaving me, for going off with Alex and Maria," he said as Max gripped the bar tightly. It had been easy to remove himself from the situation, to pretend it didn't happen to people he knew. Hearing their names made the bile come up Max's throat.

"I mean, I couldn't imagine going a day without seeing her, you know? It...It hurt that she could. Even though I wouldn't admit it, I was so jealous of Alex and Maria. They had been friends since they were in diapers, and Lizzie wasn't the type of girl to just dump her friends, no matter how much I wanted her to," he said, nodding his head at the bartender as he sat another drink in front of him.

The bartender looked at Max with questioning eyes, and Max just shook his head. The old bartender had seen many broken soldiers in his time at this bar. Sometimes they just needed to let it out.

"They didn't come back Max," Kyle said as he shuddered. "They...they were taken. Taken by very bad people."

Max's hand flew to his mouth, not just in shock, but to keep the vomit down. It was becoming clear now. Human trafficking.

"Fortunately for Liz I wasn't quite the Casanova I thought I was," Kyle said. "They were kept in a filthy dark room, beaten, humiliated, but they were spared the gang rapes the other kids endured."

"Virgins are worth a lot of money," Max said quietly.

Kyle nodded stiffly. "Liz and Maria were declared virgins, Alex a virgin in another way," he said as Max nodded. He knew boys that were taken were never meant for women. "I don't think they even wanted Alex, he was to tall to pass off as a young...boy," Kyle shuddered, "but he had insisted on coming along when the 'modeling' people had approached Maria. Lizzie wouldn't let her go alone either, and I'm sure their mouths were just watering with how small she was," Kyle spit out.

"So the bidding began, and when a huge amount of money was moved from an off shore account, the FBI caught on, had been watching the group. I mean, until that point no one would have dreamed...Hell the local police figured they had ran away because that's usually what happened, but none of their parents bought it, none of them would let it go thankfully," Kyle said. "They may not have had money or power, but dear God help you if Amy Deluca is on your tail, and the FBI put two and two together," he said smiling sadly.

"The only reason I believe in God is because they found them in time," Kyle continued. "They were missing for five days, which I swear to God felt like five years. I can just imagine how it felt for them, cold, filthy, beaten....Knowing what was coming..."

Max nodded trying to keep his own eyes from welling up.

"Then they were home. Alex had to have surgery, they had broken both his arms when he tried to protect Liz and Maria. The girls, they were pretty roughed up. Split lips, black eyes...They're both so small Max, I couldn't understand how anyone could do that to someone so small," Kyle said, the tears rolling down his face in earnest, without shame.

It took every concentrated ounce of energy in Max not to cry. He didn't cry, he hadn't since the day he was returned to his parents. He reached out and squeezed Kyle's shoulder.

"They made everyone uncomfortable, no matter how wrong it was. All anyone could say was how lucky they were that they weren't raped. Like that made it ok to be taken against your will, beaten, threatened about things to come," Kyle said bitterly. "Lizzie and I stayed together, eventually she healed, except for a small scar."

'Right above her eye,' Max thought, closing his eyes.

"It was tough, really tough Max. I...I didn't know how to deal with it. My Father and I fought constantly. I blamed him for not letting me go, not letting me protect her," he said.

"You were just a kid Kyle," Max said softly.

Kyle nodded. "That's the general consensus, but it doesn't help when someone you love, really love has went through something like that. You feel terrible for them, then you feel bad for yourself, then you feel guilty for feeling bad when they had went through so much. It's a vicious fucking cycle," he said. "Then it seemed that she wanted to be around Maria and Alex all the time. Lizzie was real good at keeping up appearances, but it was almost like she was afraid they'd disappear."

"Kind of like how when guys return from war they like to stick together, because no one else understands," Max said more to himself than to Kyle.

"Yeah," Kyle said. "I get that now, but I didn't then. They kept a low profile, finishing their junior year from home, staying away from the general public until the start of our Senior year. It wasn't long into the year that the rumors started. Kids are so fucking cruel."

"Yes they are," Max said.

"A rumor started on how Alex was really in the hospital for reconstructive surgery on his ass," Kyle spit out. "how someone's mom's friend knew the doctor that had examined Maria and Liz and that they had sex with more men then they could count, that everybody was lying for them to protect them. It was fucking vicious."

Max was trembling with rage...rage and fear. This is exactly what Isabel had been so afraid of, so afraid of what would happen if people found out about them.

"You know what's funny Max? If I had one wish, and I wasn't allowed to wish that whole trip away, I would hope that everyone of those kids who started those rumors, that every single one of them look in the mirror each day and realize they are no better then the monsters that took those three," Kyle said bitterly. "It wasn't everyone you know. Just a few vicious bitches who were jealous, a few guys who couldn't understand why Alex would be such good friends with girls."

"But the rest of us, me included, started to wonder if they were right. People began whispering. The sad thing is until all that shit went down Liz, Maria, and Alex were holding up pretty well considering. Their parents got them the best help they could afford. They went through major therapy that summer, and were even known to laugh every once in awhile before the gossip started." Kyle said and suddenly got quiet.

Finally he spoke. "So the scar, right," he said smiling sadly. "I bet you didn't bargain for a story like this."

Max just offered a small smile and squeezed Kyle's shoulders, not trusting his own voice.

"After Winter Formal, Lizzie and I had decided that we were going to...you know," Kyle said, Max giving him a small smile at how Kyle had suddenly became shy about sex. Kyle Valenti of all people.

"I think...I think she wanted us to be alright, she wanted us to go back to normal, but there was no going back Max, there just wasn't," Kyle said as his bottom lip started quivering. "I...Mostly I think she wanted to make me feel better. That's just how she is."

Kyle took a deep breath, ran his hands over his eyes and just let it out. "I had heard the stories, the snickers, the whispers. I thought...I thought Liz was trying to protect me Max, I really did. She always swore that she was still a virgin, but I...I didn't believe her. I didn't believe the most trustworthy person in my life."

Max felt sick again, knowing where this was going.

"Have you ever taken someone's virginity Max?" he asked as Max shook his head no. "You should be gentle, and careful, and patient..."

"And you weren't," Max said quietly.

Kyle violently shook his head no, the tears returning in abundance. Max reached out and grabbed his friend in a hug while Kyle sobbed openly. He didn't care if people were staring, even though not many were. They understood a soldier breaking down after coming back from a war.

Slowly his sobs subsided, and he let go of Max. "When I said I hurt her, I did it in every way possible. Physically," he said, grimacing, "and emotionally. She knew, oh she knew then and there that I believed those rumors. No matter how long I live, I will never forget the shattered look on her face."

Kyle drew in a ragged breath. "She went running out of the room, presumably to Alex and Maria. The next day Alex found me. I'm probably lucky that he found me first because if it had been Maria I probably wouldn't be sitting here today," he said with almost a fond smile.

"So you let him kick the crap out of you, because you felt you deserved it," Max said.

Surprisingly to Max, a laugh bubbled out of Kyle's throat. "Oh for the sake of my male pride I wish that was true," he said, smiling through the tears. "I wanted to fight him. Fight him for 'letting' Liz get taken, fight him because he was the one she ran to, but you see Max, part of their therapy had been self defense classes, and Whitman was a quick study."

"So the geek kicked the crap out of you," Max said, smiling now that Kyle was smiling.

"Yes, yes, I admit it. I, Kyle Valenti, was beaten up by a nerd," he said laughing. The laughter slowly died down, the smile falling from his lips. "I swear Max, I would rather go a round with you or Michael than face off again with him. You want to know the most unbelievable part? He felt bad after the anger was gone. He helped me up, cleaned me up and apologized. He said no human being has the right to do that to another, no matter how angry they are."

"You know what I think about everyday Max? Every. Single. Day?" Kyle asked softly. "I look in that mirror and I pray, I pray that God will give me the strength to be half the man that Alex Whitman is. He may be a geek, a nerd, whatever, but I am convinced I will never meet a better man."

"I can see why," Max said, almost to himself. "So did you ever, you know, straighten things out with Liz?"

"Not at first, not for a few years actually," he said. "After she got over the hurt, she was pissed off. She didn't want a damn thing to do with me, and I can't say I blame her."

"Me either," Max said as Kyle punched him in the arm.

"Then about a year and a half ago, she contacted me, said she wanted to talk to me, that she needed to talk to me. I wanted to say no so bad," Kyle said guiltily. "I wanted to just leave all that shit in the past, you know? But I couldn't do that, I just couldn't. I owed her that much."

Kyle smiled. "I was going to be in Norfolk, and she drove out to meet me. She goes to school somewhere around DC I think," Kyle said. "Anyway, she shows up with this dog, this huge fucking dog Max. I mean, it could take my leg off with one bite," he explained as Max nodded in understanding.

"So we sat on a bench by the beach, with the damn dog wedged between us, and I swear, it kept looking me at me like 'try anything buddy, and I'll have your liver for breakfast' or something like that. I think Liz thought it was funny that I was afraid of her 'little baby', a baby that had a head like a freakin' lion," Kyle said, holding up two fingers. "Scouts honor."

"Oh, I believe you Kyle," Max said, glad that someone else realized how damn freaky that dog was.

"So she tells me how she is going to be ok, how she wants me to be ok too," Kyle said, smiling at the thought. "After how I acted, after what I had....done...she was worried if I was ok."

"She sounds really amazing," Max said.

"And some," Kyle said, taking a sip of his drink. "She knew from her parents that my Dad and I didn't talk anymore. That bothered her. She explained that herself, Alex and Maria weren't the only victims in the situation. Those men, well they took all our innocence. The kids, the ones that spread the rumors, well she thought they probably did it because they were scared, scared to think something like that could happen to them. It was easier to be cruel then terrified," Kyle said, "and she's probably right. I mean nothing bad has happened in Roswell New Mexico since aliens crashed in '47."

"What?" Max said, choking on his own drink.

"Kidding, just some local humor," Kyle said, smiling. "Anyway, she said that she wasn't a victim anymore, and she didn't want me to be either, that we could be survivors. She wanted me to be happy, she wanted to be happy, and she just couldn't be if she knew I was still miserable, still blaming myself. She didn't want those men to win, to still be terrorizing us."

"So big shock, I cried," Kyle said, rolling his eyes. "Then I asked her if she wasn't going to be a victim anymore, why was she toting around a beast for protection, you know, my lame attempt at humor in an awkward situation."

"So what'd she say?" Max asked, wanting to know the answer himself.

"She just laughed at me and said that Nitro couldn't hurt a fly," Kyle said, making the universal crazy gesture with his index finger. "Then she told me something that changed my attitude about the dog. She said that Nitro had given her hope."

When Max looked at him quizzically Kyle continued. "When she got him he was abused. Beaten, left in a cage for days on end hoping they could get him to become a fighter, but he was just an innocent puppy. He didn't let them break him, he wouldn't fight, and one day, he was rescued. Liz said he 'chose her' whatever that means, and that she finally knew, that if this puppy, this animal who had never known anything but cruelty and neglect could be so full of love, so trusting of her to take care of him, well that maybe she could trust too, maybe she would find someone that would make her feel that safe and loved."

Kyle paused for a moment. "I love that freaky ass dog!" he exclaimed.

"Me too," Max said, nodding in earnest.

"You know you are the only person I have told the whole story to other than Tess," Kyle said. "It helped," Kyle said, smiling at Max.

Max smiled back. "So you and your Dad?" Max asked.

"My Dad and I, well we made up soon after my talk with Liz, and it wasn't long after that when I met Tess. We are having a baby girl," he said with a smile. "Her name is going to be Elizabeth."

"That's a great name Kyle," Max said. "It really is."

Max was now sitting in his jeep, gripping the steering wheel, trying to get his emotions in check. Kyle and him had shared a long hug goodbye, with Kyle joking that Max should charge by the hour. He had watched him walk away, feeling sad, because he was sure he would never see him again. They had served each other's purposes in life.

He took a few cleansing breaths, picked up his cell phone and called Michael.

"It's about damn time!" Michael exclaimed into the phone.

"Hello to you too Michael," Max said, concentrating on keeping his breathing even.

"Tell me you found out Max, because if you didn't, we are screwed," Michael said.

Max took a deep breath. "He didn't know anything Michael, he barely remembered her," he lied, praying Michael would buy it.

"Fuck!" Michael exclaimed.

Max didn't feel guilty as he hung up the phone. He knew his brother better than anyone in the world, and he knew without a doubt that he would have done the same damn thing.

It was then that Max felt his hands start to shake, felt his jaw tremble, his lips quiver. It was then that he felt the wetness sliding down his face, a feeling he hadn't felt in 20 years. He began to sob uncontrollably, crying like he had when he was just a small boy clinging to his sister and some strange boy in a dark room, wondering what he had done so bad, wondering why his Mom and Dad didn't come and take him home.

Thanks for the FB everyone! I'm glad you enjoyed the last part, I was nervous about it. I'm also glad that a lot of you thought that it was more powerful coming from Kyle. I thought it would be too, as someone that knew them but didn't experience it could give a different perspective on the terrible ordeal they had when they were just teenagers.

Chapter 6

Isabel surveyed the large quad, the center of their college. The science, athletic, psychology, and Information Technology department buildings surrounding it on all sides, with a quaint walk way that led to the large park just outside of school. It was turning chilly early this year, so it was almost empty.

'Wimps,' Isabel thought. She liked to stay outside as long as she could, enjoying the brightly colored leaves and waning sun. She would never tire of the outdoors. The air had that delicious smell of fall, and the scenery was just beautiful.

Not to mention that the changing weather was signaling that the start was near for her favorite season of all, Christmas. In fact, she was already planning the annual Christmas Pageant.

In spite of herself she was almost glad to see neither Max nor Michael were there today. Max had strolled in at God knows what time, and Michael had left early that morning to go to the library, looking like a man on a mission. Of course she had missed her brother's when they both joined the Army, but there was something Isabel had a hard time admitting.

It had been a little bit freeing. She had been afraid when they first left, her brothers, her protectors, the ones that would never ever let anything happen to her. Isabel didn't remember much if anything from their past, the incident that left Max and Michael the way they were.

They remembered. Even Isabel wondered how much they remembered, after all they were only 4. Sometimes she wondered if her problems with attachment and how scared she was of making friends was because of the trauma her under developed mind had soaked up, or if it was because of the way they treated her.

No, she knew she was terrified of people finding out about the past since she was six. It was the first time she had stayed away from her brothers, sleeping over at a friend's house she had met at Kindergarten. It was her new friend's birthday, and she had a sleep over with five girls from her class.

Isabel did remember the terrible argument Max and Michael had with her parents. They didn't want her to go. She knew her parents were careful, very careful of her relationship with her brothers. They had, after all, taken care of her for six months when she was only two years old. Sometimes Max and Michael thought they knew what was better for Isabel than her own parents.

During that slumber party she had her first night terror. She was so inconsolable, so distraught that they had to call her parents. Isabel had heard bits and pieces about what had happened, but her young mind couldn't wrap itself around it. It wasn't until that night, away from her brothers, that she experienced her first real taste of terror that she could remember.

Her friends had been scared, very scared, and they didn't talk to her at school anymore. The other kids soon learned about her fit with terror, and they kept a wide birth from her. Thankfully her parents decided to move to DC, and she got a fresh new start.

She would never, ever let anyone find out what had happened to her again. Unfortunately that had meant not getting to close to people, and she developed her ice princess personality bit by bit. She didn't want her parents to worry about her, so she had her fake friendships, her one date boyfriends. Isabel occupied her time with school clubs and charity work, spending the rest of her time with her brothers.

When they had left Isabel had been scared, she had never been without her brothers. She knew, without a doubt, that nothing would happen to her if they were around, and she very well knew that terrible things happened all the time, happened to even the good people. She started college, and followed her footsteps as she did in high school, being involved in all the clubs, having acquaintances, going out on casual dates.

Then her brothers had come to join her at school. Oh, she was thrilled to have them back, out of harm's way, but it scared her how fast they fell back in old habits. It was like having two Fathers, two very overbearing, protective Fathers that scared the hell out of anyone that looked at her the wrong way. Michael had growled, actually growled at a guy who was checking her out the other day.

If she was five minutes late they would freak out. When Isabel pointed out that they would sometimes stay out until all hours of the night Michael, in his Michael like way pointed out that "she was a girl," like that explained it. Max was more civilized and would just explain that she was their little sister, that they would always worry about her.

Isabel was afraid that if she sneezed at school that one of them would hold out a Kleenex and say "blow."

Seriously.

It was then that she noticed Alex coming out of the IT building, popping M&M's into his mouth as he sprawled his things on the first table he came to. Isabel hadn't seen much of him since their incident, and it was then that she realized just how much interaction she had with the tall, lanky young man.

If it was just a smile, him asking how she was doing and actually caring what the answer was, asking how she did on a test in one of their shared classes, well she guessed she spent more time with Alex Whitman than she realized.

Since that interaction had all but disappeared that week, she realized she missed it.

She squared her shoulders and walked over to Alex's table. "Do I need to make a disclaimer about how I am not on some special ops mission to draw information out of you, or can I just sit down?" she asked, looking at Alex slyly.

"Uh, so not necessary," he said, moving his things out of the way so she could set her stuff down.

"So what's up?" he asked, and Isabel realized she had never actually just sat and talked with Alex unless it was for some purpose.

"I just haven't seen you around so I thought I'd say hi," she said, feeling a little self conscious.

"I've been in self-exile," Alex said. "I do not deserve to bask in the sunshine that is Isabel Evans after how I acted last week," he said sheepishly.

Isabel started rummaging through her bag. "What if I told you that you could serve your penance and bask in my glory at the same time?"

"I'd say sign me up!" Alex said a little to enthusiastically.

Isabel found what she was looking for, and pulled her Christmas season planner out of her bag. The planner that set fear into the hearts of even her hardened, world experienced brothers.

"Does that have a Christmas Tree on it?" Alex asked.

"Yes," Isabel said, keeping her eyes steady on Alex.

"Oh uh, ok, that's perfectly normal," Alex said. "You never can get to early of a start on the holidays?" he said, his statement turning into a question at the end.

"Exactly!" Isabel said smiling.

Alex was about to breath a sigh of relief at getting the answer right when he saw Liz making her way across the quad with Nitro in tow, a big bag dwarfing her shoulders. Alex smiled and waved her over.

"Hey Liz!" Alex said.

"Hey Alex, Hi Isabel," Liz said and then much to her horror Nitro used his big head to butt up Isabel's arm, wanting to be pet.

"Nitro, No!" Liz said, but Isabel just laughed.

"Oh he's adorable," Isabel said, scratching his ears. "You are just a big baby, oh yes you are, oh yes you are," she said in baby talk as Nitro ate up every bit of attention.

"Thanks," Liz said smiling, pleasantly surprised by Isabel's reaction.

Alex rolled his eyes.

"What was that for?" Isabel asked, catching Alex in the act.

"That dog," Alex said, pointing at Nitro, "is a pimp, and has a problem with men. Oh yeah, if Maria and Liz aren't home I am a perfectly acceptable companion, but the minute a woman is around I don't exist."

"Max thinks that Nitro laughs at him," Isabel said as her and Liz broke out into a fit of giggles. "He even claims that he has narrowed his eyes at him."

"He DOES," Alex insisted. "I'll put a drink on the coffee table without using a coaster and I swear he gives me a look that says 'You hethern' and I know damn well he would tell on me if he could."

"As he should," Liz pointed out.

Isabel put both hands on the sides of Nitro's head and turned it towards Alex gently. "Does this look like a face that would narrow it's eyes?" she asked.

It was just a split second, when Isabel and Liz weren't looking, but Alex could have sworn that the dog had done just that.

"He just did it!" Alex said. "He's mocking me," he continued as Isabel and Liz both broke out in fits of laughter.

Alex held his hands up. "I give, I give. The dog will win every time. Now I know why actors don't want to share scenes with them," he said, looking Nitro in the eyes. He could of sworn the dog was smiling at him.

"So anyway," Liz said, shaking her head, "what time do you get off work tonight?"

Alex sighed. "Ten. Late shift tonight. Why?"

Liz reached into her bag and pulled out a flyer and slapped it down on the middle of the table.

"Liz Parker, are you going to go to a bar?" Alex asked as if he didn't believe it, a smile creeping onto his face. In the middle of the table was a colorful flyer announcing an open mike night. A popular party band that played everything from cheesy 80's songs to Metallica hosted it, and people came up on stage to take over for lead singer.

"Yep," Liz said, "and so are you. You can meet us there after you get off work, but you are so not wearing your geek squad shirt so you have to go home and change first," she said, referencing Alex's job at Best Buy fixing computers.

"I've heard of them, they are supposed to be really good," Isabel said, pointing at the flyer.

For about the millionth time in her life Liz wished her legs were longer so that she could kick Alex under the table. "You want to come with us Isabel? Maria and I are going to head up there around 8, and if I know Maria she'll take over the microphone. I could use the company," she said with a smile.

Isabel thought for a second. She had really enjoyed herself just sitting here these last few minutes, felt like she could almost be her true self. "Sure Liz, I'd love to," she said.

"Great!" Liz said as she mouthed OH MY GOD to Alex across the table when Isabel resumed cuddling with Nitro. Alex just mouthed I KNOW! back.

Liz was very aware of his crush with Isabel, and very, very pleased with herself at this moment. It also might help get Maria to go without resorting to bribery. She walked to the park with a huge smile on her face and thought she heard Isabel say "well you are to tall to be an elf."

They had decided that Liz and Maria would meet Isabel outside of her building at 8. The bar was about a half mile from their apartment, and Isabel's was in the middle. Liz tried to ignore Alex's shocked expression when she announced that they would be walking because she didn't think she'd be in any condition to drive that night.

It was about time they cut loose for once and had fun. Liz remembered when Maria was her alter ego, Adventure Girl. Whether it was taking off on their bikes and scouring the desert for pod children, or actually forging their parent's signatures and going bunging jumping at sixteen, Maria had injected fun and adventure into their lives since childhood.

Liz knew that deep down, even if Maria knew it wasn't her fault, Maria would always blame herself for what had happened to them. She had been the one that wanted to go to the casting call, she was the one that convinced them to sneak out and go on an adventure.

Maria was still Maria, but that part of her personality had changed dramatically, and in all honesty Liz missed it. She missed the adventures, so she had decided to plan one of her own. While it may not be as inspired as Maria's, as creative as Maria's adventures, it was a start.

She reached the park and put down the bag, pulling a blanket out and spreading it over the ground. Nitro dug his big head into the bag, flipping dog toys everywhere while he searched for the perfect thing to play with. He finally came up with the Frisbee, and Liz grabbed it from him and threw it, laughing as Nitro ran, kicking up grass, and jumping surprisingly high, catching it in the air.

After a couple of throws he tired of that and began digging in the bag again. He found the football, dropped it in Liz's lap, and as she threw it he ran far and wide, turning around in surprise when the ball landed short, way short from where he was.

"You throw like a girl Parker," Michael said, walking up to Liz. He had seen Liz playing with her dog in the park when he came out of the library, and decided even if they didn't get anything from Kyle maybe he could use his name to shake her up and get something out of her. If he was going to have a good interview he needed to get something, anything about Alex.

"I am a girl Michael," Liz pointed out.

Nitro trotted back over, the football in his mouth, and dropped it at Michael's feet. He bent over, grabbed it, and threw it as far as he could.

"Impressive," Liz said.

"I guess you know about football, huh?" Michael said.

"I know some, yes," Liz said, looking at Michael quizzically.

"Max went and saw Kyle Valenti last night," Michael stated, watching her every move.

The surprising thing was she didn't tense like Maria did whenever he felt like he was getting close to something. She actually smiled.

"How's he doing?" Liz asked.

"I don't know, I didn't get a chance to really talk to Max yet," Michael said. "We were in the Army together," Michael explained even though Liz didn't ask.

"I see," she said. "You guys are good."

Michael just smirked as he threw the football for Nitro again. "Are you guys having any luck?"

Liz smiled. "Your parents are very good also," she said. "It's been rough for Alex and I, but we know something is there."

Michael gave a non-commital mmm and laughed when Nitro grabbed the bag and dumped it, rummaging through the toys.

"That's a lot of toys for just a dog," Michael stated.

"He has dog ADHD unfortunately. He's not good when he's bored, so that's why we are here. We're going out tonight so I don't want him doing anything I'll regret when I get home," she said. "He has a thing for Maria's shoes, like tearing them up when he's left alone for to long."

The flyer from the bar had tumbled out of the bag, and Michael made a mental note.

He snorted. "I knew I liked this dog," he said as Liz laughed. "You know what I find really curious?" he asked.

"What?" Liz asked.

"When I talked to Maria I could tell when I hit a nerve, when I said something that got to her, yet I mention a name from your past, from your high school, and you don't much as flinch," Michael said.

Liz shrugged. "Maria is more worried about people finding out than me. See, she's worried you'll find out, but I already know you will, but that doesn't worry me Michael. It doesn't worry me because even though I don't know you or Max well, I know you won't spread it around, because I think you went through something just as bad, if not worse."

Nitro gleefully grabbed a rope and began swinging it at Michael.

"Besides, any concern Maria has is for us, me and Alex. When people found out before she thinks it was worse on us then her," Liz said as Michael looked at her curiously. Before he could say anything the big rope hit him in the leg, and Michael couldn't resist grabbing it, swearing an "oh shit" as Nitro dragged him from his position.

Liz laughed as Nitro drug the Michael around the park, then Michael drug Nitro around the park. Finally Nitro got bored again, let go of the rope, trotting to his toys without a backward glance and Michael went flying on his ass.

"Oh my God are you alright Michael?" Liz called as she began putting the toys in the bag.

"I'm ok," he said, dusting himself off, still laughing.

"Ok then. Thanks for wearing Nitro out, I can't play with him like that," Liz said. "I'm really late though, I gotta go. Say goodbye to Uncle Michael Nitro," she said as Michael snorted and gave him a couple of pats on the head.

"I know who I'm calling if I ever need a dog sitter," Liz said happily.

Michael was frustrated as he walked away, not getting near the reaction he wanted. Liz watched closely, and when he was out of sight, grabbed the football out of the bag and through a long, hard perfect spiral pass, Nitro running as fast as he could to keep up with the ball.

She hadn't dated the captain of the football team for a year and not learned anything.

Thanks for the FB everyone!

Twilight- Maybe, you never know!

RhondaAnn- Ahhh yes, that was exactly the reason for the girlie throw.

spacegirl23- Yep, Michael likes dogs. I just thought that he could probably relate to him better than the other two men

begonia - Fall is my fav too!

Another Chapter, in the same day. This is a smaller one, next one is a lot bigger and has more...action...lol


Chapter 7

"Isabel Evans? Isabel freakin Evans?" Maria said. "Really Liz?"

"Yes, really," Liz said as she pulled the curling iron from her long brown hair.

"I mean, I could totally understand hanging out with her if you were going to get some information from her," Maria insisted, "but you insist she is.."

"Switzerland," Liz said.

"Right, Switzerland because her brothers haven't turned her loose on Alex," Maria said, pulling her fingers through her blonde hair, arranging curls the way she wanted them, "which does give them points, but come on Liz, what do we have in common with Isabel? She has barely said more than two words to us in the last three years."

"She's said more than that to Alex though," Liz said thoughtfully, lining her eyes with a smokey, charcoal liner.

"She's led him around by the nose you mean," Maria grumbled as she picked up the blush brush. "I don't know what possessed you to invite her, really I don't know what possessed you to want to go to a bar. We don't do bars."

"Maria, we are in college. We have all finally turned 21. Bars are a right of passage," Liz pointed out. "Besides, I could just tell she wanted to be invited Maria, but she was afraid to say so."

Maria rolled her eyes, cursing as she messed up her eyeshadow. "Right. Afraid. Isabel the Ice Princess."

"We know they've been through something Maria, but maybe all she's had are her brothers. Alex is always saying the Ice Princess routine is an act. I know I trust his judgement, do you?" Liz asked, her hands on her hips.

"Of course I do," Maria said, throwing down the eyeliner in frustration. "I'm just wired up is all, I know I'm being a bitch. This class totally blows Liz, blows big time. I just don't want a repeat of high school, you know?"

"There won't be," Liz said, handing Maria the eyeliner. "Now do your other eye so you don't look like a freak," she teased. "Will you at least promise to give Isabel a chance? For Alex?"

"Alright, alright, I'll give her a chance, for Alex" Maria empathized. "But let me go on the record as saying this is a bad idea."

"Noted," Liz said. "I'm going to find something to wear," Liz said leaving the small bathroom.

Maria looked in the mirror at her made up face and hair. She knew damn well what Liz was doing, what Liz had been slowly trying to do over the last year, ever since she saw Kyle again. She wanted them all to try and move on, and Maria just didn't know if she could.

They had a comfortable life, a comfortable arrangement. They were never lonely, and two of the people she cared about most in the world were safe. That's all that really mattered to Maria. She gave a sad smile at what her sixteen year old self would think about her living a safe and comfortable life. It would have been her worst nightmare.

It was her recklessness that talked them into sneaking away, going to the modeling casting call. The "people" had come up to her and gave her information on it, and Maria now realized it was because they thought she was poor and perhaps noticed her Cuban heritage. Lord knows Maria didn't grow up in the lap of luxury, but her style leaned towards resale shop clothes, so she looked like an easy target.

She then told Liz and Alex she was going, who of course insisted on going with her. Maybe if Liz's innocence hadn't been so obvious, with her turning down wine that was offered because it was illegal, who knows what would have happened to them. Maybe they would have been taken on the boat with the other kids, and if they would have been still alive now, they certainly would wish they weren't.

Or maybe they wouldn't have been taken at all, as Liz was so quick to point out. There were hundreds of people there for the "audition". Liz would always ask if she should think it was her fault for being such a goody goody. Of course Maria would tell her she was silly, and Liz would tell Maria she was silly for feeling that being taken by such evil people was her fault.

She struggled with it everyday, and it would be nice to have a day when she didn't think about it, not once. Maybe Liz was right. Maybe they did need to cut loose a little and have fun. She hadn't sung in public since the week before they left for Spring Break, with Alex's garage band. Maria did love to perform, and while she didn't dream of being a famous singer anymore, she knew she would still enjoy it.

She had to admit, Liz was good.

____________________

"Isabel, what do you have on?" Michael asked as he saw a blur of blonde and red rush through the living room to the bathroom.

"Clothes Michael," Isabel said, rolling her eyes, coming back into the spacious living room while putting an earring through the hole in her ear.

"I know that," Michael said. "But why are you wearing that? Max, do you see what she's wearing?"

"Hmmm?" Max said, not paying attention.

"I said do you see what Isabel is wearing?" Michael asked, annoyed.

Max looked over to Isabel who was in a little red dress.

"Why are you dressed like that Isabel?" Max asked.

"Because I'm going out," she said.

"With who?" they both said at the same time.

"Just some friends, God you guys I am 21 years old," she said.

"I don't know if that is such a good idea, Isabel," Max said.

"Well lucky for me I don't have to listen to you," she said, annoyed. She grabbed her coat. "Well look at the time, gotta go!" she said, running out of the house before they could pound her with anymore questions.

"Shouldn't we go after her Max?" Michael asked, frustrated.

"No," he said. "Let her go."

"Man, what's up with you?" Michael asked. He had been waiting for Max to confess that he had been lying to him for the last hour. He saw it in his face as soon as he walked through the door and found Max sitting on the couch, watching TV, except Michael could tell he was really just staring into space.

"Nothing," Max said, avoiding eye contact with Michael. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

"Yeah, this assignment is getting really frustrating," Michael said. "I would have sworn you could have gotten something, anything from Kyle."

Max just did a non-committal "mmm."

"So are you ever going to tell me what he said?" Michael asked.

"I already did Michael," Max said, scratching behind his ear. "So what did you do today? Have any luck at the library?" he said trying to change the subject.

"Not really, Roswell doesn't have their yearbooks online," he said, "but I did run into Liz and Nitro at the park."

That got his interest. "Really?" Max asked. "So what happened?"

"Oh, I figured I'd freak her out a bit. Told her that Kyle Valenti had spilled everything to us," Michael said non chalantly.

Max jumped off the couch, his fists clenched. "Why the FUCK would you do that?"

Michael jumped up, standing toe to toe with Max. "I'm just lying, like you are to me. Why the FUCK would YOU do THAT?"

Then Michael saw it, saw the look on Max's face he hadn't seen since they were 4 years old. Vulnerable, scared, hurt....

"What happened to them Max?" Michael asked softly, falling back on the couch, the wind gone from his sails.

Max sat down and told Michael what Kyle had said. He left out certain parts of course, like Kyle taking Liz's virginity.

"Jesus Christ," Michael said, running his fingers through his hair. "I thought it would be bad, but not that bad." They had studied the Human Trafficking business in one of their classes. Those people gave new meaning to the world inhumane. Maria had been in that class. How the hell she sat through those lectures was beyond Michael, and he now guiltily thought about how he would give her shit during that class.

"I know," Max said, looking at the ground. "I didn't want to lie to you last night Michael, but it just brought up a lot of shit, you know? I mean, here Kyle was, spilling his heart out to me, and I was just using him, like it didn't matter. We have been through a lot with Kyle, and he obviously thought he could trust me, that we were friends. I never thought of him that way before Michael, but I'd like to."

Michael nodded. "I won't say anything," he said as a blonde-haired, green eyed girl swam in his vision. "We don't need to worry about this class anyway, because of our military experience. Hell we didn't even need the degree to get into the FBI."

Max knew what he was saying was true. They had decided to finish college because they knew it would help them in their careers, the better the grades the more the help it would give them, but one average grade wouldn't do them in.

"It just feels like we're stuck Michael," Max said. "I thought about it a lot last night while I was driving around. Having casual relationships, never letting anyone close. It's starting to feel suffocating."

"It's what we know Max," Michael pointed out.

"Maybe it's time for us to know something else Michael," Max said as he got up and left the room, leaving a stunned Michael in his wake.

___________________________

"I'm going to kill them," Alex was mumbling to himself as he quickly walked to the bar. He had went home quick to change, and found an outfit laid out for him on his bed. It was this tighter than he liked black V-neck sweater and a pair of jeans that were also tighter then he liked. Alex could live in the land of button up shirts (buttoned all the way of course) and 3 sizes to big pants for the rest of his life.

So he had rolled his eyes at his roommates and went to his closet to find...

Nothing. Not a shirt, not a pair of pants, nothing. They had stolen all of his clothes, leaving him only the outfit on his bed. He assumed all his clothes were in Liz's room, which was locked, and which had Nitro laying by the door with that "go ahead and try it buddy" look on his face.

He threw open the doors to the bar, thinking of creative and agonizing ways he could retaliate for this blantant invasion of privacy and not so subtle knock at his personal style.

Alex scanned the bar looking for Liz and Isabel. He knew where Maria was right away, he would never forget that voice.

His eyes finally landed on Liz and Isabel, dancing their little hearts out and blowing Maria kisses. Maria was singing her heart out also, singing the tune "I Love Rock n Roll."

Alex caught Isabel's eye, and he was almost taken aback when her face lit up in a brilliant smile. She grabbed Liz's arm and pointed to Alex, and began dragging her over.

"Isabel, Hi!" he said. "Hey Liz," he said, narrowing his eyes when he said Liz.

"Oh my God Alex you look HOT!" Liz said.

"Don't ever say that again Liz, it's just wrong on so many levels," Alex cringed.

"It's the truth," Liz said brightly. "Doesn't Alex look hot Isabel?"

"Yummy," she said, "perfectly yummy," she said, still holding on to Liz's arm, the two of them gently swaying.

"Uuh guys, how much have you had to drink?" Alex asked as they broke out into a fit of giggles.

Before they could answer, Maria, from the stage, and into the microphone no less said, "Hey Alex, you look HOT!"

This was going to be a long night.

Thanks for the FB everyone!

destinyc and spacegirl23 - I think you'll like this part then!

begonia - it is a great night for all of them

uw51 - I'm a cat person too, well a dog and cat person, I have one of each

xmag - there isn't to long of a wait on that one, we'll be finding out what happened to Max, Michael, and Isabel in the next couple of chapters.

Natalie36 - Thanks!

RhondaAnn - I debated for awhile on if Max was going to tell Michael. If this were a cannon fic I don't think he would have, but since they were raised together they have an undying trust in one another. Max wouldn't worry that Michael would use it against them, because first of all Michael isn't that kind of guy, and second of all, he'd always be loyal to Max, and if Max asked him not to, he wouldn't.


Chapter 8

"Where ya going?" Michael asked as Max appeared from his room, having spent a few hours in there.

"I just need to take the edge off, thought I'd go have a drink at Cassidy's," he said.

"That might not be a good idea," Michael said. "When I was playing with Nitro I saw a flyer that Liz had, and I think they went there tonight."

Max shrugged. "Maybe that's more of a reason for me to go," he said. "You coming?"

Michael jumped up and shut the TV off. His hockey game was over anyway. As he put his shoes on he couldn't help but smirk when Max asked "You actually played with that thing?"

"He's a cool dog. He just recognized my Alpha Male tendencies," he said with a smile as Max rolled his eyes and they left to go get their drink.

_________________________

"Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" the girls yelled, one arm pumping the air, the universal battle cry of drunk women everywhere as Alex put his index fingers in his ears.

"Thanks, I'm deaf now," Alex said, but he couldn't hold the stern look on his face as a smile broke through. Liz, Maria, and Isabel were having so much fun, and that, in turn, made him happy.

"Stop being a wimp Alex," Maria said as she slugged him one.

"Owww cut it out Maria," he complained, rubbing his arm. For such a little thing she sure packed a wallop.

Maria just smiled and kissed Alex on the cheek.

"Ok, forgiven," Alex said. "But not for the clothes. You two have no idea the can of worms you have opened."

"I like your outfit Alex," Isabel said, giving him a big smile.

"Well thanks Isabel, but that isn't the point. They invaded my space. They took my things," he said, "and if that isn't bad enough, it's like they were saying my style was bad. I like being comfortable."

"Alex, 4 people could fit in your pants," Liz said and for some reason, they all started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Alex asked, paranoid.

"I don't know!" Liz said as they all laughed harder. Alex knew they weren't falling down drunk, they just had a good buzz going on, and he was watching them carefully. They were all sitting at the round table, with Alex bookended by Isabel and Maria, Liz across from them. They were diligently drinking their water, and cheering the singer that had come on stage when Maria had finally relinquished the microphone.

"I think she's just been through a bad break up," Alex contemplated as she warbled 'I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all four tires....'

"Or maybe she just likes Carrie Underwood?" Isabel said.

"I don't think so," Alex said. "This is like the third song in a row that she's sung that has dealt in some kind of harm coming to a man."

"So did you hear from the handlers Maria?" Liz asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I'm going to go into DC next week to meet with them," Maria said, smiling triumphantly.

"Handlers?" Isabel asked.

"Yeah, the handlers of the dogs in the FBI. I've been thinking about refocusing my career on training animals, you know, the drug sniffers, the ones that work with Agents," Maria said.

"That's great!" Isabel said. "How'd you get interested in dogs?"


"I needed a job when I first came out here, and I met Casey, the owner of the rescue, and the rest is history," she said. "People could learn a lot from dogs."

Liz smiled, knowing a Maria life lesson from dogs was coming. "How so?" she couldn't resist asking.

"Well, take our broken hearted new friend up there," she said, pointing to the girl who was about to finish the Carrie Underwood song. "If she would have taken a good look at what kind of dog her guy was, she wouldn't be up there singing."

"Why do I have a feeling this conversation is going to make me extremely uncomfortable?" Alex asked, pulling on the collar of his sweater.

Maria narrowed her eyes at Alex, as if studying him. "Don't worry Alex, you're a good dog."

"Gee thanks!" Alex said, giving Maria his patented two thumbs up as Liz and Isabel cracked up.

"Anyway, some dogs, are good dogs. They require little training, and instinctively want to just please you, protect you," Maria said. "Alex, you are that kind of dog."

"That's good to know," Isabel said, giving Alex an exaggerated wink while he blushed, wondering if he should throttle or hug Maria.

"Then there are the dogs like Nitro. They are basically good dogs," Maria said, "but they have issues."

"Hey!" Liz said.

"I'm sorry Liz, but it's the truth. All in all he's wonderful, but he's a little too protective, a little to clingy," she explained. "With proper training a dog like that can be a good dog like Alex, unless you like someone that clings to you and loves you just a little to much and don't mind when they eat your roommates shoes," she said, narrowing her eyes at Liz.

"It isn't Nitro's fault your feet stink," Alex said as Maria slugged him again. "Ow! This is starting to border on abuse!"

Maria just rolled her eyes and continued. "There are the untrainable of course, in which case you should stay far, far away. Most women have the sense to do so," she said. "but the most dangerous dog, the kind that make people sing sucky songs to a bar full of people, well those are the toughest."

Liz and Isabel were leaning on the table, listening to Maria.

"They are the ones that are good sometimes, so you forget when they are bad. When they are bad they do something good to counteract it," she pointed out. "They are hard to train, and it takes constant vigilance. What does that one trainer from that weight loss show always say? Oh yeah, beatings, beatings, beatings," she said, punctuation each word by slamming her fist into her hand. "Metaphorically of course."

"What's up?" Michael said as he walked to the table.

"Well speak of the devil and he shows up!" Maria said.

"Heeeyyy Uncle Michael!" Liz said smiling up at him, not noticing Isabel and Maria mouthing 'Uncle Michael?' to each other.

"Hey Liz," Michael said with a smirk.

"I love this song!" Isabel said suddenly. "Let's dance!" Thankfully a new crooner was on stage and they were doing a decent version of "Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani.

Isabel grabbed Liz and Maria and headed out for the dance floor. They passed a curious Max as he found Michael sitting at the table with Alex.

"Are they drunk?" Max asked, half amused.

"Buzzed, very buzzed, but they are mainlining water now," he said.

"Well that's had to of been fun to sit through," Michael chuckled.

"Oh, it's been a blast. First, they stold my stuff. Then I was sexually harassed. I've been beaten, pushed around, and had it explained to me how much men are like dogs and how to tell the good ones from the bad ones," he said. "Yep, that about sums it up."

"Poor bastard," Max said, taking a drink of his beer.

"But you know what? It was worth the pain and yes, the downright humiliation at times," Alex said, thinking of when Liz and Maria insisted he had a six pack and kept pulling his shirt up to show Isabel, "because they are having so much fun."

"Hmm," Michael and Max both mumbled, watching their sister and her two new friends dancing on the dance floor, looking like they were having the time of their life.

Just then a obviously very drunk guy came behind Isabel and started grinding. Max and Michael instinctively went to stand up.

"Sit. Down." Alex ordered, grabbing both their shirts and pulling them to their seats. Isabel turned and gave the guy a little push in the chest, and Liz and Maria came to stand on both sides of Isabel. All three ladies had their hands on their hips, and when Isabel raised that patented Ice Princess eyebrow, the guy just threw his hands up in the air in an 'I surrender' motion and slowly backed away.

Michael looked surprised and Max looked impressed.

"Here's the deal, guys," Alex said, leaning forward onto the table. "Those three, well they've been having more fun tonight then I have seen in years, well Isabel may have had more fun than tonight but you get my point."

"Yeah, so?" Michael asked.

"So if you two do anything to wreck that, we are going to have a problem," Alex said. "A serious problem. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," said Max, hiding his smile by taking a drink of his beer.

Mike mumbled a yeah but now he was the one that looked impressed. Alex breathed an eternal sigh of relief. That was pretty much the first thing he had ever said to the two war hardened veterans.

The song ended and Maria headed back to the table, while Isabel and Liz headed up to get some drinks. She plopped down in between Alex and Michael.

"How are you?" Michael asked.

"I'm fine, why?" Maria asked suspiciously.

"God, can't I say something nice?" Michael asked.

"Hmmm, let me think," Maria said, her hand on her face, contemplating. "No, no Michael, in the eight months that I have known you, you don't really say anything nice."

"Well I do," Michael said. "I am a nice guy."

Maria snorted. "Nice? You think you are a nice guy?"

"He is nice," Liz said, setting a drink down in front of Maria and then going to sit between Isabel and Max. "You're always saying that animals are the best judge of character, and Nitro LOVES him," Liz said triumphantly.

"Oh my God," Maria said, her hands coming to her mouth in a fake gesture of shock. "Liz, I am so sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your dog is defective."

"He is not!" Liz and Michael insisted together.

The song changed again to a slow song.

"Come on Liz, let's dance," Max said, pulling her up from her chair before she could answer.

"Uh, ok," Liz said as he drug her out to the dance floor.

Isabel looked at Alex expectantly, as Maria kicked him under the table. He made a mental note not to sit next to Maria next time.

"Ms. Evans, would you do me the pleasure of dancing with me?" he asked with a fake bow.

"Absolutely," smiled Isabel and they headed to the dance floor.

"I don't dance," Michael stated, staring straight ahead, taking a swig of his beer.

Maria snorted. "Like I'd want to dance with you," she said.

"I guess not," Michael said, running his hands through his hair. "I can be kind of an ass."

Maria looked at Michael quizzically. "Why are you being so...so Un Michael like, really?" she asked suspiciously as he turned his eyes to hers.

"No reason," he said, but Maria had seen everything she needed to see in those eyes, she had seen it a hundred times before.

Pity.

Michael had heard the description 'their face fell' many times in books, but he never knew the true definition until he saw Maria's face crumbled like a ton of bricks.

"You know," she softly accused.

Michael didn't say anything.

"You don't have to pity me or treat me different. It was a long time ago," Maria said defensively.

"I don't....I'm not," Michael insisted.

"Whatever," Maria said, avoiding Michael's eyes at all cost. "Look, I need, I need to get some air," she said as she got up and raced out of the bar.

Michael looked desperately to the dance floor to see if her friends had seen that she was upset. Isabel and Alex were slowly swaying, talking and laughing, and Max had Liz pulled close, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Fuck!" Michael exclaimed and got up to go after Maria. He was bad at this kind of shit.

_________________________

"So are you having a good time?" Alex asked Isabel, loving the feel of her in his arms.

"Why yes I am," Isabel smiled.

Alex took a deep breath and searched desperately for the courage he needed.

"So do Ice Princess's enjoy cinema?" he asked.

Isabel threw her head back and laughed. "We've been known to take in a movie or two."

Alex tried hard not to hyperventilate, to keep his voice steady and not crack. "Well then, would you like to go to the movies with me on Friday?"

"Alex, I would love to go to the movies with you on Friday," Isabel said as she laid her head down on his shoulder, giving him permission to pull her tighter.

____________________

Liz tried to keep her breathing even as her body gently rubbed against Max's. She usually didn't dance this close with guys, hell who was she kidding, she had only ever danced with Kyle. Liz was glad she wore her heals tonight because otherwise her face might be smooshed into his stomach, which now that she thought about it might not be a bad option considering every part of this man's body seemed to be in excellent shape.

Even though she loved this feeling, this feeling of being in his arms, and her body felt more alive then ever before, she knew she shouldn't be leading him on like this.

Max Evans had a certain reputation, and she just wasn't the one night stand kind of girl. Even though she really didn't want to, she decided she needed to break the spell.

She gently pulled back so that she could look up at him.

Max groaned internally from the loss of contact with her body. He hadn't meant to be so intimate when they started dancing, but a gentle brush from her breasts when they first started dancing had been to hard to resist, and he just needed to feel them against his own hard chest.

His body was buzzing like never before, every part of him fully awake. It was probably a good thing that she pulled back because otherwise she was going to think he wanted something else entirely if her body was close to his pelvic region right now, and he knew his reputation was well known.

"So Kyle Valenti?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he said.

"How's he doing?" Liz asked, smiling up at Max.

"Good. He's married and has a kid on the way, a daughter," Max said, searching her eyes. Those eyes were dangerous. Liz Parker could never be a one night stand to him, and he had a feeling that if he ever let himself go there, there would be no going back. He desperately willed his body to calm down.

A huge smile broke out on her face that did nothing to help Max's situation. "That's wonderful!" she said.

"You...you don't have anything to worry about, I mean I'm not going to tell..." Max shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I know," Liz nodded and gave him a small, half smile. "I know, I'm not worried Max."

_______________________

"Where did Maria and Michael go?" Isabel asked, her mouth close to Alex's ear.

"Probably somewhere to kill each other without witnesses," Alex pondered as a giggle escaped Isabel's mouth, shooting goose bumps down his arms.

______________________

Michael threw open the doors to the bar and looked both ways, looking to spot Maria. He saw her, sitting on the ground down by the corner of the building, her arms wrapped around her knees.

"Go away Michael," Maria said, trying to not be obvious as she wiped the tears from her face.

He plopped down next to her, putting his arm around her. "That's not going to happen," he said, and to his surprise, she leaned into his embrace.

Thanks for the FB everyone!

nibbles - Maria is one of the most interesting to me too, but that could change when we get into Max, Michael, and Isabel's story

mary mary - Aww thank you! I am glad you are enjoying this! Oh, I totally agree with you that dogs do expressions. The whole "Nitro is narrowing his eyes at me" comes straight from my boyfriend, who seems to have as many Nitro issues as Max

spacegirl23 - I think that Liz has dealt with things a bit more than Maria. Maria is in protective mode still, keeping her friends close, making sure they are happy.






Chapter 9

"You seriously don't have anything to worry about," Michael finally said as Maria lifted up from his shoulder. "We aren't even going to ask them about it in the interviews."

"What?" Maria said, looking at Michael like he was crazy. "The interview is half your grade. You'd be nuts not to do it!"

"Yeah, well we don't need it with our military background. I mean it'd be nice to have a good grade, but we don't want to destroy them or anything," Michael said sincerely.

Maria sat back against the cold brick wall and took a deep breath. "Liz and Alex would be fine," Maria said. "I'm the one with the problem."

"Why is that," Michael said, wondering why he wished she would still be resting her head on his shoulder. He hated it when chicks got emotional.

"What do you know about the incident," Maria asked, not wanting to give any information out that he didn't know. Maybe he was a great actor or something.

"We were in the Army with Kyle Valenti," Michael said, "and Max went and met him last night."

"Huh! Kyle Valenti," she said, the name sounding like poison as it came out of her mouth. "It figures," she mumbled.

"Kyle's a decent guy," Michael said, defending his comrade. "He didn't know it was an assignment, and seemed to need someone to talk to, is still pretty broken up about it. Max felt really guilty afterwards. He even lied and told me he didn't find anything out, but he cracked today."

Maria sighed. "I know he's not THAT bad of a guy. There was a whole history with Kyle before Spring Break. Alex and I used to call him 'stalker boy', " she said as she laughed. "Poor guy, he had it so bad for Liz. I think he was so used to bimbos that when he finally felt something real, he kind of went off the deep end. He HATED it that Liz still wanted to spend time with us, and tried everything he could to have all her time to himself."

"I can't imagine Kyle being like that," Michael said, surprised.

"Oh, he was," she assured him. "That and more. We had settled on a uncomfortable truce before Spring Break, but after it got ten times worse. I think for awhile he blamed us for Liz going. That, and he couldn't see how she could go when he couldn't, that she would even think of being away from him for that long."

"He was jealous," Michael said.

"Yeah, so he's not my favorite person, and considering how they broke up, well I'd still like to kick the crap out of him for that one," Maria fumed.

"There are some things I think Max left out that are none of my business," Michael said, knowing that Max had left some holes, holes that he personally didn't want filled. They weren't his business and he had learned more than he ever wanted to know.

Maria nodded and had a new found respect for Michael Evans. He could have let her ramble on, revealing things he didn't know.

"So what was it you asked?" she questioned. "Oh yeah, why was it difficult for me, but not them?" she answered for herself.

She took a deep breath. "I wasn't like them in high school. Granted, Alex wasn't the most popular, but everybody liked him. Liz, well Liz had 'crossed over' so to say, I mean how many brains become the homecoming Queen?"

"True," Michael said.

"And I, well I was just the crazy wild chick I supposed," she said. "My Mom has this whole hippy thing going on, which didn't always give her the best reputation. I suppose people thought 'like Mother like Daughter'. I kind of liked that distinction though," she chuckled.

"I was the weird wild one," Michael shared, wondering why the hell he did that.

"I could see that," she joked, punching his arm. "Anyway, when all the crap happened when we went back to school, well let's just say it wasn't near as vicious on me as it was for Liz or Alex."

"The higher you are the more people like to see you fall," Michael contemplated.

"Exactly. Sure, the rumors were out there about me, but people didn't take the sheer glee with that knowledge like they did with Alex and Liz. Especially Liz. It wasn't like she was this bitch, that stereotypical mean girl," Maria said. "In fact, it was the opposite which is what made her so popular to begin with. She was just a nice girl."

"But we aren't kids anymore Maria," Michael said.

Maria sighed. "I know, I know. Professor Smith has a point, I mean if any of us have to testify after working on this kind of case, it could be brought up. We know this, I just didn't think it would be so hard. We've spent three years being relatively normal, and it's been nice just being treated like everyone else, without people looking at you with pity, without them judging you."

"Anyone that would judge you for what happened is ignorant," Michael pointed out. "It wasn't your fault."

Maria closed her eyes. "Well, not totally. I was the one that convinced them to go, I was the one that got them to sneak out so that no one knew where we were. I mean, who was I kidding, Me? A model?"

"I could see you being a model," Michael stated.

Laughter escaped Maria's throat. "Michael, I am like 5'5. Models are like 6 foot tall," she pointed out, kind of flattered that he would say that. She didn't think Michael Evans said anything he didn't mean.

"Kate Moss is short, isn't she?" he asked. "Hell you can't tell how tall people are in pictures."

"It has to do with how the clothes hang on you and how...." she stopped herself. "Oh, forget it. Anyway, I thought it would be this great adventure, and in my mind I already had this big scenario of being a world famous model with all this money. I should have known there was no way that they would let me go by myself."

"So you blame yourself for what happened?" Michael asked.

"In a way, yes," Maria said.

"I can see that," Michael stated.

"You can?" Maria asked, shocked.

"Yep," Michael said. "I would blame myself too."

Maria sat in stunned silence. Everyone from her shrink in high school to her family and friends had been so quick to dismiss her feelings. No one had ever validated them before.

"Thanks," she said.

"For what?" he asked.

"For not just dismissing it like it was stupid to feel that way," she said, raw emotion in her voice.

"I didn't say that it was smart to feel that way," he pointed out. "I don't believe it's your fault at all, but I can understand why you'd feel that way."

"Fair enough," Maria said quietly.

"So anyway," Michael said, clearing his throat, "sorry I ruined your night."

Maria looked up at Michael. "You didn't." She didn't realize how much it could mean for someone to just understand where she was coming from.

"Good, because then I don't have to worry about getting my ass kicked by Whitman," Michael joked.

Maria smirked. "Kyle admitted that he got his ass kicked, eh?"

"Yep," Michael said, shaking his head like he still couldn't believe it, "and Alex said we'd have a serious problem if we ruined any of your nights.

Maria beamed with pride. "That's my boy!" she said chuckling. "You know, it might be kind of entertaining to see Alex kick the crap out of you," she contemplated, her finger tapping her lips.

"Maria...." Michael warned.

"I mean it would be great for his rep. Alex beating up the big mean Army guy," she said, trying not to laugh.

"How about we make a trade?" Michael asked.

"What kind of trade?" Maria asked suspiciously.

"I give you a hint, and you walk in that bar with a smile on your face," Michael said, pointing to the door.

Maria thought about it. She knew there was no way she'd be walking in there with a frown on her face. It was almost like something had shifted in her. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to her, but Michael validating her feelings almost helped her to deal with it, to see what others had seen - that it wasn't her fault.

It was powerful.

"I'm not going to let Alex beat the hell out of you," she joked, punching him in the arm. "I'm not that evil," she laughed, not wanting him to feel like he had to give her a hint.

"Hanover, Pennsylvania," Michael said, looking straight ahead. "It's about 2 hours from here. People can get court records buried, they can move, they can do a lot of things to cover up the past, but they can't make other people who were there forget it."

"Like Kyle," Maria said.

"Yes, like Kyle. There are plenty of Kyle's in Hanover," Michael said.

"Well thanks," Maria said as Michael nodded. "You sure you don't dance?" she asked.

"Absolutely not," Michael said with determination. "Why?"


"No reason except I could almost bare dancing with you now," Maria said non chalantly.

A laughter bubbled in Michael's throat as Maria stood up and offered him her hand, he took it and pulled himself up from the ground.

"I do like to do a shot now and then," he said.

"Well Spaceboy," she said, referring to a nickname she had given him last year because he seemed to stare into space so much, "I'm going to buy you a shot."

Michael smiled as they walked hand in hand into the bar, wondering why he had held on firmly when she tried to pull her hand away after helping him up.

___________________________________


Max stared intently at the bar where Liz was standing, a total jackass talking her up. Travis. What a douche.

He had tried to be friends with Michael and Max since the day they got there. He was the reigning Casanova when Max and Michael had joined mid year last year, and Travis seemed to think they could be great friends because they were alike.

They couldn't be more different. Travis wanted to be in public service for power, not to help people. He also used women, telling them what they wanted to hear to get what he wanted. Travis didn't just randomly pick up women, he'd seduce them until he got what he wanted, then leave them high and dry.

Max and Michael didn't do that, didn't tell women they loved them, didn't have phony relationships to get in someones pants. Max had disliked Travis as soon as he met him.

He looked like he had picked his next target, and that target was Liz.

Max cursed himself. After the dance was over, he and Liz had sat back down, were having a great conversation, when one of the local townies Max semi-knew had plopped herself right in his lap, murmuring something about wanting to compare Max and Michael's "skills" in his ear.

Liz had looked understandably uncomfortable and excused herself to get a drink. She was up and gone before Max could protest, and by the time he had gotten rid of the brazen red head Travis had all ready moved in on Liz.

He barely noticed when Isabel plopped down next to him. She followed his line of sight, smiling a bit. Who would have thought? Max Evans was jealous.

"You having fun?" Isabel asked.

"Huh?" Max asked, his eyes not leaving the couple at the bar.

"I said are you having fun?" she said a little louder.

"Yeah, sure," he said dismissively. "Where's Alex?"

"He went to look for Maria," Isabel said, smiling.

Max absentmindedly nodded and noticed Travis heading for the bathroom. "I gotta go to the bathroom," he said suddenly, getting up.

Isabel's eyes followed where he was going, or more importantly followed who Max was following. She spotted Maria making her way back to the table with a couple of drinks, as Michael had handed her his when he saw the look on Max's face.

Sometimes it was eerie how the two of them seemed to communicate without words. Isabel watched Max go into the bathroom and how Michael stood outside of it. She sure hoped that Max wasn't going to do anything stupid.

Liz had joined Maria and sat down at the table with Isabel.

"Thank God, I didn't think I'd ever get away from that tool," Liz said as she sat down. Most girls with any sense at all stayed as far away from Travis as they could.

Travis, in the meantime, had just zipped up his pants and was washing his hands as Max walked into the bathroom. Max nodded to him as he took the sink next to him, washing his hands also.

Being the jackass that he was, he couldn't help bragging to Max. "Have you seen Parker tonight?" he asked with a low whistle. "Who would have known? I mean she always wears those big button up shirts and her hair in a ponytail," he said devilishly. "I bet she's a total dirty librarian, I'll let you know when I find out," Travis said with a laugh.

Alex was about to open his stall door and tell Travis off when the entire set of stalls shook like an earthquake had hit.

"How about you don't," Max said angrily. "Let's get one thing straight," he said with two hands clutching the fabric of Travis's shirt, pushing him harder into the stalls. "Liz Parker is off limits. She's not some tramp, and if you try any of your shit with her you will regret it until the day you die."

It didn't take Travis long to nod in understanding and get the hell out of the bathroom, hell, to get the hell out of the bar. One on one he might have a chance against Max, but he knew that was a big might, and Travis had also seen Michael lurking around the bar. He may be a jackass, but he wasn't an idiot.

Alex waited until they left before he opened his stall door. As he washed his hands he hummed a little, glad that someone else had his girls' backs.

"Everything alright?" Michael asked with a smirk as he watched Travis flee the bar like he was fleeing for his life.

"It is now," Max said as they made their way over to the table. The band was coercing Maria to join them back on the stage. She took the microphone as Max and Michael were about to sit down.

"Do you guys know any Metallica?" she asked into the microphone.

Michael plopped into the chair and grabbed his chest. "Be still my heart," he said as Isabel and Liz exchanged knowing grins.

Thanks for all the FB everyone, as always I appreciate it!

twilight - We'll find out more about how Liz feels about the Travis thing in a Chapter or two. Oh, and Max and Michael's relation to each other will be revealed very, very soon.

Natalie - Thanks!

Rowedog - I'm glad you like my Michael He's always been the most interesting of the guys to me.

RhondaAnn - I'm glad that you picked up on the trust part, because that's exactly what I was trying to show.

begonia - I did too. I don't think Max would put up with too much when it comes down to Liz

spacegirl - Thanks! I'm glad you like my candy!

Nibbles - Here, there, on the show....I always thought Michael was way more sensitive then he ever let on...

destinyc - Max and Liz have a ways to go unfortunately, but it is a CC fic, so there's some hope there

keepsmiling - You know it!

Chapter 10

The alarm clock went off like an angry siren, and Liz moaned as she reached over to shut it off.

"Oh dear God," she said out loud as she placed both hands on the side of her head. How did college students do this all the time? It felt as if a train was running in a constant loop through her head.

She plopped back down into her pillow, which made her aching head feel a little bit better.

"Gooooooooood mooooooorning," sang Maria as she entered Liz's bedroom.

"Don't you dare say I told you so," Liz warned, covering her eyes.

Maria sat down next to Liz and placed a glass of something disgusting looking on her nightstand. "Who? Moi? Do I seem like someone who would say I told you so, you know, even if I did?" Maria said as Liz groaned again.

"Drink up," she said motioning to the glass next to the bed. "It'll make you feel better. Alex already had his and is almost looking human now."

Liz propped herself up and eyed at the red concoction sitting next to her bed warily, then looked at Maria's cheery face. She had tried, unsuccessfully, to get Alex and Liz to use her sure fire hang over cure last night, but it didn't look so bad today. Sometimes Maria's knowledge of herbs and vitamins came in handy.

Liz held her nose and downed the toxic drink, barely keeping it down. "Uggh, thanks...I think," she said as Maria patted her hand and got up.

"You don't have to be in class for a couple of hours. Why don't you go back to sleep for a bit. I'm sure Nitro will understand missing his morning run just this once," she said. "Hell, I'll even take him for a walk," Maria said, patting Nitro's head as he awoke at the foot of Liz's bed. "Let's get one thing straight though buddy, I don't run unless someone is chasing me."

Liz smiled her gratitude and fell back into her pillows as Maria coaxed Nitro out of the room. Last night had been a blast, but she didn't think she wanted a repeat anytime soon. They really hadn't gone overboard until the end of the night when shots had flown freely around their table with their new friends.

She smiled thinking about how much fun she had had with Isabel, Max, and Michael. It was such a pleasant surprise. Sure, she had seen all of them around school, but they had never really said two words to each other.

Liz thought about dancing with Max and her smile grew. He was just such a....man. Max was also great to talk to, and she was really interested in what he had to say until the red head had plopped down in his lap.

Liz's smile all but disappeared as she remembered the harsh wake up call. Even if Max by some chance was interested in her, she was just way to inexperienced to be with him, and she had to face it - she wasn't a one night stand kind of girl. Her one foray into sex wasn't exactly a good experience, and even though she had made a conscious effort to try and date this last year they all turned out bad.

The guys just seemed immature, naive, and boring. Even though she didn't like to admit it her experience with being taken had changed her, and the typical college boy just didn't interest her.

'I'm to old to have a crush,' Liz moaned to herself as she remembered the rest of the night, sans red head, when the six of them sat around the table talking and doing shots. At the end of the night Max had even leaned over, whispered "Hanover, Pennsylvania" in her ear and kissed her cheek.

It seems that Michael and Isabel had the same idea, telling both Maria and Alex the same thing. Liz was glad they trusted them, but her heart felt a little heavy thinking about knowing what exactly happened to them. She hoped it wasn't as bad as what her, Maria, and Alex went through.

She hoped Maria's cure worked, because she and Alex were heading out right after class today.

___________________________________

"Tell me first," Max murmured into her ear, gently nipping it.

"Max, please," she barely managed to breathe out.

"That's not it," he said huskily as he began nipping and sucking her neck.

"Now Max, now," she whimpered.

He spread her legs and lifted her hips, preparing to enter her. His heart sung as he looked at her passion filled eyes and kiss swollen lips. "You know what I want to hear," he said as he gently kissed her, pulling back and looking at her with heated eyes.

"I love you Max, I'll love you forever," Liz said with such passion he just lost it before he could enter............

*BUZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

Max woke up violently as the orgasm ripped through his body, and he sat up wondering where the hell he was, where the hell Liz was. The disorientation cleared as his alarm clock kept buzzing and his hard fist slammed down on it to shut it off.

"Fuck!" Max said out loud when he noticed his wet boxers. He was 23 years old, and he hadn't had a wet dream since he had learned about self gratification at 13.

"Arrrrgh," he said as he sat up to take his soiled boxers off, noticing that his head was pounding with a wicked headache. He usually didn't drink more than a drink or two, even when he was in the Army. Max couldn't stand to not be in control, to not have his bearings. Last night had been different though.

He had actually enjoyed himself, and just let loose after Maria had finished singing "One" by Metallica. Michael had been the instigator, ordering a round because he believed the Apocalypse was coming because a chick had done Metallica justice. This had set off a rather heated argument between him and Maria, and Liz had ordered another round to shut them up.

As he threw his boxers into the hamper and turned on the shower he tried unsuccessfully to not think about his dream. How could it be that a dream could be better than any sex he ever had? It was probably better that he didn't do the relationship thing, because he'd probably be like a 14 year old kid losing his virginity if he ever was with Liz.

Max sighed as he leaned against the spray of the shower. He couldn't stop thinking about it. The way she had said she would love him forever, the way she had looked all mussed up. It had been heaven.

Through the years he always lived life on his terms, his own way, but last night was the first time he was actually ashamed of his lifestyle. When that red head had plopped herself in his lap, when Liz had hurriedly made an excuse to get away from him, well he had felt ashamed. He didn't want Liz seeing him like that, not at all.

Max had always told himself that as long as he didn't mess with someone that wanted more, well it was ok. When he had sex he did it as a release, for pleasure, and found partners wanting similar things out of the experience.

Truth be told he wasn't as bad as people probably said, hell he hadn't been trolling in a long time now. He knew he was a bit out of control when they first came to college, but having spent so many years away from women....Well going to college last winter was like putting a kid in a candy store. Even that got old after a couple of months, but his reputation was set.

Maybe he needed to go out tonight and find someone, to get Liz off the brain. As he got dressed for the day he knew that wouldn't help, only one thing would help, and that simply wasn't an option. If he was really honest with himself his playboy days had become almost non-existent after he first saw Liz, sitting in the quad with Alex and Maria, on the first nice day last semester.

He had noticed her immediately, but also knew immediately she wasn't his normal 'type'. She was a natural beauty that didn't try to hard, she was just beautiful period. He remembered hearing her laugh at something Alex had said, and he would never, ever forget when she had looked up at him, her big brown eyes finding his.

There was a whole lot of story in those eyes. More than Max could have imagined. He had been cautious to stay away from her. One thing Max wasn't was selfish, and he knew he had no business being with a nice girl when he couldn't possibly give her what she wanted, what she deserved.

Max walked into the kitchen to find Michael looking like he felt. Isabel was pouring coffee and humming.

"Good Morning," she said happily.

"Morning," Max mumbled, fumbling through the cabinet looking for some Tylenol.

Isabel handed him a cup of coffee. "Thanks," he said as he sat down at the table. "Why do you feel so good?"

"Because I, brother dear, did not do those last shots," she said. "I handed them off to you two and you downed them without noticing. I have early class today, not an afternoon one like you two."

"Gee thanks," Max said nursing his coffee.

"No problem!" she smiled. "Anyway, I'm out of here, have a good day!" she called, chuckling to herself as she left the apartment.

"I feel like I've been hit by a fucking truck," Michael complained, looking at his plain white toast, debating on if he was going to eat it or not. He tore it in two and handed the other half to Max.

"Me too," Max said as he bit the toast, it feeling like rubber in his mouth as he forced himself to swallow it.

"I told Maria about Hanover," Michael blurted out.

"I told Liz about it too," Max admitted.

"What the hell is wrong with us Max?" Michael asked.

"Women, that's what happened to us," Max sighed.

"No, it's not like that," Michael argued. "I mean Maria, well she just pisses me off most of the time, but last night we did kind of bond, but it was more like a soldiers who have been through a war kind of thing, not a romantic thing."

"Whatever gets you through the night, brother," Max said.

"Really, that's all it was," Michael insisted.

"Ok," Max said. "If that's what you really think."

"What do you think?" Michael asked.

"I think we've been stuck, stuck for a long time with the same way of thinking, the same mentality," he said carefully. "The same plans for life, and I don't know if I want to be stuck anymore."

Michael mumbled a form of acknowledgement and took a bite of his toast, immediately leaving the table and making a beeline for the bathroom.

________________________________________________


Liz and Alex walked into class carrying large cups of coffee, both feeling a little bit better after Maria's miracle cure. She said they'd feel normal before class was over, and Liz just hoped she was right since a two hour drive with a raging hangover did not sound like fun.

Alex was all smiles even though he didn't feel well, and Liz was ecstatic because she knew the reason behind that smile. Isabel had agreed to go on a date with him. Alex had dated a lot more than Liz or Maria, and he even had a semi-serious girlfriend their freshman year, but Jennifer could not understand his relationship with Liz and Maria, and she really didn't have a hope since Alex was not honest with her about what had happened.

This would all be different with Isabel, Liz hoped. Alex had already told them that he was going to go full disclosure with Isabel before their date. Maria and Liz had been supportive, which would have been impossible their freshman year.

Liz noticed Max and Michael come in the room, taking their seat in the far back left corner like they always did. She saw Max's eyes search her out, and after she gave him a small smile she turned toward the front of the room before he could see her blush.

Professor Smith entered the room, a frown marring his aging features. He knew some of these kids thought he was just a nosey old man, that he just wanted to get the dirt on them, but it couldn't be farther from the truth.

A lot of people that went into this kind of profession were hurt in their life, and they wanted to help others who were hurt or stop the bad guys before they could hurt more. Smith understood this, because he was one of those people.

He had a lot of bad stories come through his class through the years, but the six kids, Maria and Isabel last year, and Max, Michael, Liz, and Alex this year were particularly bad. Sure, you couldn't put a level of horror to any of the stories, one not any worse then the other, just maybe in different degrees.

Smith had played around with the idea of putting Maria and Isabel together last year, but he could tell both girls were not ready for that. He had planned carefully to get the last 4 of the 6 in this class, knowing they would all go through it together.

The students had to email their preliminary papers to him by last night, and he was very disappointed, mostly in Michael and especially Max. Max had barely answered anything about Liz, and the questionnaires were very basic information.

He had hoped for some sign that they were on the right track with them, and really it wouldn't be hard to find out what had happened to them. A couple of well placed calls to Roswell and they'd have it. Max and Michael were very resourceful, and he knew they took their future careers seriously, so it only meant one thing.

They were going to protect them, which is exactly what he didn't want.

Liz and Alex on the other hand, well he knew they'd have a much tougher road. Max and Michael's parents were powerful, and Smith didn't even know if he'd have been able to find out what had happened to them at such a young age if he didn't have information from their file. Their parents had covered the paper trail well, but he still had hope in those two.

What they didn't know was he had no intention of giving either Liz or Alex a bad grade if they didn't find out, but they definitely needed to come up with more than they had to get an excellent grade.

He quickly scanned his classroom, hiding his shock when he seen the aforementioned 4 students. They all looked like hell. Had they not been ready? Would they never be ready?

Professor Smith knew there was only one way to find out, and he decided if he was expecting his students to be dissected like this then the least he could do was tell them why.

He cleared his throat. "Good afternoon," he said. "I found the first part of the assignment very interesting, but many of you were lacking a great deal of detail that should have been included in the preliminary part of the assignment," he said as groans could be heard across the room.

"Now I've never done this, told my own story, but I think it is important, especially this year," he said pointedly as he observed Max paying closer attention. "You see, I was a field Agent once upon a time. I didn't always teach, and my experience as a field Agent is why I do this assignment every year."

The classroom was dead quiet as Smith told his story. "I was assigned to a case that had very little physical evidence. It was assigned to the FBI because the man had molested several boys in different states. It was hard to prove because he never left any physical evidence."

"To make a long story short, we got what we could on the guy, had witnesses, had my testimony. Then the Defense threw me for a loop when they asked if I had ever been molested," he said quietly.

He took a deep breath. "I lied and said no. I never thought anyone would ever know about that, but the defense attorney had found a boy that was an alter boy with me, one that was presently suing the Catholic Church, one that was willing to discredit me, and discredit me he did."

You could hear a pin drop in the classroom as the students sat listening to Professor Smith. "The defendant went free. It only takes reasonable doubt, and since I could not handle the question on the stand the jury lost their faith in me. That man, well his next victim wasn't only molested, but he killed him," he said quietly as gasps could be heard around the room.

"I have to live with that every single day of my life. When you are in public service your life can be an open book, and you better make sure you can handle that before you sign up. I couldn't handle it, not at all, so I teach now," he said carefully. "There are some of you that may think you are protecting your classmates, but you aren't. You are setting them up for failure if you do not proceed with this assignment with all you have."

"I'm going to dismiss you early today so that you can really dig in this last week, but I do want to say one thing before I let you go," he said. "I think everyone in this room can handle it, and I hope that you all get into the branch of your choice, because the world will be a much better and safer place with you all protecting us."

Professor Smith dismissed the class and quietly left the room, hoping that telling his story hadn't been in vain.

Liz and Alex gathered up there things, and as she turned around she seen Max staring back at her. She closed her eyes and nodded, knowing she had to give him some sort of approval.

Max felt his insides twist, because he had finally found a woman he had real feelings for, and even if he didn't plan on doing anything about that he was now going to have to tear her apart.