Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Rating: R for language, content, situations
Spoilers: Up through "The UFO Convention"
In the Presence of Evil (Part 7)
"Alex," Liz said softly, leaning over to him in the hospital chair.
He glanced at her. "Yeah?"
"Would you do me a favor?"
"Sure. Anything," he answered.
"Would you go over to my house and bring me my bookbag and a change of clothes?"
"Liz, why don't you just go home for the night? Mrs. DeLuca will call if--"
"I'm not leaving, Alex," she interupted, shaking her head. "I can't."
He met her eyes. "Okay." Alex kissed her forehead. "I'll be back in a little while."
"Thank you," she said softly.
He nodded and stood up.
"Alex?" Isabel stood up from her seat across the room next to Max.
Alex turned to look at her. "Yeah?"
"Can I come with you?" she asked tentatively.
Alex met her eyes, marvelling at the change he'd witnessed in Isabel Evans in the past five hours. She usually carried herself in a confident, perhaps overly-confident manner. This girl, this quiet, shy, hopeful girl was the real Isabel, the one he knew she'd been hiding all along. Alex smiled briefly and nodded his head. Isabel smiled back and crossed the room. "Ready?" he asked.
"Yeah. I think I am," she answered softly.
Their eyes met and Alex took her hand as they left the room.
Michael stared at her through the window. She was so pale, so still. There were I.V.'s, tubes, and machines everywhere. A nurse was in there taking her vital signs.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and he tensed immediatly. "Michael," he heard Max say.
Michael didn't turn around.
"You should go home and get some sleep," Max said gently. "Come back in the morning."
"Forget about it," he answered flatly.
"Michael--"
He shoved Max's hand off his shoulder. "Get away."
A moment later, Michael turned to see him, but Max was already gone. Michael turned took in on Maria again.
Liz popped some money into the pay phone and dialed her home phone number.
"Hello?"
"Dad?"
"Lizzie? We've been worried. Are you okay?"
"Um, yeah, I'm okay, Dad. I'm--" She took a deep breath to steady her voice. "I'm at the hospital. Maria was in a car accident."
"Is she all right?"
She fought to keep her voice strong. "She's in the I.C.U. She hasn't woken up yet."
"Do you need us to come up there?"
"No, I'm fine. Um, Alex is on his way over to pick up my school stuff, so..."
"Okay, don't worry, we'll let him in."
"I'm going to stay up here tonight. I don't want Mrs. DeLuca to be here alone."
"Are you sure you don't want us to come up there, Lizzie? Because we'll be right there if you need us," her dad said worriedly.
"Thanks, but I'm okay. I'll see you sometime tomorrow."
"Okay. I love you."
"I love you, too, Dad," she whispered. Liz hung up the telephone and closed her eyes briefly. Then she took a deep breath and headed back to the I.C.U. waiting room. A figure standing in the hallway caught her attention. He was standing outside the I.C.U., staring in the window, looking more lost than she remembered ever seeing anyone.
Liz walked over and stood next to him, staring in at her best friend, her heart aching. She gave a sideways glance at Michael, and then, without saying a word, she reached out and squeezed his hand gently. Michael glanced over at her, and then down at their hands. Then he squeezed back.
Alex stared out the windshield, lost in thought. What had happened? Maria drove into a telephone pole, not another car. Had she fallen asleep at the wheel? It didn't make sense. He didn't realize he'd spoken aloud until Isabel said, "Maybe she swerved to avoid an animal."
He glanced over at her. "Yeah, maybe."
"Because she seems to be the type, you know? More caring about everyone else than herself," Isabel said, remembering how Maria had faced down Sheriff Valenti and protected Max, Michael and her from him.
"Yeah, she's always been like that," he said distractedly.
Isabel reached over and touched his arm. "She'll be okay, Alex. I can feel it."
"I just--I don't know what I'd do if I lost either one of them. They're my family."
She knew exactly how he felt. "I know," she answered softly. Alex looked over at her, and their eyes met briefly. "She'll be okay," Isabel said again.
This time, he believed her.
"Sir?"
Sheriff Jim Valenti turned to face the inspector that was examining Maria's car. "Yes?"
"I hate to be the one to tell you this, but this was no accident," Inspector Ralph McClain said grimly, motioning to the remains of the red jetta.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the brake line was severed. A clean cut--done by someone who knew exactly what he was doing."
Jim stared at him. "Shit," he muttered.
"Sir? What do you want done with the car?"
"Get rid of it. I don't want Amy to see how bad it looked." He turned away and headed for his car. He had to go to the hospital and check on the DeLuca's. And he dreaded being the one to tell Amy DeLuca that someone had attempted to murder her daughter.
Amy DeLuca looked up as Liz handed her a cup of coffee in a styrofoam cup. "Thanks, Lizzie," she said, offering a sincere, albeit brief smile as she took a drink. She looked over at the girl who had been like another daughter to her for the past twelve years. "How are you holding up?"
Liz nodded her head and sat down in the seat next to her. "I'm okay."
Amy reached over and hugged her. "You've always been the strong one of the three of us. I don't think I ever thanked you for that."
Liz hugged her back as she fought to hold back tears. She squeezed her eyes shut. "No problem, Mrs. DeLuca."
Amy smiled briefly again. "I remember not too long ago when you and Maria would stand in front of my bedroom mirror and play dress-ups and have tea parties." Her eyes filled with tears again. "I can't lose her....She's all I have left."
"You won't lose her," Liz said firmly, pulling away to look at her. "We all need her too much."
Amy nodded as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Thank you. For being here for her. For me."
Liz swallowed hard and nodded. "There's no where else in the world I would be."
"I'm going to go see if they'll let me see her now."
"Okay," Liz agreed.
Amy left the room.
Liz looked around the empty waiting room and suddenly felt like the walls were closing in. She got to her feet and hurried out of the waiting room.
Air, she thought. I need air. She glanced up and down the hallway until she caught sight of the glowing exit sign above the doorway that said, "stairs." She moved toward it and ran up six flights of stairs until she reached the roof. She shoved the door open and stepped out into the chilly night air, trying to catch her breath.
She moved to the edge of the roof and leaned against the railing as she stared up at the dark night sky and the distant stars.
Liz remembered all the times she had spent with Maria as a kid, playing dress-ups, swinging at the playground, feeding the ducks at the park, swimming at the YMCA one summer. She remembered the walks she, Maria and Alex used to take at night when they were in junior high. Why had they stopped? She wasn't sure, but more than anything she wished the three of them could do that again.
But what if they never could?
What if she and Maria could never girl-talk over Ben and Jerry's again?
What if...what if Maria died?
Tears filled her eyes and a strangled sob escaped her lips. She sunk unwillingly to her knees and began to cry harder than she ever had before.
Less than a second later, she felt strong arms wrap around her, holding her, cradling her like a child, rocking her back and forth slowly and gently.
She didn't have to look up to know who it was. She felt Max's hand gently stroking her hair and the other resting on the small of her back. Her face was buried in his neck, the tears flowing endlessly down her cheeks.
Max held her limp body in his lap, hugging her close to him. He ran his fingers through her silky hair, pressing his lips to her forehead as she cried.
Sobs wracked her small body and Liz was too distraught and was hurting too much to try and fight the comfort he was offering.
Max just held her, knowing there were no words that could help. Knowing that no matter how much he hated seeing her like this, that this--the physical, loving way he was touching her--was all he could do to help soothe the pain.
He moved his hand from the small of her back to the area in-between her shoulder blades and rubbed it in a slow circular motion while his other hand gently pressed her head to his chest.
After a few moments, her sobs subsided and he just continued to hold her and rub her back gently. Liz relaxed against him, and she listened to the soothing sound of his steady heartbeat, too tired to pull away. She let his hands and arms and breath keep her warm and comfortable as long as he kept offering it. "You're good at this," she murmured.
Max smiled slightly. "It's not exactly difficult."
They sat for a few more moments in silence as he held her and continued to comfort her. Then she leaned back slightly to look at him. "Max?"
He gazed down at her. "Yeah?"
"She's going to be okay, right?"
"I don't know," Max answered honestly. He kissed her forehead. "But no matter what happens, I'll be right here with you."
Max laced his fingers through Liz's as they stepped back into the waiting room. Sheriff Valenti stood there, along with Amy DeLuca, Isabel and Alex, the latter three wearing stunned expressions on their faces.
Max was nearly bowled over by the wave of terror that he felt sweep through Liz. He tightened his grip on her hand. "What happened?" she asked.
Sheriff Valenti turned to face them. "Someone cut Maria's brake line."
Liz gasped and Max's jaw dropped. He instinctively pulled her closer to him.
"Someone tried to kill my baby girl," Amy whispered. "Who would do something like that?"
Jim hugged her. "I don't know, Amy, but I'll find out," he promised.
Max met Isabel's eyes, and they both realized the same thing at the same time. Isabel's eyes widened and she reached for Alex's hand. Max pulled Liz into his arms. He could feel her trembling. "Let's go outside," he said softly. He led Liz into the hallway and Alex and Isabel followed.
"What's going on?" Alex asked, looking back and forth between Isabel and Max.
"We need to tell Michael," Isabel said to her brother.
Max nodded in agreement. "I'll go get him."
"Max?" Liz asked, looking up at him.
"I'll be right back," he promised.
Liz turned to Isabel. "What are you guys not saying?"
Isabel just shook her head. A moment later, Max returned, Michael right behind him. "What's going on?" Michael demanded, angry at being dragged away from Maria's window.
Max and Isabel exchanged another glance. After a moment of silence, Max finally said, "Maria's brake line was cut."
Michael stared at him, not moving, not making a sound. It was as if he was frozen.
"It was Nasedo," Isabel added softly.
Liz and Alex both gasped.
"I'll kill him," Michael said quietly. "I'll fucking kill him." He turned around and stormed down the hallway to the hospital exit.
Max and Isabel started to go after him, but Liz held up her hand. "Let me." And without another word, she took off after him and disappeared out the same door.
Alex, Isabel and Max exchanged worried glances.
"Michael, wait!" Liz called from behind him as she tried to catch up with him.
"Go away, Liz." He didn't stop or turn around.
She caught up with him and grabbed his arm. "No, I won't go away!"
Michael spun to face her. "I'm going to do what I have to do! Now let me go!"
"Who's going to protect Maria while you're off trying to track him down?" she demanded. "Michael, think about it. Either he's long gone, or he's just waiting for his chance to finish what he's started. She needs you now. She needs you to protect her. You're the only one who can do that."
Michael stared at her. What she was saying made sense. Another thought dawned on him. "He'll be after one of you next."
Liz met his eyes and nodded slowly. "I figured as much."
"This is my fault. I brought him here, I'm the one who wanted to find him! Damn it!" he said angrily.
"This isn't the time to assign blame. You have to focus on Maria now. That's what's important." She started to walk back to the hospital.
Michael followed her. It occurred to him that he hadn't given Liz Parker nearly enough credit in the department of emotional strength. "Liz."
"Yeah?"
"What you said before...about me thinking Max's saving you was a mistake...I just want you to know that you were wrong." He waited as she stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, meeting her surprised eyes with a steady, honest gaze.
He saw the acceptance in her eyes, and she nodded. Then, silently, they both walked back to the hospital, side-by-side.
Max saw Michael and Liz approaching them and even from a distance, he could tell that Michael had calmed down considerably. He wasn't sure what Liz had said to him, but whatever she'd said must have worked.
"Maximillion," Michael acknowledged him.
"Michael," he said back. Michael moved past him and returned to his place at the window of I.C.U.
Max looked at Liz. She was nothing less than amazing, he thought. He draped an arm around her shoulders and they joined their other friends outside the I.C.U. window.
"What do we do now?" Isabel asked quietly.
"We don't let them out of our sight," Max answered, pulling Liz closer to him.
Michael stared in at Maria. "And when we find him, we stop him however we have to."
A chill ran down Liz's spine and she shivered and buried her face in Max's shoulder. He brought his hand up to her hair and began to stroke it in that soothing way again.
Alex felt Isabel's fingers lace through his own and he looked down at her as she squeezed his hand.
But no one noticed that they were being watched.