Author Name: Liz
Email: [email protected]
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summary: Future fic. The aliens never came to Roswell, and Liz is married to Kyle.
Category: M/L
Subject A1 (Part 4)
The plain, white-faced clock that hung on the far wall of the
room ticked loudly, filling the empty space of the room with its
steady clicks.
She stared at the computer screen, blinking against the bright
glare. It'd been hours since she'd even looked away from it, and
the shapes and words were beginning to blur together in her
vision, nothing but a huge, formless blob. She sighed and pushed
her rolling chair away from the table,
spinning herself around so that she faced the glass cage again.
The room was dark, lit only by the computer's glow, but she could
still see him. He was sleeping, finally, looking like a huge blob
of nothing huddled up underneath his sparse blankets. It was
freezing in the room, and she felt a pang in her heart as she
watched him, still shivering even in sleep.
This was what she'd wanted her entire life, but now that she had
it, something just didn't seem right. She felt pity for him, this
wonderful creature that had done nothing wrong, who was being
forced to live in such an environment. She wanted nothing more
than to let him free of his glass cage, to take him someplace
warm and comfortable, to feed him and talk to him. To know him.
She knew that it was not professional, but she felt something for
him. For this alien, that sat before her, so completely exposed
and vulnerable. Who she'd felt a strange connection with from the
moment she'd looked into his eyes.
Everything about him...his body, his face, his features...they
were all human. Every aspect. It was all completely normal, as
far as the standard of normal went for physical appearances. The
only thing that set him apart was the inside of him, his blood
and his cells and his molecular structure. Those...those were
foreign. That was what was alien.
And she couldn't help but wonder...if his heart was alien too.
There was an intercom that was connected to the inside of the
cage. Anything that went on inside could be heard, and if you
pressed the button you could talk to the person inside. It was
the only connection to be made from the inside to the outside, or
visa versa. There was no door that she knew of, nothing. Only the
intercom.
From the moment she'd found out about it, she'd been longing
to press that button. Just to speak to him, to see if he would
talk to her. But she was afraid. Afraid that if she did, she
would discover something about this being. Something that would
break her dreams, shatter the image that she had created of him
in her mind. Perhaps he would speak in another language, instead
of the deep, soft voice that played in her mind. Or maybe he
would be angry, and vindictive. She had expectations, high hopes,
and she wasn't sure if she was quite ready to face the ugly
reality of everything.
More tears formed in her eyes as she looked upon him. She
wondered what was wrong with her. Ever since she'd come in here,
she hadn't been able to hold them back. They had just kept
coming, spilling from her and dropping like rain. She could still
feel his pain, but now there was something else.
Something that seemed almost like hope.
Turning around again, her eyes swept across the empty surface of
the table. Without even realizing it, she was looking at the
button again. Small and red, it seemed to call out to her. It sat
directly below the small speaker that was set into the tabletop,
and below it, in tiny letters it red: INTERCOM.
Her fingers quivered as she placed one hand on the table, right
on the edge. As the clock seemed to become louder in her ears,
she shivered. Her hand inched forward, very slowly, until the tip
of her index finger was right below the button. She inhaled, and
then allowed her finger to slide over the red, pressing ever so
slightly. She felt it give and exhaled, leaning down slightly.
"Hello?"
She released the button, craning her neck around so that she
could see him. She was shocked to see him sitting up, staring at
her and looking frightened. She felt herself begin to tremble,
with excitement and fear. Pressing the button again, she spoke
more loudly this time.
"Hi. I'm Liz Valenti. Do you...have a name?"
For a moment he looked around him, as if searching for the source
of the mysterious voice, then looked back at her. He looked even
more confused than before.
"It's okay. Can you talk?"
He made no movement, and his expression did not change. She
sighed in resignation, her finger slipping from the button.
Turning back to her computer, she fought back another wave of
tears. The disappointment ate at her slowly. She hadn't realized
just how much she'd been wanting to
hear his voice.
About 5 minutes later, she was working on some reports from
earlier that day, when she heard it. A very soft, muffled noise.
Startled, she turned around. He was sitting up on his bed, in the
same position as before, still staring at her. His mouth was
open.
She felt the smile slipping up on her again as she watched his
mouth move. His soft voice floated over to her, quiet but clear.
"Liz."
She smiled at him, nodding her head.
"My name is Max."