Title: When The Worst Happens
Author: Jenn
Disclaimer: If I owned Roswell, would I really be writing this? I didn�t
think so. Roswell and all its characters belong to Melinda Metz and the
United Paramount Network. Brendan and Jason are another story. I�m still
working on that. LOL.
Category: Mi/L mostly.
Rating: R for now.
Author�s Note: This is Post-Departure with a few twists.
Dedication: I want to dedicate this to DMartinez, SilverSky,
Peachez4MaxEvans and MoonBaby19 who have written some of the most
awesome Polar fics out there. It�s because of them that I am now a definite
Polarist. I want to thank them for inspiring me to write this.
Summary: Just when Liz thought she had gotten her life back
together, a tragedy strikes that could prove to ultimately be her breaking
point. Who will save her from herself before it�s too late?
********
Part 8: Cause You�re My Best Friend
Micheal, it�s Liz.
In all his years on this Earth, Micheal had never run so fast. He was
terrified of what he would find once he got to the hospital. Losing Liz was a
very real fear to all of them. It was constantly looming over their
heads.
Liz was their rock. She was always there when a there was a crisis. She
always had a clever solution. They depended on her to be the level headed
one. And in the process, she became something different to each one of
them. She held a special place in each of their hearts. Liz was Micheal�s best
friend, Maria�s partner in crime, Kyle�s meditation buddy, Isabel�s shopping
accomplice, Max�s science cohort, and Ava�s big sister; all rolled into one.
They had felt it was only a matter of time before she had some sort of
breakdown. It was inevitable. For far too long, she had carried the weight of
the world on her shoulders. But what wasn�t inevitable was getting a phone
call telling him that his best friend in the entire world was in the
hospital.
He finally stopped in front of Roswell General to catch his breath. He had
run at least three miles in what seemed like only a few minutes.
Micheal dashed up to the front desk. �Liz Parker?�
�She�s in trauma two. There�s a bunch of people waiting for news on her in
the waiting room. It�s down the end of this hall to your left.�
�Thank you.� He took off in a run again.
The first one to see Micheal was Ava. She looked like she had just been
through a war. Her normally perfect hair was a mess. Her eyes were
severely bloodshot. There were tear stains down her cheeks. And she looked
so lost.
�What happened?� He asked, bracing for the worst.
�I-I-I went to check on Liz because something didn�t feel right.� Ava
sniffled.
�And?� Micheal inquired breathlessly as he ran a shaky hand through his
spiky hair.
�I found her sleeping. But I got scared for a moment cause both her hands
were under her pillow. So I pulled them out from under it. I was afraid she
had cut her wrists. But she didn�t.� She inhaled shakily as Max pulled her
down into his lap.
Micheal glanced at her silently as he sat down as if to tell her to keep
going.
�But I still felt like there was somethin off bout the whole thing. So I
checked the windows and stuff. Then I sat down next to her on the bed. I
noticed the bottle of sleeping pills looked kinda empty. So I counted em.
That�s when I realized there were only 10 there.�
Micheal shook his head. �There�s supposed to be 15 there.� Both he and Ava
kept track of Liz�s medicine to make sure that she was taking it.
Ava nodded as tears streamed down her face. �That�s why I called 911. I
didn�t know what else to do.�
Max hugged her tightly. �You did the right thing baby.�
�I hope so.�
Micheal was about to say something when an attractive, blonde man who
looked to be in his late twenties, wearing a long white coat interupted.
�Avaria Parker?�
She stood up and wiped at her eyes furiously. �That�s me.�
�I�m Doctor Christopher Beckham. I have been in charge of your sister�s
care since her arrival at the ER�
Ava shook his hand.
Micheal also advanced towards the doctor. �How�s Liz?�
�Are you family sir?�
�Everyone in this room is family, Doc.� Ava declared with a sad
smile.
He nodded. �Elizabeth is a very lucky young woman. If you hadn�t called 911
when you did, she might not be alive.� He added gravely.
�Is she all right though?� Maria questioned.
Dr. Beckham nodded. �She will be fine. We had to pump her stomach though.
But she managed to get away without any permanent damage. Had she come
in 20 minutes later, I�m afraid that might not have been the case.�
Ava, Micheal, Max, Maria, Kyle, Isabel, Ashley, Diane, Amy, Philip, and Jim,
all let out a collective sigh of relief that not a one of them had realized they
were holding in.
�Oh thank god.� Amy said as she and Diane hugged their respective
daughters tightly.
�Can I see her?� Micheal asked softly. He looked to Ava, silently asking
permission to see Liz.
�Micheal you don�t need permission to see my sister. Go.� She
smiled.
He nodded and turned back to the doctor. �Can I?�
�Of course, I�ll show you to where she is.� He said as he led Micheal out of
the room.
Kyle turned to his girlfriend with a smile on his face.
�What?� She asked as she quirked an eyebrow at him.
�Do you think he even realizes how bad he�s got it for her?�
She stared at him blankly.
�Don�t you see it Izzy?� Maria chimed in.
Kyle threw her a toothy grin.
�No.�
�He�s so inta her it ain�t even funny.� Ashley replied.
�You think so?� Ava and Max responded in unison.
All 10 of them let out a small laugh.
�I guess I�m oblivious.� Ava smirked.
�Yeah you kinda are.� Max teased.
****
Micheal entered the room cautiously, afraid of what he�d see.
He walked slowly to Liz�s bed side, where she lay resting peacefully.
Peacefully. It had been forever since he�d seen her with even a hint of
a serene look on her beautiful face. She hadn�t been happy in a long time.
And that made him sad. Not just for her, not just for him, but for the whole
group. Liz was the life force for all of them. She was the glue that held
their �family� together. The mere thought that just an hour ago, they
could�ve lost her, brought tears to his eyes.
Liz had sensed his presence. She was awake but pretended to be asleep
anyway. She knew he had things to say to her that he couldn�t get out if he
knew she was actually awake. His emotions were radiating off him so
strongly; anger, anxiety, sadness, hope, love, and happiness all balled into
one.
She knew why he held each emotion perfectly.
He felt angry that she could do this to herself. That he wasn�t there to stop
it. That they were in this situation in the first place.
He was anxious because he wanted to know that she�d be okay. He�d been
worried about her for so long now that it was almost a second nature these
days.
He was filled with sadness. He wanted her to be okay. He wanted to take
away all her pain, but he couldn�t. Micheal was also sad because of a previous
revelation. That he had complete and utter happiness for a time in his last
life in the form of his wife Akyra. But she had been murdered so savagely.
Liz knew he dreamt of her from time to time and that his memories were
slowly coming back to him. He woke up crying a few times, but kept it to
himself. He felt like he had let her down. And no one knew where Akyra was.
He was filled with hope. Liz had heard the nurse�s conversation with the
doctor. He�d said that she would probably snap out of her self induced
stupor now cause she had finally reached her breaking point. She had to let
he emotions out now. And Micheal held out hope for that. He missed his best
friend so terribly.
He also felt happiness. Happy that she was okay. That she didn�t get hurt.
That he wouldn�t have to attend another funeral. That there was a chance
she�d reemerge from her private world of pain and sorrow.
She knew all of this because not only could she feel it, she could hear some
of his random thoughts regarding her.
Liz suddenly felt a warm, and definitely male hand stroking her face lightly.
She was so tempted to lean into his hand but knew she couldn�t. He had to
get some things off his chest before she could let him know that his best
friend was back. Once and for all.
Micheal silently touched her face. He wished that she would wake up and tell
him that she was okay. That she would be okay. But then again he�d never be
able to say some of the stuff he was thinking if she did.
�Liz.� He said softly.
He was expectedly met by silence.
�God. Where do I start? Don�t be mad at what I have to say. I just have to
get it out.�
I won�t Micheal. She thought to herself.
�How could you be so selfish? How could you do that? Did you even think how
much we would be hurt if something had happened to you? If you died? Did
you think how hurt I�d be?� He asked rhetorically as tears silently made
their way down his face.
I only wanted to sleep Micheal. I swear. I just wanted the nightmares to
stop. If Liz had opened her eyes at that moment she would have been
heartbroken by the lost look on Micheal�s strong face.
�I don�t know what I would�ve done if you had....had..� He couldn�t bring
himself to say the word. �died.� He muttered softly. �God Liz, you�re all I
have left. I need my best friend back. I need my ice cream buddy back.� He
smiled softly.
Liz had to fight hard to resist the urge to smile at his last
comment.
�Liz, Ava needs her sister back. She needs to know that it�s gonna be okay.
She�s only sixteen Liz. She needs your guidance. And above all, she needs to
know that she�s not alone. She misses your mother and father just as much
as you do. She�s just as lost as you are. She�s just keeping it inside. And you
and I both know that it�s not healthy for her.�
I know. She thought sadly.
�And Maria. She needs you too. You guys have a lot to catch up on. She needs
someone to help plan her wedding with her. She�s gonna need a maid of honor
too.�
Liz was surprised at how easily the words slipped out of Micheal�s mouth. But
then she realized that he was healing old wounds. That he and Maria were
okay. That he was okay with the fact that Maria was marrying
Ashley.
�And surprisingly enough, Max has been worrying his little prick head off
about you. He thinks this is all his fault. That he was the sole reason you
went over the edge. Now I know damn well, despite how much he hurt you,
that that�s not true.
It was extremely difficult to bite back a laugh. Micheal, although he was
Max�s best friend, was still angry with him for the way he treated her. It
was so funny how he�d make little side comments about Max, every chance he
got.
�Another reason that you have to snap out of it is Kyle. If he quotes Buddha
one more time, I�m gonna kick his Buddha worshipping ass all the way to
Antar.� He laughed. �As much as Kyle is my friend, I wanna choke him
sometimes. Even Iz can�t get him cut the quoting crap. You�re the only one
who�ll get his butt in check like that. And please do it soon. He�s driving us all
nuts.�
It�s good to know that I can count on Kyle to keep them on their toes.
She laughed internally. Kyle could definitely be annoying in his study of
Buddhism once in a while.
�And Izzy. She needs her best girl friend back. She�s got no one to talk
shopping with except Kyle. And even he can only take so much.�
Poor Iz. She thought ruefully. I guess we�ll have to go shopping one
of these days.
Micheal again drew in a shaky breath and ran a hand through his spikes. �Liz
you gotta come back to us. We miss you so much. We need the old Liz back.
We need the happy Liz back. I need my partner in crime back.
Badly.�
He didn�t notice the tears on Liz�s face until she sniffled lightly. �Liz?�
She opened her eyes to Micheal�s soft brown ones staring back. �H...h..hi.�
She stuttered softly.
The next thing she knew, he had her in the tightest hug with no sign of
letting her go. �Thank god you�re okay.� He sighed. �Don�t you ever do that
again.�
She let the tears flow freely. �I�m so sorry Micheal. I only wanted to sleep.
I just wanted the nightmares to stop for once. I wasn�t thinking clearly. I�m
so sorry.� She sobbed.
Liz hid her face in the crook of his neck. He was so glad to have her back.
�Don�t ever do that again Liz. Promise me you�ll never do that again. I can�t
lose you. I just can�t.� He cried.
�I�m sorry Micheal. I promise I won�t. Never again. I didn�t think. I�m
sorry.�
He silenced her with a finger to her lips when he drew back from her. Both
of their eyes filled with tears. �Don�t be sorry. It�s not your fault.� He
hugged her again. �Just promise me.�
�I promise. I promise I�ll never leave you.�
Micheal felt a sense of deja vu at her words. They had been promised to him
in another life, by another person. But that would have to wait. Liz was back.
And that was all that was important right now. Liz was back.
**TBC**
[Prologue][1][2][3][4]][5][6][7][8][9]
