Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me, but to the writers and
producers of Roswell
Spoilers: After Chant Down Babylon, changes happening where Max is
successfully rescued,
and Michael was the one who broke up
with Maria.
***
The heart already knows
What the mind can only dream of.
Trust your heart.
-
Jamil Hindi
***
Isabel awoke to the sound of her alarm clock. 6 a.m. She and Michael would watch over Max as Liz got ready for
work. Normally they’d both be at
school, but a recent break in the school’s water main, allowed the teenagers a
respite from their studies. It was a
relief to Liz, Michael and Maria because it had been stressful to work within
the two priorities, each which needed attention. Isabel stretched her arms out and above her head and pulled on a
pair of jeans and a tank top. She
quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face.
Then using her powers, Isabel put on her make up.
Last night had been an enlightening time. Things were coming together for their
coordinated effort to save Max. But
last night also brought news of anxiety.
Jesse had called last night to reveal that he would be able to get away
from the office for the next couple of weeks.
He’d be there to support her and help her get through this. Isabel wasn’t sure what to make of the ‘good
news’.
As she walked into the kitchen, Isabel’s mother was in her
pajamas and making breakfast for the trio.
Isabel kissed her mother good morning and poured herself a bowl of
cereal. “Is Dad up yet?”
Mrs. Evans shook her head.
Isabel studied her mother’s worn face as she found her seat at the
kitchen table. Her mother had bags
under her eyes and her hair was disheveled and it wasn’t morning hair
either. “How are you guys holding up?”
Isabel asked worriedly. She wished she
could tell her mother what had happened to Max, but she knew Michael would
disapprove and it would likely set up more questions than ever about Max and
bring up more questions.
Her mother smiled warmly at Isabel. “We’re getting through Isabel. I think I should be the one asking if
you’re all right? Especially after
Michael practically had to carry you in last night,” fretted Mrs.
Evans. Then she seemed to change her
line of thought midsentence. Isabel
thought she looked happy for a moment.
“Your father has even been hinting that he might know where Max is.”
Isabel gulped down a spoonful of cereal. “Really?” She scooped another portion of
Cocoa Puffs into her mouth. Isabel
began to become antsy. Her father seemed
to have involved many important people to find Max before and it worried her,
what he might find out if she didn’t stop the dangerous liaisons.
Isabel’s fears had subsided since Max’s return into their
parent’s good graces; healing the rift between their Dad and Max, helped quell
her father’s inquiries. The
investigation stopped after that. But
it seemed the disappearance would put Isabel and Max’s secret in jeopardy again.
Mrs. Evans left the kitchen just as Mr. Evans was
entering. The couple exchanged kisses
before going their respective ways. It
reminded Isabel of the distance that had developed between her and Jesse, and
last night reminded Isabel of the pull she felt towards Michael. “Good morning Dad!” chirped Isabel, as she
tried to hide her anxious thoughts from her father.
The patriarch of the Evans family greeted her with a kiss
and sat down with a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. Mr. Evans began his morning ritual of eating
his breakfast while reading the newspaper.
Isabel finished the last bite of her sugary cocoa breakfast that would
have her going the rest of the day.
Suddenly Isabel heard the snap of the newspaper and turned to see her
father looking at her overtop of his reading glasses. “What did Jesse phone about last night? I almost forgot.”
Isabel swallowed.
“He’s coming home Daddy,” smiled Isabel. “He got some time off and will be here in 3 days.” She glanced at the clock and realized if she
didn’t leave right now, she’d be late meeting Michael. Isabel bit her lip as she tried to casually
exit. “I’m, uh, going to go for a
walk. It’s beautiful out today,” Isabel
thought out loud, hoping her father wouldn’t ask any questions.
“Say, what did you do all yesterday?” Her father eyed her as
she raced to think up an excuse for her disappearance yesterday. “Uh, I…was looking for Max. I thought that maybe I could think of the
places we wouldn’t have thought to look,” lied Isabel. She hated doing it, but she didn’t have much
of a choice. “Mom said you might have
an idea of where he might be.”
Mr. Evans seemed to hesitate before giving her an
answer. “I do,” he said slowly.
“Have an idea. But the investigators
I’ve hired are still looking into it.
I’m going to see them today.”
Isabel felt like he was waiting to see what kind of a reaction she would
have, mentioning how close they might be to Max’s location.”
Isabel just smiled pretended she was happy and that it was
just one less worry. She tucked her
hair behind her ear and excused herself.
“I’m going to head out now Dad.”
Isabel moved slowly, her actions almost jerky. Finally when she was out of her father’s line of sight, Isabel
quickly grabbed her jacket and purse and headed out the door.
~~~
Michael waited impatiently for Isabel. He didn’t know how much longer he could
wait. Michael had tossed and turned all
night, waiting for the day to break. He
didn’t know how much longer Max had and the sooner they found a way to help
him, the sooner Michael wouldn’t feel this helplessness.
“Michael?” Isabel called.
“Are you here?”
Michael rushed up to the entrance of the cave. “Where have you been?” asked Michael through
clenched teeth.
Isabel looked at him with wide eyes. “Are you okay? You seemed more stressed out than usual?”
In truth, Michael had been actually thinking about Isabel
and Jesse. More specifically, what they
were talking about when he’d left the Evans’ house. He’d imagined Isabel whispering sweet nothings into the receiver. Michael sighed. “Nothing. Sorry, I’m just
a little antsy. I just need to know
what that…that thing, told you.”
Isabel nodded. “Just
let me look in on Max, okay?” Michael
nodded and waited outside the cave’s entrance.
Finally Isabel returned and sat down. “You might as well sit because it’s going to
be a long story.” He shook his
head. Michael knew if he sat close to
her, he might let slip something that shouldn’t be revealed. Not yet.
Isabel seemed to be able to get past his defenses.
As Isabel walked him through the events of the dream,
Michael had felt reaffirmed in his theory about Tess, with each detail of the
story -- of the dreamwalk. “It was
weird Michael. I had this horrible pain
every time I saw something human in her.
I mean, like when I saw the blue eyes.
It was like a knife was stabbing me.
Like it was some punishment for seeing her,” Isabel explained, a pained
look on her face as if she were reliving it again.
Licking his lips, Michael sat down beside her and rested his
arms in front of him, on his knees, which were propped against a rock. “Do you have any guesses on what that vision
meant?” asked Michael, knowingly. He’d
had a hypothesis, but Michael couldn’t say anything without Isabel hating him
for it.
Isabel shook her head.
“I think I might know who the one figure is, the golden one? I think she might be Liz. But I’m not sure about the pale one.”
Michael swallowed.
“Could it have been Tess?”
Michael shrunk back, just in case Isabel’s temper flared at him. Nothing.
There seemed to be an odd serene look on her face. Nothing at all like the last time he’d
mentioned Max’s alien counterpart’s name.
“I take that since you’re not screaming at me, you sort of thought the
same thing?”
Isabel ran her fingers through her hair. “I don’t scream,” Isabel protested
quietly. Then after a moment of
silence, Isabel spoke. “You
could be right,” admitted Isabel, seemingly very difficultly. “But I still don’t see what that has to do
with anything!” Her emotions finally
getting the better of her as she stood up and looked to the east, where the sun
was beating down on them.
Michael joined her, dusting off
his jeans. “I mean, Tess has something
to do with this…puzzle. What were you
talking about last night? Just before
your parents came in? You had mentioned
something about us?”
Isabel turned around, her eyes
widened. “Yeah. I almost forgot. She talked about me being injured and then about you bringing me
back.” Her voice trailed off into a
whisper. Michael swallowed. He was so close to her. If he reached out his hand, he could have
touched her beautiful face. Michael
shook his head and cleared his throat, pushing those thoughts aside.
“Maybe she was referring to us
and how we were connected, and that Max needs that same connection to heal
him,” Michael surmised.
Isabel smiled. “And maybe Liz is that person!”
exclaimed Isabel. Michael’s heart
sunk. He’d really hoped she’d come to
the conclusion on her own. Michael put
his hands on Isabel’s shoulders to calm her excitement. He shook his head and licked his lips. “No, Isabel. I’m talking about Tess!”
~~~
Zander was sleeping. Tess had been wary of returning to Nicholas’
house, but she knew that if she didn’t her cover would be up. Lately, Tess had been trying to find out
tidbits of information about how to return to Earth. The more she listened in on Khivar and his conversations with
Nicholas about Max, the more Tess knew that she would most likely need to
return. There also had been some
unsettling conversations about Zander.
Tess had been unable to find out anything on Zander’s ability to
communicate with her. She almost
chalked it up to a mother’s connection with her child, but for some reason,
Tess had a sneaking suspicion that Khivar knew and that he too,
had been conversing with her child. “Ava!” Nicholas laughed eerily. “Did
you have a nice walk today?”
Tess licked her lips as she
poured a glass of water from the crystal pitcher. “It was nice.” She kept
her responses to Khivar and Nicholas short and curt. Tess hoped that this would prolong her charade of an angry and
spurned lover. She’d decided that she
would hate all men. It was easier that
way, and it kept the hounds at bay.
Apparently even by Antarian standards, hybrid aliens were still
attractive, if not more still.
Nicholas smirked. “So you’ve been listening in on our
conversations have you?”
The question came out of nowhere
and left Tess nervous, although she was quick to recover and look oblivious to
what Nicholas was referring to. “I
don’t know what drug you’re on, but why would I want to know what you’re
talking about? I’m just biding my time,
until I can take Zander and get us out of here. Why would I risk the time spent for good behavior, listening to
your conversations. Unless there’s
something interesting to hear about,” Tess sneered.
Nicholas seemed taken off
balance. He seemed to debate whether
she was quick to recover or she was telling the truth. Tess was glad that he wasn’t as observant as
Khivar seemed to be in these things.
“Nothing for you to worry about.”
Nicholas paced the room. He
seemed to be deciding what course to take next.
Now that Tess was on her toes
about the whole matter, she knew what to watch for. She wouldn’t be taken off guard again. “Do you think we could leave this house soon?” asked Tess. It seemed the best bet. “I think Zander and I should get our own
home. We can’t live here forever!”
Nicholas frowned. “And why not? It’s not like you do anything except sleep, feed and clothe the
baby and take walks. What do you need a
house for?”
Tess walked over to Nicholas,
slyly. “But Nicholas, I don’t have much privacy with
the baby next door. And a woman likes
to feel like she has a home, not just a room to sleep in. Mother’s need to nest.” She prayed that this would work.
If she could just put a little space between herself, her son, and
Khivar and Nicholas, she might have a chance to help Max. The only disadvantage would be the fact that
she would no longer have access to the private conversations that Khivar and
Nicholas held -- and maybe even a cure for his illness.
He seemed to ponder this for a
moment before shaking his head. “I
don’t think Khivar would like this idea.”
Tess knew the next move. “What
do you mean?” Tess cried out indignantly.
“I have kept Max and those other hybrids from challenging the throne,
and I can’t have one measly house? This
is not what I signed up for!”
Nicholas seemed to hedge, not
quite sure what his authority was over the royal former queen. And Tess began to play on that emotion. “I was queen here once! I think that Max’s followers are probably
right now talking about how Khivar is treating the rightful Queen of
Antar!” She pulled herself up, pressing
upon Nicholas’ mind the air of regalness and beauty. It seemed to work because Nicholas almost began to cower.
Suddenly when Tess thought she’d
just grasped the upper hand on the pathetic alien, Khivar stormed in with a
smirk on his face. “So you want a place
for yourself do you? Oh Queen of
Antar!” He bowed to Tess from his waist
down.
Tess was stunned. She hadn’t seen Khivar around all that
afternoon and assumed he’d left for the day.
But there he was and he had an evil gleam in his eye. “Yes I do!” declared Tess. She couldn’t let him see through her façade.
Khivar grasped her arm and pulled
her towards the hallway. “Where do you think you’re taking me?” demanded Tess.
Khivar smirked. “Only a place befitting a Queen! Only a place befitting a Queen.”