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.
***
Love, you know, seeks to make happy
rather than to be happy.
-
Ralph Connor
***
Liz awoke from her deep slumber, the ray of the morning sun
peeping through the skylight. As she opened
her eyes, she realized that she and Kyle had fallen asleep in the loft above
the café. She panicked for a
moment. Her parents would be frantic.
As she slowly pushed herself up from the horizontal
position, Liz rubbed her face, which was still puffy from the torrent of tears
that flowed from Michael and Isabel’s revelation. Liz looked over at Kyle, who was sleeping slouched on the
couch. He would be sore when he woke up.
Liz slid off the couch and planned to get ready for her
shift that morning, when she heard Kyle groan.
“Ugh, remind me never to sleep with you again,” he joked, still groggy
from the uncomfortable sleep.
“Well, I never told you to come here,” Liz retorted
softly. “I did tell you to leave.”
Kyle stood up, stretching his arms above his head. “Yeah, and that would have been a good
idea?” he threw a skeptical gaze at Liz.
“After all the crying you did last night, my t-shirt’s shrunk to a
medium from a large!”
Liz rolled her eyes at his pathetic joke. “Whatever Kyle, “ she chuckled.
It felt good to laugh again. Last night it felt like she’d shed whatever emotions she had
through her tears. Liz didn’t think she
could feel anything.
“Liz!” a man’s voice shouted frantically. “Are you here?”
Liz recognized her father’s voice. She glanced at Kyle who seemed occupied with
the task of working out the knots in his neck.
“What are we going to do?” she whispered anxiously.
Kyle looked over at Liz and frowned. “What’s there to worry about? It’s not like we did anything. Just tell him we fell asleep here.”
Liz ran her fingers through her hair. “Are you kidding me? Do you know my dad? He’ll freak!”
Kyle shook his head and walked towards the stairs. “Just watch. He can’t be as bad as you think,” chided Kyle.
~ * ~
“And you think that there’s nothing wrong with what you did?” yelled Mr. Parker. “You had your mother and I worried sick! And you young man?” Her father gave Kyle a withering stare.
Kyle looked over at Liz and gave her a frightened stare. Liz glared at him and mouthed, ‘I told you so’.
“How stupid and gullible do you think we are?” Mr. Parker asked
Kyle opened his mouth to make a loose comment, when Liz glared at him, warning him not to make the situation worse. “I’m sorry sir,” Kyle apologized, settling for something less controversial.
“But seriously, we didn’t do anything. Liz was having a bad night and I just found her at the Crashdown.”
“Dad, come on! You know that I wouldn’t do anything like that,” Liz pleaded. “I was having a tough time, with Max and all, and I came here to think.”
Her father’s face softened, and Liz thought she might have gotten through to him. “Dad, I’m sorry. I would have called, but I wasn’t planning on falling asleep here.”
Mr. Parker unclenched his teeth and relaxed his body. “All right. I believe you,” he sighed. “But you had us worried Liz. I know this has been tough for you, with Max missing and all, but if you would just come talk to us…”
Liz looked at the floor. “I…I just can’t Dad. It’s not something I can talk about.”
Finally after a few minutes, her father walked into the kitchen to start the grills, leaving Liz alone with Kyle. “Thanks for not making any jokes. I don’t think he would have appreciated them.”
Kyle’s eyes widened and scratched the back of his head. “Who knew the guy had a set of lungs in him like that?”
Liz laughed again. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thanks for following me up to the loft Kyle. I know I told you I wanted to be alone, but I think it would have been worse if I was.”
Kyle grinned. “I knew you’d miss me,” he teased.
Liz hit him playfully and motioned with her head that she would have to get going. “I have to go get changed before the breakfast crowd gets here.”
“Well, I think my dad is probably sending out the search party for my hide right about now too.”
Liz nodded. “Come by for lunch? It’s on the house,” she offered.
Kyle nodded. “Sure. Like I’m going to pass up a free meal from such a pretty gal like you?”
Liz smirked. “Another one of your dad’s pointers?” she teased.
Kyle winked and laughed. “You betcha!”
Liz sighed as she unlocked the deadbolt, allowing Kyle to leave. “Thanks again.”
Kyle shrugged and waved goodbye. “I’ll see you at 12 sharp.”
~~~
Andaria was Tess’ mother. Tess never expected that. And what’s more, Tess never expected to see her mother morph into Maia. “So you were pretending to be Maia?” Tess exclaimed.
“Yes, Ava.”
Tess never imagined seeing her mother let alone being in the same room with her. “I don’t remember everything. I remember Max…I mean Zan and my life together with him, but I don’t remember all of my life here on Antar. Everything’s so strange.”
Andaria nodded. “I know, Ava. Things are bound to be missing. But I’m here to help you remember.”
Tess felt her body tense. She’d been waiting for this moment from the time Nasedo had begun telling her stories about Antar, but now that she was on Antar it filled her with fear and anxiety. Ava and Zan had existed, but Tess didn’t want to lose that part of herself she’d found with Maxwell.
She knew that Zan and Ava had lived and had a life together, but Tess knew that Maxwell and she had made a connection other than through the past. Max had fallen in love with her, not because she was Ava, but because she was Tess. That was until Alex’s accidental death.
Tess felt Andaria’s long slender arms wrap around her shoulders. “I know what burden you carry, Ava. I know what you’ve sacrificed for Zan.”
She looked up at her mother and rested her head on her shoulder. “I’ve destroyed whatever chance I had with him Mom. He did love me. We were going to come back here and live our lives as a family,” she choked out. “Now Max is dying and it’s all because of me.”
Andaria stroked Tess’ silky hair. “It’s not your fault. You know that Zan’s convergence with that human is the cause of the state he’s in now,” she chided.
Tess shook her head and pulled away from her mother’s comforting arms. “But if I hadn’t pushed him away. If I hadn’t lied to him the way I did, none of this would be happening,” Tess cried out in frustration.
It was the first time she’d let out these doubts and fears. It was the first time Tess had been able to voice the anger she had for Nasedo, Khivar and the ‘stupid’ plan that took Maxwell away from her.
“But Ava,” her mother cooed. “You know he would have died. You would have been delivering Zan into Khivar’s hands.”
Tess fell into a nearby chair. “Mom, he would have killed Max.”
Her mother kneeled before Tess, her intense blue eyes gazing lovingly at her daughter. “You did what you had to do. Zan will understand once you explain to him what happened.”
“But how can I do that?” Tess asked wearily. “He’s still in the same position that he was the last time I was about to return to Antar with him. Khivar will kill him.”
Andaria smiled at her worried daughter. “Ava, plans have been made for your return. Had we known you were coming when you had, we could have saved you this heartache of being parted from your husband.”
Tess frowned. “What do you mean?”
“There is a contingent of Loyalists who remain true to the throne. We have been waiting for the time when our King would return home at last to free us from Khivar and his massacre and iron fist,” Andaria explained. “We’re ready now Ava. You will bring home the other three. The Royal Four will sit on the throne of Antar once more.”
Tess was stunned. She hadn’t expected any of this. From the time she’d arrived on Antar, Tess hadn’t seen hide or hair of any supporters of past King and court. “How can you be sure?” she asked worriedly.
Andaria understood her daughter’s uncertainty. “You have to trust us darling. Zan’s mother and I have arranged everything. The time has come. You have born an heir to the throne of Antar. He will bear the crest of Zan’s house, Kedra - born of royal blood.”
Tess was overwhelmed. How could this all happen? Khivar had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and minions behind him, while she had yet to convince Max, Isabel and Michael that it was their rightful place on Antar. She shook her head. She couldn’t do it. She wasn’t strong enough.
“I’m don’t know. Things aren’t as bad as Nasedo said,” Tess reasoned with her mother slowly. “I don’t see anyone suffering like you’re saying. Maybe Khivar isn’t as horrible as he seems. It seems like they’ll be more people hurt from us trying to regain the throne than from just leaving things as it is.”
Andaria stood up quickly and the warm clear blue eyes that had gazed lovingly up at her froze into cold ice. “Ava!” she cried aloud in anger. “I have not raised a daughter to shrink back from her destiny. What kind of Queen are you?”
Tess swallowed hard. “I’m not a Queen, Mom! My name is Tess and I was born on Earth. I’m not Ava! I wasn’t born into a royal family and a prince didn’t fall in love with me and make me his queen!” she yelled indignantly.
Andaria stood there for a moment, as if seeing her for the first time. “Well, I guess I don’t know you as well as I thought. I thought you were a strong woman who would do anything for the people she loved. That is the daughter I knew.”
Tess watched as Andaria turned her back on her. “I’m sorry Mom. I would like to help, but I’m not strong enough.”
Andaria turned on her heel and faced her whimpering daughter. “Nonsense. You feel sorry for yourself, a trait that you have taken from those humans you’ve lived with for so long,” she snapped, eyes blazing. “You are my daughter. You have my blood running through your veins. I know you are my daughter because of what I’ve seen you overcome.”
“Khivar and Nicholas have done everything to keep you at bay and placated, but you never once gave in to them. You have plotted and schemed for a way out of their grasp. And now you are here in this house.”
“You’ve always been smart Ava, and I’m not willing to watch you simper and accept that your place here on Antar is one of a menial servant. Or a kept woman of the reigning ‘king’.”
Tess never expected her mother to become so angry over her choice to stop fighting. It wasn’t something she wanted, but without the other three, how could she not give up? She was trapped, a kept woman.
“I’m not a coward,” protested Tess. “I’m just stuck. My hands are tied. Mother I would take this kingdom back with you and our people, but I don’t have any right. Max is the only one who can decide that, and he decided it wasn’t his choice a long time ago.”
Andaria furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. “But was it his choice? Or yours? Just as you said daughter, you lied to him and made that choice for him. You chose to lie to him about how that human, Alex, died. You chose to lie to him about why he died,” she exclaimed. “He was ready to come home with you Ava. He would have been king.”
Tess licked her lips, pondering the choices she’d made and how she was now using them as excuses. “But he would have died,” she whispered softly.
Andaria lifted Tess’ chin up so that she could look straight into her eyes. “That’s what you thought,” she replied. “But now Tess, you and Maxwell, are stronger than you know. And when you save him and bring him back home, you will see. You and Max will be King and Queen once more.”
“He is the man who loves you my dear daughter. I know he is.”
~~~
Isabel awoke in Jesse’s arms. It had been a while since she’d felt like she belonged there. It had been a while since Jesse had allowed her to feel like she’d belonged there. She hoped that this was the start to a new beginning for them. Isabel had missed him a lot.
Unconsciously her thoughts wandered to last night. There had been so many discoveries. The most important was that message from Antar, or they thought was from Antar. She didn’t know what to think. Isabel had been so preoccupied with Liz and Max that she hadn’t thought about how an entire world might actually be waiting for their King and Queen. They might be waiting for Michael and Isabel.
Jesse moved slowly underneath her and sighed. Isabel looked upon her husband’s serene face. All that would change if he knew that she was thinking about a return to Antar. Isabel frowned to herself. Was she even thinking about returning to Antar?
Isabel slowly untangled her arms and legs from Jesse’s and went to the bathroom to get ready for the new day. She stared at the image in the mirror before her. Was she Isabel, Jesse’s wife? Or was she Isabel/Vilandra, Princess of Antar?
Isabel picked up her toothbrush and began working away at the build up on her teeth. Silently she pondered her current situation. Max would be healed if Tess could get here in time. The thought of Tess returning didn’t even turn her stomach now as it once did. Could there even be a question about returning to Antar with Tess’ return to Earth?
She spit out the toothpaste and saliva mixture from her mouth and rinsed her mouth out with tap water. Isabel ran a brush through her hair a few times and quickly applied a minimal amount of make up to her face. With a quick adjustment to the tone of her lip-gloss, Isabel walked back into her bedroom.
“Isabel?” Jesse groaned. “What are you doing up so early?”
Isabel climbed beside her groggy husband. “I have to go see Max. Maria’s been watching him all night and now it’s my turn,” she whispered into his ear.
Jesse rubbed his eyes and studied her face. “Is Michael going to be there too?”
Without saying a word, Isabel nodded somewhat guiltily. She didn’t know why she felt guilty for meeting Michael there, but it felt like Jesse had caught her in some lie or affair, which wasn’t the case at all. Isabel had put those feelings away since the day they discovered that they were destined to be husband and wife.
“Isabel?”
“Yes. He’s going to be there,” she mumbled.
“Do your parents know where Max is? Cause from the sounds of it last night and the way you lied to them, it seems like you’re keeping them in the dark about this,” Jesse cross examined her. “Don’t you know what this is doing to them?”
Isabel closed her eyes and nodded again. She knew. She’d always known how much her lies were hurting her parents unbeknownst to them. “Look Jesse, they can’t know about this,” she stated firmly. “They wouldn’t understand. It would be too dangerous.”
She laughed to herself. Isabel never thought she’d be the ones uttering those words. Max was always the cautious pessimist.
“Too dangerous for who? You or them?”
Jesse’s gaze burrowed into her. As she met his gaze, Isabel swallowed and sighed out loud. “Both. Jesse you don’t know. It’s bad enough you know and you’re in danger of getting hurt because of us. I’m not going to put my parents in that position. It’s a decision Maxwell and I made a long time ago.”
“Did you? Or was it just Max?” he retorted. “Because the Isabel I know loves her mother and would want to share everything with her.”
Isabel pursed her lips and tried to figure a way out of this conversation. “Look, the decision has been made, no matter whether I wanted to tell my mother or not. It’s too late.”
Isabel rose from the bed and looked down at Jesse. “Now did you mean it when you said you wanted to help us?” she asked abruptly.
Jesse frowned and looked away. For a moment, Isabel thought he might go against her wishes and rush out of the room to tell her parents everything. But finally Jesse sighed and looked up at Isabel. “You know I do. I just don’t like the way you’re handling this Isabel. There are too many secrets.”
Isabel bit her lip and sat down on the bed again. “Listen Jesse, it won’t be for long. We’ve got to keep Max away from my parents long enough to heal him. Then my parents can know that it was us who took him.” She grabbed his hand. “We just can’t let them know that he’s not human.”
Jesse seemed quite reluctant at the plan, but after a few kisses and her puppy dog eyes staring up at him, he agreed. “Fine. I’ll keep your secret. But Isabel if this goes on too long, you have to know that the lies won’t keep them away. They’ll find out one way or another.”
Isabel frowned. “What do you mean?”
Jesse looked away and then unexpectedly slid out from under the sheets. “Nothing. I…I just think that people must be looking for Max…and there aren’t too many places for him to hide in Roswell,” he stuttered.
“Don’t you think people will think it’s strange that Max disappears and suddenly you reappear back in Roswell? Won’t that send up signals to those ‘evil’ people who want to hunt you down? I’m amazed your parents buy your line about ‘searching’ for Max.”
Isabel mulled over his words as he shuffled into the bathroom. She thought Jesse was trying to warn her, but Isabel didn’t understand about what. Those who knew about their ‘secret’ were allies. And those who had known and wanted them captured or dead were ten feet under. Who could hurt them when they were so well hidden - albeit in plain sight?
~~~
Michael arrived at the cave to relieve Maria, who was sound asleep when he checked in on the two. “Maria?” he whispered, shaking her gently. “Wake up.”
Maria’s body jerked, startled by her quiet visitor. “Michael?” she gasped, placing her hand over her heart. “You scared me!”
Michael shrugged. “Sorry. You fell asleep.”
Maria smoothed back long blonde hair and looked down at Maxwell. “He hasn’t woken up or moved since well, I don’t know,” she mumbled.
Michael sighed. “Yeah. Okay.”
There was an awkward silence. Michael didn’t quite know what to say. They hadn’t been alone since he broke up with her that night in his apartment.
“So where’s your sidekick Isabel?” Maria joked half-heartedly. “I expected her to show up with you this morning.”
Michael rolled his eyes. “It’s not like that Maria,” he sighed. “Besides Jesse’s came home last night.”
Maria’s eyes widened. “Wow!” she exclaimed. Her face then turned sardonic. “That must put a damper on your guys’ plans to hook up?”
Michael bit back a rude reply. He knew she was still hurting from the break up. Michael had only himself to blame for this. Deciding to change the subject, Michael felt for a pulse on Max. “You must be tired. I’m fine staying here with Max by myself. There’s some stuff I have to figure out anyway.”
Maria stood up and straightened her shirt. “That’s fine with me!” she replied irritably. “It’s not like my life revolves around sitting in a dark dank cave, swooning over a guy who doesn’t see a good thing when it’s right in front of his face.”
Michael turned on his heel and stood up, just as Maria was about to leave the cave. “Maria,” he called.
Maria turned around, a hint of a gleam in her eye. “Yes?” she smiled expectantly.
Michael stuffed his hands in his jean pockets. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for hurting you like I did Maria. I never meant to drag you into this and end up hurting you.”
Her pale face fell. Maria’s posture changed from tired to strong and agitated. “You know what Michael?” she spat. “I’m not hurting anymore. It’s been over for ages and I’ve just been blind enough not to notice. I should have realized that you weren’t what I wanted a long time ago. Then I wouldn’t have wasted my time and sympathy for you.”
Michael watched her stalk out of the cave. He swallowed hard. His stomach lurched at the thought of losing her like that. Michael prayed that it wouldn’t be like this forever. He prayed that Maria would someday forgive him for loving someone else.