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 cures people –
Both the ones who give it
And the ones who receive it.
-
Karl Menninger
***
Tess found herself standing amidst the familiar white room she once fled from. Looking around, several familiar faces appeared in front of her as if she was waking from a dream. “Tess!” she heard someone gasp.
As she acclaimated herself to her surroundings, Tess quickly
remembered what she was there for. As
she stepped down from the platform, Isabel was the first face she saw. Kneeling right beside her though was a
stranger. He had dark hair and eyes,
sort of cute if he didn’t have a perma-scowl on his face. Tess frowned as she slowly stepped past them
towards the dim entrance.
Tess recognized Michael’s voice as she was he was shouting
frantically. She couldn’t make out what
he was saying. Then as she stood at the
entrance to the chamber, a black hole abounded before her. Finally her eyes adjusted to the darkness
and she recognized the rocky walls that led to the room.
***
Michael was stunned.
He never believed that she would come.
It was a fool’s dream. But there
she stood, unchanged with the exception of her hair, which was longer; and she
looked weary.
“Tess?” Michael heard Liz gasp from behind him.
Michael swallowed and he parted his lips to say something
but Tess’ face suddenly drained of color and she pushed past him. “Max!” she cried, as she dropped to her
knees beside the ashen grey body.
Michael snapped out of his state of shock and turned on his
heel to join Tess beside Max. “Are you
going to do something or what?” Michael managed to ask. “Or are you too late?”
Tess’ blue eyes peered up at Michael, her expression
fearful. Unexpectedly, she stood up and
cleared her throat. Tess’ body
stiffened and she wiped a stray tear that had gone unnoticed until now from her
cheek. “Get him into the chamber, it’ll
be easier for me to kneel in there,” she commanded darkly.
Michael quickly obeyed, lugging Max’s cold body back into
the lit chamber. He didn’t even
blink. Michael didn’t care if she
killed Alex right now all he cared about was not losing another person he cared
about deeply.
He watched as the petite blonde took command of the
situation. Her hands caressed Max’s
face and she lowered her lips to his ears as if whispering something. Then she lifted Max’s t-shirt, revealing a
golden handprint. It hadn’t faded since
Liz had attempted to heal Max. “What’s
this?” Tess asked curiously turning her head around.
Liz stepped up to the blonde outsider. “I tried to heal him,” she replied stiffly.
Michael blinked as the two women faced off in a cold deadly
war of wills. Then when he’d thought it
had gone on long enough he stepped in and pointed at Tess. “Look, we don’t have time. Can you help him or not?”
The clear blue eyes left Liz and focused on Michael. “I don’t know.” She paused a moment quickly glancing down at Maxwell. “They said that I could do this, but there
wasn’t time to explain how. They said
that I was the only one who could save him.”
Maria suddenly coughed, muffling her sarcasm with her
hand. “Liar,” she said in between her
throaty spasms.
Michael didn’t give Maria a second glance, too focused on
the situation at hand. “You either can
or can’t Tess, tell me now!”
Suddenly Isabel stepped out of the shadows, her face pale
and creased with worry. “You are going
to save him,” she stated emotionless. “You
have to. Now focus and prove that we
weren’t wrong in trusting you this one last time.”
Michael glanced over at Isabel. She seemed drained of emotion and rigid in her stance. All he wanted to do was hold her while they
waited to see if this lying conniving traitor would save one of their own. Isabel seemed to feel his eyes on her and
her gaze met his. Michael swallowed
hard and turned away before seeing Jesse wrap his arms around her and whisper
comforting words in her ear.
“If you’re going to save him,” Michael growled, “do it
now. Or else you’re nothing but a waste
of human DNA and you can go back to the planet you came from.”
***
Tess swallowed and prayed to an unknown power to guide her
as scorning watchful eyes were upon her.
As she placed her hand on his chest, slightly above the golden touch of
death, Tess licked her lips and closed her eyes. While she focused on an image of Max’s face, Tess began to
remember all of the quiet moments she’d shared with him. Memories of their first time in the
observatory flashed before her eyes.
Tess remembered everything about him and the warm beat of his heart.
Suddenly she was drawn into a dark tunnel. Tess called out to Max; when she was brought
back to her own body, Tess felt a tingling warm all of energy hovering in the
pit of her stomach. However, Tess
willed that ball into the palm of her hand.
It glowed a bright pale silvery blue as it enveloped her hand and then
was absorbed into Max’s body.
An unexpected understanding of what she needed to do next
filled her senses. Tess knew she was a
part of Max and that just as they’d become one in body, now they needed to
become one in spirit. As she slowly
breathed in, Tess placed her other hand upon Max’s chest, precisely on top of
Liz’s handprint. Tess closed her eyes
once more and began to search within that darkness for that shimmering portal
that Max had escaped into.
***
Isabel watched as an unusual silver bubble began to envelop
Tess. It shimmered under the crystal
lights that hung above the group of seven.
Suddenly it began to extend across to Max’s body until the couple was
encased in a translucent bubble of energy.
The intensity of its energy was astounding. Isabel could feel herself being pushed back by it.
As she watched with mesmerizing rapture, Isabel pulled away
from Jesse’s embrace and walked over to Michael. He extended his right hand slowly and grasped hers in a vice like
grip. The two were stunned at the
powerful connection that was happening in front of them. Tess and Max were as still as statues and
didn’t make a sound as the bubble seemed to solidify and began to turn opaque.
All of the sudden, Isabel found herself awakened as if she’d
been in some sort of dream-like trance.
The soft mumbles coming from the others hinted to Isabel that they’d
also been hypnotized by the remarkable healing. “What happened?” she whispered to Michael.
A thin casing of a hard crust-like substance stood before them,
which they’d never seen before. It was woven
like a cocoon, and it shimmered as if the stars themselves had lent their light.
No one knew what to make of it.
His light brows furrowed and he rubbed his mouth laboriously. “I…I don’t know Isabel,” he replied. She watched him walk around the shell, lightly
fingering the casing. He sighed heavily
and shook his head. “I don’t know,” he repeated.
“Good work Sherlock,” Maria retorted. “That black widow could have him trapped in that
bubble and be sucking the life out of him.”
Isabel frowned at the misplaced sense of humor. “That’s not funny,” Isabel replied sharply. “Besides what else were we supposed to do?”
Maria glanced briefly at Liz, who was leaning her forehead
against the shell, eyes closed.
Suddenly she clamped her mouth shut as if suddenly realizing how inappropriate
it was. “I’m sorry guys, but how do we
know that was her plan? I mean, she
could have just put on that light show for us and teleported Max’s body back to
Antar?”
Isabel closed her eyes and searched for Max and Tess within
that casing. She opened her eyes and
shook her head. “They’re still in
there.”
Liz seemed to snap out of her somber state and grab Isabel’s
wrist. “Are they alive? Is Max alive?”
Isabel looked down at Liz pityingly. “I don’t know Liz. I don’t know.”
***
Max felt cold, a chill that cut like a knife right through
him. He wrapped his arms around himself,
hoping to be able to keep whatever body heat he had left inside him. His eyes, he realized, were closed, and his
whole body was tired. When he
swallowed, his mouth was dry and his lips felt chapped. He cleared his throat quietly and forced his
eyes opened.
Max was blinded by the brightness that filled his senses,
and he lifted his right arm to shield him from its harsh intensity. As his head lolled back, and he realized how
heavy every appendage and body part felt, Max fell back onto his back and
rested. It was at that moment, he
realized that he was not alone. His leg
brushed up against something.
As he lifted his head up once more, Max saw a small figure
curled up into a ball, a mass of blonde curls hiding the woman’s face. He swallowed again, this time; his throat
didn’t hurt as much as some moisture had returned. Max turned over on his stomach and pulled himself over to the
woman. As he brushed a few locks that
had fallen across her face, Max discovered an unconscious Tess lying before
him.
He frowned. Where were
they? And how did Tess get here?
Max could hear shuffling beyond the light thin shell that surrounded
them. A muffle of voices filled his ears.
He recognized one voice. Liz was out there.
Just as he was about to tear his way out of the bubble, the mass
of curls rose up and her hand swept the long hair out of her pale face. Max was suddenly overwhelmed by a torrent of images.
He was seeing a thin blonde waif at the
edge of a cliff, then, it flashed to a woman smiling at him with these clear blue
eyes. She was laughing and running around
in the white surf of the ocean. And
lastly, an image of Tess’ stunned face appeared as he gave her a silver ring,
diamond encrusted with a solid blue gem in the center of it.
Max held his head as the images stopped and as his eyes fell
upon Tess once more, the mother of his child smiled softly. “I remember too Max. I remember it all.” She reached out to him, but he pulled away,
scared and desperate to be near Liz.
There was a small crack in the shell layering and Max glanced
guiltily, one last time at Tess, who looked rejected and upset. Max swallowed and pulled at the
opening. It gave way and the shell
tore, revealing the familiar white room he’d last laid eyes on before the
darkness.
“Max!” a familiar voice called excitedly.
As he stepped out of the dim shell into the illuminating
room, Max was surrounded by a host of people.
His eyes first met Isabel’s, whose were filling up with tears. As she draped her arms around his neck, Max
felt all the tiredness melt away. He
was home again.
There was a large commotion and many of them bombarded him
with questions. “Are you all right?” “Is everything okay?” “What happened Max?” He didn’t even know who was asking the
questions, let alone which to answer first, if he could answer any.
Finally he heard Michael’s loud obnoxious voice shout above
the crowd. “Give the man some room!” Max met Michael’s stout gaze and he
smiled. Everyone parted as Michael
slowly made his way over to him. “We were
doing fine here ya know! You didn’t
need to come back so soon!” Michael’s feigned
bravado was transparent.
“I’m sure,” retorted Max. He studied Michael’s face and both
snorted at Michael’s comment. Suddenly
the walls fell and they embraced gruffly, patting each other on the back.
“You know you had us scared there for a while?” Michael
growled.
Max nodded. “I was
scared myself,” he began to explain, when suddenly his eyes fell on Liz.
She stood there silently, a wounded look on her face. Liz’s face scrunched up and her eyes closed,
trying to hold in the tears. Max
approached slowly until he was standing in front of her, his hand caressing her
smooth cheek. “I missed you,” he
sighed.
Liz smiled unable to speak, tears trickling down her
face. She wrapped her arms around him
and he felt her body collapse in a torrent of tears. Finally she managed to speak through her sobs. “I didn’t think I’d ever hold you again,”
she sniffled. Suddenly she was laughing
and smiling as her hands reached up to cup his face, as if to make sure this
wasn’t a dream.
Max smiled, realizing that his own tears were falling and
mingling with hers. “Me too,” he
whispered.
***
“Oh, how touching,” Tess sighed dryly as she watched the
touching reunion.
As she stepped out of the shell, Tess found herself
ignored. Everyone had forgotten that
she’d even existed. It was as if they
thought that she would disappear after healing Max. What could she really have expected? Tess thought to
herself. Why should anything change?
Tess’ gaze fell upon Max.
Things should have changed. Max
remembered; he remembered when they’d first met, he remembered when he’d
proposed to her, Max remembered loving her.
Instead, Tess watched as Max ran desperately to the love he’d clung to
the first day she’d met him. A harmless
crush had turned out to be the biggest obstacle keeping Max from admitting the
true love that they’d shared, that they’d fought and died for.
“Tess,” Max whispered distractedly. “Thank you.”
“Yes, thank you,” Liz agreed, clinging to Maxwell.
It was enough to make Tess puke. She plastered on her poker face and pushed back the bile that
rose in her throat. “So glad I could
help,” she retorted stiffly. “That’s
what I’m here for.”
Suddenly Tess felt herself pushed forward from behind. She took a couple steps forward to balance
herself and turned around in anger. “What
the heck?” she cried.
Maria was a few inches from her, eyes a blazing. “Don’t even think of getting angry little
girl. You don’t have any right to be
angry.”
Tess clenched her teeth and her anger seethed at the
audacity the little humanoid had. “Excuse
me?” she asked when she was in control of her emotions.
“You heard me. Don’t
think that saving Max makes up for anything!
You killed Alex and I will always remember that.”
“Maria!” Michael growled through clenched teeth.
Maria turned around to glare at her former lover. “Uh, no!
Don’t think you can shush me! I’m
not your girlfriend anymore, I don’t care what you say,” she spat. “This woman got away with murder because she
was pregnant with Max’s baby. Well, she’s
not anymore.”
Silence filled the white chamber. Finally Tess laughed hysterically. “Whatever Maria.”
Max frowned at her. “Why
are you laughing?”
Tess shook her head and folded her arms across her
chest. “You really are pathetic you
know? I can’t believe that you don’t
know me by now!” She turned around and
looked at Max, whom had Liz glued to his side.
“You tell me Max? Am I the woman
who killed Alex? You tell me Zen! After all, you were going to marry me?”
Tess couldn’t take it anymore. She’d had enough of the accusations. There had been a reason why she’d led him to believe that what
Liz had told him was true, but not anymore.
“I don’t know what you mean Tess,” Max said defiantly.
Tess confronted her fiancée. “Do you remember what you saw in there Max?” She pointed inside the crystallized shell. “You remember me Zan and the woman I
was. You tell me? Would I kill Alex?”
Suddenly Liz stepped forward. “It doesn’t matter Tess.
We have proof that you killed Alex.
I don’t know why you’re trying to deny it now!” she exclaimed angrily.
Tess scowled at the petite brunette. “You don’t know anything Liz! You never did.”
Max stepped forward, making Tess give ground. “Just because I remember loving you Tess,
doesn’t mean anything.”
“It doesn’t?” Tess challenged. “You mean you don’t remember the kind of woman you fell in love
with and are in love with now?”
Max looked at her defiantly. “I don’t love you anymore Tess.
You know that. I never loved
you.”
Tess swallowed and her face softened at that last
declaration. “You’re wrong Max,” she
said, losing the inner fire that stoked her anger. “I know you loved me and still love me. How could you not?”
Max looked quizzically at her. “Tess, look, I’m thankful that you saved my life, but I’m staying
here. There’s no way I could forgive
you for killing Alex, let alone fall in love with you.”
Tess didn’t know what to do. She’d thought for sure that she’d seen something beneath his dark
brown eyes when she’d woken up in the chamber.
Tess was almost sure that once he remembered his feelings, as she did
when she’d retrieved her memories, Max would realize that they really loved
each other. Now looking at Max, Tess
wasn’t sure.
But things had been coming together. Tess thought that there might be some chance
of being with Max again. However, by
Max’s behavior, it was as if retrieving the memories of his past life meant
nothing to him.
“Tess?” Isabel called to her softly. Tess turned around to face the tall, now brunette
woman, whom she’d considered a sister. “Are
you all right?”
Tess swallowed. She
didn’t know. How was she ever going to
be all right?
Andaria expected her to return to Antar. The people expected their king to return to
his rightful throne. Had she screwed
this up one more time? Was Andaria
wrong?
Suddenly Tess felt faint.
She doubled over in pain as her whole body began ache. Tess lifted her hand up to touch her head when
everything was suddenly fading and darkening.
She recognized Isabel’s face as her knees gave out and Max’s face before
everything turned to black.
***
Isabel felt the full weight of the small figure as she
collapsed beside her. Isabel looked up
at Michael, who was standing beside her, asking silently for some help. Michael gently slipped his arms underneath
her and swept her up in his arms. “Are we
going to just leave her here?” he asked.
“I think so,” Maria stated.
“I mean, if we just leave her here, maybe she’ll just flicker and
teleport herself out of here.”
Isabel rolled her eyes.
“We can’t do that,” she sighed. “She
just saved Max’s life.”
“And killed Alex! Or
don’t you remember that?”
Isabel felt torn.
There was something about Tess.
It wasn’t even some mind trick that she was playing. There was something in the frustration and
desperation of her voice that led Isabel to believe that there was more to the
story than just accidentally killing Alex.
It didn’t seem right.
The tirade that Tess had pulled before Max’s declaration of
his inability to love her seemed to be leading somewhere. But when he told her that he didn’t love
her, she seemed to lose focus and attack Liz.
“We need to keep an eye on her,” Isabel protested. “Just in case she decides to pull something.”
Isabel didn’t believe that Tess would, but it was a sound
enough excuse not to leave her here in the white sterile empty room. “I agree,” Max said, looking at Isabel.
Isabel thought she caught a glimpse of something in Max’s
eye. It seemed like there was more to
his agreeing than his compassion for another human being, or hybrid. As Isabel studied Max, who hadn’t left Liz’s
side, it seemed as if Max was debating something within himself. Max was conflicted in ways she couldn’t
read, which was a first for Isabel.
“Well I vote no,” Maria pouted. “Liz?”
“I say…well, I say yes,” Liz said hesitantly.
“That’s three against one,” Isabel stated, looking around the
room.
“I say no,” Jesse chimed in.
Isabel looked curiously at him. “What?”
“Well, if she’s a killer like you say, then why do we want
her anywhere near us?” he questioned.
Isabel bit her tongue as she thought of a rude reply. She didn’t even know why he should even have
a vote. He had just gotten involved in
this whole mess and didn’t know anything about Tess. Isabel just wished Jesse could understand where she was coming
from.
“See!” Maria exclaimed.
“What about you Michael?”
He looked down at the unconscious woman and then over at
Isabel. She knew he understood why they
couldn’t just leave her here. Isabel
knew Michael would make the right choice.
“Yes.”
Isabel smiled and looked around the room. “We better get going. Can we stash her at your place Michael?”
Michael nodded and headed out the chamber door with everyone
else following behind.
“Are we meeting there?” Isabel asked.
Max nodded. “Yeah,
we gotta figure out what’s going on, and what to do next.”
Isabel looked over at Max in the evening light of the
stars. She couldn’t imagine feeling
better than she did that night. Max was
all right and she didn’t need to lie anymore.
Isabel could tell her parents that she’d found their brother, which
would make them ecstatic and her father stop the investigation.
Isabel looked over at Jesse who seemed awfully quiet. “Are you all right Jesse?”
“Fine. But I have to
get home. I’ve got a lot of phone calls
to make to New York about this case I’ve been working on.”
“But honey, it’s late?” Isabel said confused. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
“It’s got to be dealt with tonight.”
Isabel shook her head and frowned. He seemed a little off, like something was on his mind. And it wasn’t the case either, but Isabel
couldn’t worry about that now. Max was
healed, but they still had to figure out what to do with Tess. “Fine,” she answered. “You take the car. I’ll go with Michael.”
Jesse nodded and Isabel thought he mumbled something under
his breath. Something like, “I’m sure
you will.” Isabel wasn’t sure what that
meant, but she let it go, not wanting to start a big argument in front of the
other five.
“I’ll see you later tonight honey,” she called as Jesse
walked away. Jesse waved his hand in acknowledgement. “Remember don’t tell my parents!”
Jesse didn’t answer.
Isabel watched the car roar to life, the headlights shining brightly
into her eyes. She raised her arm to
protect her eyes from the glaring lights.
“Isabel, aren’t you going with Jesse?” Liz called.
Isabel turned around to face the petite brunette. “No.
He’s kind of tired. He’s going
home.”
Max came up beside Liz. “Is he going to tell Mom and Dad?” he asked worriedly.
Isabel shook her head. “No,” she said, feigning confidence. “I reminded him not to.” Max
looked skeptically at her. “It’ll be fine
Max.”
Michael popped his head up from the inside of the jeep. “Are we going or not?”
Everyone began to head towards the jeep. Isabel and Max joined Tess and Michael in the
jeep, while Maria drove Liz back to Michael’s apartment. Isabel noticed the longing looks between Max and
Liz, but the three of them needed to discuss things on the way to their destination.
***
“Max what happened?” Michael asked as he drove the jeep down
the dry dirt road. He couldn’t believe that
he was talking with Max right now, who’d just a half an hour ago, laid dead in his
arms.
“I’ll explain it all when we get to the apartment,” Max replied
evasively.
Michael peered into his rearview mirror at Maxwell, who had Tess’
head lying in his lap. “What happened between
you two?”
Max looked at him darkly and answered softly, “I can’t explain
Michael. It’s still all a blur to me.”
Michael sighed. It
was the same old Max, vague and secretive. “We have to figure out what to do with her,” Michael stated.
“We can figure it out at the apartment,” Max repeated
himself. “Why do I have to answer so many
questions? What’s with the third degree?”
Michael looked over at Isabel. “You try, cause he’s still not listening to me,” he grunted.
“Look Max,” Isabel smiled. “It’s just that Liz and Maria aren’t as objective when it comes to
Tess.”
Max frowned. “And you
guys are?”
Michael rolled his eyes. “What we mean Max is, you wouldn’t be here if we had a democratic vote,”
Michael pointed out. “Liz and Maria were
ballistic about bringing Tess back.”
“Well, I could see why, couldn’t you?” Max challenged. “She did kill their best friend, our best friend.”
Both Michael and Isabel sighed. “Look Max, there’s a lot of changes happening and we have to figure
out what to do.”
Max moved forward. “Okay,
now I know something’s up. Now tell me what’s
got you guys so spooked.”
Michael nodded for Isabel to show him the box. The brunette opened the glove compartment in the
jeep and handed Max the box. “I found this
one night when I drove out into the desert.”
Max frowned. “Where did
we find it exactly?” he asked, as he opened the box.
“Somehow,” Isabel sighed. “Somehow I ended up driving into the desert while I was sleeping and
it led me to this huge boulder. It was glowing
and underneath it was this box.”
Michael watched as Maxwell appeared to be reading the note inside
the box. He waited for Max’s reaction, which
was tame and expressionless. “Well,” Michael
said, “what do you think?”
Max looked up at both Michael and Isabel. “I think we’ve already answered that question
haven’t we?”