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 me
without fear
Trust me
without questioning
Need me
without demanding
Want me
without restrictions
Accept me
without change
Desire me
without inhibitions
For a love so
free…
Will never fly
away
-
Dick Sutphen
****
Michael regretted every day that he hadn’t said goodbye to
Isabel. He regretted every word he
never had the chance to say. Max had
been right. He should have told Isabel
how much he loved her. He should’ve
never let her go.
Restlessness plagued him.
Max and Liz continued their hormonal love tryst. They had finally slept together. Everyone seemed to celebrate it like some
kind of birthday or something. Michael
never understood that. He never
understood them.
“Michael!” Maria bellowed from the counter as he entered the
Crashdown. “What do you want?”
“The usual,” Michael called.
Maria smiled and winked at him as she walked over to the
kitchen window to order. They had been
dating for a few weeks now. Maria cooed
that Michael was sweeter and more attentive than he’d ever been.
It was true. Michael
was trying extra hard to pay attention to Maria and care for her needs, to be
an attentive boyfriend which Maria had always longed for. Michael made Maria happy, and she kept him
satisfied. It worked.
The night Isabel’s flight left, Michael had been watching
from afar. He’d made it 15 feet away
from the oozing couple before he stopped.
‘It wouldn’t make a difference,’ he’d told himself. Michael over heard some of the reassuring
words of love that were whispered so softly to Jesse. It made him sick to know that Isabel was happy, content to be
with Jesse.
Well, he’d had his chance.
He just never took it.
Lately Michael had been thinking about Isabel a lot. The anniversary of Tess’s arrival was
nearing, not that anyone celebrated Tess’s arrival. But with Tess, came memories and dreams. Michael looked back on a lot of the choices
he’d made and found himself longing to change them.
He’d known that he’d been scared, but Michael wish he knew
then what he knew now. Isabel wouldn’t
be here forever. She would leave if
given no reason to stay. Isabel would
find someone to love her, if there was no one to tell her that she was already
loved.
“Here you go sweetie,” Maria chirped. “How was your shift?”
Michael looked up about to answer when his fellow guards
came stumbling in. “Hey guys!” Michael
shouted, relieved that he didn’t have to explain to Maria why he was in a
terrible mood. Michael didn’t think he
could hide from her, for much longer, how much he missed Isabel.
The guys flocked into the booth and Steve pulled up a chair. Maria took their order with such enthusiasum that Michael felt guilty. Part of him longed to explain why he’d reconsidered their relationship, but Michael knew how much it would hurt her. Now Michael regretted starting something in the first place. But this was as close to love, as he would get. And Michael in someway, did love Maria.
Michael sighed. He could fall in love with her, if he let himself. And now there was no reason not to let himself do that.
~~~
Isabel has settled into New York life quite quickly. The parties, the expensive houses and rich
snobs; Isabel could have once fit into this lifestyle, but now it just seemed
to leave her lacking. Isabel was
surprised at how homesick she was for Roswell and the desert cliffs. As much as she was keeping Jesse happy
though, Isabel convinced herself she would be fine. Just a couple of months, give it a couple of months.
Actually it had been 3 weeks, but somewhere deep inside, Isabel knew that she
wouldn’t be happy here. She may be able
to let the dull aching fade, but Isabel wouldn’t forget.
Jesse seemed to be gone all hours of the day and night at
work. And when he’d come home, he’d be
so exhausted from court or just desk duty, that it was all Isabel could do to
have a nice quiet night alone at home with him. Jesse was either in bed or at work, and then there were the
parties. It was the only time they ever
spent time together, although it wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Isabel hung like an ornament as they mingled
with partners and associates of the firm.
Sometimes Isabel felt like using her powers just to liven things up. It seemed like something either Michael or
Max would do. They’d done it as children,
when their parents dragged them to boring office functions. Well Max and Michael did. Isabel was too good and perfect to do
something so mischievous.
“Hey honey?” Jesse called, peering behind the swinging
kitchen door. “Did you make supper yet?
I’m starving?”
Isabel made her way into the overtly large kitchen. “Yes, it’s in the oven. I saved you a plate, since you didn’t come
home on time,” Isabel mumbled.
“Which one?” Jesse asked pointing to the double-decker
ovens.
“The top one,” Isabel replied as she rested her head on the
palms of her hands, her elbows propped up on the island counter. “How come you were so late anyway?”
Jesse sighed as he placed his plate beside her while he
reached around her to grab a fork. Kissing
her cheek, he rubbed his neck and his big brown eyes studied her. “McKraken called me into his office and told
me that he wanted me to take on a civil suit case on this small town client
while he took the Cooper case,” Jesse explained, shoveling a fork full of food
into his mouth. “Oh, this is sooo good
Izzy.”
Isabel smiled.
“Thank you,” she replied. “Now
why do you sound upset?”
Jesse turned to her and shook his head. “You can read me like a book…or, did you
read my mind?” Jesse asked cautiously.
Isabel frowned.
“Why? Do I need to read your
mind?”
Jesse swallowed.
“No. It’s just that you seem to
always know what I’m thinking or feeling.”
She scoffed, “That’s because you’re my husband and I know
you like the back of my hand.”
Isabel couldn’t believe that he was accusing her of using
her powers on him. Yes, at first she
had, but that was because Isabel had to be sure she could trust him. But now?
She’d used her powers to redecorate, well, because interior design
wasn’t Jesse’s expertise and for little odds and ends, but never on someone.
Jesse nodded. “Of
course you do. I’m sorry,” he
apologized. “I’m just tired.”
Isabel ran her hands through her hair. “You’re always tired Jesse! We never spend any time together anymore!”
she raised her voice. “I miss my husband
and if I knew that this was what my life would be like here in New York…what our
life would be like, I would have stayed in Roswell.” Isabel ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
Oh God what have I done?
~~~
Max had been feeling uneasy and almost sick the past 3 or 4
days. The symptoms had been minor. He’d been presenting with symptoms of the
flu or a maybe mono, but Max had never been sick a human day in his life. Now he’d had alien sicknesses, but never
anything so human.
He’d been laid up in bed for 2 days now and Liz was getting
worried. “Max, I should get a doctor or
something,” Liz fretted. “I need to do
something. It’s not normal!”
Max smiled at Liz. “It’s
just the flu. And no doctor is going to
tell me how to cure the flu. You just
have to wait it out,” Max explained. “I’ll
be fine.”
But in the back of his mind something told Max that this was
just no common cold or flu. This was not
something so completely human.
~~~
Isabel sipped her champagne delicately. She’d felt the eyes of the men in the room rake
her over. It sent shivers up her spine.
She’d wished she’d never worn the strapless
black dress. “Jesse, when are we going?”
Isabel whispered.
Jesse excused him and Isabel and guided her roughly into the
foyer and made sure no other guests were present. “Isabel!” he exclaimed irritably. “I’m trying to make time with Mr.Kale. He’s one of the partners in the firm. If I can just get on his good side, I might make senior associate!”
Isabel rubbed her temples.
“Jesse, I’m tired and bored and I feel like a hood ornament. The wives of these lawyers are snotty and
rude.”
Jesse pulled her in close and kissed her forehead. “Listen kiddo, we’ll be an hour tops,” Jesse
explained.
Isabel’s jaw dropped and she pushed away from her
husband. “An hour? Tell me I heard you wrong, you did not just
say an hour!” Isabel shouted, and then dropped her voice when she realized she
was shouting.
Jesse pleaded with Isabel.
“Please. Just one hour!” he
coaxed.
“Jesse!” Mr. Kale bellowed.
“Come meet my wife and daughter.”
Jesse threw one last pleading glance at Isabel, who was more
than livid. “If you do this Jesse…”
Isabel watched him join Mr. Kale and their lovely
family. That’s it. I’ve had it. Isabel smiled mischievously at the upper class group of lawyers
and their wives. Let’s see if I can’t
make this evening a little more interesting!
***
“I can’t believe you Isabel!” Jesse spat angrily. “How could you do that to me?”
Isabel sat in the passenger seat, head held high. “What did I do?” Isabel asked innocently.
As the evening dragged on, Isabel put a few more glasses of
champagne in herself, before pulling up the courage for a little mischief. She started small. Isabel began changing the make up of certain priceless items
within the room, not that it was noticed right away. Then after getting a little bolder, Isabel decided a few of the
smug women needed to be taken down a notch or two. So…
“So you went and used your powers to make their slips fall
off?” Jesse shouted. “Do you know how
embarrassing that is?”
Isabel smirked. “Well
they were complaining about not being able to keep off the pounds. Obviously they took off too much and their
slips were just a little too big! It’s
not my fault really.”
Jesse’s knuckles were white as he was wringing the steering
wheel. “How could you do that to
me? And with your powers nonetheless! We came here to get away from that stuff,
and now you’re just bringing here to us.”
Isabel swallowed.
She suddenly felt a twinge of guilt, and the champagne was
wearing off. Her head was
pounding. “It was just a little prank
Jesse,” Isabel explained. “I was so mad
at you, and so I thought I’d liven up the party. They were a bunch of stiff-necked people.”
Jesse shook his head.
“I forgave you Isabel. I thought
you were different than Michael and Max.
They flaunted their powers and didn’t think when they did. I thought you were different. Maybe this was a mistake,” Jesse sighed, as
he pulled into their driveway.
“What?” Isabel exclaimed.
“Maybe this was a mistake!” Jesse repeated, escorting her into
the house. “I thought we were going to have
a normal life.”
Isabel’s chest tightened at the thought of divorcing Jesse. It wasn’t an option. “Don’t you love me? Or were those lies?”
Jesse frowned. “I do
love you! I just didn’t sign up for the
little surprises that come with that.”
“What are you saying Jesse?” Isabel’s chin quivered. “Do you want out? Is that what you’re saying?”
Her whole world was being torn apart. She’d left everything to be with him because he
loved her, needed her. Now he was leaving
her?
“No!” Jesse groaned. “Yes! I don’t know!”
Isabel watched her husband sink into the living room couch. “Jesse, please.” She stood there waiting for Jesse to say something.
“No,” Jesse stated finally. “I don’t want you to go. You’re
my heart Isabel.”
Isabel’s heart skipped a beat when he said those words. Her body relaxed, and Isabel realized she’d been
holding her breath for the duration of the silence. “Oh, Jesse!” Isabel exhaled and held him tightly.
Jesse lightly pushed her away until they were face to face. “But I can’t deal with that anymore Isabel.”
Isabel was confused. “Deal with what?”
“With the slips, the antique vases suddenly melding into a shapeless
object. I can’t worry that every time you
get mad, you’re going to take it out on someone else.” There was a long pause. “Isabel, I’m asking you not to use your powers
anymore.”
Isabel sat up. “What?”
“I really want you to try hard and not use your powers. I know it’s going to be hard, but we live in a
normal city now, not Roswell, New Mexico; the site of hidden UFO crashes and where
aliens have landed.”
Isabel was stunned. “I…I
don’t know Jesse,” Isabel stuttered. “It’s
not like I use them now!”
Jesse pursed his lips. “Well, now there’s a reason not to, Isabel. Because as hard as I’ve tried to live with it,
it’s just too hard. With your promise not
to use them, I know that you aren’t reading my mind or walking in my dreams.” Jesse rubbed his face, which all of the sudden
looked tired and worn. “I’ll be able to
trust you.”
Isabel’s heart sunk.
It wasn’t the fact that she couldn’t use her powers. Isabel tried not to most of the time, but to promise
never to use them. It felt like some
part of her was dying, even considering something like that. Then she looked at Jesse. He did love her. Jesse made a home for her and promised to be there
forever, and despite this, he’d kept that promise; even through all of the life
threatening situations and dangers. Jesse
protected her from Khivar. He’d rescued
her from her past, from the woman that betrayed everyone. Jesse was the reason she would never be Vilandra
again.
“Yes Jesse, I promise.”
And as Jesse kissed her lips ever so gently and pulled her tightly
against his chest, Isabel knew she had sealed her destiny with a kiss.