The scene the writers forgot to put in Skin and Bones (Heh!)
Rating: PG
Category: Alex/Tess
Disclaimer: Still not mine after all this time. Always been theirs. Jason Katims and Co, that is. No infringement intended.
Notes: Please do not archive elsewhere without permission. Spoilers for Skin and Bones. In case you're saying 'Huh, who are these people and what has she done to them?", go back and read One Night, One Dream for some background. This fic isn't a sequel but it follows that storyline. For JJ, Novi and Veronica because we all share a brain.
Archive Date: 10/3/2000
Tess stands behind a wall, away from prying eyes. Before her, large cylindrical objects provide her with more cover. She's tense, hoping no one discovers her.
She looks right and left, double-checking her surroundings. Getting caught isn't part of the plan.
A lanky, dark haired guy suddenly ducks out from beneath the cylinders.
“Alex! What are you doing here?”
“Thought you might need some help,” he explains rather casually.
Tess smiles at Alex's attempt at nonchalance. She knows how protective he gets.
“Max is on his way inside. And Isabel just distracted the security guard.”
“So what are you going to do?” he asks her. He hopes it’s not something that will put her in danger.
“Max is supposed to give me a call when he needs me to do something,” she says, pointing to the cell phone in her hand.
“Okay. I’ll wait with you then.”
Minutes tick by. Silence and tension fill the air and Tess starts to fidget. The wait's making her edgy.
Alex tries to cut the tension with an offhand.“You know, you look good in pink.”
Snort and a tiny grin. “You don’t think it’s too -- pink?”
“No. It’s you, Tess,” he remarks. Tess feels the edginess wear off.
Her cell phone rings shrilly after a few seconds. It’s Max.
“Where’s Nasedo?” Max questions.
“He’s still not here,” Tess responds. 'But Alex is here. He’s waiting with me.' She feels relieved.
“We can’t wait any longer. You ready?” Max says.
Mentall gearing up for what she has to do, Tess lets out a breath and focuses. “Yeah.” Alex reaches over to her and touches her shoulder to bolster her confidence.
“I see eight people in the control room,” Max instructs her.
Tess’ heart sinks. “That’s a lot of people,” she mutters.
“Tess, we need you. Can you do this or not?” Max demands.
She looks at Alex’s hand on her shoulder, still lying there as if to give her strength. “I think so.”
“You can’t let anyone in that room see me,” Max cries.
Tess glances at Alex who knows her trepidation. She stares at him and says, “I won’t let you down,” more to Alex than Max.
“But with this many people, I can only sustain the mindwarp for a couple of minutes,” she cautions Max. Alex nods in understanding.
“It’ll have to do,” Max decides.
“Okay, bye.” Tess shuts of her cell phone.
“Don’t worry. I’ll watch your back,” Alex tells her. Her lips turn upwards. He drops his hand from her shoulders, knowing she couldn’t be distracted while she was mindwarping.
“Here goes.” She steels herself mentally, focuses and closes her eyes.
Alex keeps an eye out while Tess concentrates. Tess is vulnerable while she was in a mindwarp state. He doesn’t want her coming to any harm.
He whips his head around, trying to see if there were people wandering around their vicinity. No one. Not a soul. No footsteps or hushed words to indicate that anyone was approaching.
He relaxes a bit and glances at Tess. 'She's beautiful. I’m a lucky man'. He's glad she is one of the gang now, that everyone accepts her, that everyone accepts them together.
Alex smiles slightly as he reminisces the events of the past three months: enjoying scary movies and garage band music together, eating at the Crashdown with the rest of their friends, teaching her the finer points of dodgeball, discovering how the mindwarp worked, writing silly songs together.
Tess jerks a few times while she’s using her powers. A minute and a half has gone by and Tess’ power is starting to fade. The strain of trying to control eight people’s minds is wearing her down. No, Max needs another thirty seconds, Tess decides.
Ales starts seeing distress in Tess’ stance. 'I should help her. But how? What if I distract her instead?' he wonders. Casting doubt aside, Alex takes her hand and grasps it firmly and closes his eyes, hoping that something of his inner strength would spill over to her.
Tess feels her hand being lifted, then clasped. A surge of warm energy fills her. A safe, cocoon-like haze falls on her and it props up her sagging power. She refocuses again and gives Max the additional time he needs.
In the midst of her mindwarp, her head grasps out at other images. Her and Alex dancing beneath the stars. Alex trying to teach her to dodge a hurtling ball. Hanging out at a favorite cafe. Listening creating music.
The mixture of images and the mindwarp finally drains her and she reluctantly opens her eyes. Alex is still holding her hand. He looks at her, clearly worried.
“I’m fine,” she assures him. “Al,” she tacks on with a sly smile.
Alex’s eyes drop their worried look. He knows once Tess starts using that nickname, everything' s okay. 'How far have we come from the first conversation when that name came out?'
“I hope that was enough for Max,” Tess breathes out.
“I’m sure it was,” Alex says comfortingly.
Max exits the building and sees Tess and Alex holding hands. He doesn’t even blink anymore. Seeing those two together is natural these days. He hides a grin. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. Isabel will meet us at the jeep” he tells them.
Before they leave, Tess squeezes Alex’s hand and says, “Thank you.” 'For being here, for helping me,' is left unsaid but understood.
“Always,” Alex says softly, planting a kiss on her lips.
“Let’s go.” Alex and Tess follow Max back to the Crashdown.
-End-
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