Alec woke up the next morning feeling slightly disoriented. He knew he wasn't in his own bed and felt a weight on his chest. He looked down to see Liz still sleeping on him, her hair fanned out against him and he smiled as the night before came back to him. He had admitted that he loved her and she had said it back. It was a big step not just for them but for each of them individually.
Not want to disturb her he slid out from under her and waited to see if she’d wake up. She whimpered a little at the loss of his body but she curled up on her side and slept on. He slipped on his boxers and jeans but couldn’t find his shirt. Shirtless he made his way out to her kitchen to make coffee only to find Ava had beat him to it.
“Loose something?” Ava asked holding up his shirt with two fingers. Alex took it from her but didn’t put it on. He leaned up against the counter and watched her. The two had become friends over the past months and Alec was over so much that his presence was not unusual for Ava.
“I guess Liz is still sleeping?” Ava asked. Alec nodded. “You’ve got this stupid little grin on your face, so it’s safe to assume that you now have joined the small group of humans who know what sex with an alien is like?” Alec’s smile grew. “If you think that was good you should see what it feels like when both of you are aliens.”
“Maybe I should get shot and have Max heal me.” Alec joked.
“Not funny, Alec.” Ava said smacking his arm. “But you should probably have one of us get rid of the mark on your neck before someone sees it.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s glowing.” Ava said before waving her hand over causing it to disappear. That was when she turned serious. “You know I consider you my friend. When you started getting involved with each other, I told Liz to go for it. I think you’re good for her.” She put her finger to his chest to emphasize her point. “But if you hurt her, I will hunt you down. You will wish White had you, instead of me.”
“Noted.” Alec’s eyebrows went up in surprise but knew she’d meant it.
“Good, I’m glad we understand each other.” She poured him a cup of coffee and handed it to him.
“You’ve got the intimidating big sister thing down pat.”
“Liz is the first friend I ever had. Did she tell you how we met?”
“She told me that she met you when you went to Roswell to find Max. You were the first one to tell her that she had been changed and helped her save Max in New York. That you left a few days after and you stayed in touch.”
“After Max left with Lonnie and Rath, I was alone for the first time in my life. I wandered around Roswell sleeping wherever I could. One night I was sleeping in an alley and heard someone throwing trash in the dumpster next to my head. It was Liz. I had seen her with the others a couple days before but hadn’t talked to her. The fact that she didn’t know me didn’t stop her from offering her couch for me to sleep on.”
“She’s got a big heart.”
“Yeah, she does. Later I woke up from a nightmare and she comforted me. She sat up with me and let me talk about Zan. I asked her about how she found out about Max and that’s when I found out he’d healed her. Later Isabel and Michael showed up and tried to push me around to get me to tell them what I knew. Liz stood up for me, made them stop. I left the next day but we wrote to each other, talked on the phone occasionally. Then she came to Seattle and we got even closer. She was pretty messed up thanks to what Max did with that psycho Tess. It’s hard to believe we come from the same DNA.”
“Well our DNA isn’t exactly the same. Our batch was more alien.”
“From what Liz told me, you seem more human than Tess.”
“I don’t know, I’m just glad that Liz doesn’t hold it against me that I look like her. Can you imagine what it’s like to be friends with someone who looks like someone you hate?”
“No, I can’t. But I do know what it’s like to be completely different from someone you have identical DNA with.” He looked at the clock. “I better go wake her up.”
“Here. Just the way she likes it.” Ava said handing him another cup of coffee. “Just a warning, don’t drink that.”
“Sweet and spicy?”
“Yeah, see ya later.”
Alec made his way back to Liz’s bedroom. As he approached the bed he took a minute to gaze down at the beauty lying there. The sheet wrapped around her body allowed him to see the outlines of the curves that were underneath but the dark navy color didn’t allow him to see through it. Her face was relaxed but had the slight curve of a smile on her lips. He could see the small marks he had left on her body the night before and felt a strange sense of pride that they were still there, marking her as his. He leaned over and started leaving a trail of kisses on her shoulder. “Liz. You need to wake up.”
Liz’s eyes fluttered open and smiled when she saw Alec. The memories of their night came flooding back and she pulled him down to lay on top of her as she kissed him. After making sure to give her a thorough good morning kiss he pulled back, “As much as I hate to get up and run, I have to go home and change so I can get to work.”
“Oh, like you’re always on time. And I bet it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve gone into work wearing the same clothes as the day before.” Liz knew that Alec had slept with other women but it didn’t matter to her. She couldn’t hold what he had done before he had met her against him.
“No, it wouldn’t be. But everyone there would know what we’ve been up to.” He didn’t care about himself, just Liz. He didn’t know if she would want everyone to know about their new development.
“They probably already think it anyway.” She said kissing her way up to his ear. She could feel his reaction to her pressed against her leg and knew she was getting to him. Thinking of something that would seal him staying she broke away and grabbed his shirt that he had laid on the bed. She touched the sheet then his shirt turning it from black to blue before changing the shade of his jeans to a darker shade. “There now they won’t know.”
“Well it seems I have some extra time to kill.” He said grinning mischievously.
“Let’s see what we can do about it.” She said pulling him down to the bed.
Part 23:
“Yes Dad I know you haven’t seen me since I left.” Alec heard Liz say as he made his way into her room. He had let himself in like always and had hunted down Liz only to find her on the phone. Everyone joked that the X5s didn’t know how to knock since both he and Max always just let themselves into the girls’ or Logan’s apartment. Of course Ava said he should help them pay rent since he stayed there a couple of nights a week. Not that she minded.
Alec smiled as Liz made faces at the phone, showing that she was bored with talking to her dad. She had her hair piled up on top of her head and wore nothing but a half tanktop and shorts since it was so hot and humid in Seattle even at the end of the summer. He popped open the drink he had stolen from their fridge as he continued to listen as she talked, “I know Maria is coming and I would love to see her.” She’s quiet as she listens. “No, I don’t think either one of them would want to come to Roswell. Well Ava and Alec aren’t small town kind of people, I don’t think they would want to go with me.” Liz’s eyes rested on Alec as he choked on his drink. “Fine, I’ll think about it. Love you too.” Liz hung up the phone before flinging it across the room making Alec laugh.
“Think that was funny, do you?” Liz said as she crawled catlike up to him on her bed. Watching her stalking him, Alec felt himself become incredibly turned on. He grabbed a hold of her and pulled her flush against his body. He pressed his lips against hers and gave her a steamy kiss. He felt her relax against him and kiss him back. He broke away a minute later and looked at her. “So I’m guessing your parents were trying to talk you into going back to Roswell?”
“At least for a visit. The crash festival is coming up and Maria is going to be performing there. Dad tried to use it as leverage to get me to come home when guilt didn’t work. He mentioned you or Ava coming with me, he even offered to send me money to rent a car so we wouldn’t have to take the bus since I said I wouldn’t fly. I want to see everyone but I don’t know if I could take listening to my dad go on about missing out on Harvard. I mean he acts like I’m never going to go instead of deferring.”
“Why don’t you go but not stay with them? Stay with Maria or something.”
Liz shrugged, “I could. I don’t think Maria would mind it would give us time to talk. She’s been so busy that I’ve had to cut down our visits because of her schedule.” Like with Michael, Liz projected herself often to Maria. “And she said her mom has practically moved in with the Sheriff since they got back together. She’s never there.”
“Then you could go visit your parents but be able to get away from them if they get on your nerves.”
Liz ran her fingers over his arm and looked at him coyly. “But it’s such a long drive to drive all by myself and I know Ava wouldn’t go with me.”
“Is that your way of asking me to go?”
“Yes. I can get us past the border patrols. Just work a little alien magic. Think about it, you could stay with me at Maria’s. It could be a little vacation for you. Get out of this hot city.”
“Liz, in case you’ve forgotten Roswell is in the desert.”
“But it’s a dry heat. Come on, you can finally meet Maria and the others. You and Kyle can make fun of all the alien fanatics.”
Alec pressed his lips together making it appear like he was thinking hard about something. “I bet I could make a lot of money if I told them I’m sleeping with an alien.” He said joking as Liz slapped his arm.
“So you’re going?”
“Are you sure about going? You might run into Max.”
“True, but I can’t avoid him for the rest of my life, especially if I ever want to see my parents again. I’ll even try to run interference so that you have minimal exposure to my parents. Besides I’ve talked to him on the phone that one time, we were civil to each other. I want to check on Kyle too.”
“I’ll talk to Normal tomorrow. Tell him I’m going to take some time off.” Liz smiled before jumping up to find her phone. “I’ve got to call Maria.”
Liz had just found her phone when there was a knock on her door. Ava’s muffled voice filtered through, “Are you two dressed?”
“Come in, Ava.” Liz said.
Ava opened the door and made her way inside, she shoved Alec over so she could sit on the bed. Alec rolled over to make room for her. “You know most people just ask if we were decent.”
“Yeah, but I’m talking about you, you’re never decent.” She joked. “What are you two up to?”
“Well I just talked Alec into go with me to Roswell for a visit. Want to go?”
“No, thanks. One visit to Mayberry is enough for me.” Ava answered making a face that showed she’d rather not go back to Roswell.
“What have I gotten myself into.” Alec muttered.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The day before they were leaving for Roswell Alec headed over to Logan’s. He walked in to find Max and Logan making dinner.
“Hey guys. What’s for dinner?” Alec asked strolling over to the stove.
“Nothing for you. What are you doing here?” Max asked as she slapped his hand away.
“Logan was going to print us up some maps for the drive.”
“They’re on my desk.” Logan stated.
“You know Alec, I never took you for the parent meeting type.” Max said.
“Don’t remind me. At least we’re not staying with them.” Alec said rolling his eyes. He wasn’t looking forward to the parent part of the trip but he knew they were important to Liz. He didn’t know what he was going to do; he had never had parents. “Thanks for the maps. Call you when we get back.”
Part 24:
“Liz, they’re waiting for us.” Alec said. They were parked outside of her parents’ café. It was closed but her friends were gathered to greet her. With his enhanced vision he was able to see the people in the café clearly.
Liz looked up at the flying saucer that was mounted above the entrance. “I know. It’s just weird being back. I feel like a different person since I left.”
“Well then why don’t I turn this car around and head for LA? Get a room close to the water, lay around on the beach, ravish each other all day.” He said with his trademark smirk.
Liz smiled at his attempt at making her feel better. She slid over to his lap and leaned in close. “As appealing an idea that is I don’t think my parents would appreciate us using the car they paid for to come see them in to run off together.”
“Worth a shot.” He said brushing his lips against hers.
“Hmm, it was. Let’s go.” She opened his door and crawled over top of him and out of the rented Explorer.
“I’ll just wait here until it’s time to go to Maria’s.” He said.
Liz couldn’t help but laugh. “Some soldier you are. All the deadly situations you’ve been in and you’re scared sh*tless of my parents.”
“I can’t help it. The only parent I’ve ever met tried to kill me.” He commented. “What did you tell them about me?”
“That you’re a sexy transgenic whose stamina never lets me out of bed except to go to work.” She joked.
“I’m serious.”
“I just told them that you were one of the people I’d gotten close to in Seattle and that we hung out a lot. Didn’t know what all to tell them.” Liz explained. She had never felt comfortable talking to her parents about her love life and after her parents’ hatred of her relationship with Max, she had avoided the topic of her and Alec with them. She did suspect that they knew something was there. “So don’t worry, my Dad’s not going to come after you with a shot gun. Come on.” She said dragging him out. Reluctantly they made their way inside.
“LIZZIE!” Maria screeched as soon as she was through the door. Maria ran forward and the two girls hugged. “I’m so happy to see you,” She said winking at Liz.
“And what about me?” Alec asked. Since the first night he and Liz had gone out Alec had talked to Maria often and had become friends with her, as well as they could over the phone.
She turned to look Alec over; “Well your picture doesn’t do you justice. Liz is right you are yummy.”
“MARIA!” Liz exclaimed.
“Oh Chica, he knows he is.” Maria said as Liz just shook her head in embarrassment. “Your mom just went upstairs to get something and your dad is in his office doing the receipts from tonight. We didn’t think you two would get here for another half an hour. They should be out in a few minutes.”
“Good that gives me time to see everyone else first.” Liz said just as Kyle and Michael walked up. “Speak of the devils.”
Kyle reached over and pulled Liz into a hug. “Liz if you don’t mind me saying so, you look hot. If all of the girls look like you in Seattle, maybe I should move up there.”
“Thanks, I think. Kyle this is Alec. Alec this is Kyle and you already know Michael.” Kyle shifted his gaze from Liz to Alec sizing him up. Alec held himself in a way that made it look like he could snap into action at any time. He knew that Alec knew about all of the aliens, himself included. Michael had told him what had happened when Max and he had gone to see Liz last time. Alec was probably protective of her, not knowing if any of their touches would effect her the same way as Max’s. That alone made him look good in Kyle’s eyes. He reached out to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too. Hey man.” He said looking at Michael. Michael nodded a greeting back. Maria wrapped her arm around Liz’s waist and said, “Come on my mom is dying to see you. She even brought some extra pies for everyone.” Liz saw that Michael and Kyle were busy talking to Alec so she headed over to Ms. Deluca and the former Sheriff. They both greeted Liz and were talking when Liz felt someone come up behind her. “Hey Liz.”
Liz turned around and smiled, “Hi, Isabel. How are you?”
“Good. You look great.” Isabel answered.
“I am. I’m kind of surprised to see you.”
Isabel smiled. “I told you before, Maria and you are the closest things I have to girlfriends. Just because you not with my brother doesn’t mean I would never talk to you again. We’ve been through too much to just drop people from our group just because two of them break up.”
Liz was pleasantly surprised by Isabel’s words. “Thank you. You don’t know how much that means to me.” Just them Jesse walked up. “Hey, Jesse.”
Hey Liz. Glad to be back?”
“I’ll get back to you on that.” Liz said
“We’re having the gang over to our house tomorrow for lunch. You know to check in with everyone on things Czechoslovakian.” Isabel winked.
“I don’t know.” Liz said looking over in Alec’s direction thinking that Max would probably be there.
Almost reading Liz’s thoughts, Isabel said, “Max isn’t in town. With all of the skins dead he went to Copper Summit to see if they had a ship so he won’t be there. Please come, Alec is welcome too since he knows.”
“I’ll see if he feels up to it and call you tomorrow.” Liz said as she saw her parents coming in. “I don’t want to be rude but I need to go see my parents.”
Part 25:
Liz headed over to where her parents had come in through the back. Her dad was the first one to see her, “Lizzie!” He grabbed her in a big hug. Once he let her go her mom grabbed her into a hug of her own. Liz was a little shocked because her mom and her hadn’t been close for a long time.
“We’re so happy that you were able to visit.” Her mom said.
“I’m happy to see you guys too.”
“Elizabeth Parker what is that on your eye?” Her father asked in his most fatherly tone.
“Uh, an eyebrow ring?” Liz stated expecting her parents to go ballistic.
“Jeff leave her alone. This is the first time we’ve seen her in over six months and she doesn’t need you scolding her. She’s an adult now so we can’t say anything. But is there anything else we should know about?” Her mother asked.
‘I have two tattoos, my belly button is pierced, I have alien powers and my boyfriend is a transgenic.’ Liz thought as stood in shock wondering if her mother had been taken over by some body-possessing alien until she felt Alec’s hand on her arm as he walked up. Before she got a chance to answer them her dad asked, “So this must be Alec.”
“Alec Cora.” Alec said as he nervously stuck out his hand. He caught Liz’s smirk at the mention of his last name and winked at her.
“Jeff and Nancy Parker. It’s nice to meet you.” Her dad said back shaking Alec’s hand.
“Liz has mentioned you a few times when we’ve talked but it’s like pulling teeth to get anything out of her.” Her mom said.
“Mom…” Liz said wishing her mom would get off of it.
“You two have had a long drive, how about something to eat? I made all kinds of stuff so help yourselves. Then we can get to know each other.” Her dad said playing peacemaker. Liz pulled Alec over to the counter where the food was laid out and they started making plates. Her parents watched on as the two young people moved together.
“Do you think maybe there is more to them than she is letting on?” Her dad asked.
“Probably, you know she only clams up about someone when she likes them.”
“Maybe she’ll finally stay away from Max for good this time.” Her dad said.
“I thought at New Year’s you were giving him a second chance.”
“I did but then she left and I can’t shake the feeling that it had something to do with him. But she seems happy with her new life.” He said as he watched Liz laughing while she talked to Alec and her friends. It wasn’t long before the party started to break up and only Liz, Alec and her parents were left in the café. Liz cut a piece of pie each for her and Alec and they went to sit down in a booth with her parents. “Tell us a little about you Alec, like we said earlier Liz never tells us much.”
“Not much to tell. I don’t have any parents, never met them. I grew up in a large federally funded place with lots of other kids.” Alec answered carefully. He and Liz had already gone over Alec’s background story since she knew her parents would ask questions. It was a good thing they taught him at Manticore to not be intimidated by questions or he would have already broke. He really wished he could have talked Liz into letting him stay in the truck or go with Michael and Maria.
Nancy and Jeff were somewhat stunned by Alec’s answer and finding out he didn’t have an easy life so they turned to different questions. “So Alec what do you do in Seattle?” Her dad asked.
“I’m a messenger. Not the most glamorous of jobs but it pays the rent.” Alec answered.
“He’s Normal’s, that’s Alec’s boss, golden boy.” Liz said smiling. All of them in Seattle loved to tease Alec about the weird attention that their boss gave Alec. He glared at her as she stabbed a big bite of her pie and ate it, smiling the whole time. But her mom’s next question wiped the smile off. “You two aren’t living together are you?”
Alec did his best not to spit out his coffee as Liz dropped her fork on to her plate with a loud clang. “What?”
“Liz never wants to talk about you so we knew you two were dating. We couldn’t help but notice that you know each other’s little idiosyncrasies like people who live with someone else.” Her mom explained.
“We’re not living together.” Liz stated. Of course she didn’t say that they were sleeping together or that he stayed at her apartment or vice versa.
“We’re just very observant about stuff and remember what the other one likes.” Alec explained. The two stayed a little longer talking and visiting.
Part 26:
The next morning Liz made her way into Maria’s kitchen only to stop dead in her tracks at what she saw. She smiled as she said, “It’s nice to be able to interrupt you for once.”
Maria and Michael jumped away from each other. “Morning, Liz.” Michael grumbled.
“Morning, Michael. Looks like I’ve missed something.” Liz raised an eyebrow at Maria. Maria hadn’t mentioned anything to Liz about her and Michael being back together, Michael hadn’t either.
“I planned on telling you last night but I fell asleep before you two came in.”
“Well Mom and Dad wouldn't let us leave. Poor Alec, they kept asking him all kinds of questions but they seem to like him.”
“He still asleep?” Michael asked.
“No, he’s on the phone. A ‘friend’ of his called him about something.” Liz answered. One of Alec’s contacts had called early about something not knowing he was out of town.
“You two seem awful cozy with each other.” Maria said. “Or do you always wear his clothes?”
Liz looked down at the shirt she was wearing, which was the one Alec had been wearing last night. She had gotten so used to Ava knowing everything about her and Alec that she hadn’t thought twice about putting on his boxers and T-shirt to come get some juice. Before she could answer, she heard Alec’s voice behind her. “She’s always stealing my clothes. Pretty soon I’ll have to walk around every where naked.”
Alec leaned in the doorway in only jeans. Liz knew that he wore nothing under them since she had on his boxers and they hadn’t brought their bags in yet from the car. That thought had her licking her lips as she watched him come over to her. A gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Maria. “Liz we need to have some serious girl talk tonight.”
“It looks like I’ll have to save Alec. Trust me man you don’t want to be here for that.” Michael said. In Seattle he had thought Alec was a good guy. He had talked to Alec quite a bit the night before and liked him.
“What did you have in mind?” Alec asked.
“Some guys I work with and I were going to just hang out, play pool. Basically enjoy the last night before all of the alien fanatics swooped down on the town tomorrow. Kyle and maybe Jessie’ll be there.”
“Sounds like fun.” Alec said smiling.
“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Liz asked.
“You act like I get into trouble often.”
“Like I don’t know about you taking Sketchy to the Blowfish Tavern (stripclub in GillGirl). Remember Max and OC are my friends too.” Liz said smiling. “Just remember Michael and Kyle can’t drink.”
“Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten the last time I saw an alien drunk.” Alec stated even as Liz tried to shush him. Michael and Maria laughed as Alec told them the story of what happened.
“She got off easier than I did on New Years.” Michael said. “My head still hurts.”
“What happened? Liz only said that you had a bad experience.” Alec asked.
“It made my body go on overload, everything was too loud, too bright, anything that touched me felt like someone hit me with a sledgehammer. Max and Maria had to stash me in Liz’s room; I had the electric skin thing like Liz. Not a great way to ring in the New Year.”
“Well I have to get to rehearsal, want me to drop you off Spaceboy?” Maria said. Michael nodded and they both told Liz and Alec that they’d see them at Isabel’s before leaving.
Liz sat up on the counter as Alec came up to kiss her. He stood in between her legs so he could be as close as possible. “You just make friends wherever you go don’t you?”
“What can I say? Everyone likes me.”
“Michael doesn’t usually like anyone. His job at Metachem has loosened him up some but be prepared for him to interrogate you. After all you know our secret.” She said as she wrapped her hands behind his neck. When her fingers came to the back of his neck where she knew his barcode was she saw him cringe. “What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t want any problems with sector cops or anyone seeing my barcode so Max and I broke into a plastic surgeon’s office and borrowed his laser. It hurts like a b*tch but it should last a few days.”
“You should have asked me. We can use our powers to create tattoos so I don’t see why we can’t use them to remove them. It would probably last as long as the laser without pain.” She placed her hand over his tender spot and healed it. “Better?”
Alec had felt the warm energy on his neck and then the pain was gone. “Yeah, thanks. You know I’ll have to pay you back for that. It’s only fair.”
“You don’t play fair walking out here with no shirt on. You know I can’t resist your behr chest.”
Alec looked at her innocently. “It was hot besides you took my clothes.”
“Then you’ll just have to take them back.” Alec smiled at her before lifting her up and taking her back to their room.
Part 27:
The seven of them met up at Isabel’s and started the meeting/cookout. Liz was enjoying herself immensely. She had missed her friends a lot, although she wished Ava would have come. It surprised her how well they had taken to Alec especially Jesse. Liz just guessed it was because Alec was the only human male in the group.
“Alec, want a beer?” Jesse called from the kitchen.
“Yeah!”
“Nice to have someone who can enjoy a beer with me.” Jesse said handing Alec the beer and glancing at Michael and Kyle. “Lightweights.”
“Bite me.” Kyle said as he extended his hand to and a small shield surrounded Jesse’s beer . No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get it.
“Boys, behave.” Liz said. “Kyle, I see you’ve figured out your individual power.”
“It’s kind of like a net, surrounding something so it can’t move. It’s an extension of Max’s shield just like you projection is an extension of dreamwalking. Isabel’s been working on them with me. Some of them I still don’t have down.”
“I’ll help if you want. I’ve got them down and Ava said I’m getting stronger.” Liz said. “Alec had me use my powers to redecorate his apartment, said it was one of the perks of having an alien around.”
They all looked at Alec, “What? Like you guys have never done that?”
“How did you react when you found out?” Jesse asked Alec.
“Better than Maria.” Alec joked looking at the blonde sitting on Michael’s lap.
“Okay, I’ll admit that wasn’t one of my better moments. Isabel doing her best to scare me didn’t help either.” Maria stated.
“Alec just took it all in, I think he was more worried about me to think much on it.” Liz said. “How are you adjusting Jesse?”
“It was a shock. I had no clue, even with Philip investigating you and Max after Utah.”
“Is he still looking into everything?”
“Yeah, after you left he thought the worst until he talked to your parents. Now he just thinks that you know what Max was up to and got out of town. He might lighten up if you go talk to him. Tell him some story about why you left.”
“I’ll talk to him. My lying skills aren’t what they used to be but I’ll figure out something.” Liz said as she noticed something on the TV. It was muted but she could see it was some kind of hearing on CSPAN. Alec followed her gaze and recognized the person they were interviewing, it was White. “Hey can you turn that up.”
Isabel nodded and turned up the volume just as someone named McKinley according to his nameplate said. “Committee calls to the stand Special Agent Ames White. Now, Agent White, I'm sure you've been instructed by counsel and by your superiors to invoke your Fifth Amendment right. But I want to remind you, as an officer of this committee and as your fellow American that all this committee is interested in is truth.”
“The truth, sir, is quite simple. Did parties within our government secretly divert funds for genetic experiments? Yes.” White stated. There was an eruption of murmurs through the crowd and Liz snuck a look at Alec as White continued, “Did they allow those transgenics to escape? Yes. Did they then choose to withhold that information from the American people? Yes. Are those transgenics dangerous? Most assuredly, yes. And I cannot, in good conscience, continue to be part of this cover-up. These transgenics are a great threat to our national security and our American way of life. Make no mistake. This is a war...a war we cannot afford to lose.”
The broadcast cut out then and Isabel turned it back down. Liz could see that Alec was thinking about the broadcast so she thought she get the others off it. It was Alec’s decision to tell them plus she knew Michael would give her hell for being around a situation that could expose her. “So anything strange been going on around here that Michael didn’t tell me about?”
“No, it’s been quieter here than in the last few years. With the skins gone and the FBI off of our backs it’s like it was before the shooting. As long as Max doesn’t do anything to get the FBI’s attention we should be safe. What about with you?”
“Nothing. Ava hasn’t seen Lonnie or Rath since they left here to go to New York. Aside from telling Alec, we haven’t had to deal with anything alien.” Liz said.
“Then maybe our lives can get be normal.” Isabel said. Liz nodded looking over at Alec. No, their lives would never be normal. Later after they left Liz asked Alec, “Do you think we should call Max see how things are?”
Alec shook his head, “No, she knows where we are and if she needs us she’ll call. Let’s get back to Maria’s and get ready to go out.”
Part 28
The girls had a great night; they had gone to the Crashdown for dinner and then visited with Liz’s parents before heading home after picking up ice cream. Now they were sitting in Maria’s kitchen with the tub of ice cream, gossiping.
“Okay, Chica. You’ve avoided the main subject of this night by making me tell you every little detail about my life in New York. Spill. Are you and Alec sleeping together?”
Liz couldn’t help but blush as she ate a spoonful of ice cream. She took her time swallowing it, trying to avoid Maria’s question. Of course her silence answered it for her. “Oh my God, you are. Ooohh, I want details.”
“MARIA!” Liz said exasperated.
“Oh, get off it. You owe me for not telling me sooner. So when was your first time?”
Liz rolled her eyes, “Fine. The first time we slept together was about a week after Michael and Max went to Seattle at my apartment.”
“So it was after he found out, that’s good. So since I’ve had sex with an alien I know he enjoyed it, how about you? Is he any good?”
Liz’s smile grew bigger. “Let’s just say that if it wasn’t then Ava wouldn’t have had to learn to knock every time she comes into my room.”
“Oh my. So tell me how do you feel about him?”
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Alec was playing his sixth game of the night and Michael was the only one who had given him any type of competition. Although he suspected that Michael was using his powers to cheat. But he was letting it slide.
“So Alec, you and Liz seem pretty comfy.” Kyle said from his barstool next to the pool table.
“Yeah, we spend a lot of time together. We go clubbing, or hang out at a bar with some friends. Sometimes we just relax at her apartment or mine.” Alec said as he made another shot. The evening had been fun. Michael’s coworkers had joined them as well as Kyle and Jesse. It had been an all out guys’ night and they had ended up in a bar playing pool. Michael’s friends had already left but the other four kept on hanging out.
“Good, Liz needs to have fun. She’s had a hard couple of years.” Kyle stated.
“Maxwell might be my bestfriend but I’ll be the first to admit he’s part of the reason.” Michael added.
“Yeah, and we wouldn’t want her to be hurt again.” Kyle said nonchalantly.
Alec stood up straight. “Guys, you don’t have to do this. Ava already threatened me with otherworldly bodily harm if I hurt her.”
“As long as we understand each other.” Kyle stated.
“Yeah, we do.” Alec said just as Michael made the last shot. Jesse walked over then and handed Alec a beer. Michael and Kyle started another game while Alec and Jesse headed for a close table. “Don’t pay any attention to them. They did the same thing to me after I found out.”
“Liz warned me that they’d do it. Said they were protective of each other.” Alec couldn’t blame them for being protective. From what Liz had told him she had been hit with most of the bad stuff that had happened over the years.
“Protective is an understatement. They’re like a pack of wolves except they’re allowed to mate outside the pack. The seven of them have this bond that no one else is a part of even if you know the secret. I think when you go through as much as they have together the bond makes you tighter than family. Especially after Alex.” Jesse stated.
Most people would feel like an outsider after that statement but now Alec. “Well I understand it better than you think.”
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
“I’m in love with him.” Liz stated answering Maria’s question.
Maria took in what she had said, and asked, “Have you told him?”
“Once. The first night we slept together. And before you ask, he said it first.” Liz said knowing how her friend’s mind worked.
“Are you sure he wasn’t just saying it to get you into bed?”
“We were already in bed and Alec wouldn’t do that.” Liz said defensively.
“Famous last words.”
“Maria, I’m not going to pretend that Alec was innocent or a saint before we met. I know he isn’t, far from it. But he’s always been honest about that with me. Alec might have been one to go from female to female but he’s different with me. No more secrets and we’ve both been hurt by love. Max hurt me, and Alec lost the one he loved.” ‘Oops, too much information.’ Liz thought.
“What do you mean he lost her?” Maria asked curiously.
“She died. She was killed in a car fire, Alec was there and saw the whole thing.” Liz explained not wanting to tell too much. After all it was a sore spot in Alec’s life plus the whole Manticore part of the story. Well that’s almost the truth.
“Oh poor Alec.” Maria said sympathetically.
“So you see it’s hard for both of us. Falling in love scares the both of us; we’ve only admitted it to each other that one time. And that’s enough, I know how he feels, he doesn’t have go spouting it off to everyone.”
Maria saw the change in her friend’s attitude. She was protective of Alec and Maria could see that she cared about him a lot. It reminded Maria of the way Liz used to be, more in control of her life. She heard Liz asking her a question and it brought her out of her thoughts. “So tell me about you and Michael?”
“Well I wasn’t in New York long before I realized how much I missed him. I felt horrible about how I treated him before I left and didn’t know if he’d talk to me. I finally got up the nerve to call him. We talked for like an hour and became friends, real friends. Then right before he went to Seattle I sent him a plane ticket for New York. It was there that we got back together, that’s why he didn’t know Max had found you.” She said guiltily.
“It’s alright. I was able to get everything out to Max. It helped me close the last part of moving on.” Liz explained. She barely got the words out when the front door was thrown open and in came Michael, Kyle and Alec.
“Well at least I know they won’t be calling us for bail money.” Liz said smiling at the boys.
Alec looked at her with mock hurt. “You act like it’s a common occurrence. For your information I have never been in jail. I’m too good to get caught when I’m doing anything illegal.”
“You know Liz, he’s got you there. He’s never been in jail but you have been, several times in fact.” Kyle said smugly.
“You’re not helping Kyle.” Liz said through clenched teeth. She started gathering stuff together avoiding Kyle’s statement. “So what did you guys do?”
Alec grabbed her before she could leave. “No, no wait a minute, no changing the subject. How many times have you been in jail?” Alec asked raising his eyebrow and a smirk on his face.
Liz looked like a deer caught in headlights by the question. She knew Alec wouldn’t give up until she answered. “Twice.”
“Twice?” Alec said.
Liz nodded. “The first time was when I was sixteen with Alex for possession of alcohol. It was actually the Sheriff’s way of trying to intimated me into spilling the alien’s secret. The second time was last October. Max and I kind of held up a convenient store.”
Alec’s jaw dropped open in shock. He couldn’t believe what she was telling him. “You held up a convenient store? Why?”
“Well we weren’t really robbing it. We just needed to get into the basement. Underneath it was a storage room that housed the ship from the crash. I just held a gun on the clerk so Max could see if it was there for sure so he could go see his son. We got busted when we left. The charges were dropped a few days later.” Liz explained. “It wasn’t one of my greatest moments.”
“Hey half of our little group has been in jail at one time or another. I had to bail Space boy and Max out of jail when we all snuck off to Vegas.” Maria said as she finished eating her ice cream.
“Now I get to hear all of the juicy stuff.” Alec stated. “When did you guys go to Vegas?”
“Last spring, we had to help Michael blow fifty thousand dollars.” Kyle said nonchalantly.
Alec started ask but Liz interrupted him, “It’s a long story. Let’s just say Michael and Max got arrested because Michael was using his powers to cheat and they got into a fight, Maria accidentally tried out to be a stripper, I spent most of the night in the arcade because they wouldn’t let me in the casino, Isabel was a bridesmaid to someone she just met and everyone made up in the end.”
Maria just laughed at the two of them before saying, “I’m off to bed. I’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“Then I guess I better leave. I just hope that the two lovebirds are asleep when I get home.” Kyle stated.
“Kyle you can sleep in the couch here if you want.” Maria offered. “Michael’s staying here too.”
“I owe you.” Kyle said. Everyone said good night to each other before going to bed.
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