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Sunday,
29 April 2001 Alex is in his bedroom on the phone to Isabel, with Maria and Liz giving him pointers on what to say. Isabel asks "So, what are you doing tonight?" and the girls mime that he should say he's busy. Maria holds up his Robert Frost book and indicates that he should tell Isabel he has to study for an English test. Alex reluctantly follows their advice. When it looks like he is weakening, Liz does a Mr Atlas pose and whispers "Stay strong!" Isabel, disappointed that she couldn't convince Alex to come be with her, ends the conversation by telling him she will be at the Crashdown until closing, if he changes his mind. When Alex hangs up, he falls back on the bed and bemoans "This blows!" adding that Isabel is probably, at that very moment, on her bed, thinking of him. The girls tell him they are proud of him for staying strong and it will all work out in the end because now Isabel is chasing him, not the other way around. It is obvious that Alex is enjoying this turn of events. Maria tries to change the subject to Max kissing Tess and Liz says it's time for them to go to work. On their way out they let the Chinese food delivery guy in. Alex comes to pay for the food. He cheerfully tells the guy "It's about time!" The delivery guy apologises for being late, saying he got lost. Alex hands him his credit card, then notices that his food is cold. As the guy apologises once again, Alex's demeanour changes dramatically. Sounding extremely depressed, he says "I'm…I'm so sick of this. It's always the same thing. Always cold…always the same thing. I'm just so sick of everything". The delivery guy does not know what to make of Alex's attitude change and behaviour. He hesitantly asks Alex to sign the credit card slip. As Alex is signing, he rhetorically asks "Why does life have to be so wrong? Why does everything have to be a lie?" The delivery guy responds "I don't know dude" and makes a hasty retreat. Back in his bedroom Alex takes the framed picture of himself and Leana off a shelf and stares at it. That evening Jim drives up to an accident scene. Deputy Hanson tells him a sedan doing 70 collided with a semi. Jim asks if there were any fatalities and Hanson replies "Yeah, one". Jim asks "Anyone I know?" Hanson is unable to respond and Jim rushes to the sedan. Using a flashlight he looks in the overturned vehicle. He is devastated by what he sees. Maria drops some dishes at the Crashdown. Max and Michael are debating the merits of two movies - The Matrix and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Michael thinks "Crappy Tiger" is a chick flick with Kung Fu. Max replies "First of all, Crap…Crouching Tiger, is actually about something - love, honour, duty". Michael counters "Matrix is about something - illusion, reality, gun fire!" Incredulous, Max replies "You simply can't prefer Keanu Reeves to Michelle Yeoh. You can't. I won't let you!" While they are having their debate, Liz is tallying receipts and Isabel, Tess and Kyle are looking at pictures from the Prom. Maria brings the broken dishes into the back room, just as Jim comes in through the back door. Seeing the look on his face, she asks "What?" Maria runs to Liz, hugging her and crying. Jim comes in from the back. They all stand and look at him with apprehension. With sadness, he announces "There's been an accident. Alex is dead". They are all stunned. Jim and the kids are outside the city morgue when the coroner's van pulls up. Jim distracts the attendants so Max can go into the back of the van, where Alex lies in a body bag. Max closes the door and Isabel gives a blow by blow of what she thinks is going on inside, so she can calm herself by predicting a happy ending. With trepidation, Max unzips the bag. His hand shakes as he reaches towards Alex. Isabel is saying that when Max brings Alex back to life, he will "sit up suddenly and Max will jump back and the whole wagon will shake a little". They all stare at the van, which is not moving. Isabel continues, as if saying the words will make it happen "The whole wagon will shake and they'll come running back here with big goofy grins on their faces. And we'll have to come up with some kind of cover story for Hanson and everybody…" Max exits the van and slowly walks back to them. The look on his face tells them what they don't want to know. Jim, who has joined them again says "I think you should all go home now". The attendants remove Alex from the van and Maria exclaims "Oh my God!" and starts to cry. Michael puts his arm around her and says "Come on, I'll take you home". Max, in a daze, looks down at his hand, which is covered in Alex's blood. Isabel runs off crying. Tess tells Max to go to her. Max steps towards Liz and starts to speak but she cuts him off and says "Yeah, go after her Max". Monday, 30 April 2001 Alex enters the Crashdown, comes up behind Isabel sitting in a booth and says "Psst". Isabel turns, sees him, jumps up excited, gives him a bear hug and says "Oh my God! Oh Alex. Oh my God, I thought you were dead!" He tries to reassure her saying "Ho, ho, no, no no. Now listen, that was just…that was just a BIG misunderstanding". They break and sit at the booth. Alex asks "So, how are you doing?" Isabel, beaming, says "Fine. Fine now". Alex replies "Good. So, have you made any decision about college yet?" Isabel says she has decided to stay and graduate with everyone else. Alex is glad because he would miss her if she was gone. Isabel responds "Yeah, I'd miss you too". She is holding his hands in hers like she never wants to let go. She adds "I just…I just don't want to be away from you anymore". Alex is pleased by her comments and tells her not to worry, he's not going anywhere, but he does have to go to band practice. He says he's running late, so he has to jet. Then adds "But I'm gonna see you tonight, right?" Isabel laughs and enthusiastically replies "Yeah!" They kiss and he leaves. Isabel is in bed with her mother waking her. She realises it was all a dream and starts to cry. Her mother holds her in her arms. Maria is on the couch in her mother's arms. Michael is cleaning up, replacing empty tissue boxes with full ones. The phone rings and Michael answers it. It's Sean. He starts being flip about Michael being there and Michael stops him in his tracks by telling him Alex is dead. Sean is in Albuquerque for a few days, regarding a court matter, so he asks Michael to take care of his family while he is gone. At the Parker home, Nancy answers the ringing phone, thinking it's Sean again but it is Max. Nancy acknowledges that he must be broken up about Alex and Max says he is more concerned about Liz because she was even closer to him. He asks how Liz is doing and Nancy says she thinks she is in denial. He asks if he can speak with her and Nancy admits that she is not at home and she doesn't know where she is. She thinks Liz needs some space right now. Max asks Nancy to tell Liz he called. Liz at the junk yard looking for Alex's smashed up car. She finds it and looks inside, touching the blood stained seat. Then she finds the picture of Alex and Leana that he was holding earlier. It is out of the frame and Alex's head has been cut off with scissors. At the hospital, Jim and Hanson interview the driver of the semi. He says "Last thing I remembered was hitting my brakes and trying to turn away". Jim interjects "You turned to the left or the right?" The driver replies "Right. He was coming at me from the left". Hanson adds "Skid marks say he turned to the right". The driver responds "'Course they do! Why would I lie about…?" Jim asks "How many beers did you have at the Bison Pub?" The driver realises this is an interrogation, not an interview and gets defensive. He replies "I had one beer, 3 hours before I got on the road". Jim says "You said you were going 65". The driver counters "I said I was going 55 and I don't like the sound of these questions". Hanson responds "Just doing our job". The driver replies "That's bull. You're trying to pin this on me, when the truth is, that boy deliberately swerved into my lane for no reason". In the Evans kitchen, Diane says to Isabel "Nobody knew where he was going". Isabel, distraught and crying, replies "But he wanted to stay home! If I hadn't called him and put the idea into his head, he would have never gotten in the car, would have never gotten in the car!" Trying to calm her, Diane says "Isabel, it was an accident. Honey, it's tragic and it's painful and it's something that none of us are ever going to forget but it's not your fault". Isabel replies "I can't stop thinking…I can't stop thinking that the people I love and care about - they end up hurt or dead". Diane, feeling her daughter's pain, says "Oh Honey, I wish I had some kind of special powers, or something, to make all of this go away for you". Isabel, knowing the irony of that statement replies "Special powers don't help". She then tells her mother that she has to get out of there and that there's something she has to tell her. At school, Liz is walking around in a daze. Maria comes up to her and they hug as Maria tells her she is not doing too well. Liz replies "Just try and get through the day, OK? Just keep moving forward. Keep breathing". Maria nods and says "OK. How about you? How are you?" Liz too quickly replies "I am fine". Not believing her, Maria says "Come on, it's me, you don't have to put up a front". Liz pulls out the picture she found and shows it to Maria. Michael, who has been staying by Maria's side, says "Isn't that…" Liz interrupts saying "Yeah, it's Alex and Leana in Sweden. I found it in the wreck". Maria is appalled and says "Oh my God! Oh my God!" She starts to get weak in the knees and Michael grabs her before she falls, saying "It's all right, it's OK" to calm her. Liz says "Look at the way it's been cut up! Someone cut off…" Maria doesn't let her finish. She exclaims "I think I'm gonna be sick! I can't believe you went there!" Liz is trying to convince her of the importance of this evidence and says "Maria, this means something! Why is Alex's head missing?" Maria, grossed out and not wanting to hear anymore shouts "Stop it! Stop it!!" Wanting to get her point across Liz says "It means something" one more time and walks away. Michael tries to comfort Maria as she looks on in disbelief. In an office at the school, Jim interviews Jerry, the delivery guy. Jerry is saying "I don't know. He just got really depressed. It was weird, you know? I mean I deliver a lot of cold food and usually people just get pissed off. You know, they don't act like it's the end of the world". Jim asks "Is that how he acted? Like it was the end of the world?" Jerry sighs and says "Yeah". Jim asks "Did he say anything specific that you remember?" Jerry replies "'Life is wrong. Everything about life is a lie. Why does it have to be that way?' Stuff like that". Jim thanks him and he leaves. Hanson comes in and hands Jim a file saying "I talked to his teachers. None of them saw anything unusual in his behaviour at the time but looking back, they think they saw some warning signs. Moody, sometimes confident, even cocky, other times sullen, quiet and unfocused". Jim replies "Sounds like every teenager I ever met". Hanson responds "Listen, I know you don't want to talk about this theory…" Jim interrupts "Don't go there!" Hanson continues "Jim, there's a pattern here". Jim replies "No, there's not!" Hanson relents and says "I hope you're right". On the football field, the students have erected a memorial for Alex and are bringing flowers and mementoes to place in front of it. Max and Tess are sitting very close together on a mat under the bleachers. Max is distraught. He tells Tess "There was so much blood. I wasn't prepared for that". Tess, trying to comfort him says "You had to try". Max, doubting himself, close to tears, continues "I didn't want to touch him. And then his skin was so cold." He starts to cry. Tess puts her hand on his arm in comfort. Isabel, Michael and Maria join them and Max quickly tries to compose himself. Michael says "School's brought in the official grief counsellor. She's got all our names, so be on the lookout". Maria, pointing to the students gathered around the memorial, laments "Do you see these people? Who are they? They don't even know Alex, they weren't even his friends and they are sitting there praying and crying and putting on this show as if they gave a damn about Alex when he was alive. God! It makes me so angry!" Michael puts his arm around her to calm her down. Kyle approaches and tentatively tells Michael and Max that Mr Whitman would like them to be pall bearers at the funeral. They both agree. Jerry is holding court on the football field, telling his story, embellishing it for affect "So, finally, I left. He was losing it. I mean you could totally see it in his eyes…I mean, he was on his way out of this life". Liz comes up behind him and angrily says "Is that a fact?" She gives his audience the evil eye and they all abandon Jerry. He is taken aback, not sure how to respond. Liz tells him she wants to ask him some questions. Although she realises it's a bad time, Isabel announces that she's graduating early and leaving in June to start college in the fall in San Francisco. Max asks "When did all this happen?" Isabel replies "I've been thinking about it for a while. I talked to Mom this morning and she's fine with it, so…." Concerned, Max says "Look, Isabel, this isn't the time to be making snap judgements about things". Isabel interrupts "This is my life Max". Max snaps back "Nobody is disputing that!" Maria despondently asks "Do we have to talk about this right now?" Michael adds "Maria's right. This isn't a decision we have to make today". Isabel, looking directly at Max counters "This isn't a decision WE have to make at all. It's my decision, I've made it. I'm leaving Roswell!" Liz asks Jerry "And then what did he say?" Jerry, nervously pacing, responds "I don't know. I mean, life isn't right or life is wrong, something like that". Liz says "Yeah, and then what did you say?" Jerry replies "Well I said 'Whatever, Dude'". Liz sarcastically replies "Whatever Dude? That's your reaction to a man who's devastated and on his way out of this life? Isn't that how you described him to your fan club?" Jerry apologises for sounding like that and Liz tells him if he remembers anything else, he can find her at the Crashdown. That evening, at Jim's home, Liz shows him the photo. She can tell that it means something to him but he's reluctant to say anything to her before he is sure. She insists saying "I want some answers. I know what happened to Alex was not an accident. I know it with every fibre in my being and I'm gonna find out the truth, so cut the crap and tell me what the photo means to you". Jim relents saying "OK. You're not gonna like what I'm about to say. It's beginning to look more and more likely that Alex might have deliberately turned his car into the oncoming traffic". Stunned, Liz replies "Why would he do that?" Jim responds "The last couple of weeks people have noticed changes in Alex's behaviour. Moodiness, lack of focus, his grades started to slip…" Distraught and incredulous over what she is hearing, Liz interrupts "Oh please!" Jim continues "Liz, I interviewed the truck driver, I went to the accident scene, I saw the school reports…" Getting angry, Liz interrupts "You are saying that Alex killed himself over bad grades!" Jim counters "We may never know exactly why Alex did what he did but [showing her the photo] look at this! This is part of the puzzle isn't it? I mean look at it. He deliberately defaced his own image. Liz, believe me, it tears me up to even have to say this…" Liz doesn't let him finish. She grabs the photo, says "Thank you for your time" without meaning it and storms out the door. When she gets to the sidewalk, she starts dry retching. Max is trying on his black suit. Liz knocks on his bedroom window. She says "I don't want to be alone. Can I stay here tonight?" Max says "Sure" and lets her in. Liz is agitated and pacing around the room. Max, contemplating something she told him says "That's crazy". Liz, her voice raised from her agitation, replies "Yes, I know. That is what I said!" Agreeing, Max responds "Alex would never do something like that". Liz adds "No! Of course not. It's ridiculous! And you know what's gonna happen? Hanson is gonna go and he's gonna put that in his report and it's gonna be in the newspaper for every single person to read. All of his friends, his family…" Max, concerned by this prospect says "No". Liz continues "Alex Whitman's death was declared a suicide yesterday by the Roswell Sheriff's Department". Max replies "We won't let that happen. I'll talk to Valenti. He's just jumping to conclusions". Liz continues to rant "Just the fact that his parents have to go through this…this nightmare. They do not need to think that their son…" Liz runs out of steam and sits on her haunches by his bed, trying to hold back the tears. Max stoops down and softly says "Liz, I'll handle it". Relieved, Liz thanks him, then is embarrassed when her stomach grumbles. He smiles and asks how long it's been since she ate. She's not sure so. He asks "How does frozen macaroni and cheese sound?" She nods. At the DeLuca's, Amy is sitting on a chair in the living room and Michael brings her a mug. She politely says "Oh, no more Tea, thank you, Michael". He hands it to her saying "It's not tea. Hot buttered rum, help you sleep". At her surprised look he adds "My foster dad taught me to mix drinks before I could ride a bike. He called it job training. If all else fails, I could always tend bar". Amy sympathetically replies "Oh, what a charming man. Is Maria still asleep?" Michael replies "Yeah. She keeps kicking off the covers though". Amy responds "She always does that. You know, I think this is the most time you've ever spent in my house". Michael replies "Yeah. I could leave if you want. It's just nice to be around people". Amy clarifies "No, no, that's not what I meant at all! What I'm trying to say is that you've really been great for my family, and it's a wonderful thing to see my daughter loved and I would like to see a lot more of that and as far as I'm concerned, you'll always be welcome in this house". Michael is touched and says "Thank you". Clarifying again, Amy adds "Welcome on the couch". Michael smiles knowingly and says "Right". At the Crashdown, Isabel says to Alex "You're not really here, are you?" Alex replies "No. You're talking in your sleep". Isabel says "God, I wish I could really talk to you Alex". Alex replies "I'm the next best thing. What do you want to say?" Isabel answers "That I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never should have called you". Alex interjects "I called you, remember". Isabel continues "I never should have brought you into any of this". Alex asks "Any of what?" Isabel replies "Me. My life". She takes his hand in hers. Alex asks "Do you think being with you had something to do with what happened?" Tears can be heard in her voice as she replies "Yes, I do. I don't know how but… [She rests her head on his hand, while still holding it.] God, if you hadn't been involved with me…" Alex, lifting her chin with his other hand, interjects "Hey, if I was really here, I'd tell you, you were full of crap, you know that". Isabel replies "Yeah, but it wouldn't make me feel any better". Alex says "I better go". Isabel anxiously asks "Why?" Alex replies "I'm not making things any better for you". Begging, tears flowing, Isabel says "No, please. Please don't go!" Alex softly replies "I'm already gone. This is just a dream that you'll eventually wake up from". Isabel asks "Will I see you again?" Alex replies "That depends on you. But I have a feeling…I wouldn't want me to be here". He gently kisses her, then gets up and walks towards the door. Isabel calls after him "I love you Alex". He turns and replies "I think we both know that I loved you too" then walks out. Isabel is in her bedroom, crying in her sleep. In the kitchen, while finishing the macaroni and cheese, Max and Liz are smiling, reminiscing about Alex's antics in school. Max says "Remember the time he electrified Mr Hoffman's desk?" Liz replies "Yeah, you know, he almost got suspended for that". Max responds "Never happen…the teacher's loved him. That guy could get away with anything. At the Prom, I overheard Mr Hoffman telling Senora Villa the whole…chair thing…thought it was a riot". Liz's demeanour changes immediately at the mention of the Prom. She says "Yeah, about the Prom…I saw you kiss Tess. It's OK…you're moving on". Max starts to say "Liz…" but she interrupts "No! We've discussed this. You're moving on and I am moving on. That's a decision we've made. I just wanted you to know that I saw you and that I'm OK with it. OK?" Max replies "OK". Liz responds "Thank you very much for the macaroni and cheese and thank you for listening". She starts to leave then turns and says "Just always be my friend. Will you do that Max?" Max replies "You know I will". Saturday, 5 May 2001 A few days later at the funeral, Maria is singing Amazing Grace, with tears in her voice. Max, Michael, Kyle and Jim are among the pall bearers, carrying the casket to the gravesite. Isabel breaks down as she lays a rose on the casket. Riding in the limo away from the cemetery Liz sees Max confront Jim about his suspicions. Jim says "If this is about what I said to Liz the other night, I don't have any apologies to make". Max yells at him "How can you say that to us! How can you even think…" Jim replies "This is difficult for everybody, Max!" Pointing his finger in Jim's face Max shouts back "Alex Whitman did not kill himself! OK?" Jim starts to walk away and Max follows, still yelling. "It didn't happen! And you better not let Hanson, or anyone else, put that in some file!" Jim reaches his pickup truck, takes the file from it and hands it to Max, telling him to read it, which he does. Everyone gathers at the Whitman home. Liz heads out to the pool to talk to Mr Whitman. He tells her "I hope you know how much Alex loved you and Maria. He just thought the world of you two". Liz thanks him then asks if he would mind if she went into Alex's room for a while. He replies "I haven't been able to bring myself to go in there just yet. But sure, go ahead". She hugs him and says thanks. Liz is sitting in his room, strumming his guitar, talking out loud to Alex. "I really need your help. I know something's wrong. I know what they're saying about you isn't true. But I don't know where to go from here. I really wish you could give me some advice. Point me in a direction". Suddenly she notices the Robert Frost book and goes to it. There are concert tickets being used as place markers. She opens the book to the place marked and reads from the poem [Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening] on that page "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep". She looks at the concert tickets, smiles and whispers "Thank you". Max and Jim come in the front door. Tess comes up to Max and tells him to come with her because Liz says it's urgent. Liz is holding court in Alex's room, pacing back and forth. She says "Everything I'm about to say is gonna come as a shock to most of you but something happened and you need to know what's going on. Valenti and Hanson are about to declare Alex's death a suicide". Max shocks Liz by hesitantly saying "Well, I'm not so sure". Liz turns to him and says "What? Max, come on, we talked about this. You said…" Max replies "I know. But, I've read the file. Valenti showed me…" Liz interrupts and sarcastically says "Oh, Valenti showed you the file!" Max responds "I don't want to believe it either. But, I saw…" He pauses, drops his head, unable to look Liz in the eye, then reluctantly continues "The evidence is pretty convincing". Michael remarks "I can't believe it's suicide". Liz agrees, saying "It wasn't a suicide and I can prove it!" She picks up the concert tickets and continues "Five minutes ago I found these here, in Alex's room. They are concert tickets to Beth Orton. Alex bought them on the day he died, probably for him and Isabel. The concert is tonight". No one responds so she continues "Don't you get it? You don't buy concert tickets on the day you kill yourself. You don't make plans for the future, when you are not planning on having a future". Marie agrees, saying "She's right. There's no way. There's no way". Tess isn't so sure, saying "I don't know. You know, a couple of concert tickets. It's pretty slim evidence". Maria argues "You don't know what the hell you're talking about". Michael interjects "Hey, hey" to prevent an argument from starting, then adds "There's nothing to be gained with this argument, one way or another. We know Alex; we know what kind of guy he is and we know he'd never kill himself. So, as far as all the people in this room are concerned, it was an accident, nothing more." Liz shocks everyone even more by saying "It wasn't an accident. He was murdered!" Concerned, Max replies "Will you listen to yourself. Who could possibly want to murder Alex?" Liz responds "I don't know yet. Maybe someone with a grudge against him, or…maybe an alien". Max stands, ready to challenge this accusation. He says, firmly, "That is not what happened here". Liz angrily responds "Won't you just think about it, for a minute?" Michael and Isabel are obviously uncomfortable with the way the conversation is headed. Liz continues "If there is anything any of us should've learned over the last year and a half, it's that nothing is ever what it seems". Isabel explodes "What is that! That's not evidence! That's not proof we had anything to do with it!" Tess warns Isabel and Liz to keep their voices down. Liz goes up to Isabel and says "You cannot deny the fact that a key member of this conspiracy just died under very suspicious circumstances". Kyle chimes in "I'm with Liz. There's something not right about this". Max defensively shouts "It was a traffic accident! There's nothing other worldly about that!" Michael asks "What possible reason would an alien have to kill Alex?" Liz replies "Isabel, for one. We know that there's an alien named Kivar who wants to bring Isabel back to your world. [Looking at Isabel] If Kivar discovered that you and Alex…" Isabel starts screaming "No! No! You're just making this up!" Max, siding with Isabel tells Liz "You don't know what the hell you're talking about! You don't know anything about Kivar, or our world!" Liz confronts him and belligerently says "You don't want to think that Alex was killed by an alien because that would mean you are responsible". That was the last straw for Max. Without responding to Liz, he tells the others "Let's go". Isabel and Tess immediately follow him out. Michael leaves Maria's side and trails after them. Liz turns to Maria and Kyle and says with conviction "I know what I know and I'm gonna find out the truth. I owe that to my friend" then walks out. Kyle says "Well, I guess it's us versus them". That evening, at the Crashdown, Liz sorts through pictures of the Prom trying to find clues. While she goes through the pictures we see flashbacks - Alex doing the striptease dance for Isabel's birthday, Liz telling Alex about the aliens, Alex emerging from the crystal cave, various moments of times spent together, etc. Looking at the picture Sean took of them all, the night of the Prom, Liz's stoicism crumbles and she breaks down sobbing. A knock on the door interrupts her flood of tears. It's Jerry. He has new evidence. Alex's credit card receipt was kicked back because of the way he signed it. Liz looks at the signature line and sees "11100100100111011001". Jerry asks "Does that mean anything to you?" Liz replies in a daze "It means, I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep". |
