Liz lay in her bed in a blissful state of semi-consciousness. It was the only part of sleep that Liz had ever enjoyed. She was awake enough to chase away the nightmares but asleep enough to block out the harsh realities of life. Her eyes shut tighter in a futile attempt to remain unaware, yet the inevitable descent into full wakefulness finally overcame her. She was immediately aware of how weak and tired she felt but pushed it away and crawled out of bed.
As she gathered her stuff to get ready, Liz caught a look at her reflection. She wasn’t surprised by what she saw, Liz knew she had changed, Max probably wouldn’t have recognized her at first if he saw her. She had lost weight due to her lack of appetite. Nothing tasted right no matter how much Tabasco she used and she had to force herself to eat. Although she spent sometime in the sun when she was practicing, her skin had become somewhat pale. When she wasn’t practicing her powers she stayed holed up in her room but she wasn’t sleeping. She barely slept at all, whenever she closed her eyes and allowed herself to sleep, she was plagued with nightmares. She would relive her stay in the White Room. Sometimes the dreams would be replay exactly how it happened, other times it was far worse. She would watch Pierce torture the others and not just her. Her injuries might have been healed, although she had left the scar on her chest as a reminder but the emotional damage hadn’t gone away.
Liz had a feeling that she would never escape the after effects of the White Room. It was a part of her that she would never forget. She couldn’t even stand to look at the color white anymore, she could handle cream, gray or even pink but not white. It was like the effect cold water had on her. Her mind would instantly jump back and she would be inside on that table with Pierce screaming at her and she would start to tremble. The number of incidents had decreased over time but they were still there. It helped too that she had changed everything she possibly could to a different color than white and she always let her showers run for five minutes before she’d step into them just to make sure it was hot enough.
She knew that her parents and Isabel were worried about her, she was worried about her sanity herself. She had to get pass these nightmares; she couldn’t go on like this. She would end up crazy if she did. She needed her rest if she was going to fulfill her duty and be the queen that others expected her to be. But she didn’t feel like a queen, like this Shyla whose essence resided in her. She felt like a teenage girl. Albeit a half alien teenage girl but certainly not a queen of an entire planet. What did she know about leading people? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Ever since she had heard that message she felt like someone had strapped an anvil to her back and the only thing she could think of to do is learn what they could. So she pushed, she pushed Isabel and Michael to learn their powers but mostly she pushed herself to the limit to learn her own. She could mindwarp easily now and had learned a few more offensive powers as well. She had found that with the wave of her hand, she could toss something or someone a good distance away if she needed to. It was telekinesis or anything like that, she would just simply manipulate the molecules of the air around the object causing them to give the target a push. Working on her power was a struggle but helped to keep herself distracted from more unpleasant thoughts, like her broken heart.
Max. Liz thought. He was never far from her thoughts despite how much she tried. Had she really become one of those girls that were so needy and reliant on her boyfriend that they couldn’t function? No, she liked to think that her and Max’s relationship was more than a simple teenage affair. They deeply loved one another, seen into each other’s souls. They had shared a piece of themselves with each other and it had been so beautiful. That’s why she couldn’t understand how Max could have walked away so easily that day, telling her that he had to give her up because she was supposed to be with someone else. How could she be with someone else after them?
Max walking away from her that day had done more than break her heart, it had left an empty space in her soul. It was like a piece of her was missing. And feeling like that gave her bitter feelings towards Max. She had tried to keep them apart so this wouldn’t happen but he had pushed and pushed until she gave in. Then he had given her what she had always wanted, to be loved by him. But then he left, and she couldn’t help but feel like she had been abandoned.
The ringing of the doorbell pulled her out of her thoughts. She expected her mom to answer it but remembered her saying something about being out with Isabel for the day, and her dad was at the office so she walked down the stairs to answer it. The person at the door must have been getting impatient because the doorbell kept chiming over and over again. Liz finally reached the door and tore it open, and was surprised to see Maria on the other side. “It’s about time, I thought I was going to have to start pounding on the door and cause a scene.”
“Maria? What are you doing here?”
“Breakfast.” Maria stated from her perch on the Evans’ porch. She tried to walk inside but Liz blocked her path. “You and me, breakfast now. And I’m starving so hurry up and get dressed. But you might want to take a shower, the whole just fell out of bed look doesn’t look real good on you.”
Liz just stared at her in bewilderment for a minute before she was able to speak. “I can’t go out to breakfast with you, I’ve got some stuff I need to do.”
“Lying in your room is not something to do nor is it a good way to spend your summer so try again with a better excuse?” Maria stated folding her arms across her chest.
That was when Liz figured out why Maria was there. “Oh, I see. Isabel sent you over here. Do me a favor and tell my sister to butt out. You too.”
“I’m just trying to be a friend.” Maria argued.
“I didn’t ask you to.” Liz said before slamming the door. Maria started knocking on the door, “Liz open up! Come on! I just want to talk.”
“Well I don’t feel like talking.” Liz spat out. “Go away.” Surprisingly the knocking stopped and Liz could make out the sound of Maria’s retreating footsteps.
“Wish she’d give up that easily with me.” A deep voice said.
Liz whirled around to see Michael leaning against the door that led into the kitchen. “Michael, make some noise, you scared the crap out of me.”
“You would have heard me if you hadn’t been slamming doors.” Michael jibbed. “Why did you slam the door in Maria’s face like that?”
Liz picked up on the interest in Michael’s voice and couldn’t help but say. “Careful Michael, if Maria heard you she might actually think you cared.”
“You know bitchy Liz doesn’t suit you so drop it.” Michael stated. “And quit avoiding my question.”
Liz rolled her eyes although she had already known that Michael wouldn’t put up with any of her attitude like everyone else did. “She was butting in when I didn’t ask her too.”
“Yeah, well that’s Maria.” Michael said. “When she thinks she can fix something she’ll nag until you let her help so why does it bug you all of a sudden?”
“What bugs me is she wasn’t doing it on her own, Isabel sent her over to talk to me.” Liz stated. “I guess she figured since I wouldn’t talk to her, I might talk to Maria.”
“You know, it might be a good idea.” Michael declared. At Liz’s astonished look, he explained. “Well it’s not like you’re talking to any of us about what’s stuck up your ass. Maria’s someone who’s in our trusted group without actually being like us. She’d have a different perspective.”
“Why does everyone think I need to talk about anything? I’m dealing with a lot of stuff right now and pouring my heart is not on the top of my list to do. Why does everyone feel like I have to?” Liz exclaimed.
“Maybe because we hate seeing you like this?” Michael asked motioning his hand over her disheveled state to show his point. “You look like a strong wind could knock you over and you have black circles so dark under your eyes it looks like you’ve been letting Pam Troy do your makeup. Do you think we like watching you wake up almost every night screaming, scared out your mind?”
“Sorry for the inconvenience.” Liz mumbled.
“Blow it out your ass Liz.” Michael yelled. “You know it’s not like that. You’re our sister and sorry if you don’t like it that we’re worried about you but we are. We saw what you looked like after we got you out of there, we know they tortured you. And we know it’ll take some time but we want you to heal from it. We want you back.”
Liz softened a little from Michael’s words. “I’m sorry. I am but I can’t talk about what happened in…the Whi…in there. I just can’t do it, not yet maybe not ever.”
Michael watched Liz as she turned away from him and went back up to her room. He thought he might have been able to get through to her but obviously he was wrong. He fought the urge to break something as he stomped back off to his apartment.
Philip Evans walked out of his spot where he had been hidden from both teenagers and tried to figure out what they had been talking about. From what he gathered, someone had kidnapped Liz and held her against her will and tortured her. Someone had done that to his little girl and he and Diane knew nothing about it. Why? He had a feeling that whatever the kids were hiding from them was a lot bigger than they expected.
PART 7
Max sat on the beach watching his little cousins playing in the surf. He envied them; they were so carefree and lighthearted. They didn’t think about aliens, FBI hunts or losing their loves to someone else. Granted they were a little young to be even thinking about being in love with someone but Max was still envious.
There wasn’t a day that went by that Max didn’t think about returning to Roswell and telling Liz that he loved her. That he had been an idiot that day when he walked away from her at the cave and that he wanted to be with her but he stopped himself. Despite how miserable he was, he had to be strong and not give into his feelings.
He talked to both Maria and Alex on the phone and knew that the four aliens were spending quite a bit of time together. He would change the subject whenever the conversation would switch to be more about Liz. He didn’t want to know about her and Kyle. Max knew that if they were seeing each other often, it was only a matter of time before they got together if they weren’t already. They would be together like they were supposed to be.
On his second night in LA after the kids had gone to bed, his aunt had sat him down and point blanked asked him what was wrong. She told him that she had noticed he wasn’t the same as he used to be that he seemed quieter and she wanted to know if she could help. Max knew he had to talk to someone so he had told her the basics, minus the whole alien and destiny factor. His aunt had listened attentively and tried to offer what advice she could. But just being able to talk things out had mad Max feel somewhat better and he lightened up a little after.
A shadow fell over him and he glanced up into the face of smiling girl with dark red hair. “Hey, I saw you sitting here all by your lonesome and thought you might want some company.”
She didn’t give Max a chance to answer before she plopped down next to him. She was wearing a green two-piece that Max could tell was not intended for swimming. If she did anything beside lie in the sun or wade in the water, Max was sure that the suit would come off. “I’m Ronnie by the way.”
“Max.”
“So Max, do you live in LA or are you visiting?” Ronnie asked.
“Just visiting here for the summer actually.” Max said uneasily. He didn’t really feel like talking to anyone, but he didn’t want to be rude.
“Oh, then maybe if you’re not busy later, I could show you some of the highlights of LA.” Ronnie offered. She couldn’t help but gaze down at his bare chest in admiration. To say he was in shape was an understatement. He was built extremely well and his skin gave off a healthy glow from the sun. She had watched him from her spot twenty feet away to make sure he hadn’t been with anyone. Two little kids seemed to be the only companions he had with him so she had come over to make her move. She couldn’t let a tasty thing like him get away.
Max knew he should be flattered that a such a pretty girl was coming on to him and was asking him out. He also knew that he should take her up on her offer in an attempt to move on with his life. After all Liz was going to be moving on with her with Kyle But the only thing he could think was that Ronnie wasn’t Liz. There was red hair where there should be brown, green eyes instead of chocolate and he couldn’t fool himself into thinking otherwise. The thought of doing something as simple as going out with another girl just for some fun seemed completely wrong. “Thanks for the invite, but I can’t.”
“Oh,” Ronnie said disappointedly. “Well we could go out any time you want.”
“No, I didn’t explain well enough. My girlfriend and I just broke up and I’m not looking to be with anyone right now. Even for something as simple as a tour. I just can’t…”
“I think I understand.” Ronnie said nodding and got up, “But you’re ex was stupid to let you go.”
Max watched as she left and fell back onto his towel, “She didn’t, I left her.”
(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)
Isabel and her mom didn’t return from shopping until early evening. Isabel saw the jeep in the driveway and knew Liz was home. Alex had called her earlier and told her about Maria's run in with Liz and she knew that their plan so far hadn’t worked. As she took her bags upstairs to her room she heard Liz’s voice. “Have fun?”
Isabel turned around to see Liz standing in the doorway to her room. She was standing with her arms crossed over her chest and she could tell that she was not happy. Isabel nodded to answer her question. “Yeah, Mom and I found lots of stuff. We didn’t mean to be gone so long.”
“Yeah, if you hadn’t then you might not of missed Maria.” Liz commented. “But oh that’s right, you planned for it to be that way so she could trap me her by myself so I’d be forced to listen to her.”
“Liz…”
“No, Isabel, don’t even try.” Liz interrupted her. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“You won’t talk to me or Michael. You haven’t given us any other choice.” Isabel explained.
“Can’t you just accept that I don’t want to talk about it?” Liz snapped. “It’s bad enough that I had to live through it, I don’t exactly want you guys to have to share the experience. It was bad enough Max saw flashes of it.”
“Fine, you don’t want to talk about it, I get the picture.” Isabel said in just as snotty voice.
“Good.”
“But what about what happened after? At the cave. You can’t lie and say that it isn’t part of why you’re like this. You’ve been this zombie since Max left. I know it hurt you but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on everything.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t. I’ve been working my ass off trying to make sure I’m ready to do what’s expected.” Liz stated.
“Who asked you to?” Isabel asked.
“What?”
“I said you asked you to take it all on yourself?” Isabel asked. “If you remember correctly you weren’t the only one who was mentioned in that message, Michael and I were too. You maybe at the top but Michael and I were supposed to there right along with you, which means you asked for our help. God! You’re as infuriating as Michael with this nobility crap!”
“Must run in the family.” Liz said.
Isabel was about to say more when their mother came up the stairs, “What is all the yelling up here?”
“Nothing.” Liz said shortly.
“Yeah, Mom. Liz and I were just arguing. You know sibling stuff.” Isabel stated.
“Well whatever it is work it out.” Diane instructed. “I could barely hear your uncle telling me his good news when I was talking to him on the phone.”
“What did Uncle Robert say?” Isabel asked trying to change the subject.
“Your cousin Gina is pregnant.” Diane stated.
As Isabel and their mom chatted about the families’ news, Liz’s mind went on another tangent. Her mind wrapped around the memory that when her and Max had made love that night at the factory, they hadn’t used protection. If they were a normal couple, then the consequence of that could result in pregnancy. Since her body was inherently human, could the same thing happen to them?
Could she be pregnant?
Leaving her sister and mom in the hallway, she retreated to her room to try to figure out what to do.
PART 8
Maria was pulled out slumber by the incessant ringing of her phone. She reached over and picked it up off the receiver and groggily said, “Hello?”
“I know I was a complete witch and I’m sorry about when you came over yesterday.” She heard a voice apologize.
“Liz?”
“Yeah.”
Maria sat up in surprise that Liz was on her phone, apologizing to her. “I’m surprised that you called.”
“You said you wanted to be my friend and I could really use one.” Liz said. “Especially now.”
Maria picked up on the distress in Liz’s voice and asked, “Liz, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
There was only silence for a minute before Liz’s quiet voice said, “I think I might be pregnant.”
“WHAT!!” Maria shrieked and fell out of the bed. The fall caused her to fall out of bed and drop the phone. She picked it up quickly and said, “Liz are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here.” Liz stated.
“How did this happen?”
“Maria, you know how, you saw us the morning after.” Liz answered.
“Didn’t you guys use anything?” Maria asked.
“Well no, we really weren’t thinking about it.” Liz said feeling stupid. “I know that I have no right calling you after yesterday but I needed to talk to someone. I can’t talk to Michael or Isabel, they’d freak out and be all paranoid at what it could mean for us. That wouldn’t help me. And well Michael would go all the way to California and try to kill Max.”
“That sounds like Michael.” Maria confirmed. “And I understand about yesterday. Isabel and Alex asked me to come over and talk to you but I was going to do it on my own anyways to see how you were. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to be around anyone that was of the fully human species, or anyone who would remind you of Max.”
“I figured you’d be feeling the same way, not wanting anyone who was a little green around the gills either?” Liz half stated, half asked.
“Yeah, well only ones who are stubborn, hardheaded with bad hair.” Maria joked before turning serious. “Listen, I’ll head over to your house now, stopping at the drugstore on the way and I’ll pick up a test. Then you can take it and we can figure it out from there, okay.”
“Okay.” Liz said. She knew Michael would flip if he knew Maria was being the voice of reason at the moment.
“I’ll be there soon.” Maria said before hanging up. She grabbed some clean clothes and was thankful she had taken a shower the night before. She grabbed some money, wrote a short note to her mom before heading out the door.
(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)
Liz paced anxiously in her room while waiting for Maria. When she heard the doorbell ring she flew down the stairs and to the front door just in time to prevent her mom from answering. “It’s okay Mom, I’ve got it, it’s for me anyways.”
Diane looked at Liz strangely for a minute before nodding and going back to the kitchen. Liz ripped open the door and saw Maria standing there. “Come on, we can go up to my room.”
Maria nodded before following Liz upstairs and to her room. When they entered Maria took a look around Liz’s room. It was depressing. You could tell someone had been holed up in it. Clothes were thrown about, the bed was half made, the desk was covered in papers, basically it looked like a tornado had been through it. Taking her attention away from it, she handed Liz the little baggie she had brought. “Here it is, go into the bathroom and do it then coming back out here. It takes five minutes and I don’t want you staring at it the whole time.”
Liz nodded then went into the bathroom. She emerge a few minutes later and sat on the edge of her bed. Maria could see how nervous she was and tried to think of something to talk about to get her mind off of the test. “So since Michael never talks to me, how are things on the alien front? I did manage to find out from Alex that you guys have been working on your powers.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure what we should do after we heard that message but Nasedo, uh our protector, thought it was a good idea to work on our powers so I agreed. It’s not like I had any other ideas.”
“Why is it so important to work on your powers? I would think that the risk would be less the less you use your powers. So you don’t risk exposure.” Maria stated.
“True, but he thinks some of our enemies might have followed us and it’s best to be prepared.” Liz explained. “Plus we’ll need them whenever we go back.”
“Right, your destiny.” Maria said. “So how is Kyle?”
“Kyle’s fine.”
“Is that fine as in living and breathing or as in we’re dating and I don’t want to discuss with my exboyfriend’s bestfriend?” Maria asked being nosy.
“The first one.” Liz answered shifting somewhat uncomfortably. “We’re not ‘together’. I’ve told him that I just want to be friends and he’s accepted it, he understands.”
“Liz, let me let you in on a little secret. When a guy is interested in you, and we both know that Kyle is, and you tell him you just want to be friends, he agrees because he thinks it’ll get him somewhere.” Maria stated. “I’m not saying you two can’t be friends, but be careful.”
“I’ll keep it under advisement.” Liz said, “So how’s Max?”
Maria’s eyebrow quirked up in surprise but said, “Well according to him the last time I talked to him, he said he’s fine, having a great time and all that but I read through the lines.”
“What do you mean?” Liz asked.
“Meaning that I’ve been friends with him long enough to know that although he says he’s great, he’s miserable.” Maria answered. “Or did you think he was in LA living the high life without thinking about you?”
“He was the one who walked away that day.”
“Because he thought that he was doing what was best. I love Max, I do but sometimes he is too selfless and noble for his own good, he’s always willing to give up what he wants for someone else. I remember one time he spent his whole allowance to go buy me this CD that Mom wouldn’t let me have although I had begged her for it. Max had been planning on using his allowance to go go-carting with Alex but spent it on me.”
“Well, I never asked for him to be all noble and self-sacrificing. No. I’d prefer that he be selfish and with me.” Liz grumbled.
“Yeah, well I wish for once that Michael wouldn’t make things difficult, but we don’t all get what we wish for.” Maria said with a shrug of her shoulders. “If we did, you’d be having a very different breakfast, preferably in bed with Max right now and I’d be with Spaceboy. Not that I don’t like your company. But instead Max is in Los Angeles and Michael is probably elbow deep in grease while we’re waiting for the results of a pregnancy test.”
“I just can’t believe that he thought if he left that I would go to Kyle.” Liz exclaimed. “I mean, that’s why he left isn’t it? So he wouldn’t be a distraction?”
“Sort of. I think part of it was that but the big reason was in case you did give into destiny, he didn’t want to see you and Kyle together. You know kissing, and stuff. I’m sure you understand. Could you sit around and watch Max with some other girl if the situations were reversed?” Maria asked.
“No, I wouldn’t.” Liz said. She knew how jealous she had been before the shooting when she would see Tess and Max together, she couldn’t imagine what it would feel like now after everything. The mere thought made her cringe and almost loose her appetite. “Can we talk about something else? I don’t really feel like talking about Max anymore.”
Maria saw that she had pushed Liz enough on the subject of Max and decided to back down. “Sure, Liz. We don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to.”
“Thanks and can you do me another favor?”
“What?”
“If the test comes out positive, don’t mention it to Max okay?” Liz asked. “Not yet.”
Maria wasn’t sure about whether she should agree or not but she ended up doing it. “I won’t tell him but only because you will.”
Liz looked over at her bedside clock and announced, “Time’s up.”
PART 9
“Time’s up.”
Liz rose off of her bed and Maria knew she had to be freaking out, hell she was and she wasn’t even the one taking the test. She took Liz’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Come on. Let’s go see.”
The two girls crept into the bathroom like they were facing a firing squad. As they approached the sink, Liz leaned over and picked up the test. Maria looked at the box and said, “Pink for positive and blue for negative.”
Liz looked at the stick with an odd expression before saying, “It’s purple.”
“What?” Maria asked. “That can’t be.”
“Well it is.” Liz said handing it to her.
Maria took it and looked at Liz, “Maybe it doesn’t work on people of another species.”
“Great.” Liz huffed out. “Now we still don’t know.”
Maria racked her brain about what to do, “Why don’t you take a shower and then we’ll go get some breakfast and figure out what to do next?”
Liz agreed and went to fetch some clean clothes. Maria left her alone to shower and went out to Liz’s room. With nothing better to do, she started to pick it up. Maybe it would help Liz get out of her funk.
When Alex had told her about Liz, she had felt horrible. Everyone had been so concerned about themselves and how the changes had effected them that no one considered other people. Maria considered Liz a friend and was not about to let her drown in her own despair so she had come over to see how she could help. She hadn’t been sure what her next step was when Liz refused but had been glad that she had come to her that morning when she needed her.
She pulled the curtains away from the large doors that she knew led out to the balcony and let some light in. Deciding to take it one step further, she opened the door as well to let some air in. When she did, her eyes drifted to the apartment above the garage. She knew he wasn’t there, he was working a double shift at the Crashdown but it still hit her. She missed him, and wanted him back. Why did he have to be so stubborn? He was like an immovable wall, but she was going to chip away at it until it came down, when she was determined, she didn’t back down.
Maria pulled her gaze away from staring at Michael’s apartment and went about what she was doing. Snooping in the hallway paid off when she found some clean sheets and changed Liz’s bed, she had just finished up when a freshly showered Liz came through the door. She had on a pair of Jean shorts and a simple red T-shirt with her hair pulled up in a ponytail but she looked a lot better than before. Maybe by the end of the summer with her help Liz could be the old Liz again. “Well you look a lot better, less like death warmed over.”
“Thanks, I think.” Liz said. “Ready?”
“Yep, let’s go.” Maria said.
The two girls headed down and took off in the jeep. It was a bright sunny day; they passed a lot of people enjoying their summer on the way. Liz realized that she had been so locked up in her own prison that she hadn’t had the time to even think about it being summer except for the fact that since she didn’t have school, she could practice on her powers more.
She pulled in front of the Crashdown and Maria scrambled out of the jeep. Liz moved slower as she headed toward the familiar café. This would be her first time inside in awhile and although she knew that Max wasn’t there, she felt uneasy about going inside. But she let Maria drag her inside and over to a booth. Their waitress appeared just as they sat down and took their orders before dashing off.
Liz took a minute to look around the café and noticed that nothing had changed. It still looked the same as it did the day of the shooting. The only change was a new face on the wait staff that must have been hired because of Max’s absence. She could see Maria wasn’t too fond of the girl by the glare she gave the new blonde whose nametag read Courtney. She was about to ask about it when she saw Michael through the order window and decided she needed to talk to him. “I’ll be right back.”
Liz snuck through the swinging doors to the kitchen where a busy Michael was cooking at the grill. He didn’t look at her as he said. “Surprised to see you here.”
“Yeah, I know.” Liz said guiltily. “I’m sorry about yesterday and being a bitch.”
Michael winced, “I might have been a little harsh.”
“No, you weren’t, you and Isabel are right. I have been pushing people away.” Liz stated. “I did a lot of thinking last night and I realized that I can’t take everything on myself. I just thought that if I could take the responsibility than maybe you and Isabel could have a semi normal life.”
“Fat chance of that.” Michael grumbled.
“You know I’m not the only one who does it.” Liz declared. “You blame yourself for what happened to me and you shouldn’t. I don’t. It was a horrible thing that happened but it wasn’t your fault. And you shouldn’t put your life on hold because you think you have to protect Isabel and I. You should be with who makes you happy.”
“Liz…” Michael said as he glanced out the order window at the topic of their conversation. He did miss being with Maria but he wasn’t going to talk about it.
“I know, I know. I won’t mention it again.” Liz said teasingly and lighthearted “Now I’m going to go eat my breakfast. See you later?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you later.” Michael said.
“Good, I have one more apology to make, to Isabel and hopefully things can get back to normal.” Liz said knowing that if she was pregnant that things would never be the same again. The possibility of her being pregnant was what had finally snapped her out of her depression. She couldn’t be like that if she was going to have a child. Its life was going to be unstable, as it was no need for it to have a mother who was unbalanced. She knew she still had some healing to do but she felt that she was on her way. And she needed her family to help her.
“Have fun with that, I’m glad I’m not in your shoes.” Michael stated truthfully.
Liz said goodbye before heading back out to Maria. The food arrived a few minutes later and the two began to eat. They were about half way done when Maria said, “Okay, we need to figure out what to do next.”
Liz thought about it for a minute before an idea popped into her head. “Finish eating, I’ve got an idea.”
Maria looked at her strangely but ate quickly. It wasn’t long before they were finished and off in the jeep. When they reached their destination, Maria didn’t look thrilled. “Are you sure about this?”
“No, but it’s the only thing I know to do.” Liz said as she knocked on the door.
Kyle’s face appeared moments later; he looked surprised especially with Maria there. “Hey Liz, what’s up?”
“Hey Kyle, I’ve got a question for you. Can we talk?”
PART 10
Kyle stared at her for a minute, before saying, “Sure, Liz. What can I help you with?”
“Are you alone here?” Liz asked.
“Yeah, Ed left about twenty minutes ago, not sure to where.” Kyle answered nonchalantly. “Why don’t you two come in, instead of standing on our porch?”
Liz walked in to the house and pulled Maria in behind her. It was the first time Maria had been inside the Harding residence and she took a chance to look around. It looked sterile and bland. She brought her attention back to the discussion between the two aliens as Liz began to ask her questions. “We know that we are half human. We have human bodies and systems but our blood is different. Does that mean our body accepts human cells?”
“I don’t understand.” Kyle stated.
“Are we compatible with humans?” Liz asked nervously.
Maria could see how shy Liz suddenly was and decided to take the initiative and asked, “We want to know if one of you and a human can have kids?”
Kyle’s face broke out into a smirk as he said, “Oh this is too much. Let me guess you and Michael got a little friendly one night and now you’re scared you’re pregnant?”
Maria didn’t like the smug look on his face, “Just answer the question.”
“Haven’t you two ever heard of using protection?” Kyle asked. “I would think that might pop into your head with the whole different species thing.”
Liz could see that Maria was becoming riled by Kyle’s words and knew she better step in. “Kyle, not that it’s any of your business but this isn’t about Michael and Maria.”
Kyle’s grin instantly fell from his face as his eyes bugged out in surprise. “You? I mean you and Max? And you think that you’re…?”
“Yes.” Liz answered knowing exactly what Kyle was thinking. She knew he would be less than thrilled at the prospect but she needed to know. “ Now, will you answer the question?”
“Yes, we are compatible. We can breed with each other or humans.” Kyle grumbled. He couldn’t believe that Liz, the girl who was supposed to be with him, was possibly pregnant by another man.
“Do you know how we might be able to find out if I am?” Liz asked. “I took a home pregnancy test but it didn’t give us a definite answer.”
Kyle thought for a minute, trying to think how to explain what their protector told him. “Our people as you know have more developed mental powers. Because of that, when one of the females become pregnant her and the child or children have a strong connection. It starts early on and then later, as the child develops, the father senses it too.”
“So you’re saying that the parents have a telepathic link to their kids?” Liz asked.
“More like a combination of telepathic and empathic. You would pick up on emotions and vague thoughts rather than specific thoughts.” Kyle explained better. “Like you would know that they were happy about something but not positive what exactly caused it.”
“So you’re saying that if I was pregnant, I would feel my child? In my mind?” Liz asked trying to make sure she understood what he was telling them.
“Yeah. You would be able to sense another presence in your mind.” Kyle stated.
Liz closed her eyes and focused on blocking out everything around her. Once she did, she switched her concentration to inside herself, trying to detect another life. She was familiar with connections thanks to the one she shared with Max. But as she tried to discover the existence of her child, she realized she felt nothing. She opened her eyes and saw Maria and Kyle staring at her. She shook her head, “Nothing, I’m not pregnant.”
They both looked relieved as Maria commented. “That’s good news.”
“Yeah.” Liz said. She felt half disappointed at the news. She knew she was too young and there were a ton of other things to factor in, like the whole alien mess but she had kind of liked the idea of a life growing inside her that was a part of her and a part of Max. And now she knew she wasn’t pregnant. “It’s good news.”
Maria could see the look on Liz’s face and had an idea why it was there but didn’t mention it in front of Kyle. It just wasn’t the time to talk about it.
“Of course it’s good news.” Kyle exclaimed in astonishment that they wouldn’t think it was. “After all it’s not like Max is even around or with Liz anymore. He abandoned her and would do the same thing if they had a kid.”
Maria couldn’t hold her voice anymore; she had to knock Kyle down a peg or two. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Max loves Liz and would be there for their child. And if you hadn’t suddenly shown up spouting off all that crap about destiny then maybe he wouldn’t have left. He did it because he thought it was best.”
“Well for once, I have to agree with him.” Kyle stated. “Liz and I being together is what is best.”
“Oh, because it worked so well before?” Maria asked sarcastically.
“Can you both stop talking about me and my life like I’m not here?” Liz snapped initiating the two to quiet down. “Maria? Can you wait for me out by the jeep?”
Maria nodded before heading out the front door. Once the door shut Liz turned her attention on Kyle to chastise him for his comments. “Kyle, I told you that I wanted us to be friends. Over the time we’ve spent practicing our powers, I thought we had managed it. But I must have been wrong because if you were my friend you wouldn’t have made such a cold hearted comment about Max.”
“I was only…”
“I don’t want to hear it Kyle.” Liz stated. “I know you haven’t had a lot of experience with humans and its not like our protector is the warmest of people but that excuse will only work for so long. Michael had a crappy childhood too but he’s dealt with it and not let it get the better of him.”
Liz took a deep breath and calmed her voice before starting again. “Now you have two choices. One is you keep on the same path you’re going, being coldhearted and forgetting that you’re part human too. Which will end up leaving you overall an outsider to our group.”
“Or?” Kyle asked.
“Or, you can accept that your human side that I know is lurking in there somewhere. You can learn what it means to have friends, human as well as alien, who know you and like you. Not just because they’re supposed to but because they like you too. Those are your choices, you decide.”
Kyle did seem to contemplate her words for a few minutes before looking away and began to pace. Her words had struck a chord in him. Ever since he moved to Roswell, he had realized that something was missing and he thought he knew now what it was. “I don’ t know how to be human. Ever since I came out of the pod, I’ve been taught that they were beneath us and that they let themselves be ruled by their insignificant emotions.”
“If you don’t live your life with emotions, then you live an empty life.” Liz stated. “Just because they can be overpowering at times and make you do strange things, doesn’t mean that they’re bad.”
Kyle’s head bobbed up and down, “I’m starting to get that now.”
“So what do you say Kyle? Which choice?”
“I don’t want to be alone.” He declared honestly. “So I choose to try and learn about my human side. But I’m not promising you anything.”
“I’ll help you Kyle.”
PART 11
To everyone’s surprise, Kyle actually did what he could to try and open himself up to his human side. Much to the dislike of the fours’ protector. The others were leery of Kyle’s intentions but after Liz explained the ultimatum she had given him and they lightened up. Well except Michael, he was still guarded but he always was. Kyle started hanging out with them more at the café and other places and in time began dropping his talk about their duty and how they had to prepare. He didn’t blow it off either but he didn’t harp on it as much.
Liz and Maria’s friendship also continued to grow after Liz’s pregnancy scare. Liz didn’t push her away after Maria had helped her. The two talked a lot about love and relationships. Liz talked about Max while Maria talked about Michael. He was still being stubborn that they couldn’t be together but that didn’t mean that Maria gave up. And it didn’t help that they were around each other more and more since Maria was at the Evans’ house a lot.
And although Liz ended up not being pregnant, the two decided it would be a good idea to tell the others just in case something happened that the prospect happened again. They needed to know as much about themselves as they could. So after Liz apologized to Isabel for her behavior she talked to Michael and Isabel about alien pregnancies. They had both been upset that Liz hadn’t felt she could come to them, Michael had wanted to go to California to hunt Max down. But once she calmed them down, they listened to her and filed the information for future use.
Liz’s pregnancy scare ended up having a positive effect on her. It snapped her out of her depression and she began the slow process of coming back to herself. Isabel and Maria worked some of their magic on Liz and she began to look healthy again. She gained back some of the weight she had lost, and got some of her color back. But things were not all perfect. She still wouldn’t talk about the White Room and had still had the recurring nightmares. They only thing that Liz would let them do for her was stay with her as she slept. So Maria, Isabel or Michael would always sleep by her, giving their parents the impression of a sleep over or in Michael’s case, not telling them anything and he snuck in. When Liz would start to toss and turn or giving any indication that she was in trouble. They would simply wake her up. It had worked so far and kept their suspicions from their parents for a while but the best-laid plans didn't always work that way.
Maria heard a blood-curdling scream that jerked her out of the deep slumber. It took her a minute to realize where she was and where the sound was coming from. She realized quickly that she was at the Evans’ house and that the person making the noise was Liz. She moved over to where Liz was still screaming and thrashing and tried to wake her up. “Liz. Liz, come on you have to wake up. It’s just a dream.”
But it wasn’t working and Liz was still stuck in the clutches of the nightmare. Isabel burst into the room and looked wildly at Maria, “What’s going on? Why haven’t you woken her up yet?”
“I’ve tried. She won’t wake up.” Maria explained.
“We have to get her out of it, or she’ll wake up our parents.” Isabel said.
“Too late.” Maria said seeing Mr. and Mrs. Evans over Isabel’s shoulder looking lethargic. She motioned with her head to Isabel to show that they had company.
Philip looked at the scene playing out in front of him and was taken aback. Liz was flailing around on her bed screaming while Isabel and Maria were huddled over her, trying to wake her up. He was surprised to see that Liz was having nightmares again, she had pretty much snapped out of whatever had been upsetting her lately. He almost thought that he had imagined the conversation he’d overheard between her and Michael before.
Diane too was shocked by what she could see was happening over Philip’s shoulder. She shook herself out of her shock and said, “Philip, we have to do something.”
Philip nodded and began to move forward but didn’t make it to his daughters. It was then that Liz sat up but this time as she screamed they could make out words.
“NO! NO MORE PLEASE! I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!” Liz half cried, half screamed.
Isabel tried to shake her more, trying to wake her before the situation got any worse. But it didn’t seem to do any good and Liz continued to wail. “DON’T TOUCH ME!”
Suddenly Liz’s hand came up and the next thing anybody knew, Isabel and Maria were thrown to the other side of the room. Thankfully it wasn’t a powerful throw and they didn’t run into any furniture, they just crashed into each other and hit the wall. They knew that they were going to have a few bruises from the impact but the incident seemed to finally shake Liz from her nightmare and stared at them.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t…” Liz said with wide eyes. She hadn’t meant to use her powers on Isabel and Maria. But the dream had been so real and she had thought she was in the White Room. She thought they were torturing her again and she had instinctively.
Maria shook over the shock of being tossed across the room and carefully got to her feet. “Don’t worry Liz, we know you didn’t mean it.”
But neither of the girls were listening to her, instead they were staring at their very confused parents. They knew their cover was blown, their parents had see Liz use her powers.
(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)
Max laid in his temporary bed in his aunts’ house wide-awake. He’d been dreaming of Liz, like normal when he woke up. The dog, Cosmo, was lying next to him, licking his face. After that wake up call he hadn’t been able to go back to sleep despite the early hour it was.
So he lay there, lost in his thoughts. Despite all the weeks spent away from Roswell, nothing inside him had changed. He still loved Liz; there was no way he would be able to move past them. He didn’t know what he had been thinking, how could he believe that by just putting some miles between he and Liz that it would help? He still loved her, still wanted to be with her. Hell if she were with Kyle, he’d even settle with just being friends with her, as long as he was near her.
He had done too good of a job telling Maria and Alex that he didn’t want to hear about what was going on with Liz, they had stopped casually bringing her up when they called him on the phone. So he didn’t have any idea what was going on with her. How was she? What was she doing? Did she miss him as much as he missed her?
That was when Max made up his mind, he was going home. He wasn’t supposed to go back for a few more weeks but he knew it was time.
(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)
RING RING
Michael fumbled around on the table next to his bed trying to find the phone to stop it’s incessant and irritating ringing. He cracked one eye open and saw that it was 3:00 in the morning. He finally found the phone and put it to his ear. “This had better be good or your going to die.”
“Michael…” He heard the feminine voice on the other side of the line.
“Maria, it’s way too early…”
“Spaceboy will you shut up for a minute and listen.” Maria snapped over the phone. “You need to get over the Evans’. Like right now.”
“What? Why?” Michael asked starting to wake up.
“Because they know Michael…they know about you guys.”
Michael bolted up right. “WHAT?!”
“Isabel and I couldn’t wake Liz up from a nightmare. She thought we were the people in her dream or something and used her powers to send us soaring across the room, right in front of them.” Maria explained.
“I’ll be right there.” Michael said as he hung up quickly and tried to locate something to wear so he could get over there. His sisters needed him.
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