After Tess 2

By Karen

Email: Omarsfan1@aol.com

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Thanks for letting me borrow! I promise I returned them undamaged!!

Summary: Isabel sets out on a mission to befriend Liz; an old enemy returns with a secret agenda

Category: Everyone

Author’s Notes:   Feedback always appreciated!  Enjoy!

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Part One

There they were again, making those lovey-dovey eyes at one another.  Isabel Evans sighed.  The constant flirtation between her brother Max and Liz Parker was starting to wear on her nerves.  Sure, they’d been through a lot lately – with Tess’s betrayal and Lonnie and Rath kidnapping Liz – but did they have to be so nauseating, so public?  Isabel grimaced.  There was no end in sight.

“Tonight?” Max was saying to Liz.

She nodded eagerly, her grin nearly stretching from one ear to the other.

“I’ll sneak onto your balcony,” he baited.

“Just like Romeo,” she giggled.

Isabel cringed.  They were disgusting.  She watched Liz move away and looked at her brother in annoyance.

Max caught her expression and his smile faded.  “What?” he said defensively.

She shook her head.  “Nothing.  It’s just that you and Liz…are a bit much.”

Max’s dark eyebrows arched upward.  “A bit much?  What does that mean?”

Isabel sighed and sat back in their booth in the Crashdown, the restaurant that Liz’s parents owned.  “You might as well toss her on the table and have at it, Max.  It’s that obvious.”

The defensive tone vanished and Max regarded his sister sternly.  “I don’t care what it looks like.  I love Liz.  I don’t care who knows.”

“I know you don’t.  And that’s the problem.”

“Why is it a problem, Iz?  It’s not like I’m mauling her in public.  It’s not like neither of us can concentrate on the rest of the world.”  He watched her unwavering expression and gave a little snort.  “You know, Iz, Tess blasted off with our only way home.  We’re stuck here.  I’ve found someone who can make me happy.  Maybe you should come out of the damn shell you’ve been living in and do the same.  Join the rest of planet earth, Isabel, because there is no other plant for you now.”

With that, he pushed his lean body from the booth and exited the café without looking back.

Isabel became aware that her jaw was hanging open at her brother’s uncharacteristic, blunt explosion.  A little piece of her stomach quivered and she wondered if she was about to cry, but she pushed the thought away.  She closed her mouth and glanced a few tables away to where Liz was taking a customer’s order.

What was it about Liz that had reeled Max in so?  It hadn’t been the connection he’d formed with her when he’d healed her – he’d been head over heals in love with Liz Parker before she’d even known he existed, before that random bullet had struck her in the stomach.  Liz was pretty, but she’d never stop traffic.  She was smart – a guy like Max would definitely find a smart girl sexy, so Isabel had to give her that one.  Other than that, Isabel really didn’t have a clue why Max was so mad about her.

The doorbell chimed and Isabel looked up to see Kyle entering with Ava.  Isabel had had her chance with Kyle, but she’d managed to keep them on a friendship level and Kyle had eventually ventured off to seek Ava’s affections.  It had worked and now those two were inseparable.  Maybe Max was right.  Maybe she was living in a shell, letting the rest of the world go on around her.  And she was here to stay now.  So why was she finding it so hard to make a life for herself?

“I had a great time, Kyle,” Ava said as she gave him a little peck on the cheek.  She thought she saw Kyle blush and she giggled.  She made Kyle Valenti, captain of the football team – hell, captain of every sport – blush.

“What?” Kyle said, though he was laughing.

“Your cheeks are red,” she giggled, running her fingers across the faint stubble on his face.

“Really?”  He blinked a couple of times, then swept her into his arms, dipped her and kissed her passionately.  Then he abruptly plopped her back on her feet.  “Now whose cheeks are red?” he laughed.

Ava’s mouth was hanging open and she suddenly hoped the Crashdown cook hadn’t spied them standing at the base of the steps that led to the Parker’s apartment.  “I gotta start my shift,” she said in a daze, then moved toward the small bathroom where she could change her clothes.

Kyle laughed to himself as he watched her stumble away from him, then he caught Liz eying him disbelievingly from the doorway.  He gave a little snort, then burst out laughing and Liz laughed with him.

A few days later, Max stretched languidly as he awoke from his nap.  He pulled his arms high over his head, then brought them down in search of his love.  The bed was empty.  He sat up on his elbows and noticed Liz silently pulling on her panties at the foot of the bed.  He took the moment to watch the delicate movements of her body as she stooped, stepped one foot at a time into the lacy underpants and pulled them up her legs, over the curve of her hips.  She retrieved her bra next, turned away from him as she pulled it up her arms, and with what seemed like a contortionist’s acumen, clasped the two small hooks on the strap.  Max eyed her silently, noted that she appeared to be developing more curves, like her body was filling out.  Liz was no longer a girl – she was a woman.  The urge to touch her was almost unbearable.

“Come here,” he commanded gently as he opened his arms for her.

She turned, a little startled that he was awake, her dark hair forming a curtain over part of her face.  She smiled widely at him and slid into his arms.  He pulled the sheet around the two of them and pulled her as tight to his body as he could.  He kissed the top of her head and smoothed her back with his hands.

“I have to go get ready for work,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest.

“Just a little while,” he requested.  “Let me hold you for just a little while, okay?”

Max didn’t want to admit it, but he felt lost when he wasn’t with Liz.  Every waking moment, he thought of her, of how just one smile from her made his life worth living.  When she left, he’d physically ache for an hour.  Sometimes the ache manifested itself as an unwelcome panic attack, and he’d have to find something to do to occupy his mind – trim the hedges, clean the garage, something.  The more they were together, the more attached he was to her.  Often he wondered if that’s what mating was like on his home world.  Were he and Tess like that once, when they were Zan and Ava?  Is that why Tess had been so hell bent on making Max hers?  Did she feel that way about him or had her agenda been what had motivated her?  Max would never know.

Liz shifted her weight as if to rise, but Max gently rolled her onto her back and slid beneath the covers where he could lay his cheek against her bare stomach, where he’d once healed her.  Liz gave a little laugh at the way he was clinging to her, but her hand found his dark hair and stroked him lovingly.

“I really need a shower,” she said in amusement, her voice reverberating under Max’s ear.

He nodded, then shifted his position so that his ear was over her heart, his head cradled between her breasts.  He could lay there forever, listening to the steady beat under his cheek, nestled comfortably against her soft flesh.

“I love you, Liz,” he said, his voice sounding very far-off to her.

Liz’s expression fell serious.  “I know you do, Max.”  She gave a little smile.  “You loved me two times already today – or have you forgotten?”

He didn’t laugh like she expected him to.  “Don’t ever leave me,” was his response.

Liz shifted her body, forcing him to look at her.  She took his face between her hands, shook her head.  “I’m not leaving you.”  She removed one of her hands and placed it over her heart.  “You’re in here now, Max.  I can’t leave you.  It would kill me.”

He finally broke a gentle smile and kissed her, lingered at her lips, like he couldn’t bear to part with her.

“It’s okay,” she said as she pulled away.  “It’s okay, Max.”  She didn’t understand his sudden insecurity, but tried her best to put him at ease.  “I really have to go to work,” she said as she slid out from under him and started to retrieve the rest of her clothes.  All that remained was a dainty sundress and she pulled that over her head and slid on her shoes.  Max watched her pick up her purse then come back to the bed and sit down beside him.  “You okay?” she asked.

Max forced himself to smile and nodded.  “I’ll come see you tonight,” he offered.

She smiled in return and nodded.  “Yeah, I’d like that.  I’ll save you a piece of pie.”

“Okay.”

She kissed him again and moved for the window.  Max watched her swing her body through the opening and disappear into the backyard.  Almost immediately, he jumped up from the bed, pulled on shorts and a tank top and sat down at his computer.  Another great panic deterrent – he’d started keeping a journal of his own.

The computer booted up and he opened his journal, a small smile creasing his eyes at the corners.  Before he could start to type, however, there was a knock at the door.  He heaved a sigh and called, “Come in.”

The door swung partially open and Isabel peeked into the room.  “You alone?” she asked.

Max nodded.

Isabel stepped into the room and glanced around for a moment.  “Where’s Liz?” she asked.

Max gave a little snort and turned back to his PC.  “I don’t have time or patience for this, Isabel.”

She rounded the bed and came to lean against Max’s computer desk.  “Chill.  I just asked where Liz was.”

Max looked at her expressionlessly. 

Isabel gave a little smile.  “I know she was here,” she teased.

He looked surprised.  “How did you know?”

She shrugged.  “Call it alien intuition.”  He was still looking at her blankly.  “I heard the window open and close.  My room is right above yours, remember?”

He sighed again.  Did she have a point to all of this?

“Look, Max,” she began as she slid into his easy chair by the window.  “I need your advice.”

Now she had his attention.  “My advice?” he echoed.

“Yeah.  About Liz.”

“Isabel – “

“Hear me out, okay?”  She drew in a breath.  “You’re right.  I haven’t been fair to you and her.  And I haven’t concentrated on starting my own life.  I guess I just don’t know how to communicate with Liz.  I don’t understand her.”

Max’s eyebrows rose in that familiar quizzical fashion.  “You don’t understand her?”

Isabel shook her head.  “I want to understand her, Max.  I want to try to be friends with her.  But I don’t know how to approach her.”  She gave an uncomfortable laugh.  “I don’t think I could even start a conversation with her.”  She eyed him for a moment.  “And it doesn’t appear that she’s going anywhere any time soon, so I think I need to get used to her.”

A little part of Max wanted to jump for joy that his sister was expressing these feelings to him.  Another little part of him was feeling overly cautious – not that Isabel would be trying to hurt them, but that this could only end badly.  What if Isabel and Liz tried to be friends and it didn’t work?  What if they hated each other?  Was Max going to be torn between them?  He could never choose who stayed in his life and who went.  He needed them both.

“So, what do I do, Max?” Isabel questioned.

Max thought for a moment, tried to come up with something safe.  “Just talk to her.”

“Talk to her?”

“Yeah.  She’s working tonight.  Just go to the Crashdown and start a conversation with her.”

Isabel hesitated.  “About what?”

Max shrugged.  “Whatever it is girls talk about – I don’t know.  Look, Iz, you can talk to anyone.  Liz is no different than anyone else.  She has likes and dislikes and interests just like you.  Just talk to her.”

Isabel gave him an unconvincing, uncertain smile and started for the door.  Max suddenly felt that familiar panic – this time for an entirely different reason.

Part Two

She’d betrayed them.  He knew that now.  She’d betrayed them all.

He stopped before the mirror in the place he now called home and looked at his reflection.  He hated this form, his human “shell”.  Humans were ugly compared to almost any creature in the galaxy.  Why had those annoying Antarians chosen earth as the place to deposit their royalty?  Why did he have to walk around wearing this husk, this skin?  He gave a disgusted sigh and slumped into the chair behind his desk.

It didn’t help that the world looked at him like a wimp, a kid.  He snorted.  Yeah, some kid – he could abolish them all with one wave of his puny little hand.  In that other world, that other life, he’d had his pick of women – he’d never wanted for female companionship.  But here, dressed up like an adolescent, all he’d been able to get his hands on was an occasional flirtatious, giddy, giggling 12-year-old.

He couldn’t bear to think about women.  When he thought about women, he thought about Tess.  He thought about Tess and how she had managed to get off earth without the rest of the royal four aboard the granolith.  And that thought lead him to think of the only member of the royal family that mattered to him.

Vilandra.

He closed his eyes as if to savor the mental image of her.  It wasn’t the image of the earth-bound Vilandra he saw in his mind – not the voluptuous Isabel or the disgusting wench Lonnie.  But Vilandra in her natural form.  She’d been the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid his eyes on – he’d been smitten immediately.  It mattered not to him that he’d spied her sneaking into Khivar’s chambers, or that Khivar was his boss.  It didn’t faze him that he knew she was betrothed to another, or that she was the sibling of a king of a rival nation.  All he saw was her beauty…and her wretched treachery.

A small smile creased his pre-pubescent features.  Oh, his Vilandra was wicked, all right.  She could act all innocent on this world, like she wasn’t aware that she had betrayed her brother and the rest of their world, but on their home world, she had been fully aware of what she was doing.  She had enjoyed it – up to the point when Khivar had pointed the knife at her heart and ran her through.

His brow furrowed.  It didn’t make sense that Khivar would kill Vilandra, and then send him on a mission to earth to retrieve her reincarnation.  But, he was a loyal servant – if you didn’t count his endless trysts with Vilandra – and he did what he was told without much question.  Besides, this time he would get to her first.  And when he did, she would be all his – whether she liked it or not.

Liz scratched her head with her pencil.  The Crashdown was packed and she had to strain above the noise level to hear the order of her customer.

“I’ve got a Will Smith and an order of Species Spuds.  Is that right?” she asked.

The customer, a stuffy-looking older man, nodded.  “How long will that be?” he asked.

Liz glanced toward the kitchen, at the bustling cooks.  “Maybe 20 minutes –“ she began.

“Because I don’t want to be here all night,” the man interrupted.

Liz drew in a breath and took his menu from him.  “I’ll see what I can do.”  As she moved for the kitchen, another customer grabbed her by the tie of her apron.  She suppressed her urge to lash out at the uninvited contact, but instead adjusted her apron and regarded the woman.  “Can I get you something?”

“My burger is cold,” the woman complained.

“Okay, sorry.”  Liz picked up the plate and headed for the kitchen.

Behind her, the woman yelled out, “Am I going to have to wait another half hour for that?”

In the kitchen, Liz slid the burger back through the window.  “Order for table 9,” she called.  “And could you please heat this?”

Jose, the cook, grabbed the plate from her, gave a disgusted shake of his head and returned to the grill.  Liz turned on her heals and re-entered the dining room in time to see Isabel sliding her lithe body into a booth.  Great.  On top of everything else, now she needed to be charming and friendly to Isabel.  She would – for Max’s sake – but it would be an effort.  And how did Isabel always know which section was Liz’s?  Her accuracy was unbelievable.

Liz drew in another breath and pulled her order pad from her apron.

“Miss!” the woman with the cold burger called.  “Will I get that burger some time tonight?”

Liz ignored her and stopped at the end of Isabel’s table.  “Hi, Isabel.”

Isabel smiled toward the loud woman.  “Want me to take care of her?”

Liz stopped for a moment.

Isabel blew out a sigh.  “Joking.” 

Liz smiled weakly.  “I knew that.  What can I get you?”

Isabel fingered the dessert menu.  “Not really hungry.  I came to talk.”

Liz eyed her warily.  “Talk?”

“Yeah, you know.  Just talk.”

Liz bit her lip.  “Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve got a whole dining room full of customers and Maria is on vacation, so I’m kind of on my own here.”

Isabel nodded.  “Oh, okay.  I understand.  In that case – “  She regarded the menu.  “Can I just get a piece of pie?  Whatever you have left is fine.”

Liz nodded and moved for the kitchen.  This night was becoming more and more bizarre.  She passed the stuffy man’s table and he looked at her in disgust.  That’s right, she thought as she walked through the swinging doors into the kitchen, it’s my fault the cook hasn’t made your burger yet.  She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and pulled open the refrigerator.  There was one piece of Astro Pie and one piece of lemon meringue left.  She quickly reasoned which to give Isabel – Max loved Astro Pie, so that piece was his.  She pulled the lemon pie from the refrigerator and moved to put it on the counter.  She nearly screamed when she turned around because Isabel was standing behind right her.

“Isabel?” she said, startled.

“You look like you could use help,” Isabel said.

“No, I got it.”  Liz managed to not roll her eyes as she reached for a plate.

“I don’t mean with the pie,” Isabel continued.  “I mean here – with the restaurant.”

Liz stopped cold in her tracks.

“I could help,” Isabel offered.

Liz didn’t respond.

“I’ve done it before,” Isabel explained.

Liz also managed to keep herself from laughing.  “You have.”

Isabel nodded.  “When your grandma was in the hospital and all of those orthodontists where in town.  I helped Maria.”

Liz felt her mouth drop open.  She’d never known that.

“So, if you want, I could help.”  Isabel suddenly looked at the floor.  Was she afraid Liz would reject her?  The thought was inconceivable.

“Um, okay,” Liz said.  She pointed to the stock room.  “There’s a box of uniforms in there.  Find one that fits, grab an apron and I’ll get you going.”

Isabel looked pleased, gave her patented cover-girl smile and moved for the store room.  Liz watched her walk away.  Yes, this was a strange evening indeed.

“Larry’s Tattoo and Piercing Parlor,” Kyle read the sign above the door of the small brick building, then turned wary eyes to Ava.

Ava looked excited as she clung to Kyle’s arm.  “Let’s go in,” she urged.

“No,” Kyle snorted, shaking his head.

“C’mon, I need some new ink.”  She smiled widely at him and he found it hard to tell her no. 

Inside the shop, a man Kyle assumed was Larry from the amount of tattoos decorating his arms, looked up from his desk and eyed his potential clients.

“Yo,” Ava regarded him.

He didn’t smile, but nodded in her direction and put his magazine down.

“Hey, chief,” she continued.  “Could ya do me now?”

Larry leaned back in his chair, nodded his head.

Ava gave a little squeal.  “Great.”  She wrapped her arm around Kyle’s.  “I want my man’s name on my bod.”

Kyle glanced at her curiously.

Larry scrubbed his face with his fingers.  “Where do you want it?”

With that, Ava turned around, bent over, and pulled up her short skirt to reveal her butt, cheeks exposed because she was wearing a thong.  Kyle screeched a high-pitched “Ava!” and attempted to pull her skirt back down over her bottom.

Larry laughed at Kyle’s outburst.  “Tell ya what,” he addressed Ava.  “I enjoyed listening to him scream so much, I will knock 50% off the cost of your tattoo if I get to pierce something of his.”  Then his eyes shifted to Kyle, who suddenly looked like a deer in the headlights.

“Bitchin’!” Ava exclaimed.

Kyle’s head whipped toward her.  “Bitchin’?” he repeated.

Her face fell.  He wasn’t going to go for it.  “It don’t hurt,” she pleaded.

“What am I supposed to pierce?” he demanded.  His hands moved to cover his chest as his eyes widened.  “Not my nipples!”  Ava shrugged and glanced downward.  “Not that either,” he said indignantly.

Still smiling, Larry leaned forward.  “Look, kid, do the tongue.  The ladies love it.”  And he gave Kyle a wink.

Kyle looked at Ava, who raised her eyebrows and nodded.

An hour later, Ava was proudly displaying her new ink – a heart with a script “Kyle” on her left cheek.  Then it was Kyle’s turn.  His scream could be heard out onto the street and several blocks away.

Max side-stepped the last of the Crashdown’s customers and slid into the booth he usually occupied.  He saw Liz putting some glasses into a dishpan behind the counter.  She looked up and smiled at him and suddenly everything was right in the world.  She disappeared into the kitchen, then reappeared with the last piece of Astro pie.  Sliding into the booth across from him, she gave a tired sigh and leaned back against the booth’s padding.

“You look beat,” Max said as he cut into his pie and took a bite.

Liz nodded.  “Really rough night,” she said.  “I don’t know what the rush was all about.  We usually aren’t busy like that on a Wednesday night.  Maria is on vacation and I didn’t bother to fill her shift.  Ava’s out with Kyle so I couldn’t get a hold of her.”  She reached under the table and massaged her ankle.  “My feet hurt.”

Max put down his fork and slid his hand under the table.  “Put them in my lap,” he said quietly.  Liz obeyed, felt his big hands wrap around her ankles, then she was pain-free.  He smiled at her, returned to his pie, but left one of his hands on her leg.

Liz gave a little giggle.  “I forgot you could do that,” she said.  “Can you do anything about me being so tired?”

He gave a sympathetic shake of his head.  “I can hold you while you sleep,” he offered, dark eyes meeting dark eyes.

Liz swallowed hard just looking at him.  One look from Max was all it took for her to want him.  Then she cursed herself for being so weary – there’s no way she’d be able to please him tonight.

“I’ll take that offer,” she responded.  “As long as you wake me when I’ve slept a few hours so I can thank you.”

Max gave a little chuckle and his cheeks reddened a bit as he looked back to the half-eaten pie.  He glanced up when he heard the kitchen door swing open.  All thoughts of loving Liz vanished when he saw Isabel stride through the door – the first thing he saw was that she’d sprouted antennas, then he noticed she was wearing a somewhat stained Crashdown uniform.  There were three things wrong with that picture – number one, the antennas – for one split second they confirmed Max’s childhood fear that they’d one day wake up with them; number two, the Crashdown uniform – Isabel in a waitress uniform was a sight that just plain baffled Max; number three, the fact that the uniform was dirty – Isabel would never be seen in soiled clothes.

Isabel stopped at the end of the table, ignored her befuddled brother and addressed Liz.  “I left my receipts in the back and I’ve helped Jose clean up,” she said.  She reached into her apron and pulled out a wad of singles.  “And I have tips!”  She grinned, then grimaced.  “But I’ll have to spend them tomorrow.  Now I’m going home to soak my feet.”

“Thanks, Isabel,” Liz said.

Isabel smiled at her and turned to leave, but not before she gave Max a wink.

When she was gone, Max turned to Liz and asked the question without saying a word.  And Liz answered it in the same manner – she shrugged.  Max had no idea what circumstances had lead to this series of events, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

Michael dropped a match into the pile of logs and twigs and watched as the flame flickered and went dark.  He glanced over his shoulder, then in each direction and waved his hand across the fire pit.  Within seconds, the logs erupted into flames and he sat back with a satisfied grin.

“I’ll bet you got your Boy Scout merit badges quickly,” Maria said as she came to sit in the chair beside him.  She handed him a Coke and a bottle of Tabasco.

Michael gave her a little smile.  “Hank wasn’t big on sending me to Boy Scouts,” he reminded.  “He did, however, convince me what I could make a ton of money as a pyromaniac.”

Maria gave a little laugh and reached into a bag and pulled out some marshmallows.  Michael eyed her curiously as she popped one, untoasted, into her mouth.  It humored him that she was so fanatical about that particular sweet – she pretty much filtered everything that went into her body, but when it came to marshmallows, she had no restraint.

Michael reached down and picked up a stick he’d retrieved from the woods.  He held out his hand for one of the marshmallows, impaled it on the stick, then placed it over the flames.

“Couldn’t you just zap that?” Maria asked after she swallowed.

He sat back, crossed his feet.  “I could.  Would take all of the fun out of it.”  He rotated the stick until the marshmallow was evenly toasted, then pointed it at her.  “For you,” he offered.

Maria smiled at him and pulled the hot, sticky candy from the stick.  Her eyes rolled back euphorically in her head as she savored the taste.  Michael put his hand on her leg and leaned back in his chair so he could look up into the sky.  Once upon a time, he’d looked at that sky and dreamed of flying away, of leaving this earth behind.  There had been nothing for him here – bad grades, an abusive foster father, no future.  It wasn’t until he’d let Maria crack his tough exterior that he’d realized she was the only reason he needed for staying here.  And now that Tess had departed with his only means of getting home, he felt an inner peace – the conflict was gone.  Sometimes not having a choice was a good thing.

“I’m glad we decided to do this,” Maria said, her voice piercing the stillness of the night air.

Michael looked at her, tightened his hand on her thigh.  “Yeah, me, too.”  Then he took her hand and pulled her onto his lap.  He’d never admit it to anyone, but he felt odd when he wasn’t with Maria.  Like she was a part of him now, and that to be separated from her would kill him.

Part Three

Max bustled around his room getting dressed for his shift at the UFO Center.  He hated running late, which he rarely was, so he was more than a little annoyed when he heard a knock on his window.  Why couldn’t Michael use the door like…the thought vanished as he remembered that Michael was camping with Maria.  He hastily rushed to the window as he tucked his shirt into his unzipped pants.  Pulling back the drapes, he was startled to see Liz on the other side.  He pulled the window open.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, suddenly feeling a little panicky again.

“Nothing,” she laughed.  “Can I come in?”

Max nodded and held out his hand to help her through the window.  He gave her a quick kiss and zipped his pants.

“That’s new,” Liz observed.  “Usually when I climb through the window that zipper is going down instead of up.”

Max breathed a little laugh as he sat on his bed and started to pull on his socks.  “It’s great to see you, Liz, but I have to go to work.  I’m already running late.”

“It’s okay,” she said.  “I’m not here to – “

Max’s door flew open and Isabel walked in uninvited.  He looked at her in annoyance.  “Ever heard of knocking?” he snapped.

“Max,” Liz began.

“Liz told me to meet her down here,” Isabel said, her tone saying “Back off” loud and clear.

Max looked to Liz in confusion as he crammed a shoe onto his foot.  

“We’re, um, going shopping,” Liz clarified.  “I just wanted to pop in and say hi before you left.  I know you’re supposed to be at work, but I saw the jeep in the drive…”  Her voice trailed off and she looked helplessly at Isabel.

Isabel sighed.  “I’ll be in the hallway,” she said and exited the room.

“Max,” Liz started.  He looked at her and she found it hard to read his emotions.  “Are you okay with this?  When we were working last night, she told me about this sale going on and we both need shoes, so we decided to go.  If you don’t want me to –“

Max sighed and rose from the bed.  He placed a kiss on her forehead.  “No, you go.  I’m being silly.”

Liz’s brow furrowed.  “Silly?  About what?”

He put his arms around her and held her tightly for a moment.  “I’m an insecure bastard,” he laughed when he pulled away.  “I had this fear that you and Isabel wouldn’t hit it off and that I will be stuck in the middle of the two of you.”

Liz looked up at him silently for a moment then burst out laughing.  “I’ll buy you something nice,” she baited as she moved for the door.  Max watched her leave then heard both girls burst out laughing in the hallway.  He frowned, wounded for a moment, then gave a little laugh at himself and hurried out the door to go to work.

He moved silently among the new troops.  They were still adjusting to life on this world, to their new forms.  They looked uncomfortable, unaware.  He had no idea how they were going to blend in with the rest of the human population.  It had taken him many years to master the English language, especially in its written form.  And here he was saddled with a bunch of new recruits, fresh from the home world, dumb as rocks.

One of the recruits let out a garbled noise that he didn’t recognize immediately, then realized was his native tongue.  “Use English,” he reprimanded tersely.  “You sound like a freaking walrus.”

The trooper looked uneasy.  “Um, permission to speak, sir?”

He nodded his head.  “Go ahead.”

“How soon before we complete our mission and can return?”

Return.  What a naïve bunch this was.  How did they propose to return?  The granolith was gone.  The granolith had been used to transport all of them there, but it would never return them home.  Tess, in her final earthly days, had negotiated their arrival with him.  In case the plan was botched, she arranged to have new skins transported to earth to finish the job she couldn’t.  He gave a little wry smile that her preventative measures had actually been quite necessary, though he’d thought them ridiculous initially.  It was simple – transport the new skins before the granolith was activated so that if for some reason she couldn’t get Max, Isabel and Michael off earth, the skins would already be there to eliminate them.  He smiled.  She was almost as wicked as Vilandra.  Almost.

He drew in a breath.  “We need to be patient.  We need to send a few of you into Roswell to observe their movements, their routines.  Then we can go in and get her.”  He glanced at the pathetic lot before him.  Not that any of them at this point could blend in enough to infiltrate the ranks.  “It could be a while,” he deadpanned.

Michael adjusted his backpack and looked over his shoulder at Maria, who was following a few yards behind.  He gazed past her, to the horizon.  All day long he’d had this crawling feeling, like a storm was rolling in although the skies were clear.  Maria caught his far-off stare as she caught up to him.

“You okay?” she asked as she shielded her eyes from the sun.

He nodded.  “Yeah.  Fine.”  He put a hand under her elbow and helped her onto the rock he was standing on.  They both turned and looked at the natural beauty before them.

“Wow,” Maria said.

“Wanna camp here tonight?” Michael asked, still trying to quell the uneasy feeling in his stomach.

Maria nodded and gratefully dropped her pack.  She stretched her body and let out a loud groan.  “Let’s go swimming,” she offered.

Michael smiled at her and watched her race to the river below them.  Never shy about her body, she shed clothing as she ran.  He gave a little laugh and started down the bank after her.  He was being paranoid, he told himself.  Everything was fine.  Wasn’t it?

Max shuffled some pamphlets and rearranged them on the rack by the UFO Center’s gift shop.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ava and Kyle descending the stairs.  He smiled at Ava and ignored Kyle.  Old animosities died hard.  To rub it in, he kissed Ava on the cheek in greeting.  That should wind Kyle up.  The bastard.  Of course, Max didn’t give Kyle the satisfaction of making eye contact to see if the maneuver had worked.

“Hi, Ava,” he said as he shoved the rest of the leaflets into the rack.

“Dude,” she responded.  “Look what I got!”  She started to lift her skirt but Kyle reached out, grabbed her wrist and shook his head.  She frowned at him.

“What did you get?” Max asked, making a point to stare directly at her bottom.  Heh.

“I got Kyle’s name on my ass,” she said dejectedly, sad she couldn’t display it.

“You did?” Max asked, laughing.

Ava nodded.  She glanced at Kyle, then pulled Max aside.  “Look, Max,” she said in a hushed tone.  “I – we need a favor.”

Max glanced over her shoulder at Kyle, who hadn’t said a word.  “What kind of favor?”

Ava bit her lip and looked at the floor, then Max could see that she was suppressing a laugh.  “Um, Kyle kinda got his tongue pierced.”

Max gave a little burst of laughter.

“It’s not funny!” Ava whispered.  “Look, he’s hurtin’.  Can ya help him?”

Max looked at her curiously.  “Help him?  How do you want me to help him?”

“Could ya heal it for him?”  Her blue eyes pleaded with him.

“You mean, close the hole?”

She shook her head vigorously.  “Shit, no, duke.  I ain’t had a chance to try that out yet!”

Max reddened a bit at her forwardness, but laughed anyway.

“Just take the pain away,” she suggested.  “Don’t close the hole, just heal it.  Can you?”

Max glanced at Kyle, hoped he could do it without sticking his hand in Kyle’s mouth.  He’d heal Kyle – because he liked Ava.  He moved to stand before Kyle.  It felt good to have the upper hand, to be the one with all of the power.  You need me now, don’t you? Max thought arrogantly.  Not so smug now, are you? 

“All right, Kyle,” he began.  “You know the drill.”  He put his hands on either side of Kyle’s head and drew in a breath.  He was in much quicker than he’d anticipated – which meant that Kyle trusted him more than he used to.  That puzzled Max, but he pushed the thought aside and concentrated on finding the damage to be healed.  He found the throbbing spot and closed his eyes to focus his energy.  His work done, Max was about to disconnect when he received a sudden barrage of images.  They were intimate images, fantasies really, of Kyle with a woman.  With the images came intense, gut-wrenching feelings of unrequited love and longing.  Max was surprised that Kyle was harboring such a love-sick heart.  And more surprising, the images weren’t of Ava.

They were images of Isabel.

“You would look so totally fabulous in that,” Isabel said as she pointed to a slinky red dress in the window of a boutique at the mall.

Liz eyed it curiously.  “I don’t know…”

“You don’t know?”  Isabel echoed.  “Oh, come, on!  That deep red with that wonderful dark hair of yours!  You’d look wonderful.”  She looked back at the dress, then her face brightened.  “Let’s go try it on.”

“I don’t think –“ Liz began, but Isabel already had her by the wrist and was dragging her through the door to the shop.

The shopkeeper came to them immediately and Isabel ordered up a size 5 for Liz.  As the clerk retrieved the dress, Liz looked at the one on the rack, turned over the sticker.

“Isabel,” she whispered.  “This dress is $500.  I can’t afford this.”

Isabel smiled at her.  “You aren’t going to buy it.  You’re just going to try it on.  Half the fun of shopping is just trying new things.”

The woman handed Liz the dress and opened a dressing room for her.  Isabel waited patiently until Liz finally reappeared, looking a little self-conscious.  The dress was cut very low and was entirely backless.

“It’s beautiful,” the clerk spouted, but Liz looked at the floor.

“It is,” Isabel agreed, but noted Liz’s crestfallen expression.  Isabel smiled charmingly at the clerk.  “Give us a minute?”  Isabel walked over to Liz.  “What’s wrong?”

Liz waved a hand before her.  “This dress may look great on your body, but I think I’m missing the necessary, um, assets.”  She looked down at her breasts, lost in the folds of the fabric.

Isabel hesitated for a moment, not sure what to say, then she turned Liz around so she could see her reflection in the long mirror.  “What’s wrong with your assets?” she asked.

Liz shrugged.  “Gee, I don’t know – they’re small?”

Isabel gave a shrug of her own.  “Who says they have to be big?”

“Spoken like someone who truly doesn’t have that problem.”

Isabel gave her a gentle smile.  “Don’t move.”  She glanced over her shoulder, then waved her hand down the front of the dress.  Some of the folds disappeared and suddenly Liz looked stunning, even to herself.  She drew in a breath.  Isabel grinned.  “If my brother could see you now.”

They spent a few hours moving from shop to shop, trying on dresses, hats, getting their nails done together.  It amused Liz that Isabel paid for a manicure when she could do it herself in a tenth of the time.  As they were getting ready to leave the mall, they were attracted to a group of people standing near a newly-constructed stage.  The local radio station, KROZ, was having a karaoke contest.  Liz’s eyes brightened and it was her turn to grab Isabel by the wrist.

“I can’t do that!” Isabel screamed as they ran for the stage.

“It’s all about trying new things,” Liz retorted, leaving Isabel with no viable protest.  At the front of the stage, they screeched to a halt and Liz started yelling, “Pick us!! Pick us!”

The DJ looked down, saw a beautiful blond and a cute, petite brunette vying for his attention.  One seemed perky – the other panicked.  He had his next contestants.  Liz squealed in delight and pulled Isabel onto stage with her.

“So, what do you want to sing?” the DJ asked as he pointed the microphone at the girls.

Much to Isabel’s horror, Liz yelled out, “Shake Your Bon-Bon!!” and the crowd went wild.  There was no way out of this.  She just hoped no one she really cared about was watching.

Maria opened her eyes and stared up into the cloudless, moonlit sky.  She glanced to her left and noticed that Michael’s place in the sleeping bags they’d zipped together was vacant.  Sitting up on her elbows, she spotted him sitting on a rock, staring up into the same sky she’d been looking at.

Maria pushed herself from the bags, slid on her shoes and walked over to him.  She slid in beside him and put her hand on his leg.  Michael glanced at her, then wrapped her in his arms and looked back to the sky.

“Something is wrong,” Maria observed.

This time Michael didn’t deny it.  He nodded.  “We need to go back,” he said quietly.

Maria studied his face.  “What is it?”

He shook his head.  “I don’t know.  I just haven’t been able to shake this feeling that something is going to happen.  I don’t know what.  But I think I need to be back in Roswell, near Max and Isabel.  I just think they are going to need me.”  He tightened his grip around her shoulders.  “I’m sorry to ruin your trip.”

She shook her head.  “You’re not.”  If Max was in trouble that meant Liz might be in trouble and Maria would stop at nothing to protect her.  “In the morning,” she told Michael.  “We’ll pack up in the morning and head back.”  She placed a kiss on his lips.  “But for now, come back to the sleeping bags and let me take your mind off it until then.”

He’d seen them, singing, dancing, laughing – a past love and a present love.  One of them was but a healed scar, an occasional dull ache, but the other was a fresh wound, opened and bleeding.

Even now, entangled with Ava on the couch, buttons unbuttoned, nearly naked, Kyle couldn’t stop thinking about Isabel.  In his mind, he saw her dancing, singing horribly off-key, but no less beautiful.  He had been able to tell she was self-conscious at first, but then she’d loosened up and had given in to the fun of it, had shaken her bon-bon for everyone’s entertainment in the mall.  And when the KROZ DJ had proclaimed her and Liz first place winners, she had uncharacteristically squealed and jumped up and down like a game show contestant.  He’d silently watched her, blond hair flowing, lithe body bouncing with excitement.  He almost couldn’t bear it.

“What’s wrong?”  Ava was looking at him, her blue eyes concerned.  He hadn’t realized he’d stopped kissing her as his thoughts had turned to Isabel.  “Does your tongue still hurt?”

Kyle shook his head, ran his hand through his hair.  “No.  Nothing’s wrong.”  He touched her cheek.

“You seem distracted,” she said, her lips turned downward into a small frown.

He nodded.  He was distracted.

“Why?” she asked as she pushed herself from him and righted her skirt.