Pygmalion

By DocPaul

Chapter Thirty-seven: I'm pain, I'm hope, I'm suffer

Day Fifty-one: Wednesday, 12:32 am

“Are you sure you can find them?” Freddie asked. The sun had gone down hours ago, and even though it was now October, the desert floor was still hot.

“We used to come here all the time as boys. My grandfather tried to get us to stay away, but we always found our way back here.”

Eddie laughed. “We got in trouble for that a lot, too! My grandfather was always able to make us feel his disapproval.”

Freddie chuckled. He could imagine. The deal that Eddie and Alex’s grandfather made with the Shifter was the only reason they themselves were alive. If the Shifter had killed their grandfather as a boy, they would’ve never been born.

Alex led the way to the cave, as Eddie deftly followed. They would occasionally stop and wait for Freddie to catch up. Alex was the first to enter. “Grandfather would always find out that we were here. It was unreal.”

“It still is,” echoed a voice from the cavern, as their grandfather came out of the shadows. Alex and Eddie looked at each other. How the hell did he do that?

“Alex. Eddie. Is there a reason that you have come to this cave? You know that it is off limits. Even now.”

“Grandfather…” Eddie started to explain, but RiverDog held up his hand.

“Who is this?”

Alex looked at Freddie. He searched for a cigarette as he made a silent request of Freddie. The gesture was almost unnoticeable, but RiverDog saw it.

“I’m Freddie. A member of Alex’s band, his friend...and I am a Visitor.”

“You are not the same as the one who was here before.”

Alex and Eddie stared at their grandfather. How could he know that?

“No. I am different. The other was a different species.”

“What is it you seek?”

“What you have hidden. The healing stones.”

RiverDog looked at his grandsons. “Why should I give them to you? I have protected and hidden them for all these years. The secrets of my youth have remained unspoken. It was an agreement that I had with the Visitor. One that I have never broken. One that my grandsons once respected.”

Alex and Eddie remained silent. They wouldn’t plead Freddie’s case. He had convinced them; now he must convince their grandfather.

“I respect your silence. Your caution. These stones, they channel a healing power, an ability to realign power into a flowing matrix. Those that belong will need them. They are already visiting the Balance. This is merely a way for them to reset it, should it ever come out of alignment.”

“The Balance.” RiverDog nodded. That he knew. He had walked in the Balance as a child. It had changed him, given him gateways into understanding beyond what was possible for a normal human to comprehend. The experience had altered him for all time, and he had passed on that altered state to his grandsons, especially Alex, who at all times had been able to pull from the Balance, to see into the order and dream of the future. Eddie did not have the visions that he and Alex shared, but he had something else. Eddie had a sense of things being out of alignment, wrong.

“Grandfather,” Eddie finally moved forward. “Lines do not meet. They are skewed. I see it, but I can’t quite understand it. It just feels wrong. The time has arrived to remove this burden from our people. The ones for whom these stones were meant are here. They live among us, as us. They were created to be from this world, and not the other.”

RiverDog turned to Alex. “Your Isabel?”

Alex nodded. “Yes. These stones were sent with her and the other three like her. They were sent for a purpose. Nasedo was their protector. He is no more. Hate and anger colored his heart, and he only protected the children as long as doing so suited his needs, not a moment longer. They now belong to this Earth. Their children are part of our living history, the part that must not be broken or altered. These stones belong to them.”

RiverDog gazed at the three. “Then come.” He led them into the cave.

Freddie walked carefully. This place... It bothered him. As the cave was lit, he circled it. It was closed in. One exit only. On the wall, he saw the etchings. Destiny. A map. A guide to those who were destined to read it. This had not been left for him; it had been left for the Royals. At that moment RiverDog came from deep inside the cave, his body emerging from the darkness. Opening a buckskin pouch, he poured out five stones. Five that were Six.

Freddie stared at them in wonder. The stones of Antar.

“What are they, Freddie?”

“The unity. A doorway into the Balance. These stones were in the Granilith. They belong to the Five that are Six. They belong to the Granilith. It is said that when you enter the Balance, you touch the Great Understanding, and it changes you. Those that these belong to, they were the first. The stones are a way for them to unify their internal powers, and use them together as one.”

“Anyone that enters, they are altered?” Eddie asked.

“Yes.” Freddie looked at the elder gentleman. “You entered the Balance?”

“When I was a child, the one we called Nasedo entered the sweat. It caused an unbalance of his system. He was dying. I found him. He told me how to use the stones to fix him, to enter the Balance.”

Freddie reached down and took a stone. He passed it to RiverDog. The stone immediately emitted a glow of power. Handing another to Eddie, it too began to glow. Finally, he stood and walked to Alex, holding out a stone towards him.

“No.” Alex frowned. He gestured to another stone. “That one. That one is mine.”

Freddie stared at Alex in shock. Nodding, he handed Alex the stone he wanted and stood back. The stone in Alex’s hand flashed to life. It was stronger and more brilliant than both Eddie’s and RiverDog’s combined.

“That is not…” Freddie paused. He took the other two back. He gave each of them to Alex. One at a time. They all glowed, but the first stone that Alex had chosen glowed more brilliantly than the others.

Alex held it in his hand. It warmed him. He could feel it. He could feel himself. He could feel Isabel.

“Oh god! Alex, have you ever touched the stones before?”

Alex nodded. He looked at his cousin and his grandfather. “Since I was a child. Eddie and I could always make them glow like Grandfather, but this one is different.”

Freddie tried to think it through. This was something new to Alex. Something about him that had changed since the last time he held a stone. But what? Then it came to him, “You were healed!”

“Yes, Isabel started it, but Max finished the process. I was…” Alex paused. He didn’t know if he had actually been dead, but he felt his body losing a sense of itself. “I don’t know what I was.”

Freddie stepped away from Alex in awe. “You’re a harmonic! I’ve found one of the three harmonics!”

“I don’t get it. What the hell is a harmonic?” Eddie asked. Alex shrugged at his cousin and grandfather.

Freddie laughed excitedly. “Oh course! There were three harmonics who could activate the Granilith, the One who controls and works it, and the fifth which is the twins together, who built it. Or will build it. You are one of the three harmonics, or your child will be. Your child and Isabel’s will be one of the three. Kyle... your friend, Kyle was healed and changed as well. He and the Queen are another. They have to be!”

“Three? Then there is another?”

Freddie paced the cave. Destiny was becoming clearer. Never in all his existence did he actually believe in the legends, in the tales. Now he was staggered at the enormity of it. Alex’s near death and even Kyle’s... It was meant to be.

“Sir...,” Freddie turned to RiverDog. “You and your people have walked in the Balance for many years, but these stones are a danger to you. Nasedo is back. He will come for them. Their purpose is unknown, but for some reason, they were sent back to be found. I can’t convince you of my integrity, but I can tell you that each stone will call to its owner.”

Alex studied the stone in his hand. He knew. He saw it, and immediately he knew it was his. The test would be to see if Kyle, Michael and Maria responded to the stones the same way, along with Tess and Isabel.

“Grandfather, what do you want us to do?”

RiverDog looked at his grandsons and the visitors. “I promised to hold them and protect them until someone came for them. Now it seems that one of them belongs to my own grandson.” RiverDog crossed over to Alex. Cupping his chin, he nodded at his grandson. “Take them. They will be needed if they can heal and reset the Balance.”

~~~

RiverDog stood in the cave after Alex, Eddie and their friend left. Without the stones, the cave seemed to have little purpose. All that remained were the etchings on the wall. They were not for him. Their meaning was lost to his people. The map had been left as a guide for those who would come.

“I can feel you.” RiverDog said.

“So you never lost the Balance.”

“No.” RiverDog didn’t turn around. “I sensed you before, but it was confusing to me. I forgot not to look with my eyes.”

“That can be deceiving.” The figure emerged from the shadows. “So the little boy is now an old man. How close I have been to you, watching. Wondering. Would you break your vow. I give your grandson much credit. He is stoic to himself, loyal and trustworthy. Not qualities I really value, but none the less.”

“You too have changed.” RiverDog refused to turn around. He didn’t need to, because he already knew.

“Shocking habit of mine.” Nasedo moved into the cave to stare at the wall. “The etchings. I left them so long ago. I was afraid that I would die, and nothing of the journey would remain. No one would know that I was once here.”

RiverDog searched the wall. “What is it?”

“A map. A guide to my home. A history of its future. My future.” Nasedo smiled a twisted smile that held no amusement. “You’ve broken your promise, old friend. No one was ever to know. You were never to give the stones to anyone except those who could pass the test.”

“They never came. Now my grandson is changed. He tells me that they belong to a group of Visitors who belong to this world.”

“Yes, that was something even I did not expect.” Nasedo laughed. “How was I to know? The three harmonics were unique. Humans, two of them blended with the altered genetics of Vilandra and the Queen. Did you know that if either of their essences hadn’t been found in the Granilith, their lives would have been different? The Queen would have been left on her planet to marry her intended, never to marry Zan, and Vilandra would have been spared. Interesting how fate twists and turns.”

RiverDog gazed at the wall. “This Granilith. This is something I do not know of. These people are strangers to me as well. But, I do know you, Nasedo.”

“Yes, you do.” Nasedo stood next to the wall searching it in interest. Oh, he was so young then! Dreams. Ideas of how he would find his way home, and his way to the throne. Using and controlling the Royals, he would’ve been the one in power. He reached out his hand and passed it over the wall. The etchings that had graced it for almost half a century were eradicated. Gone, as if they never existed. “When did you know that I was back?”

“I knew that you never left. Not really.” RiverDog remained staring at the wall. “I’d recognize you in any form, I think. A part of me did not want to believe that it was you that I was feeling. I never thought that you would return. Not here. You are not one to walk old grounds again.”

“Times change. So do I.” Nasedo turned to walk away. “I’m sorry, my old friend.” RiverDog nodded and as the Shapeshifter left the cave, he extinguished the fire. Nasedo never looked back as the cave-in killed the old man and removed all evidence of his once having visited there.

~~~

“Alex!”

“I see them!” Alex increased his speed as the headlights in the night came on faster. “Freddie, can you do anything?”

“What? Pray?”

Alex cursed under his breath and then not so quietly, “How the hell do I know? Maybe use some of those awesome alien powers of yours?”

Eddie looked behind them as the lights were coming faster. “Dammit, Alex! How about some speed?” The sweat on Eddie’s brow was beading down his neck. “They had to have followed us! Alex, Grandfather! We have to go back!”

Alex nodded as he concentrated on driving. They cleared the desert and were in Fraser woods racing towards Roswell. No matter how fast he drove, the car behind them was gaining, and gaining fast. Both Eddie and Freddie let him know that not only were they being overtaken, but the car was passing them.

Freddie leaned out the window to target the other car as a hand came out of its window to do the same. Eddie held on and Alex swore as another set of headlights moved towards them from straight ahead. They were driving right into a head-on collision. Some poor unsuspecting motorist was seeing two sets of headlights bearing down on him.

Alex watched as the car next to them swerved after Freddie seemed to concentrate a release of power at its front tire. The car was back, and Alex felt the hit to the back of their car. His rear wheels slid out and swerved on the pavement in a high pitched screech. Looking up, he swore as the oncoming car was swerving to miss hitting them. He pulled the wheel to the left as the trees and the sharp shoulder came near them.

In a rush of sound the car went over the embankment. Alex and Eddie hit together hard, and Freddie held on in the back seat. The world seemed to move over and over as the car rolled. Alex lost his sense of time as the howling in his ears took over. It took a few moments for real time to catch up with him.

“Eddie...?” Alex looked over at his cousin. Pushing him back in the seat he frantically checked him over and sagged in relief to see him breathing. Freddie! The Skin was in the backseat clutching his leg. Pushing open his door and spilling out of the car, it took Alex a few moments to right himself and reach inside to help his wounded cousin. Eddie was bleeding from his head. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

Alex left him a few feet from the car and went back for Freddie who was in worse shape with a broken leg. “Freddie, can you fix this?”

Freddie shook his head. “My husk is broken. It’s leaking essential moisture and water reserves. I would need a new one or be submerged in a regeneration bath.” He swore as Alex helped him over to where Eddie was lying on the ground. “You two take the stones and leave!” He searched the embankment that they had tumbled down. “They’re coming! You can’t let them have the stones. Go!”

“I won’t leave you.”

Freddie grabbed Alex’s shoulders, “Go! I’m already gone. You’ve got to go back to check on your grandfather. But do me a favor.”

“What?” Alex’s head hurt, and he was seeing double. There was no time. No time at all. He could see a dark figure slowly making its way down the slope.

“Tell the Commander that I would’ve been privileged to serve him, his mate, and his son, Rath.” Freddie held Alex’s hand tightly for another moment. “It was always my pleasure to call you friend, Alex.”

“Jesus, Freddie! I can’t…”

“Go! Go, my old friend. Go!” Freddie pushed Alex and watched as he took the stones and his injured cousin and disappeared into the woods. Then he felt the presence. Turning, his shock was evident on his face. “I…, you are not what I was expecting. Who I was expecting.”

“I get that a lot.” Looking down at the injured Skin, Pierce smiled. “So where are my stones?”

“Gone. And they aren’t yours.”

“I beg to differ, Skin.” Pierce crouched down to the ground so their eyes met. “I can be merciful. With the stones, I could heal your husk.”

“No need. I’m already dead.” Freddie reached behind and broke the seal to his husk, disappearing in a cloud.

Standing, Pierce looked down at the pile of dust that was once Freddie. “Pity. You were a good soldier.”

“Hey!” screamed the voice from above the embankment. “Are they okay?” Pierce looked up at the figure. the other motorist. “I called for an ambulance!”

Pierce slowly climbed up the small hill back to the roadside. A man in his mid-forties, wearing a fishing hat, was standing there, literally bouncing on his feet in excitement. His white face was sunburned and red from a day in the sun. Then he quieted as he got a better look at Pierce.

“Hey, you’re not the person who went down there. Where is the…?”

Pierce raised his hand toward the man and sent a blast of power that killed him instantly. No more loose ends. Getting into the car, Pierce passed emergency vehicles on their way to the scene.

~~~

It took them three hours to make it to an outlying home on the reservation. Alex was still seeing double. He had to have a concussion, but Eddie was worse. He may have broken some ribs. His knee looked like shit too, but he was walking on it anyway. He really had no choice.

“Alex?”

They looked up to see Eddie’s father, Alex’s Uncle Ben at the door. The owner of the property had put them to bed and sent his son for him.

“Dad.” Ben quickly went to Eddie. “Grandfather, you have to find Grandfather...”

“Alex, what happened?”

Alex and Eddie shared a look, and then Alex sighed heavily, “The Visitor is back. He’s not alone.”

It was a short time later that both Alex and Eddie were loaded into the back of Ben’s old pickup truck. They raced toward the cave with both Eddie and Alex being the worse for wear due to the bumps and the jarring movements of the truck. Eddie insisted on hiking to the cave, despite his knee. They stood there in front of the collapsed cave staring at the rubble in shock and dismay.

“Maybe he wasn’t in there.” Ben offered.

Alex shook his head sadly, “He’s in there.”

Eddie’s face creased in pain. “We have to dig him out! Call for help, Dad! We can work all day and into the night. He needs us…”

Alex placed a hand on his cousin’s shoulder, shaking his head. “He’s gone.” He walked away with his back to the rubble, as tears trickled down his cheeks.

“Alex! Dammit, Alex! We can’t just leave him in there!”

Alex looked back at what was left of the cave that would be his Grandfather’s grave and said tersely, “He stays where he lies.” He looked up at the dawning sky as night was fast fleeing to morning. The alignment of five stars in the Ram’s constellation was shining brightly. “Let this be his last battlefield.”

It was what RiverDog would have wanted.

~~~

Tess was humming happily, she played with baby Zan. He was so small. A total source of amazement. Everything on him was tiny, but perfectly formed. Her son. Smiling, she reached down and kissed his head. He followed the sound of her voice.

She was alone in the house. Kyle had gone out to get groceries, and both Max and Jonathan had gone to work. She stared at the clock, figuring she had a good three hours before her home was invaded by her mother and sisters, and her mother-in-law. Standing, she picked up Zan and started to take him downstairs, but stopped short. Standing in the middle of her bedroom, she closed her eyes.

“I can feel you.”

After a moment, Ava slowly emerged from her hiding place. She had lived there for practically an entire week without them knowing. Last night, she had stood over the bed of the King with his male paramour and watched the young King sleep. Zan.

“How’d yah know?”

“Zan knew. So I know.” Tess turned to see a woman who looked like her...but not. “You’re my Dupe, aren’t you?”

“Ava. That’s me.” The woman moved closer.  “Aren’t yah afraid?”

Tess held Zan closed and looked at her twin. “No. I don’t fear you.”

“Why?”

Tess shrugged. “You can’t hurt me. I’m more powerful than you are. More powerful than ten of you.”

Ava’s face had a flash of irritation move over it, but it quickly cleared. “Yah think?”

Tess looked at her unblinkingly,  “I know.”

Ava took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Yah found yer power?”

“Yes. Since that night at the garage when Zan saved me. I felt it. When I touched the shield with Max, my power, or what lives inside me seemed to come to life.” Tess swayed a little with Zan in her arms, gently rocking him. “I also hold all of Zan’s powers, or all that he will one day have.”

“So it’s true. I heard that children born to us on this world would nevah be held in limbo like, but would share controlling power with their mothahs. Yah hold his power? All of it?”

Tess nodded.

“Then yah can mindwarp.”

“I can do a lot more than that.”

“Then why don’cha?”

Tess smiled serenely. “I don’t need to. I have everything I want.”

Ava’s face darkened. “I envy yah. Aren’t yah a little afraid that I’ll take over yah life? Be yah? That’s their plan, yah know.”

“Is it your plan?”

Ava looked at Zan longingly. The desire and want in her eyes was painful to watch. “Can I hold him?”

“No. Rath tried to murder Michael and Maria’s children in her womb. Why should I trust you with my son?”

Ava looked utterly shocked. “Rath did that?” She shook her head. “It makes no sense. It’s like undoing creation or somethin.’” She sighed and clenched her hands. Tess would never let her near Zan. Her stomach hurt. Her womb felt empty, and she wanted nothing except to hold that baby. “I’d never harm any of yah. Nevah.”

“Why should I believe you?”

Ava looked Tess straight in the eyes. “Because I’m more than yah Dupe. I’m yah twin.”

~~~

The house was empty. It felt empty. Kyle paused in the silence. Then he heard them. Felt them. Tess. Zan. Tess? Running up the stairs, he stopped in their bedroom doorway. Tess! There were two of them! Taking out his gun, he pointed it at Tess, then the other, and then back again.

Cricking his neck, his eyes narrowed and his nose flared. He searched both faces and settled on one. “Get away from my wife!” Kyle held out his hand. “Tess, come here. Bring Zan.”

“Kyle, it’s okay.” Tess bit her lip and looked at her sister. “Her name is Ava. She’s okay.”

“I swear! I mean hah no harm. I couldn’t hurt hah or anyone.” Ava held up her hands in surrender.

Tess finally talked Kyle down, but he still kept his gun close, and held Zan. Ava watched him with interest. He had sensed her before. She had watched him. Mindwarped him. Always there was an instinct pulling at him, making him search shadows. It was her. Her scent was close enough to Tess’s to throw him off-track, but not this time. This time he knew.

“How’d yah know which was which?”

Kyle shrugged as he held Zan and searched the refrigerator. “Tess is my wife. How would I not know her?” He looked at Tess, his eyes changing, gentling. “I’ve been in love with her all my life, and before I knew her, there was a dream of her.”

Ava’s eyes misted over. “Cornball.” She laughed, embarrassed by her reaction.

Tess continued making a late lunch, stopping to kiss Zan on the head and feed Kyle a morsel or two. “What did you mean that you’re not my Dupe, but my twin?”

Ava reached over and took the lettuce and vegetables Tess handed her to cut up into a salad. “The othahs, they’re from the same planets. The same lineage. I…we weren’t. Our bodies couldn’t be cloned and combined with human DNA using the same technology. We required actual human sperm, incubated and then held in stasis. We were embryos. Twins. One of us was placed with the Royals. The other with the Dupes.”

“So we’re not quite the same?”

Ava shook her head. “Not to them. Not to each other. Yah and I’ve got all the closeness of twins with alien essence added in. Except I was damaged.”

“Damaged?” Kyle moved closer holding the sleeping baby. He would have put him down, but there was an alien in the house.

“The Protector said my pod was damaged. That was why I didn’t emerge with the others. Why I was different from them. Weaker. I could hardly breathe in the sewers. It made me sick. And weak.” Ava related this plainly and without emotion. “Weakness isn’t a trait to have around those three.  They exploit it. Use it. Relish it.”

Tess and Kyle exchanged a glance. Tess searched Ava’s face. It was so like her own, with a few minor differences. “You’ve been hiding here in the house. How have you felt? How is your breathing?”

“Good. I feel a little better. I still get headaches, but not like beforah.”

Tess sat down on a chair in the dining room across from her sister. “You aren’t like them! You aren’t more alien. You’re like me.” She looked at Kyle in horror as the enormity of this crashed into her consciousness. All those years! Ava had been trapped with a group of cruel aliens, while she was surrounded in love by her adopted family! Ava’s life could’ve been hers! “What happened to the real Ava? The one married to Zan?”

“She died long ago on Antar. Kivar kept hah alive long enough to take an egg from hah and have it seeded with a human male donah.” Ava searched their faces, uncertain how much to say. “The moment that Kivar entered the citadel, he came for hah. She knew that he wanted only one thing. To remove an egg, and to plant his own seed making his offspring the rulahs of Antar, hah planet and his own. Three out of five. She stood ovah Zan’s dead body, and she killed hahself.”

Tess shook her head. “Why do I have her memories?” Tess frowned. “Wait. You said an egg? One?”

Ava looked at Zan longingly. He was so beautiful. His sleeping mouth pursed and sucking in his sleep. Kyle’s hand spanned his entire body. The desire to just hold him was strong, so strong, but Ava forced herself to answer Tess. “The Queen’s world produces only one egg at a time. It always splits. Twins are unusual on all the other planets, all except ouahs. The King of Antar was married to a relative of ouahs. Zan and Vilandra’s mother was from ouah planet, and Antar wasn’t aware they could have twins until they wah born. It was one reason why Zan looked for a mate from ouah planet. He wanted twins. Vilandra and Rath wah only twins because they wah born at the exact same moment with the same father.”

“Zan isn’t a twin.” Kyle said motioning to the baby.

Ava smiled at the baby. “No. He isn’t. He has his fathah’s genetics and those of his human grandfathah, the male sperm that sired us. But twins will always be a possibility.” Ava felt the need so deeply. She looked at her twin and nodded towards Zan, her eyes begging. “May I? Please?”

Tess searched the woman’s face trying to see any shred of deception, any indication that she was a risk to her and family. Reaching out, she touched Ava’s face, and the room seemed to spin around. In her dizziness, she could see herself and Ava, Kyle and Jack, all of them married and happy. She could see Ava laughing and hugging a child, playing in the yard with them. They had been three, because they never found their fourth. Perhaps being one of three was its own destiny.

Kyle watched the two women who looked identical, but were different in subtle ways. He reached out his hand and stroked Ava’s face in wonder. She felt so much like Tess! Without thinking, he handed Zan to her. Tess’s hands joined Ava’s as she helped Ava hold the baby, and Kyle looked at the two of them, overwhelmed by the emotions that hit him as both women started to cry.

“I killed him.” Tess said.

“No. We did. He was evil. Hateful. He stole ouah love from anothah, not for us, but for his own purposes.” Ava held the baby, but her hand joined with Tess’s.

“How could you know about me, when I didn’t know about you?”

“I knew I wuz alien all my life. It came naturally.” Ava shrugged. It didn’t matter any more. “I’ve hoped and looked for yah all my life. I knew I’d someday find yah, and that alone kept me strong. Kept me alive.”

Tess smiled through tears. “Cornball.”

~~~

Kyle and Tess were quiet when they got home. The baby was asleep in his car seat, and the house was empty without the presence of Ava lurking in the shadows.

“Are we going to talk about this?”

Tess paused at the door as Kyle opened it. Max was still at work, and Jonathan was out of town. “Nothing to talk about.”

“Tess.” Kyle opened the door sighing as she went in before him. He sat down the baby’s bag and leaned against the counter with his ankles crossed. “They need to know.”

‘Not yet. I can’t tell them.” Tess looked up from Zan. “Don’t tell me there aren’t things they don’t share with me, because I know they kept me out of the loop lately.”

“Only because they didn’t want to stress you while you were pregnant.”

Tess shook her head. “Does Maria know?” Kyle was silent. “Yeah, I thought so! She almost dies, and yet no one is concerned about her!” Tess paced the room, lowering her voice not to disturb Zan. “I’m demanding to know everything. All those things kept from me. And after I hear it all, I’ll decide whether to tell them about Ava.”

Kyle frowned. “Max will have to be the one.”

“Damn right he’s the one!” Tess continued her pacing, slowing for a moment when she noticed how much easier it was to pace now that she was no longer pregnant. “I can’t take a chance with Ava, Kyle. I don’t want her hurt. She’s known enough abuse.”

“No one’s going to hurt her.” Kyle grabbed Tess as his hands went down to gather hers. “It’ll be okay. You’ll see. She’s with your mom and your family. Believe me, they’ll make sure she’s well taken care of and loved.”

Tess nodded tears glistening in her eyes. They had taken Ava home to her family. The moment her mother laid eyes on her, she cried and hugged Ava. It was as if a long lost child had come home. The entire family came, and soon Ava found herself the center of a huge clan. They left her there since it was too risky to have her near with the others watching, and Max and Jonathan in the house.

“I’ll tell them later. Let me work it out on my own.” Tess searched his face. “Can you trust me to do that?”

Kyle kissed his wife’s hand. “I trust you in all things.”

~~~

Maria sipped on her chilled white sparkling grape juice, approving of the crowd of people. It was a good turnout. Worried about the refreshments, she had contacted her mother with a dual purpose. It got Amy busy at the gallery and away from Congresswoman Vanessa Whitaker, and it helped Margo. Her plan had worked. The food and drinks were impressive.

Maria caught Jonathan’s eye as he made his way over to her. “I thought you had a business trip.”

Jonathan looked at his watch. “I do. Catching the late night to Chicago. So you have me for another three hours.”

Maria looked at the crowd. “This is a great turnout.” She smiled at him. “Thanks for taking care of it.”

“Thank my secretary. She spent the entire afternoon calling everyone in my black book and beyond. Next time, tell Margo to give us more notice and I’ll make sure it hits the society calendar.” Jonathan looked around. “Where is she anyway?”

Maria picked through food on her plate frowning at a few choices that didn’t seem like hers. Michael. He must have deposited them on her plate. “In the bathroom throwing up.”

Jonathan’s eye went up at that. “Really? You’re not in there with her?”

“Michael is watching out for her, but no. Some things Margo has to do herself, and this is one of them. She knows we’re here if she needs us. Michael’s in the back hallway skulking around like a bulldog, scaring off poor people needing to use the facilities.”

Jonathan laughed at that. He could actually picture it in his mind, and it was a daunting prospect for any unsuspecting bathroom user.

“So, how is the baby?”

Jonathan smiled and went into a long winding story about everything Zan. It was a wonderful tale made even livelier by his animated rendition of Max and Kyle trying to change a diaper. Maria was laughing, happily living the moment, when she caught sight of Vanessa bearing down on them.

“Damn, Wicked Witch of the West at nine o’clock and moving fast.”

Jonathan swore under his breath. “God, give me patience!”

“Too late,” Maria said in a sotto voice.

“Jonnieeeeee!” Vanessa’s long claw-like hand grabbed Jonathan’s arm, but her eyes were only for Maria. “Ms. DeLuca! I was hoping to see you.”

“DeLuca-Guerin.” Maria quickly corrected her. “Congresswoman. Nice of you to come tonight.”

Vanessa looked around the gallery. “Oh! Is this a protégé of yours?”

Maria smiled, but there was no warmth in her eyes. She had never liked Vanessa. Not since the first moment she met her. “No. A family member. Margo is no one’s protégé. She needs no sponsor.”

Vanessa looked at the hanging art. Despite being there all evening, she hadn’t bothered to actually look at the paintings and drawings on display. “They are impressive.”

“Indeed.” Maria saw Michael glaring at a woman who was beating a hasty retreat from the ladies’ bathroom. “Excuse me. I must go rescue…”

“Actually I was hoping to talk to you.”

Maria smiled. “Of course, but first I really need to go retrieve my husband before security is alerted.” Maria didn’t wait for a response, but quickly made her exit.

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed as she noticed Maria’s hand taking hold of Michael’s arm and gently pulling him away from his guard duty post. She watched them for a moment, a frown pulling at her brow as Michael leaned down to whisper in Maria’s ear. It was the hand that slowly moved up Michael’s arm, along his shoulder, and finally coming to rest on the side of his neck that held her fascinated.

“Something troubling you?” Jonathan asked darkly.

Vanessa shook herself from watching the couple and smiled maliciously at Jonathan. “Not really. Honestly Jonnie, I notice that you and your boyfriend have been dodging me. I’m beginning to think you’re afraid of me.”

“Hmm. You think?” Jonathan suddenly looked over at the door. Max. Max was finally here. Vanessa noticed his reaction, and how he suddenly stared at the door until Max entered. Her fascination was increased.

“So lover boy is here. I was wanting to talk to him.”

“Back off, Van. I’ve already told you to keep your distance.”

“Make me.” Vanessa smiled widely as Max joined them. “Max! We were just talking about you.”

Max raised a brow and made eye contact with Jonathan. “Nothing good I hope.” Jonathan just rolled his eyes and then stared off in the crowd apparently bored. Max smothered a laugh and turned to Vanessa feigning interest. “Congresswoman. We owe you a dinner.”

“You do.”

“I must apologize for the timing. My son was just born, and Jonathan and I have been spending our time with him. Family, you know.”

“Of course. A son! How lovely. What is his name?”

“Zan.” Max noted the subtle change in her demeanor.

“Zan? That’s an unusual name.” Vanessa noticed Jonathan staring at her intently. “What? Do I have a zit on my face?”

Jonathan smiled cruelly. “No. But your skin seems to be peeling. Not enough moisturizer?”

Vanessa’s face darkened. “Perhaps I should fix my face. Excuse me gentlemen.” Jonathan watched her go.

“That was mean.” Max commented. Jonathan laughed. Indeed it was. Vanessa always had a thing about dry skin.

“We went to the Bahamas once when we were married. She acted like it was Purgatory itself. She spent the entire time in moisturizing herbal wraps and complaining about the harsh aging effects of hot weather and the sun.” Jonathan decided to put his whacked ex-wife out of his mind and finally go view Margo’s art. He had been waiting for Max. “Let’s go look at the artwork. I was thinking it would be an ideal opportunity for us to buy the first piece of our art collection together, or maybe something for Zan.”

Max smirked. Jonathan was out of his depth with babies. He still hadn’t figured them out. “Yeah, sure. Let’s find a painting for Zan. What every newborn needs.”

“Hey, don’t make fun of me! I’d buy him a present from a baby shop, but unfortunately every baby shop in Roswell is sold out due to excessive buying by three detectives who shall remain nameless.”

“That’s Michael’s fault.”

“Uh huh.”

~~~

“Maybe we should go in there....” Michael looked around pulling on the collar of his shirt. “Of course I mean you.”

“I got that.” Maria shoved her plate in Michael’s hand. “I’ll go, but not to get her. I’m going to relieve my poor bladder. The twins are tap dancing on it.”

Michael stopped her. “You okay?”

Maria patted his chest along the lapel of his jacket. “Fine. But I am feeling tired, so if you don’t mind…”

“I’ll go round up Zeke!” Michael hurried off, more than happy to call an end to another torture session masquerading as a social event.

Maria went into the ladies’ room, and noticed that it was empty. Or seemingly so. Going into an empty stall, Maria bent down to see Margo’s shoes. “You going to stay in here all night?”

There was no answer.

“Things appear to be going very well. You’re more than fifty percent sold out.” Maria went about her business talking in a calm and soothing voice. “Of course the reviews tomorrow are what we really need to worry about.”

“Reviews?” Margo’s hushed frightened voice finally made an appearance.

“Sure. There are critics here.”

“Critics?” Maria winced at the increasing panic in Margo’s voice.

“I’m sure.” Maria went to wash her hands and check her makeup. “I believe that your art stands on its own. God knows that the picture of Zeke in the full armor is causing quite the stir. A few women are out there chatting him up. I had to go send Sean and Julia to keep an eye on him.”

“Women?” Margo came out of the stall that she had been hiding in, breathing deeply to calm herself.

“Hmm. A few.” Maria was cleaning up her lipstick when she heard the door to the bathroom close behind Margo. Staring in the mirror to check her hair, she patted her stomach. “I didn’t push her. I didn’t suggest anything.” She said to the twins and her own image. Smiling to herself, Maria left the room humming.

Michael was there to catch her when she came out. “What did you say? Margo came shooting out of there like the devil was on her heels.”

“Detective, are you calling me a devil?”

“Professor, if the shoe fits….”

“Evil! A shoe analogy. There has to be a rule against that!” Maria kissed him softly. “Are we ready to go? The babies are tired, and my back hurts.”

Michael put his arm around her. “Yeah. Sean and Julia will stay with Margo and bring her home, and it would take dynamite to get Zeke out of here before closing.”

“Ah yes, trinitrotoluene. Lovely stuff.”

Michael snickered under his breath. “I thought it went really well. What did you think?”

Maria looked around. “It went great, but tomorrow will be the real test. If Margo starts working on her next showing, then I say it was a success.”

~~~

She was quiet.

Zeke shut the door. It was just a matter of days before she moved back into her own place. Strange how much space was filled by her, how warm his home was with her ever quiet presence. He never had anything that belonged to him. Just to him. She felt that way to him.

“Zeke, I…” Margo looked around the room desperately for anything to distract her thoughts.

He took her jacket and portfolio, putting them away. Margo would talk when she could. It was never easy for her. Scars. There were more of them than just on her flesh. They were inside. Deep. Sometimes it was the intense severity of her scars that made him realize that he would survive, because if she did, he did.

Margo grabbed his hand and made him stand still for a moment and listen to her. “Thank you.”

“Don’t. Don’t thank me.”

Margo searched his face. His long curling dark hair clung to his neck in soft waves and the shadow of his late evening beard only served to emphasize the leanness and contours of his face. No matter how much or how often she drew him, painted him, or sculpted him, there was always something that caught the eye. He had a timeless face. Ezekiel. A messenger of hope. A prophet.

“What would you have me say?”

Zeke closed his eyes for a moment shaking his head. It took almost the entire night for him to understand what she was doing. This moment in her life, this move to independence and joining the world was supposed to be for him. He was wrong. She was freeing herself from him. By the end of the night, every purchase, every individual at the showing was an insult to him, because they took her farther away from him, down a road he wasn’t sure he could travel.

“Tell me that you love me. Tell me that somewhere there is hope for us.”

Margo searched his face. He was serious. Too serious. For a boy of barely eighteen, he was more stalwart than most men at thirty. His youth and his childhood were gifts she was giving back to him. Life was a procession of slow advances. Along the path there were lessons to be learned. Hardships and joys. Both of them had been cheated of their youth, of the time to learn, waking at eight years old already full grown, neither of them knew how to be children. They hid in shadows, safe from future hurt and pain, but that lost innocence was something they couldn’t get back. That was gone now. Especially for her. Not for Zeke.

“I love you.” Margo said softly.

“Then…” Zeke’s eyes filled with tears.

Margo shook her head. “I’m leaving.”

Zeke leaned against a wall. “Where? Your own loft?”

“No. I’m leaving Roswell.” Margo licked her lips nervously. “I already made arrangements with Jonathan Stiller. The Foundation has helped me find a place along the Pacific coast. A nice small community in Oregon. I’m going to rent an apartment there for the next six months, or maybe a little longer.”

“Then you’re coming home? Are you going to come home?”

“I don’t know. My loft and work are here. My home. You. Our family. Michael and Maria. The babies.” Shocking how many people were in her life. Never stopping to count them, it seemed that time had played a trick on her, slowly increasing those that she loved without her realizing it. “I’ll be home to see you graduate.”

“That’s it then? You’ll just take off? I’m not to worry. Be concerned?” Zeke swore. His insides felt on fire. They hurt. Nausea and bile was acid coating his stomach making him feel a need to retch.

“No. I can’t change what and who you are, Ezekiel. I know you will worry, but this was just a small step tonight. I need to make bigger ones.” Margo fisted his shirt and pulled him closer to her. “I want you, but I’m letting you go.”

Zeke put his hands around her face and did the one thing he wanted to do for so long, the one thing he held back from doing in fear she would run. He kissed her. Margo moaned softly and met his mouth with her own, their breaths mingling in a dance of joined passion. He was young. His body was young and strong, lean and hard. Kissing him was a mistake.

She couldn’t stop. His taste. His breath. It was like a homecoming. How could she already know so much about him without ever a touch of her tongue? Too fast. Not fast enough. Margo didn’t even know how they ended up in bed, or where their clothes ended up. Her hands moved along the full expanse of the skin of his back, and it wasn’t enough. It couldn’t be.

They lay entwined for a moment, allowing their breathing to slow down slightly. Then Zeke pushed Margo onto her back as he leaned over her, his fingers moving through her hair. He ran his hands down her skin, closing his eyes to the softness of her skin occasionally broken with tiny scars running across her breasts, so small they blended into the skin. Pausing to savor the silky sensation of her skin, his fingers sought out her nipples, and teased the nubs into hard, aching points which he then soothed with his tongue as Margo whimpered wordlessly. After licking and sucking until Margo was writhing beneath him, Zeke returned his attention to her mouth; tasting, teasing. He alternated long and short kisses; and returned instantly as soon as he broke away. Margo's mouth was an addictive substance, one he wanted to taste over and over.

“Will you come back to me?”

Margo looked at him with heavy eyes and a heavy heart. Growing up was for crap, but it passed so quickly you needed to grab it like a greedy child. She was the elder of the two. It was time for her to act like it. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.” Margo brushed his hair from his face. “But I can give you now.”

Zeke spent the night holding her naked body close, feeling the mating of her skin to his. She was sound asleep, and for once her sleep was undisturbed and peaceful. Zeke remained awake all through the night, unwilling to relinquish his watch because he knew that when he woke, she would be gone.