You say goodbye, and I say hello

SERIES: None right now. But it might become the last of the 'Dreamland' series.

AUTHOR: TaleWeaver

RATING: PG.

IMPROV: #19; blue - radiate - deny - spirit

DISCLAIMER: The Roswell characters were created by Melinda Metz and adapted for television by Jason Katims. Original characters and situations are mine. The title comes from 'Hello, Goodbye' by The Beatles. There's also a vague reference to one of my other fave TV shows.

FEEDBACK: Details, people, give me details. Don't just tell me what you liked/didn't like, tell me why!

SPOILERS: Takes place a week or so after 'Graduation'. Makes reference to my (eventually) forthcoming story 'Mind over matter'. 

PAIRING: Tess/Kyle, with guest appearance by Isabel

SUMMARY: Tess has always been the mistress of illusion. Would death really change that?

AUTHOR'S NOTES: As of this writing, I haven't actually seen 'Graduation' and have very little info about it, and none about the circumstances of Tess' return. This was also heavily influenced by the final scene of the CSI episode 'Face Lift'. The alien ability to change their basic human form comes mainly from the original novels; but Lonnie and Rath did do it in 'MtD'.

MUSE-IC: Vanessa Carlton; Michelle Branch; Nelly Furtado (remember the days).

*

There were always people milling around at the side of the road near the bus station, but no one took much notice of the car drawing up to the curb. However, the gorgeous, statuesque blonde who exited from the passenger side drew a lot of attention, and not a few envied the dark haired, well-built man beside her.

Isabel Evans Rodriguez turned to Kyle and sighed. "I'm going to miss you. You're the last one left."

"C'mon, Isabel. We all agreed that it was better to scatter the targets. Max and Liz can't stand to be separated, and Maria and Michael won't - it's best that we split from each other."

Isabel returned his gentle smile and pulled him close in a hug. Normally unsentimental, she was hurting at separating from her last friend and link to home.
"Once I get settled, I'll dreamwalk you with my new address."

"Have you decided where you're going?"

Isabel nodded. "Los Angeles. It's full of beautiful people trying to break into show business. What's one more?" she shrugged. "Do you know yet?"

Kyle gave her a crooked smile and told her, "I have a few ideas what I want to do next. Until then, I'll just go where the road takes me."

Isabel looked over at the bus station, then back again. "You'd better not come with me. My trail gets picked up, there won't be a lead to you."

Kyle kept smiling, and told her, "I'll always be with you in spirit, Izzy. Count on it."
Isabel smiled back and the two melted into another, harder hug. "I'll see you around," Kyle told her firmly. Isabel nodded in agreement just as firmly.

Kyle got back in the car and watched Isabel walk to the door of the station, then started the car. She didn't look back once, and neither did he.

*

Ten mintues later and twenty miles down the road, a girl who looked about 15 alighted from another bus. She reached the bench and put her bag down on it, obviously waiting for something or someone. Once the bus disappeared in a cloud of dust, she took off the oversized denim shirt she wore, revealing a cobalt blue tank top that clung to a petite, curvy frame. She took off her plain navy baseball cap and bent forward at the waist to shake out the shoulder-length dark red curls that had been crumpled beneath it. When she straightened, only a keen observer would have noticed the slight changes to her face that somehow aged her by at least 5 years - in less than a minute. She sat down, pulled a book from her backpack and settled down to wait.

As a car approached, the young woman looked up sharply. A joyful smile spread across her face, as she packed away her things and settled the pack onto her shoulder. When the car drew up, she bent over to give the driver a good view of her cleavage, and leaned on the open edge of the window.

The dark haired man behind the wheel slid his sunglasses off and drawled, "Going my way?"

"Where are you going?" asked the woman in a breathy voice (doing a rather good Marilyn Monroe impression).

"Does it matter?"

The woman smiled seductively and slunk around to the passenger door and got in, tossing her pack in the backseat.

"How did it go?" she asked, her voice betraying her concern.

"Good. Everyone got off OK. I'm the only one with the locations. Maria and Michael are in New York City - after her experience with the record company, no one would suspect that. Max and Liz are in Boston. Can we work out a way to get them into college there? Keeping them happy in academia is our best bet of them staying underground and out of trouble." His companion nodded, and he continued, "Isabel's headed for LA. No addresses. Izzy'll dreamwalk us all later for those."

His companion nodded again in a businesslike fashion, then smirked. "You haven't answered the most important question." She tossed her head and added, "I know you liked the curls so I kept those, but what do you think of me as a redhead?"

The man slowly slid his fingers into the dark red curls, then abruptly yanked her forward into a near-violent, bone-melting kiss. Her moan only inflamed him further; sliding back the seat with one hand as he cradled her face in the other, he pulled her into his lap, her legs stretched out across the other seat. As her arms wound around his neck, their bodies pressed together so closely that no light could be seen between them, writhing fast and hard against each other until the sensual friction threatened to rip someone's clothing. When they broke apart, they were both breathing hard.

"Kyle," the woman whimpered, "It's been so long."

"Tell me about it," Kyle replied, his voice rough with lust. "We haven't even been able to really touch since you came back. Hell, Tess, I can't even remember the last time we kissed outside the dream plane."

"Thank God I can dreamwalk," laughed Tess breathlessly. She reluctantly climbed off Kyle's lap and back into her own seat. She shook herself, making curls and breasts bounce - Kyle said, "Stop that," even as his eyes locked on her chest - and took up her former brisk demeanor.

"Okay, I called one of my old contacts in the CIA, and he arranged things with the director of the LA branch - that's where Nasedo and I were based during his stint with them."

"So the CIA first? Not the FBI?"

"It'll be easier to spy on the Special Unit from there, and block and divert anything. Besides, the CIA's the only agency I worked for directly, not just made friends while Nasedo did."

"What did you do?" Kyle asked.

"Gently interrogated witnesses, altering memories, and a couple of hits - terrorists, mostly," Tess shrugged. "The Agency and another group called SD-6 were the only ones who could afford the price Nasedo charged for my terminations - in this country, anyway."

Kyle nodded; she'd told him long before about the successful mercenary/spy career she and Nasedo had developed before Roswell, both as income and protection. Kyle asked curiously, "How much?"

"A million dollars a pop." At Kyle's look, she told him, "Someone who can assassinate by natural causes? D'you have any idea how handy that can be for some people? Yet another reason we had to convince everyone that I was dead. Don't want any old associates trying to get an exclusive contract using the others as leverage or bait."

"What about me?"

"I can't get you into the Agency - or any other - yet, Kyle. You don't have the training or the background. For now, you'll have to settle for college. After that, we'll be able to switch between agencies, one of us to each." Tess nodded to her backpack. "I got you a legal name change and backdated it. You're not actually wanted for anything, so it won't set off any flags, and it's not usual for people on the run, so it'll be a red herring. I got you something similar, so it won't be too hard to remember."

"Yeah, what?"

"Valiant."

"*What *? How'd you come up with that?"

Tess smiled. "Truth in advertising."

Kyle smiled back at the compliment, and initiated another minute-long kiss.

"Just kidding, Kyle. It's Vallant."

After heaving a mock-sigh of relief, Kyle asked, "What about you?"

"My CIA contacts know me by my full name, so Tess is the bet I can do. Tess McAllister."

"That's my mom's maiden name."

"That's why I picked it."

Kyle looked at her steadily, detecting a question as yet unasked, and answered it. "Zan's going to be fine, you know."

Tess nodded firmly. Only her eyes betrayed the sorrow that lurked beneath her calm shell. "We're going to get him back in a few years, once it's safe." At Kyle's reassuring smile, she slid her hand over his and continued, "Maybe he'll have some brothers and sisters to play with."

Kyle's gaze darkened anew with a desire that had been building for years. The façade they had worn in front of all the others had been so hard, not the least because it pained them both to have to deny the love they shared. For more than a year, their only contact had been in their shared dreams. Their only release from this relentless need had been while sleeping. But being physically face-to-face had sent their hunger spiralling so high that they were barely keeping it under control. 

"Are we going straight to LA, or can we take a week's vacation first? If anyone gets caught in that time, I don't think we can help much anyway." At Tess' slow, sensual smile - she knew what Kyle really wanted, and needed it just as badly - Kyle asked, "Where are we going?"

Tess eyed him hungrily; her voice was a marked contrast with its careless, confident tone. "Does it matter?"

"Not as long as we can get room service and a big bed, because I'm won't let you out of it for at least 24 hours."

Tess licked her lips and clenched her fists against her thighs. "How about Vegas? We have good memories of that place."

Kyle gave her a slow, devastating grin. "Home of gambling and wedding chapels. But I'm not interested in gambling."

"Neither am I."

"Guess that just leaves the other."

"Two days in bed, one to get everything organized and done, four days honeymoon?" Tess offered.

"Sounds great to me."

And with one more kiss, they set off to start their future together.

FINI

ANOTHER AUTHOR'S NOTE (or 'what was she thinking?'): 

1) Tess' ability to dreamwalk: I've always thought that all the aliens had all the powers, but some talents were stronger in some than others; like athletes training in the Decathlon, most have their talents concentrated in one or two areas, so that's what they concentrate on, even though they can perform in all events. In 'Summer of '47' Michael shows abilities that only Max and Isabel had in season 1, and in 'Surprise', Isabel destroys Whittaker using the same power that Michael used to save Valenti in 'Destiny'. As for 'Surprise', how do you think Isabel got the visions of Tess in the first place? Tess was using either a form of dreamwalking (since Isabel was awake) or astral projection, and what is dreamwalking but astral projection into people's dreams? It was always established that Tess was far more skilled in all the alien 'arts' than the others.

2) Killing by natural causes: I actually got this idea from a true story I heard several years ago. An American railroad worker was locked in a refrigerated car overnight, and was found frozen to death the next morning. However, the refrigeration unit was not in use, and the cold was turned off; the temperature inside the car never dropped much below room temperature. The man froze to death because he *believed * that the air was at freezing point. (It really is true, BTW, I looked it up afterwards. I think the man concerned even got a Darwin Award!) Tess' main ability is to make others believe what she wants them to; if she mindwarps someone into thinking that their heart has stopped, doesn't it follow that it will?