Book(s) of Revelations
(or Santayana Never Was a Big Proponent of the Socratic Method)
An Epilogue to "The Card Game Theory"
By Danilise (danilise@hotmail.com)

Disclaimer: Roswell, its characters and situations, are owned by the WB. No infringement intended.

Author's Note: This story is the part of an evolving future storyline. All the stories currently in this storyline are included in order on the Future Arc page. This story is also Part Six of the Santayana Arc.

Dedications: To N/A, who asked me once a long time ago to write "Anne of Green Gables" into the Future Arc. And to Ossian, who likes "Trainspotting" (and Scots in general) as much as I do.

* * * *

"There is a book of Revelation in every one's life...."
-- from Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

* * * *

Book 1 - Carmina

"What shape is a wish?" the little boy asked politely.

Carmina Roderiguez leaned over the counter to get a better look at her pint-size interrogator. The little boy looked familiar, but she didn't think she knew him. She looked around for whoever he belonged to, but the Crashdown Café seemed to be empty except for the little boy. It figured, thought Carmina; just when her shift was over, she found a stray kid who needed to find his parents or something. How typical.

"Excuse me, miss," he insisted, looking up at her with his big golden-brown eyes. "What shape is a wish?"

Carmina laughed at her luck. Not only did she find a lost kid, she found a lost kid who asked whacked-out questions. Sighing, she glanced at the clock. "Kid, if you really want to know the truth, a wish is six feet tall, blond, blue-eyed, and gorgeous, and he's about to walk through that door any minute now to sweep me off my feet, which, if you care, are absolutely killing me."

"Carm!"

Guiltily, Carmina spun around to face Andrea Jamison. It figured that Andrea, Carmina's best friend and conscience since practically birth, should have chosen exactly that moment to return from break. Getting caught being a smart-ass was, in a nutshell, the story of Carmina's life.

"Carmina Nadia Roderiguez," Andrea said sternly; "are you corrupting the youth of Roswell again?"

"You make a habit of corrupting youth?" asked a voice.

Carmina leaned over the counter again, this time to find the owner of the voice, and saw a dark-haired woman crouched down beside the little boy, wiping what looked like ice cream off his cheek. Carmina stifled a groan. She truly had the worst luck in the world. The woman was none other than Doctor Mrs. Evans, Josh Evans' mother ... Josh who had a huge crush on Andrea, Josh who had saved Andrea's life earlier that week when she had gotten shot, Josh who was an alien. It figured. It just figured. Carmina had the worst worst luck.

Mrs. Evans stood up and smiled. She tucked her shoulder-length hair behind her ears, and Carmina thought for a second that she looked perfectly normal, like someone's mom should look. But then she remembered that Liz Evans couldn't possibly be as normal as she seemed.

That was when Mrs. Evans contradicted Carmina's unspoken doubt by saying a perfectly normal thing in a perfectly normal voice: "Evan and I stopped by to see his great-grandparents, and we thought we'd check on you girls. How are you?"

"Fine," Carmina mumbled, breaking eye contact quickly and trying not to think of that horrible day three days ago when Andrea had nearly been killed and Carmina's world-view had become distinctly not normal. For at least one whole minute after that mumbled "fine," Carmina was silent, which even she had to admit was completely unlike her. Instead of babbling the way she usually did when she was nervous, she studied the dust bunny peeking out from underneath one of the booth tables and wondered randomly what else besides "fine" she could possibly say to a woman who had married a bona fide extra terrestrial.

Luckily for Carmina, Mrs. Evans didn't ask for elaboration from her beyond "fine." Mrs. Evans was at the Crashdown for some other purpose, Carmina realized; some purpose beyond just checking on them, some purpose which appeared to have a lot to do with Andrea.

Suspicious, Carmina narrowed her eyes as she watched Mrs. Evans move closer to her best friend. She noticed that Mrs. Evans' eyes seemed to soften when they settled on Andrea's face and that her voice was gentle when she said, "Andrea, do you remember when I suggested that we could sit down sometime and talk for a bit?"

Here it comes, Carmina thought. Her mind leapt to all sorts of horrible scenarios, all of which ended with Andrea and her at the mercy of green antennaed creatures.... Expecting that her best friend was thinking exactly the same thing because that was always what happened, Carmina looked at Andrea and started to say something--

But she never got to say what she was going to say because her mouth just hung open.

Carmina couldn't believe her eyes. Andrea was smiling at Mrs. Evans. She was nodding shyly at Mrs. Evans' suggestion. Carmina had expected her spunky, street-smart friend to retreat into self-protection mode or to at least look skeptical or ... something. But smiling shyly and nodding? Carmina couldn't figure out where Andrea's usual spitfire and backbone had gotten to. It was bizarre. It was like aliens had abducted the real Andrea or something-- Carmina clamped down on that thought as soon as it crossed her mind. Thinking about abductions wasn't the way to make her feel better about recent events--

"I was wondering, Andrea, if you'd like to come to dinner tonight, around seven o'clock," Mrs. Evans continued. "If you came a little early, say six-ish, I could show you around the house and garden, and we could talk." She paused. "I did mention that I was in your shoes once, didn't I?"

Carmina nudged Andrea with her foot and widened her eyes in warning.

But Andrea just ignored her and nodded again. "I would love to come," she said, and Carmina could have sworn that there was a softness in Andrea's eyes that matched the softness she had seen in Mrs. Evans' eyes.

Carmina had no idea what that softness meant. It felt like she didn't understand anything anymore, and in all honesty that feeling was getting on her nerves.

* * * *

Book 2 - Andrea

After Mrs. Evans and her grandson left, Andrea Jamison concentrated on not looking her best friend in the eye by filling all the sugar canisters in the Crashdown. It didn't take long for the uncomfortable silence to wear her down, though. After about five minutes, she couldn't stand it anymore and had to break it. "So, Carm," she said lightly. "Is a gorgeous guy really what you think a wish is?"

But Carmina Nadia Roderiguez was not so easily sidetracked. Whatever hope Andrea had had that Carmina had missed that little silent interaction she'd had with Mrs. Evans -- that burst of perfect communication that had given her hope that what was happening was right and good even though it seemed impossible -- disappeared.

"What was that?" Carmina demanded. Andrea noticed that she was tapping her foot.

Trying to buy herself time to think, Andrea concentrated on pouring the sugar without spilling it. "What was what?"

"You're driving me nuts doing that--" Carmina grabbed Andrea's arm mid-pour and forced her to look at her-- "What just happened? What were you thinking? Don't you remember that she's ... that they're ... I mean, why the heck did you agree...?" Suddenly Carmina's eyes narrowed and she looked thoughtful and then she smiled. "Oh, wait. I get it. You're so good. You were just humoring her. Smart girl." Carmina elbowed Andrea conspiratorially. "You're very good, chickie. So, tell me. What excuse are you gonna use to get out of going over there?"

Andrea stared down at the small amount of sugar she'd spilled on the countertop despite herself and was silent.

Carmina stared at her. "Oh no--" she shook her head so violently that her black curls slipped out from underneath her antenna headband and tumbled into her eyes-- "you're not seriously thinking of going over there, are you?"

Andrea straightened to look Carmina in the eye. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"

"Why? Why? It's like Marco Polo visiting the Chinese -- that's why. Look what happened to him."

"Nothing happened to him. He brought back spaghetti and spices to Europe. He opened up trade between Europe and the East--"

Carmina waved a hand in dismissal. "Enough of the history lesson. History was never my best subject. I never understood why people even care about stuff that happened a gazillion years ago. Just forget I brought up Marco Polo in the first place--" Carmina stopped to take a breath, and Andrea thought briefly about explaining Santayana's theory about those who can't remember the past being condemned to repeat it, but then Carmina's breath break was over and she was talking again-- "Back to this dinner thing. Andi, you can't go."

"Carmina. I'm going. They're perfectly normal people. We've known Josh forever. And his dad has been my doctor since I came to Roswell."

"They're ... foreigners, Andrea."

Idly, Andrea traced a finger in the spilled sugar, spelling out a J and an O before she realized what she was doing. She grabbed a dishcloth and started to wipe up before her fingers decided to spell out the S and the H and Carmina noticed.

"Did you hear me, chickie?" Carmina asked. "They're foreigners."

Andrea shifted awkwardly. "Um, actually, they're Czechoslovakians."

"Excuse me?" Carmina said pointedly. "Isn't that a country that, like, doesn't exist?"

"That's the point, I think."

Carmina looked like she was going to be sick. "Why do they have a codename?"

"Because of Mrs. Guerin." Andrea felt vaguely guilty mentioning their boss's name but Carmina knew most of the story already, and what Carmina knew she'd garbled in her head with all sorts of crazy Carmina interpretations, so she needed to get the facts straight to make sure she didn't tell anyone. Andrea wasn't sure why, but she already felt protective of the Evanses and their extended family and their dangerous secret. Actually, she did know why. It had something to do with what had happened three days ago and something else to do with a wish she'd had a long time ago....

Carmina waved three fingers in front of Andrea's face. "Hellooooo, trance-girl. How many fingers am I holding up?"

Andrea rolled her eyes but she felt like giggling. Carmina was such a character.

"So," Carmina was saying. "About what you said before. What does Mrs. Guerin have to do with any of this?"

Andrea concentrated on scrubbing at the stubborn grains of sugar that had gotten stuck in a crack in the countertop. She didn't look at Carmina. "Don't you remember? She's, uh, married to a Czechoslovakian too. Mr. Guerin is, um...."

Carmina grabbed Andrea's shoulders and spun her around, nearly spinning her off her feet, startling her into letting go of the dishcloth she was using to wipe down the counter so that it went flying across the Crashdown and landed on a booth table with a wet smack. "Oh no," Carmina said. "Don't tell me there are more of them than just Josh and his dad."

"Carm, don't you remember that Josh told us...?" Andrea let her words trail off when she saw the blank look on Carmina's face. She decided to try a different tack. "Well, think about it. There's Josh's dad, which means that Josh and his sister are, um, Czechoslovakian. And that means the little boy we saw in the Crashdown today, Claudia's son Evan, is too. And Dr. Evans' sister is Mrs. Whitman who's done legal paperwork for your parents and mine; she's probably Czechoslovakian too. And that means that her children, Matt and Anna are too, although Matt is adopted I think, so maybe he's not. And then Mr. Guerin is, because he healed Josh. Which means that all of the Guerin kids -- Nicole, Stephen, Leo, and Molly -- are."

"Oh my god," Carmina said as she began to pace. "Oh my god," she repeated, still pacing. "Well," she said, still pacing. "Well, I can definitely believe that Stephen and Leo are aliens because they're totally weird." She spun around and continued pacing in a different direction. "It just figures that they would be from a different planet. I mean, have you seen their hair? But.... Well, it doesn't matter." She stopped pacing and wagged a finger at Andrea. "You still can't go to that dinner tonight. What if they, like, bite your head off? I mean, what if they asked you to dinner because you're the main course?"

Andrea laughed as she slid by Carmina to retrieve her dishtowel. "You're a complete lunatic, you know that, Carm? You are definitely multiple bricks short of a full load."

"Ha ha." Carmina glared daggers at Andrea from across the café, and all of a sudden Andrea was grateful that the Crashdown was almost empty. This wouldn't have been the best conversation to have with witnesses around. A lot was dependent on this secret, that much Andrea knew.... But Carmina was Carmina, Andrea reassured herself as she watched Carmina untie her alien-head apron, and even if she was a bit crazy and flamboyant, no one in the world kept a secret better than Carmina--

"Well, chickie, me and my bricks are going home," Carmina said, waving her apron like a flag. "My shift's over, Andi, and I'm going home like a normal human being--" she brandished her apron at Andrea-- "which is what you should do when your shift's over too."

"I'm going to the Evanses' for dinner, Carm," Andrea stated flatly as she started wiping down the countertop again. She wanted to be sure that Carmina was okay with everything.

Carmina put down her apron and turned to face Andrea. She looked at her solemnly for a minute, then she intoned, "Ma'asalaama ... inshallah," and kissed Andrea on the forehead.

Andrea arched a questioning eyebrow, but she suspected Carmina's reverting to Arabic was a good sign, a sign that she was okay with everything, that the secret would be safe. "What does that mean?"

"Goodbye and God willing. It's what my Palestinian grandmother always says when we leave her house." Carmina chucked Andrea's chin. "You're gonna need all the divine help you can get, chickie."

"You're such a drama queen, Carm," Andrea laughed, absolutely sure that everything was definitely okay and equally sure that she was lucky to have a best friend like Carmina.

Carmina nodded knowingly. "You say that now, but you'll see...." Patting her apron over her arm, Carmina sailed towards the Crashdown's backroom and the employee lockers. Just before she stepped through the swinging door, Carmina stopped and turned around to deliver her typical-Carmina parting shot. "Just know why you're going there, Andi." She grinned wickedly. "What shape do you think a wish is, Miss Stubborn Smartypants?"

And Andrea said the first thing that popped into her mind-- "Definitely tall, dark, and handsome--" and as soon as she said the words, she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and her heart beating a little faster, and she suspected that stupid soft look was in her eyes, the look she saw in her eyes whenever she thought about Josh Evans and managed to catch her reflection in a mirror or even a shiny surface at the same time.

"Tall, dark, and handsome, huh?" Carmina said, her face wearing that sly, knowing look again. "Maybe Czechoslovakian too?"

Andrea flung her wet dishtowel at Carmina. "Go home, Carm."

"I'm going, I'm going," Carmina laughed. "Just make sure you call me to tell me everything about it. Or else."

* * * *

Book 3 - Evan

Five-year old Evan Lindsey was bouncing along beside his grandmother, who he thought was the second most beautiful lady in the world (because his Mommy was the most beautifullest lady ever). He was telling his Gram a story about the ducks they had seen in the park that afternoon after they saw the two pretty girls at the Crashdown when he noticed that she seemed to be thinking about something else so he asked, "Gram, what does a rainbow feel like?"

She smiled down at him. (Evan thought Gram's smile was beautiful too.) Then Gram said, "I don't know, Evan. What do you think?"

"I think--" Evan began to say, then he stopped because he saw a lady getting out of her car in front of his grandparents' house where his Mommy and him lived with his Gram and Grampa and his Uncle Josh too.

"Gram, is that Grammaria?" he asked excitedly. He loved Grammaria! She was so much fun. She had really nice yellow curls and she liked to tell really nice stories. She would know what a rainbow felt like for sure. He jumped up and down, pulling on his Gram's hand. "Is it her, Gram? I think it's her!"

Gram nodded and let go of his hand. "Why don't you go say hello, honey bear?"

So Evan ran to Grammaria -- who everyone else in the world called Auntie Maria or Maria Guerin or Mrs. Guerin or Mama (although he didn't call her Mama because she wasn't his Mama; he had one already and his was the best ever) and who Gruncle Michael called his cheesehead (but that was just weird and everyone said so) -- and threw his arms around her knees. "Grammaria! Grammaria! What does a rainbow feel like?"

Evan knew that Grammaria liked his questions. She always said that Evan kept her up on her toes or something, like the ballerina that danced to the tinkly music that started when he opened his Mommy's joolery box.

Grammaria said, "Lemme think, Evvie." She tapped a finger against her chin, then she said, "I think rainbows feel just like M&Ms falling out of the sky."

"You would say that," Gram laughed. Gram had a nice laugh just like her smile, Evan always thought. After she was finished laughing, Gram asked, "Are you here to pick up Michael after the card game?"

And Grammaria gave Gram a smile like she had a secret. "We're going shopping. Michael doesn't know yet, though, so don't let on."

"Evan and I won't say a word, will we?" Gram winked at Evan, which made him giggle. Gram was so funny sometimes, even though she wasn't as funny as his Grampa. His Grampa was really funny. He said the silliest things. "The game should be over," Gram told Grammaria, and then she let them all into the house.

As soon as they got inside, Evan could hear his Grampa laughing in the kitchen. Grampa liked to laugh. He said sometimes that it was because he hadn't always been able to laugh and so now he made up for it as much as he could. Evan liked Grampa's laugh. It made him laugh too, which was nice. Gruncle Alex's laugh was like that too. It always made him laugh, just like Grampa's did. Gruncle Michael's laugh was different. It didn't happen very often so when it happened, it was special. Usually Gruncle Michael's laugh made everyone look a little scared, like they couldn't figure out where that sound was coming from or even what it was.

Evan knew Gram and Grammaria heard his Grampa and his Gruncles laughing because he saw them give each other that look that all of the ladies in his family got sometimes, even the young ones like Molly who had nice curls like Grammaria's though hers were brown.

After their look was over, Grammaria went to find Gruncle Michael, and Gram saw Evan's Uncle Josh (who Evan just called Josh because Josh wasn't really old enough to be called "uncle" like a proper uncle). Josh was sitting on the sofa, watching a black-and-white show (Josh always liked really old shows; Evan watched them with him sometimes) with a fierce look on his face. Josh could look fierce sometimes, but usually it just made Evan laugh the way sometimes Grampa made him laugh. Grampa and Josh weren't very good at looking fierce or stern or anything like that.

When the show went away and then came back again, Evan read the letters: T-H-E-T-W-I-L-I-G-H-T-Z-O-N-E on the TV screen, which he guessed made up the name of the show, but he wasn't sure so he decided to ask Josh about it later.

"Hey, you're finally awake," Gram said to Josh as she knelt down to undo the buttons of Evan's jacket. "Your dad and I were beginning to worry."

After she helped Evan out of his jacket, Gram stood up again and looked at Josh who was still staring at the TV screen, which Evan's Mommy said was bad because staring too long at a TV can make a person go all squirrelly-eyed. "So," Gram said, "did you take my advice and call her?"

"Call who?" Josh asked, but Evan thought Josh knew who and was just pretending, which his Mommy said was just suberfuggie and didn't help anything because Gram and Grampa had too much practice to ever be put off by suberfuggie.

Evan was right because Gram just winked at Evan and said to Josh, "You know who," and she leaned her elbows on the back of the sofa and ruffled Josh's hair, which everyone did even though Josh always said he was too old for it. Then Gram asked again, "You called her?"

Josh tried to scoot out of her reach the way Evan did when someone who wasn't his Mommy or Gram or Grampa or Josh or Grammaria or Gramizzy or Gruncle Michael or Gruncle Alex or one of his cousins was trying to kiss him or hug him or something icky like that. "Don't do that, Mom," Josh said. "I'm too old for that. I keep telling you and Dad that--"

And Evan smiled a really big smile because he was right about how Josh didn't like it when people messed up his hair. Evan liked being right, just like his Grampa and Josh did. It was a family trait, Gramizzy said sometimes. Gruncle Michael said that it was a curse, but that was only when he was being mad about something. Whenever Gruncle Michael got mad, Grammaria called him a dorkbutt. Evan thought that was a funny name for a gruncle, but Grammaria was always right, so Gruncle Michael probably really was a dorkbutt.

"Did you call Andrea?" Gram asked again, and Evan smiled at that too. His Mommy always said that Gram was very per-sister-tent.

"I called her."

"And? Is she coming over?"

"I wasn't sure I wanted to subject her to you and Dad," Josh said. "And besides, she was working so I couldn't reach her when I called. I left a message."

Gram laughed. "That's okay. I wasn't sure if you would wake up in time to ask her, so I stopped at the Crashdown after seeing your grandparents and invited her over for dinner tonight."

Josh put his head down into his hands like it was hurting, which Evan had noticed him doing a lot over the past few days. "It figures," Josh said. "You and Dad make a good tag team."

"We'll make a nice dinner too," Gram said, and Evan thought she sounded happy. Then Gram got even happier because she turned around and saw Grampa who had just come in the living room. "Won't we, Max?" she asked Grampa whose name-name was Max (although Evan didn't call him anything but Grampa).

Grampa put his arm around Gram the way he always did and nodded.

Evan liked how his Gram and Grampa were always touching and hugging and looking into each other's eyes (although sometimes that part got a bit icky) and how they always knew when each other was close by. That part was almost spooky like Halloween ghosts, but it was also nice. It meant they loved each other a lot, and that was always nice as far as Evan could tell. The only bad thing about it, though, was that sometimes it made the sad look start in his Mommy's eyes, and then he had to hug his Mommy really tight because he knew she got lonely sometimes and he had promised his Daddy -- who was in Heaven with the angels and Frick their cat who had gotten sick and died last year (Evan still cried when he thought about Frick; he knew Frack their other cat cried too because Frick was Frack's best friend in the whole world) -- he had promised his Daddy that he would take care of her.

Then Grampa crouched down and held out his arms for a hug, so Evan ran to hug him and didn't think about that anymore, although sometimes he thought about it in bed at night and said a special prayer to his Daddy about it.

"There's only one problem," Grampa said. "Someone needs to pick up Claudia at the clinic. Can you do that, Josh? Her car is in the shop."

Josh got up from the sofa right away and said, "Sure."

And Grampa looked down very seriously at Evan, which made Evan giggle because Grampa's serious face was so funny. "Josh is going to take you to pick up your Mommy, Evan," Grampa said. "Do you like that idea?"

And Evan hopped up and down a bit because he liked that idea a lot, and he waited for Josh to take his hand because he wasn't allowed to go outside without holding someone's hand unless someone said he could specially.

When Josh took Evan's hand, he smiled down at him, and that made Evan hop up and down a bit even more because he really liked Josh's smile. It was different from everyone else's. There were no shadows in it at all, which was nice. Evan wanted to have a smile just like Josh's when he got bigger.

"So, kiddo," Josh said. "It's just me and you. If you like, I can carry you to the car. You can get a piggyback ride, a shoulder carry, or a plain carry. What'll it be?"

Evan thought it out quickly and decided: "Shoulder carry, please."

And then Evan and Josh were leaving the house to go pick up Evan's Mommy. Right before the door shut behind them, Evan looked back and saw his Gram and Grampa talking with Grammaria and Gruncle Michael and Gruncle Alex. He heard Gram say, "I wonder if we should tell poor Josh the whole story about tonight's dinner," and he wondered what that meant.

But he couldn't ask Josh because he was pretty sure that Josh hadn't heard. And he forgot soon anyway because he was so excited about seeing his Mommy.

His Mommy always said that people need to get their pie-o-ritties straight, even if they're only five years old. That was why Evan couldn't wait to see his Mommy. He wanted to tell her about the ducks.

* * * *

Book 4 - Josh

Josh Evans drove mechanically, not thinking about anything, only half-paying attention to his nephew Evan's story about some ducks he and Josh's mom had seen in the park. Josh was so focused on his driving and distracted from the conversation that he jumped when Evan tugged on his sleeve. Evan's tug made him jerk the steering wheel to the right, causing the car to swerve on to the shoulder for a second before Josh could correct it.

"Hey, buddy!" he exclaimed. "Be careful or we'll have an accident."

Evan looked down guiltily and was quiet for a whole five minutes, which, Josh thought, was probably a record. Then Evan's head bobbed up again. "Josh?"

"Hmm?" Josh turned left into the veterinary clinic parking lot and slowed down to look for a parking space.

"Josh? What does white taste like?"

Because he was concentrating on backing the family station wagon into a parking space that had been clearly designed for a sub-sub-sub-compact car, Josh hardly heard Evan's question, but when it finally registered he responded quickly and decisively. "White tastes like Aunt Maria's coconut cream pie," he said as he straightened the steering wheel. He put the car into 'park,' turned the engine off, and turned to smile at Evan. "Definitely."

Evan nodded enthusiastically. "I like Grammaria's pies too," he said, "because they're fluffy like clouds...." And with that, Evan launched into a lengthy glowing description of Aunt Maria's pies and her nice yellow curls and how funny it was that she called Uncle Michael a dorkbutt. Josh listened with amusement as he unbuckled Evan's seatbelt and led the little chatterbox (who was never a chatterbox with anyone but his closest family) into the clinic where Claudia, Josh's sister and Evan's mother, worked as a veterinarian.

Evan's chatter trailed off when he saw that they had arrived at the reception desk. He tugged on Josh's hand to make him bend down so he could whisper into Josh's ear: "Let's go home, Josh. There are people here."

And Josh worked hard not to smile because it was clear that Evan was truly frightened. The little boy's amber eyes were wide and fearful as he glanced at the two receptionists on the other side of the reception desk. His little body was stiff with terror. And because Josh remembered what it was like to be so shy, he crouched down to give Evan a reassuring hug.

And that was when Maureen the main receptionist peeked down at them over the edge of the reception desk. "She's running late," Maureen said. She gestured to an old man with a cat carrier in his lap who was sitting near the door. "That gentleman's her last appointment. Why don't you boys have a seat?"

"Oooh, is that Evan?" cooed Lucy the second receptionist, coming out from behind the desk with her arms outstretched. When she tried to hug him, Evan darted behind Josh.

So Josh reached around to try to pull him out of his hiding place. "Don't worry, Evan. It's just Lucy. You like Lucy, remember? She's not scary."

"I'm not scary," Lucy affirmed. She was a pretty woman in her late twenties. Josh had known her since Claudia started working at the clinic. Evan had known Lucy all his life. Lucy was practically family. "You remember me, don't you, Evan?" Lucy coaxed. "I was here when you came the last time. Why don't you give me a hug?" She held out her arms again.

Tempted, Evan peeked around Josh for a whole ten seconds. But he just shook his head and burrowed back into his hiding place behind Josh.

"But you've gotten so big since I saw you the last time," Lucy said, her voice still coaxing. "Your Mommy must be so proud." But still Evan refused to come out from his hiding place, so Lucy dropped her outstretched arms and stepped back. Shrugging, she smiled at Josh. Her smile broadened as she looked him up and down, and Josh recognized a speculative gleam in her eye, a gleam which made him feel a little nervous. "It's been a while since we've seen you too, Josh," Lucy said flirtatiously. "So, you're what, sixteen now? You've gotten so handsome, all dark-dark hair and those pretty eyes. I would kill for your lashes." She batted her own mascara-ed lashes. "Don't tell me you don't have a girlfriend yet, Josh, 'cause if you don't, we should talk--"

Josh shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot and tried to think of something appropriate to say. He knew she was kidding ... he was sure she was kidding, but.... She was just making him feel all tongue-tied and awkward and wishing he could be like Evan and hide behind someone too.

Luckily, Claudia walked into the reception area before Lucy could make any more embarrassing comments. Claudia was giving last-minute instructions to a nervous new-puppy owner, and the sound of her voice made Josh breathe a sigh of relief.

The sound of her voice also caught Evan's attention. As soon as she walked the puppy-owner out of the clinic and walked back inside the reception area, Evan ran to her and asked to be picked up, which she did with practiced ease. Without even waiting for her to settle him in her arms, Evan started to tell her about the ducks.

Watching them, Josh could only marvel at his sister's strength. Claudia was small and fragile-looking like their mom, but she was strong enough to carry a growing five-year old boy as if he were no heavier than a cat, and she had been strong enough for the past five years to be both mother and father to him too. Claudia was one of his heroes, Josh thought, for good reason ... and the good thing about Claudia was that she didn't drive him crazy the way his other heroes -- his mom and dad -- tended to, at least lately.

"Hey, Claudia," Lucy said in a teasing voice. "I was just about to ask your brother for a date. He's gotten so handsome...."

Claudia looked up from Evan long enough to flash Josh a sympathetic smile before turning to the bubble-headed receptionist. "Lucy, are you actually flirting with my little brother?"

Lucy smiled unrepentantly. "I can't help it. There are too many good-looking men in your family. Your dad, your uncles, your cousins, your brother, your son.... They're all taken except for Evan and Josh. I figure Evan is too young for me, but Josh ... now Josh, I might have a chance at."

Laughing, Claudia shook her head. "You're incorrigible, Lucy. No man or boy is safe around you."

Maureen the main receptionist, who Josh thought was a much more sensible person than Lucy was, rolled her eyes at Lucy's nonsense and handed Claudia her next patient file.

Immediately back in her professional persona, Claudia set Evan back down on his feet and scanned the contact sheet. After her quick review, she beckoned her last appointment, the old man with the cat carrier. "Do you mind, Mr. Gonzalez," she asked him, "if my brother and son sit in on the appointment?"

Mr. Gonzalez stood up, clutching his cat carrier to his chest, and said, "I have no problem with them."

Claudia led Mr. Gonzalez and his cat, plus Josh and Evan, into the examination room. The two boys sat quietly while Claudia worked. They watched Mr. Gonzalez ask hundreds of questions until finally he was satisfied that his cat's hairballs were not a sign that his beloved Pedro was coughing up a lung. He put his beloved Pedro back into his carrier and got up to leave with a sincere "muchas graçias" to Claudia. Claudia said she would walk him out.

When she left with Mr. Gonzalez, Claudia left the door to the examination room slightly ajar.

Josh was watching Evan to make sure that he didn't knock anything over, especially the glass canisters filled with wooden sticks and cotton balls that he seemed to be trying to see his reflection in, when a tall lanky man stuck his head into the examination room. Josh guessed that he was another vet because he was wearing a labcoat.

"Claudia, I was just about to head out to pick up the kids--" the man said, then he hesitated when he saw Josh. "Excuse me," he said, "I didn't know anyone else was in here." Josh noticed that the man's voice had a lilt to it, almost a burr, like he was from Scotland or something. (Josh had watched "Trainspotting" enough times to recognize a Scottish accent when he heard one, although this man's accent was nowhere near as thick as the Glaswegian accents of "Trainspotting"'s anti-heroes.)

Evan, who had slipped behind Josh to hide as soon as he'd heard a stranger enter the room, popped out as soon as he recognized the stranger's lilting accent. "Niall!" Evan said happily as he threw himself around the man's knees. "Where's Gavin? Did you bring him here too 'cause if you did, we could play together."

Shocked, Josh stared down at his nephew who hardly ever talked to anyone except his closest family and who definitely never hugged anyone except his closest family, who was talking to and hugging a strange man.

And that was when Claudia came back. She stopped on the threshold of the examination room as soon as she saw their visitor, much as the visitor had done when he'd seen Josh. "Niall!" she exclaimed, and Josh noticed there was a warmth in her voice that he hadn't heard in ages. The warmth was still there when she continued, "I didn't know you were still here."

There was a peculiar, awkward moment when Josh was afraid the tall lanky guy -- Niall -- would kiss Claudia or something. Niall looked like he wanted to. And Claudia looked like she wanted him to too....

Josh moaned to himself. He had thought his week couldn't get worse but some random guy hitting on his sister definitely made it worse. Although maybe it wasn't exactly hitting on her.... In fact, Josh thought as he watched them, all they needed to do was that stare-into-my-eyes-soulmate-thing, and everything would be absolutely and completely perfect....

Josh was profoundly relieved when no one kissed anybody. Niall just smiled at Claudia, and Claudia smiled back, and then Niall gently detached Evan from around his knees, telling him, "I'm sorry, Evan. Gavin is at home with the girls and the babysitter. But you'll see him tonight."

And Evan did his little happy dance at the thought of seeing whoever-Gavin-was tonight.

And Niall gave Claudia another one of those soft smiles that reminded Josh of something that he knew he should remember, and then Niall left, and Josh realized that he was beginning to get a bad feeling in his stomach about tonight.

So he decided to find out as much about tonight ahead of time as possible. "So, Claudia. Who is this guy, this Niall?"

"He's coming to dinner tonight," Claudia said. She avoided looking at him, concentrated instead on putting her stethoscope and files away. "Mom called to let me know about the dinner, so I invited him." She glanced up quickly then looked back down just as quickly. "I thought Mom and Dad should meet him."

"He's a co-worker?" Josh asked hopefully.

Claudia's eyes twinkled as she nodded.

Josh stared at her, feeling the bad feeling in his stomach become a worse feeling when he saw that twinkle. "He's more than a co-worker," he said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Claudia agreed, even though it definitely hadn't been a question.

Josh took a deep breath. "Okaaaay. Great. He's a co-worker but he's more than a co-worker. Anything else I need to know about this guy?"

"He's bringing his three kids to dinner tonight."

Josh thought he reacted admirably. He just nodded and concentrated on breathing in and out....

It wasn't that he wasn't happy for Claudia because he was. It was just that he was like their dad, and that meant he was supposed to protect the family. That was his responsibility. He was supposed to protect Claudia even if she was older than he was, even if she'd proven time and time again that she was stronger than just about anyone he knew. Really, it wasn't that he wasn't happy for Claudia, it was just, just.... "Great. That's really great, Claudia. So. How serious is this? Is this just a fun thing? Or is it a fun-maybe-serious thing? Or is it a fun-definitely-probably-serious thing? Or are we talking a definitely-serious-his-three-kids-are-gonna-be-your-nephews-Josh thing?"

Claudia reached up to ruffle Josh's hair. "Just one more nephew and two nieces. But that's a little ways down the road."

"Don't do that," Josh said absently. He stared at his sister. "How did this happen?"

Claudia laughed as if she knew what was going on in Josh's head; that happened a lot in his family. "The way these things usually happen, I suppose," she said. "I met him because of Evan. Evan and his son Gavin gravitated towards each other at their preschool because of their similar-sounding names. Niall and I actually have a lot in common. Our sons are the same age. We're both vets, although he usually works with large animals." She paused infinitesimally. "Niall's wife died soon after his youngest daughter was born."

As he watched Claudia blink rapidly and bury her heart and soul in her last-minute tidying, Josh felt thoroughly ashamed of himself. Claudia never said much about Tom, who had died from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma before Evan was born, but Josh knew she missed him. Sometimes Josh thought he saw a glimmer of pain in her eyes when she saw their parents give each other one of their patented soulmate looks. It hadn't been easy for her these past five years.... What right did he, her little brother, have to be giving her the third degree over some guy she was dating, anyway? In apology, Josh wrapped his arms around his much smaller big sister and kissed the top of her head.

And Claudia smiled as if she understood and tilted her head to let him know that he shouldn't worry about it or her. And Josh was impressed all over again by his strong, amazing sister--

And then Claudia hurried away to stop Evan from walking into the wall he couldn't see because the metal pan he had put on his head to pretend he was the Great Bulshapruti's nephew had slipped over his eyes. She took the metal pan off Evan's head, put it down on the examination table, and said sternly, "You need to sit still for a minute, mister."

Immediately Evan sat down cross-legged on the floor, and Claudia laughed at his literal interpretation of obedience. "Evan, sweetie," she said, crouching down. "Let me wipe your face. You look like a chimney sweep out of Dickens." While she was scrubbing Evan's face, Claudia said over her shoulder, "So, Josh, I heard you have a guest coming to dinner too."

Josh watched Claudia scrub at a stubborn black mark on Evan's cheek. "Yeah. At this rate, our house is gonna be as full as Uncle Michael and Aunt Maria's at Thanksgiving."

"Dad was telling me about her. Andrea."

Josh groaned. "You're kidding. Does everyone know?"

"You know Dad is hopeless at keeping secrets, especially from me and Mom," Claudia laughed. "Although this one wasn't exactly a secret, I understand." She looked up from Evan to smile at Josh. "Dad said she's a pretty special girl."

"What does that mean?"

Claudia stood up with Evan in her arms. "I'm not sure. You should ask him."

Josh rubbed a hand wearily across his forehead. "You're a lot like them, you know that?"

Claudia smiled. "Like who?"

"Mom and Dad."

Claudia stood on tiptoe to kiss Josh's cheek. "Thank you. That's the nicest thing anyone said to me all day."

"You would take that as a compliment."

"You would too," Claudia said, reaching up to ruffle Josh's hair.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Josh said irritably. He tried to scoot out of reach. "Are you ready to go home yet, Claudia?"

* * * *

Book 5 - Claudia

In the car on the way home, Claudia listened to Evan's duck story for the fifth time. She never tired of hearing him chatter. Josh, on the other hand....

She studied her little brother as he drove them competently through the streets of Roswell. The past week had been hard on him. She knew this because their parents had kept her up-to-date on everything that had happened since the shooting at the Crashdown. Josh's usual calm and patience had dissolved in all the revelations of the last week.

Probably, Claudia thought wryly, she shouldn't have dumped her Niall revelation on him just yet ... although she hadn't had much of a choice, considering Niall and his three children were coming over for dinner.

Thinking of that dinner, Claudia said, "I know Mom and Dad have probably been driving you nuts lately with their stories about destiny and card games and choosing to be meant. I don't want to drive you nuts, Josh. That's what parents are for, and I'm just your sister." She winked at Evan who was strapped into the toddler car seat in the back. "I'm saving up all my driving-son-crazy points for when Evan gets a little older." She smiled at Josh and touched his arm lightly. "I don't want to drive you crazy. I just want to tell you one thing." She took a deep breath. "Josh, you need to choose to be happy. You need to take your happiness wherever you find it or whenever it finds you. I nearly lost my happiness the first time around with Tom and then I found it again with Tom. And then Tom died. But now that I've found Niall, I've found a new happiness, and I'm not going to let it go. You shouldn't either. Don't waste time with Andrea. If Dad's right and she's special, don't waste time."

Claudia saw Josh glance quickly at her then refocus on the road in front of them. But she could tell he was listening so she continued.

"When I was small and we lived in Boston and I had Mom and Dad all to myself--" she poked him teasingly in the ribs-- "Mom used to read the Anne of Green Gables books out loud to me at night to put me to sleep. There was a line in one of them that really struck me, a line that I still remember. It was when Anne realized how close she had come to losing her one true love Gilbert because her foolish pride had never let her realize how much she loved him. The line was: 'There is a book of Revelation in every one's life.'" Claudia smiled at Josh. "Josh, don't let your book of revelation come and go without reading the truth written on its pages."

Josh shot another quick glance at her then smiled to himself as he turned on to their street. He didn't actually respond until he had turned into their driveway. After he parked the car, he twisted in his seat to face her.

"Claudia," he said gently. "You don't need to worry. I know what I need to do. I know what I'm supposed to do."

And at that moment, Claudia realized that her little brother wasn't just her little brother anymore. She saw in his eyes, his amber-dark eyes which were so much like hers and Evan's and their father's, the leader he was destined to be. Josh had always had a destiny waiting for him, a destiny beyond any of them, beyond their parents, beyond their aunts and uncles, beyond any of their cousins. Josh was the one. He was the first-born son of the leader, Joshua, the one whose job it was to lead the Chosen People to freedom. A world was waiting for him....

And then that moment was over, and Joshua was just Josh, her little brother, a teenaged boy who was worried about telling a girl he liked her.

They went inside after that, and Claudia saw that the girl Josh liked, Andrea, was already there, talking with their mom in the kitchen. Claudia watched Josh take Andrea outside to show her the garden and his old treehouse, then--

"Can I go play in the treehouse when Gavin comes?" Evan asked, tugging Claudia's sleeve to get her attention.

And Claudia bent down to hug her son. "Of course you can, sweetie. As long as it's still light, you can play in the treehouse."

"Thanks, Mommy! I really wanted to show Gavin the treehouse. Gavin has never played in one before, so I promised I would show him how. Once he knows how, Gavin'll be happy, won't he, Mommy?"

"Of course he will, Evan--"

"Will Gavin be here soon, Mommy?" Evan was bouncing up and down at the thought of Gavin's arrival.

Claudia smiled at Evan's excitement. "I think so."

Evan danced around excitedly for a little while longer, then he stopped. He gave her a thoughtful look. "Mommy, what does happiness feel like?"

Claudia glanced out the window, looking for Niall and his three children who would be there soon. In the garden, near the famous treehouse, she saw two teenagers smiling tentatively at each other. In another part of the garden, she saw her parents wrapped up in each other's arms and their own little world.

"What does happiness feel like?" she repeated as she bent down to hug Evan again. She smiled into his baby-soft dark hair. "Happiness is forever, Evan. Like this."

Back to the Future Arc