Disclaimer: This is a "fan fiction". Any resemblance between the characters, settings, plots, and dialogue in this story and the characters, settings, plots, and dialogues owned by Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, Warner Brothers, and Pocket Books is slightly more than coincidental. Unlike Katims, Metz, Warner, and Pocket I am not making the slightest bit of money off of all this work. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Jason, consider yourself flattered.

Premise: It really was just a weather balloon.

mulligan A second shot that is allowed to be taken in friendly play when the player has “muffed” the first one. – the Golfer’s Dictionary

September 23rd. Journal entry one. I’m Liz Parker and five days ago I almost died. After that, things got really weird....

Wednesday

“This isn’t the only burger joint in town, you know? There’s one just down the street that’s twice as cheap and half as tacky. And you aren’t even listening to me, are you, Maxwell?” The brown-haired boy glared across the table at his companion then over his shoulder to see what fascinating sight was so distracting. The only thing that Michael could see was that waitress. He shook his head and turned back to snag a few fries from his oblivious friend’s plate. He honestly couldn’t see what was so amazing about Liz Parker, but apparently something about her had commandeered all of Max Evans’ higher brain functions.

Michael studied Max thoughtfully. All things considered, he mused, it really was a wonder that they were friends at all. Liz Parker’s charm wasn’t the only thing that they were at odds over. In fact, they rarely agreed on much of anything. Ironically, he realized, that’s exactly what had brought them together in the first place. Max’s father had always taught him that fighting was wrong. Michael... well, nobody had ever taught Michael anything. So, when nine-year-old Kyle Valenti had decided to pound on Max the pacifist way back in third grade Michael had decided to step in and even things up. Needless to say, he and Kyle had never gotten along well since. Max, on the other hand, had become his best buddy. Michael had found that twist in the scenario rather peculiar until he realized that the quiet Evans boy had nearly as many friends as Michael himself - which was to say, none. The bond that had formed between the two lonely outsiders so many years ago had survived despite their numerous disagreements. Liz Parker was just the latest. It would probably survive her, too.

Since Max didn’t seem to be in the mood to hold up his end of the conversation Michael scanned the restaurant disinterestedly. He could never work in a place like this, he thought as he watched a couple of trucker-types harass one of the waitresses. He just didn’t have the people skills. He’d probably snap his first day on the job and dump an entire dinner in somebody’s lap out of sheer exasperation. He was impressed that Firecracker DeLuca had managed to stay employed here as long as she had. Probably had something to do with being the best friend of the owners’ daughter. His eyes followed her absently as she walked toward the cash register. DeLuca and Parker, he thought. They were as mismatched a set of best friends as Guerin and Evans. He shook his head and turned back to Max.

“Can I have the rest of these fries before you drool all over them?” he asked. Max finally looked at him and frowned.

“I’m not drooling.”

“Mop it up, Maximilian. You’re completely slack-jaw. It’s bad enough that you ogle her three classes a day. I draw the line at sitting here watching you make a fool of yourself after school, too.”

“I don’t ogle. Besides, I doubt she’d notice if I did.”

“Yeah, right...” Whatever else Michael might have been planning to say was interrupted by a disturbance on the other side of the diner.

“You ask me to give you another day?” one of the truckers he had noticed earlier was shouting. “You’re running outta time!” The man swept his arm across the table, sending plates and glasses shattering onto the tile floor.

“Liz!” Maria called frantically. It was obvious that she *didn’t* want to deal with this situation alone.

“I want the money today. NOT tomorrow!”

Michael stared in shock as the second man stood and pulled a gun. The argument had captured the attention of every patron in the restaurant. Most of them wisely dove for the floor at the sight of the gun. Michael flattened in the booth and peripherally noted that Max did the same. He’d seen this a million times in the movies, he thought as he watched the two men struggling for control of the weapon. It was almost inevitable that the tightly gripped gun would go off. Still, he flinched when it did. The shot roared in the small diner. The truckers seemed as startled as anyone else. They stumbled over one another in their haste to reach the door. Michael sat up slowly. No damage done, he thought in relief. Then he heard Maria’s soft voice behind him.

“Liz...”

Max was on his feet instantly. Michael glanced over his shoulder and saw Liz lying limp on the floor. His hand automatically rose to halt Max as he passed.

“What are you doing?” Max asked impatiently. “Let go of me.”

“Max, what are you gonna do?”

Instead of answering Max pushed his arm away. “Call an ambulance,” he told Maria as he brushed past her, too.

Michael stared blankly at his friend’s back. He had no idea what Max thought he was doing. He doubted that Max did either. Even from this distance he could see the blood soaking Liz’s uniform. That couldn’t be good. He could hear Max murmuring reassurances to her.

“Oh my god!” a woman beside him whispered.

“Hey, get back!” he ordered without thinking. If Liz was badly wounded, he doubted that she would want an audience of tourists gawking at her. He shoved the woman back toward the rest of the customers and stood defensively between Max and Liz and the rest of the restaurant. He glared at them, daring anyone else to try coming near.

“Towels!” Max shouted. “Maria, bring me some towels!”

The blonde girl left the phone swinging as she scooped up an armful of dishtowels. She dumped them on the floor beside Max and knelt down.

“Come on, Lizzie. Hang in there,” she said. “You’re gonna be all right. Right, Max? She’s gonna be okay?”

“She’ll be fine. You’ll be fine, Liz. Liz, you have to look at me. Stay with us, Liz.”

Michael didn’t dare glance back over his shoulder again. Just hearing it was bad enough. The desperation in their voices was heart-wrenching. Liz was dying. He could tell by the way they sounded. Maria was on the verge of hysteria. Max’s voice was too tight and too controlled. Michael knew that he was terrified. The wail of a siren cut through his bleak thoughts.

“Get outta the way!” he shouted at the stunned customers who were still milling about the diner aimlessly. He shoved forearm and shoulder against anyone in front of him as he cleared a path to the door. The paramedics swiftly carried a stretcher in and just as swiftly carried Liz out again. Michael turned when he realized that Max was standing beside him.

“You okay?” he asked. Max merely stared past him at the departing ambulance. “Maxwell? Max?” He watched anxiously as Max looked down at his hands. They were covered in blood. Liz’s blood. Michael put a hand on his arm and began to steer him toward the restroom in the back. He turned on the faucet and had to pull Max’s hands under the water. Max stood passively as Michael scrubbed at the blood. After several minutes Michael turned off the water and dropped a paper towel into Max’s hands. When they emerged from the restroom they were immediately stopped by the sheriff’s deputy.

“You boys want to give me your version of what happened here?”

“You’ve got a roomful of witnesses,” Michael snapped. “We saw what they saw.”

“I’m going to need something a little more specific than that, son.”

Michael bristled slightly at the nickname and waved a hand impatiently toward the front of the restaurant. “Two guys. Big fight. Gun. Shot. Ran.”

The deputy frowned at him then turned to Max. “What about you? Care to add anything to your friend’s account?” Max simply stared back at him. “You all right?”

Michael snorted. “He’s in shock. Can we go?”

“He’s the one who tried to help the girl?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re friends of the girl?”

“Her name is Liz,” Max said quietly. “Liz Parker.”

Michael nodded. “Yeah, we’re friends.”

The deputy looked at them both thoughtfully for a moment and his expression softened. “Let me get your names and numbers just in case we need to ask you anything else later and then you two can head home. I’m real sorry about that… about Ms. Parker.”

Michael quickly rattled off his own information and Max’s, too, then began herding Max toward the jeep.

“Give me the keys, Max.”

Max obligingly dug the car keys out of his pocket and climbed into the passenger’s seat. He stared expressionlessly at the hood. Michael slid behind the wheel.

“The hospital,” Max said abruptly. “We have to go to the hospital.”

“Why? There’s nothing you can do.”

“I can be there. I have to be there.” His emotionless face was suddenly desperate and pleading. Michael couldn’t do anything but cave in.

* * * * *

Maria DeLuca paced across the waiting room floor one more time then threw herself into one of the hideous plastic chairs. Her best friend was dying and there wasn’t anything that she could do. They weren’t even letting her close to the emergency room. Liz had been her best friend since… since forever. They were practically sisters. Closer than sisters. She couldn’t be dying, Maria thought desperately. She just couldn’t be. It was all just a bad dream. A horrible dream. She was gonna wake up in the middle of history class any minute now and they’d all have a good laugh about it. She choked back a sob and began pacing again.

“Liz Parker?” someone asked.

Maria’s head shot up immediately. Max Evans and Michael Guerin stood at the receptionist’s desk. Max looked shell-shocked, she thought. She wondered if that was how she looked, too. Michael looked edgy. But then he always looked edgy. She hurried over to them.

“They won’t tell me anything,” she stormed. The two boys turned to stare at her.

“I’m sorry,” the nurse behind them said. “There just isn’t anything to tell you right now. The doctors will have to speak with her parents first anyway.”

“Are they here?” Michael asked.

Maria nodded. “They’re in the waiting room just outside the ER. They won’t let me back there, either.”

“You’re welcome to wait out here,” the nurse began. Maria glared at her. The nurse turned away to answer the phone.

Max headed slowly toward the plastic chairs and sat down against the wall. Michael slouched in a seat across from him on the opposite side. Maria sighed and picked a spot halfway between them. They were worse than no company at all, she thought as she looked back and forth at them. She had been frightened enough sitting here all by herself, but staring at the two blank-faced boys made it suddenly seem so much more real. If they were here then she couldn’t pretend that it was all just some misunderstanding.

“Max?” she said softly. He looked up at her with dead eyes. “Thank you. For at the diner… for trying…”

“She’ll be fine, Maria,” he said. “She’ll be fine.”

“But Max,” she whispered. “There was so much blood…” He was smart, she knew. They had classes together. He was as smart as Liz. She wanted him to tell her something that sounded certain and honest and reassuring. She would believe him if he gave her a reason that Liz would be okay. His quick, mechanical response didn’t reassure her at all. “Max?” she asked again. But he merely looked down at his hands and didn’t answer.

“They wouldn’t be taking so long if they weren’t doing something.”

She whirled to stare at Michael. “What?”

He shrugged. “If she was dead they would have told you by now. They haven’t. That means they’re still fighting for her.”

It was a blunt and rather peculiar line of reasoning, but she leapt at it. It almost made sense. Maybe the longer they took the better chance Liz had. Liz was tough. She was a fighter. She’d be okay, right? Maria leaned back a little in the chair and began digging through the pockets of her uniform. When she found the vial that she was looking for she unscrewed the cap and took a deep breath. She nearly dropped it when Michael sat down beside her.

“What is that?”

“Cypress oil. It settles the nerves.”

“I’m guessing it doesn’t work real well,” he said as he watched her try to put the cap back on. She almost dropped it again as he took it out of her shaking hands. He looked at her skeptically then took a tentative sniff… and promptly sneezed. Her subsequent giggle bordered on hysteria. He gave her a quirky half-grin and handed the sealed bottle back to her. “I think I’m allergic.”

“Figures,” she murmured. “So, what are you guys doing here now?”

He shrugged again. “Max,” he said simply.

She glanced over at the still silent boy and nodded. “So, I was right,” she said softly.

“Right about what?”

“Oh,” she gave Michael a startled look, embarrassed to have spoken that thought aloud. “Uh, nothing… just…” she sighed. “Just that he *was* watching her at the Crashdown.”

“At the Crashdown,” he agreed. “In geometry, at lunch, in history…”

She giggled again. “He has it that bad?”

“Yeah.”

They lapsed back into silence. Nothing had changed, but somehow she felt a little better. She looked at Michael out of the corner of her eye. They’d had classes together on and off for years but had never really been friends. In fact, the only times that she could remember talking to him recently were when he mooched notebook paper off her in history class and when she took his order at the Crashdown. It was strange that she found his presence so comforting now. Not as comforting as say, Alex Whitman would have been, but definitely better than someone like Kyle Valenti. She wasn’t sure how long they sat there without speaking.

“Thanks,” she said finally.

“For what?”

“For being here. For staying here with me.”

He shrugged. It was a gesture she was already becoming familiar with. “It’s Max’s car. I’m kinda stuck.”

“Maria?”

All three young people looked up at the sound of her name. Maria flew instantly into the arms of Mrs. Parker.

“Is she all right?” Maria asked, her voice muffled by the older woman’s shoulder. “Is she okay?”

“She’s… she’s stable,” Liz’s father said slowly. “She’s…” His wife reached out to him and Maria stepped back.

“She’s stable,” Mrs. Parker said as she looked at the children. “But it’s still very serious. She’s in a coma.”

“When will she come out of it?” Maria asked. “Soon, right?”

“They don’t know,” Mrs. Parker shook her head. “They’re moving her to ICU. It’s only family right now, Maria. I’m sorry.”

Maria nodded numbly as Liz’s parents headed for the elevators. She could feel Michael and Max standing behind her.

“You okay?” Michael asked. She nodded again. He caught her arm as her knees buckled and eased her into a chair. “Breathe, Maria,” he told her. “Breathe.”

But she couldn’t. She bent over; nose to knees, gasping. Alive, she thought. Liz is alive. Coma was bad, but it was better than dead. A lot better than dead. Liz could have been dead. Dead. The tears that she had held in until then spilled out. She didn’t understand why she could cry now when she couldn’t before, but suddenly she began to sob. Once they started it was as if a wall inside her crumbled and she couldn’t stop. Great, wracking sobs shook her, tearing at her throat and lungs. She squeezed her eyes shut fiercely, but the tears flowed anyway. She was barely aware of the arm that wrapped around her shoulders or the hand that awkwardly stroked her hair or the soft voice that murmured encouragingly.

Gradually her torrent of tears slowed and she realized that although the voice belonged to Max it was Michael who held her. She covered her face with her hands and wiped at her eyes in embarrassment. When she finally screwed up the courage to look at them, she was a little relieved to see that both boys looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. Michael quickly pulled his arm away as she sat up. Max gave her a wobbly smile. Knowing that Liz really was still alive seemed to jolt him out of his shock, too, she noted. “Sorry,” she said.

“It’s okay,” Max replied. “I think you’ve held up pretty well, all things considered.”

She returned his shaky smile and turned to Michael. Now that Max had regained the power of coherent speech Michael seemed to have lost his. He gave her a quick nod and looked away. She sighed. Then she sat bolt upright. “The Crashdown!”

“What about it?” Max asked.

“You guys left after I did, right? Did anybody lock up?”

The boys exchanged blank looks.

“Cops were crawling all over the place,” Michael said finally.

“Did you see any other employees?” Again, the blank looks. “Of course not,” she muttered to herself. “I have to do everything. Probably left the front door standing wide open. I bet the cash drawer is completely empty. We’ll have raccoons or rats or something, too.” She stopped abruptly as she realized that the boys were staring at her. “What?”

“Raccoons?” Michael asked with a smirk that she suddenly remembered was very annoying.

“I’ve got to get back,” she said firmly. “I don’t want the Parkers to have anything else to worry about. I have to take care of it.”

Max nodded. “I’m gonna stay for a little while longer.”

“There’s nothing you can do here, Maxwell,” Michael said.

“I know. I just… need to think for a while.”

Boy, he does have it bad, she thought. She glanced back at Michael. He was eyeing Max worriedly. Then he threw Maria an unusually timid look.

“Can I get a ride back with you?” he asked. She nodded almost without thinking. “Later, man,” he said as he tossed Max a set of keys. “Drive careful, okay?”

Maria watched him punch Max gently on the shoulder and wondered for the five millionth time why boys couldn’t show affection like normal people. Somehow she could tell that in his own odd way Michael cared just as much about Max as she did about Liz. There was something reassuring about that, she thought as they walked across the hospital parking lot. It was something that she could relate to.

“Whoa,” Michael said softly as they approached her car. “You’re lucky they haven’t towed you.”

“I was a little stressed,” she said defensively.

“You’re taking up two spaces and the front wheels are in a flower bed. I think you flattened a shrub.”

“Do you want to walk?”

He held up his hands and ducked his head meekly. She fumbled in her pockets for the Jetta’s keys. A stubby pencil, some change, and her keys slipped through her fingers and scattered across the pavement. Michael had scooped most of it up before she could even focus on all the spinning nickels.

“You’re not doing as well as you think you are,” he said quietly. She looked down at her hands and was surprised to see that they were trembling. “I’ll drive.” He dumped the coins into her hand and folded her fingers around them. She held the seventy-eight cents tightly as he unlocked the passenger door.

“This is my mom’s car,” she told him. “If anything happens to it I will personally beat you.”

He gave her a strangely startled look then nodded.

* * * * *

Max leaned back in his chair and smiled faintly as he watched Michael trail Maria across the hospital lobby. Although Michael would deny it to his dying breath, Max knew that his friend had fierce protective instincts. Generally those instincts only flared up if anything threatened Max or Max’s sister, Isabel. He was a little amused to see that Michael’s protective act had somehow expanded to include a flaky blonde waitress today. Okay, so maybe Maria DeLuca wasn’t exactly a flake, he thought. She really had managed to stay pretty levelheaded this afternoon. His smile faded as he glanced back toward the elevators where Liz’s parents had long since disappeared.

He hoped that she would be all right. She had to be all right. He couldn’t imagine a world without Liz Parker in it. They weren’t close or even really friends, but she’d been in his life for almost as long as he had memories--the slight, dark-haired girl who somehow sang to his heart. She was as much a part of his world as Isabel and Michael. She was more than his lab partner and the girl he’d known since third grade. Somehow he felt sometimes like they were meant to be--but that could also just be his wishful thinking too...

Max sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. Her parents had seemed so shaken. He didn’t even want to think about how his mom and dad would feel if he or Izzy were ever in a car accident or shot. Just the image of all that blood spilling out of her pale stomach--that gash of red across the pearl-white flesh. If only he could have done something to save her, could have healed her somehow...

But he was only human.

And so, like every other human, he had to wait and see.

* * * * *

For a guy with no wheels of his own, Michael thought as he pulled into the alley behind the Crashdown, he sure was doing a lot of driving today. Chatterbox DeLuca had muttered quietly to herself the whole way back. He was a little relieved that she didn’t seem to expect him to respond. He wasn’t quite certain what had happened back at the hospital. One minute she’d been fine, the next she was sobbing all over his shirt. The sheer violence of her tears had scared him. His own response to them had been just as frightening. He was sure that he hadn’t meant to put his arm around her. He had just wanted her to stop crying. Then she seemed so tiny and fragile beneath his arm and suddenly all he could think of was how much he wished he could make everything all right again for her. He had tried to clear his head of such ridiculous thoughts, but instead he found himself driving her back to the diner.

He pulled into one of the employee parking spaces and looked curiously at Maria’s key chain as he turned off the engine. The little green alien had a screw drilled into the top of its plastic head to attach it to the ring. He shook his head as he handed the keys back to her.

“What?” she asked at his expression. “My mom makes ‘em.”

He rolled his eyes. If the aliens ever really did come to Earth, he thought, this town was gonna have a lot of explaining to do. As Maria had predicted, the diner was unlocked. He followed her through the breakroom and into the kitchen. It didn’t look like anyone had bothered to clean up.

“I’m gonna kill Jose the next time I see him,” Maria muttered as she picked up a dishrag. Then she stopped abruptly and paled. He moved quickly to her side. He knew immediately what she was staring at.

“You got a mop?” he asked as he pushed her past the blood and stained towels and into the dining area. Neither she nor the Parkers really needed to see this.

Maria nodded mutely and pointed toward the kitchen. He stood between her and the grisly reminder until she began to mechanically bus the abandoned tables. When he was certain that she was occupied he kicked the towels into the puddle and headed back to find the mop. It occurred to him briefly that they were probably destroying a crime scene. That didn’t deter him from shoveling the towels into a garbage bag. Or dumping a bucket of water on the floor. Or scrubbing at the stain furiously until no trace of blood remained. He looked up in surprise as the front door chimes sounded.

“Alex!” Maria cried.

Michael felt something hot rush across his skin as he watched her throw herself into the arms of the boy who had just entered the restaurant. Alex Whitman, he thought. The third musketeer. Alex, Maria, and Liz were virtually inseparable at school. He should have expected Whitman to show up sooner or later. If he’d thought about it, though, he probably would have expected Alex to show up at the hospital, not here. He felt a little awkward as he watched Maria filling Alex in on the afternoon’s events. It was almost as if he was an intruder on their private grief. Liz was their friend. He was just a guy who had a few classes with them. He doubted that Maria even remembered that he was still there. He picked up the garbage bag and headed out the back door. Hopefully the Parkers had more dishtowels, he thought as he heaved the ruined ones into the dumpster. He glanced back at the Crashdown then turned toward the street.

* * * * *

“So, it’s true,” Alex said in a flat, stunned tone. “Liz really was shot.” Maria nodded and continued her narrative. He barely heard her garbled rendition of events as he tried to absorb the shock. He’d been in the record shop down the street when the store clerk asked if he had heard about the Crashdown shooting yet. His mind had refused to believe any of it until he’d come here to see it for himself. At three in the afternoon the Crashdown should have been jumping. Instead, all Alex had seen was an empty diner and Maria picking broken plates up off the floor.

Even now, he had a hard time believing that Liz had been shot. That was just something that you saw on the news. It wasn’t something that happened to your best friend. He couldn’t imagine it happening to Liz. He had known her since elementary school. She was one of the closest people in the world to him. At least, from what he could gather from Maria’s rambling she seemed to be in stable condition. As he continued to stare at the trashed restaurant more and more of the story slowly began to sink in. Something about Max Evans. Good guy, he thought distractedly. He wasn’t at all surprised that Max would have tried to help Liz. Despite being pretty shy, Max was always ready to lend a helping hand to anybody in need. Strangely, the name Michael kept cropping up in Maria’s account, too, accompanied by an odd gesture toward the back of the diner. Michael? Michael Guerin? Made sense, he supposed. Where Evans went, Guerin generally wasn’t far behind. Maria’s waving toward the kitchen every time she mentioned him was a bit peculiar though. He looked at her then as her voice trailed off. She wore a puzzled expression.

“Maria? Are you all right?”

“Huh? Yeah,” she nodded. “I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“Do you think it would be okay if I go by the hospital?” he asked.

“They won’t let you see her.”

“I know,” he said. “But I kinda just want to be there. Moral support, you know. Even if she doesn’t know I’m there. I just feel like I need to be.”

She gave him a pale version of her usual brilliant smile. “You and Max can keep each other company,” she said.

“You’ll be all right here by yourself?”

She frowned and looked back at the kitchen. “Yeah,” she said. She gave him another hug and a steadier smile. “I’ll be fine. Go.”

“She’ll be okay, Maria.”

“I know.”

She has to be, he thought. He didn’t know what they’d do without her.

* * * * *

Thursday

“Do you think Mom and Dad would get us a CD player for this thing for our birthday?” Isabel asked as she leaned between the jeep’s seats to change the radio station. Michael turned it again as soon as she sat back. Of course, he would pick something awful, she thought. She thumped his shoulder in annoyance and glared at him. He didn’t seem to notice.

“The tape deck works fine,” her brother told her.

Isabel sighed wearily as they pulled out of the school parking lot. She slouched lower in the seat and hoped that it was perfectly clear to anyone close enough to hear that she had nothing to do with the choice of radio stations. They were hopeless, she decided. Despite all her attempts to turn them into decent human beings they seemed determined to be complete dorks instead. She had it on good authority that several girls in their class thought that Max was cute and she’d lost track of the number of times someone had tried to wrangle an introduction to her backwards brother or his broody best friend out of her. But Max was too shy to string three words together in front of a pretty girl and Michael couldn’t carry on a conversation if you gave him a script. She had long since given up on trying to set either of them up with one of her friends. Max merely turned red and stuttered. Michael would just look bored and walk away. She knew that both of them thought most of her friends were mindless and shallow anyway. They were right, she admitted, but at least she *had* friends and she had fun. A lot of fun. None of which was happening right now.

“Where are we going, Max?” she asked as they failed to turn at their usual corner.

“Hospital,” he said. She could have sworn that Michael’s eyes looked suddenly brighter for a moment before settling back into his usual aloof expression.

“Why?” she frowned suspiciously.

“To see how Liz is doing today.”

She bit her lip worriedly as she stared at the back of his head. He had been acting weird ever since yesterday evening and she was concerned about him. She knew that seeing the girl he’d had a crush on for absolutely ages get shot right in front of him had shaken him badly. Michael hadn’t exactly been a picture of normalcy either. Both of them had been in some kind of fog all day. The school was buzzing with news of Liz’s accident, but the two guys closest to the action hadn’t said much of anything about it. And now Max was dragging all of them to the hospital.

When they arrived at Roswell Memorial all three of them climbed out of the jeep. Isabel rolled her eyes as Michael ran his hand lightly across the hood of the little red Volkswagen that Max had parked beside. That strange light was back in his eyes as he looked at the car almost wistfully. There’s no accounting for taste, she thought, wrinkling her nose at the tacky sparkling stickers on the back window.

“You coming?” Max asked.

Michael shook his head.

Max nodded and turned to Isabel. Either sit out here on a concrete bench with Mr. Nonverbal Fashion Disaster or follow Dork Brother Extraordinaire inside to check on a girl who barely acknowledged his existence. Decisions, decisions. She sighed and gestured for Max to lead the way. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about Liz Parker, she thought as she followed her brother to the main desk. She and Liz just never had much contact. She did feel awful about what had happened to the other girl, but she wasn’t sure what good it was doing for them to be here.

She was surprised to hear the woman at the desk give Max a room number and directions. Liz was still in a coma, but it seemed that both the doctors and her parents had decided that allowing friends to visit and “talk” to her couldn’t do any harm. Who knew? It might even help. She studied Max out of the corner of her eye as they took the elevator to the third floor. He looked anxious but eager. She worried about him more than ever. When they reached Liz’s room they both paused in the doorway.

Liz looked so peaceful, Isabel thought. No sign of injury was apparent on her sleeping face. Even the tubes and wires were nearly inconspicuous. It was almost impossible to believe that the slightest noise wouldn’t wake her up. Almost. Maria DeLuca sat beside the bed holding Liz’s limp hand and rattling on at ninety miles an hour. Liz’s eyelids didn’t even flicker.

“Maria...?”

“Max!”

Isabel was stunned beyond words as the blonde girl hopped up and threw her arms around her brother. It was amazing what a little traumatic bonding could do to jumpstart a non-relationship, she thought. Max looked nearly as startled as she felt, but he patted Maria’s back tentatively and gave her a weak smile. As if suddenly realizing that Max found the situation a bit awkward Maria backed away apologetically.

“How... how’s she doing?” Max asked.

Maria shrugged and looked sadly back at the bed. “Same as yesterday. Stable. They’ve let me stay all day and talk to her, though,” she added more brightly. “I think she can hear me.”

“Where are her parents?”

“Her mom just left to walk around for a few minutes. She’s around somewhere. Her dad...” Maria’s voice dropped. “He’s at the Crashdown. He’s not dealing well at all. Big time denial. If anything happens to her...”

Max reached out to pat her arm again. “She’s gonna be fine, Maria.”

“Yeah, I know, Max. I know. Hey, Isabel,” she said finally. “It was um... nice of you to come, too.”

“Hi. Yeah,” Isabel nodded uncomfortably. It was strange being here in a hospital room with two girls that she barely spoke to at school. Even if they did have several classes together, she’d had even less contact with Maria than she’d had with Liz.

“So, uh... just you two?” Maria asked, trying to peer into the hallway behind Isabel.

Isabel suppressed the urge to groan aloud as she abruptly remembered who she’d seen driving that pitiful Jetta Michael had been mooning over. A smile twitched at the corners of Max’s mouth as he gave her a silent warning to behave. God, she thought, leave those boys alone for an afternoon and they both go off the deep end. Wouldn’t it be just like Michael, she thought, to turn up his nose at all of her nice normal friends and then go and fall for a fruit-loop like DeLuca? Not that she cared who he fell for. Sure, she’d made a couple of half-hearted passes at him herself. After all, there were times when he wasn’t a complete dork, and he really wasn’t bad looking. But he was also sort of like her second big brother and he’d never believed that she was seriously interested. She suspected that Max had probably also threatened him with severe bodily harm if he ever touched her. Sometimes it was a real drag having an overprotective brother, even if he did mean well.

“Michael is outside,” Max said. “Hospital’s really aren’t his thing.”

Maria’s head bobbed twice then suddenly she began tugging at Max’s arm. “Here,” she said. “Talk to her. I know she can hear us. She’d love to hear you. I know she would.”

Max threw a terrified glance back over his shoulder. If it weren’t for the very still form of the girl in the bed it would have been funny, Isabel thought. Maria all but pushed Max into the chair beside the bed.

“Go on,” she said. “Talk to her.”

“About what?”

“About anything. Homework. Tell her about all the homework she’s missing and how she’d better wake up so she can do it. Talk science to her.”

“I… uh…”

“Go on.”

“Hi, Liz,” Max began hesitantly. “It’s Max. Max Evans. From your biology class.”

Maria crossed the small room to stand beside Isabel at the door.

“Do you think you guys could stay with her for a while? Just a minute while I go stretch my legs?” the shorter girl asked. “I don’t want her to be alone.”

Isabel nodded. “Max won’t leave her.”

They shared an understanding smile. So, Maria knew about Max’s crush, too, Isabel thought. As if his actions yesterday hadn’t made it completely obvious.

“Thanks,” Maria said. She started out the door then turned around. “Oh, and if Alex gets back before I do tell him that Mrs. Parker went to get her own cup of coffee.”

Isabel stared after her in surprise. Alex?

* * * * *

Michael hated hospitals. Before yesterday he hadn’t been inside one in five years, but he still hated them. Max knew that he had a phobia about them and knew enough not to push him into coming inside today. He rubbed unconsciously at his long-healed ribs and sat down on a bench beside the flowerbeds to wait. He’d been a frequent visitor to this hospital as a child. Max had often come with him. Hell, it had usually been Max’s parents who had brought him. He had often wished back then that he could just wave his hand and make all the cuts and bruises go away, but instead he’d had to sit stoically and let them stitch him up. The injuries had always been from stupid little things. Bike accidents. Roller skating accidents. He hated every doctor who had never asked if he actually owned a bike or a pair of roller skates. The last time he’d been brought here was because he was having a hard time breathing. Another accident on his imaginary bicycle. X-rays revealed three cracked ribs. A week later he had finally been moved to a new foster home. He’d been bounced around to a few more homes since then, but none had ever been as bad as that one he’d had in elementary school. And he had hated hospitals ever since. He looked up as a shadow fell over the bench.

“Hey,” he said quietly as Maria sat down beside him. “How’s Liz?”

“Still the same,” she said with a weary sigh.

“I’m sorry.”

She nodded. “Where did you go yesterday?” she asked after a moment.

He was surprised that she had missed him. “Home.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Whitman was there.”

She gave him a look that he didn’t quite understand. “Did you think I wouldn’t need you... to help me clean up the rest?”

He tried not to read too much into it, but he caught the little skip in her voice. “I thought you had it under control.”

“Alex didn’t stay.”

“He just left you there alone?” He hadn’t meant to sound so annoyed, but he realized by her startled expression that he had spoken rather loudly.

“I told him I was okay,” she said, putting a hand on his arm. He stared at it and she took it away quickly.

“Were you?” he asked. “Were you okay?”

“I’m Teflon, babe,” she said. Then her quick grin faded and she slowly shook her head. Suddenly, for the second time in as many days he found himself holding her in his arms as she cried. Not the loud, cathartic sobs that she’d cried yesterday, but the soft, weary weeping of a girl with the weight of the world on her thin shoulders and no one else to turn to. His fingers wove through her hair even as hers knotted in his shirt.

“You think I’m a flake,” she sniffled when her tears finally stopped.

He shook his head although she wasn’t looking up at him. “No,” he said. “I think you’re pretty stressed out.”

“I can’t cry in front of her parents...”

“I know.”

“She’s my best friend… She shouldn’t be lying there like that… I just wish there was something I could do, but there isn’t anything.”

He didn’t have any response that would have made any difference so he didn’t say anything. They sat in quiet, companionable silence much as they had the day before. Only this time he kept his arm protectively around her shoulders as she leaned against him.

“What are you going to be like when I come back to school?” she asked suddenly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, here you’ve been... nice to me. At school you aren’t nice or mean or anything. You’re just kinda there. One row over, two seats back.”

“What do you want?” he asked warily.

She sighed. “I like you being nice. It’s... nice.”

He smiled at that. “Nice?”

“I know,” she teased. “You’re much more into the whole juvenile delinquent thing.” He stiffened and she looked up at him in concern.

“That’s not who I am,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I know.”

“No. You don’t,” he said just as quietly. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Then tell me. I want to know.”

He shook his head. Tell her what, he wondered? That he didn’t really know who he was either? That he didn’t know where he was from or even what his own real name was? That he’d been found wandering in the desert north of Roswell ten years ago, alone and unable to speak, and that no one had wanted him ever since?

Over the years doctors had decided that the trauma of whatever had happened to his parents had blocked his memories. He couldn’t recall anything from before a rancher had found him and dropped him off at the county orphanage. Although the general consensus was that he had probably been abandoned by his parents, a social worker had once suggested that it was possible that his family had simply met with some sort of accident in the desert. No one in the area had ever reported them missing, so sometimes he wondered if maybe they had been on vacation. Maybe he was really from Montana or Massachusetts. Hell, maybe he wasn’t even American. For all anyone knew, his family could have been tourists from Canada or Czechoslovakia or somewhere. But here he was, stuck in Roswell, New Mexico and no one seemed to know why... or care.

He wondered if the truth about his parents was locked somewhere in his mind, something too terrible for a six-year-old to comprehend. He hoped that they were dead. The possibility that they were alive and simply refusing to come for him was too awful to conceive. Gradually he and Max and Isabel had come to the conclusion that their parents must have been in the same accident. Their sketchy life histories had too much in common for mere coincidence. He was glad that he’d met Max. If he hadn’t, he might have been tempted to believe the inconceivable every once in a while. In ten years no one else had ever expressed the slightest interest in him. No one... except until maybe now this strange girl with her head on his shoulder and her arms around his waist.

He shook his head again. “Maybe some other time.”

“I can wait,” she said quietly.

* * * * *

“Isabel?”

The tall blonde girl beside Liz’s door turned and Alex nearly dropped the cans of cola that he was carrying. It really was Isabel Evans, he thought in wonder. Tenth grade goddess, almost too gorgeous to be human. He had been trying to attract her attention for years. His latest brainstorm was to write songs about her for his fledgling band. Of course, his bandmates thought that the lyrics were a little too sappy for the image they were trying to project, but that didn’t stop him from writing them anyway. He and Isabel didn’t move in the same circles or go to the same parties or have the same friends. Every once in a while though, she would glance in his direction as if wondering what things looked like from his point of view. He wondered what it meant.

“Hey,” he said as he approached the room, hoping he wouldn’t stutter. “It was nice of you to come.” Isabel gave a small shrug and he realized that she looked a little uncomfortable. He could hardly blame her. Hospitals were weird. Seeing a friend in a coma was even weirder. “I know Liz would appreciate it…” His voice trailed off as he glanced past her at Liz’s still form. He was startled when Isabel touched his arm.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

“Yeah. Me too.” He looked back at Liz for a moment. Max sat beside the bed talking to her quietly. “Where’s Maria?”

“Oh,” Isabel started abruptly. “She went to stretch her legs. She said to tell you that Mrs. Parker went to get her own cup of coffee, too.”

He nodded then looked down at the sodas in his hands. He thrust one of them toward Isabel. “This was for Maria, but if she’s gone for a walk I can get her another one when she gets back.” Isabel stared at him. “Unless you want the Sprite,” he added quickly, shoving the other can forward as well.

She smiled at him then. “You don’t have to…”

“It’s no problem,” he said. “Or I could go get you something else. Do you think Max would want anything?”

Isabel shook her head, still smiling. “I think he’s all right where he is. And the Coke is fine. Thank you.”

They stood in the doorway sipping at the sodas and watching Max talk to Liz. Alex didn’t realize that he had sighed quite so loudly until he felt Isabel’s hand on his arm again.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He nodded slowly. “I just need to sit down, I think.”

“There’s a lounge just down the hall,” she said. “I saw it when we came in.”

“She’s like a sister to me,” Alex said as they sat down in the small waiting area. “She and Maria both are. They’re my best friends. I’ve never even thought about what I’d do if I lost one of them.”

“No one does.”

“It’s not fair.”

“I know,” Isabel said. “I don’t know what I’d do if that was Max or even Michael lying in there. I don’t think that I could be as strong as you’re being.”

He looked up at her and was gratified to see that she didn’t look patronizing. She really did understand. “I’m not being strong,” he said. “I’m just not falling apart in front of Maria. She and Liz are even closer than sisters. If Liz… if anything happens, it’ll kill her.” He felt the tears well up in his eyes and he brushed at them quickly.

“It’ll be okay, Alex. Liz will be okay,” Isabel said as she squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

He desperately wanted to believe her.

* * * * *

He sat, perched precariously on the chair, just as he had in the waiting room yesterday. But this time, instead of staring at Michael and Maria, he stared at Liz. She had always seemed small to him, but now, she seemed no bigger than a child--almost too delicate to live. He took her tiny hand in his, lightly tracing the blue veins that ran through her porcelain flesh. He’d always watched Liz from afar. But somehow, watching that bullet rack her body, seeing her catapult to the floor, seeing that gush of crimson blood that almost looked to bright to be real...

“So you didn’t actually miss too much in lab today. We went over the parts of the frog’s digestive system, but since you and I spent all that time last week doing extra credit, you won’t be behind at all. Ms. Harding’s letting me work by myself. But I miss you--I miss working with you.” He blushed. “I guess I hope that wherever you are, that actually means something to you.”

The doctor said that he should talk to her, that maybe hearing familiar voices would bring her out of her coma. He knew Maria and Alex had been reading to her, and a CD player sat in the corner, softly playing some of her favorite music.

“Everyone in biology was wondering how you’re doing. We’re all worried about you--even Isabel.” He smiled a little. “She’s not the princess you think she is. I think your friend Alex is having a thawing affect on her.”

Liz’s fragile chest rose and fell, the beeping of various monitors and medical equipment almost drowning out the sound of her soft butterfly breath. “And Maria and Michael...I dunno. Michael’s always hated Maria. Well, not hated, but he’s never paid attention to her. Just like Izzy’s never really noticed Alex. It’s almost like...” A piece of her dark hair fell across her face, and Max couldn’t help moving it out of the way with one gentle finger. Her hair was so soft, just like he’d always imagined it. Soft like silk, dark as the night sky.

“It’s almost like, even though what happened was really bad, some good came out if it. Like maybe it was meant to happen. Because I’ve always thought we were too different for anything to work between us. And maybe...” He took a deep breath, his finger lightly tracing the soft planes of her face, the delicate oval curve of her chin. “Maybe this was something to wake us all up. Because we’re not that different after all. We’re both...human.”

* * * * *

Maria sat on one of the concrete benches in front of the hospital. She could picture Max inside talking earnestly to Liz, her best friend’s small hand swallowed up by Max’s large one. She’d never really noticed it before today, but Max had really large hands. She looked at the rough hand that rested on her knee. Michael’s hands were larger than she’d thought too...but gentler. The nails were dirty and ragged, as if he chewed them or something, but under their customary grime, the fingers were long and slender. Almost artistic. She rested her hand against his, amazed at how small hers looked. But something about Michael Guerin made her feel small. And something about the comfort of his arms made her feel protected, like she belonged.

They were silent, of course, because Michael Guerin had never been that talkative. He didn’t need to talk. He was just...a vibrator. She could almost feel the vibes coming off him. Something resonated true to her, like those crystals her mom was always talking about. Something about the annoyingly abrasive boy next to her seemed to fit up with the irrational parts of her. And there was that totally unexpected side to him, that tender side. Like the fact that under the dirt and cuts and scrapes on his work-roughened knuckles, he had beautiful hands.

And he could deny it all he wanted, but Maria knew why he’d come to the hospital. He’d never given a rat’s ass about anyone before, especially not her Lizzie. Yet he’d helped her clean up the Crashdown yesterday. And he was here today, not to talk to Liz, as Max was doing, and not unwillingly dragged along, like Isabel had been. Michael sat next to her, his arm around her, his free hand lying comfortingly on her knee. He’d come for her.

And to Maria DeLuca, that was the most amazing part of all.

“You okay?” His breath tickled against her cheek as he whispered in her ear. “I didn’t think you could be this quiet.” There was a gentler version of his usual smirk on his face.

“Don’t forget that I used to be able to kick your butt when we were little.” She gave him a light nudge with her shoulder, snuggling closer to him. It seemed almost natural to curl up against him on the hard concrete bench. Like he was the only real thing in the whole hospital. Like his warmth had become her entire world.

And he’d decided to share that world with her, if only for a day. Just her, and no one else. And maybe someday he’d share the rest of it with her. When he did, she’d be waiting.

* * * * *

Now there was something you didn’t see everyday, Kyle thought – Michael Guerin and Maria DeLuca so wrapped up in one another that they didn’t even notice him walk by. He hadn’t known that Liz’s best friend and Guerin were quite so friendly with each other, but they sure seemed close now. He shook his head as he passed them and headed for the elevator. As he walked by the waiting room another peculiar sight caught his eye - Isabel Evans and Alex Whitman talking quietly. The Ice Princess and the Geek. That was even weirder than the Goon and the Chatterbox out front, he thought. They were just as oblivious to his passing as Michael and Maria had been. Kyle’s third surprise came when he finally reached Liz’s room. Max Evans was sitting at Liz’s bedside. To Kyle’s growing annoyance Max didn’t seem to notice him either.

“Hey.” His voice echoed a little louder than he had expected in the small room. Max turned quickly with a startled expression. Kyle frowned as Max lay Liz’s hand back on the blanket.

“Hi, Kyle,” Max said quietly as he stood. Everything Evans did was quiet, Kyle thought. Then he remembered what his dad had said about the shooting, how witnesses had told him about Max taking charge. Somehow he still couldn’t fit that image with the thin boy in front of him. “Do you want to talk to her?” Kyle looked quickly at Liz’s face. Her eyes were still closed. He could have sworn that Max smiled briefly, but when he looked back the other boy was expressionless. “Maria is convinced that she can hear us,” Max continued. “Why don’t you go ahead and try... I was about to leave anyway.”

Kyle nodded. He didn’t like being caught off balance. He wasn’t quite sure what he had expected. Of course he had known that Liz was in a coma, but he supposed that he hadn’t really thought about what it would be like to see her. And he certainly hadn’t expected to see Max next to her. He sat down in the chair Max had vacated and looked at Liz. She was beautiful. Sleeping Beauty, he thought, then chided himself for thinking of such a silly cliche. Even if it was true. He picked up her hand, just as Max had done. And he stared at her.

No words would come.

What was he supposed to say, he wondered. What would she want to talk about? School? Sports? Movies? Crashfest? He had no idea. He looked down at her tiny hand in his and wondered what Max had found to talk about.

“Kyle?”

He turned and saw Alex standing behind him. Max was nowhere to be seen. He must have slipped out. Quietly, as usual. Maria arrived a moment later, anything but quiet.

“Hey! How come nobody’s talking to Liz?” she demanded. She hurried to the far side of the bed and put a new CD in the player. “Hi, Lizzie. I’m back. You’ve sure had a lot of company. Bet you didn’t even have time to miss me.”

Kyle looked back at Alex again as Maria continued to rattle on to Liz. Alex simply shrugged. Kyle lay Liz’s hand down gently and stood.

“I’ll come back some other time,” he said. Alex nodded. Maria waved absently.

* * * * *

Friday

Isabel spread margarine on her toast and glanced across the table at her brother. He was absently crumbling a pop tart as he stared out the window. Three guesses as to where his mind was, she thought. They were both startled when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” their mother said quickly. “You two need to finish up your breakfast. You’ll be late.”

They were even more startled when she led Michael back to the kitchen. Isabel looked at him in astonishment. She hadn’t realized that he knew how to use the front door.

“Mr. Pascal dropped me off,” he explained with a shrug. Isabel’s surprise was immediately replaced by concern. He looked worried.

“What?” Max asked.

“Maria called me this morning. Liz is in surgery.”

Max was on his feet. “Why? What happened?”

Michael shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not sure Maria knew. It was kinda hard to understand her.”

Max grabbed his jacket.

“Sweetheart...” their mom began. Isabel knew that she was about to forbid them to go. Michael must have sensed it, too.

“I told her I’d come,” he said. “I kinda promised.”

“We don’t have any tests today,” Isabel added quickly. “With the pep rally this afternoon we won’t really be doing anything else either. You know our grades are fine.”

Max threw her a grateful look then turned back to their mother. He wouldn’t beg, Isabel knew. Not out loud anyway. Mrs. Evans looked at her son’s anxious expression and pain filled eyes and relented. She nodded slowly. The three children were out the door before she could demand any conditions from them.

When they arrived at the hospital they headed directly for the waiting room. Mr. and Mrs. Parker were close together, trying to reassure one another. Alex and Maria were huddled not too far from them. Alex had his arm around Maria, but she rose when she saw them enter. She walked toward Michael without hesitation and buried her face against his chest. To Isabel’s utter amazement he didn’t even look embarrassed as he folded his arms around her. He just rested his chin on the top of her blonde head and closed his eyes. She had never seen him so at ease with anyone besides Max and herself. It bothered her that this girl she barely knew could so quickly slip behind all the defenses that Michael had built up over the years. It didn’t seem fair.

She was distracted by Alex’s dark, troubled eyes. He was watching Michael and Maria with the same expression that she guessed was probably on her own face - puzzlement at what those two saw in each other that no one else could. Then Alex’s glance shifted to her. He looked so lost that she was drawn to comfort him in spite of her own confusion. She had always been afraid that people like Alex saw her as shallow simply because she was pretty. Yesterday as they talked she realized that he didn’t see her that way at all. He had opened up to her as if he had already known that she would understand, as if he had always expected her to have a depth that he could relate to. Today she wanted to validate that faith he had in her again. She reached toward him and was relieved to see an answering smile reflected in his eyes.

* * * * *

Alex’s gaze roamed the room, settling only briefly on each of its occupants before moving quickly on to the next. When his eyes completed the circuit his gaze returned to the Parkers and started over again. None of them spoke. There was nothing to say. Everyone seemed trapped in their own small, silent worlds. Watching the Parkers made him want to cry... or scream... or something. They sat so still, only tiny nervous movements piercing their outward calm. Mrs. Parker rocked ever so slightly back and forth as she stared at an invisible spot on the carpet. Mr. Parker’s foot tapped a soft, incessant staccato. Their hands were locked together, white-knuckled with tendons in sharp relief. Alex wondered if they even felt how tightly they were gripping one another.

Michael and Maria sat across from them. Maria was tucked beneath his arm, her head on his shoulder as she fidgeted with the edge of his shirt. If Michael wasn’t careful she was going to worry a hole in the thin fabric. Alex tried to ignore the uncharacteristic twinge of jealousy he felt as he watched the two of them together. He didn’t really begrudge Maria the solace that she seemed to find in Michael. He just regretted that he wasn’t able to provide the reassurances that his friend needed.

Max sat next to Michael. He looked as though he had nearly forgotten how to breathe. Of all of them, Alex realized, Max must be the most alone. The only one who could comfort him was the one in no position to do so. Alex could recognize the other boy’s shy devotion to Liz and sympathize. Alex wasn’t exactly the most outgoing student at West Roswell, but compared to him Max Evans was almost pathologically introverted. It was only because of his vibrant sister and his brash best friend that many people at school knew who Max was at all. Alex knew that Max would never have gathered the courage to approach Liz about his feelings for her. Now that the possibility of losing her completely was so real his regrets were all but tangible.

There were only two other seats left; one beside Max and one beside him. Alex had watched almost uncomprehendingly as Isabel had chosen the seat beside him. She hadn’t said anything, just offered him a soft, encouraging smile and her hand. He had accepted both gratefully. He hadn’t realized how much comfort he had drawn from Maria’s presence until she was no longer beside him. In her own way, Isabel provided him with consolation, too. He no longer had to kid himself about supporting Maria. Instead he allowed himself to draw on Isabel’s strength.

There was a small noise at the doorway and seven heads swiveled toward it. Kyle Valenti entered self-consciously. Mrs. Parker squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile.

“Still waiting,” she whispered. He nodded.

The only vacant chair now was the one beside Max. Kyle eyed him with suspicion as he sat down. Alex could practically hear the wheels grinding in Kyle’s head. Michael and Isabel seemed to have good excuses for being here, although, granted Valenti did give Isabel a skeptical look, too. Alex watched with a sort of detached fascination as he imagined Liz’s some-time boyfriend was running through every plausible scenario that would explain Max’s presence. With each rejected possibility Kyle’s scowl deepened. The already tense atmosphere of the room grew stifling. Max rose suddenly.

“I’m gonna get something to drink,” he said to Michael and headed quickly out the door. When Max had gone Kyle stood and followed. Alex was startled to hear Michael’s voice.

“Actually a drink sounds like a pretty good idea. Whitman?”

“Nah, I...”

“Whitman.” Despite the mildness of his tone Alex could see a hard glint in Michael’s eyes.

“Okay. Drinks, yeah.” He shrugged at Isabel’s questioning look and followed Michael into the hallway. “Do you really think...?”

“Yeah,” Michael said quickly. “I’ve scrapped with Valenti enough to recognize the signs. I can only hold back one of them. Which one do you want?” Alex gaped at him. Michael gave him a speculative glance. “Maybe I should have brought Maria,” he muttered.

* * * * *

“What are you doing here, Evans?”

Max turned from the vending machines to face Kyle. “Liz is a friend.”

“Barely,” Kyle scoffed. “You don’t have any business being here.”

“I didn’t know it was wrong to care about somebody.” Max knew that Kyle and Liz had gone out over the summer, but he thought that the proprietary tone of the other boy’s voice was a little inappropriate. To be honest though, he was surprised by the sharpness of his own voice, too.

“I heard what you did at the Crashdown,” Kyle said. “And I appreciate that. But what I don’t appreciate is that ever since then, you’ve been hanging around here. Now, I like Liz...a lot.” He stepped closer. “And I don’t want you around her.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I don’t really see where your problem is.”

Kyle took another quick step toward him but paused as someone else entered the narrow corridor.

“Hey!” There was more warning than greeting in Michael’s gravelly voice. Alex stood at his shoulder nervously.

Max felt a little guilty at the immature grin which sprang to his lips as Kyle took an involuntary step back. He might not have realized that for the first time in his life Max was ready and willing to take him on, but Kyle did know from experience that Michael never shied away from a fight.

“Stay out of this Guerin,” Kyle said.

“You know me better than that,” Michael replied coolly. “Problems, Maxwell?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” He felt another surge of guilt as it occurred to him how willing he had always been in the past to let Michael handle these physical confrontations for him.

“You know at any other time I’d be willing to agree with you,” Michael said. “But...”

“I can handle it,” Max repeated.

“Get lost, Guerin,” Kyle added. Max wondered if he was envisioning the opportunity to finally pound him senseless without Michael defending him.

“This is not the time or the place.” Michael had closed the distance between himself and Kyle. Alex moved hesitantly to stand near Max. “You two want to bash each others’ heads in? Fine. But do it later.”

“And when did you turn peacemaker?” Kyle asked.

Michael glared down at the shorter boy. “Don’t get me wrong, Valenti. I’d be more than happy to help Max wipe a few features off your face... but not right now.”

Max’s grin twitched as Kyle flinched slightly beneath Michael’s threatening glower. His smile dimmed, however, as Michael turned the scowl on him as well.

“The Parkers don’t need to be wondering right now why Liz’s friends are beating the crap out of each other,” Michael continued. “So, let it go.”

Kyle turned away in disgust. “Forget this,” he said. “Just stay out of my way, Evans. And stay away from Liz.”

Max took a step forward, but Alex touched his arm and shook his head. For a moment Max was amused as he realized the tag team ploy Michael had tried to set up. He nodded and Alex relaxed. They watched Kyle head back toward the waiting room.

“I guess we should get back, too,” Alex suggested.

“In a sec,” Michael said. He began jamming money into the soda machine. “Always remember your cover story.”

Max stood thoughtfully for a moment then moved to clap Michael on the shoulder. “Thanks for stopping me from doing something incredibly stupid,” he said softly.

“No problem. You would have done the same for me.”

“And I have,” he pointed out.

Michael grinned. “Where do you think I got the script?”

“I thought it sounded kinda familiar.”

“Michael! Alex!” a voice interrupted them. “Max!” The three boys turned to see Maria hurrying toward them. “Liz is awake!”

* * * * *

Maria all but danced down the hallway. The only thing that kept her from floating away was Michael’s firm grip on her hand. Or maybe it was the other way around. She wasn’t sure, but either way she was too happy to care. Lizzie was awake! Her Lizzie was going to be okay!

She glided past Isabel who was standing outside Liz’s door and pushed past Kyle who was standing in the doorway. She had nearly forgotten that she was dragging Michael along with her until he planted his feet and refused to be pulled any farther. She looked back at him in surprise, but he merely smiled and disentangled their fingers.

“Go on,” he said. “I’ll wait.”

She beamed at him and then nearly threw herself at Liz.

“Lizzie!” Tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks as Liz smiled back at her.

“Maria!” her best friend whispered hoarsely.

It took every bit of effort she had not to grab Liz in a giant bear hug, but she managed to resist. Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie. She had so many things to tell Liz that she didn’t know where to begin. How scared she’d been, how she hadn’t been able to sleep with worry, how her heart felt like it was going to explode just because she could Liz’s big brown eyes sparkling again.

“Don’t you EVER scare me like that again, chica!” She squeezed Liz’s hand gently. “Promise.”

“I promise.” Liz squeezed her hand back.

“I’m sorry,” a doctor interrupted them. He looked around the room at the young faces sympathetically. “I know you’re all excited that Liz is awake, but there are just too many people in here right now. Nancy, Jeff… of course you can stay. There are still a few tests…”

Maria leaned forward to risk a tiny, careful hug. “I love you, Lizzie,” she whispered.

“I love you, too,” Liz said. Then she narrowed her eyes and grinned. “Was that Michael Guerin? You’ve been busy while I’ve been asleep, haven’t you?”

“We’ll talk later.” Maria winked at her. “You don’t know the half of it.”

Assured that they would be allowed to return later, Maria reluctantly followed Alex into the hallway. She giggled as he picked her up in a spontaneous, exuberant hug. Just as there had been no words to express how worried she had been, Maria now had no words to express her happiness either. Alex set her down again.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Never better!” she replied.

He laughed and looked past her. She followed his gaze. Max and Isabel stood at the end of the hallway. Maria put on a theatrical frown.

“Fine. Go ahead and leave me,” she sniffled dramatically.

Alex rolled his eyes. “Like you aren’t gonna ditch me to go looking for the guy with the hair.”

“Guilty,” she grinned. “Think they’ll let us back in to see her in a couple of hours?”

“I hope so. Meet you back here then?”

“Deal.”

She found Michael outside leaning against a wall. He had his hands shoved in his jacket pockets as he stared up at the sky.

“You never did answer my question,” she said as she leaned against the bricks beside him.

He looked over at her blankly. “What question?”

“What are you going to be like when I come back to school?” She hoped he didn’t think that she sounded pathetic.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’ll be… weird.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Maybe… maybe we should practice.” She looked up at him nervously. She could feel her skin flush. He was staring at her with a slightly perplexed frown.

“Practice?”

“You know, practice… being together somewhere besides the hospital.”

“Did you have somewhere particular in mind?”

She was slightly encouraged by his faint grin. “The Crashfest is tonight…” she suggested hesitantly.

He laughed. “The nutcase convention? That’s your idea of someplace to ‘practice’ normal for school?”

She scowled at the ground and blinked rapidly at the embarrassed tears that sprang to her eyes. “Forget it,” she snapped. “It was a stupid idea. Don’t come.”

“Meet you in front of the podium at seven?”

She looked up at him in surprise. His expression was apologetic… and hopeful. She smiled. “Seven? Yeah.”

* * * * *

“This is so cheesy.”

Isabel smiled as her surrogate big brother scowled at a passing Trekkie. “Then why’d you come?” she asked. He declined to answer. She smiled at that, too.

“Crashfest,” Michael muttered. “Oughta just call it ‘Frakes and Freaks’ and be done with it.”

“Lighten up,” she laughed, slipping an arm through his.

“Y’know what frightens me?” he asked rhetorically. “That this could be the reason our parents came to Roswell to begin with. That they might actually have bought into this alien crap and came here to check it out. The first Crashfest was ten years ago,” he reminded her.

She squeezed his arm tightly. This was supposed to be a night of fun. If Michael started thinking about their parents he’d be irritable and prickly for days. Well, more than usual, she amended. She knew that he thought about them a lot more than she did. Sometimes she could almost forget that she hadn’t always been an Evans. But Michael’s... situation was a constant reminder that he didn’t really belong here. It bothered her that he had never been adopted like she and Max had been. Instead he had gone through a string of foster homes, never quite settling in anywhere. She could still remember the home he’d had in elementary school... and she used the word “home” in its loosest possible sense. She had known that there was something wrong, known that Michael and Max were keeping something from her. It hadn’t been until they were in middle school that she had managed to put all the pieces together. She had never been so angry in her life. Angry at Michael and Max from keeping it from her at the time, angry at Hank for putting that haunted look in Michael’s eyes that still hadn’t entirely faded, angry at herself for not seeing what was right in front of her.

She knew now that it was stubborn pride which had keep Michael from telling her, from letting Max tell her. He didn’t want pity or even sympathy. She knew that if he had somehow been able to heal himself he would never have told anyone what was happening to him, not even Max. It frightened her to realize that if he had been better at hiding all the cuts and bruises he might still be in that situation. She didn’t want to even imagine what he would be like now if he’d had to stay with Hank all this time. She shook her head to clear it of the dark thoughts.

At least the Pascals, his current foster parents, were pretty nice. They actually seemed to care. But it wasn’t the same as having a real family, she knew. She wished more than anything that someday he’d have a family of his own. But if he really did decide to get involved with Maria DeLuca... She shuddered. If Maria ever became her almost-sister-in-law she might just have to disown her almost-brother.

“You should have dressed up, too,” she said. She knew it was a topic that could easily distract him.

He snorted. “Like you? I don’t think so. I still can’t believe your folks let you out of the house dressed like that.” He eyed her form-fitting costume with disapproval.

She smiled innocently. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

He sighed and shook his head. “Be careful, Izzy. I’ve got plans tonight that don’t include having to defend your honor.”

“I can take care of myself.” She frowned slightly. Sometimes when Max wasn’t around Michael took his proxy role a little too seriously. Usually she didn’t mind; it was kinda cute. But every once in a while it got annoying.

“Fine. Just try not to put anybody’s eye out with those things.” She tried to smack him but he grinned and dodged her. “Catch ya later, Iz.”

* * * * *

After his sister snuck out of the house, a heavy coat over a costume he really didn’t need to see her in, Max grabbed the keys to the Jeep. With any luck, no one would be at the hospital, so he wouldn’t have to explain what he was doing. And if Michael was on a semi-date with Maria, and Izzy would be there to make sure Michael didn’t get too comfortable with Maria, Max knew he’d have enough time to do what he needed to do.

The corridor was empty when he walked in. His footsteps echoed hollowly in the white corridor, and he couldn’t help shuddering. Something about the white walls and the sterile hospital smell always made him shudder. Maybe because of everything he’d sat through, the past couple days. Or all the times he’d seen Michael in here, in those early days, when his best friend had still been staying with Hank...

When he peeked his head into her room, she was laying back in bed, her eyes shut. He just stood in the doorway, watching her for a while, drinking in her quiet beauty. Her face wasn’t so pale anymore, and some of the sparkle had come back to her vibrant face. He could almost feel the lump beginning to harden in his throat. He’d almost lost her. That image of blood spreading so quickly across her flat stomach was still so vivid in his mind...

“Hey, Max.” Her voice was softer than normal, and he could see the glint of her eyes from under her long, dark lashes. “Why aren’t you at the Crash with everyone else?”

He perched precariously on the edge of the chair by her bed, just as he had for the past couple days. “I went last year, and it wasn’t that great, and Izzy didn’t wanna hang around with me anyway...” He could feel the tips of his ears burning, just like they always did when he was around her. But he was tired of lying to her. “Because of you, Liz. Because it was you.”

“Max...” Her hand moved slowly, as if she wasn’t quite used to feeling again. But it finally settled on his, squeezing his gently, with as much strength as a butterfly. And she gave him that brilliant smile that had made him fall in love with her in the first place, that special light in her dark eyes that somehow seemed to shine only for him, whether he imagined it or not. “Thanks, Max. For everything.”

He could feel a slow smile creeping across his face, the first real smile in almost two days. He squeezed her hand back lightly. “I’m just glad you’re okay. I don’t want to find another lab partner.” His voice cracked slightly, and he had to blink hard for a moment, as he thought about how he almost lost her.

And her small hand reached up to touch his face, to wipe the one tear that slipped down his cheek.

He swallowed and then gave her his best small smile. “So, you wanna go out sometime, if Kyle doesn’t beat me up first?”

And then he heard the sweetest sound in the world--the sound of Liz Parker, laughing.

* * * * *

Michael paced in front of the stage and tried to ignore the band playing behind him. They looked like Star Wars cantina rejects. Everybody out here looked like dorks, he thought. Case in point…

“Hey, Whitman,” he called to a silver-suited figure. “Nice costume.”

“Yeah?” Alex asked, pulling off the bug-eyed alien mask. “You, too.”

“Huh?”

“Men in Black, right?” Alex said, gesturing at Michael’s dark jeans and t-shirt. “Very subtle.” Then he chuckled. “You didn’t actually plan that, did you?”

Michael shrugged with a grin. “You seen Maria?”

“Saw her in the parking lot heading this way. You won’t be able to miss her. Have you uh… seen Isabel?” He turned as Michael waved vaguely toward where he’d last seen her. “Thanks. Later, Guerin.”

“Yeah.” Won’t be able to miss her? What was that supposed to mean?

Then he saw her.

Couldn’t miss her.

Sparkly green spangled everything. Sparkly eyeshadow. Sparkly lipstick. A sparkly green spiral across the side of her face. Sparkly green neckband above a low-cut green suit. The suit itself looked soft as velvet. He jammed his hands deep into his jeans pockets and remembered to close his mouth.

“Where’s your costume?” she asked.

“Men in Black.”

She rolled her eyes. “Nice try. But I don’t think so.” She dug a mask out of her bag and handed it to him. “I knew you wouldn’t wear a costume so I brought you one. It’s from my mom’s store.” He looked at the rubber head skeptically. “Just put it on, space-boy.” He stared at her. She hopped from one foot to the other in a bizarre little dance. “Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with whipped cream and a maraschino on top?” He grinned then. He couldn’t help it. She was insane. Absolutely certifiable. But, she was a damn cute lunatic.

“Whatever.” He sighed and pulled on the mask.

“Sucker,” she said triumphantly.

He briefly wondered if she was embarrassed to be seen with him, hence the mask, but he was more than a little reassured by the easy way she took his hand. He let her lead them through the crowd toward some of the booths set up around the edges of the field. She was a real spitfire when it came to playing some of those carnival games. What she lacked in skill she made up for in enthusiasm. He couldn’t help laughing at her antics as she threw wild pitches at a wall of milk bottles. Despite her lack of success she continued to cheerfully play the game. He wondered if she was really like this all the time or if this was just the after-effect of her massive relief at Liz’s recovery. At last, after spending all of her tickets at the same booth Maria finally won a small alien doll. She laughed at it as they walked back to the main event field.

“My mom’s shop sells these things for a dollar-fifty apiece,” she said. “She’d kill me if she knew I just spent eight bucks trying to win one.”

The crowd around them surged toward the stage eagerly. It was nearly time for the Crashfest’s big “re-enactment” of the alleged ‘47 crash. They let themselves be swept along with the rest of the mob. Michael wrapped an arm around Maria’s waist to avoid losing her in the shuffle. She grinned up at him and moved even closer. His mask itched. He could barely hear through it and it was hard to see out of, but mostly it was just hot. Finally he couldn’t take it anymore and peeled it off. He closed his eyes as the slightly cooler air washed over his skin. When he opened them Maria was grinning at him again.

“What?”

She kept grinning. “Your hair…” she laughed as she reached up to smooth it.

Her touch was soft and unexpected. Her fingers were light as they brushed through his hair. No one had ever touched him so gently. He looked down at her wide, sparkling eyes and her shiny, laughing mouth... and he kissed her. He hadn’t intended to, but he couldn’t help himself. She seemed to have that effect on him, making him do all sorts of things that he never intended to do. He was surprised when she didn’t immediately pull away. He was even more surprised when her hand slid to the back of his neck, not letting him pull away either. He knew he’d probably end up with some of her stupid glitter on his face and her lip-gloss smeared across his mouth, but by now he was beyond caring. He was pleased to discover that the green suit really was as soft as velvet. His hands slid down her back to circle her waist. She rose on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.

Somewhere behind them a UFO made of cardboard and aluminum crashed to the ground and burst into flames as the crowd cheered. Neither of them noticed.

“Is it just me?” she murmured against his lips. “Or are there fireworks?”

“Both,” he answered. “Y’know, this isn’t exactly great practice for acting normally at school.”

“Mmm... It would be in the eraser room.”

He laughed and kissed her again.

* * * * *

It’s September 23rd, I’m Liz Parker and five days ago I almost died. But then the really amazing thing happened. I came to life.

One of the fundamental principles of Taoism is “do nothing and all will be done”. I’ve never held much faith in this tenet. I’m a planner, an organizer, a doer. But I’ve spent two days unconscious and without me doing anything my world has changed in a myriad of subtle, and not so subtle ways.

One of my best friends is now dating West Roswell High’s resident bad boy. The other is making remarkable progress with the girl of his dreams. And me... out cold for forty-eight hours and two boys are now practically fighting for my attention.

Before I was shot my life was simple and dull and ordinary. Faced with the prospect of losing my life before I ever really got to live it has opened my eyes. Life is never simple. Now I have choices before me that I didn’t realize even existed. Life is never dull. My circle of friends has expanded to include some rather unexpected people. Life is never ordinary. Every moment is precious and I have a brand new scar to help me remember that.

And for all of this to happen, all these changes and revelations, all I had to do was stand still.

In the wrong place.

At the wrong time.

Strangely enough, though, I think that everything happened just the way it was supposed to.

Mr. Raddish gave this story:

4 Radishes!

Back to Mr Raddish's Desk