Rating: PG
Category: AU (A/I, M/M)
Disclaimer: Not mine…but it's nice to pretend…
Author's Notes: Song is "Tonight and the Rest of My Life" by Nina Gordon

She awoke in the woods. She opened her eyes and stared up at the velvet sky through the barren tree branches that clawed at the stars. There was a rock in the small of her back, a pinecone tangled in her hair. How did she get here…

Zan…No…Max…

She sat up and a rod of pain shot up her spine, stiffening her fingers that had been reaching to the stars for some kind of answer. She trembled in agony, trying not to cry out because she was not weak like that. She bit her lip against the pain, tasting blood that was already there.

She struggled to her feet and fell against a tree as her knees shook beneath her, the bark scraping down her bare skin, tearing into the already raw flesh. The tears that rolled down her face burned her and every breath was a struggle. She wanted to lay down and die.

If she laid back down she would die…and there had been a sacrifice…she couldn't have it be for nothing…

She couldn't think straight…her mind was fuzzy…there were a jumble of images tumbling through her brain…pieces of a puzzle that had been thrown up into the air and she couldn't put them together.

She was on Earth.

She didn't know where on Earth but…

She wasn't supposed to be here…or rather she hadn't been before…

She was beaten. Her body was bloody, there were bones beneath her skin that were broken and grinding against each other. Her nerve endings were on fire and she could barely make out the light up ahead, glowing in the darkness beyond the forest she had landed in…

Landed in…?

She needed to get inside, needed to rest. She would die out here in the dark, in the cold…She needed to heal…

She tried to walk and fell to her knees with a hiss of pain, then grabbed onto the tree again and pulled herself up. She reached out to the next one, fell against it, then reached for the next and then the next. The light was coming closer and closer.

She came to the edge of the forest and held onto the last tree staring out at the cabin before her with the warm yellow porch light. She heard a soft whimpering sound, and realized with a start that it was herself. The cabin was too far away. There was nothing for her to hold onto. She couldn't crawl…her knees were…her hands were…She couldn't crawl.

I will walk goddammit. I can walk. I can do this.

One shaky step, one hand clasping the bark…

Another step…nothing but air holding her up.

Three steps.

I can do this, I can do this…

Four.

Oh my God…

Five.

I can't…help me…I can't…

The light was blurring, she couldn't see for her tears. Her legs wouldn't support her for much longer. It was a miracle she had made it as far as she had.

Six.

She collapsed at the bottom of the steps, her arm out and reaching, reaching for the next step to pull herself up with but she couldn't do it. It hurt too much.

She lifted her hand from the worn wooden step and raised it to the door, to the little button beside it. She pushed with her mind with the last of her energy and sank into the darkness someone had given his life to protect her from.

*~*~*

He crouched before his fire, held his hands out to it, then rubbed his palms together. He had space heaters all over the cabin and they were doing absolutely nothing to warm his room.

He was still cold.

He was on his fourth cup of coffee, had just finished his second scalding shower, and was now wearing a T-shirt, a long-sleeved Henley, and a ridiculous looking sweater covered with Santa's and reindeers Maria had gotten him last year as a gag. She called it the "Old Fogy Sweater". He had been depressed last year, like he always was around this time and she had complained that he was acting like an old man. "You're 23 years old for Chrissake! Act like it!" When he had refused, the next morning she had presented him with the "Old Fogy Sweater" as an early Christmas gift. It had been hidden in the last drawer under a bunch of old college sweatshirts until now, and he had pulled it out because it was the warmest thing he could find. And besides, he felt old anyway. Very old. And very cold.

He forced himself to move away from the fire before he lost control and thrust his hands into it, and sat down at his desk.

He should have been done with his manuscript a week ago. Sidney would be calling any day now. He was surprised she hadn't yet. Maybe she had expected this. Writers Block.

He stared at the blank screen, at the blinking bar. Blink. Blink. I'm waiting, Whitman… Blink. Blink.

He buried his face in his hands.

I can't do this.

His inspiration was gone.

This one…this one had been theirs…different from the rest of his novels. This one was supposed to have been a love story.

He couldn't do it without her.

He couldn't get warm without her.

A year and a half had passed and he was still shivering. His page was as blank as his heart. How could he be expected to write with her gone? How could he be expected to live with her gone?

He almost hadn't. If it hadn't been for Maria… If she hadn't forced her way into the bathroom, yanked the bottle of pills from his hand and dumped them down the sink, all the while screaming and crying that she couldn't lose him too…He would have done it. He missed her that much…

And now here he was, left alone to face something as unimportant as earning a living when all he wanted to do was die.

He was staying alive for Maria now. Nothing else. He couldn't sleep or eat. He couldn't listen to a song on the radio without wondering what she would have thought of it. He couldn't look at his guitar without remembering how she used to sit in his lap with his arms around her as they played it together. He couldn't write a love story, their love story, when she wouldn't be there to read it.

He had been doing this one for her, not for his readers or his publishers.

He closed his eyes, his fingers resting on the keys, and gently pressing down.

Liz.

Maria doesn't understand that he can't let go. Of Liz or their project. She wanted him to tell Sydney to fuck off when she called the day after the funeral and asked him if the manuscript would be ready for a December release. She wanted him to leave the cabin and go with her to whatever bar she was into at the moment. She didn't understand that drinking was not how he dealt with his grief, or that he wanted to finish the book because she had been so excited about it.

Maria wanted to ignore her pain. It was how she dealt with it. Liz was not the first person she had lost. But it was different for him. He couldn't ignore it. He couldn't ignore the fact that a part of him had been ripped away.

He wanted to be miserable. He wanted to be alone.

He wanted to finish his book. He needed to finish it.

He wondered if Sydney would give him another month. If he got Maria to call her for him and ask she probably would. Sydney was scared of Maria.

He smiled softly to himself, thinking of her. Everyone thought she was so tough, so hard, but they didn't know…they had no idea how warm and loving she was, how protective. It was kind of the opposite with Liz, everyone had always thought of her as that sweet Parker girl and then later that sweet Mrs. Whitman. They had no idea how strong she was how when she believed in something there was no backing down. No one would have ever believed that she was more than capable of kicking his butt when he left the toilet seat up or made some comment about Maria's taste in men…

The doorbell rang and he quickly hit the backspace on the keyboard. It had to be Maria. No one else came to visit him…and it was two o'clock in the morning. She was the only person in the world who saw nothing odd about dropping by to say hi at two am.

He closed his laptop and went to the door, expecting to see Maria glaring up at him crossly from under her eyebrows for making her wait out in the cold, and then froze when he saw the girl at the bottom of his steps, unmoving, barely breathing.

For one horrible moment he thought it was Maria. He thought it was his best friend lying there…

He ran out onto the porch and down the steps and crouched down beside the woman. He didn't know if he should risk moving her, but he had to get her into the house…it was freezing out here…her torn clothes barely shielded her body against the wind. He cautiously reached out and gently brushed her hair back from her face.

"Oh my God…" So much blood…what the hell had happened to her… He glanced down at her shredded clothes and closed his eyes at the surge of anger that flared up in him. It was pretty obvious what had happened. "Miss…Can you hear me? I'm going to try and move you inside…" He carefully lifted her up off the ground. Her head fell against his shoulder and he felt her soft breath against his neck and breathed a sigh of relief. He kicked the door closed behind him and took the woman into his bedroom. He gently put her down on the bed and reached for the telephone on the night table. He was about to dial when a hand clamped down on his wrist. He looked at the woman in surprise and she looked up at him with a look of fear so intense it made his blood run cold.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was thick and she flinched at her words as though it hurt her to talk.

"I'm not going to hurt you…"

"Don't call anybody…"

"Miss…you're seriously hurt…you need medical attention…" she laughed at that and closed her eyes at the spasm of pain that shook through her. He started to dial again.

"NO…don't call anybody…please…" He paused, looking into her eyes, at the desperation there, and then reluctantly returned the phone to its cradle.

"What's your name?" She closed her eyes again and swallowed.

"Vilandra…"

"Alright Vila-" She opened her eyes.

"No…no…it's Isabel…"

"Alright Isabel…Isabel do you know what happened to you?" She looked at him with her soft brown eyes full of tears and he felt his heart clench in his chest. He reached out to brush a lock of hair away from her forehead and she flinched at him.

"I need to rest and I'll be fine…"

"I really think you should let me call a doctor."

"No…I can fix this…please just leave me alone…" he opened his mouth to argue and she touched his wrist again. "Please…I know how to handle this…"

"This has happened to you before? Who is he? Your boyfriend?" He felt his blood start to boil in his veins. He wanted to find the bastard that had done this and kill him. She pulled her hand back from his wrist as though she had been burned and stared at him wide eyed.

"No…" she murmured, "No it's not what you're thinking…"

They were quiet for a moment, looking at each other, until he said softly, "Will you let me help you?" and after another moment of silence she nodded.

He got up from the bed and went to the kitchen for some towels and water. His hands were shaking as he filled the bowl in the sink. How could someone do that to someone else? He knew it happened all the time but…God, that poor woman…And why the hell wouldn't she let him call anyone? Maybe she was afraid…Maybe she didn't want to bring in the police because she was on drugs…or maybe she was a…

It didn't matter what she was. She was hurt. That's all he needed to know.

I can fix this…

What had that meant?

The doorbell rang again and he almost dropped the bowl of water. He went back to the bedroom and set it down on the table beside her. Her eyes were closed but she was breathing. He quietly closed the door behind him and crossed over to the front door.

Maria. Of course.

"Jeez, what took you so long, Whitman? It's freezing out here!" she started to step inside but he blocked her way. "What's wrong?"

"Umm…I'm, kind of busy right now, Maria…" There was a noise from the bedroom and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"What kind of "busy?""

"I can't talk about it…I'll call you tomorrow okay?" He didn't wait for her answer before he shut the door. He was gonna get hell for that tomorrow…

Wait…he didn't have to lie to Maria. He never lied to Maria. Why did he do that? His step faltered and he turned around to get her. She could help, she could talk to the woman…she might be more comfortable talking to a girl about what had happened anyway.

He reached the door and opened it just in time to see Maria's headlights swing out of the drive.

Too late.

He closed the door again and briefly rested his forehead against it. He didn't know what to do…

He heard another thump from the bedroom and ran back to it. She was sitting on the edge of his bed, reaching for the little alarm clock that had fallen off the night table. "What are you doing?" he picked it up for her and set it back in its place.

"I knocked it over…"

"No I mean what are you doing sitting up…" He gently pushed her back down on the bed. "I thought you were sleeping…"

"No…I was concentrating…" He dipped the end of one of the towels into the water.

"On what?" She looked at him.

"Nothing." He sat down beside her, and carefully took her hand in his. He turned it over and was almost sick. It was burnt. *Burnt*…nearly to blackness.

"Jesus Christ…" She took the towel from him and slowly pressed it against her palm. She winced as she pulled loose the shell of burnt skin covering it…and when it was off…the skin beneath was clear, untouched, perfect. He stared at her. "How…"

"I told you…I can fix this…" he got up from the bed and took a step away from her as she dipped the towel back into the water.

"Who are you…?" She swallowed and held in her breath as she wiped at a thick smear of blood on her forearm. Again, beneath it the skin was perfect.

"Nobody…" He watched her as she carefully attended to her "wounds", but he couldn't see any. His stomach twisted, coldness washing through his body.

"Is this a trick…? You pretend to be hurt so I'll let you in and then you rob me?" She was silent and he came to her and grabbed her by the arm. She cried out and fell against him. He stumbled back against the wall and they sank to the ground together. She was shaking in his arms, crying. "God I'm sorry…" he murmured against her hair "Isabel…"

"I need some more time…I need…"

"Okay…okay…I'm so sorry…" He carefully helped her back onto the bed and she laid there on her back with her eyes closed tight against the tears that streamed down her face. Her breath trembled across her lips as she shook with pain on his bed and he didn't know what to do.

"Please let me call someone…"

"I…need…Max…" She sobbed and he got down on her knees beside her.

"Okay, okay I'll call him, I'll get him for you…" She shook her head. "Who is he? Where-"

"My brother…"

"Where can I find him?" she was silent, still shaking with sobs. "Isabel…"

"You can't! He's gone…I just need…I need to rest…"

"Okay…okay…" he whispered, "I'll leave you alone to sleep…" She closed her eyes and whispered a thank you back and he stood there for a moment longer looking down at her, at her hair spread out on the pillow behind her like a torn halo striped with ribbons of blood… She looked like something cut down from the sky. Her clothes hung in tatters from her body the sleeves of her blouse shredded up to the shoulders, a strange material that glimmered just a little bit in the weak light. He could see her bruised skin beneath the strips of fabric that barely covered her arms, her legs…Over her chest was a vest of some sort…it looked like metal, tarnished, and burnt in places…He looked back up to her face, at her parted lips that slowly breathed the air in, held it for a moment, then slowly let it out

She opened her eyes and met his. He swallowed.

"What's your name?"

"Alex…"

"I thought you were going, Alex…"

"Yeah...Yeah…Sorry…Isabel…you'll call me if you need help?"

"…Yes…"

"I'll be right out here…" she smiled softly.

"Okay…Alex…?" He poked his head back in the room. "Thank you…"

*~*~*

She pulled out of Alex's driveway trying not to be annoyed at his brush off. If he hadn't been with a girl she would have thrown a temper tantrum for being tossed out like that when all she had wanted to do was invite him for a cup of coffee. At two in the morning.

Okay, so she had no concept of time. She didn't feel bad about it. Alex knew she was an insomniac. He never got mad at her when she stopped by at random hours of the night (or morning) to get coffee or to go bowling or to just look at the stars…

Besides, Alex didn't sleep much either.

He was too stressed out over that book. She seriously wanted to kick Sydney's ass. What a bitch imposing a deadline like that when his wife had just died…

She blinked back her tears and cranked up the stereo. She didn't want to think about Liz. She'd been doing a good job of it for the past year, and she wasn't going to break now. The anniversary was coming up and she had to be strong for Alex.

She pulled onto the "main road" which was just like all the "non-main" roads since it wasn't lit any better. It was always pitch black, her headlights the only light cutting through the darkness.

She should just forget about coffee and go home. Try to sleep. Try to figure out how long she should wait before calling Alex and demanding to know all about this girl he had stashed in his room.

She was surprised at that. Surprised, but proud. It was a good sign. One that meant he was ready to try and get on with his life…

Like she had done.

She wasn't really all that tired. She didn't want to dream tonight anyway. Maybe she would get that cup of coffee…

"Oh my God!"

She had been staring out the windshield into the dark road which seconds before had been empty, and slammed on her breaks as her headlights illuminated a figure crouched down in the middle of the street. She made eye contact with him for one brief second before she swerved off the road and rammed her car into a tree.

*~*~*

Her jagged thoughts were slowly being stitched together, a silver thread of pure will pulling the scattered pieces back together again.

Who was she now? Vilandra or Isabel? Where did that name "Isabel" even come from?

She remembered bits and pieces of the fighting…she remembered Ava falling…Ava dying because she had thrown herself in front of a bolt meant for Zan…Max…She didn't know what happened to Rath…she had lost sight of him when Kavar tried to retreat…He had followed…and then Zan had followed…

She had been hit, she had fallen to the ground. She had laid there with her eyes open watching the battle, watching her people and Kavar's people fall, felt their blood on her face…she remembered reaching out her hand to Ava, to see if she was still alive and before her eyes she watched herself dissolve, watched her hand fade…Her whole body had dissolved until all there was left were her eyes and then they disappeared too. She thought she had died.

That was the last thing she remembered before waking up in the woods…and knowing where she was as though she had been there before, been on this planet before…

Maybe she had…

When she had touched the man she had seen…things…

She had seen herself in a desert, in a cave with four sacs set into its wall, she had seen herself at a table with him …Alex…in a restaurant with lights that looked like flying saucers hanging overhead, and girls dressed in little green dresses with antennae bobbing on their heads. She had seen herself standing on a bluff with her brother, with Rath…no…Michael, this…Alex, and two girls she did but didn't recognize…

There was a tugging in her brain when it came to these pieces, an urging…

She had lived on this planet.

So had her brother. So had Rath and Ava. Only those names sounded wrong here and they kept flip flopping to those other names that felt more natural to her. Max. Michael. Tess. Isabel.

Suddenly, because she had touched that guy, she had two sets of memories…One was of home, of fighting, and the other was of here, Earth, feeling lost, lonely but finding some amount of comfort in the boy, Alex, who was much younger in her head, and the two girls.

She couldn't remember if the first set of memories had been aware of the second…

She couldn't think about it right now, she had to concentrate on healing her insides.

She was still too disoriented to figure any of this out anyway. Her brain hadn't adapted yet to being put back together after hurtling through space in a million miniscule pieces of matter. No wonder she had so many broken bones. When her body had reformed she wondered how far up from the ground she had been…

*~*~*

Alex was sitting on his couch staring at his bedroom door when the phone rang. It was Maria and she was hysterical.

"Wait, wait slow down 'Ria, what happened?"

"I almost killed someone!"

"What?!"

"I don't know I guess I wasn't paying attention and he just like appeared out of nowhere I don't think I hit him but I rammed my car into a tree and I'm really scared-"

"Are you hurt?"

"No I had my seat belt on…but the car is totaled."

"What about the person you saw?"

"He's gone…I don't know where he went…I got out of the car and I went up to the road and no one was there! I swear to God someone was there, Alex…I saw him…"

"Maria, I'm coming to get you…" He hung up the phone, and grabbed his car keys from the table, then paused looking back at his door. It would be really stupid to leave her here alone. He still wasn't one hundred percent positive she wasn't going to rob him blind.

So what? He didn't have anything worth taking anyway except his TV and his laptop - and it wasn't like he had been getting a lot of use out of that lately.

He'd just have to cross his fingers that the girl stayed sleep until he got back, and that she wouldn't need him for anything.

He ran to the door, tugging on his jacket, and locked it behind him.

*~*~*

Isabel opened her eyes. She moved her arm experimentally bending it at the elbow. She took a deep breath and breathed it in and out without any pain. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed and got to her feet easily. She jumped up and down a few times to make sure her legs were okay, then slowly stretched out her arms and back. Her muscles ached a little but otherwise she felt okay. The rest had helped her get enough energy back to completely heal herself. Her mind was still a little fuzzy, and she was still confused about those Earth memories, but she was sure they'd make sense in time. It was weird that Alex hadn't seemed to recognize her when she was sure she knew him. According to those bits of memories floating around in her head she had spent quite a bit of time with him.

She wandered over to the door and left the bedroom, calling out Alex's name to the empty living room. He wasn't there.

It was tidy. That was her first thought. The wood floors were immaculate and smooth under her bare feet, not a scratch on them. There was a comfortable looking couch in front of a dying fire and a caramel colored circle-rug that looked so soft. She went over to the fireplace and stood on the rug, curling her toes into it as she held her arm out, her fingers fanned and glowing just a little. The flames crackled back to life and she wandered around the room stopping at the bookshelf that held books on the solar system, star formations, a series of ten novels called The Crystal Galaxy Wars by Alexander Whitman and two copies of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There was a laptop sitting on the desk beside the bookshelf with an open document on it. It was blank. Beside the keyboard was a pile of notes and character descriptions in strong slanted handwriting with interjections in blue ink in another lighter hand.

On the bookshelf was a photo of a girl with long dark hair and twinkling brown eyes that looked affectionately on a much younger Alex whose head was thrown back, his lips parted in laughter.

Liz.

She remembered Liz.

There was another picture on the shelf below it of Liz and another girl, a blond girl who cheerfully stuck her tongue out at the camera and put bunny ears on Liz who was caught mid giggle with her hand halfway to her mouth.

Maria.

She knew these girls. They had been her friends, like Alex had been her friend.

But Alex didn't remember her. That much was obvious. She barely remembered him herself…

What the hell was going on?

Where was Max? Where were Michael and Tess? They had made a pact that they would always stay together, no matter what…

She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering a little, and hoping Alex would come back soon so they could figure all this out…

*~*~*

Maria had been silent all the way back to her apartment. She thought he didn't believe her about the man that had suddenly appeared in the road. He had asked her if she had been drinking at all before coming to see him tonight and that had been a mistake. She had looked at him, shocked that he would even suggest such a thing and had flung open the door at the stoplight a block away from her house and ran the rest of the way home. He had followed her and she had slammed the door in his face.

This was turning out to be one great night.

He turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door. The first thing he noticed was that the bedroom door was open.

"Isabel…?" He stepped further into the room and saw her lying asleep on the couch. She had one of his sweatshirts on over her tattered dress, and her knees were curled up under it. He smiled and came a little closer. She had washed the blood and dirt away from her face, and her hair, still tinted with dried blood, spilled over her shoulders and off the edge of the couch in a gold waterfall.

She was beautiful.

He hadn't really noticed before, he was too concerned with helping her, but now that she seemed alright he allowed himself to look at her. She was exotic, her skin pale and flawless, her eyebrows two decisive brush strokes above thick lashes forming dark crescents on her cheeks. He remembered her eyes were brown, a soft, warm brown that reminded him of someone else's. Her full lips parted in a quick breath and she frowned in her sleep. He knelt down beside the couch and reached out to wake her. His fingers had barely touched her shoulder when her eyes snapped open and he suddenly found himself on his back, her hands locked around his wrists holding him down. She blinked at him and quickly let go, stumbling back against the couch.

"I'm so sorry!"

"No…I'm sorry I shouldn't have…" he looked up at her from where he lay still on his back with his hands on either side of his head. "I wasn't going to hurt you…"

"I know…I know…it was just…reflex…"

"Reflex."

"Yes." He met her eyes for a moment and realized they weren't really like Liz's at all. Liz's had been darker. Isabel's were more of a golden brown. He blinked and looked away, realizing he had been staring.

"Do you know me…?" she said softly.

"What?"

"Do you…recognize me at all?" he frowned at her and slowly shook his head, starting to feel uncomfortable. "Are you sure?"

"I'm…positive. I would have remembered you…if we had met before…" he cleared his throat and sat up. She was still looking at him intently, the firelight casting a warm glow over her face, her hair. She was golden. "Yeah I definitely would have remembered you…Why? Do you…uh…recognize me?"

She nodded, still frowning and he shrugged. "Maybe you went to one of my signings? It's been awhile since I've done one of those…but maybe you recognize me from that?"

"Signings?"

"Yeah, at Barnes and Noble or something? I'm a writer…"

"I thought you wanted to be a musician…"

Pause.

"I uh…play the guitar but it's just a hobby…"

"You had a band…The Whits…" It was starting to come back to her…she hadn't actually seen them perform the night of their concert because she had been at the library with Michael…sending a signal…to Nasedo…But she had wanted to go…she had wanted to hear Alex's band perform…

"The Whits?" he laughed. "I would have come up with a better name than that if I had a band…"

"But…you didn't…" He looked at her.

"No." She bit her lip, her breath starting to come a little faster as she brought a hand to her forehead.

"What the hell is going on…"

"Maybe…This is gonna sound so Days of Our Lives but maybe you have amnesia? You were in pretty bad…shape…" he trailed off as she jumped to her feet and went over to the TV. "But you seem okay now…"

"I don't have amnesia…" she mumbled flipping on the TV, searching for a news channel. "I'm confused…but something's not right. You know me…" She stopped at the Pre-View channel which was displaying the weather for the next few days in Washington, and stared. "I'm in Washington? When the hell did you move to Washington?"

Alex stood and cautiously came up beside her. "I've always lived here…"

She stared at him. "What about Roswell…?"

He shook his head at her sympathetically and said gently, "I've never been there before in my life…"

"That's…that's not possible…"

"Look…do you wanna sit down or something?"

"NO!" she shouted. "I'm not…I'm not crazy Alex…I know you…I know Maria and Liz!" Alex's face turned white.

"How do you know Liz?"

"She…" Isabel faltered at the look on his face, losing some of her steam. "She's my friend…"

"Was your friend."

"I don't…"

"Liz died. Last year. All of her "friends" know about it. Why don't you?"

"No…How…"

"Drunk driver…" A muscle clenched in his cheek. "We were married just two months before…"

Married?

"I…I don't know what…" she shook her head, tears coming to her eyes as she watched him fight his.

"What are you doing here?"

"I…"

"Alex Charles Whitman you open this Goddamn door right now!" They both jumped at the pounding on the door and Isabel stared at him.

"Is…that your mother…?"

"No." he said going to the door. "It's Maria. And since you know her so well I'm sure she'll recognize you."

He opened the door and Maria pushed past him stalking into the living room, seething with anger.

"How did you get here?"

She whirled around at him.

"How da- what? Oh, cab - How dare you accuse me of drinking and driving!"

"I know…" he said softly. "That wasn't fair…I'm sorry…"

"I'd never do that! Ever! Especially since…" She burst into tears and Alex pulled her into his arms, resting his head against hers.

"I know Maria…I wasn't thinking…"

"And I didn't make him up…he was real…"

"I believe you 'Ria…" She sniffled and pulled back wiping hastily at her cheeks. She hated crying in front of people.

"Okay…okay I'm going home now. I just needed to yell at you…"

"I'll drive you-"

"No…the cab's waiting…"

"I'm really…"

"I know…I'm sorry for barging in again on your date - which you are getting major shit for tomorrow for not telling me-"

Isabel cleared her throat and Maria slowly turned, blushing bright red.

"Oh…she's still…here…Great. Now she knows what a psycho you have for a best friend."

"She says she knows you." Alex said stiffly, remembering the conversation he had been having before they had been interrupted

Isabel stared at her hoping to God to see some flicker of recognition. Her stomach sank to her feet.

Nothing.

"I…don't think I know you…" she said smiling a little crookedly. "Unless…Did we meet at a party or something?"

Isabel sighed and leaned against the back of the couch.

"She says she's friends with Liz." Maria blinked at her and swallowed.

"We know all of Liz's friends…"

Alex stared at Isabel, his eyes hard and Maria looked up at him then back to her, confused.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Nothing." Alex said quietly. "I'll call you tomorrow."

She paused, then, after his gentle nudge, slowly made her way to the door.

"Okay…umm…nice to meet you…?"

"Isabel" Isabel said tiredly to the floor.

Maria looked at Alex one last time, trying to make sure he really wanted her to go, but he was staring at the girl. She closed the door behind her, leaving them alone.

"Before I left to drive her home you were in agony. It looked like someone had beaten the crap out of you and left you for dead. You look perfectly healthy now. Explain that."

"Alex…"

"You say you know me, know my wife, my friend, but I've never seen you before. Maria's never seen you before. Explain that."

"There's been some sort of mistake…"

He laughed harshly and she flinched at it.

"Yes there's been a mistake - you've tried to scam the wrong person-"

"I'm not scamming anybody! I swear, Alex…I don't belong here…When I was sent back something must have happened…This isn't the…the reality I know…" Alex blinked at her. "I don't know what else to call it!"

His eyes flickered over to the stack of disrupted books on his bookshelf. She caught the look and glared at him.

"I'm not some psycho-groupie that thinks she's a character in one of your books!"

"You read my books?" Isabel shrugged. She had read them while she had been waiting for him to come back.

"Yeah…they were very good…"

"Thanks…" He blushed at the compliment.

She smiled at him, at his insecurity. This was Alex. No matter what…twilight zone she had fallen into she knew him. She knew how he would react if she told him what she was because he was Alex and the Alex she knew cared about her, regardless. The last time she had done this she had been afraid. She wouldn't waste time being afraid now. She needed this Alex to know everything so he would help her, so he would be there for her.

"Okay here goes - I'm an alien. Stop looking at your damn books, I told you I'm not a groupie. My name is Isabel Evans and I along with my brother Max, our friends Michael and Tess were in the '47 crash. We were in these incubation pods for like 40 years and then we were born. We got adopted and lived like normal kids in Roswell, New Mexico. We knew from the beginning that there was something different about us…that we could do things other kids couldn't do. We never told anybody…we were afraid…" she shook her head and waved her hand in front of her face in a dismissive gesture. "Okay skip forward a few years - our sophomore year of high school this girl form school, Liz Parker got shot in an accident at the Crashdown Café. My brother was there with Michael. He healed her. He saved her life because he loved her. He risked his life and ours for her…Liz told Maria and they kept it from you for a few months because we were afraid…too many people knew already…and then…and then Liz told you…and I was glad she did because I knew I could trust you…Anyway okay all this time the Sheriff was chasing us or, I mean Max because of what happened at the Crashdown…but that doesn't really matter now because he knows all about us and he's on our side…He's actually a good guy…and then there was Pierce…but I don't want to talk about that…We…we found out that we had a purpose here on Earth, that there was a reason why we were sent here…It's complicated but basically…the planet we came from was taken over by a man named Kavar…he's…he sent his people…the Skins here to Earth and we spent most of Junior year fighting them off and then we were able to find a way home…they needed us to come back and we were finally ready to face Kavar in person…but we couldn't…he was too strong…The last thing I remember is being hit and I fell and I closed my eyes…and then I opened them again in the woods out there…That's the Cliffsnotes version…" She sighed, relieved that while she had been talking her memories had slid back into place and she remembered everything. She remembered standing before the Granolith about to go home…to fight…to kill…She remembered hugging them goodbye. She remembered Alex holding her hand until the last minute, supportive as always even though things had been awkward between them.

She looked up at him and laughed at the glazed expression on his face. She had probably sounded like Maria…She stopped laughing. He wasn't saying anything.

"What…what are you thinking?" She asked carefully

"I'm thinking…I should be taking notes…"

"You don't believe me do you…"

"No."

"Why not? You write Sci-fi novels!"

"Yeah Sci-fi as in Science Fiction…I know it's not real…It's not real Isabel…"

"Ketchup." She said suddenly and he blinked at her.

"What?"

"Ketchup, get me some ketchup."

He shook his head at her and went to the kitchen. He came back to her and handed her the bottle. He was starting to look nervous…He was picturing the headlines…

Promising Young Author Killed By Condiment-Wielding Madwoman

Death by Ketchup: The Alex Whitman Story

She took the bottle from him and held it up so he could see, her fingers wrapped firmly around its neck.

"This is how I proved it to you before…" He pursed his lips together.

"When I knew you?"

"When you knew me."

She closed her eyes, concentrating, and he watched as her hand began to glow. The red ketchup swirled around in the bottle as ribbons of yellow unfurled from its center until the red disappeared completely. She opened her eyes and tossed it to him. He caught it, his mouth hanging open.

"It's mustard now. Taste it if you don't believe me."

"How…"

"I told you. Are you going to help me or what?"

"This is impossible…" he slumped back against the couch staring at the bottle of Heinz, turning it around and around in his hands.

"Okay, yeah fine it's impossible. Think I'm a crazy woman if it'll make you feel better - but I need your help Alex. I don't know what happened to Max, to Michael…I don't know if they're here somewhere or if I'm alone…but…Alex I can't…I really don't want to be alone…you were…we were…friends in the life I remember. You trusted me…You cared about me…and I cared about you. I care about you. I'm telling the truth."

"This is…this is…"

"Impossible. Yeah. You said that." She went to him and sat down beside him on the couch. He moved away from her and then stopped at the stricken look on her face. She looked into his eyes, willing him to believe her…and then she remembered something, something Max had said about Liz and seeing into her mind…letting him see his… "I think…I think I might have a way to prove to you…but I…I have to touch you…" He stared at her and she blinked back tears. "I'm not crazy…I'm not going to hurt you…I could never hurt you Alex…"

"You said…I trusted you…" She nodded and he took a deep breath swallowing nervously. "Okay…" She reached out to him and tentatively wove her fingers into his hair, cupping his face in her palms.

She closed her eyes.

*~*~*

Maria pulled into the lot behind Sergio's. She hated waitressing. Sooooo much. But it paid the bills so she couldn't complain. She got out of the car and looked around at the packed parking lot. The clink of glasses and laughter filled the air and she breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn't working tonight. The place was packed.

I'm not gonna let Ryan rope me into working tonight…all I'm going to do is pick up my paycheck and get the hell out of here…

She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck and made her way to the door. She decided she'd call Alex when she got back home - he hadn't called this afternoon like he had said he would and she was a little worried. She wanted to find out what was up with that Isabel chick. Something felt off about it, she had really looked like she had expected her to recognize her. And Alex had looked so…hard…so angry…She'd never seen him like that before…

There was someone standing outside the backdoor beside the dumpsters, shivering in the cold, his arms wrapped tightly around himself as he peered in through the door. Maria felt her heart tighten in her chest. Maybe she could sneak him inside for a few minutes while she got her check, just long enough for him to get warm. She came up behind him and he whirled around, taking on a defensive posture and she held her hands up in front of her, then stopped when she saw his face.

It was the man…the man that had just appeared from nowhere in front of her car and had almost got her killed…

And he was staring at her…The fear disappeared from his eyes and he smiled, his chest caving in for a moment in disbelief, and then he came to her…

He said her name and he wrapped his arms around her and she was too stunned to do anything but stand there and let him.

He kissed her and she melted against him for a moment then jerked herself away from the stranger wondering what the hell she had been thinking kissing him back.

She shoved him away, but his arms were still around her. She looked up into his eyes and then suddenly she wasn't afraid. He looked confused, his lips moving soundlessly. He swallowed and said softly, "Maria…?" and the fear was back in his eyes.

"How do you know my name?" she whispered finally breaking away from him.

"I didn't…I didn't see the shoes…"

"What?"

"You have a dad…?" Maria felt a chill snake its way down her spine. What the hell was he talking about…"What about your mom…" She stared at him.

"I don't have a mom…"

"Yes you do - Amy-"

Wait a minute.

"How the hell do you know her name?!"

He squinted at her, shook his head. "Where the fuck am I?"

Okay he's a nutcase. I'm alone in a

"Parking lot"

- with a nutcase…

"No…Maria…" he took a step towards her and she backed away trying to determine whether or not she should push past him into the restaurant to safety or haul ass back to the car and hope he was too hopped up on whatever he was on to catch her. She paused when she noticed the symbol hanging from his neck…two lines swirling around a triangle…she had seen that before…where had she seen it…?

"Isabel…" she said softly. That woman Isabel had been wearing that same pendant…

"You've seen her?" She blinked at him and took another step back as he came towards her again. He didn't seem to notice, or else he chose not to. "Where is she? Is she alright?"

"I guess so…She's with my friend…Alex…" The corner of his mouth jerked up briefly and he mumbled to himself, relieved.

"She's with Whitman…"

Maria took a deep frustrated breath forgetting her plan to get the hell away from him and shouted, "How do you people know us?!" He stared at her for a long moment, then closed the space between them and grabbed her arm.

"C'mon, we're gonna figure this out…" she jerked herself away from him.

Why wasn't she screaming for help?

"Maria…"

"Don't you call me Maria! You have no right to call me Maria!"

"It's…your name."

"You don't know that! I never told you that!"

He stared at her.

"What have you been sniffing…"

"What have…what have Ibeen sniffing?!"

I should be running. I should be running and screaming. Why aren't I running and screaming?

He came up to her slowly, stopping right in front of her. She looked up into his eyes. There was a stripe of blood on his cheek. She opened her mouth to say something to ask him who he was, who Isabel was, what had happened to him, how- he pressed a finger against her lips silencing her, and she stared at him wide eyed as he spoke in a low, even voice that shook right through her. He was sexy. The psycho was sexy and she wasn't running away from him. She was wondering if he was gonna try and kiss her again. She was wondering if she was gonna let him.

Get a grip and run, you dumbass! You don't want to end up on the evening news…

"We're gonna go see them okay? We're gonna get in your car and get everything all straightened out…We need to get this straightened out…I need you to know me Maria…" he swallowed. "I can't lose you now after everything…"

"Okay." She whispered.

What am I saying? What the hell am I doing?

She was leading him to her car.

She was taking him to Alex's.

*~*~*

He had become aware of his body again six seconds before he hit the ground. He realized he was about to hit that ground two seconds after that, and had had just enough time to brace himself for the inevitable impact.

He had laid there on top of the branches that hadn't broken his fall. He had laid there for what felt like hours trying to figure out where he was, who he was, and how he could fix his broken bones.

Lonnie and Zan had always been good with that "repairing the merchandise" shit. He'd never really gotten the knack of it. He was better at breaking stuff.

He had crawled out of the forest after doing what he could for himself and had painfully made his way towards the road that gleamed a little in the moonlight. He went to it like a man in a desert finding a river. He went to it like it held all the answers, like it would save him from his confusion, his pain.

And then he had almost gotten run over.

The car was a Jetta. He had noticed the make after it had smacked into that tree.

A Jetta.

That had sparked something inside of him, inside of his brain...

Little raindrops of memory washing away some of the muck in his mind...

A red Jetta...an antennae with a green alien head...antennae on a blond girl with a killer mouth and sweet smooth shoulders...a green eyed angel with a little bit of devil in her making his head spin in fury and lust and something else...

The driver of the car had gotten out of it and he had thrown himself into the shadows, swallowing back a cry of pain as his body hit the ground (again) because he was scared. He was confused and the raindrops dried up and he remembered he was Rath, a warrior, and he was without people, without Lonnie, and Zan, and Ava. He didn't know where he was and he was too tired to fight.

So he had hid.

He had hid and he had watched the girl frantically search through her purse and pull out a cell phone. He had watched her as she cried into it and looked for him.

He had almost gone to her.

When she had hung up her phone and stood by the side of the road so close to where he was, her arms wrapped around herself as she waited for her friend to come and get her.

As she murmured over and over again to herself, "I didn't imagine it...someone was there...someone was there..."

There was something almost familiar about the curve of her white neck as she bowed her head into her hands. He had noticed the thin gold chain glistening across it, and he had a flash suddenly of a kiss, a sudden burning kiss, a first kiss...

He had been about to step out of the shadows and into the moonlight beside her when another car had come barreling down the road.

He had watched as the driver jumped out of his car and ran to the girl, hugged her, took her away.

When they had gone he had broken into her car and crawled into it to escape from the cold. He had found a strand of gold hair on the seat and had another flash of hair just that color against his cheek, bringing with it the comforting scent of apples.

He had stayed in the woman's car until the tow truck came and then he had slinked off into the woods again even more confused than ever, his memories scattered like scraps of paper on the wind, touching ground for a moment and then flying off again, so high he couldn't reach, couldn't remember...

There was Zan and Lonnie...there was Ava...Kavar...blood and smoke...pain in his body and death everywhere...

But there was another place.

A tin can of a home...the rancid smell of sweat and alcohol...pain in his body again...a desert...a girl...that first amazing kiss and others...The Granolith.

The orbs and the healing stones.

Two homes.

Two planets spinning and spinning in different spheres surrounded by the same stars he'd stared up at all his life.

He was on Earth.

He had lived here.

He had spent the night in a cave and dreamt of another one with a map on the wall...a map of his solar system.

He dreamt of a circle and being surrounded by friends, family...being saved...feeling loved for the first time...feeling hope...

He awoke with his memories in place and his body still broken, still frozen, no energy left in him, no power. It had taken him most of the day to make it into the little town that wasn't Roswell and he saw the woman there. He knew who she was this time. He remembered Maria and missing her...he remembered loving her and never saying a word.

When he saw her, his first thought had been that everything was going to be alright. Somehow he had made it back to Earth and it was where he was supposed to be, where he was meant to be. He was with who he was meant to be with.

But it was all wrong.

He didn't see the shoes...

Little red shoes with a kermit patch hiding the hole where her Dalmatian had chewed.

He didn't see a sad little girl reaching for her father as he walked away.

He saw a sad little girl placing daisies on her mother's grave.

He saw Liz and Alex...the same and yet so different...

He saw Maria placing lilacs on another grave and Alex locking himself in a bathroom.

He had let go of her then and she hadn't known him.

He was alone all over again.

And then there it was...a little glimmer of hope...

"Isabel..."

Isabel was here. She had made it back too.

She would know him, she would recognize him. Isabel would know what had happened, she would know how to fix it...

He looked over at Maria driving her Jetta with the dented fender. The antennae didn't have an alien head on it and her shoulders were tense. She kept sneaking little glances at him.

She was scared of him.

"Who...who are you people...?" He swallowed She really didn't know...

"Friends."

"Whose? Liz's? That's what that girl said...Isabel..."

"Yes. Friends of Liz's...but friends of yours too...you and Alex."

"No..." she shook her head breathing hard. "I don't know you...either of you. I don't know why I'm humoring you...why I'm taking you to Alex's when you're probably some psycho killer that's gonna chop us up into little pieces and...and kill us dead..."

"I promise I am not a psycho killer. I promise I will not chop you and Alex up into little pieces and kill you dead, okay? Feel better now?"

She glared at him.

"Are you making fun of me?"

He rubbed his eyes trying not to laugh because he knew it would hurt his chest.

"I really want to but I'm too tired..." She was quiet for a moment, then after another careful glance in his direction murmured, "What happened to you?"

How was he supposed to answer that?

I was in the middle of a war on another planet in another solar system about to get my ass permanently kicked by an evil alien warlord who, incidentally, I was born to kill, but thank God I turned to dust and ended up here before he killed me because I was doing such a miserable job with my birth right but maybe now I can have another crack at it?

Will I?

He looked at her.

"I fell."

"What, like from a tree?"

"Ummm...no, higher."

"Like skydiving?"

"Yes, in a sense."

"Well didn't yer parachute open? It looks like you landed on your face...you look pretty bad...I mean not bad...just hurt...Really really badly hurt...So did you land in front of my car last night? Or did you walk out into the middle of the road because you wanted to give someone a heart attack? I was really scared and now I have to pay for my car and my insurance will probably go up because they don't like me anyway because of that whole kayak-through-the-back-window incident and I just really don't need any more crap in my life because it's December and everything's worse in December and-"

"Maria."

"What?"

"You don't have to be afraid of me."

"I'm...not."

"You are. You always babble when you're scared..."

"How do you...You know what? I think I've earned the right to babble okay? So just deal with it! I mean look at it from my perspective okay? You're like some weirdo man who almost got me killed and then you...you kiss me and ask me about my mom who's been dead for...for..yeah and then there's the whole Isabel thing and she says she knows Liz too but I've known Liz my whole life and I would know you guys if she did and..." She pulled over to the side of the road and turned towards him. "Look...if this is some big scam...if you're trying to hurt Alex I will kill you. You and that girl. I swear to God you'll regret it if you do anything to upset him. He doesn't need anymore...pain. You can mess with me all you want, I'm used to it, but Alex...He's all I have and it's...it's my job to take care of him, okay? So if this is a joke or something you better get out of the car right now before this goes any further."

He didn't know what to say. He tried to reach out to her because he didn't know what else to do and he never said the right thing anyway but she jerked away from him.

"I wasn't going to hurt you..."

"I know you weren't." she whispered. "I think that scares me even more..."

"You really don't know me?" She threw up her hands in an exasperated gesture that was so her it made his heart ache and she growled, "Now I know you landed on your head...For the eighty-seventh time, NO I DO NOT KNOW YOU."

"Then...why are you helping me?"

She stared at him for a long moment then restarted the car and pulled it back onto the road.

"Because sometimes I'm not very smart."

*~*~*

The second she touched him he knew it was true. He knew he could trust her… that he had trusted her. He felt that she would never hurt him. He felt that she cared about him in a way few people ever had and he abandoned himself to her fingers that gently wove themselves into his hair as her breath hummed across his lips in concentration.

It was like watching a movie inside of his head, images flickering by without sound but telling a story…one he had never seen before but was a player in. He saw this woman's life flash before his eyes and he was a part of it, a big part of it, and so was Maria. So was Liz.

He saw his wife, the love of his life, with another man…

Isabel's brother…

Max…

And Max loved her. He loved her so much he risked his life and the lives of the people he had sworn to himself that he would protect to save hers.

And Liz loved him back. She loved Max so much she almost left with him that day at the Granolith.

The Alex she showed him wasn't jealous because he was looking at her, Isabel, and wishing so much…

He saw himself not wanting her to leave and trying so hard to hold onto her hand just as tightly as she was holding onto his even though he knew she had to go.

He watched her let go of his hand. He watched her step into the light and his face was the last thing she saw…the last thing she wanted to see…

He saw the flickering images of war, of death, and she quickly pulled him away from them before gently releasing him.

"You don't need to see that…" She whispered staring at her hands in her lap. "I don't want you to see what I did…what I became there…"

"What was that?" he murmured reaching out to brush her hair away from her eyes with a hesitant familiarity.

"Vilandra…"

"I don't…"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is you know now…that I'm not crazy and that…that something happened and things aren't the way they're supposed to be…"

She had looked so scared…He didn't want to tell her that his world was right, that he didn't believe his "life" was an accident or some cosmic screw up. She was the one who was "misplaced", and looking into her deep brown eyes that weren't anything like Liz's he realized that she knew this.

She had gotten up from the couch and stared for a long time at the weaving flames that crackled in the air and filled the silence before she whispered almost to herself, "What if I can't get back…" She turned to look at him suddenly, the panic that had been in her voice leaving her eyes as she gazed at him so softly he felt his breath catch in his throat. "But…what if I'm supposed to be here now…what if this is my second chance…My chance to -" she trailed off, still looking at him and he felt…guilty. Because he was wondering if this was a second chance for him as well.

His heart was beating so hard but he didn't know if he could trust it because he had seen so much and it was so confusing and that boy, that younger version of himself was and wasn't him and he didn't know if he was feeling what he was feeling because of that person…

He had never thought he'd want to touch a woman that wasn't Liz.

"Alex, I-"

"You should rest…you look really tired and I…I have to do some writing…I'm really behind and I have to get started…but you should rest…"

"Alex…"

"I promise we'll figure all of this out later but I really have to work…" He didn't mean to sound frantic, he didn't mean to let her see how nervous he was, how scared he was now of being alone with her but he knew she knew. She had nodded and quietly went to his room and he sat down at his laptop staring at the empty page just like before as he thought of Liz and Isabel and his stupid manuscript that he had no intention of working on.

He sat there until the sunlight pulled back from his window and his home was completely dark except for the blinding white screen. He jumped when Isabel came up beside him and gently placed her hand on his arm.

"How's it going?" She murmured taking her hand away and peering over his shoulder.

"Fabulous." He said rubbing his eyes and shutting it down. "What are we going to do? I don't know how to help you…I don't even know if you want me too…I mean if you want to stay…if you think you're supposed to be here with…"

He finally had the courage to look at her and she was staring straight ahead her lips parted and slowly curving into a smile. The doorbell rang.

"Isabel…?"

"It's him…"

Him?

"He found me…"

She ran to the door and flung it open.

Alex watched her fall into the arms of a tall man with a severe case of bed head. It was the other boy, the other one he had seen in Isabel's memories. The one he had seen with Maria.

He glanced over at his friend who was standing in the doorway staring at them and looking suspicious and moved and sick all at the same time.

He looked at Isabel, at Michael's arms wrapped around her waist, at his face buried in her neck. He was starting to feel a little sick too.

Isabel was fine now. Her tear stained face was happy. She didn't look so afraid anymore.

And he was glad of it.

Except…she wouldn't need his help anymore. She would go away. The thought made his chest hurt. Maria came up to him and slipped her hand into his.

"I think my weirdo knows yours…" she stage-whispered out of the side of her mouth.

"What happened-"

"Where's Max-"

"I don't-"

"God, I was afraid I'd never-"

"Me too, Is, me too…"

"I don't know what happened…" Isabel whispered against his shoulder. "I was too weak to teleport myself…I wouldn't have been able to get this far anyway…we've never had that kind of power…"

"Max did it…I don't know how he did it but he…he saved our lives…"

"What happened to him?"

"I'm not sure…After you…after you fell I went after Kavar…I couldn't think…I couldn't do anything but follow and lash out at him with everything I had and Max knew it wouldn't be enough. I think I knew it wouldn't be enough and I didn't care. I thought he had killed you…" Michael gently brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "So I went after him and Max was yelling at me to get back…still trying to play team captain long after everything had gone to shit…I didn't listen and…he got me…" He stepped back from her and showed her the charred hole in his metal vest. The skin beneath was bloody and burnt. "If Max hadn't gotten me outta there and sent me here…where I had some time to try and heal myself I would have been dead…"

"What…what the hell is going on here?" Maria whispered staring at his wound. Michael and Isabel stared back at her, both opening their mouths at the same time to explain then shutting them when nothing came out. Alex took her arm.

"I'll tell her…" he said and led her off to the kitchen.

Michael stared after her for a moment then turned back to Isabel.

"I don't know what happened to him, Is. It was all over anyway, we got as many of our people off the planet as we could…It was dead…if he was going to survive he'd have had to teleport himself…but you know Max…" his throat closed up and he blinked back tears. "He wouldn't have left until he was sure everyone else was safe…and who knows if he would have had enough power to do it anyway after getting all of us out…"

"You think he didn't make it…"

"I…can't feel him…but then again I couldn't feel you until just now…Maybe he's here somewhere…"

"No. I don't think he is. I can't feel Tess either but I know she got away…I saw her disappear…I don't think he's…dead…Michael…no matter where he is I'd know." She stopped and looked at him. "What if they made it back? I mean what if they're in Roswell…"

"What?! You're shitting me! You're totally shitting me!"

Michael dipped his hand behind the curve of his vest at his shoulder and pulled out a little vial.

"Whitman - Here, give this to her." He tossed the vial into the kitchen and Maria caught it before Alex did. She stared at the little vial in her hand.

"Cedar oil…" She came towards him, clutching the oil in her hand as Alex haplessly ran his hands through his hair and followed her into the living room to watch. "Where did you get this?!"

"You gave it to me…"

"I gave it to you."

"Yeah…at the Granolith right before…"

"What the fuck's a Granola - no I don't need to know what it is because you're lying! You stole this from me! I had it in my pocket right here!" She slapped her hand against her hip and froze, her eyes wide. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the vial. She held both of them in her hand. They were identical down to the little crack along the side in the enamel where she had dropped it. She was starting to hyperventilate. "How…"

"Sniff." Michael suggested and she quickly unscrewed the top and took a deep breath, staring up at him from behind her hand.

"You're serious…" She mumbled turning to Alex. "They're…aliens. And not just aliens but aliens from another reality where we all existed and were friends?" She laughed. "You realize how completely insane that is, right?"

"It's true…" Isabel said softly.

"The Granolith." Michael said suddenly, tearing his eyes away from Maria. "We'd never been able to teleport until after we came out of the Granolith…Remember when we came out of the chamber he said he felt different…he said he could feel the current still inside of him…What if he was able to connect to it and that's how he was strong enough to send us back? We need to find it…If we can go through it again maybe we'd be able to get home…" he scratched the back of his head and closed his eyes. "But then again the damn thing might not even exist here…"

"No…No I think you're right, Michael…think about how strong the Granolith is…how much power it has…It's a constant…it has to be…We stepped into the chamber and ended up in another one on another planet and the Granolith was there with us…and besides when we were sent to Earth they didn't know we'd end up where we did…in what reality we did…the Granolith would have to exist everywhere for their plan to work…for us to be able to get back from wherever we were…"

"So you have to find it." Alex came forward and leaned against the back of the couch next to Maria who was shaking her head at the floor. "Where do you think it is?"

"My guess would be Roswell…"

"Then let's go." Isabel stared at him, then smiled, relieved.

"You'll come…?"

"Well…I mean…if you want me too..."

"I do."

"We'll need a car for part of the trip…" Michael said slapping his hands together in front of him and rubbing them together. Maria looked up from the floor. Everyone was staring at her.

"What?"

*~*~*

She saw his lips moving but she refused to hear what he was saying.

"Maria…my car's in the shop otherwise we'd take it…" Alex said after Michael paused to take a deep frustrated breath.

"Alex, he wants to make my car disappear. He wants to make you disappear."

"It's not like we can't put him together again…" Michael argued crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Why don't you guys just rent a car and drive down there?"

"Because that would take too long and besides if something did happen to the car-"

"What's gonna happen to the car?!"

"Nothing! Just let us borrow it, okay?"

Maria stared at him frowning then glanced over at Alex. Alex wanted her to back down and give them the keys. He wanted to go with them. He wanted to get away from the house. He needed a distraction. She turned back to Michael.

"Fine." She growled "But I'm coming too. And I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not happy about this taking-us-apart-and-putting-us-back-together-again method of travel. "

"Whatever." Michael said rolling his eyes and Isabel smiled at her.

"It's okay." She said "We do it all the time…"

"Yeah to yourselves - have you ever tried it on other people?"

"…No…but how hard can it be?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick…"

Michael touched Isabel's arm. "We're going here…" he said sending her a location. She looked at him for a moment and then nodded.

"I'll take you Alex."

Michael glanced at Maria waiting for her to erupt into an "I-don't-trust-this-bozo" rant but she was quiet. They both watched as Isabel took Alex's hands in hers and closed her eyes, concentrating.

After a moment they began to fade, their images flickering until they completely disappeared.

Michael turned to Maria.

"You ready?"

"You kidding?" He held out his hand and she looked into his eyes searchingly. After a long moment she took a deep breath and accepted it.

"Don't be afraid…" he said softly.

"Easy for you to say…" she muttered screwing her eyes shut. "I better have all my…pieces in order when we get there…just…please don't kill me okay?"

She felt something brush her cheek and when she opened her eyes he was already beginning to fade.

She felt…buoyant…and her vision began to blur…

She closed her eyes.

*~*~*

He took her to the motel. He took her to that seedy middle of nowhere motel with the sleazy heart shaped bed and the stained carpet.

He materialized first, breathing in his first breath deeply. He heard her gasp beside him and he knew she was here with him. He hadn't screwed up. Not that he had been worried…Well maybe a little…

She slapped his arm and he opened his eyes.

"You're forgetting something."

He smirked. "What?"

She glared at him flushing bright red and pointed to her chest. "Bra! Now!"

Isabel came up to him and thwapped him on the back of his head and he rolled his eyes before closing them again.

He pulled the extra particles out of the air and brought them back together again where they were supposed to be. When he looked again she was peeking down the neck of her shirt.

"Okay." She said, then shoved him again before going to check on Alex who was standing by the road watching the sun sinking into the horizon.

He watched her rest her head on his shoulder, watched Alex put his arm around her waist. She hadn't noticed where they were. This place meant nothing to her.

"Michael…" Isabel came up beside him and touched his hand. "Don't be upset that she doesn't…know this place…" she said gently. "She's never been here before…"

Michael squinted at the ground and shrugged disinterestedly. "No…yeah I was just making sure…Anyway that's not why I chose this place. It's a place to sleep and it's not too far from the Ranch…" She squeezed his shoulder and he stepped away from her with a strained smile. "So…ready to try for the car?" She looked at him and then nodded.

"I'll tell them to get some rooms."

"Yeah. I'll meet you back at the cabin."

"Okay but wait for me, don't try to get it here by yourself…"

"Fine…" he said and made himself disappear.

*~*~*

"Are you okay?" Alex said after a long moment, and his arm around her waist tightened imperceptibly as if to tell her she was safe because he was there and she almost laughed. She had always thought of herself as the protector and Alex the protect-ee. But Alex was stronger than he looked, just like Liz had been, and she had always known it, always known that he didn't really need her to play watchdog…well except for that one time… She had taken the role and held onto it so hard because it was a distraction. She didn't have to think about her own hurts when she was protecting someone else from theirs. And now he was trying to calm her down, he was trying to make her feel safe.

She rested her head on his shoulder as they watched the sun go down in a blaze of evening fire and nodded. "Yeah…I think…I think I'm still in shock actually...I don't think I really believed it until she took you and made you disappear…but I wasn't scared because you trusted her. I could see that you trusted her and that was enough for me. That you believed was enough for me - that goes for the fact that they're aliens and that…that we'll be okay…okay? So…as long as you're good I'm good."

They both turned as they heard Isabel come up behind them, and her eyes flickered over his arm still wrapped firmly around Maria's waist before she said, "Why don't you two try and get some rooms while Michael and I get the car…"

Maria squinted at the "main office" with its boarded up windows over Isabel's shoulder and saw Michael as he faded. It was like a painting…a Seurat painting…watching him disappear was kind of like stepping closer and closer to A Sunday Afternoon In The Park and not seeing the picture at all, just the small dots of color, until you were so close you saw nothing at all…She blinked and he was gone.

"Yeah…umm I think the Love Shack is closed…like for good." She said bringing her attention back to Isabel who frowned and turned to survey the motel.

"Huh. Well that's not a problem, we can still get into the rooms we'll just need sleeping bags or something…"

"In the closet." Alex said. He reached out to touch her arm when she nodded and turned to go. "When you get back to the cabin you should rest for a little while before you try to get the Jetta over here - I mean both of you should…"

She smiled gently and promised she would before fading just like Michael had moments before.

"She likes you." Maria said and he didn't answer. "Do you like her?"

"It's complicated."

"It's a yes or no question, Alex…you don't have to feel guilty for liking her. She's…she's beautiful and she seems nice…"

"She showed me things." He said kicking at the sandy ground before making his way toward the sidewalk surrounding the motel and sitting down on the curb. She sat down beside him and waited for him. "She showed me her life…that other…life where we were all friends in Roswell. She showed me Liz, Maria…and she was so happy…so in love…and it wasn't with me. And I wasn't…in that life I was happy for her because she was my best friend but I…I was looking at Isabel…I was in love with Isabel…"

"Are you?" She whispered.

"I…feel drawn to her…touching her feels…right…it feels like home…" She was quiet for a moment staring at the ground thinking of Michael, thinking of him kissing her behind Sergio's and her not stopping him…not wanting him to stop. "I'm confused…because I don't know if it's real…if I'm just feeling this because of what I saw…"

"I think it's real…Alex…I felt it too with him…Did Isabel show you anything about…um…"

"Yes and yes."

"I thought so…he said some things to me…" She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "She was happy?"

"Yes…" he said softly. "She was happy. She was alive…I…it crossed my mind to ask if I…if they found a way back if I could go with…just to see her again…just to hold…but I know that wouldn't be right. I don't belong there…and I couldn't…I couldn't leave if you weren't coming too…"

"He said my mom was there…he said her name…" she laughed brokenly and wiped at her cheek with the back of her hand. "I'm jealous of myself…we get fucked here and somewhere else everything's fine…everyone's fine…I don't blame you for wanting to go there…I…miss her too Alex…both of them…"

"Yeah…"

"But I'm glad I have you Alex…I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here…" He kissed her forehead and rested his against it.

"I'll always be here for you 'Ria…no matter what…"

"Ditto."

*~*~*

Isabel unlocked the door and nudged it open. She stepped inside and went up to the light bulb hanging from the ceiling and touched it. She glanced over at Maria remembering the first time she had ever used her powers in front of her. She wasn't looking at the light bulb that flickered and filled the room with a warm glow at her touch. She was staring down the hall where Michael was unlocking the next room. She watched as Maria blinked when he caught her looking at him and quickly entered the room tossing the sleeping bags down on the floor.

"Is this okay?" Isabel asked coming over to help spread out the bags. "I mean if you'd rather stay with Alex…"

"No…that's okay…I just…um…"

"You want to talk to him."

"Yeah…No." Isabel smiled at her as she paced from the middle of the room to the door and back again, arguing with herself.

"I think he wouldn't mind if you did…want to talk to him, I mean." Maria stopped pacing and looked at her.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"You don't mind if I go over there for a little while then?"

"Nope…I was going to ask Alex if he wanted to go for a walk or something anyway. I just really want to be outside for a while…it's been too long since I've been here…"

Maria gave her a little smile. "On Earth?"

She laughed. "Earth, the desert, Roswell…" She smiled at Maria's smile. "It's funny how some things are the same no matter what reality you're in…"

"Do you really believe that?" She asked quietly, running her fingers over the doorknob.

"I know how I feel…and I think…I think I know how Michael feels…"

"It doesn't matter though…you guys are leaving tomorrow…none of this really matters…"

"It's up to you what you want to do, Maria…but…I left last time before I told Alex how I felt about him…and I know that the situation is obviously different here…But I want to be with him as much as I possibly can before tomorrow because when I step into the Granolith…I don't know if I'll be…home when I step out of it. We're kind of taking a chance, you know?"

"Maybe you shouldn't." Maria said softly. "Would it be so terrible to stay here? I mean what if you ended up some place really bad?"

"It…it wouldn't be right to stay…Michael and I…we don't belong here…"

Maria stepped away from the door. "I know…" she sighed and sat down on one of the sleeping bags, fiddling with the zipper. "I think…I'm just gonna go to sleep…I'm actually pretty tired."

"Are you sure?" She unzipped the bag and climbed inside. Her voice was muffled when she answered.

"It'll be…easier…G'night, Isabel."

"Night, Maria."

She shut the door carefully behind her and stood there for a moment looking at the door next to her. She understood how Maria was feeling. It was pointless in a way…after tomorrow Maria would never see Michael again, Isabel could understand why she wouldn't want to get involved and maybe she was being selfish wishing Alex would just come outside and be with her.

It was selfish. Just because Alex felt one way about her in one universe it didn't mean he'd feel the same in another and even if he did…then what? Nothing. She'd be gone and maybe he'd miss her and maybe he wouldn't. She hoped he wouldn't. But even so…she didn't want to have tomorrow be just like the last time. Standing there and saying nothing. If she never saw him again she had to explain to him now what had been going on in her head for all that time, why she had pushed him away…even though it wasn't him she had been running from…

She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the door. She wasn't going to knock on Alex's. She had no right to. She had no right to impose her feelings on him, her memories on him.

She went to the Jetta and sat on the hood of the car staring up at the stars. They looked the same. The sand beneath her feet looked the same. The motel, with the exception of the boarded up windows looked the same. Alex looked the same. Just a little older and…sadder…because of Liz.

She wondered if she had never come into his life…if Max had never been involved with Liz would they have ended up together? Would Liz have loved Alex the way she loved Max…Would Alex have loved her back just like he did here…would he have loved a woman who wasn't afraid to let him in, a woman who didn't hurt him over and over again because she didn't believe she could have love. Was Alex in a version of Roswell somewhere missing her? Would she ever see him again…

It was true what she had told Maria - she didn't know if she and Michael would end up where they were supposed to be…even if the Granolith was here…that didn't necessarily mean they would get home…and what if Alex wasn't there next time? What if she ended up in a world where he didn't exist…

Then he'd never know…ever…

She had missed so many opportunities, had let them fall through her fingers like sand and here was another chance, a chance to get some of this off her chest and she couldn't take it. She couldn't bring herself to knock on his door. Maria had the right idea. Just let go.

She heard the door open and opened her eyes.

Michael.

She watched him walk down the corridor to her door, his jaw set and his hands clenched tightly at his sides. He paused a moment before knocking on the door, then stepped inside when Maria answered.

She sat up. She stared at Alex's door trying to decide once and for all what she was going to do - be selfish or leave him alone.

Alex made the decision for her.

*~*~*

Michael stepped inside the darkened room at the sound of her voice. She was lying on the floor in a sleeping bag in a patchwork of shadow and moonlight from the threadbare curtains and he sat down beside her, not really knowing why he was there, why he had come when this woman wasn't really his Maria…

He had finally realized that when he hadn't seen one flicker of recognition in her eyes when he had taken her here, the place where it had all started for them. For that first brief moment before he had seen her mind, her memories, all there had been was that kiss and it had felt like her and she had melted against him just like she always did and he believed she knew him. That had been what had kept the hope alive for him but it was gone now.

Fucking ironic. Now that he was finally ready to say yes I want this, yes I love you, yes I need you to be whole…she didn't know who he was. She stared at him and he leaned back against the wall, rested his head against it. He didn't know what to say. He had just wanted to be near her.

"What?" she said finally and he looked away from her. He looked at his scarred hands.

"You don't know this place." He tried not to sound accusatory. He knew it wasn't her fault. She was quiet, watching him in the dark.

"No, I don't…tell me why I should. What happened here…between us…"

"You…" He took a deep breath, feeling the words bubble up inside of him and this time he didn't stop himself. He had been away for too long, had faced death too many times. It was stupid to hold back. He realized that now. He had survived a war he wasn't sure they had really won and he didn't want to waste this second chance…even if it was with a Maria who had no idea how difficult this was for him, who couldn't really understand what he meant and probably didn't care. Still he had to say it. For himself.

"It was here where I first realized that I wasn't as alone as I had thought…that there was someone who understood me in a way Max or Isabel never could…" he looked at her again. "I laid awake for so long after we had turned off the light just thinking about that - about you. I never thought a human could understand what it felt like to be deserted, to be lost…stranded. Alone. But you did…and the most amazing thing was that you cared that I felt like that. You did everything you could to help stop me feeling like that. And I resented you for it at first, for making me feel human…for making me feel anything. But…you broke through…you got to me…every time even though you never knew it, even though I never knew it, you reached me...you touched me…and for a while I was able to accept the fact that I…cared about you…wanted you for more than just…" he cleared his throat and stared at his hands again, tracing the long twisting scar over his palm with his eyes. "I never told you how much you mean to me. I didn't even tell you we were going - Liz did. The last time I saw you before then…it was good…we didn't fight…we weren't together…but you didn't hate me…and I was kind of missing you already even though you were right in front of me. I didn't say goodbye. I didn't tell you I was going because I wanted to remember you the way you were right then - happy. Liz told you we were leaving and you were there…at the Granolith, and you didn't…you didn't say anything. You came up to me…before I stepped through and you…you touched my face…you didn't say goodbye…you took my hand and you put that bottle of cedar oil into it and closed my fingers around it… I kept it. I took it with me everywhere. I never looked at it but I always felt it…right here where I kept it..." he rubbed the area over his heart. "I missed you…more than I thought I would…so much I thought that not…having you would be what killed me…not having you there to bitch about what a slacker I am, how insensitive I am…not having you there to touch me…to tell me with one look that I'm worth something…that I'm not a mistake. I missed your lips…your hands…your eyes…just…you." He took another deep breath and looked out the window because looking at her and not seeing her looking back would just break him.

"You love me…" she said softly. "I mean…her."

"More than the stars."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, murmuring, "I have waited my whole life to have someone feel that way about me and even when it is about me it isn't…It's so hard not to pretend like…it is me…" She looked at him and saw him blur before her eyes as they filled with tears. "I wish it was me…I wish I was who you need me to be…but you know I'm not. Why did you tell me all this…" she pushed the tears off of her face even as they kept coming with the heels of her hands feeling stupid and a little mad at herself for crying in front of him.

"I've never said it out loud before…not even to myself. I guess…I was hoping that if I did finally say it…to you…she'd know. Somehow wherever she is she'd know…"

"She does…" Maria whispered.

"How do you know…"

"Because I know myself…I know I would have loved you back…I think I loved you already. I mean she…loved you already…" He reached out and touched the tears glistening on her cheeks. She allowed herself to feel that jolt…that little tingle of electricity shoot it's way down her spine before she leaned back away from him, away from his touch. "You said I have a mom there…"

"Yeah…" his voice was hoarse and he quickly brought his hand back to his lap as though he had never tried to touch her at all. "Amy…"

"What's she like?"

"I don't really…" he paused, looking into her eyes, recognizing a need there, one that he remembered in himself from those times he had stared up at the stars and wondered what they would have thought of him…his mother…his father. "She loves you. So much…She uh…has a shop in Roswell that sells alien souvenirs believe it or not…She makes these amazing pies… She has great aim…" he smirked and hesitantly reached out again and touched her arm sending her the memory, and she laughed with him.

She was quiet for a moment, playing with the edge of the sleeping bag. He watched her fingers trace the zipper, her nail sliding between the teeth.

"She died when I was little…I don't really remember her too much…just little things. That vial of cedar oil was hers. I found it in a drawer a few years ago and dad gave it to me…she was into that stuff…aromatherapy…" He smiled at her and murmured a yeah. "Is my dad happy?" He blinked at her. "What? He's okay isn't he? He's alive…" He swallowed.

"Yeah…yeah he's there, Maria…him and your mom…" She looked at him for a long moment. She knew he was lying.

"Did he leave her?" He didn't say anything. "When I was a baby I used to remember listening to them fight…He'd threatened to leave her in front of me more than once…but she left him first. She left both of us. I love my dad…but he's not really good with responsibility…I pretty much raised myself. He was more like a big brother, y'know? I always wondered what it would have been like if she hadn't died…what it would have been like to have a mom…I kinda borrowed Liz's." She took a sudden deep breath and asked softly, "Are you scared about tomorrow?" He didn't answer and she reached out and hesitantly touched his hand. He turned it around and curled his fingers around hers.

"I can't help thinking…"

"What?"

"That we might not…end up where we're supposed to be…and I might not ever see you again…I don't think I could stand that…"

She bit her lip against asking him to stay then, to not step into the Granolith and leave her, but she knew she couldn't ask that of him. She couldn't ask him because Isabel was right. They didn't belong here…who knows how they were affecting this world just by being in it. Most of all she couldn't ask him to stay because somewhere far from here stretching over time and space and reality she was crying herself to sleep for him, waiting for him to come back and slowly giving up hope that he ever would.

*~*~*

"Hey…" She smiled at him, looking relieved that he had come to her and a little scared. He was scared too. He didn't know what he was doing. Well no, yeah he did - he was trusting his gut. He had done the same thing when he had wanted to ask Liz out and not just to hang as friends. He had been obsessing over it for a week, going back and forth, picking up the phone then putting it back down, endlessly going over scenario after scenario where she would say no, I don't feel that way about you Alex, and yes Alex…I've been waiting for you to ask forever… After going over it and torturing himself he had gone to Sergio's and when he saw Liz's smile he knew. His gut told him, "go for it". He did. And he had had the time of his life loving her.

Now he was feeling it again. That feeling in his stomach he had sworn he would never feel again for anyone.

It was terrifying.

It was exciting.

And nothing was going to come of it.

She was going away.

"Alex?"

"That would be me."

"Are you mad? I mean that I showed you all that stuff about you and me…but not you and me…I mean I just wanted to prove to you that I wasn't lying to you…"

"I know."

"But you know what? That's a lie right there…I showed you more than I should of…I didn't have to show you that stuff about…us…but I did it because I wanted you to remember…I wanted you to want me…and that was unfair, forcing those memories on you…forcing my feelings on you…especially when I knew what you had been through…I'm so sorry about that...I can't imagine what that would be like…losing the person you love...well actually that's not true either…I can…"

"Isabel?"

"Yes?" she whispered.

"Breathe."

"Breathing." In a move that was incredibly bold and so unlike him he took her hand in his and held it. It felt nice, comfortable. Familiar.

"Thank you." he said.

"What for?"

"For showing me those memories…it's helping me realize something…" He opened her hand in his and traced her palm thoughtfully. He shouldn't be saying this, he shouldn't be saying this…"It's helping me realize that I can…care again…that I do…" He looked at her and her brown eyes were shining and he knew what she was going to say. I can't, Alex. I have to go back. You know I do. And he did know. He also knew that he didn't want her to and that gave him hope. For the first time since Liz died he was beginning to feel again. And it was because of her. He cut her off before she could say anything. The least he could do was save her from trying to think up some way to let him down. "What's really amazing…what I can't get over…is that I'm still a geek - no matter what reality I'm in - same old Alex Charles Whitman…how the hell did I get someone as stunning as you to look twice at me?" She nudged his shoulder and smiled.

"I went into a dream of yours…"

"Oh shit, was it dirty?"

She laughed.

"No…it was sweet…All you wanted to do was dance with me…and the things you said…God, that meant so much to me…Even when you found out about…the whole alien thing…you were so wonderful…You made me feel special. You made me feel like a normal girl…A girl who could have things like love and acceptance…you gave me so much and I never told you…I never thanked you…I just pushed you away. And I'm not even sure why I did…except…I think I started to take advantage of you…No, I know I did…I did it because I knew how you felt about me…I knew that if I ever needed you, you would be there…and you were every time. You were my best friend. And I…loved you. I realized that that last day at the Granolith…I realized how blind I'd been…how stupid…I was the one who couldn't let go Alex. I held onto your hand for as long as I could and when I finally made myself let go I realized what I was letting go of. It was so hard those first few months of being there…being trained how to kill…being completely cut off from our human sides…I clung to you…to my memories of you so I wouldn't forget…Even during the worst of it I was able to find myself again because of you…and I made it as far as I did because the thought of coming home and seeing you again kept me going…it kept me alive."

She took a deep shaky breath, and tilted her head back to look at the stars. The "V" constellation hung there in the sky damaged, two of its points of light extinguished forever. She wasn't going to think about that now. There was nothing she could do to fix that. This was the only regret she had left that she could do something about. "I thought when I fell in love I would see the man I'm meant to be with and just feel it…like…"

"Lightning…" he murmured.

"Yeah…but whenever I'd feel that stupid feeling with those other guys…guys who I never ever would have considered telling the truth to about who I was…the feeling would go away so fast…Even that whole thing with Grant wasn't really real…it was recognition…a…primal understanding of what had passed in another life but it wasn't…love…" She shook her head, knowing that she was probably confusing him and boring him to death with all of this. "The point is I've been falling in love with you…Alex…for the past four years of my life and I never realized that that comfort, that safety…that trust and warmth that saved me from myself so many times and kept me going, kept me human…was you. It was all you…And you know now…but he doesn't…" She laughed tearfully and held his hand tighter. "I never even got to dance with you for real…"

"Isabel…" He brushed the tears from her cheeks and she looked into his blue eyes that were so honest and loving, just like she remembered. He smiled his smile and his fingers slid away from her face, his hand, her hand.

He opened the car door and turned on the headlights. The bright streams of light cut through the dark in two white paths on either side of her. He leaned further into the car and turned on the radio. He slowly came back to her side, holding out his hand with a small smile. "I can at least help you with that one…" he murmured.

Oh I…
Oh I…

She took his hand.

Down to the earth I fell
With dripping wings
Heavy things won't fly…
And the sky might catch on fire
And burn the axis of the world that's why
I prefer a sunless sky
To the glittering and stinging in my eyes…

His arms went around her and she closed his eyes against his shoulder breathing him in as though it might be the last time.

Oh I
Feel so light…

I love you, Alex…

This is all I want to feel tonight…
Oh I
Feel so light…
Tonight
And the rest of my life
Tonight
And the rest of my life…

*~*~*

Maria was sleeping now on top of the covers, her skin painted blue, soft in the moonlight. He didn't stop himself from reaching out. He couldn't.

Gleaming in the dark sea
I'm as light as air
Floating there
Breathlessly…

His hand skimmed open palmed over her sleeping body, not touching her face, her breasts, her hips, remembering the feeling of her skin under his fingertips…phantom touches from a time when he didn't know what he had and how much he needed it.

When the dream dissolves
I open up my eyes
I realize that
Everything is shoreless sea
Weightlessness is passing over me…

She tilted her lips up into his palm as he cradled her chin in his hand, not touching until her breath kissed the scar there, her hand coming up from her side and pressing it against her lips…

Oh I
Feel so light…

She opened her eyes…

This is all I want to feel tonight…

Drew him near…

Oh I
Feel so light…

Kissed his lips and his hands, welcomed his body as it sank down beside hers.

Tonight
And the rest of my life
Tonight
And the rest of my life…

He pulled away, looking ashamed of himself…feeling guilty and confused…and she knew just like she always knew…she knew how to reassure him, to calm him…

Oh I…

She carefully reached up and traced his jaw gently with the tips of her fingers.

"It's a goodbye kiss…" she whispered. "Just…in case…"

Everything is waves and stars
The universe is resting in my arms…

*~*~*

He watched as Isabel danced in the moonlight, everything going into slow motion as she seemed to spin forever, her hand still outstretched towards him.

I feel
So light…

She smiled as he took it and drew her back into his arms.

This all I want to feel tonight

Beautiful.

I feel…
So light…
Tonight
And the rest of my life

They stopped dancing and stood there, chest to chest, his hands in hers at their sides.

Oh I
Feel so light

He swept back a lock of hair from her face as she ducked her head, his fingers touching her chin and lifting it so he could see her eyes.

This is all I want to feel tonight…

Her beautiful brown eyes…

Oh I
Feel so light…
Tonight
And the rest of my life
Tonight
And the rest of my life

His kissed her and his heart was beating so fast. He kissed her and she wrapped her arms around him. He kissed her and felt her tears on his cheeks.

*~*~*

She felt the sunlight creeping in from the open door splash onto her face and she opened her eyes. Alex was there leaning against the frame and she squinted up at him wanting him to go away so she could go back to sleep. Michael moved behind her and she became aware all over again of his chest pressed against her back and his arms wrapped around her body, holding her to him. She had slept sooo well despite the fact that she was lying in a sleeping bag that still smelled of smoke from Alex's last camping trip on a hard dirty floor in a skeezy motel and now she knew why. Michael was here and his face was buried in her hair as he hid it from the sun and grumbled at Alex to shut the door. She started to disentangle herself embarrassed at she didn't know what (but it probably had something to do with the smirk on her friend's face) and mumbled, "Oh don't give me that look - I have a pretty good idea where you were all night too…" That did it. He blushed a little and closed the door as Michael pulled her back down to him. She turned around in his arms to look at him. His eyes were closed. He was trying to pretend like it wasn't morning.

"Michael?" He sighed still refusing to wake up. "I need you to promise me something…"

He opened his eyes then and gazed into hers and she held her breath hoping what she was planning on saying wouldn't turn into "please don't leave…"

"What?" he whispered and she shivered as his lips brushed against hers he was so close.

"Promise me that when you…get home…you'll tell me…you won't chicken out or forget…"

"I could never forget."

"You can tell me that you love me again without being afraid…because now you know…you know without a doubt that I'll say it back…Wherever you end up I'll say it back and I'll mean it with all my heart…"

He gazed at her for a long moment and she felt her heart crumbling because this was the last moment she would ever have with him in this world and every part of her was screaming at her to beg him not to go.

He opened his mouth to say something, to tell her that he wouldn't, and she kissed him then because she didn't want to hear it. She couldn't otherwise she'd never let go. She didn't want to hear him entertain the thought of staying because she knew as well as he did deep down that he couldn't.

*~*~*

Alex closed the door to Maria's room and went back over to Isabel who was tossing the sleeping bag they had shared into the car. She had woken up before him and when he had opened his eyes he had found her looking down at him with a look of such tenderness and love his breath had caught in his throat and he couldn't even manage a "good morning".

She had said it for him, then asked him to go get Michael and Maria.

"They're…getting up…" he said leaning against the car beside her. She didn't answer. She was staring down at the sand shifting under the caress of the morning wind, blurring the ground at their feet. "Isabel…are you alright?"

"I'm…really scared…" He turned to her, touched her face, and she looked at him with shining eyes. "What if you…What if I do get home and you…you've forgotten all about me…" He traced the path on her cheek made by a stray tear.

"I could never…no one could Isabel..."

"Will you be okay?" He smiled gently and nodded.

"I think I will…for the first time in ages…I feel like I have hope…Thank you for that Isabel…"

He kissed another tear away and held her hand as they waited for Michael and Maria.

*~*~*

"'We just spooned…'" Maria muttered running her fingers through her disheveled hair as Alex grinned at her. "'We didn't fork…'"

"Okay." She was quiet as she looked out the window where Michael and Isabel were re-locking the rooms.

"I'm trying not to be selfish…It sucks. A lot."

"I know…" he said and squeezed her hand watching Isabel's hair whipping in the wind like streaks of sunlight. He turned away and caught Maria looking at him, concerned.

"Did you…"

"No…it wasn't what either of us needed…" she sighed and looked back out the window at them as they came back to the car, finally ready to go. She squeezed his hand back, hard. "Will you be okay?" he asked and she forced herself to smile.

"I'm glad they came."

"Me too."

Michael got into the driver's side and Isabel climbed in beside him. He paused a moment, catching Maria's eye in the mirror, then started up the car. Isabel stared out the window and closed her eyes as they sped down 285 and the desert outside blurred into a gold line.

*~*~*

Michael stopped the car a few feet away from the base of the rock. They sat there for a moment in silence. Michael got out of the car first and after another moment Isabel followed, then Alex and Maria.

They climbed up the side of the rock in silence until Michael stopped them at a plateau halfway to the top and waved his hand over the wall. Isabel held her breath until a silver handprint shimmered into view. Alex carefully reached out and took her hand as a portion of the rock slid away with a dull rumble and they stepped into the eerie darkness of the cave.

There were four sacs set into the wall, glowing with an inner light that caught on the green gossamer edges of the broken open pods. Maria stared up at them in wonder and Michael nudged her shoulder then took her hand, leading her through one.

"I was almost hoping it wouldn't be here", Isabel murmured to herself as she let Alex's hand go long enough to crawl through.

On the other side was the Granolith looking just as it had the day they stepped into it and wound up in another world. It hummed to life sensing Michael and Isabel's presence.

"How does it work…?" Maria whispered.

"We just…step into it…" Isabel answered.

They were quiet, staring at it as the milky light swirled behind the glass, preparing itself.

"Well we can't just stand here all day…" Michael said gruffly. "I'll go first, Is…" She nodded and held Alex's hand a little tighter. He looked at it and said softly, reaching out and brushing her hair out of her eyes, "We're gonna be alright. We'll end up where we're supposed to be. I promise." She nodded again, wanting to believe him.

He turned to Maria who was standing back a little ways in the shadows, watching the Granolith. Her eyes locked onto his, the white light playing upon the tear tracks shining like silver on her cheeks, and he came to her without a word and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close in a kiss.

"I love you…" he murmured against her lips. "Always know that…" She kissed him back almost desperately and whispered, "Don't forget your promise…"

After one last lingering kiss he stepped away, murmuring that he wouldn't. He touched Isabel's shoulder gently as he made his way back towards the Granolith. He nodded at Alex and looked back one last time at Maria.

"I'll see you soon…" he said softly and stepped into the light. He was gone. Isabel turned to Alex and Maria and smiled shakily.

"I guess it's my turn…" Maria came forward and hugged her. Isabel smiled at her then turned to Alex. She reached out and touched his face.

"Goodbye…"

"No…" he said softly, taking her hand and kissing her fingers. "Not goodbye…" he smiled, remembering Michael's words. "See you soon…"

"I hope so…" she whispered and kissed him gently. She turned and followed Michael into the swirling light of the Granolith.

And then they were alone. Alex stood there staring after her as the light dimmed and died. Maria's hand slid into his and squeezed.

"I'm sure they made it back…" He nodded and stepped forward, placing his hand against the glass. It was still a little warm.

He followed Maria out of the chamber and turned to look back at the four sacs gleaming in the darkness. She called to him from the sunlight.

"What is it Alex?" He shook his head and joined her out on the plateau. The cave door slid shut behind him.

"Maybe nothing…" he said and followed her back down the path to the car.

*~*~*

Isabel tumbled out of the light and into Michael's arms. He caught her and gently set her down on her feet. She looked up at him.

"Are we back?"

"I don't know."

"Do you have enough energy to teleport?"

"I think so."

"Behind the Crashdown?"

"Behind the Crashdown."

*~*~*

"It looks the same…" she said tracing the brick corner of the Crashdown with her fingers and peeking around it. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the familiar shape of a UFO sticking out of the face of the building. "So far so good…"

Michael took a deep breath and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"I'm goin' in." he said. Isabel followed as he pushed open the double doors with more confidence than she knew he felt and stepped inside.

Maria was coming out of the kitchen with her hands full. Isabel saw her glance up at the sound of the door jingling open. She saw her mouth drop and the plate she had been about to set on the table miss it completely and crash to the floor. She saw her stand there, breathing hard, tears waterfalling down her cheeks unable to move, unable to do anything but just stare as Michael took a hesitant step forward and said her name.

His voice broke the spell. She ran to him and flung her arms around him sobbing his name over and over again touching his face, his hair trying to make sure he was really real, really there. Isabel watched Michael hold her back and bury his face into her shoulder, breathing her in, and when he lifted his face his cheeks were wet with his own tears. Maria kissed him and kissed him and he kissed her back in the café full of customers that clapped and cheered not knowing how much it all really meant.

Maria stepped back to look at Michael again, shaking her head in disbelief, and caught sight of Isabel. She grinned and squealed and wrapped arms around her too. Isabel laughed and hugged her back. They were really home.

"Where…where's Alex?" she said after she had caught her breath.

"He's at his house - they all are - Liz and Kyle and Tess and Max…"

"They're okay…" Michael breathed and Maria nodded holding onto his hand.

"They're there right now trying to figure out how to find you guys…" She laughed wiping at her cheeks. "I can't believe…how did you guys…my shift's almost done…I'll get Agnes to cover for me…I'll drive…" She grabbed Michael by the collar and kissed him again then hopped over to the customer who's order she had dropped and paused long enough to tell them it was on the house and she'd have another brought out shortly before scampering off to the back room to get her stuff.

Isabel looked up at Michael who was staring after her with a look of pure awe on his face. "It's her…" He laughed. "Maria…"

*~*~*

Alex opened the door and stared. Isabel said hello and he stared. Michael heard Max's voice from the living room and called out to him. It was a whirlwind of arms and voices and tears and Isabel found herself clinging to her brother and staring over his shoulder at Alex who still had not said a word.

*~*~*

"I don't know how it happened…" Max said "I was desperate to get you guys out of there and I tried to send you home…I tried to send you to Maria and Alex, because I knew they'd take care of you…"

"You did…and they did…" Isabel said softly. "…it was just a different Maria and Alex…"

"What happened to the planet, Max?" A shadow flickered across his face and Liz pressed her knee against his comfortingly. Tess was staring at the floor, leaning against Kyle's chair. He looked like he wanted to touch her.

"It was already dead before we left. The people we sent out in the ships made it…I tried to transport some more of them after I got you out…"

"We could have helped you, Max…" Tess said softly and he swallowed. It was a conversation they had had before.

"You were hurt. Isabel was hurt. Michael was on the verge of committing a suicide run…I needed you all to be safe."

"He used up almost all of his energy on us." Tess said. "He faced Kavar on his own and he almost died."

"Did you kill him?" Michael asked his body tensing imperceptibly. Maria put a hand on his arm.

"No. I was able to get back the piece of the Granolith he had been saving for himself to get away with and I just transported out of there with it…"

"So he may still be alive…" Isabel murmured feeling sick.

"No…I don't think so…by that time the planet was literally falling apart. With no way to leave it he couldn't have survived very long…"

"So you think…"

"It's over, Michael. Our people are safe. Kavar is dead. And you and Izzy are home and safe…It's over…"

*~*~*

"God I thought I'd never see you again…" Maria whispered. "All week long after Max and Tess got better we've been meeting and trying to figure out some way to find you…it seemed so hopeless…and you found your way back…you and Isabel both…" she traced his lips with her fingers.

"Maria…I promised you…well the other you, something…"

"I made you promise me something?" she smiled and curled her fingers in his hair, she couldn't stop touching him. "This oughtta be good…"

"I promised you I wouldn't be afraid to tell you…uh…"

"What?"

"…that I…love you." He took a deep breath. "I love you, Maria. I kept this…" he pulled out the vial. "Remember you gave it to me?" she didn't say anything and he went on starting to breathe rapidly even though he trusted what she had said, that she wouldn't laugh, wouldn't walk away. "Yeah well I saved it. I've saved everything you've ever given me in here…" he touched his forehead then slowly brought his hand down to his heart and covered it. "…and here…" He stopped and squinted at her.

"Really?" she breathed biting her lip against one of her huge cheesy grins that he loved so much.

"Yeah…really. I really love you…really."

"I love you too…so much…" She kissed him long and deep and he held her against him. "This means you're not running away from me again right?"

"I don't think I ever really wanted to all those other times…" he said softly, rubbing his thumb against her lips. "I think…I had to lose you to find you…"

"Well I'm glad you did…" she whispered starting to cry again. He kissed the tears off her cheeks.

"Me too…"

*~*~*

"Alex…?" She followed the sounds of the dishwasher into the kitchen and found him drying the dishes they had used for their impromptu reunion party.

"Yeah I'm in here…" he looked up and smiled as he attacked another plate with his dishtowel. "Is everyone gone?"

"Kyle and Tess left…Max is coming back for me after he gets Liz home…Michael and Maria are um…talking…on your porch…Alex…" she picked up a dish and took another towel. "I can help you with this…"

"That's alright, I've got it…" he said with another quick smile.

"Alex, are you okay…?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine…I'm glad you're home, Isabel…"

"Are you?" she whispered.

"Of course I am…we all missed you…Max was flipping out…he was so upset…"

"That's Max…" she said softly feeling her stomach drop to the floor. "Alex…"

"Okay so maybe I was upset too." He said quickly. "And worried…and maybe I was flipping out a little too…"

"I know I messed up with you…"

"No you didn't, Isabel. We're fine…we're friends…we-"

She took the plate out of his hands and kissed him. She pulled back slightly to look at him, afraid that she really had missed her chance with him ages ago. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked.

"Wha…what was that…"

"Something I've been wanting for I can't even tell you how long…"

"You…wanted to kiss me?" She smiled.

"Yes."

"Like…like a "just friends" kiss? Cuz that didn't feel like a "just friends" kiss but y'know I could be wrong - it's not like I'm a connoisseur of friend kisses cuz y'know I love Liz and Maria and we're close but not that close and-"

She kissed him again, deeper this time and he held her back. The dish fell to the ground with a clatter and the damp dishtowel was soaking into her shirt but she didn't care because he was kissing her back and holding her back and she was home and Alex still liked her…maybe someday he'd even love her…

He whispered her name and held her tight, stroking his fingers through her hair so gently just like he had done last night.

Maybe he already did.

*~*~*

Michael Guerin waved goodbye to Isabel and Max Evans and trotted over to the doors of the Crashdown. He had a job interview at the High School in an hour and Isabel had finally succeeded in convincing him that going to meet the principal in a T-shirt and paint splattered jeans was probably not the best attire even if he was applying for head of the art department. He couldn't believe that the same man who had told him time and time again throughout his High School career that he would never amount to anything was practically begging him to come teach. The interview was just a formality - he already had the job.

He felt good. Today was gonna be perfect, he could feel it already. He whipped open the doors and ran into the couple that was coming in. He reached out instinctively to catch the woman he had knocked into and felt a shock run up his arms and into his brain as his fingers closed around her shoulders. He looked down at the woman who was staring up at him with eyes so green and so annoyed and then so…surprised…

He smiled at her as she blinked at him, her mouth opening and closing several times as he stared down at those eyes, that mouth… She turned her head to look over at her companion who was staring into the café smiling broadly as Isabel caught his eye and paused, her glass halfway to her lips.

Something was happening…

He didn't know what, but he felt it…a clicking inside of himself like something coming together…something that was meant to be. He didn't have to turn around to know that Isabel felt it too.

He could feel her feeling that thing…that spark as she looked into the stranger's eyes…it was the same spark he was feeling now still holding onto the woman who was staring up at him in disbelief…

"Alex?" she murmured to her friend who was still smiling.

"I thought so…" was all he said.

The End

*~*~*

Isabel turned the final page and closed the book, running her fingers along its spine affectionately before flipping it over and tracing the words on the cover.

Stranger Than Fiction by Alexander Whitman.

He'd done it. He'd written his book.

She didn't know what had compelled her to go to the Granolith this morning. She had woken up with the need to just go back there one last time, and when she did it was there waiting for her - lying on the floor before the Granolith with the inscription : "For Elizabeth who inspired me to begin…and Isabel who inspired me to continue…I will love you both always in every world…Alex."

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