ROSWELL on PLANET-SF

CHAPTER TWO

Maria had bags and boxes all over the Evans/Parker apartment by two in the morning. Clothes were draped over the lawn chairs, a baby swing in pieces on the floor, a bassinet pushed against the wall. Max shook his head at the disorder; then he saw Leia sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms and smiled.

"You know I can't thank you enough for letting us stay here," Maria looked at him. "It'll only be for a couple of days and our mess will be gone."

"You can stay as long as you want," Max relented. "It might take Michael more than a few days to clean up. It's really scary at his place."

"I know," she sighed. "Could you do me a favour? Or should I say, yet another favour?" Max nodded. "I really, really want to take a shower. Would you mind holding her for me? She likes to be held when she's sleeping. She doesn't usually wake up too much then." She gazed down at her beautiful daughter.

"Uh..." he hesitated. "Sure, I guess."

"If it makes you uncomfortable I can wait until Liz gets back. She's been gone for a while, she should be back soon."

"She's at Wal-Mart, she might not ever come back." He smiled and sat next to her on the couch. "Show me what to do."

Maria handed him Leia and adjusted his arms around her. Leia made a slight noise but her eyes never opened. Max's hands were shaking. "Don't be nervous, she won't bite. At least I don't think so."

Max took a deep cleaning breath and the shaking ceased. "You're not going to take a long shower, are you?"

"Twenty minutes, tops. I promise." She stood and rummaged through a box gathering some clothes and walked down the hall. She turned back to see Max cuddling Leia, he was talking to her but Maria couldn't hear what he was saying.

Liz walked through the front door loaded down with bags. She dropped them on the floor and flinched when she saw Max and Leia. "Sorry."

"She's asleep," Max looked back to the baby. Liz sat next to him and kissed his cheek. "I've never held a baby before."

"Really?"

"Not like this." Max's smile was full of anguish. The thoughts he had pushed into the deep crevices of his mind about his son were surfacing. Lantham, his soon had a name and it was Lantham.

"Isn't she precious?" Liz avoided Max's eyes, she already knew about the sorrow that lurked there. She was beginning to wonder if having Maria and Leia stay there was such a good idea after all.

"I can't wait until we have children," he said softly and turned to look at Liz. "I mean, you do want to have children, don't you?"

"Of course I do, just much, much later."

"Right." HE nodded giving the impression that her answer was not exactly what he was looking for.

"What's with the look?" Liz asked. "Were you expecting a different answer? Did you think we were going to start having kids right off the bat?"

"I don't know..."

"I would like to be married first and done with school." Liz looked around. "We can't even afford real furniture yet."

"I know," he shrugged.

"We're going to have a family Max, just not tomorrow," she kissed his cheek as the water turned off in the bathroom. "I bought towels and sheets, a blanket, a couple of pillows and some other odds and ends. At least Maria will be comfortable out here."

He nodded as Maria walked back in the room, her hair up in a towel, a bathrobe wrapped tightly around her. She peered into Leia's face and smiled. "Was she good?"

"She slept."

"Do you want me to take her back?"

"Nah," Max shook his head. "She's fine here for a while."

"Cool," Maria sank into the couch on the other side of Liz. "So. How about that bottle flying through the air?"

"She's got some powers," Max said and looked to Maria noticing the worry lines on her forehead. "She's fine."

"Could you do things when you were a baby?"

"I don't know. I don't remember it and no one ever said anything about it. She is human, Maria. Like I told Michael, she's just got some little extras."

"I don't want her to have extras."

"You don't have a choice."

"How is Michael? I feel bad leaving him alone." Maria frowned.

"Michael is a slob," Liz shook her head. "That place is an actual dump."

"I know, but how is he otherwise. Like brain wise. Does he still have one and is he using it?" Maria widened her eyes and looked to Max.

"He's off a little. He's worried. He's panicking about the bottle thing, about your mom babysitting."

"That's the reason I had to bolt out of there tonight. Do you have any idea what my mom would do if she saw a bottle flying through the house? She would lose it. I would have to commit her because she would lose her mind. Amy doesn't take real well to things like that."

"What about when she watches Leia?"

"I don’t know," she sighed. "We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess. Arg! Things are never normal with you Czechoslovakians, are they?"

"Not really." Max shrugged. "That’s what makes life so interesting."

"I’m going to bed," Liz stood, stretched and yawned. "Max?"

"Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute. I’ll get the couch ready for Maria. Everything’s in the bags, right?"

"Yup," she bent over and kissed his lips. "Good night guys."

"Thanks again, Liz," Maria called after her. "Liz seems a little miffed, doesn’t she?"

"She’s just tired."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. She’s not mad at you," Max smiled. "You’re like the one person in the world that she never gets mad at. Wait, I have an idea. She has class tomorrow morning, same as me, but she gets out at like ten. Why don’t you and her spend some time together? Go shopping, do girly things? I can totally watch Leia if you need me too."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up. "Michael’s going to be in school and that would be so cool! We haven’t been able to hang out, just us chicks for months! Max, thank you! When do you get out of class?"

"Oh, I only have one tomorrow. I’ll be home at nine." Max shifted uncomfortably. He handed Leia to her and stood. "Are you going to be okay out here? Is Leia?"

"We’ll be fine." She looked over at a rolling bassinet. "She’ll be fine in there and this couch is comfy as hell."

Max grinned and got out the new bedding and made her a bed on the couch.

"Thank you Max, thanks for everything."

He nodded and made his descent down the hall. He pushed open the bedroom door and saw Liz with the covers pulled up to her nose. He stripped down to boxers and climbed under the blankets next to her. "Hi."

"Hi," she said back feeling his hands on her over her nightgown. "Is everything okay out there?"

"Peachy. I mentioned to Maria that maybe you two can do something tomorrow when you get out of class. I can watch Leia and you can hang out or go shopping or something. She really liked the idea."

"Don’t you have class, too?"

"Only until nine, the others got cancelled."

"Are you working tomorrow?"

"Not until late afternoon." Max had managed to snag a job a little over a month ago with an insurance company. He was making good money and the hours he worked left plenty of time to spend with Liz and for school. "Cool?"

"Sure." Liz smiled and closed her eyes.

Max waited for her to tell him she loved him, but she didn’t.

"Liz?" he said softly; her eyes opened. "Are you mad at me?"

"No, why?"

"Because you’re acting mad."

"Being around Leia so much is bringing back everything about your son, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is. I know his name now and that makes him more real," Max admitted. "I know you don’t like to talk about it, but he’s been on my mind lately. I can’t help it."

"Is that why you’re asking about us having children?"

"Yes and no. I’m spending the rest of my life with you and I want to have a big family, I want kids running around everywhere. At the same time, I’ll always wonder what happened to him."

"He’s been corrupted, you know that."

"I know, yeah.

"It’s our turn now Max, don’t forget that. There will always be void in your heart where he should be and no matter how hard you try, you’ll never fill that little hole. Don’t try to with us having kids. It doesn’t work like that. It’s not fair to anyone."

"I would never try to replace him. All I want is a nice happy future with you and our children, if we have any. That’s it. With you in my life, as my wife, there’s nothing else I want."

"Thank you," she reached out to him and he pulled her close.

"However, we do need to talk about picking a date. I don’t want to be one of those couples that are engaged for years." Max kissed the top of her head.

* * * *

"You do realise it’s like almost four in the morning, right?" Kyle looked at his watch. "The hardware store’s aren’t open yet. Nothing is open yet except for Wal-Mart."

Michael sighed and sat at the kitchen table running his hands through his hair. "I just want to get this place fixed up so Maria and Leia can come home."

"I know. If it was for anyone else, I doubt I would be here all night. We got a lot done. Look at all the trash bags." He pointed to the nine black bags by the front door. "That’s a lot of garbage."

"Some of that was cool stuff."

"Okay, no. That was garbage."

Michael nodded. "I guess we can pick this up tomorrow night? I have Academy in the day."

"Yeah, but we have to finish it too. Isabel and I go back to school the next morning."

"Shit!" He slapped his hand on the wood tabletop.

"We’ll get done Guerin, I promise. If it looks like we’re running out of time, my dad will totally help. You know that."

Michael nodded and said goodnight. After Kyle left he paced. He walked from room to room. Kyle was right; they had gotten rid of a lot of trash. His plans were calling for a wall to be built in the back room dividing it into two rooms, one for Leia. Baby locks were going to be installed on all the cabinets and drawers. The chipped and cracked linoleum in the kitchen was going to be replaced. So much to do, so little time. He wanted them to be there now, not at Max’s. He wanted to be spending time with them.

He looked around for his uniform for the next day and discovered it hanging in the closet, ironed. A note from Isabel was attached.

Michael:

You are a slob. I couldn’t take it. I didn’t want you to be the only slob in police school, then the other pre-cops might not let you play with them.

Love, Iz

He smiled and lay down on the still stripped bed; within minutes he was asleep. When the alarm went off two hours later, Michael felt like he had been hit by a freight train. Dragging himself into the shower and getting dressed for school he hoped were the hardest things he was going to have to do that day.

* * * *

Maria woke up early; after taking care of Leia and getting her fed and changed she went to the kitchen and started fixing a light breakfast for her hosts. She heard the shower running, turning off and going again. As the last pieces of toast were set on the table Max walked in the kitchen, his hair still wet.

"You made breakfast?" He looked at the spread of toast, fruit and scrambled eggs. "This is great!"

"It’s the least I could do," she pulled a lawn chair in from the living room and sat in at the bistro table. "And you’re sure you don’t mind watching Leia today?"

"Not at all. I’ll be home a few minutes after nine and you can fill me in on everything I have to know."

"My mom should be home today too, I mean, if you get stuck or need help with anything." She glanced at the phone. "I probably should have called Michael last night."

"He’ll be fine. He just wants everything done yesterday."

She nodded and rested her elbows on the table. "Can I ask you something and get an honest answer from you?"

"Sure," he splattered Tabasco sauce on slices of honeydew melon.

"Is Leia…Human?"

"Of course she is. You’re not going to get weird like Michael now, are you?"

"Not really. I mean until yesterday I thought everything was normal. We had a perfect, normal human baby. Now I’m not so sure about the human part."

"I’ll say it again, she’s a got a few extras. It’s fine. Once she gets older we’ll teach her how to use her powers, if she still has them then. Until that time, we just have to watch her and make sure nothing happens in public."

"And how hard is that going to be?"

"We don’t know anything yet. Maybe it was a one time thing."

"Yeah, maybe." Maria rolled her eyes as Liz came in the kitchen. "Buenos Dias, Chica. Did you sleep good?"

"Not bad, thanks for breakfast." She sat across from Max. "So what do you want to do today?"

"I want to go out to lunch and go shopping and talk." Maria nodded. "That okay with you?"

"Perfect."

They finished breakfast and Max and Liz left together. Max escorted her to class, kissed her at the door and then walked into the next building. He waited a few minutes for the top of the hour and after the hallways were nearly deserted he left the campus. He drove around aimlessly for almost an hour, then went home. Maria was sitting on the couch, Leia in her arms, watching a morning talk show.

"Why don’t you just wait for Liz so she doesn’t have to take the bus home?"

"She gets a ride with some girl in her last class. She lives a few blocks over." He sat next to her. "Okay, so prep me. What do I have to do to become Super Babysitter?"

Maria laughed and went through the whole spiel about taking care of Leia. She was confident that Max would do a good job. She hasn’t always liked Max, but she knew he’d take care of her baby. After all, he was like family. Liz came in a few minutes after ten and dropped her backpack to the floor.

"I swear, if I didn’t love school it would really suck."

"Bad day?" Maria asked.

"Two classes, that’s all I had and I have like eight hours of homework." She looked at Max who had Leia in his arms. "Don’t you ever have homework? I hardly ever see you doing any."

"I get it done at work," Max looked at her. "Lots of down time."

"We can cancel…" Maria looked crest fallen. "The homework…"

"Forget it. Max knows what to do for a few hours?"

"He’s good." Maria stood and grabbed her purse. "Let’s go." S he met Liz at the door and they were gone.

Max stood up and watched out the window as his fiancé and her friend walked to Maria’s car in the lot. He waved but they didn’t see him. He returned his attention to Leia and smiled. Holding her felt so good. He felt so at peace holding this little life in his hands. She looked up at him and seemed to look in his eyes.

"Leia," he whispered and kissed her forehead. "You are so lucky. You have the best parents in the world. They love you so much. Your dad's a little strange sometimes. He’s a good guy though; he can’t wait for you and your mommy to come live with him. Your mom's a little strange, too. But I just want you to know, no matter what happens I’ll always be here for you. When you’re older and just want to talk, I’ll be here. Me and Liz both. Hopefully soon you’ll have some little friends to play with. We’ll have to work together on making that happen."

He smiled as her eyes closed. He carried her to the bassinet and laid her down on her belly. He didn’t venture far away from her the rest of the day.

* * * *

"So what’s the rush to get married and have kids?" Maria asked dunking fries into ketchup after Liz had told her what Max has been talking about. "I mean, it’s not like you're forty."

"I think it's because of Leia."

"Ohh…" Maria looked questionably at her. "Oh! I see. The whole son thing."

"Lantham." Liz could barely spit out his name. "I mean, I doubt that Max will ever even meet him and if he does it'll be too late. Kivar and Tess are raising Lantham. Do they seem like parents of the year to you?"

"Hardly. How would he meet him anyway? Do you think Tess is going to shoot him back down every other weekend for visitation? They're not going back to their home planet. It's like a moot point."

"Moot?" Liz raised her eyebrows. "You are only the second person I’ve ever heard say 'moot' and not have it sound stupid."

"Who was the first?"

"Rick Springfield."

"Oh God," Maria laughed. "It feels good to just hang out with you again. I feel like we haven't spent anytime together in ages. Michael and Max are always there and Leia. I miss you, sister."

"I know, I miss you too. I guess this is a part of growing up." Liz shrugged, an overwhelming sadness rushing over her. "I don't know if I want to grow up."

"I thought that way too until Leia. She's changed my view on everything, Michael's too, I think."

"Definitely Michael's." Liz agreed. "He's like all grown up parent guy now. I have to tell you though; it's so strange to see him in that uniform. I thought the only uniform Michael Guerin would ever put on would be a McDonald's one."

"Me too. I don’t know what we wouldn't have done without the Sheriff. He saved us." Maria laughed. "Can you imagine, Space Boy walking around town with a gun?"

"Scary thought Maria. Scary thought."

* * * *

"It's my day off Kyle, why are you here?" Jim rolled over ined and looked at the bedside clock. "It’s only eight."

"I know dad, I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better I only got three hours sleep."

"It doesn’t make me feel better. What do you want?"

"You know Maria and Leia are moving in with Michael."

"Oh yes, remember, I was the calm one last night."

"Right," Kyle nodded. "Anyway, Michael’s place is scary. I was over there until four just clearing out trash. So, he has these plans we’re suppose to do when he gets home."

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah, like build a wall, lay linoleum, paint and baby proof."

"Let me guess, you think you’re going to get this done in like a few hours?"

"I want to start and finish but I’m going back to school in the morning."

"Why doesn’t he just…You know, fix it?"

"He said he wants it to be true. He wants it to be real for his new family."

"You have to admire that."

"Exactly. So I was thinking-"

"Stop right there," Jim sat up. "You were thinking that you and I would go over there today and get everything started, right?"

"Well you know how handy Michael is."

"If it wasn’t for that baby." Jim laughed. "She has got me so suckered. I’ll do anything to make her comfortable. Let me take a shower and get something to eat."

BACK TO THE TOP / CHAPTER THREE

STORY OF LINES:
4 - DOORWAYS

CHAPTER TWO

WRITTEN BY BECKY W

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