ROSWELL on PLANET-SF

CHAPTER ONE

Maria wrapped her legs around Michael's back, barely able to keep them in place because of the sweat. Her hands were in back of her head grasping the pillow. Michael's face was rubbing against her cheek; the telltale sign of stubble burn would be evident. His hips ground against her rhythmically. His heart raced in his chest, hers beat back answering.

"I have to go soon, Michael," she tapped lightly on the top of his head. "We have to go soon."

"Don't want to go anywhere," he panted and kissed her. "Stay."

"We have to go."

Michael sped up his pace and collapsed on top of her. "You know, you have shitty timing." He sighed, rolling off her.

"Sorry." She kissed his cheek. "Not my rules." She got out of bed and walked across the hall to Leia's room. She was still sleeping; her raggedy stuffed monkey curled up in the crook of her arm.

Maria walked back to the bedroom and smiled at Michael who was still lying naked on the bed. "She could sleep through a hurricane."

"Yeah, those are so common here."

"Shut up," she frowned. "Come on. We have to get ready and go. I want to meet the teacher and see the classroom. School starts in like less than a month. You promised you'd go with me."

"I'll go, I just don't want to. I already know the teacher." He rolled over on his stomach, propping himself up with his elbows.

"Well, I don't." She slapped his ass as she walked past him to get to the bathroom. "By the way, are we ever going to get carpet?"

"Oh boy," Michael rested his head on the bed. "We will, I told you that. We've only lived here for a month -"

"Okay, two months."

"Excuse me, two months. I promised you carpet and you shall have carpet. I've been busy. I do work a lot in case you haven't noticed."

"Trust me Guerin, I have noticed. I hardly ever see you anymore," she said looking downcast.

"I've been off work for four days, I'm surprised you aren't sick of me yet."

"Never." She looked at him. "That is actually one face I could never get sick of seeing. Now get up, we have to get ready."

Michael nodded and got off the bed. He followed her into the bathroom and eventually, the shower.

The house was small, a 'starter home' the real-estate agent had called it. Two bedrooms, two baths, living room and separate diining room, kitchen and a spider web infested basement. The bedroom had hard wood floors, well it used to, at some point. The years had not been kind to them. Spilled paint, scratches and other abnormalities plagued them. Maria had insisted on carpet and Michael had promised. He just didn't prmise when. Outside the kitchen door was a cement patio leading to the back yard. The back yard was fenced in and a carport sat to the side of the house. An inflatable pool and patio set were on the patio. The manicured lawn had small dips and gullies from old tree stumps. Jim Valenti had promised to bring over some fill dirt, but like Michael, had failed to do so yet.

Leia Guerin woke up and stumbled across the hall to her parents' bedroom. She heard the shower water running and let herself in the bathroom, surprising her parents.

"Shit!" Michael pulled the shower curtain against him.

"Leia, go wait in the other room. We'll be right out."

Leia left the room and went to the living room where she curled up on the couch with her monkey. She looked for the remote control and saw it on top of the TV. With a nod, it was in her hand.

"You don't have to swear in front of her so much."

"She never says it back Maria," Michael said while drying her back. "I can't help it."

"Whatever," she turned around to face him. "Can you believe we have a daughter who's going to kindergarten in a few weeks? Can yhou believe that she is six? Six, Michael, our daughter is six!"

"I know," he shook his head. "Time seems to be slipping away. I've been a Deputy for almost as long. Seems like just yesterday I was sweating bullets on my first day."

"You're a great Deputy, Michael. Look how many friends you've made, all tghe baddies you've caught, all the speeders you've busted. You, Michael Guerin, are actually an asset to this community."

"Thank you," he followed her back into the bedroom. "Actually I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh boy, what?"

"Well, Jim mentioned that he might be retiring at the end of the year."

"Really?" she asked, clearly shocked.

"Yeah. I mean it's not definite at all, but he's already put in his twenty and then some. He doesn't have to do it anymore." He took a deep breath. "What would you think if I ran for it?"

"If you ran for Sheriff?" She grinned and he nodded. "I think that would totally rock!" She hugged him. "We'd put signs up in the front yard and everything! I say totally go for it."

"I think I'd be running unopposed, honey, we wouldn't need signs."

"Damn it, I said there will be signs!"

Michael smiled and buried his face in her wet hair. "So, I guess you're okay with it?"

"Duh," she pushed him away. "You don't think anyone else would want the job?"

"Not since Hansen went to Dexter. Hell, I'm close to the top of seniority."

Maria kissed him. "I think it's great. But now we have to go to the school and do the parenty thing. I don't want to show up looking like we both just got out of the shower. Might set a bad example."

"Or it could set a good one," he grinned.

* * *

Liz Evans held her daughter's hands as they floated in the pool. There were others from the complex there, but Liz was in her own world. Sloane had bright yellow water wings around her thin forearms matching her bumblebee swimming suit.

"How's it going?" a familiar voice called from the side.

Liz snapped around and saw the smiling face of her husband squatting down next to the pool. "Hey you, wanna come on? The water's great!"

"No, not really." He looked around. "Now aren't you glad that we moved here?"

"Yeah, but a condo is still like an apartment and I want a house."

"I know." He looked around, making sure no one else was listening. "We will Liz, I promise. We could either be renting a house or a condo for now. I thought we decided on condo."

"We did, but I want my own house."

"Honey, I haven't even gotten a paycheck yet. I haven't even started work yet, not really for a couple of weeks." He saw the disappointment in her eyes and felt like a failure. Something he was used to feeling, whether it was valid or not. "Soon, maybe just until the end of the school year and then we'll house hunt."

"I know, I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound like such a b-i-t-c-h," she spelled out. "I just hate having all these people around all the time, I feel like we have no privacy."

"And I guess it doesn't have anything to do with Maria moving into a new house?"

"No, I don't think so." She turned her head away from her splashing daughter. "I just want to be able to be as loud as I want and tear down walls if I want to, you know?"

"We'll get there, I promise." Max stood and waved. "Bye, I'm going inside."

Liz watched him walk away with head hanging. She sighed. Sometimes he could be so immature; she shook her head. She helped her daughter out of the pool and wrapped a towel around her, then herself. She paused momentarily to look at the tattoo on her thigh. It had been a gift from Max for her twenty-first birthday. Vines and small flowers covered her brand. The brand that had managed to remain inactive since their wedding day. Sloane didn't like the tattoo; she always shied away from it when she found herself too close. Liz looked to her daughter and wondered if she really was the Warrior. It seemed highly doubtful.

Sloane was shy, more shy than any other four and a half year old should be. She didn't talk to people she didn't know, and even then she never said much. She clung to her parents whenever they were in a social situation. She was finally warming up to Isabel who watched her all the time; but edged away from Leia. Liz had hoped they would be as good friends as she and Maria were.

She took her daughter's hand and led her to their building. Going up in the elevator she reconsidered things. It wasn't Max's fault they were living in a condo; it was most likely hers. She loved the condo and all its amenities, but she still longed for a house of her own. Max had worked his tail off to finish school and work as close to full time as he could while she had taken not one, but two semesters off to stay home with Sloane. Sure she still worked part-time at the Crashdown, but Max was the one who was taking care of the family. Going for her Masters now was taking a chunk out of their income as well.

Max was starting his new job in a few weeks and Liz knew he was nervous as hell about it. Who wouldn't be? Returning to his High School as a teacher, the thought of returning at all was frightening. He'd be an authority figure now and she thought that was what scared him the most. By the time they walked in the condo Max was already at the dining room table, his briefcase open and papers strewn about.

"What are you doing?" Liza asked, walking behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Finishing touches on my lesson plan for the semester. They want an outline in a few days. I'm almost done though."

"Max Evans: English teacher." She bent over and kissed his ear. "Soudns like a super hero."

"How about Super Nerd? That's more accurate."

"You're not a nerd," Liz smiled.

"Tell that to Michael."

"Michael's a dork," Liz laughed. "Have you heard from Isabel yet? I wonder if she got any news about the new book, yet."

"Not a word, yet." He turned around in his chair and pulled her on to his lap. "Where's Sloane go?"

"Bedroom." She smiled as Max pulled her bikini top over her damp breasts. He toyed with her nipples with one hand while the other slid in the bikini bottoms. "Well, Mr. Evans, happy to see me?" She arched her back and let him feel her.

"I'm always happy to see you, Liz." He pulled her top back over her and removed his hands. "Sloane, what's going on?" he called to his daughter standing a few feet away.

* * *

Kyle Valenti was trying to think of a way to tell his longtime girlfriend Morgan that he had quit his job at the hospital. Telling her he quit wasn't really the issue, telling her how was. Morgan Chase was not going to be very happy to find out that he chucked a stapler at his boss and hit him in the head. His argument was leaning towards 'he only needed three stitches' and that was bad.

Kyle didn't like his job anyway. Sure, he had worked his butt off at school and gotten a Bachelors in Psychology, but he hated what he did. Talking to crazy people all day was not fun. He worked, or at least until that morning, in Evaluations. He decided whether someone was crazy, suicidal or faking. He hated it. The only reason he had event aken the job was that Morgan's friend had referred him. Luckily he wasn't the one who got stitches.

Morgan and Kyle both had stayed in Las Cruces for the last couple of summers going to school. Morgan wanted to be done so badly and Kyle had a few classes to make-up. Morgan had her job lined up before she graduated; she was a social worker. She wanted to be able to help the kids that were like she was. She loved her job.

They rented an apartment in the same complex that Max and Liz's first place had been. They stayed in touch with the old gang and even managed to get together at least a few times a month for dinner or something.

Kyle grimaced when he heard the front door open and Morgan walk in. "Hi honey."

* * *

Isabel Evans held the envelope from her so-called agent and flipped it over, the same way she had been doing for the last half-hour. She had gotten six thousand dollars for her first book, Robin's Secret, and it had been published in paperback along with a thousand other pre-teen books that year. Her new one, Robin's Mystery, wasn't as hard to sell and now she was curious as to how much her agent had sold it for. She told him to negotiate for her and surprise her. She was rethinking that idea now.

She looked at her watch, plenty of time before she was meeting Kyle and Morgan for dinner. Okay, she told herself and opened up the envelope. Twenty-six thousand dollars. Much better, she smiled. Now she was moving out of the parents' house.

* * *

The rest of the summer went by so fast it blurred. Maria decided at the last minute that she wanted to finally go to college. She registered to go for the same times Leia would be in schoool. Michael supported her as always while mentally checking the bank account. They should be fine. Isabel agreed to watch Leia on Tuesdays when there was no kindergarten. She was also watching Sloane during the day when Liz was at school working on her Masters in Genetic Engineering and Max was teaching.

Isabel still saw Erin every once in a while, usually to meet him and his wife for a drink. They were friends; it had worked out better that way. Someday she'd meet the one; she wasn't in a hurry, she had the rest of her life.

She loved watching the girls; they were so much fun. Leia had her powers under control and Isabel kept trying to find out if Sloane had any at all. So far it wasn't looking good. Isabel worked with Leia on new things while Sloane watched from the background. Isabel had tried to get Sloane to move things, to change things, nothing. You'd never know that her father was an alien king, Isabel often mused. She figured Max was probably upset that none of his otherworldly talents had been passed on to his daughter. She also knew Liz was probably ecstatic about it. Liz could still get on her nerves from time to time, she doubted time would ever change that.

It was a Tuesday morning at the Evans' condo; Isabel was typing on her new laptop while Leia and Sloane were playing. Leia called it playing, if Sloane knew the word for hell she'd probably use it to describe days with Leia. Leia was hurtling Sloane's toys through the air out of her reach and laughing hysterically. She'd run up behind Sloane and knock her down and laugh. As much as Isabel tried to stop her, Leia was unstoppable. The sweet little baby that used to bury her face in her hair was now a bundle of mischievous energy. Isabel suggested they go to the pool and Leia bounced up and down with joy. She even managed to get a smile from Sloane.

After they had changed and gathered their pool toys the three of them went downstairs. At the bottom of the steps Leia broke away from Isabel's hand and darted into the parking lot after telling Sloane she was 'it'. Isabel yelled for her to come back. In the fraction of a second it took for Leia to turn around, the car was upon her. Cruising around the side of a building, the driver didn't have a chance to stop before the small blond girl jumped in front of him.

Isabel dropped Sloane's hand and watched in horror as Leia's small body flew up into the air and landed in the grass on the other side of the car.

BACK TO THE TOP / CHAPTER TWO

STORY OF LINES:
6 - THE BEAT GOES ON

CHAPTER ONE

WRITTEN BY BECKY W

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