ROSWELL on PLANET-SF

CHAPTER FIVE

Thanksgiving came and went without the Guerin/DeLuca family making an appearance anywhere except Amy and Jim's. Kyle tried to talk to Maria, but she walked away from him every time. She did the same with Morgan. Or at least she tried to.

"What is your problem Maria?" Morgan confronted her in the kitchen.

"I don't have a problem."

"Yeah, you od. You walk around all the time like a zombie. Everyone's worried about you. You don't seem to be acting like yourself."

"You don't know enough about me to know when I'm myself and when I'm not," Maria retorted.

"I think I do. Liz knows you pretty damn good and she's worried."

"Of course she is," Maria smiled. "Because her life is so fucking perfect, she has nothing to worry about there so she bestows her pity where it's needed, right?"

"I highly doubt that's it."

"I highly doubt you know what you're talking about." Maria tried to walk by her but Morgan wouldn't move.

"Liz, Kyle, Iz, Max and myself. We are all worried. If you won't talk to me, talk to someone."

Maria pushed her way past her and found Michael in the living room watching TV with Jim and Kyle. "I'm ready to go," she whispered in his ear. He looked up to her face and saw pain. He nodded and stood up.

"Where are you two going?" Jim asked.

"Home," Maria said. "I don't feel that great."

"Well, then I better make the big announcement," Jim stood and walked to Amy who was leaning against the wall. He put his arm around her shoulders. "Okay, effective the first of the year, I will no longer be the Sheriff of Roswell."

"Seriously?" Kyle asked, shocked. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

Jim shrugged. "I wasn't a hundred percent sure until recently. I'm hanging up my hat. I want to enjoy life without all that work involved." He looked too Michael who nodded in return. "And, until the special election in April, I'll be appointing Deputy Michael Guerin as my successor."

"Oh God!" Morgan laughed. "There goes the neighbourhood!"

"Hey," Michael pointed at her.

"So you have to run for it in April, I mean officially?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, but I'll be running unopposed. So unless there's a bunch of write-ins and no one votes for me at all, I'm in." He picked up Maria's hand and brought it to his lips. "That's right, there's gonna be a new Sheriff in town." He kissed Maria's cheek. "Now I'll get to drive the big truck, say goodbye to the cruiser days."

They all laughed except Maria: her eyes remained downcast. They said their goodbyes, gathered up Leia and her things and went home. Michael followed Maria around while she helped Leia take a bath and get her ready for bed, while she picked up clothes off the floor and put away dishes.

"Quit following me!" she snapped at him.

"What's going on?"

"I'm trying to clean the damn house," she sighed. "I actually have a few days where I don't have to be anywhere or do anything so I thought I'd clean the house because apparently no one else is capable of it!"

He took a plate from her hand and set it on the counter. He turned her towards him and lifted her chin to meet her eyes. "Tell me."

"There's nothing to tell."

"Yeah, there is Maria."

"I think I'm pregnant," she said quietly as tears poured down her cheeks. Michael pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her, holding her. He buried his face in her and kissed it.

"Is this why you've been acting strange for the last couple of months?"

She shrugged. "I don't even know for sure."

"No test?"

She shook her head. "I thought if I ignored it, it might go away."

"You don't want to have another babY?" He lifted her face back up to his. "Is that what you're saying?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "I just wasn't expecting it. I mean, I'm on the pill, but I do miss one every once in a while."

"Do you want this baby?" His voice broke.

"I do," she nodded. "I just didn't want one yet. Leia's in school, I'm in school and now I have to quit. I just want my turn."

Michael nodded. "I'll support you whatever you decide."

"Oh, I'll have the baby," she reassured him. "That's not a question. I just don't think it's fair. Nothing's ever fair!"

"Maria, you can't say that."

"Yeah, I can. Look at Liz and Max. They have this great condo, with carpeting. Max has a good job and Liz," she snorted. "Liz, the brain, drops out of school and gets a great job right away making a ton of moeny. She took a year off to stay home with Sloane and everything turns out peachy for her."

"Are you jealous?" Michael bit back his surprise. "I have a good job, Maria. It's going to be a better job in January. We're doing really well. We own our home; they rent. We're happy, Maria. Isn't that the most important thing?"

"They're happy, too." She shook her head. "I just want things to be easier for us. We struggled for so long after Leia was born. They seem to have everything handed to them on a platter and it gets on my nerves, I can't help it."

"So you blow Liz off for the last couple of months." Michael nodded.

"Yeah."

"It's not their fault thigns work out for them."

"I can't help it. You work all the time. I never get to see you. Max is home every day by five. Leia's straight from hell sometimes. Sloane is like the perfect child; she never does anything wrong. I mean I miss Liz, I do. I didn't mean to be such a bitch to her and to you." Maria wiped the last of the tears away. "I'm just so jealous. And now another baby. I can't seem to catch a break and then there's Liz and her perfect family."

* * *

A week after Thanksgiving, Liz's perfect husband was crushing his body against Lindy Franks' in the parking lot behind the public library. His mouth covering hers, his pelvis grinding into hers.

He hadn't mean to do this, that wasn't on his agenda when he left school that afternoon. He had been driving home wanting to stop by the florist and pick up some flowers for Liz. She always loved it when he brought her home flowers. He had seen Lindy loitering by the entrance of the back parking lot, alone. Without realising it, he pulled over and asked her if she needed a ride home. She had gotten in the jeep and the next thing Max knew they were standing outside it, in the shadows.

His hands caressed her smooth face while hers unbuttoned her shirt. She lifted her bra above her breasts, taking Max's hand she placed it on her breast. He toyed with her while trying to reach his tongue as far into her mouth as he could. Her hands slid down the front of him and tried to get his zipper down. Max stopped moving against her; he was shaking. He removed his hands from her then lifted hers from him. He stepped back from her. She looked confused, her shirt open in front of him. He stared at her face, her short blond hair mussed, her expression perplexed. He reached to her and pulled her shirt closed.

"I have to go," he looked to the jeep in back of her.

"Mr. Evans."

He cringed; he was her teacher. He was her married teacher. "Lindy, this was wrong."

"Are you sure?" She bit her bottom lip as she buttoned her shirt. "I didn't think it felt wrong."

"Damn it, I'm your teacher!"

"I'm sure you could teach me all kinds of things."

"Forget this happened Lindy, please." He walked around to the other side of the jeep and got in. He left her staring after him as he drove out of the lot. Flowers forgotten, everything forgotten, he drove home.

* * *

Kyle smiled as he handed Morgan a flat box wrapped in yellow wrapping paper. A giant blue box was in the middle. She took it from hesitantly and looked seriously at it.

"What's this for?"

"A present for you, that's all." He grinned. "Go on, open it."

Morgan nodded and unwrapped the box. Underneath tissue paper were two envelopes. She looked to him then back in the box. She opened the envelopes. Two plane tickets to Las Vegas.

"Vegas? You want to go to Vegas?"

"Yeah, I want to go to Vegas and marry you." He raised his eyebrows. "So, will you marry me, Morgan?"

"Oh," she brought her hand to her mouth, her blue eyes wide. "Wow."

"Wow?"

"Wow," she repeated. "Well, let's see. If I go pack now, we can leave tonight, right?"

"That's a yes?"

"Yeah Valenti, that's a big ass yes!" She was swept off her feet as Kyle swung her around and around.

"Go pack, I'm already done."

"So you were anticipating my acceptance?"

"Yeah Chase, that's a big ass yes!" Kyle watched his bride-to-be scamper in the bedroom and picked up the phone. He called his dad first, then tried Maria. He left a message on their machine. He called Isabel at Max's and told her the good news. She chided him for leaving town for her book signing. He promised to have her sign every book in his apartment when they got back.

* * *

Isabel smiled as she hung up the phone with Kyle. So, he was finally going to marry her. About time, she thought. She had her feet up on the coffee table, the laptop where it should be, on her lap. Sloane was leaning against her watching cartoons when Max walked in the door. He was flushed.

"Little brother, what's up" she called to him.

He shook his head and sat next to Sloane on the couch. He hugged her and kissed her forehead. She backed away from him; her amber eyes almost glowing. "You don't feel like mommy," she said in the smallest voice.

Max blanched and sat up straight and looked from his daughter to his sister. "I don't?"

Sloane shook her head and crawled onto Isabel's lap, pushing the computer to ther other side. She buried her head in her Aunt's shoulder.

"Sloane?" Isabel stroked the little girl's hair. "Are you okay?"

Sloane leaned up and whispered in her aunt's ear. "He doesn't feel like mommy."

Isabel looked to Max and shrugged. Max stared at his daughter; he was scared. He was going to come clean with Liz when she got home. He nodded then shook his head, no he wasn't. It'd break her heart. Stupid. So stupid.

Isabel picked Sloane up and carried her into her room. She lay her on the bed and sat next to her. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" Sloane shook her head and closed her eyes. "Did daddy do something wrong?" Sloane shrugged. Isabel kissed her forehead and went back into the living room. There she found Max still on the couch, he was bent over, his hands covered his face. "What's going on, Max?" She sat next to him.

He shook his head. "How is she?"

"I don't know because I don't know what she means by saying you don't feel like her mommy. What does that mean Max?" she demanded. "Tell me what that means."

He stood and paced in front of her. Isabel stood and walked out on the balcony, she lit up a cigarette and blew smoke above her head. She thought she knew what Sloane meant and it was making her more and more pissed off that Max wasn't talking. The door opened and Max joined her. He took a cigarette out of her pack and lit up. He had treid smoking before and never got in to it. Today, he felt like he couldl chain-smoke.

"Tell me what she meant, Max. I'm serious."

"I...I messed up." He didn't face her.

"I figured. Tell me or I'll think the worst."

"I have a student, her name is Lindy."

"A student?"

"Yeah. She uh..." He took a deep breath. "She likes me. A lot."

"Oh God." She turned away from him, leaning on the iron bars of the balcony. "What did you do?"

"She was just there and I didn't..."

"For God's sake Max, just spit it out." She turned to face him, her eyes wild with anger and disappointment.

"I guess I kind of made out with her." He looked away, embarrassed.

"Kind of made out with her, huh?" Isabel shook her head. "Are you an idiot? Seriously, why do you do things like this?"

"I don't know," he inhaled deeply, the smoke filling his lungs. "It just happened."

"You are so stupid! Do you know what this could do? You could lose your job and your family. Did you think about that while you were messing around with some teenybopper? Did any of those thoughts cross your mind?"

"Yeah, Iz, they all did. It just happened."

"Where?"

"Where did it happen?"

"Yeah." Isabel looked through him.

"Parking lot at the library," he admitted as another groundswell of guilt roared through him. "I was coming home, no, I was going to the florist to buy flowers. I asked her if she needed a ride and she got in. Then we were outside the jeep in back of the building, in the shadows."

"Did you fuck her?"

"My sister, as tactful as always." He snorted. "No, I did not fuck her."

"Well, at least you might have part of your brain functioning. So now what?"

"What do you mean?"

"How are you going to fix it? Is this girl going to be back around? Are you going to tell Liz and break her heart or just go about life and hope it stays normal? What about Sloane?"

"I'm going for door number three," he smiled at her. It deflated when he met her glare. "I'm sorry, I feel like shit. It was just temptation. I don't know what to do about Sloane. She's intuitive."

"Don't tell Liz." Isabel shook her head. "You put her through enough throughout the years, she doesn't need this."

Max nodded, no, he woudln't tell her. He never wanted to see her with a broken heart again. "You'll keep this between us?"

"No, I thought I might take out an ad in the paper." She rolled her eyes and put her cigarette out in a soda can she had brought out earlier in the day. "Don't mess up again, Max."

He promised and watched her go back inside and collect her things. She left the condo without looking back at him. He sat down and put his smoke out in the same can. Stupid, he thought, how could you be so stupid? She's a freaking student and you're a happily married man. He walked back inside and waited for his wife.

* * *

Leia woke up and went into her parents' bedroom before the sun rose. They were both asleep; her mom on her stomach and her dad curled up to mom. She placed her hand on her mother's shoulder and waited for her to open her eyes.

"What are you doing up?" Maria smiled at Leia.

"She's going to need you and you're going to need her." Leia nodded.

"What?" Maria sat up clutching the sheet under her arms. "Who?"

"She's going to need you and you're going to need her," Leia repeated.

"Leia? What are you talking about?"

Leia crawled up next to her and lay in her lap. "Don't be mad, you're going to need each other." She yawned and drifted off to sleep. Maria stared down at her daughter and wondered what the hell she was talking about.

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STORY OF LINES:
6 - THE BEAT GOES ON

CHAPTER FIVE

WRITTEN BY BECKY W

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