Part 10

Isabel Whitman stood out in front of the Crashdown Café, staring up at the neon lit sign. The sky was finally growing dark after what had been one of the longest days of her life. A smile spread across her face as she closed her eyes peacefully. It had been a long day, but everything had turned out remarkably well. Isabel’s smile widened as she heard one of the most amazing sounds coming from what had been Liz’ balcony back in high school.

Laughter.

More exactly, Isabel heard the laughter of children. She knew that Jack, Cam, Kat and Jules would loathe at being called children, but she couldn’t help it. She still had a hard time realizing that her own daughter and older niece and nephews were adults, fully capable of leading their own lives. At the thought of Belle, Isabel opened her eyes, looking wistfully over to where she knew her husband was coming down the fire escape to join her on the ground.

Without a word Alex came over and wrapped his arms around her from behind, his hands resting on her large, swollen stomach. She was carrying twin boys, due any day. She could sense the worry in Alex though he tried to hide it. In all the years she’d known him Alex had become an open book to her, even more so than Michael or Max ever were.

"The kids are having fun, unwinding a little. Missing Belle?" Alex murmured in her ear. She nodded once, and then turned her face towards the laughter again.

"But she’ll be here soon. All of them will. It’s amazing, isn’t it? That after all that’s happened today, with us thinking we lost Max, that it all turned out fine?" Isabel said, a hint of worry in her voice. Alex smiled and pushed a strand of blond hair away from her eyes and behind her ear.

"It is amazing, but it’s all true. You won’t wake up and suddenly find out that Max is still inside that museum, trapped with one of our enemies. Or that Beth and Belle were hurt when the building collapsed. Because none of that is true. They are just fine, Isabel. I know it’s a habit that you’ve never broken, worrying about the kids, ever since Max and Michael disappeared for ten years, but you need to try and let go," Alex urged her. Isabel nodded slowly, knowing she should take Alex’s words to heart. She would try, but patterns were hard to break. And the most important job she’d ever had was when Max and Michael had disappeared and she became the sole alien guardian of Mike, Beth, Belle and Max. It had been sixteen years since she’d given up that singular role, but at times it was hard to let go.

At the sounds of Jules and Kat, laughing at some joke the boys were telling, Isabel let go. She leaned against her husband’s strong back and took a deep breath, looking up at the sign where it all began, where her life changed. She hadn’t even been there, the day Liz was shot and Max healed her, but nothing in her life had changed the course of events so irrevocatively.

They were all safe, all of them. And they were coming home.

Beth tugged nervously at her coat and then turned quickly in the elevator to examine her reflection in the mirrored wall. She tried to smooth her curly blond hair but quickly shrugged and gave up. Pursing her lips she thought about adding lipstick, then cast the thought away. She met her own green eyes in the mirror.

"Relax, Beth, it’s just Max. You’ve known him all your life, before you were even born. It’s just Max," she repeated, trying to settle the butterflies in her stomach. It had been a hectic day, starting only twenty four hours before when Max had been suddenly taken hostage inside the Museum of Natural History.

Only twenty four hours since Beth had thought her life would end without Max in it. Only twenty-four hours since she thought her life was collapsing along with the museum that held Max inside. Only twenty-four hours since they’d found out that Charlie was one of them. And only twenty four hours since Beth had felt her heart begin to beat again as she’d found Max in the rubble of the building and he’d opened his eyes and said her name.

Beth exited the elevator and turned down the hospital hallway, knowing precisely where she was going. After the building had collapsed the day before and the police and paramedics had rushing in Max had been surrounded by medical personnel and swept away to Bellevue Hospital, ironically, where he worked. It had turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Beth, Belle and Mike because Beth knew the hospital well from her visits to see Max and they were able to get inside quickly and protect Max’s true identity.

Mike had altered the blood samples so that Max’s blood would appear totally normal. Belle had been the first to get to Max’s side while he was unattended and had managed to heal some of his injuries. And Beth had gotten into the computer system when a nurse wasn’t looking and altered Max’s records so that nothing would appear suspicious. They’d had to work fast and they’d had to work together, not reacting to any of the things that Mike told them about what had happened.

Beth had barely had a chance to talk to Jody and Charlie after the explosion; she’d gotten them as far away as possible and told them to lie low until she contacted them. Beth had seen the way Belle had been so concerned for Mike during the time he was inside looking for Max and neither her brother or Belle had had a chance to react to the closeness that had seemingly been rekindled, laying dormant for the last eight years.

And Beth had not even thought about how she’d kissed Max after she’d found him. Chiding herself, she knew that wasn’t even true. It was all she had thought about, after making sure Max was safe. She realized that her feelings for Max had never really changed since high school; she’d just ignored them and hoped that they wouldn’t be obvious to the rest of the world. The reasons why they’d stayed apart seemed so trivial after almost losing Max from her life, Beth realized that she’s always taken it for granted that he would be there, waiting for her. A part of her realized that she had treated him that way, and because of who he was, because he loved her, he’d done exactly that. Waited for her, waited for when she was ready. And she hated that she’d made him wait so long and that they’d had to go through so much for her to come to that conclusion.

Standing outside Max’s room, she laid her hand on the metal knob, taking a deep breath. She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat but found she couldn’t. She realized that Max could have died without really knowing how she felt. She knew that he understood that she loved him. That had never even been a whisper of a question between him. But what he didn’t know was that she loved him far above everything and anything else in the world. He was everything to her and he didn’t know it.

She hadn’t made it very clear to him, she realized with regret. At eighteen they’d parted ways, going to opposite ends of the continent pursuing their different dreams and goals. She’d thought that dancing was her dream, but she’d been wrong. She just hadn’t seen it as clear as she thought, eight years ago, that Max was her dream. She should have gone with him, or she should have convinced him to come with her. Of all the things she should not have done, letting Max go was paramount.

Turning the knob slowly, Beth pushed the door open and peeked inside. She let go of the breath she’d been holding when she saw Max sleeping peacefully in his bed. She entered the room and closed the door behind her, walking softly over to the bedside and looking down at Max, his eyes closed and his face turned towards the window where sunlight was streaming in. Beth smiled, as she looked at Max, unable to contain the joy at seeing him alive and safe right in front of her.

She reached out a hand and tentatively pushed the hair away from Max’s forehead, her fingers following a path from his temple to his ear and down his neck to where his hair curled, a little long at the ends. She could feel the warmth of his skin against her fingertips and her smile widened. She would have happily stayed next to him, watching for the moment when he woke up, even if it took hours, but Max seemed to sense she was there. He shifted a little and then turned his head against her hand and his eyes opened slowly, coming to rest on her face.

The smile Max gave her could have put the sun to shame. Beth’s hand trailed down to rest on his chest and she sat down in a padded chair next to his bed, as close as she could be without climbing into the bed with him.

"Hey you," she whispered.

"Hey," he replied, taking in how beautiful Beth looked, even after the ordeal from the day before. The light in the window glinted against her hair, bringing it to a golden highlight. The familiar feeling of wanting rose to his mind and Max struggled to concentrate. Something about the look on Beth’s face was different. He knew she had been worried while he’d been inside the museum, but she was looking at him with such determination, like she’d made a life-altering decision.

"How are you feeling?" Beth asked, forcing herself through the pleasantries.

"Better, since Belle came again and healed me. She and Mike left a little while ago to get a bite to eat. Where are Charlie and Jody?" he asked, concerned for his roommate.

"I told them to go home until I could contact them. I thought it might be better if they stayed away for awhile, away from everything going on around you," Beth explained.

"What do you mean?" Max asked, puzzled. Beth smiled slightly, realizing he didn’t know, he’d been in a hospital room all morning and the night before.

"Well, Max, you’re a city hero," Beth said, her eyebrow arched as she tried to contain a laugh. She was rewarded for her suppression as Max groaned and hung his head.

"Are you serious? How did that happen?" he asked helplessly. Beth couldn’t stop a laugh from erupting.

"Max, it’s not like you have the Black Plague or something, this can be a good thing. You saved over thirty people, everyone in the city wants to meet you," Beth pointed out. Suddenly, Max’s head popped up as he remembered.

"What about Ashley? What happened to her?" Max asked urgently. Beth’s face fell and she felt tears coming to her eyes. She shook her head silently, not sure she could say out loud that her father’s sister hadn’t been found alive in the rubble.

Max exhaled loudly as his head dropped to the back of the pillow and he stared up at the white ceiling. He felt Beth’s hand tighten in his and he drew strength from her touch. He felt like a failure. He hadn’t been able to save her and he hadn’t put up enough of a fight to get her to come with him. Because of his weaknesses they’d lost her.

"Max, no one blames you. No one. And you are not weak. You are the strongest person I know, besides maybe your mother," Beth said with a soft smile. He struggled to return the smile.

"I can’t think of anyone else who would have stayed in that building, refusing to go, like you did. And I can’t think of anyone who, after everything that had happened, would have climbed through all that building wreckage to come back to me," Beth said, her voice lowering. Max tried to accept her words, tried to nod, and he started to believe her. But he hated that he would have to tell his best friend that his sister was dead.

"Does Charlie know?" he asked. Beth shook her head.

"I don’t think so," she replied. Max set his chin, determined.

"Then I want to be the one to tell him," he said. Beth nodded in agreement and they sat, holding hands, for a few minutes. Max’s thumb rubbed against the back of Beth’s hand absently and she tried to control how her heartbeat seemed to spike with every gesture. The words that came out of Max’s mouth next made her heart suddenly stop.

"What did you mean ‘climbed through all that building wreckage’? Didn’t they find me inside?" Max asked, confused. Beth tried to open her mouth to answer him, but found she couldn’t speak. Finally, she swallowed and managed to squeak out a response.

"Don’t you remember coming out of the building? When you fell on the ground in front of me?" she asked. Max’s eyes softened, realizing what had happened had affected her.

"No, I don’t. I remember the explosion and then blackness. The next thing I can recall is Belle standing over me earlier this morning. Why, what happened?" he asked curiously. Beth faltered for a second, trying to find the right words.

How was she supposed to tell him her entire life had changed in only a few hours? How was she supposed to tell him that when they’d kissed it was a kiss like she’d never felt before, even from him? Because she’d finally realized how much she loved him and how much she wanted him in her life. And he didn’t remember any of it.

As Beth struggled to try and come up with the words, she realized that she didn’t need to figure things out. It was Max. He knew how she thought. All she had to do was be honest, tell him what she was thinking and it would all fall into place. Feeling relieved and yet a little nervous about what she had to say, she leaned forward and locked her eyes with Max’s.

"Max, I—"

"Look who’s wide awake!"

Beth’s head shot up to look at Charlie and Jody, standing in the doorway. Jody’s wide smile punctuated her words and she quickly walked over to Max, giving him a careful hug. Beth stood up quickly, flustered that she’d been about to spill her soul to Max and she’d been interrupted. Max was looking at her curiously too, realizing she’d had something important to say. Beth moved away from him and joined Charlie by the bed, seeing that Belle and Mike followed them into the room. Mike nodded to Charlie and Jody.

"We had some lunch and then went to get them. They were pretty stir crazy, wanting to know what happened and wanting to see Max. Like everyone else in the city," Mike finished dryly.

"How are you, are you ok?" Beth asked Charlie softly. He nodded slowly, scratching his head.

"I guess so. It’s not everyday that you find out that you’re an alien when you thought you were a human, but I guess I’m doing fine," Charlie said. Beth nodded and nudged him gently.

"You know, this means you and I are cousins," she said. Charlie looked at her in wonder, the thought dawning on him for the first time.

"Wow, I didn’t realize that. I have this whole family that I’ve known for so long, but now I’m suddenly related to. I feel lucky for that," Charlie said. Then his eyes turned sad.

"I remember everything about her. Our mother. Ashley. When she touched me it was like she unlocked all my memories and now it’s all there. And I can’t help wishing she were here, because I wish I could tell her how grateful I am," Charlie said. Beth hugged him, then stepped back.

"So she’s really gone?" she asked softly. Charlie nodded.

"Yeah, I felt her. After she touched me I could feel her presence so strongly. And then, after the explosion she was just gone. It was so brief, but now there’s a hole in my soul that I didn’t know I had before," Charlie said. Jody returned to them, putting her arms around Charlie. He leaned his head against her and she kissed his forehead, whispering quietly.

Beth watched them in wonder, at how Jody had seemingly sensed Charlie’s distress and immediately walked over to him, to comfort him. And she seemed to know exactly what he needed, without asking. And nothing between them had changed, even with the knowledge that Charlie was biologically different than her, different than they’d thought.

Mike and Belle had walked over to talk to Max and Charlie finally looked up at Beth, his eyes direct. They were far enough away that the others couldn’t hear them.

"Don’t you think there’s something you have to tell Max?" he prompted. Beth looked at him, surprised. He grinned shyly.

"It seems that one of my, uh, powers is a little telepathy," he admitted. Beth smiled back and then she glanced at Max, then back at Charlie.

"I know. I have so much I want to tell him, and so much that I want to do before we head home. Max is coming back to Roswell with us, later tonight. There’s no way he’ll be needed at the hospital since they gave him a few weeks off to ‘recover’. We’re all going back. All of us. That means you two also," Beth said, leaving no room for argument. Charlie and Jody nodded slowly, not wanting or needing to argue. Beth looked at Max, talking with Mike, who was explaining everything that had happened in detail.

"I won’t wait, not anymore. Too much can happen. I’ll tell him as soon as we’re alone, tonight," Beth promised, her eyes turning back to Max and warming at the sight of him, alive and breathing right in front of her.

TBC . . .