Roswell Fic: The B-Team Saves the Day
Title: The B-Team Saves the Day
Fandom: Roswell
Author: jbangelo
Disclaimer: Sadly, nothing belongs to me. Though Kyle is my pretend boyfriend.
Pairings: Alex/Tess, Kyle/Isabel
Rating: TEEN
Summary: Sequel to A Day in the Life of the B-Team, taking place about three months later. Alex and Tess grow closer as they work on their project, and Kyle defends Isabel's honor. Pure fluff.
Author's Note: Many thanks to thephoneix for being lured by cookies to beta this.
One
Alex Whitman looked at his watch for what felt like the tenth time in as many minutes. It wasn't quite time yet, but his heart beat faster with every tick of the second hand as it inched closer to the twelve. It was unlike her to cut it this close. She was normally just as punctual as he was, if not more so. Tapping his foot in a nervous rhythm, he couldn't quite pinpoint why he was so anxious. He'd waited at this same booth for her many times before, but for some reason, today felt different.
Oh, who was he kidding? He knew exactly why he was anxious, and why today was different from all the other days. And why he was worried, for the first time ever, that she might not show up.
Two Days Earlier
"Alex, Tess is here!"
Hearing his mother's call, Alex stuffed the remaining t-shirts into his dresser and forced the drawer shut with a thud. He gave his room one last perusal, and satisfied that everything was in order, headed downstairs to greet his guest.
Even though they'd been working together on this project for their Film Appreciation class for almost three months now, this was the first time that Tess Harding had come to Alex's house. Usually they worked at the Crashdown or at the school library, and a couple of times they'd hit the Valenti house. But with their project almost completed, it had occurred to Alex that he hadn't actually watched Star Wars, the movie that they were analyzing for their paper, in its entirety in quite some time. To ensure that they weren't missing anything pertinent in their research, he had suggested to Tess that they have a "movie night."
At least that was the reason he had given Tess.
In actuality, Alex had seen Star Wars so many times in his young life that he could probably perform the whole movie for her. He didn't really need to see it again for "research purposes." The truth was, he had come to genuinely enjoy spending time with Tess, and was going to be secretly disappointed when this project was over and he wouldn't have an excuse to talk with her almost every day.
He felt like he'd really gotten to know Tess over the last few months, and had come to realize that they had quite a bit in common - more than he ever would have guessed. They liked a lot of the same movies and music, and had very similar senses of humor. Tess laughed at jokes he made that Liz and Maria probably wouldn't even get. They would sometimes get to talking about things that had nothing to do with their project and lose total track of time. There were a couple of nights when he'd almost missed curfew because they'd gotten so distracted from their work. He had come to feel so comfortable with the little blonde alien that he couldn't even remember why he'd felt so much trepidation at the beginning of the semester.
Yes, she'd become much more than just his class partner. She'd become his friend.
And maybe more.
Alex tried to shake those thoughts from his mind as he headed downstairs to meet her. Truthfully, he didn't really understand what his feelings for Tess were. He just knew that he was coming up with silly excuses to spend time with her. What did that mean?
When Alex got downstairs, he found his mother and Tess engaged in easy conversation. He didn't catch what they were talking about, but both of them were smiling, and Alex couldn't stop the smile that stretched across his own face. Tess was dressed very casually in a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt, and her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. She looked cute.
Whoa. Since when did he pay attention to the way Tess looked? And since when did he think she looked cute?
Tess gave Alex and smile when he reached them. "I brought Goobers and Raisinets," she said, pulling two candy boxes out of her oversized bag. "You can't watch a movie without the proper sweets."
"And I've got sodas and popcorn," Alex responded. "We're set."
"Can I get you kids anything else?" Mrs. Whitman asked.
Alex cringed slightly at her use of the word kids. "Thanks, Mom, but I think we've got everything we need," he answered, touching Tess' elbow and steering her in the direction of the stairs. "We'll be in my room."
"Leave the door open!" she called as they headed up, and Alex groaned in embarrassment. Tess giggled.
"Sorry about that," he apologized as he led her to his bedroom. "She always says that when Liz and Maria come over, too."
Tess just giggled again and shook her head. "It's okay," she replied in understanding. "Jim's the same way. He doesn't even like to leave me and Kyle home alone together."
Alex couldn't help the small stab of jealousy he felt when she mentioned Kyle's name. To his knowledge, there was nothing romantic going on between her and the sheriff's son, but why would Valenti be uncomfortable leaving them alone together?
And then he had to ask himself why he cared what was going on between her and Kyle. He had to stop it with these thoughts.
He forced himself to focus on the task at hand. "Movie time?" he asked, holding up the video.
"Definitely," she answered. "Where should I sit?"
"Wherever," he said as he put the tape into the VCR. "Make yourself comfortable."
He was surprised when he turned around and found her situating herself on his bed, sitting upright and leaning casually against the headboard. She must have noticed the look on his face, because she asked, "Is this okay?"
"Yeah, absolutely," he told her before shaking himself out of his stupor. What was he getting so worked up about? Liz and Maria sat on his bed with him all the time to watch movies. So what was so different about her?
But he was beginning to think that he knew the answer to that question.
Nevertheless, his heart fluttered nervously in his chest as he sat down on the opposite side of the bed. As the opening credits of the movie began, he forced himself to just relax. Crossing and uncrossing his arms, he moved around trying to get comfortable, and was eternally grateful when Tess shook a box a of Goobers at him, happy to have something to do with hands and something else to focus on.
Before too long he was lured back into the story that was unfolding across the screen, and found himself finally able to relax as the both of them got wrapped up in the movie. All too soon the end credits were scrolling down the screen, and again he found himself becoming aware of the presence next to him. Turning his head, he started to ask a question only to find himself distracted as she stretched beside him, saying, "I'd forgotten how much I like this movie."
Alex smiled. "I know. I never get tired of it, no matter how many times I've seen it."
"And how many times would that be?" she asked teasingly.
"I couldn't even begin to count," he admitted with a chuckle.
Before he knew it, another hour had passed swiftly as they debated the merits of the new movies versus the original trilogy. She made some interesting points that he'd never considered, though she did confess to having a crush on Hayden Christensen, confirming his suspicion. Who would have thought that Tess Harding would be such a sci-fi nut? Well, aside from the obvious reasons, of course.
"Alex, it's almost eleven!" Mrs. Whitman called from downstairs.
"Guess that's my cue to leave," Tess said, rising from the bed, and he couldn't fight the disappointment that coursed through his body.
"Eleven's my curfew, too," she added with disdain. She'd once confessed to Alex that having a curfew was one the of hardest adjustments she'd had to get used to after moving in the Valentis.
"I'll walk you out." He courteously handed Tess her bag and followed her downstairs.
"Goodnight, Mrs. Whitman." Tess waved politely to Alex's mother, who was sitting in the living room reading a book. "Thanks for letting me come over."
"It was lovely to meet you, Tess," Mrs. Whitman said with a smile. "I hope I'll see you again soon."
Alex hoped so, too.
His heart began to race again as he walked her outside. He didn't want this night to end, and a part of his brain was telling him to say or do something to let Tess know how he was feeling.
"I had fun tonight, Alex," Tess said, stopping at the driver's side door of her compact SUV. "It's too bad we're almost through with our project."
Alex couldn't stop himself from saying, "We can still hang out, you know, after the paper's finished."
A shy smile crossed Tess' face, almost as if she were surprised by his statement, and his heart rate seemed to speed up even more. "I'd like that," she said softly.
It was now or never. He could let her get in her car and drive away, never revealing the things he was starting to feel, or he could make his move.
His palms were sweating. He was so bad at this sort of thing. You'd think he'd have more confidence in this department, considering his two best friends were girls. But nope, he was still just as hopeless as he'd ever been.
"Tess…" His voice trailed off. He didn't know what to say, and he couldn't read much from Tess' expression.
She didn't answer, but met his gaze. She had to have the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen. So bright, so clear. He was momentarily hypnotized.
Then, without thinking much more about it, he leaned in. His lips were only a breath away from hers…
Tess backed away. "I should go," she said, her voice slightly shaky. She opened the door to her car.
"Tess, wait," he pleaded, slightly baffled.
"I'll see you on Monday, okay?" She gave him an apologetic glance before getting in the car and pulling out of the driveway. Alex helplessly watched her drive away.
Yep, he'd blown it. He'd taken a perfectly good budding friendship and completely ruined it. Of course she didn't feel that way about him. She'd given him no indication that she did. Why had he been so foolish?
Inwardly kicking himself, he walked dejectedly back to the house.
Present
That was the last Alex had seen or talked to Tess. He'd tried calling several times on Sunday, but her phone had gone straight to voicemail every time. He was positive that he had ruined whatever friendship they had been forming.
He was brought out of his musings when his cell phone rang loudly beside him. Glancing at the caller ID, he was both relieved and uneasy when he saw Tess' name on the display.
He answered immediately. "Tess?"
"Alex." Tess said his name in a tone that he couldn't quite recognize. She took a deep breath. "I think I've done something terrible."
Two
Kyle Valenti would never understand girls.
Yeah, he'd dated a lot of them and even shared a bathroom with one, but to save his life, he would never figure them out.
For example, what did a beautiful, classy girl like Isabel Evans see in low-life scum like Paulie Robinson?
Wait, Paulie was supposed to be his friend, right?
Wrong.
Ever since the stunt Paulie and the other guys had pulled on Max Evans last year, Kyle hadn't looked at his former friends and teammates the same way. He'd initially tried defending their behavior, but Liz had been right when she told him that they weren't good guys. Now he pretty much only tolerated them because he had to. He'd learned a lot in the last two years about the kind of person he wanted to be, and those guys weren't it.
So how was it that jerks like Paulie could get dates with the school beauty queen, while his own love life seemed to be nonexistent? Was the old cliché really true? Did nice guys always finish last?
He'd hoped it was a joke when he heard that Isabel was going to prom with Paulie. But the sight he now saw at the end of the hall all but confirmed the truth - Paulie standing next to Isabel with his arm slung around her shoulders, while she smiled flirtatiously at him.
Kyle couldn't deny that he felt jealous, though he wasn't sure why. It's not like he was interested in Isabel. Not that he would turn down a date with her if the opportunity presented itself, but he saw Isabel a little differently than other girls. He hadn't really looked at her in "that way" since he learned about her otherworldly status.
Not that he didn't find her attractive - quite the contrary. Isabel was a babe. A guy would have to be blind or gay not to see that. She was just different, in more ways than one.
And way out of Paulie's league.
Kyle crammed his books into his locker, one eye still on the couple at the end of the hall. It had been a long day, and he was so not in the mood for baseball practice, but he knew Coach would chew his ass out if he missed.
As he was heading in the direction of the locker room to get changed for practice, he noticed that Isabel was finally alone at her locker. Since he had to walk her way anyway, he decided he might as well stop and say hello.
And maybe he could discreetly find out what the hell she saw in that loser Robinson.
"Hey, Isabel," he greeted her casually.
Isabel looked up and gave him a friendly smile. "Oh, hey, Kyle. What's up?"
"Not much," he replied with a shrug. "Just heading to practice."
"Okay." She shut her locker door and adjusted the purse on her shoulder. The expression on her face was bemused, like she didn't know why Kyle was stopping to talk with her. It was true, they didn't talk much, despite always hanging in the same social circles - both alien and non-alien. Kyle suddenly felt nervous. He wasn't sure that Isabel was even aware of how intimidated she could make even the most self-assured person, like himself, feel.
"So are you really going out with Robinson?" he asked her, deciding on blunt rather than discreet.
Isabel's friendly expression instantly turned sour. "Is that really your business?" She snapped. "I already have to hear it from Max and Michael. I don't need you on my back, too."
Kyle held up his hands in a gesture of defense. "Hey, it was just a question. Forget I asked." The last thing he wanted was to incur the wrath of Isabel Evans.
Isabel's face softened slightly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped," she apologized. "It's just that I've already gotten the third degree from my brothers. God, it's not like I'm going to go blabbing our secret to every guy I go on a date with. Don't they know me better than that?"
She looked so vulnerable in that moment that Kyle genuinely felt sorry for her, which was not a feeling he'd ever associated with Isabel Evans. It just confirmed his notion that she was too good for the likes of Paulie, and further complicated his understanding of the female species.
Kyle debated internally with himself before he opened his mouth again, not sure he should tell her what he was thinking. But he decided to risk it. "I just think you can do better," he said with a shrug. "You're too good for him."
He couldn't discern the look that crossed her face, but at least she wasn't ripping his head off. After a beat, she said, "Look, Kyle, it's nothing serious. We just happened to run into each other after the game the other night, and went for a cup of coffee. Paulie's actually a pretty nice guy."
"Nice?" Kyle repeated dumbly.
"Yes, nice. He was a gentleman. He walked me home, and didn't even try to kiss me. So when he asked if I wanted to go to prom, I figured, why not?"
Kyle bit his tongue in surprise. It was surely all an act on Paulie's part, because he didn't know many people who would describe him as nice. But if Kyle knew Isabel, she was going to do things her own way. "Just… be careful, okay?"
Isabel scoffed good-naturedly. "Thanks for the warning, but I'm a big--"
"You're a big girl," Kyle finished for her. "Yeah, I know."
She gave him a half smile. Then, glancing at her watch, she said, "I gotta go. I'll see you later."
"Later," Kyle said, watching her walk away.
He knew Isabel could handle herself. He knew she could decide for herself who she wanted to date. But that didn't mean he had to like it.
When Kyle reached the locker room, it seemed like he was the last one to arrive. He could hear the raucous voices and laughter of his teammates before he even opened the door. He was already in a foul mood, though he wasn't sure why. Surely he couldn't be that bothered by the budding romance between Isabel and Paulie. He told himself to just let it go. Isabel wasn't even really his friend, in the classic sense of the word, so why did he need to trouble himself with whom she dated?
Bygones.
He went to his locker, muttering a "hey" to some teammates as he passed. He just wanted to get through practice so he could go home and be alone. Maybe by tomorrow his mood would be improved.
He tuned out the other guys as he changed into his gym shorts and a t-shirt. But as he was lacing up his cleats, the voice of Tommy Smigelski caught his attention. "Yo, Robinson," he said, throwing a sock at Paulie that Kyle hoped was clean, "you finally nabbed Isabel Evans, huh? You've only been lusting after her for two years."
"It was only a matter of time," Paulie replied smugly. Kyle rolled his eyes.
"No way!" another guy exclaimed in surprise, and Kyle was shocked that there was anyone at West Roswell who hadn't already heard. "You and Isabel? When did that happen?"
"They went out after last week's game," Tommy informed Mr. Clueless.
"So how far did you get with her?" another voice chimed in.
"Yeah, did you score with the Ice Queen?"
There was a pause before a smirking Paulie answered, "What do you think?" followed by a round of cheers.
Kyle could feel his blood begin to boil. His hands tightened into fists of their own volition. But he held his tongue.
"So how was it?" Tommy asked. "I bet she's a fireball."
"Like you wouldn't believe," Paulie gloated. He went on to describe Isabel's "smokin' bod," and Kyle finally lost it.
"Shut the fuck up, Robinson," he bit out.
"What?" Paulie turned in Kyle's direction, obviously noticing him for the first time.
"I said shut up," Kyle repeated. "You're a damn liar."
"Who're you calling a liar, Valenti?"
"You, asshole. Why don't you tell these clowns what really happened on your date? That all you and Isabel did was go out for coffee and you didn't even kiss her goodnight?"
A chorus of "ooohs" sounded from the baseball team. Kyle noticed out of the corner of his eye that they had drawn quite a crowd. Every member of the team was surrounding them, riveted by the standoff, probably hoping to see a good fight.
Kyle and Paulie stared each other down for what felt like an eternity.
"You're just jealous because you know you could never score with a girl like Isabel." Paulie sneered and looked at the crowd of jocks that now surrounded them, before turning back to look at Kyle. "Hell, you can't even score with that hot little vixen that lives in your house."
"Excuse me?" Kyle asked through clenched teeth. He balled his hands into fists at his sides, resisting the urge to pummel his former friend. The last thing he needed was to get in trouble for fighting.
"You heard me. You're just jealous 'cause you're a loser, and you know that I could have Isabel Evans - and Tess Harding, too, for that matter - in my bed anytime I want 'em."
In that instant, Kyle saw red. Consequences be damned, he thought, right before his fist connected with Paulie's face.
Three
Alex got from the Crashdown to the Valenti house in record time. Tess had sounded so upset on the phone that he had rushed right over, even though he probably could have solved her problem over the phone. But he just really wanted to see her.
"Okay, Tess, tell me again, slowly, what happened," Alex instructed her. She’d been so frazzled on the phone that he’d hardly been able to comprehend what was wrong.
"I was going to make a few changes to our paper before we met again. You know, just some thoughts that came to me earlier, but when I tried to open the document from the disk it wouldn't open!" She held up the offending floppy disk that looked like it had seen better days. "It just says the disk has been corrupted. I swear, Alex, I didn't do anything to it. It was fine yesterday." She paused. "Okay, maybe after the fifth message of corrupted I kind of banged it up a bit, but honestly it wasn't working."
Alex looked at Tess in shock. Not because of her dilemma, but because she looked on the verge of tears. Alex had never even seen Tess Harding upset, much less about to cry.
"What are we going to do? Our entire paper is on this disk!"
"Tess, relax," Alex said, a small smile crossing his face.
"What are you smiling about?" Tess asked, her voice going from upset to indignant. "This is bad, Alex!" She looked ready to shake him for seemingly not understanding what she was telling him.
"Do you really think I’d let us work on a research project for almost three months and not have a backup?"
"You have a backup?" Tess deadpanned.
He reached into the front pocket of his backpack and pulled out his own floppy disk, smiling broadly as he showed it to her. "And on the off chance that something were to happen to this one, too, I also have it backed up on my computer at home."
She heaved a sigh of relief and sat down on the couch. "Oh my god. I was so scared that I’d lost all of our work."
"You’ve got a computer science nerd for a partner," Alex joked. "I back up everything."
Tess smiled. "I should have known you’d save the day."
Alex blushed, and silence fell over them now that the crisis had been averted. Shuffling a bit and avoiding her gaze, he couldn’t but help think about what had happened the other night. Their almost kiss. More than anything he wanted to ask her whether she thought about it, too, but he was almost afraid to see how she’d react. Looking up from his feet, he took in her smile and thought that just maybe it would be worth the risk.
As the silence grew, they stared at each other before blurting out together, "I'm sorry." Laughter burst from both of them as they looked at each other.
After her giggles had subsided, Tess gestured to Alex. "You go first."
Alex sat down next to her on the sofa, the chain on his wallet jingling with the movement. He cleared his throat and said, "I just wanted to apologize for making things awkward the other night. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that."
"Oh," was all Tess said.
"Oh?"
"Well, I was going to apologize for making things awkward, too. I don’t know why I reacted the way I did."
Alex was puzzled by her response. Why would she think she was the one who made things awkward? He was the one who had tried to kiss her, after all. "What are you saying, Tess?" he asked.
"I guess I’m saying, that if we could rewind back to Saturday night…" Her voice trailed off and Alex was pretty sure she was blushing. And he definitely knew he’d never seen Tess Harding blush.
"Yeah?" he prompted her.
"I’d do things a little differently." Alex really wished she’d just come out and say what he thought she was trying to say, because he really wasn’t good at reading girls, as was demonstrated by the night in question.
"I like you, Alex," Tess clarified, and Alex felt hope soar. "You don’t know how elated I was the other night when you said that you still wanted to hang out after our project was finished. It’s not often that someone wants to spend time with me."
Alex couldn’t believe that this beautiful girl didn’t know how special she was. "You don’t give yourself enough credit, Tess." Shyly, he touched a lock of her curly hair. "Should we try this again?" he asked.
"Yes, please," she whispered.
Just like the other night, Alex leaned in slowly, and Tess didn’t shy away this time, his lips brushing against hers in the softest of touches. It felt so perfect, so right.
"I think it goes without saying," Alex said when they parted, "but I like you, too. A lot."
He’d never seen her smile so big, and it made his own smile broaden, knowing that he had put that look on her face. Just when he was leaning in for another kiss, the slamming of the front door interrupted their moment.
Kyle entered the living room, looking sullen and pissed off. He was holding an icepack to his face.
"What happened to you?" Tess asked in surprise as both she and Alex rose from the couch.
"I got in a fight," he grumbled.
"With who? What happened?"
"With Paulie Robinson. I don’t wanna talk about it." He collapsed onto the couch, tossing the icepack on the coffee table and folding his arms across his chest. With a scowl, he added, "It’ll be all over school by tomorrow anyway."
"Okay," Tess responded in a tone that clearly said she was dropping the subject. Alex was glad, because frankly, he wasn’t really concerned about Kyle right now. "You wanna go for a walk or something?" she asked him.
He wanted that very much. He wasn’t about to let Kyle’s bad mood ruin their moment. He held his hand out to Tess and she took it, lacing their fingers together. As they walked down the sidewalk hand in hand, Alex couldn’t be more thankful that they’d been paired together on this project and he’d been able to get to know the real Tess Harding. He had a feeling that they were embarking on something very special.
Back inside, Kyle still sulked on the couch, wondering what those two were so damn happy about. He rubbed his still throbbing jaw, wondering again how he’d let himself get into this mess. Oh right, chivalry or something like that. Suspended from school for three days - his father was going to kill him. At lease Paulie got what he deserved. He should be glad he wouldn’t have to show his face at school for a few days.
Kyle lay back on his makeshift bed, closing his eyes and trying to forget about the afternoon’s events, as well as the impending talk that he and his dad would be having later. Just the thought of that upcoming lecture made him want to groan and stuff himself underneath the couch’s pillows. Whatever it took to drown out the lecture. Sighing, he let his mind wander and began to doze off, and the next thing he knew, late afternoon sunshine was filtering through the window and someone was knocking on the door.
"Yeah, come in," Kyle called out, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He groaned when the knocking continued, and dragged himself from the couch to answer the door. He was instantly alert when he opened the front door and found none other than Isabel Evans on the other side.
And she didn’t look very happy.
"Hey," he greeted her with a nod.
"Mind if I come in?" she asked, not waiting for an answer as she breezed past him into the house.
"What’s up?" he asked, avoiding her eyes. She was probably coming to yell at him for damaging her prom date’s face.
"I heard what happened," Isabel said simply, taking note of his bruised jaw. "You don’t look so good."
"Yeah, you should see the other guy." Kyle laughed internally at the old cliché, realizing that it probably was true. He’d gotten in some pretty good punches before Coach had broken up the fight.
"I did see the other guy. Right before I told him I wouldn’t be going to prom with him."
Kyle scoffed. "Yeah, wouldn’t want to take a broken nose to the biggest dance of the year."
"Kyle." Isabel said his name softly, causing him to look her in the eye. The look in her eyes wasn’t angry, like he’d originally thought, but more mystified. "I heard about what you did," she said.
Kyle shrugged and didn’t say anything, instead looking at the floor. Isabel took a step closer to him, reaching out and touching the line of his jaw. "Does it hurt?" she asked.
"A little," he replied, looking at her again.
"I can’t heal, like Max can," she explained.
"It’s not so bad," he answered nonchalantly. The feel of her hand on his face was definitely making him forget about the pain.
She removed her hand, much to Kyle’s disappointment. He wasn’t exactly sure what was happening between them, but he did know that his heart rate was speeding up.
"I don’t really know what to say," Isabel confessed. "Thank you seems so inadequate. No one’s ever done anything like that for me. I feel like I owe you something."
"You don’t owe me anything," Kyle said with a shake of his head. "I’d do it again in a heartbeat."
"I heard you got suspended."
Kyle nodded. "Three days," he confirmed.
"I’ll bring you your homework. At least let me do that."
"You can bring it, but that doesn’t mean I’ll do it," Kyle joked, and she laughed. The sound of her laughter brought a smile to his face for what felt like the first time all day.
"Well, I’d better go and let you get some rest," she said, turning to leave.
"Iz." Kyle put a hand on her arm to stop her. He felt stupid for what he was about to say, but he couldn’t stop himself. A change had taken place between them this afternoon. "You know, if you still wanted to go to prom…" He trailed off without finishing the thought. She would know what he was asking.
"That’s really sweet, Kyle, but I don’t think it would be the best idea."
He wasn’t surprised by her rejection, so he just shrugged casually and smiled. "Well, if you change your mind, the offer stands."
She smiled at him. "I’ll keep that in mind. Goodbye, Kyle."
"Bye," he echoed, shutting the door behind her.
As Kyle made his way back to the couch, he saw the discarded ice pack on the coffee table, and realized that he had ceased to notice the pain in his jaw since Isabel had so tenderly touched his face. Remembering the way she’d touched him and the way she’d smiled at him, for the first time all day, his dismal mood lifted and his lips stretched into a satisfied smile.
Isabel was wrong. She did have the healing touch.
THE END
Fandom: Roswell
Author: jbangelo
Disclaimer: Sadly, nothing belongs to me. Though Kyle is my pretend boyfriend.
Pairings: Alex/Tess, Kyle/Isabel
Rating: TEEN
Summary: Sequel to A Day in the Life of the B-Team, taking place about three months later. Alex and Tess grow closer as they work on their project, and Kyle defends Isabel's honor. Pure fluff.
Author's Note: Many thanks to thephoneix for being lured by cookies to beta this.
One
Alex Whitman looked at his watch for what felt like the tenth time in as many minutes. It wasn't quite time yet, but his heart beat faster with every tick of the second hand as it inched closer to the twelve. It was unlike her to cut it this close. She was normally just as punctual as he was, if not more so. Tapping his foot in a nervous rhythm, he couldn't quite pinpoint why he was so anxious. He'd waited at this same booth for her many times before, but for some reason, today felt different.
Oh, who was he kidding? He knew exactly why he was anxious, and why today was different from all the other days. And why he was worried, for the first time ever, that she might not show up.
Two Days Earlier
"Alex, Tess is here!"
Hearing his mother's call, Alex stuffed the remaining t-shirts into his dresser and forced the drawer shut with a thud. He gave his room one last perusal, and satisfied that everything was in order, headed downstairs to greet his guest.
Even though they'd been working together on this project for their Film Appreciation class for almost three months now, this was the first time that Tess Harding had come to Alex's house. Usually they worked at the Crashdown or at the school library, and a couple of times they'd hit the Valenti house. But with their project almost completed, it had occurred to Alex that he hadn't actually watched Star Wars, the movie that they were analyzing for their paper, in its entirety in quite some time. To ensure that they weren't missing anything pertinent in their research, he had suggested to Tess that they have a "movie night."
At least that was the reason he had given Tess.
In actuality, Alex had seen Star Wars so many times in his young life that he could probably perform the whole movie for her. He didn't really need to see it again for "research purposes." The truth was, he had come to genuinely enjoy spending time with Tess, and was going to be secretly disappointed when this project was over and he wouldn't have an excuse to talk with her almost every day.
He felt like he'd really gotten to know Tess over the last few months, and had come to realize that they had quite a bit in common - more than he ever would have guessed. They liked a lot of the same movies and music, and had very similar senses of humor. Tess laughed at jokes he made that Liz and Maria probably wouldn't even get. They would sometimes get to talking about things that had nothing to do with their project and lose total track of time. There were a couple of nights when he'd almost missed curfew because they'd gotten so distracted from their work. He had come to feel so comfortable with the little blonde alien that he couldn't even remember why he'd felt so much trepidation at the beginning of the semester.
Yes, she'd become much more than just his class partner. She'd become his friend.
And maybe more.
Alex tried to shake those thoughts from his mind as he headed downstairs to meet her. Truthfully, he didn't really understand what his feelings for Tess were. He just knew that he was coming up with silly excuses to spend time with her. What did that mean?
When Alex got downstairs, he found his mother and Tess engaged in easy conversation. He didn't catch what they were talking about, but both of them were smiling, and Alex couldn't stop the smile that stretched across his own face. Tess was dressed very casually in a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt, and her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. She looked cute.
Whoa. Since when did he pay attention to the way Tess looked? And since when did he think she looked cute?
Tess gave Alex and smile when he reached them. "I brought Goobers and Raisinets," she said, pulling two candy boxes out of her oversized bag. "You can't watch a movie without the proper sweets."
"And I've got sodas and popcorn," Alex responded. "We're set."
"Can I get you kids anything else?" Mrs. Whitman asked.
Alex cringed slightly at her use of the word kids. "Thanks, Mom, but I think we've got everything we need," he answered, touching Tess' elbow and steering her in the direction of the stairs. "We'll be in my room."
"Leave the door open!" she called as they headed up, and Alex groaned in embarrassment. Tess giggled.
"Sorry about that," he apologized as he led her to his bedroom. "She always says that when Liz and Maria come over, too."
Tess just giggled again and shook her head. "It's okay," she replied in understanding. "Jim's the same way. He doesn't even like to leave me and Kyle home alone together."
Alex couldn't help the small stab of jealousy he felt when she mentioned Kyle's name. To his knowledge, there was nothing romantic going on between her and the sheriff's son, but why would Valenti be uncomfortable leaving them alone together?
And then he had to ask himself why he cared what was going on between her and Kyle. He had to stop it with these thoughts.
He forced himself to focus on the task at hand. "Movie time?" he asked, holding up the video.
"Definitely," she answered. "Where should I sit?"
"Wherever," he said as he put the tape into the VCR. "Make yourself comfortable."
He was surprised when he turned around and found her situating herself on his bed, sitting upright and leaning casually against the headboard. She must have noticed the look on his face, because she asked, "Is this okay?"
"Yeah, absolutely," he told her before shaking himself out of his stupor. What was he getting so worked up about? Liz and Maria sat on his bed with him all the time to watch movies. So what was so different about her?
But he was beginning to think that he knew the answer to that question.
Nevertheless, his heart fluttered nervously in his chest as he sat down on the opposite side of the bed. As the opening credits of the movie began, he forced himself to just relax. Crossing and uncrossing his arms, he moved around trying to get comfortable, and was eternally grateful when Tess shook a box a of Goobers at him, happy to have something to do with hands and something else to focus on.
Before too long he was lured back into the story that was unfolding across the screen, and found himself finally able to relax as the both of them got wrapped up in the movie. All too soon the end credits were scrolling down the screen, and again he found himself becoming aware of the presence next to him. Turning his head, he started to ask a question only to find himself distracted as she stretched beside him, saying, "I'd forgotten how much I like this movie."
Alex smiled. "I know. I never get tired of it, no matter how many times I've seen it."
"And how many times would that be?" she asked teasingly.
"I couldn't even begin to count," he admitted with a chuckle.
Before he knew it, another hour had passed swiftly as they debated the merits of the new movies versus the original trilogy. She made some interesting points that he'd never considered, though she did confess to having a crush on Hayden Christensen, confirming his suspicion. Who would have thought that Tess Harding would be such a sci-fi nut? Well, aside from the obvious reasons, of course.
"Alex, it's almost eleven!" Mrs. Whitman called from downstairs.
"Guess that's my cue to leave," Tess said, rising from the bed, and he couldn't fight the disappointment that coursed through his body.
"Eleven's my curfew, too," she added with disdain. She'd once confessed to Alex that having a curfew was one the of hardest adjustments she'd had to get used to after moving in the Valentis.
"I'll walk you out." He courteously handed Tess her bag and followed her downstairs.
"Goodnight, Mrs. Whitman." Tess waved politely to Alex's mother, who was sitting in the living room reading a book. "Thanks for letting me come over."
"It was lovely to meet you, Tess," Mrs. Whitman said with a smile. "I hope I'll see you again soon."
Alex hoped so, too.
His heart began to race again as he walked her outside. He didn't want this night to end, and a part of his brain was telling him to say or do something to let Tess know how he was feeling.
"I had fun tonight, Alex," Tess said, stopping at the driver's side door of her compact SUV. "It's too bad we're almost through with our project."
Alex couldn't stop himself from saying, "We can still hang out, you know, after the paper's finished."
A shy smile crossed Tess' face, almost as if she were surprised by his statement, and his heart rate seemed to speed up even more. "I'd like that," she said softly.
It was now or never. He could let her get in her car and drive away, never revealing the things he was starting to feel, or he could make his move.
His palms were sweating. He was so bad at this sort of thing. You'd think he'd have more confidence in this department, considering his two best friends were girls. But nope, he was still just as hopeless as he'd ever been.
"Tess…" His voice trailed off. He didn't know what to say, and he couldn't read much from Tess' expression.
She didn't answer, but met his gaze. She had to have the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen. So bright, so clear. He was momentarily hypnotized.
Then, without thinking much more about it, he leaned in. His lips were only a breath away from hers…
Tess backed away. "I should go," she said, her voice slightly shaky. She opened the door to her car.
"Tess, wait," he pleaded, slightly baffled.
"I'll see you on Monday, okay?" She gave him an apologetic glance before getting in the car and pulling out of the driveway. Alex helplessly watched her drive away.
Yep, he'd blown it. He'd taken a perfectly good budding friendship and completely ruined it. Of course she didn't feel that way about him. She'd given him no indication that she did. Why had he been so foolish?
Inwardly kicking himself, he walked dejectedly back to the house.
Present
That was the last Alex had seen or talked to Tess. He'd tried calling several times on Sunday, but her phone had gone straight to voicemail every time. He was positive that he had ruined whatever friendship they had been forming.
He was brought out of his musings when his cell phone rang loudly beside him. Glancing at the caller ID, he was both relieved and uneasy when he saw Tess' name on the display.
He answered immediately. "Tess?"
"Alex." Tess said his name in a tone that he couldn't quite recognize. She took a deep breath. "I think I've done something terrible."
Two
Kyle Valenti would never understand girls.
Yeah, he'd dated a lot of them and even shared a bathroom with one, but to save his life, he would never figure them out.
For example, what did a beautiful, classy girl like Isabel Evans see in low-life scum like Paulie Robinson?
Wait, Paulie was supposed to be his friend, right?
Wrong.
Ever since the stunt Paulie and the other guys had pulled on Max Evans last year, Kyle hadn't looked at his former friends and teammates the same way. He'd initially tried defending their behavior, but Liz had been right when she told him that they weren't good guys. Now he pretty much only tolerated them because he had to. He'd learned a lot in the last two years about the kind of person he wanted to be, and those guys weren't it.
So how was it that jerks like Paulie could get dates with the school beauty queen, while his own love life seemed to be nonexistent? Was the old cliché really true? Did nice guys always finish last?
He'd hoped it was a joke when he heard that Isabel was going to prom with Paulie. But the sight he now saw at the end of the hall all but confirmed the truth - Paulie standing next to Isabel with his arm slung around her shoulders, while she smiled flirtatiously at him.
Kyle couldn't deny that he felt jealous, though he wasn't sure why. It's not like he was interested in Isabel. Not that he would turn down a date with her if the opportunity presented itself, but he saw Isabel a little differently than other girls. He hadn't really looked at her in "that way" since he learned about her otherworldly status.
Not that he didn't find her attractive - quite the contrary. Isabel was a babe. A guy would have to be blind or gay not to see that. She was just different, in more ways than one.
And way out of Paulie's league.
Kyle crammed his books into his locker, one eye still on the couple at the end of the hall. It had been a long day, and he was so not in the mood for baseball practice, but he knew Coach would chew his ass out if he missed.
As he was heading in the direction of the locker room to get changed for practice, he noticed that Isabel was finally alone at her locker. Since he had to walk her way anyway, he decided he might as well stop and say hello.
And maybe he could discreetly find out what the hell she saw in that loser Robinson.
"Hey, Isabel," he greeted her casually.
Isabel looked up and gave him a friendly smile. "Oh, hey, Kyle. What's up?"
"Not much," he replied with a shrug. "Just heading to practice."
"Okay." She shut her locker door and adjusted the purse on her shoulder. The expression on her face was bemused, like she didn't know why Kyle was stopping to talk with her. It was true, they didn't talk much, despite always hanging in the same social circles - both alien and non-alien. Kyle suddenly felt nervous. He wasn't sure that Isabel was even aware of how intimidated she could make even the most self-assured person, like himself, feel.
"So are you really going out with Robinson?" he asked her, deciding on blunt rather than discreet.
Isabel's friendly expression instantly turned sour. "Is that really your business?" She snapped. "I already have to hear it from Max and Michael. I don't need you on my back, too."
Kyle held up his hands in a gesture of defense. "Hey, it was just a question. Forget I asked." The last thing he wanted was to incur the wrath of Isabel Evans.
Isabel's face softened slightly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped," she apologized. "It's just that I've already gotten the third degree from my brothers. God, it's not like I'm going to go blabbing our secret to every guy I go on a date with. Don't they know me better than that?"
She looked so vulnerable in that moment that Kyle genuinely felt sorry for her, which was not a feeling he'd ever associated with Isabel Evans. It just confirmed his notion that she was too good for the likes of Paulie, and further complicated his understanding of the female species.
Kyle debated internally with himself before he opened his mouth again, not sure he should tell her what he was thinking. But he decided to risk it. "I just think you can do better," he said with a shrug. "You're too good for him."
He couldn't discern the look that crossed her face, but at least she wasn't ripping his head off. After a beat, she said, "Look, Kyle, it's nothing serious. We just happened to run into each other after the game the other night, and went for a cup of coffee. Paulie's actually a pretty nice guy."
"Nice?" Kyle repeated dumbly.
"Yes, nice. He was a gentleman. He walked me home, and didn't even try to kiss me. So when he asked if I wanted to go to prom, I figured, why not?"
Kyle bit his tongue in surprise. It was surely all an act on Paulie's part, because he didn't know many people who would describe him as nice. But if Kyle knew Isabel, she was going to do things her own way. "Just… be careful, okay?"
Isabel scoffed good-naturedly. "Thanks for the warning, but I'm a big--"
"You're a big girl," Kyle finished for her. "Yeah, I know."
She gave him a half smile. Then, glancing at her watch, she said, "I gotta go. I'll see you later."
"Later," Kyle said, watching her walk away.
He knew Isabel could handle herself. He knew she could decide for herself who she wanted to date. But that didn't mean he had to like it.
When Kyle reached the locker room, it seemed like he was the last one to arrive. He could hear the raucous voices and laughter of his teammates before he even opened the door. He was already in a foul mood, though he wasn't sure why. Surely he couldn't be that bothered by the budding romance between Isabel and Paulie. He told himself to just let it go. Isabel wasn't even really his friend, in the classic sense of the word, so why did he need to trouble himself with whom she dated?
Bygones.
He went to his locker, muttering a "hey" to some teammates as he passed. He just wanted to get through practice so he could go home and be alone. Maybe by tomorrow his mood would be improved.
He tuned out the other guys as he changed into his gym shorts and a t-shirt. But as he was lacing up his cleats, the voice of Tommy Smigelski caught his attention. "Yo, Robinson," he said, throwing a sock at Paulie that Kyle hoped was clean, "you finally nabbed Isabel Evans, huh? You've only been lusting after her for two years."
"It was only a matter of time," Paulie replied smugly. Kyle rolled his eyes.
"No way!" another guy exclaimed in surprise, and Kyle was shocked that there was anyone at West Roswell who hadn't already heard. "You and Isabel? When did that happen?"
"They went out after last week's game," Tommy informed Mr. Clueless.
"So how far did you get with her?" another voice chimed in.
"Yeah, did you score with the Ice Queen?"
There was a pause before a smirking Paulie answered, "What do you think?" followed by a round of cheers.
Kyle could feel his blood begin to boil. His hands tightened into fists of their own volition. But he held his tongue.
"So how was it?" Tommy asked. "I bet she's a fireball."
"Like you wouldn't believe," Paulie gloated. He went on to describe Isabel's "smokin' bod," and Kyle finally lost it.
"Shut the fuck up, Robinson," he bit out.
"What?" Paulie turned in Kyle's direction, obviously noticing him for the first time.
"I said shut up," Kyle repeated. "You're a damn liar."
"Who're you calling a liar, Valenti?"
"You, asshole. Why don't you tell these clowns what really happened on your date? That all you and Isabel did was go out for coffee and you didn't even kiss her goodnight?"
A chorus of "ooohs" sounded from the baseball team. Kyle noticed out of the corner of his eye that they had drawn quite a crowd. Every member of the team was surrounding them, riveted by the standoff, probably hoping to see a good fight.
Kyle and Paulie stared each other down for what felt like an eternity.
"You're just jealous because you know you could never score with a girl like Isabel." Paulie sneered and looked at the crowd of jocks that now surrounded them, before turning back to look at Kyle. "Hell, you can't even score with that hot little vixen that lives in your house."
"Excuse me?" Kyle asked through clenched teeth. He balled his hands into fists at his sides, resisting the urge to pummel his former friend. The last thing he needed was to get in trouble for fighting.
"You heard me. You're just jealous 'cause you're a loser, and you know that I could have Isabel Evans - and Tess Harding, too, for that matter - in my bed anytime I want 'em."
In that instant, Kyle saw red. Consequences be damned, he thought, right before his fist connected with Paulie's face.
Three
Alex got from the Crashdown to the Valenti house in record time. Tess had sounded so upset on the phone that he had rushed right over, even though he probably could have solved her problem over the phone. But he just really wanted to see her.
"Okay, Tess, tell me again, slowly, what happened," Alex instructed her. She’d been so frazzled on the phone that he’d hardly been able to comprehend what was wrong.
"I was going to make a few changes to our paper before we met again. You know, just some thoughts that came to me earlier, but when I tried to open the document from the disk it wouldn't open!" She held up the offending floppy disk that looked like it had seen better days. "It just says the disk has been corrupted. I swear, Alex, I didn't do anything to it. It was fine yesterday." She paused. "Okay, maybe after the fifth message of corrupted I kind of banged it up a bit, but honestly it wasn't working."
Alex looked at Tess in shock. Not because of her dilemma, but because she looked on the verge of tears. Alex had never even seen Tess Harding upset, much less about to cry.
"What are we going to do? Our entire paper is on this disk!"
"Tess, relax," Alex said, a small smile crossing his face.
"What are you smiling about?" Tess asked, her voice going from upset to indignant. "This is bad, Alex!" She looked ready to shake him for seemingly not understanding what she was telling him.
"Do you really think I’d let us work on a research project for almost three months and not have a backup?"
"You have a backup?" Tess deadpanned.
He reached into the front pocket of his backpack and pulled out his own floppy disk, smiling broadly as he showed it to her. "And on the off chance that something were to happen to this one, too, I also have it backed up on my computer at home."
She heaved a sigh of relief and sat down on the couch. "Oh my god. I was so scared that I’d lost all of our work."
"You’ve got a computer science nerd for a partner," Alex joked. "I back up everything."
Tess smiled. "I should have known you’d save the day."
Alex blushed, and silence fell over them now that the crisis had been averted. Shuffling a bit and avoiding her gaze, he couldn’t but help think about what had happened the other night. Their almost kiss. More than anything he wanted to ask her whether she thought about it, too, but he was almost afraid to see how she’d react. Looking up from his feet, he took in her smile and thought that just maybe it would be worth the risk.
As the silence grew, they stared at each other before blurting out together, "I'm sorry." Laughter burst from both of them as they looked at each other.
After her giggles had subsided, Tess gestured to Alex. "You go first."
Alex sat down next to her on the sofa, the chain on his wallet jingling with the movement. He cleared his throat and said, "I just wanted to apologize for making things awkward the other night. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that."
"Oh," was all Tess said.
"Oh?"
"Well, I was going to apologize for making things awkward, too. I don’t know why I reacted the way I did."
Alex was puzzled by her response. Why would she think she was the one who made things awkward? He was the one who had tried to kiss her, after all. "What are you saying, Tess?" he asked.
"I guess I’m saying, that if we could rewind back to Saturday night…" Her voice trailed off and Alex was pretty sure she was blushing. And he definitely knew he’d never seen Tess Harding blush.
"Yeah?" he prompted her.
"I’d do things a little differently." Alex really wished she’d just come out and say what he thought she was trying to say, because he really wasn’t good at reading girls, as was demonstrated by the night in question.
"I like you, Alex," Tess clarified, and Alex felt hope soar. "You don’t know how elated I was the other night when you said that you still wanted to hang out after our project was finished. It’s not often that someone wants to spend time with me."
Alex couldn’t believe that this beautiful girl didn’t know how special she was. "You don’t give yourself enough credit, Tess." Shyly, he touched a lock of her curly hair. "Should we try this again?" he asked.
"Yes, please," she whispered.
Just like the other night, Alex leaned in slowly, and Tess didn’t shy away this time, his lips brushing against hers in the softest of touches. It felt so perfect, so right.
"I think it goes without saying," Alex said when they parted, "but I like you, too. A lot."
He’d never seen her smile so big, and it made his own smile broaden, knowing that he had put that look on her face. Just when he was leaning in for another kiss, the slamming of the front door interrupted their moment.
Kyle entered the living room, looking sullen and pissed off. He was holding an icepack to his face.
"What happened to you?" Tess asked in surprise as both she and Alex rose from the couch.
"I got in a fight," he grumbled.
"With who? What happened?"
"With Paulie Robinson. I don’t wanna talk about it." He collapsed onto the couch, tossing the icepack on the coffee table and folding his arms across his chest. With a scowl, he added, "It’ll be all over school by tomorrow anyway."
"Okay," Tess responded in a tone that clearly said she was dropping the subject. Alex was glad, because frankly, he wasn’t really concerned about Kyle right now. "You wanna go for a walk or something?" she asked him.
He wanted that very much. He wasn’t about to let Kyle’s bad mood ruin their moment. He held his hand out to Tess and she took it, lacing their fingers together. As they walked down the sidewalk hand in hand, Alex couldn’t be more thankful that they’d been paired together on this project and he’d been able to get to know the real Tess Harding. He had a feeling that they were embarking on something very special.
Back inside, Kyle still sulked on the couch, wondering what those two were so damn happy about. He rubbed his still throbbing jaw, wondering again how he’d let himself get into this mess. Oh right, chivalry or something like that. Suspended from school for three days - his father was going to kill him. At lease Paulie got what he deserved. He should be glad he wouldn’t have to show his face at school for a few days.
Kyle lay back on his makeshift bed, closing his eyes and trying to forget about the afternoon’s events, as well as the impending talk that he and his dad would be having later. Just the thought of that upcoming lecture made him want to groan and stuff himself underneath the couch’s pillows. Whatever it took to drown out the lecture. Sighing, he let his mind wander and began to doze off, and the next thing he knew, late afternoon sunshine was filtering through the window and someone was knocking on the door.
"Yeah, come in," Kyle called out, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He groaned when the knocking continued, and dragged himself from the couch to answer the door. He was instantly alert when he opened the front door and found none other than Isabel Evans on the other side.
And she didn’t look very happy.
"Hey," he greeted her with a nod.
"Mind if I come in?" she asked, not waiting for an answer as she breezed past him into the house.
"What’s up?" he asked, avoiding her eyes. She was probably coming to yell at him for damaging her prom date’s face.
"I heard what happened," Isabel said simply, taking note of his bruised jaw. "You don’t look so good."
"Yeah, you should see the other guy." Kyle laughed internally at the old cliché, realizing that it probably was true. He’d gotten in some pretty good punches before Coach had broken up the fight.
"I did see the other guy. Right before I told him I wouldn’t be going to prom with him."
Kyle scoffed. "Yeah, wouldn’t want to take a broken nose to the biggest dance of the year."
"Kyle." Isabel said his name softly, causing him to look her in the eye. The look in her eyes wasn’t angry, like he’d originally thought, but more mystified. "I heard about what you did," she said.
Kyle shrugged and didn’t say anything, instead looking at the floor. Isabel took a step closer to him, reaching out and touching the line of his jaw. "Does it hurt?" she asked.
"A little," he replied, looking at her again.
"I can’t heal, like Max can," she explained.
"It’s not so bad," he answered nonchalantly. The feel of her hand on his face was definitely making him forget about the pain.
She removed her hand, much to Kyle’s disappointment. He wasn’t exactly sure what was happening between them, but he did know that his heart rate was speeding up.
"I don’t really know what to say," Isabel confessed. "Thank you seems so inadequate. No one’s ever done anything like that for me. I feel like I owe you something."
"You don’t owe me anything," Kyle said with a shake of his head. "I’d do it again in a heartbeat."
"I heard you got suspended."
Kyle nodded. "Three days," he confirmed.
"I’ll bring you your homework. At least let me do that."
"You can bring it, but that doesn’t mean I’ll do it," Kyle joked, and she laughed. The sound of her laughter brought a smile to his face for what felt like the first time all day.
"Well, I’d better go and let you get some rest," she said, turning to leave.
"Iz." Kyle put a hand on her arm to stop her. He felt stupid for what he was about to say, but he couldn’t stop himself. A change had taken place between them this afternoon. "You know, if you still wanted to go to prom…" He trailed off without finishing the thought. She would know what he was asking.
"That’s really sweet, Kyle, but I don’t think it would be the best idea."
He wasn’t surprised by her rejection, so he just shrugged casually and smiled. "Well, if you change your mind, the offer stands."
She smiled at him. "I’ll keep that in mind. Goodbye, Kyle."
"Bye," he echoed, shutting the door behind her.
As Kyle made his way back to the couch, he saw the discarded ice pack on the coffee table, and realized that he had ceased to notice the pain in his jaw since Isabel had so tenderly touched his face. Remembering the way she’d touched him and the way she’d smiled at him, for the first time all day, his dismal mood lifted and his lips stretched into a satisfied smile.
Isabel was wrong. She did have the healing touch.
THE END