Who I Am, What I'll Become Fic 3: United We Stand (1/1)
Title: United We Stand: Story #4 in the "Who I Am, What I'll Become" Series
Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Oh how I wish they belonged to me. Alas, they don't. They belong to Melinda Metz and Jason Katims and the WB.
Rating: PG-13 for language
Spoilers: The entire first season of "Roswell," and especially the season finale "Destiny." Also spoilers for the first fic of my series titled, "Illusions." Slight spoilers for the fic that follows that titled, "And One For All."
Distribution: Just let me know the link.
Category: Story
Subcategory: Friendship fic.
Summary: Max calls a meeting at Buckley Point and the group makes some decisions about their future.
Feedback: Is greatly appreciated.
Dedication: To Kendra and Keira! :)
United We Stand
Alex Whitman leaned up from the back seat of Maria DeLuca's Jetta. "Any guesses on the meaning of this meeting Max called?"
Liz Parker turned in her seat so she could look at him. "No. He just called and said for all of us to meet him at Buckley Point today at noon."
Maria sighed and gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Well, it can't be good. I mean, it's not a good sign that he wanted to meet at Buckley Point instead of one of our houses or at Sheriff Valenti's or the Crashdown. Right?"
Alex caught the worried look on Liz's face and he gave her a reassuring smile. "If it had been that bad, Isabel would have mentioned something last night."
"Did you guys have a date or something?" Maria asked, raising her eyebrows and glancing at him in the rearview mirror.
"No. We just talked on the phone for a little while."
"But she didn't even give you any hints on this secret meeting?"
"Nope." Alex sat back in his seat.
Liz faced forward again and stared out the windshield. "Well, I think we're about to find out. Looks like they're already here."
The three friends fell silent as Maria parked the Jetta next to Max's jeep. They sat still for a moment before they simultaneously climbed out of the car and walked slowly towards their Czechoslovakian friends, Liz walking in the middle of Maria and Alex as they fell in step with one another.
Finally they came to a stop just a few feet away from them. Alex smiled at Isabel, who offered him a shy smile in return. He glanced over at Max, and then at Michael and finally at Tess and his smile faded slightly. "So...what's going on?"
"We're not all here yet," Max said quietly, turning away to look over the lake.
Alex blinked and looked around again. He must be talking about Sheriff Valenti and Kyle, he realized, feeling slightly surprised. He glanced at Liz and raised an eyebrow at her. She looked up at him and shrugged. Then his gaze drifted back to Isabel. He moved towards her and gently pulled her aside. "Is everything okay?" he asked worriedly, whispering so only she would hear him.
"I don't know. He wouldn't tell us what this was about either," Isabel said softly, glancing at her brother.
Alex glanced over at the other blond alien and then back at Isabel. "Does Tess know yet?"
"That Nasedo is dead?" Isabel shook her head. "Not unless Max told her. I wouldn't know how." Her voice had a nervous edge to it and she fiddled with her necklace.
Alex felt the urge to reach out and wrap his arms around her, but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. She didn't tend to be comfortable with public displays of affection. Instead, he just offered her a gentle smile. "We'll figure it out," he said quietly. He turned around when he heard a car engine in the distance. "Sheriff Valenti?"
"I think so," she answered, turning to look. They watched silently as the familiar police vehicle pulled up and parked next to Maria's Jetta. A moment later, Sheriff Valenti, and his son Kyle Valenti were walking towards them.
Sheriff Valenti nodded to each one of them before looking at Max. "Everything okay?"
Max finally turned around and faced the group. "I just thought it was time for the nine of us to get together and discuss things when we weren't in some kind of danger. And there are things that have happened recently that you don't know about yet." His eyes focused on Liz.
"What kind of things?"
Alex glanced at Kyle, noticing the weary tension in his voice. Ever since Max had saved Kyle's life at the UFO Museum he had sounded that way. Alex hoped he wasn't on the verge of some kind of breakdown.
Max took a deep breath and turned to face Tess. "There's no easy way to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it. Nasedo is dead."
Tess stared at him, her face turning pale. "What?"
"He followed Liz to L.A. and tried to kill her," Max said.
"Why would he do that?"
"Gee, I don't know. Maybe *you* asked him to?" Maria cut in, glaring at her.
All eyes turned to Tess but everyone remained silent, waiting for her to respond. "I would never do something like that!" Tess protested. "Why would I want Liz dead? So all of you could hate me more than you already do?"
Alex glanced at Liz, who was staring at Tess, her face expressionless.
"Maybe you thought that if Liz was out of the picture I'd accept you as my destiny," Max said quietly, his voice even. "But that would never happen, Tess. Liz is the only one I want to be with. Ever."
Tess's eyes filled with tears. "I didn't ask Nasedo to kill Liz. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. You have to believe me, Max."
"Why? Why should I believe you? Because you come here and you use mind manipulation to get me to kiss you and to get Isabel and Michael to dream about one another? Should I believe you just because you're one of us? Trust is earned, Tess, and that's something you haven't done." Max stared at her.
"Max, cool it, all right?" Michael spoke up, giving him a warning look.
"What if it had been Maria, Michael? Then would you be asking me to cool it?" Max turned to face him.
"Okay, everyone just calm down," Isabel said, stepping in between Max and Michael as they glared at each other.
"No, this is getting settled once and for all. That's why we're here, isn't it? So go ahead, fearless leader. Lead already," Michael said darkly, his gaze unfaltering as he stared back at Max.
"You're right, Michael. That *is* why we're here," Max agreed. He turned to face Tess again. "You're one of us. That's a fact and I accept it. But I'm not in love with you. And that's a fact you're going to have to accept if you're going to stay here."
Tess remained silent and motionless, her face streaked with tears.
"We have to stick together now. All of us. If we allow things to come between us, everything will fall apart. Things are going to have to change if we're going to be strong enough to face our enemies if they show up."
"When they show up," Michael corrected him bluntly.
Isabel sighed almost imperceptibly, but Alex heard it and he felt angry. "I have something to say," Alex said quietly. He turned to look at Max, and then at Michael. "The two of you have to stop fighting all the time. You're not helping matters, and you're stressing the rest of us out."
"Well, sorry if my disagreements with our king is bothering you," Michael snapped, glaring at Alex.
Isabel glared back. "He was speaking for me, Michael. *I'm* the one you're stressing out! I'm sick of being stuck in the middle of you two's stupid arguments! Every time you two get into it you expect me to be the tie-breaker and I'm fed up! I'm not going to do it anymore!"
"Isabel--" Max started.
"No, Max! I've heard everything you've said. I've heard everything Michael's said. But no one's even bothered to ask me what I think we should do, or what I want. You're only thinking about yourselves. This affects all of us, not just the two of you!"
"I don't mean to make you feel like you're choosing sides, Iz," Max said quietly. "You have to know that--"
"I do, Max. I know. But the two of you...God, all this fighting and arguing is driving me insane! You have to stop it! I mean it. Max, you're going to have to start listening to Michael and taking his thoughts and ideas into consideration. Stop assuming that everything is up to you. You may have been a king on our planet, but you're not the same person now. Michael, you're going to have to start thinking before you act. Running off and getting yourself into trouble isn't helping anyone. And stop disagreeing with Max all the time just because you're trying to prove something to yourself."
Alex couldn't help but smile a bit as both Max and Michael stared at the ground.
"And Tess, you are one of us. *I* don't hate you. You just have to give us some time to adjust. You've known all along about our previous lives and about our enemies, and you know things about us that we don't even know yet. You can't just expect that we're going to accept all of this at one time or even ever. And Alex and the others are a part of our family, too. No matter how hard some of us try to push each other away," Isabel added, looking first at Michael and then at Liz, who both looked away quickly.
There was a long moment of silence as Isabel's words sank in. Finally Max spoke again. "Isabel's right. We have to figure out a way to call some sort of a truce. Among all of us." His gaze moved from Michael, to Tess, to Liz, Maria, Kyle and Sheriff Valenti. He turned his gaze to Michael again. "I'm sorry for not listening to you and what you have to say." He extended his hand.
Michael stared at him for a moment, his expression uncertain. Then he nodded and shook Max's hand. "I'll try to keep my temper under wraps." Michael glanced over to Maria and their eyes met briefly.
"Izzy, I'm sorry for making you feel like you had to choose between us," Max said softly, putting his arms around her. Isabel hugged him back.
"Me too," Michael agreed.
Isabel gave them both a quick smile. "It's okay. But if you do it again, I reserve the right to choke you both," she informed them. She turned to look at Tess, and to everyone's surprise, especially Tess's, Isabel gave her a quick hug as well. "We are family. All of us," she emphasized. She glanced around at everyone until her gaze landed on Alex.
Alex smiled at her as their eyes met, and she smiled back--the first real smile he'd seen her have in weeks. He walked over and draped his arms around Liz and Maria, who both leaned against him. He looked around their group and felt a sudden sense of real belonging amongst them all. Sure, he'd always felt like he belonged when he was with Liz and Maria, but even after they'd let him in the loop on the whole alien thing he'd felt like things among the six of them had been strained. From there it had all gotten worse as Nasedo had shown up and their friends had learned of their true "destinies." But now...
Maybe now things were going to get better. Maybe they all really could be a family. He hoped so.
Max looked at Isabel, Michael and Tess. "There's something else. When you three use your powers, I can feel it, especially recently. I think that until we find out more about what we can do maybe we shouldn't be using them."
Isabel met his eyes. "You think that our enemies can feel it when we use our powers, too?" she asked, worry in her voice.
"I'm not sure. But I think it's a possibility. And I think that until we know what we're dealing with...maybe leading them right to us is a bad idea." Max glanced at Michael. "What do you think?"
Michael stared at him, his expression one of surprise. He averted his gaze to Maria and his eyes filled with determination as he looked back at Max. "I think it's a good point, Maxwell."
An unspoken message passed between the two friends and Alex felt relief wash over him; he noticed that Isabel relaxed slightly, as well.
Max looked over at Alex, Liz and Maria, then to Sheriff Valenti and Kyle. "If any of you wants to walk away, do it now."
Alex kept his arms around Liz and Maria, none of them making any attempt to move. Max met Liz's eyes for a moment, and Alex saw her give him a tentative smile. His gaze moved to the sheriff and Kyle, who both stood completely still as well.
"Then no one gets left out anymore," Max finished. "We're all in this together. United we stand."
"Here here," Alex agreed. He met Isabel's eyes once more and she offered him another brilliant smile.
Yeah, he thought. Maybe things will work out this time after all.
Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Oh how I wish they belonged to me. Alas, they don't. They belong to Melinda Metz and Jason Katims and the WB.
Rating: PG-13 for language
Spoilers: The entire first season of "Roswell," and especially the season finale "Destiny." Also spoilers for the first fic of my series titled, "Illusions." Slight spoilers for the fic that follows that titled, "And One For All."
Distribution: Just let me know the link.
Category: Story
Subcategory: Friendship fic.
Summary: Max calls a meeting at Buckley Point and the group makes some decisions about their future.
Feedback: Is greatly appreciated.
Dedication: To Kendra and Keira! :)
United We Stand
Alex Whitman leaned up from the back seat of Maria DeLuca's Jetta. "Any guesses on the meaning of this meeting Max called?"
Liz Parker turned in her seat so she could look at him. "No. He just called and said for all of us to meet him at Buckley Point today at noon."
Maria sighed and gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Well, it can't be good. I mean, it's not a good sign that he wanted to meet at Buckley Point instead of one of our houses or at Sheriff Valenti's or the Crashdown. Right?"
Alex caught the worried look on Liz's face and he gave her a reassuring smile. "If it had been that bad, Isabel would have mentioned something last night."
"Did you guys have a date or something?" Maria asked, raising her eyebrows and glancing at him in the rearview mirror.
"No. We just talked on the phone for a little while."
"But she didn't even give you any hints on this secret meeting?"
"Nope." Alex sat back in his seat.
Liz faced forward again and stared out the windshield. "Well, I think we're about to find out. Looks like they're already here."
The three friends fell silent as Maria parked the Jetta next to Max's jeep. They sat still for a moment before they simultaneously climbed out of the car and walked slowly towards their Czechoslovakian friends, Liz walking in the middle of Maria and Alex as they fell in step with one another.
Finally they came to a stop just a few feet away from them. Alex smiled at Isabel, who offered him a shy smile in return. He glanced over at Max, and then at Michael and finally at Tess and his smile faded slightly. "So...what's going on?"
"We're not all here yet," Max said quietly, turning away to look over the lake.
Alex blinked and looked around again. He must be talking about Sheriff Valenti and Kyle, he realized, feeling slightly surprised. He glanced at Liz and raised an eyebrow at her. She looked up at him and shrugged. Then his gaze drifted back to Isabel. He moved towards her and gently pulled her aside. "Is everything okay?" he asked worriedly, whispering so only she would hear him.
"I don't know. He wouldn't tell us what this was about either," Isabel said softly, glancing at her brother.
Alex glanced over at the other blond alien and then back at Isabel. "Does Tess know yet?"
"That Nasedo is dead?" Isabel shook her head. "Not unless Max told her. I wouldn't know how." Her voice had a nervous edge to it and she fiddled with her necklace.
Alex felt the urge to reach out and wrap his arms around her, but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. She didn't tend to be comfortable with public displays of affection. Instead, he just offered her a gentle smile. "We'll figure it out," he said quietly. He turned around when he heard a car engine in the distance. "Sheriff Valenti?"
"I think so," she answered, turning to look. They watched silently as the familiar police vehicle pulled up and parked next to Maria's Jetta. A moment later, Sheriff Valenti, and his son Kyle Valenti were walking towards them.
Sheriff Valenti nodded to each one of them before looking at Max. "Everything okay?"
Max finally turned around and faced the group. "I just thought it was time for the nine of us to get together and discuss things when we weren't in some kind of danger. And there are things that have happened recently that you don't know about yet." His eyes focused on Liz.
"What kind of things?"
Alex glanced at Kyle, noticing the weary tension in his voice. Ever since Max had saved Kyle's life at the UFO Museum he had sounded that way. Alex hoped he wasn't on the verge of some kind of breakdown.
Max took a deep breath and turned to face Tess. "There's no easy way to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it. Nasedo is dead."
Tess stared at him, her face turning pale. "What?"
"He followed Liz to L.A. and tried to kill her," Max said.
"Why would he do that?"
"Gee, I don't know. Maybe *you* asked him to?" Maria cut in, glaring at her.
All eyes turned to Tess but everyone remained silent, waiting for her to respond. "I would never do something like that!" Tess protested. "Why would I want Liz dead? So all of you could hate me more than you already do?"
Alex glanced at Liz, who was staring at Tess, her face expressionless.
"Maybe you thought that if Liz was out of the picture I'd accept you as my destiny," Max said quietly, his voice even. "But that would never happen, Tess. Liz is the only one I want to be with. Ever."
Tess's eyes filled with tears. "I didn't ask Nasedo to kill Liz. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. You have to believe me, Max."
"Why? Why should I believe you? Because you come here and you use mind manipulation to get me to kiss you and to get Isabel and Michael to dream about one another? Should I believe you just because you're one of us? Trust is earned, Tess, and that's something you haven't done." Max stared at her.
"Max, cool it, all right?" Michael spoke up, giving him a warning look.
"What if it had been Maria, Michael? Then would you be asking me to cool it?" Max turned to face him.
"Okay, everyone just calm down," Isabel said, stepping in between Max and Michael as they glared at each other.
"No, this is getting settled once and for all. That's why we're here, isn't it? So go ahead, fearless leader. Lead already," Michael said darkly, his gaze unfaltering as he stared back at Max.
"You're right, Michael. That *is* why we're here," Max agreed. He turned to face Tess again. "You're one of us. That's a fact and I accept it. But I'm not in love with you. And that's a fact you're going to have to accept if you're going to stay here."
Tess remained silent and motionless, her face streaked with tears.
"We have to stick together now. All of us. If we allow things to come between us, everything will fall apart. Things are going to have to change if we're going to be strong enough to face our enemies if they show up."
"When they show up," Michael corrected him bluntly.
Isabel sighed almost imperceptibly, but Alex heard it and he felt angry. "I have something to say," Alex said quietly. He turned to look at Max, and then at Michael. "The two of you have to stop fighting all the time. You're not helping matters, and you're stressing the rest of us out."
"Well, sorry if my disagreements with our king is bothering you," Michael snapped, glaring at Alex.
Isabel glared back. "He was speaking for me, Michael. *I'm* the one you're stressing out! I'm sick of being stuck in the middle of you two's stupid arguments! Every time you two get into it you expect me to be the tie-breaker and I'm fed up! I'm not going to do it anymore!"
"Isabel--" Max started.
"No, Max! I've heard everything you've said. I've heard everything Michael's said. But no one's even bothered to ask me what I think we should do, or what I want. You're only thinking about yourselves. This affects all of us, not just the two of you!"
"I don't mean to make you feel like you're choosing sides, Iz," Max said quietly. "You have to know that--"
"I do, Max. I know. But the two of you...God, all this fighting and arguing is driving me insane! You have to stop it! I mean it. Max, you're going to have to start listening to Michael and taking his thoughts and ideas into consideration. Stop assuming that everything is up to you. You may have been a king on our planet, but you're not the same person now. Michael, you're going to have to start thinking before you act. Running off and getting yourself into trouble isn't helping anyone. And stop disagreeing with Max all the time just because you're trying to prove something to yourself."
Alex couldn't help but smile a bit as both Max and Michael stared at the ground.
"And Tess, you are one of us. *I* don't hate you. You just have to give us some time to adjust. You've known all along about our previous lives and about our enemies, and you know things about us that we don't even know yet. You can't just expect that we're going to accept all of this at one time or even ever. And Alex and the others are a part of our family, too. No matter how hard some of us try to push each other away," Isabel added, looking first at Michael and then at Liz, who both looked away quickly.
There was a long moment of silence as Isabel's words sank in. Finally Max spoke again. "Isabel's right. We have to figure out a way to call some sort of a truce. Among all of us." His gaze moved from Michael, to Tess, to Liz, Maria, Kyle and Sheriff Valenti. He turned his gaze to Michael again. "I'm sorry for not listening to you and what you have to say." He extended his hand.
Michael stared at him for a moment, his expression uncertain. Then he nodded and shook Max's hand. "I'll try to keep my temper under wraps." Michael glanced over to Maria and their eyes met briefly.
"Izzy, I'm sorry for making you feel like you had to choose between us," Max said softly, putting his arms around her. Isabel hugged him back.
"Me too," Michael agreed.
Isabel gave them both a quick smile. "It's okay. But if you do it again, I reserve the right to choke you both," she informed them. She turned to look at Tess, and to everyone's surprise, especially Tess's, Isabel gave her a quick hug as well. "We are family. All of us," she emphasized. She glanced around at everyone until her gaze landed on Alex.
Alex smiled at her as their eyes met, and she smiled back--the first real smile he'd seen her have in weeks. He walked over and draped his arms around Liz and Maria, who both leaned against him. He looked around their group and felt a sudden sense of real belonging amongst them all. Sure, he'd always felt like he belonged when he was with Liz and Maria, but even after they'd let him in the loop on the whole alien thing he'd felt like things among the six of them had been strained. From there it had all gotten worse as Nasedo had shown up and their friends had learned of their true "destinies." But now...
Maybe now things were going to get better. Maybe they all really could be a family. He hoped so.
Max looked at Isabel, Michael and Tess. "There's something else. When you three use your powers, I can feel it, especially recently. I think that until we find out more about what we can do maybe we shouldn't be using them."
Isabel met his eyes. "You think that our enemies can feel it when we use our powers, too?" she asked, worry in her voice.
"I'm not sure. But I think it's a possibility. And I think that until we know what we're dealing with...maybe leading them right to us is a bad idea." Max glanced at Michael. "What do you think?"
Michael stared at him, his expression one of surprise. He averted his gaze to Maria and his eyes filled with determination as he looked back at Max. "I think it's a good point, Maxwell."
An unspoken message passed between the two friends and Alex felt relief wash over him; he noticed that Isabel relaxed slightly, as well.
Max looked over at Alex, Liz and Maria, then to Sheriff Valenti and Kyle. "If any of you wants to walk away, do it now."
Alex kept his arms around Liz and Maria, none of them making any attempt to move. Max met Liz's eyes for a moment, and Alex saw her give him a tentative smile. His gaze moved to the sheriff and Kyle, who both stood completely still as well.
"Then no one gets left out anymore," Max finished. "We're all in this together. United we stand."
"Here here," Alex agreed. He met Isabel's eyes once more and she offered him another brilliant smile.
Yeah, he thought. Maybe things will work out this time after all.