Fan Fic and More

WHAT THE HELL!!!

please say Alex is ok.
otherwise i can see isabel pulling a pheonix.

please update soon

Stargazer Gets the Girl
Chapter 23-L The Circle Grows
By Stargazer MD

Alarms went off within the Granolith. Alex’s medical records were being accessed, which meant that something was not right in Roswell. Within moments it knew that it’s Interface and the Husband of it’s Sovereign was in trouble, triggering automated responses that had been pre-programmed weeks ago. The hospital’s computer system was attacked, while across city, cell phones began to ring.

**********
Charles’ and Jim’s cell rang simultaneously. “Yes,” Charles answered.

“My interface, your son, is undergoing treatment at Eastern Medical Center,,,”

“What happened?” Charles demanded as he bolted from his office.

“He had been admitted to the Emergency Department with a diagnosis of dyspnea, or shortness of breath. The information that has been entered into their computer is lacking in detail and as such the cause of his malady is unknown at this time; however, he has been scheduled for an immediate surgical consult, which is compromising the security of his unique medical nature. Protective protocols are in place, but immediate human intervention is imperative,,,”

Charles started to open the door of his car, but hearing a siren approaching he looked up to see Jim’s Explorer approaching. He quickly stepped to the edge of the street and jumped into the cruiser almost before it stopped. “You heard?” he asked.

“Yea,” Jim replied as he floored the powerful engine.

**********
Feeling a vibration at his hip, Jim covertly read the text on his phone. He leaned over and whispered to Charles, “Ava is here now, they’re going to bring Max and Liz in. Whatever you do, don’t acknowledge their existence in front of any of the staff.” Moments later the teens entered Treatment One through the opened door, careful to stay against the side wall out of the way of the care givers.

“Mister Whitman,” Nurse Welch pleaded. “We have your son stabilized,,,”

“That’s with the dart?”

“Yes,” Chris answered confidently, “The McSwain dart has decompressed his tension pneumothorax, but he’s not out of the woods yet. We really need to run more test,,,”

“No Test!” Charles demanded. “You have him hooked up to all these monitors, surely that’s enough?”

“We need blood work,,,”

“No blood work. Our beliefs disallow it,,,”

“The Circle of the Universal Family?,,”

“Yes. You can do anything with your monitors. You can vent the air from his chest and you can use all the drugs and volume extenders that you need, but you cannot withdraw any fluids from his body. Our faith does not allow it.”

“We’ll respect your wishes, for now,” Chris agreed reluctantly. “But if his condition deteriorates we’ll have this conversation again. And I like Alex. If I have to, I’ll go to Judge Lewis.” Having had her say, she left the room.

“She can’t see you?” Jim demanded as soon as the door closed.

“No,” Ava replied confidently. “As long as they don’t bump into us they’ll not know we’re here.”

“How long can you maintain that?” Max demanded nervously. “Tess had trouble with multiple people and complex mind warps.”

“She couldn’t have been very good,,,” Ava sighed dismissively.

“Or maybe she wasn't be honest with us,” Liz cut in. “She had to be very powerful to pull off the whole ‘Alex in Sweden deception,’ so maybe she was trying to hide the true extent of her abilities.”

“Well I can assure you that group mind warps are not beyond my ability. Once or twice a week we would go out to eat, and Lonnie liked nice places. I would mind warp the entire restaurant then get the servers would bring us everything we wanted, and never, not once, did any of the other diners know we were there.” Reacting to the disapproving look she received, she defended her self, “What? I had to do it that way, Rath ate like a pig,,,”

“What’s happening,” Gloria exclaimed as she swept into the room. Giving the gathered group of teens the evil eye, she rushed to Alex’s side. Seeing that he was unconscious but resting comfortably, she ran her hand over his forehead, brushing his hair back gently. “What happened to him this time?” she demanded of her husband.

“He injured himself lifting a patient,” Charles explained. “He ended up with a collapsed lung,,,”

“Nurse Welch says that they have him stabilized,” Isabel barked out as she entered the room, “But we need to work fast. They want to put a chest tube in him, which involves surgery, not to mention the fact he’ll be stuck here for three days.” She looked Gloria in the eyes, but did not let that stop her as she continued, “Ava, we need privacy. Have each of the nurses think that the other nurse is checking up on him.” She took both of Gloria's hands in her own and led her away from Alex, depositing her next to Charles’ side. “I need you to always remember that I love him more than life itself, and I will do anything to make sure she is safe.” With that she returned to Alex's side.

“Why is she talking like that?” Gloria demanded of her husband who had wrapped his arm around her shoulders pulling her in tight against him. “What the hell are you doing? Let me go,,,” but her diatribe was cut off as Isabel started snapping out commands.

“Ava?”

“Good to go.”

“Let's get started Max.”

“What about the Cadnium-X,” Max rebutted. “It’s one thing for his parents to have to explain a faith healing, quite another if they find a silver handprint.”

“Faith healing?” Gloria spat as she turned on Charles. “What the hell is going on, and why you just standing here? I'm going to go out there and get his doctor,,,”

“If you bring those people back in here,,,” Charles said softly, “We’ll never see him again.”

“But why?” she demanded. “What’s going on?”

“Isabel and Max will take care of him,” Charles said reassuringly. “Alex is going to be fine in just a couple of minutes.”

Gloria took a deep breath, “What the frack are you talking about? Do you have rocks in your head? He almost died,,,”

“Do you trust Isabel?” he replied. “She would never hurt him.”

“No! She would never do anything to hurt him, in fact she would kill or die for him, but this isn’t about how much she loves him, this is about the fact that he can’t breathe,,,”

Isabel stood next to Alex’s bed, his hand in her own as she tentatively looked at her brother. “I’ll connect with him, you connect with me.”

“I don’t know if that will work?” Max cautioned.

“I do,” Isabel declared. “Alex and I have pushed my,,, our abilities farther that we ever thought possible. Besides, I have to be able to do this. We can’t leave any marks.”

“Okay,” Max said reluctantly, “But if I see you getting hurt I’m going to stop. Did you talk to the doctors?”

“Yes I did. I will tell you everything you need to know,” Isabel answered, taking Max’s hands in her own. She looked him in the eyes. “You’re not going to stop for any reason. He deserves whatever we have to do to make him well.”

Max slowly nodded in agreement. “I know, but you’re my sister. I had to try.”

“Whatever it takes!” Isabel looked around the room and received nods of agreement from both Ava and Michael.

“Okay,” Isabel started. “I’m going to paraphrase what the doctors told me. Tell me if I get too technical.”

“I’ll be okay,” Max replied confidently.

“Alex has an adhesion. It is likely from his injuries the night he was shot, but they can also occur naturally. The space between the lungs and the chest wall is called the pleural space. It consist of a double layered membrane, one which surround the lungs and the other which lines the chest cavity. The space between the membranes contains pleural liquid, which lubricates the membranes and allow the lungs to move freely. An adhesion is when the two membranes fuse at one or more points, preventing the chest wall and lungs from moving freely. When he over exerted himself, the adhesion tore, allowing air to leak into the plural space, causing his lung to collapse. As more and more air entered the plural space, the lung was pressed against his heart, compromising it’s output. That's why he collapsed in the emergency room.

Max nodded, taking in everything Isabel said as he placed his hand on the side of Alex’s face. “Alex?” he said in a soft yet determined voice. “Alex, I need you to look at me.”

“Can you connect?” Isabel asked nervously.

“No, they have him sedated too deeply.”

Hearing this Liz stepped forward and examined his intravenous bag. “It’s nothing but normal saline.” (Normal saline is a volume extender utilized to stabilize a patients circulatory system and to provide a ready pathway for the administration of drugs and other medications. It consist of sterile water with a tiny amount of sodium chloride (salt) added to match the natural salinity of one’s bloodstream.) She turned towards Charles. “Did you see them spike his bag?”

“Yea, she put two syringes of something into the ‘Y’ thing in the tubing.”

Liz picked up his IV tubing and looked at the labels that were wrapped around it. “Sodium Thiopental and Meperidine,” she said as she looked at Isabel with concern. “I don’t have any idea what either one of them is.”

“That’s because he didn’t have you memorize his PDR. (Physician’s Desk Reference) Give me a moment,” she replied levelly before biting her lower lip in concentration. “Sodium Thiopental is Sodium Penothal, an anesthetic, (to induce unconsciousness) while Meperidine is generic Demerol, for pain. Both are quick acting,,,”

“Can you purge them?” Max asked.

Isabel put her hand on his IV bag and closed her eyes. “Yea, I can see the water, and I can see the drugs as foreign bodies. So I should be able to change the drugs to water as well,,,”

“Wait! Isabel,” Charles snapped. “I realize you need to wake him up in order for Max to make a connection, but if he wakes up suddenly, in a strange place and in pain, I'm afraid that he'll wake up shooting. You’d better have your shield on automatic.”

“There’s no way that I can do that while I’m purging has bloodstream, Max?”

“I got it,” Max replied as he raised his hand to the ready position.

“What the hell do you mean wake up shooting,” Gloria asked in confusion as events spun outside of her understanding, but before she could get any answers her son was beginning to come to.

Sensing Isabel's connection on his right side, that side was safe, but his left hand started to glow an angry red. Max quickly threw his shield around Alex's extremity just as the bed linens exploded into flames. As surprise shouts rang around the room Isabel spoke reassuringly, “I've got it, I’m in.” Although he writhed in pain, she was able to calm him, and the fire was quickly extinguished.

“Now Max,” she commanded.

Max stood behind his sister, wrapping his arms around her and placing his hands on her fore arms. He quickly connected with Alex through his sister and began scanning him for damage. “I can see the pocket of air outside of his lungs.”

“Max, do you see the tear that cause the leak?” Isabel asked as she deepened her involvement in the connection.

“Is that it here? Something doesn't look right,,,”

“Hang on a moment let me think,,, it looks like a small air sack,,, I've got it, it's a bleb.”

“Tell me,” Max commanded as he started to heal the injury.

“It's an air sack, a defect in his lung. It's probably hereditary, meaning he's probably predisposed to emphysema. Apparently its most common in men with his body type, tall and lean, but he's unusually young for this to happen. I'm going to guess that by its location, it happened as a result of his being shot.”

Max continued to pour power into his sister, as she relayed his life force into her husband. Suddenly Isabel was able to see more damage in Alex’s chest. “There are so many,” she said, panic evident in her voice. We have to heal them all, or this will happen to him again. They’re just like ticking time bombs, just waiting to kill him.” She focused her brother’s energy at the injury points, gradually starting to heal all of them.

Gloria stood transfixed by the luminescent plasma that emanated from Max’s hands and ran down Isabel’s arms to her sons chest. She turned to her husband with panic on her face, hoping for answers. “What’s happening?” she gasped.

“They’re healing him,” Charles stated flatly, dismayed that he could do nothing to help his extended family.

Suddenly Isabel bolted upright, the veins in her neck distended. She began gasping for air, wheezing with every breath. Her entire upper body struggled to move air in and out of her chest, and to the others in the room it looked like she was loosing the battle.

Tears were streaming down Max’s face, but he never stopped. He would honor his promise to her that he would do whatever it took to heal Alex.

Liz strode forward and hugged Max from behind, resting her cheek against his shoulder and sending him all of the love and support that he could take.

“What’s happening now?” Gloria gasped in dismay, watching as Isabel’s face began to turn blue.

“It’s part of the healing process,” Ava answered softly, as she watched Michael hold Maria’s face to his chest so she couldn’t watch. “Isabel’s body is assuming Alex’s injuries, but she isn’t a healer. She isn’t able to dissipate what is happening to her like Max could.”

“She shouldn’t be taking this risk,” Michael snapped. Max should heal her and then we’ll deal with the fallout.”

“Michael,” Liz replied softly. “She has to. They’re linked through their marriage,,,”

“Marriage?” Gloria bellowed. “Their married! What do you know about this?” she demanded as she turned towards Charles.

“News to me,” he mumbled as he watched Liz carefully.

“She’s just turned eighteen,” Gloria steamed on. “Did her parents consent to this?”

“It’s not really a consent issue,,,” Liz stammered.

“What? They went out of state? Vegas?” Gloria gasped.

“No,,,”

“Mexico?”

“It’s kind of outside of our local jurisdictions,,,”

“Liz, what do you mean when you said that she had to help,,,” Charles reasoned. “I mean I know she wanted to, but that’s not what you said.” Seeing a look of indecision on Liz’s face, he continued, “Is the Granolith involved in this marriage somehow?”

Liz looked relieved that Charles had, in effect, given her permission to speak freely. “The Granolith said that in addition to their bond, they are married by their words and actions towards each other. But what surprised it even more is the strength of their bond. It doesn’t know if it’s a cross-species thing,,,”

“Species? She’s a different species?” Gloria asked more quietly, further questions being cut off as she noticed that Isabel’s chest was beginning to glow. “What the frack is that, and Alex?” she demanded as the five black rings of his seal also became visible.

“That is the Royal Seal of Antar,” Charles answered. “Alex is engaged to,,, or I guess he married into royalty. As far as their similarities and differences, that's not important right now. What is important is their bond, and whether or not it's going to allow Isabel to help Max heal him.”

“Bonds are rare on Antar, about one in a million,” Liz explained softly, almost hesitating to continue. “But the strength of their bond, communicating over distances, Alex changing,,, well there hasn’t been a bond like theirs in generations. The Granolith,,,” her voice trailed off.

“What?” Michael snapped. “This is about when you were called back to the cave, isn’t it? What aren’t you telling us?”

Liz looked back to Michael, “Their share a soul,” she whispered.

“What?” Gloria demanded.

“They can not survive apart,” Liz answered softly. “Maybe, once they start their family, one could survive the loss of the other for the sake of the children, but until then,,,”

“But what happens if they can’t heal him?” Charles said with a catch in his voice.

“If that happens, both Alex and Isabel will die,” Michael stated with tears in his eyes, “And since Max will never give up on her, he will die also.”

“You’re saying all three of them could die” Gloria asked, visibly sobbing now.

“No,” Ava stated, with passion in her voice. “If Max and Isabel can’t complete,,,” she let the answer drop as she received a nod from her tall pod mate, “Michael and I will step in and take their place. We all owe our friends a debt that can never be repaid. Either we all leave here together, or we will all die trying.”

Isabel’s breathing eased, and Max stumbled back, letting go of her. While Gloria moved to Alex’s side to check on him, Charles pushed Michael to one side, and scooped his daughter-in-law into his arms as she began to collapse. He lifted her and gently placed her onto the second bed. Michael guided Max to a chair, and helped him sit. As soon as he knew his brother was safe, he left him with Ava, and moved to the foot of his sisters bed.

Michael stood close by as Charles tended to Isabel. He smiled as Charles swept Isabel’s damp hair out of her face, and reassured her that Alex was fine. Michael’s heart swelled as he watched another human treat one of his pod mates so tenderly.

Isabel rapidly recovered, and everything in her being demanded that she be at her husband’s side. The moment she was fully aware, she struggled to sit up.

“Whoa,” Charles sang out, taking her by the shoulders to steady her as Michael also stepped in.

“Move!” Isabel commanded. “I need to get to Alex!”

Michael gave Charles a knowing look. “Iz, hang on a minute, you’re not ready to stand yet,” he said gently as he helped her sit on the edge of the bed. “He’s right there, you can see him.”

Liz and Gloria stepped apart allowing the young couple to make eye contact, which greatly calmed Isabel.

“See?” Michael continued. “He’s fine.”

Isabel’s immediate concern satisfied, she next asked about her brother.

Ava laughingly directed Isabel’s attention to the chair in the corner of the room. Max was sitting in an arm chair, his recovery greatly aided by Liz, who was sitting in his lap while covering his face with kisses and running her hands through his hair.

Gloria reached and caressed her sons face, and then turned to her husband. “I don’t know what happened here just now. I’m grateful for what you all did for Alex, but someone has a lot of explaining to do!”

Alex reached and took his mother’s hand, while looking at his father. “Pops? I need the room.” He looked at Isabel with a smile, and held out his other hand towards her. Alex found himself lying in the bed, between the two most important woman in his life.

“Guys, I’m getting tired, time to bail,” Ava called out. “Now!”

As the room cleared out, Gloria released Alex’s hand and walked around to Isabel’s side of the bed. She noticed that despite the fact that Isabel was practically trembling, the teen continued to look her in the eye. “What did you do to my son?” she asked softly.

“Hang on a minute,” Alex asked of his mate. “Let me talk to her.”

“Mom,” Alex started, his voice cracking with tension, “I wish you hadn’t seen that.”

“Why?” she asked, surprised that Alex was taking the lead.

“Because,” Alex replied, his voice gaining confidence as he felt Isabel supporting him through their connection, “Your being here changes everything. What you hear in the next several minutes and how you decide to react will change your life and possibly end ours.”

“Sweetie,,,” Isabel protested.

“I know what you’re going to say,” Alex interrupted. “You’re going to try to protect me.” He simply looked at her, his love for her visible to both women.

Isabel continued softly. “I wish that we were nothing more than a couple of teenagers with no greater problem than finding a private place to make out.”

“I know Izzy,” he answered softly, “And I wish I could give that to you, but we have to live the life we’re given, together.”

Isabel turned back to Gloria, but she was so scared of how the older woman would react that she could couldn’t speak.

Gloria reached and took Isabel’s free hand. “I seem to remember a conversation we had after one of your nightmares. You were telling me about how difficult it was to know where you were going when you didn’t know where you came from, and that Alex is the only one you’ve ever been able to allow in. Do you remember that?”

Isabel nodded as she bit her lower lip.

“You were trying to tell me about this,” she asked, suddenly understanding many things that had been happening in the teens life.

“I couldn’t tell you, I wanted to, we don’t tell anyone,” Isabel trailed off.

“What did you want to tell me? What just happened? How did you heal Alex?” Gloria stated quietly but with determination.

“Mom,” Alex said quietly, “When Isabel and I get married, maybe after college but probably long before then, we’re going to have some guest who are from out of this world.”

Gloria looked at him confused.

“Our parents,” Alex sighed as he looked at his mate with love in his eyes, “The Whitman’s and the Evans’, are going to be from Roswell. On the other hand, Isabel’s original family, if we can get an address for their invitation, are going to be visiting us from the planet Antar.”

“You’re not trying to tell me that you’re,,,” Gloria pointed to the ceiling and humming the theme from the ‘Twilight Zone.’

“That’s right Mom,” Alex quipped, trying to lighten the mood. “You’re going to have little green grandchildren.”

“Sweetie,” Isabel grinned while leaning and slapped him gently on the shoulder. “Stop that.”

“Never,” he quipped. “Not as long as I can make you smile.”

Isabel turned back to Gloria, her voice desperate. “Now you know our secret. You can’t tell anyone.”

“Mom,” Alex reinforced, “Our lives, my life, depends on your silence.”

**********
This isn’t the way home,” Charles complained.

“No, it is not,” Gloria replied stoically “I have understood the secret nature of the life you’ve led. I’ve never questioned you when you took off for months at a time, or when we had to pick everything up and move on a moments notice. I never interfered when you let some project eat you up inside being I was doing my patriotic duty as a good military wife,” Gloria complained as she rolled the car to a stop, “But I never, not for an instant, believed that you would keep a secret about my baby from me.”

For the first time Charles noticed that they were in front of the Comfort Inn before looking back at his wife in confusion.

Gloria’s face reflected the storm within. “Do I need to say the words?” she demanded.

Realizing that any delay could be injurious towards his health, Charles hastily unbuckled his belt and scooted out of the car, scampering back before the squealing rear tire could run over his feet. As he watched his wife and newest daughter-in-law drive off for what he knew would be a long conversation, he quickly took inventory, finding that he had twelve dollars and a credit card, or at least he had a credit card until she could get home and cancel it. But as he turned towards the entrance, he looked up at the inky sky. “I was interrogated by Isabel, caught in the middle of a fire-fight, and now kicked out of my own house for trying to keep my son and his fiancé safe. Can this week suck any worse?” he shouted as the first drop of rain struck him right between the eyes.

END

Photo links:

Charles’ AUG-A1
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... AUG-A1.jpg

Firefighter Alex Taylor, Alex’s rescuer when he was shot at the Kettle’s
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... Taylor.jpg

Isabel’s Floating Heart, a gift from Alex after Prom
http://www.kheigl.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi? ... t/kh34.jpg
Courtesy Khegil.com

Isabel’s Earrings, Alex’s present for her Eighteenth birthday.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... arings.jpg

Isabel’s Engagement Ring
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... sring2.jpg

Quite a way for Gloria to find out on both fronts
Poor Charles back in the dog house again : but i guess it was to be expected with all that he has kept..even though the position he was in was not ideal :?

Great new part :D i look forward to what you come up with when Isabel & Gloria have that Talk :

Well I knew it would be Gloria to join the circle.

But what a way to join!!!

I really did love this part. And I wondre if we'll get that conversation Isabel and Gloria are having or if we just get to know it happens. Either way, about time.

Loved everything here, especially the new revelation of the depth of their bond. I know its not particularly new, but it was spelled out in sheer black and white, one cannot exist without the other.

(Don't I wish that it could really be like that?) please don't ask for an explanation of my thoughts as I wrote that. Yes I did say that out loud.

Beautiful just beutiful part. Loved how Michel protected Maria and Liz tended to Max, and Ava's explanation that they all succeed or die trying.

And Its so thrilling to be the first feedbacker on a part, like when does that ever happen? I guess we posted at the same time LOL. I'm proud to be the 2nd FB'er then. LOL

Rhonda.

Stargazer Gets the Girl
Chapter 24-A There be Heroes Here
By Stargazer MD

“Are you afraid of me?”

“Right now I’m too angry to be afraid.”

Isabel's head dropped as she headed for the door, “I'll have my mom come and collect my things.”

“Sit down,” Gloria commanded. “I'm making tea, and then we going to have a nice chat.”

“You want me to stay?”

“Aren’t you my daughter-in-law?”

“No, not yet,” Isabel answered as she was forced to put into words thoughts that she hadn't fully formed yet. “The Granolith says we are, but I don't think we're quite ready for that yet. So I think my mom is still going to get the big church wedding for her daughter that she’s been planning for years,,,”

“Diane been planning?” Gloria teased.

“Well,,, with a little help from me,” Isabel answered as she bolted up and a smile slowly crept onto her face.

“That's better,” Gloria said with a smile as she filled their mugs from the Insinkerator.

Meanwhile Isabel raided cabinets, arranging Milano double chocolate cookies on a plate that matched the mugs Gloria was using, but as she placed the plate on the table, she became agitated. “Those bastards! Those fracking bastards!”

“What’s wrong?”

“They woke him up to give him a sleeping pill,,,”

“Is that all?” Gloria laughingly said. “Obviously you’ve never been in a hospital before,,,” but her momentary amusement was cut short as she shrieked and leapt back.

Isabel’s protective instincts took over. She raised her hand as she turned, and seeing movement in front of the stove, she fired. “What the frack was that?”

“A mouse,” Gloria answered as she warily walked around the end of the island. “They usually sneak in when the nights start getting colder.” Gloria looked down at the floor. Seeing a three foot (90 cm) diameter hole she glanced at Isabel before looking back at her ruined stove. “I usually just whack them with a broom.”

“I'm so sorry,” Isabel gasped. “I,,, I,,,”

Gloria took both of her hands into her own and led her to the table. “Sit!” she commanded.

As Isabel said down both of their attention was captured by the sound of the heavily damaged stove's open door snapping off and falling loudly onto the basement floor. “Do you have a safety setting for those?” Gloria teased. “I've been meaning to get Charles to buy me a new range, so you’re forgiven, but if you blow up my new refrigerator, I'll be seriously pissed.”

“You're not mad at me?” Isabel asked in amazement. “You’re not afraid?”

“Afraid?” Gloria answered dismissively as she retrieve their tea and cookies. “I've been waiting for you my entire life.”

“Because of Alex?”

“Because I've always wanted to be Judy Robinson. The fact that you're going to be part of the family is a bonus.”

“Judy Robinson?”

“Lost In Space, Nineteen Sixty-five.”

“What, you have a thing about a character on a TV show? No wonder Alex grew so quirky.”

“So where were you born?”

“I wasn't born, I was cloned, and I emerged right here outside of Roswell, so I guess you have to say I'm a US citizen.”

“Then how can you be an alien?”

“One of my donors, half of my DNA, came from Princess Vilandra, of the house of Zan, of the planet Antar. The other half of my DNA came from a human, of whom I know nothing about,,,”

“So how did you get here? Did you come on a ship?”

Isabel giggled in embarrassment. “I came on a spaceship, but I can't say much for Antarian technology. It crashed.”

“What kind of propulsion system did it have? A faster than light drive? Did it create artificial worm holes? Did it travel between portals? Does hyperspace really exist?”

“Gloria, I'm sorry. I know almost nothing about myself and where I come from. What little we've been told came from people who were trying to hurt us.” Seeing the look of disappointment on the woman's face who had become both a second mother and mentor to her, Isabel relented. She would tell her all that she knew. “It all started in Nineteen Forty-Seven,,,”

**********
Thumper Thurber was grabbing a late snack at the Taco Shack when she looked up to see Kyle headed her way. “Got the night off?” she sighed reluctantly.

“What do you mean?” Kyle replied as he sat next to her and took a massive bite out of one of his taco’s.

“Ava’s been keeping you on a short leash lately, especially since she caught you trying to figure out if I had an inner clasp on my Black Watch Tartan skirt,,,”

“Nope, I’m a free agent tonight,,,”

“Lucky me,” Thumper muttered.

“Late practice and a dead cell phone,” Kyle rambled on, not noticing her less than enthusiastic response to his presence. “How about you?”

Thumper looked a him as if he had rocks in his head. “Well, instead of getting my beauty sleep, I’m sitting here eating fat food that’s going to go straight to my thighs.”

“Oh, sorry. Dad told me that you had your Grand Jury appearance this week,,,”

“Thanks for reminding me that my life as I know it ends in three days,,,”

“Thumper,” Kyle said softly as his hand covered hers in as comforting yet non-threatening a manner as he could, “Dad isn’t saying anything, but he’s confident you’ll be cleared,,,”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Thumper replied worriedly. “The County Attorney is basing his whole re-election campaign on putting me in prison for the rest of my life,,,”

“Thumper, your life is like a river, and although it may be detoured by many mountains, it will always empty into the sea.”

“Thanks, I think,” Thumper answered with a smile.

“There we go,” Kyle said, his task of cheering her up accomplished.

“Very Eastern. I was expecting a wisecrack about my green tights,,,”

“Well, I’ve given my football hero side the night off, but don’t tell anyone. I have my reputation to protect,” he said as he looked around the parking lot. “Where’s your car?”

“I walked, you know the whole Sleepless in Roswell thing,,,”

“Come on, I’ll take you home.”

“Why Kyle, such a gentleman,,,”

“Gentleman, No,,, No! I’m just trying to get you out from under this picnic table so I can get a good look at you,” but his lecherous scheme was derailed as the lights were turned off as the shack shut down for the night.

“Come on Buddha-Boy, give a girl a ride home.” Seeing the surprised look on his face she continued, “Hey, I’ve been hanging with Ava ever since Isabel took me under her wing. I know all your secrets. You’re the safest ride home in town.”

“Safe,,,” he spat the word out as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. “I’m anything but safe,,,”

“If Ava so much as thought you were cheating on her, she’d rip your balls out and tie them in a knot behind your neck, then she’d get serious,,,”

“Ahhh, yea,,, Let me take you home.”

**********
“So you can talk to him right now?”

“Yea,” Isabel replied shyly. “As a matter of fact he’s keeping our connection open because he’s worried that I need calming,,,”

“You?” Gloria teased.

“Imagine that,” Isabel agreed with a self depreciating smile. “It’s as he’s here brushing my hair.”

“So, how does this connection work?”

“Sometimes it’s as if we were sitting next to each other talking, but when we go deeper, there are times when we share the same body. For example, I have memorized a number of his medical texts, and he can access my memories whenever he needs them,,,”

“How far can you reach?”

“We’ve been able to connect while he was in Albuquerque and I was here with no loss of signal, so we don’t know what our limits are.”

“You can talk to him right now?”

Isabel smiled a moment, biting her lip, as she asked Alex for a story. “When you were down in Homestead, you had a Golden Retriever named Brandy. You used to say she was the dumbest dog ever because whenever someone walked up to her she would roll onto her back and pee herself,,,”

“I remember Brandy,” Gloria thought back with a smile. “You’re talking to him right now?”

Isabel got up and started rummaging through the pantry. “Alex says she was the worst watchdog ever. She loved everyone she met and she was afraid of the dark.”

“Dumb dog. I used to have to keep her in my room at night or she’d start whining and keep everyone up,,,”

“Liar!” Isabel exclaimed as she placed a dozen eggs onto the countertop. “Alex says Pops came home from a month away and Brandy bit him when he tried to sneak into your room. He says after that you kept sneaking her treats and keeping her in your room every night.”

“Well, that served Charles right for sneaking home unannounced and not telling me what his plans were,,,” Gloria’s voice trailed off in irritation upon seeing Isabel pull out a mixing bowl and her new SilverStone baking pans. “Isabel Dear, what are you doing?”

“I picked up on the fact that Alex is craving brownies,” Isabel replied nervously. “If I can’t be there to take care of him at least I can drop off a pan or two on the way to school tomorrow,,,”

“Might I remind you that the stove no longer has a door on it?,,”

“I can fix that,,,”

“Oh no you don’t!” Gloria commanded. “If Charles thinks he can keep a secret about the two of you from me he has another thing coming. Instead of the new TV he wants for Christmas he’s going to be getting me a new ceramic cooktop and a built-in double oven, and he’s going to be happy to do it,,,”

“You can’t mess with Christmas,,,”

“Watch me, and speaking of sanctions, both of you are grounded for two weeks,,,”

“I can’t let you do that,,,”

“WHAT!,,”

“We have classes, meetings, and a trip to both Colorado and Albuquerque during the next two weeks,” Isabel rebutted nervously as she started cracking eggs and dropping them onto the brownie mix.

“Fine! “Then no Mexican food for either one of you,,,”

“I can’t let you do that either,” Isabel complained, her voice climbing higher in panic as she started to crack eggs faster and faster.

“Give me those,” Gloria said softly as she snatched the carton of eggs from the counter. Seeing the shocked look on her face, she continued, “Isabel, you’ve already put in seven eggs into a mix that calls for one.”

Isabel snatched the bowl off the counter and wrapped her arm around it protectively as she began to beat the mix with a large table spoon. “Ever since I changed Alex his taste in foods have changed to the point that they’re pretty identical to mine,,,”

“And your taste?”

Isabel hesitated a moment while you'll she tried to figure out a way to articulate a thought that she'd never had to put into words before. “I guess I would describe them as having a higher threshold of flavor. We really don't taste normal food, we like everything to be sweet and spicy. That's why you see us always having Mexican or Chinese food, because we can really dial-up the seasonings.”

“And Diane?”

“Poor Mom. When we were young we wouldn’t to eat anything that she cooked. She spent years trying to find different ways to make things that we would like,,,”

“That explains a lot,” Gloria muttered under her breath.

“What?”

“You said that you changed Alex. How so?”

Gloria watched as Isabel went through a transformation so dramatic that she wouldn't have believed it possible if she hadn't seen it for herself. It was as if all the life drained away from Isabel leaving an empty shell. Stunned by the transformation, it was one of the few times in her life that she did not know what to do, so she waited for a reply, hoping that there would be guidance in her words.

“It would have been better if he had never met me. I keep getting him hurt,,,”

“Now that's a fracking crock of shit and you know it,,,” Gloria interjected.

“He was shot protecting me,,,”

“You have nothing to do with his being shot, except taking care of him while we were gone, not to mention getting him to a doctor while he was sick,,,”

“No, it was my fault that he was sick. Tess was using him, hurting him, to get to me,,,”

“Tess? You mean Ava?”

“No, not Ava. The original Tess. She was an enemy.” Seeing a look of confusion on Gloria's face, she tried to explain. “I told you that we were the Royal Four Square, what I haven't had a chance to explain yet is that there was a second four square, and every time they've come near us there’s been trouble. Tess shot Alex. I killed Tess, and then we brought in Ava, Tess's duplicate, to replace her,,,”

“There's two four squares? Are you telling me there’s another Isabel out there somewhere?”

“Yes. Her name is Lonnie,,,”

“Heaven help us,,,” Gloria mumbled. “So you killed this Tess,,,”

“Well, I would say that I killed Tess to protect Alex, but if you asked him he would protect my feelings by telling you that he killed her to protect me. I guess you could say that we did it together.”

“And Alex got hurt,,,”

“Not just Alex. Max, Kyle, Liz, Myself, we were all busted up pretty bad, but Alex definitely took the worse of it. He was healed by both Max and Ava that night, and he hasn't been the same since.”

“And you had nothing to do with his healing?”

“Well,,,”

“All I know what is that ever since we've moved to Roswell you have been Alex's life, and although everything I've learned is going to take some time to come to grips with, it doesn't change the fact that the two of you belong together,,,” Gloria was interrupted by two quick knocks on the door before it swept open. She knew that knock, and looked up with a little irritation as Maria swept into the room. She was simply getting too tired to deal with another high-maintenance teenager, but to her surprise Maria blew right past her and stopped in front of Isabel.

“Give me that,” Maria said softly but determinately as she took the mixing spoon away from her taller friend.

“Alex is going to want brownies,” Isabel stammered as she struggled to maintain control.

“Then in the morning you can call Michael, get his lazy ass out of bed, and he can go down to Dexter to get him a couple of brownies at the bakery,,,”

“What if he doesn’t want to go?”

“Not even Michael’s dumb enough to deify the two of us; besides, if he gets there early enough he’ll be able go get himself a couple of crullers fresh from the cooker. Now why aren’t you getting ready for bed?”

“I, I,,,” Isabel stammered.

“Don’t look at her, she’s not going to help you,” Maria said with a smirk as she took Isabel’s hand and towed her towards the stairs. “Now don’t make me get a newspaper and start smacking you, I practically grew up in this house and I know just where she keeps them,,,”

“Maria?” Gloria asked, not quite sure what was going on.

“Don’t worry, we’re quite used to taking care of each other,” Maria said as they started up the stairs, but her next comment, not intended for their ears caused them both to smile. “Now remember, you lumberjack, me munchkin. I know I’m irresistible, but no spooning. I don’t want you rolling over in your sleep and crushing me to death,,,”


Less than an hour later Gloria at Isabel’s door, summoned by Isabel’s screams that she had come to know all too well, but before she could enter the room, she was stopped by Maria’s gentle voice in the soft light.

“It’s okay Iz. Alex is fine,,,” Maria said softly as she held Isabel to her shoulder and rubbed her back in little circles, the same caring gesture the Three Musketeers used when ever one of them was hurt or upset.

“I felt him,,, wink out,,, again,,,” Isabel choked between the wrenching sobs that she struggled for control.

“That’s because they gave him a sleeping pill, and it’s just kicking in now, right?”

“Maybe,,,”

“You said they woke him to give him a pill, and you always say you can’t dreamwalk us when we’re in deep sleep,,,”

“He belongs here with me,,,”

“Isabel,” Maria declared. “Alex needs his rest. Tomorrow you and Gloria will go over there and collect him,,,”

“What will I do if they won’t release him,,,”

“Are you kidding? Do you think anyone’s going to say no to the two of you? Now in the mean time, settle down and get some rest. I don’t want you looking all tired and haggard when you pick him up. I don’t want him thinking I can’t take care of you,,,”

“What makes you think you can keep talking to me like this,” Isabel challenged, a spark of her usual persona shining through.

“I know you better than you know yourself, and I know that when you get into one of these moods, Alex steps in and takes charge,,,”

“You’re not Alex,,,”

“So? You’ve got Alex whipped. I on the other hand, can smack the Uber General of the Antarian Army around, so what makes you think I can’t handle a simple Princess?”

**********
After school the next day, Kyle was at the Crashdown, leaning over the counter and yakking at Liz.

“I’m happy you’ve started your own company,” Liz said skeptically, “But I don’t know how that involves me,,,”

“Have you ever gone down to Super Buffet and just as you’re going to dig into a nice hot Egg-Foo-Yong you notice that your fork has a bent prong?”

“No I can’t say I have,” Liz answered with an indulgent smile.

“Why, you’re welcome Liz,” Kyle said cheerfully. “That’s because of me. I have them under contract for my prong straightening service. Once a week, for a small fee, I inspect all of their forks and repair any that are deficient. So, can I sign you up for my services?”

“We don’t have that problem. Dad purchases quality products,” Liz explained dismissively as she turned to walk away.

“Liz!,, Liz,” Kyle pleaded, bringing the harried waitress back to the counter. “I also have a wrapping service. Have you ever ordered unwrapped straws or toothpicks? Instead of throwing them out, I’ll wrap them, again for a very modest fee,,,”

“Sorry Kyle, we get everything wrapped automatically,,,”

“Okay then, maybe you’ll want to invest in my newest company,” Kyle continued smoothly. “You know those paper covered hangers you get at the dry cleaners?,,” but his pitch was cut short as his head snapped forward.

“What the frack do you think you’re doing?” Maria challenged.

“Is that your answer to everything,” Kyle whined as he rubbed the back of his head. “Violence?”

“Violence, I’ll show you violence. Not only are you distracting Liz, which means I’m having to take care of her customers, but three customers have bitched to me that you’re mooching their fries, so unless you’re going to spend some of that big businessman money on food, I’m going to shove my foot up your ass,,,”

Kyle, liking his ass just the way it was, decided it was time to leave.

“And take your friend Steve with you!”

Liz watched as Kyle and Steve skipped out the door before turning on her best friend. “He’s right. You have to stop hitting people.”

“Oh really,” Maria teased. “How about I tell you that Kyle bet Steve that you were so gullible you would sit through three bogus sales pitches?,,”

“He What!”

“Bet you’d like your foot up his ass right about now,” Maria said smugly. “Now back to work. The starving masses want their fried cholesterol.”

TBC

Photo links:

Charles’ AUG-A1
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... AUG-A1.jpg

Firefighter Alex Taylor, Alex’s rescuer when he was shot at the Kettle’s
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... Taylor.jpg

Isabel’s Floating Heart, a gift from Alex after Prom
http://www.kheigl.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi? ... t/kh34.jpg
Courtesy Khegil.com

Isabel’s Earrings, Alex’s present for her Eighteenth birthday.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... arings.jpg

Isabel’s Engagement Ring
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... sring2.jpg

OMG Excelent chapter i can't believe i missed it, it was brilliant from beginning to the end. I'm soooo glad Alex is ok, but my favourite part was the isabel/Gloria talk that was awesome i love Gloria, and especially this part.

As Isabel said down both of their attention was captured by the sound of the heavily damaged stove's open door snapping off and falling loudly onto the basement floor. “Do you have a safety setting for those?” Gloria teased. “I've been meaning to get Charles to buy me a new range, so you’re forgiven, but if you blow up my new refrigerator, I'll be seriously pissed.”

lol Can't wait for the next update. the trips are coming up. I wonder what alex and isabel get up to .

please update really really soon, the anticipation is killing me.

Stargazer Gets the Girl
Chapter 24-B There be Heroes Here
By Stargazer MD

**********
“So I guess with Alex coming home from the hospital this afternoon you two won’t be spending the night here,” Diane stated offhandedly over breakfast.

Although she knew her mom tried to hide it, Isabel could hear the hurt in her voice. “I’m sorry Mom, but if I try to bring Alex over here, Gloria would kill me.” She didn’t even bother to voice the fact that she would not even consider the option of coming home alone. “I know we don’t spend as much time here as you would like, but that’s where the computers are, and we have so much work to do right now.”

“I know, and soon you’ll be off to college, so we’ll just have to make what we can of the time we have.”

“We can come over for dinner on Friday if you’d like?” Isabel offered hesitantly.

“I’d like that,” Diane answered cheerfully. “In fact I think I’ll invite everyone.” Not noticing the look of dismay on her daughter’s face, she continued, “We’ll have dinner then cards.”

**********
“We still think you should spend another night,” the nurse stated mechanically. “Your presentation was quite serious, and where there’s one bleb there’s usually more,,,”

“Listen, you didn’t find anything this morning when you gave me a CAT scan, and then you couldn’t find anything this afternoon when you gave me an ultrasound. Can you give me one reason, one medical reason, why I shouldn’t go home.”

The nurse stammered, struggling to come up with a reply for this young man who would deify modern medicine. “It’s procedure,,, Anything could happen to you,,, The doctors,,,”

Alex cocked his ear towards the door and a smile crossed his face as he heard the tap,,, tap,,, tap,,, of stiletto heels on the hard tile floor. He turned back to the nurse. That’s right, anything can happen. Anything can happen because I’m the luckiest guy on the face of the planet,,,”

Isabel stepped through the door and paused just inside the room, not wanting to interrupt the conversation that her husband was having with his caregiver. Despite the fact that she had left school less than an hour ago, she looked marvelous. Her upswept golden hair looked like a halo in the bright light, while her suit made her look years older. Sans blouse, her jacket plunged daringly while her tapered slacks exposed well turned ankles in sexy heels.

“Ready to go Sweetie?”

“Izzy!” Alex exclaimed in greeting before his brows shot up. “White? In November?”

“Seemed appropriate for the hospital.”

“I was just telling Nurse Susan here how much work I have to do,,,”

“Work?” Isabel snapped indignantly. “I’m taking you straight home and then you’re going right to bed,,,”

“Hum,,, hum,,, hum,,,” Alex crackled.

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” Isabel rebutted with a smile towards Nurse Susan. “The nookie light is off and you’re taking it easy at least until the weekend, now get your clothes on while I sign you out.”

“Don’t worry about me, she can’t resist the Whitman charm,” Alex rebutted with a smiled towards Nurse Susan, but to his dismay, he found that the women were no longer paying attention to him as they left him to his own devices.

“Actually I need him at home,” Isabel said conspiratorially. “I made a mess of the kitchen and I need his help to clean it up.”

**********
Late the same evening, Isabel snuck into Alex’s room and snuggled in behind him.

“Izzy?” he asked in confusion, his voice tinged with sleep.

“Shhh,” she whispered. “You didn’t think I could bring you home and then stay away, did you?”

“Mom, Pops?”

“Don’t worry, they’re going to sleep through the night.”

“Well in that case,,,” Alex snickered as he began to nuzzle Isabel’s neck, all thoughts of sleep gone.

”Down boy,” Isabel said laughingly. “You need your rest,” but seeing that his ardor was in full flow, she decided to take matters into her own hand. She dove below the covers, and moments later had fished Fred out from his boxers. Next she slid her hand between his legs and under his ass. “Ready?”

“Izzy?” he replied.

She sent a burst of power up his butt, causing Fred to stand up and take notice, right where she was waiting for him. Moments later she sent another burst of power to the huge bundle of nerves that Trude had told her about in his brain.

“Oh God Izzy!”

Her task completed, Isabel popped her head out from under the covers as she licked her lips. “Tasty.”

“I love you,” Alex sighed.

“I love you too,” she replied as she kissed him. “Say good night Alex.”

“Good night Alex,” he replied and as he knew what was coming, he settled back on his pillow. She touched his forehead and moments later he went out like a light, their whole encounter having lasted less then a minute.

Isabel took comfort in snuggling against his back for a couple of minutes until she was sure he was asleep and then reluctantly climbed out of the warm bed. She kissed him again, and then settled down in front of the Blade workstation, settling the headset firmly in place. “Granolith, we have lost several days, are you willing to help me get caught up?”

“State the nature of your request.”

Now while Isabel knew her way around a computer, and she knew their company inside and out, she did not usually work on the programming itself, so she gently opened a connection with her husband and drew on his knowledge of the next task that he was planning to accomplish. “Granolith. Open EMS Data folder containing multiple data files.”

“Compliance.”

“Write program to parse data contained in individual comma delineated data files into new Aries databases. Database name is to be the same as the original file.”

“Program ready.”

“Execute.”

“Working. Estimated run time, four hours.”

“Upon completion prepare multiple exception reports consisting of aberrant data records from each database. Present them to workstation display adaptor for my review. Once available for review, notify me with a dialog box transmitted to the WinTel (Windows/Intel) display,” Isabel commanded.

“Compliance.”

Then with Alex’s project running, she hit the KVM switch and toggled over to the WinTel server then opened the MS Word file containing the Users Manual that she had been writing for the EMS program. She knew that she had a long night ahead of her, but she only needed a couple of hours sleep a night, and after a full night’s sleep last night, she wanted to get their work far enough ahead so they could enjoy their time together on their trip to Colorado without having to take additional work with them. Looking over at the sleeping reason that she was doing all of this, she began to type with a smile on her face.

**********
“I don’t want to hear this,” Isabel said with a trace of irritation.

“Girlfriend,” Maria teased, “If we can sit still while you talk about giving Alex a hard-on by sticking your finger up his ass and tickling his prostate, you can sit still while Liz talks about your brother.”

“Isabel, your brother is perfect, but sometimes he’s too perfect,,,”

“You’re saying my brother’s wrong because he treats you like a queen?,,,”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Liz snapped, “And you know it,,,”

“Sometimes you need some good loving, sometimes you need a hard therapeutic fracking,,,”

“Exactly! Sore thighs, an itch well scratched, and no talking.”

“Get him a pirate shirt,” Maria exclaimed.

“A pirate shirt?” Liz answered skeptically.

Ava agreed. “You put your guy in a pirate shirt, it like Swept away,,,”

“Wait a minute,” Isabel said. “Isn’t Swept Away like a thirty year old porno movie?,,”

“One of Kyle’s favorites,,,”

“You got Michael into a pirate shirt?”

“Michael doesn’t need no stinking pirate shirt,” Maria teased. “At least not during the first half,,,”

“First half? Michael does doubles?”

“Not really.” Maria looked around the group guiltily. She knew Michael would freak if he knew she was talking about him, but this was girl talk, and girl talk trumped boyfriend’s feelings every time. “Michael holds out, keeps everything bottled up inside,,,”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Isabel interrupted, but upon receiving a glare from Maria that was at least as good as her own, she relented. “Sorry.”

“It just builds up until he either snaps on his own or I break it out of him. So the first time is explosive. Lots of hickeys, and, torn panties, and, no thought about wearing a rubber, which is why I got this,,,” she explained haltingly, pointing to her Norplant. “Now, this works for me, a lot, but like the ice-slut over there says,,,”

“Hey!”

“The best thing about good sex is more sex, so I look at him, all sweaty and little guilty looking because he thinks that once again he took his pleasure and left me behind,,, he looks so adorable I just want to hold him and make the whole world go away,,,” Maria paused with a look of rapture on her face.

“And” Liz prompted.

“Oh,,, well,,, I just look at him with this little girl expression and ask, ‘anything left for me.’ Well,,, you’ve never seen this side of Michael, but he’s so tender,,, and so giving,,, he makes sure I get mine,,, well, that works for me too,,,”

“And you’re calling me a slut?” Isabel teased as Maria’s face turned bright red.

“You are a slut, Iz. Three trips to the bingo parlor every time,,,” Liz teased.

“Ava hasn’t said anything,” Maria replied, deflecting attention from herself.

“What’s to say, Kyle’s a pig.”

“He was all right around me,” Liz rebutted.

Liz’s protestation of Kyle’s innocence was more than Isabel could handle, causing the blond goddess to laugh. Under normal circumstances, Isabel may have been able to maintain her dignity while laughing, but in this instance she had just taken a large gulp of LimeWarp, which moments later was spraying out of her nose.

“He dreamed about me?” Liz deadpanned, ignoring Isabel’s gasping for breath. “He is so dead,,,”

“You don’t want to know,” Ava advised as she picked up Maria’s empty brown lunch bag and stealthily changed it into a soft cloth, which she handed to her friend in need. “Isabel’s told me about some of his dreams, and so far we’ve only been able to recreate two of them. I don’t think most of the rest are humanly possible,,, at least for human females. You’re too fragile,,, well, I don’t think they’re possible for me either. I don’t have that many breasts,,, or places for him to stick his,,, never mind, Kyle’s a pig.”


The guys watched the girls from a couple of tables over. “They’re talking about us,” Michael complained.

“Naw. They’re not talking about us,” Kyle answered. Girls don’t talk about the same things we do. Look how Isabel’s taking charge, Liz and Maria are teasing her, and Ava’s shaking her head no. They’re planning a trip to ‘Walk on the Moon’ at the mall. They’re going shoe shopping. We don’t have a thing to worry about.”


While Liz was probing Ava for details about Kyle’s depravities, Isabel saw her next,,, project, enter the Quad. Making her apologies she made her way over. “Steve,” she said enthusiastically as she sat next to him while she pulled several sheets of heavily printed twenty-four pound bond paper out of her organizer. “This is a list of times, pick-up and drop-off locations as well as cargos related to the Christmas pageant,,,”

“And you’re giving me this because?”

“As the only couple with a truck, you’ve been drafted,,, There’s Trish. Got to go,,,”

“When the hell did it become a couple’s truck?,,”

“What’s the hurry?” Vickie asked.

“It’s my Lightning, my Baby,,, Trucks deliver milk,,,”

Isabel turned and answered over her shoulder, “I’m running stag while Alex is in the hospital,,,”

“Haul trash,,,”

“So I’m trying to get as much done as I can before I pick him after school.”

“Look at this fracking list,” Steve muttered disgustedly. “Damned Isa-bitch. It’s going to take a shit load of time,,,”

“No afternoon BJ for you,” Vickie commanded as she smacked him up the side of the head.

“What the frack did I do?”

“You still need to learn that our little universe revolves around Isabel. If you botch one job on that list her pageant will be only ninety-nine successful. If her pageant isn’t perfect she’ll start to stress out. If she stresses out Alex won’t get laid. If Alex doesn’t get laid my tutoring will suffer. Then, if my Spanish grade slips you won’t get laid.”

“Shit,,,” Steve sighed in resignation. “Maybe we can get Kyle and Ava to help.”

“Good idea, because if Isabel cuts off Alex, she won’t be able to hold out for a day, maybe a day and a half at the most, but I can hold out for weeks.”

“Damned girl, you’ve been hanging out with Maria too much.”

**********
Diane looked around her dining room, happy that everyone had shown up for her expanded Friday Night card game. In addition to the Whitman’s and the kids, the Parkers were also in attendance along with Liz. She watched with amusement as Isabel hesitantly placed a pan of lasagna on the table, her hands visibly trembling as if the casserole were alive and trying to attack her.

“Before you begin I have two announcements,” she proclaimed. “The first is that I would like to thank everyone for joining us tonight. I know that it’s been a hard week for some of us,” she continued with a knowing look towards Gloria, “And with everyone scattering for the weekend, I thought that a little get together was called for,,,”

“Don’t worry about me, I’m getting the rest of my new kitchen,” Gloria teased, a comment that elicited a groan from her husband.

Diane waited for the laughter to die down before continuing, “And the second announcement is about the lay out of tonight’s table. Everyone is going to have to be careful which dish you serve yourself from, white for the adults, and red for the rest. Liz dear, you’ll need white.”

“Mom?” Isabel asked in confusion as Gloria simply shrugged and took the first portion of lasagna.

“I have spent the last ten years butchering my recipes trying to come up with flavors that will suit everyone only to come to learn that it isn’t possible. So now when I cook I’ll be making two dishes, the first utilizing my traditional recipes and the second with some new variations that I worked out with Michael,,,”

“Hey, this is good!” Gloria exclaimed in surprise.

“Of course it’s good,” Diane answered. “Do you think Phillip got this way because I can’t cook,,,”

“Oh my God!” Isabel sighed in pleasure as she began to attack her plate. “How’d you do this?”

“I browned the beef with cayenne and finely chopped habanero chilies, the sauce is spiced with Tabasco and Wiltshire sauces along with curry, and the garlic bread is seasoned with sesame oil and caraway seed,,,”

“Bonehead,” Isabel snapped as she slapped Max up the side of the head causing his slice of garlic bread to fly into Liz’s plate.

“What was that for?” Max snapped back.

“Isabel Amanda Evans,,,”

“That’s for not letting me tell Mom about us. We could have been eating like this years ago,,,”

“Apologize to your brother this instant!”

“You’ve been hanging out with Maria too much,,,”

“I’m sorry I got caught hitting you,” Isabel muttered out of the side of her mouth, placing limits on her contrition.

”This is all your fault!” Isabel chastised her husband.

“My fault?” Alex answered in surprise. “I haven’t said a word, how the frack is this my fault?”

“It’s your fault because your mom has been hanging out with my mom too much!”

TBC

Photo links:

Charles’ AUG-A1
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... AUG-A1.jpg

Firefighter Alex Taylor, Alex’s rescuer when he was shot at the Kettle’s
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... Taylor.jpg

Isabel’s Floating Heart, a gift from Alex after Prom
http://www.kheigl.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi? ... t/kh34.jpg
Courtesy Khegil.com

Isabel’s Earrings, Alex’s present for her Eighteenth birthday.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... arings.jpg

Isabel’s Engagement Ring
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... sring2.jpg

Great update.
ales's nookies night is off lmao. i wonder how long isabel can last.

i loved the banter between the girls it was great and so real to what teenage girls are like.
im loving the story paul. i can't wait for more. hopefully you'll give us a little present of another chapter before christmas, well one can hope.

anyway have a merry chrismas and a happy new year. and keep the excellent chapters coming.

pheobe aka incognito-sticks

Stargazer Gets the Girl
Chapter 24-C There be Heroes Here
By Stargazer MD

“Come on Sweetie,” Isabel cajoled with a trace of irritation in her voice as she stepped out of the bathroom. “You don’t even have your bag packed yet. We can’t be late for this meeting.”

Instead of reacting, Alex just continued to watch her move around the room as he lay with his head on his arm.

As she bent over her own bag while putting away her toiletries kit, she reminded him of her plan. “We check out, have breakfast, and then we can leave for home directly from Leprino,,,” but her voice trailed off as her senses turned inwards. “What are you doing in here?” she asked as she turned and confronted him. “Are you checking out my ass?” she continued, but with a much more pleasant voice.

“I’m trying to figure out what you’re wearing,” Alex said offhandedly. “I don’t see any panty lines, which is good, but I don’t see any garters either,,,”

“Alex, I’m dressed for my comfort, not your pleasure.” But noticing that he was watching her black nyloned ankle, about all that showed from her pinstriped DKNY pantsuit she continued, “I’m wearing tricot cheeky panties. Comfortable fit and lacey legs with no elastic band to show through my slacks. I’ve also got a Penny’s satin bra on, which after I altered it so the underwire wouldn’t dig, is about the most comfortable one I own.”

In response Alex simply sent her an image of her standing next to the dresser wearing nothing but her sheer black merry widow gartered to black seamed stockings.

“Oh my God Sweetie! Don’t tell me you’re still horny? We spent all day yesterday and half of last night in bed. My thighs are still sore from when you had then spread so wide, and since Fred didn’t make his usual appearance this morning, I assumed you were sated.”

“Izzy, I’m an eighteen year old guy who is five hundred miles (800 km) away from home and I’m sharing a hotel room with the girl of my dreams, so when we get out of this meeting we’re coming back here and if I have to I’ll stand you on your head in the corner I will because if I still can’t get it up I’m going to drop it in,,,”

By now the image of her nearly naked self was lost as Isabel began laughing so hard that she had to lean on him for support. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder before leading her out to the car. “That’s what every guy wants to hear when he talks to his wife about sex; laughter.” After opening the drivers door for her and then settling himself in the passenger seat he continued, “You have these great alien gifts, and it would be a shame to not take advantage of them. I can manage on five to six hours sleep, while you only need two, so we’ll leave for home about ten. I’ll start driving while you take a power nap, then when I get tired you’ll take over and with your ability to stay alert and with your fantastic night you can drive while I get some sleep.”

“So you get to sleep while I get to drive all night. What’s in it for me?”

“Do you remember that Cosmo article you showed me?”

“The one about sensory overload?” she replied as her eyes dilated and her nostrils flared.

“I figured I’d try that on you,,,”

“Try? What’s this try shit? I need a little confidence here,,,”

“Though with my mouth and both hands busy in the same general area I don’t know how I’ll support my upper body weight,,,”

“Don’t worry, I’ll throw a pillow under your chest!,,” Isabel snapped in response.

“Hugh?”

“Two pillows!”

“Come on Izzy,” Alex sighed. “Turn into Friendly’s. I’d better get you some breakfast before we both miss this meeting and I die young and penniless,,,”

“And dehydrated,” Isabel teased.

**********
Earlier that morning over northeastern New Mexico.
“~~Cannon Tower, two-six-thousand, ten miles southeast turning downwind for four.~~”
(Translation: Attention the control tower at Cannon Air Force Base, Clovis, New Mexico, this is Air Force aircraft twenty six-thousand, a KC-135 aerial refueling tanker. We are ten miles (16 km) southeast of your location and turning to set-up a standard downwind approach, requesting permission to land on runway four.)

“~~Cannon, two-six-thousand, traffic CVN six east, downwind, four.~~”
(Air Force twenty six-thousand, this is Cannon tower. Exercise caution as there is a plane departing from Clovis Municipal Airport, currently six miles (10 km) to your east. Permission granted to approach and land on runway four.)

“~~Cannon Tower, two-six-thousand, continuing final, four.~~”
(,,,We have the runway in sight and are continuing our approach.)

“~~Attention two-six-thousand, we have you in sight. Negative Nav’s, PDI’s appear active.~~”
(Check your switches, you have the wrong set of lights on.)

(AN: As an aircraft approaches a tanker for refueling, the tanker turns off it’s underside beacon and strobe lights, which could blind the approaching pilot. Instead a system of Pilot Direction Indicator lights are used. These appear as a chevron of lights on the underside of the tanker. These lights, along with the AR Flood, or Aerial Refueling flood light, which illuminates the refueling probe, are only illuminated during refueling operations. At all other times these specialty lights are off and the aircraft’s normal navigation lights are on.)

“~~Two-six-thousand.~~”
(Message received, please excuse me while I go out back and kick some ass.)

The pilot changed his microphone feed from the radio to the plane’s intercom. “~~Hey Boomer, you awake back there? Check your switches for frack sake.~~”

(‘Boomer’ is the nickname common to all the personnel, typically an E-6, (Tech. Sergeant) who are stationed at the back of the aircraft. They ‘fly’ the aerial refueling boom into the socket on the receiving aircraft. They also operate two refueling drogues located on wing pods which allow the refueling of smaller, typically Navy or Marine Corps aircraft, which are equipped with refueling probes. For example, a large C-9 Nightingale (Medical Evacuation Transport) is refueled by the boom and socket method while two Navy FA-18E Super Hornet Strike Fighters may be refueled simultaneously utilizing the drogue and probe equipment. While most of the Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers and KC-10 Extenders are now equipped for both methods of aerial refueling, and are fully capable of performing both on a single mission, they can not be used simultaneously. There is simply not enough room for the safe separation of the receiving aircraft.)

“~~Sorry Boss,~~” the hapless technician replied.
(I heard the towers transmission and have already made the correction.)

“~~Let’s stay sharp back there. I know you’re only a part timer putting in your two weeks, but you make that same mistake in indian country and you’ll get your ass fragged.~~”
(Although right now you may be a reservist putting in your two weeks per year of training, there’s a war coming, and you’re likely to get activated. If you make that same mistake during a combat sortie, you’ll likely get everyone killed.)

“~~Awww, frack us,~~” the co-pilot sighed.

The pilot ignored this while she concentrated on making a safe landing before asking what was wrong.

“~~We flew right over Roswell with out PDI’s on,,,~~”

The pilot immediately recognized the significance of this statement. “~~Oh for frack’s sake. Low enough to be seen, high enough not to be heard. The nutcases are going to be coming out of the woodwork.~~”

**********
“Alex, Isabel, I would like to introduce you to Robert Blynn, our Corporate IT Manager. Rob, this is Alex Whitman and Isabel Evans. They are the principles of Aries technology.” As they seated themselves around the small conference table Patty turned her attention back to Alex and Isabel. “Rob has spent an extensive amount of time at the Roswell plant and he reports that the network you build is satisfactory and the software you have provided is adequate for our needs.”

Isabel's stole a quick glance at Rob and found that he would not make eye contact. In fact he was looking at the table top with what could only be described as an expression of guilt. “Don’t react!” Isabel commanded. “Don't show any reaction at all, just ignore everything she says. She's doing this as a negotiating tactic. She gave us the grand tour of their campus to show us how big a company Leprino is, and now she's going to tell us house small of a company we are. She's trying to get herself into a position of power.” “I am happy to hear that we are in compliance with the specifications that you provided,” Isabel replied with a wirily grin. “Perhaps if you made an effort to fine tune your specifications we could exceed your basic needs and provide you with product that would make your operations fly.”

“Rob has a list of observations he made while in Roswell,” Patty stated.

“This is a list of service request you have given us,” Isabel responded, “As well as a log of every help desk call you have taken internally. We have studied these, and have several suggestions for improvements in addition to the actions we have already taken. We’ll need to go through these items one at a time.”

“Good. I want to get these problems under control, so lets fix them once and for all before we roll this out nation wide. Then, once we have repaired the defects, we can eliminate the expense of the monthly payments.”

Isabel didn’t bat an eye. “As I’m sure Rob would agree, the software is not defective. You are not working for the same company that you were just six months ago, and as your operations have evolved, so has our product. These changes will not go away, in fact they will grow in number and size as we expand from one plant to the entire company,,,”

“It is my job to minimize cost,” Patty replied icily.

“And you will need us to do that,” Isabel replied, exercising great restraint. “No one has any ideas of the challenges and opportunities that will present themselves as your plants go through their change-overs. As a result, the need for consulting, and the associated cost, will grow, not go away. Perhaps you would like to pay for our consulting time by the hour?,,”

“No! We’re not paying by the hour,” Rob insisted. Turing towards Pat, he continued in a strained voice, “I don’t know about you, but my job depends on this project,,,”

“Maybe we need a break,” Alex interjected. “Lets concentrate on what we can agree on and make some progress. Then after lunch we can come back to the issues that separate us.”

Rob looked back and forth between the two woman before shaking his head. “I don't know about you Alex, but I've never got anything accomplished by sitting around a conference table. Let me bring you down of the server room and we’ll start laying out the network upgrades that I need. We'll let the ladies here battle over the paper clips.”

“Good idea,” Alex stated as he stood. “We're going to need that information before we can assemble a quote.”

Patty looked at the back of the two men, momentarily unable to decide if it was to her advantage that they had left. Well, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about Rob speaking out of turn, so taking a deep breath she turned back to Isabel, only to face another interruption.

“Donna Castillo!” Isabel exclaims as she rose and greeted her mentor, reaching for both of her hands.

“Isabella,” Señora Castillo replied, kissing her on both cheeks. She then took her charge and turned her, holding her in a side hug as she turned and faced the table. “I hope you’re taking good care of our guest,,,” she let her voice fade, waiting for a name.

“Orlowski, Pat Orlowski.” The young firebrand manager felt a chill run up her back as she watched Isabel be so warmly greeted by one of the true power brokers of the corporation. While it was common knowledge that the Magliaro family had been at Mike Leprino’s side ever since the company was founded, it was less widely known that the Leprino’s had grown their company the old fashioned way, through acquisitions. The entire south-west operations had been bought from one single family operated company. A family that had expanded their thriving cattle business into the meat and dairy industries. As a result, not only did the Castile family have the resources to live their lives comfortably, Señora Castile controlled enough Leprino stock so that what her husband wanted, he got.

“Yes, Pat Orlowski. The work that you have performed on the Roswell upgrades is to be commended. Output and profits have improved better than expected, so it is imperative that you roll this program out company wide. It would please me if all of our plants have these enhancements in place by the end of our next fiscal year. You can do this for me, sí?”

“Yes Señora Castillo de Magliaro. I will make it my top priority.”

“Muy bueno,” Señora Castillo replied to Patty with an indulgent smile before turning her attention to Isabel. “Isabel, you and your fiancé will join Mike and myself for lunch. I still think my name has enough influence to get us a table at the Cattlemen’s Association, yes?”

“Sí Donna Castillo. It would be our pleasure.”

“It will be good to have some time to catch up before you return to Roswell, so I’ll let you get back to work. Buenos Dias, Señorita Isabella, Señora Orlowski.”

“Buenos Dias,” Isabel replied, while Patty was too stunned to speak.

“You’re on a first name basis with Señora Castillo de Magliaro?” Patty asked, her expression failing to hide her surprise.

“Yes,” Isabel answered hesitantly. “You are aware that her husband is the general manager of the Roswell plant? Donna Castillo is, well was, my business development instructor in school. Additionally she set up the co-op project that Alex built into Aries,,,”

“So you’re telling me that this entire project,,, your company as well as the software you produce, was the brainchild of Señora Castillo de Magliaro?”

“Well,,, yes,,, but that’s not to say that she had anything to do with our company,” Isabel hastened to explain after seeing the shocked expression on Patty’s face. “There is no hanky-panky on anyone’s part. We built our company on our own and produced our product with no outside help. We simply reacted to a request from a client, and need I remind you, you have been involved in the project from day one.”

“It may be true that I’ve been involved from day one,” Patty sighed, “But I never realized just how involved senior management was. I don’t see any point in further negotiations. This project is going to go through whether I like it or not,,,”

Isabel looked at Patty. “Listen, I’m still not sure what just happened here, but nothing has changed. You still represent Leprino. You’re still responsible for coordinating your needs and specifications to us so that you can obtain the best hardware and software package that we’re capable of producing, and as far as we’re concerned, you’re still an important client that we are most eager to please,” and with that little lie understood by both parties, they got back to work.


Señora Castillo, her task of the moment completed, stopped in her husbands office to ask about his lunch plans. “Don’t you think you were a little harsh with Mrs. Orlowski?” he asked.

“She’s treating Aries as if they were a recreant supplier to be squeezed instead of a valued consultant to be invited to the table. She’s worried about a hundred dollars here and a thousand dollars there when this project is worth millions.”

“Are you sure this has nothing to do with your affection for them?”

“A serendipitous enhancement,” his wife answered with a smile. “If I were simply interested in seeing them successful I would be happy to make introductions to acquaintances who would benefit from their services, but under the circumstances I want to keep them all to myself.” Seeing doubt she elaborated. “It’s your plant, look at the numbers. When we started this, we were expecting nothing more than good community relations, with the possibility of some small incremental improvements. We got so much more. Since fully implementing Aries, we have had no spoilage losses, none! We have not suffered a single shut-down due to material shortages. On hand inventory levels are down, and inventory turns are up. There is no downside to this. We were expecting a two year payback on the new software and network, instead it paid for itself in less than four months and so far has generated an unexpected million dollars in profit,,,”

“Which brings us back to our resident bean counter. Do you want to replace her on this project?”

Señora Castillo hesitated only a moment before replying, “No, we’ve lost too much time on this project already, especially with the whole Stamford fiasco. I want this project up and running, and I think after my little performance she’s well motivated.” After a moments thought she continued, “I do think I’ll ask her to lunch tomorrow though. She shows promise, and with the right mentor to guide and protect her, I think she’ll go far.”

TBC


Photo links:

Charles’ AUG-A1
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... AUG-A1.jpg

Firefighter Alex Taylor, Alex’s rescuer when he was shot at the Kettle’s
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... Taylor.jpg

Isabel’s Floating Heart, a gift from Alex after Prom
http://www.kheigl.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi? ... t/kh34.jpg
Courtesy Khegil.com

Isabel’s Earrings, Alex’s present for her Eighteenth birthday.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... arings.jpg

Isabel’s Engagement Ring
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... sring2.jpg

excellent update!!!!!!

damn isabel sure knows here business.

i like senora castilio she seems like a tough 'ol bird but with a heart of gold.

She’s worried about a hundred dollars here and a thousand dollars there when this project is worth millions.”

so isabel and alex should be coming into alot of money soon. good for them.


can't wait for the next update plz plz plz make it soon.

Just re read this fic and it took me over 2 days (okay I didn't read it the whole entire 48 hours).

I really can't wait to see where you are going with this so hurry back soon :

Kara

me too more soon please

Stargazer Gets the Girl
Chapter 24-D There be Heroes Here
By Stargazer MD

“Thanks Sweetie,” Isabel said as she kissed him on the cheek. She then settled on the passenger’s seat before reaching across the car and unlocking his door. Then she sighed in contentment and wiggled herself deeply into her seat, an action that reminded Alex of a contented kitten. He imagined Isabel as a sleek and graceful feline, curling up with a full belly on a soft hooked rug in a golden beam of sunlight. “Don’t be long,” she teased as he closed her door.

As he walked around the front of the car he looked up at the leaden sky with trepidation. ‘Maybe it had been bad idea to tarry after leaving Leprino,’ he thought to himself. Already fat wet snowflakes were falling, and although he hadn’t been caught in a bad snow storm since he was a kid at Plattsburg, (Air Force Base in upper New York state) he could still smell that a big storm was coming.

“What’s wrong?” Isabel asked having picked up on his change of mood.

“Snow.”

“We’re used to snow,” Isabel answered hopefully.

“Not like this,” he answered as he backed the car out of the lot. “You’re used to a couple of inches here, a couple of inches there. This is Denver. They get zonked a couple of times every winter.”

“We can outrun it, can’t we?”

“We’ll try, but we’re going to be gaining altitude and going through the mountains for the first half of the trip. If it gets too bad we’ll find a place to stop and sit it out.”

Isabel smiled and patted his knee. “How many times have you told me how good a Volvo is? Made in Sweden? Land of ice and snow?” she continued confidently. “That you’d put your Mom’s front wheel drive against any four wheel drive in Roswell?”

“That’s true Izzy,” Alex said, his mood brightening as he turned onto the now wet but still black interstate. “Volvo doesn’t even make a four-wheel drive. It’s been my experience that the only thing four-wheel drive is good for is to make it harder for Pete to tow it when they get it stuck.”

**********
As dusk fell, Deputy Blackwood found himself at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Hobbes Road. He made it his habit to watch this crossing at least one day a week, as with the close proximity of both Valley View Elementary School and West Roswell High it had become a dangerous intersection. Having given the evil eye to what he believed to be the last car full of high school students who were trying to make a quick trip to the Taco Shack after practice, he reached for his ignition and fired up the cruiser’s powerful engine, but as he reached for the gear shift, he heard a siren spin up close by. The deputy started to look to his left, the source of the sound, but before he could move his head his eyes locked on the face of a young driver opposite him who is making a turn on to Washington Ave.

“What the frack is he doing?” he muttered out loud as he pulled up to the stop line. He watched as the pickup truck, with nowhere to go, stopped in the middle of the travel lane. The rescue truck, siren screaming all the while, next became stuck behind this sudden roadblock. Owen turned on his emergency lights and pulled in a traffic coming to a stop behind the rescue. After a significant delay, the oncoming traffic was able to give the rescue truck room to proceed, allowing the deputy, swearing like a drunken sailor, to pull in tight behind the truck. Selecting P.A. on his siren console, he keyed the microphone and commanded, “Pull into the bank parking lot and turn off your engine.”

Paulie’s hands trembled on the steering wheel as he watched the deputy climb out of his cruiser and approached his window. He didn't know what he had done wrong, and as such wasn't afraid of the deputy. He was afraid of his father. If he got another ticket, his life as he knew it would be over.

“What's the matter with you boy?” Deputy Blackwood asked with just a touch of anger in his voice.

“I stopped for the stop sign,” Paulie answered, his voice cracking.

“Did you hear the siren?” Owen rebutted annunciating each word carefully as if speaking to a child.

“Yes Deputy, I did. But I had plenty of time to go through the intersection safely,,,”

“You saw how heavy the traffic was, where were you going to go? How will you could get out of the rescue's way?”

“I guess I wasn't thinking that far ahead.”

“Let me have your license, registration, and proof of insurance. We'll just have to teach you a lesson about thinking ahead.”


Five minutes later Paulie looked at the ticket. “Failure to yield to an emergency vehicle,,,” his eyes scanned lower. “One hundred eighty-eight bucks!” (143 €) he screamed in dismay. His life was certainly over.

**********
Two hours later in the heart of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Southern Colorado.
“Call the Granolith,” Alex commanded. “Tell it where we are and see if it can get us a weather report.”

Isabel pulled out her cell. “Greetings Granolith.”

“~~Greetings Isabel. Royal Four Square. Sister of Zan. Keeper of the Royal Seal of Antar. First in line of succession to the throne of Antar Prime and the Antarian Planetary Cluster. Wife of Alex Whitman.~~”

“We need help,,,”

“~~State the nature of your request.~~”

“We are currently southbound on Interstate Twenty-Five, south of Pueblo, Colorado. Weather conditions are deteriorating rapidly. Do we continue? Do we turn back? Please advise.”

“~~Accessing current weather data for National Weather Station Pueblo, sector Rampant Range above seventy-five hundred feet (2300m) of elevation,,, Data stream in queue, awaiting audio broadcast loop restart.~~”

“Provide additional data from other sources while awaiting the audio broadcast weather report,” Isabel commanded with a prompt from Alex.

“~~Historical data on file at NOAA for your current location indicates the potential for thirty plus inches (76cm) of snow within a twenty-four hour period. Colorado Department of Transportation web site carries extensive information on the Interstate Twenty-Five corridor from Pueblo to Colorado Springs. Preponderance of data implies that this is a problematic travel corridor.~~”

“Can you see anything?” Alex asked softly.

“Everything’s white,,, Everything’s cold,” Isabel replied flatly. “I can’t see a fracking thing outside the car. You?”

“I can see enough to keep us on the road, but I was hoping for a little alien assistance. Guess you Antarians don’t have an outpost on Hoth, hugh?” Alex teased, his instincts to ease tensions in full flow.

It took a moment for Isabel to recognize the reference, Hoth, the ice planet from Star Wars. “Could use a Tauntaun right about now, couldn’t we?”

“As long as you don’t expect me to cut it open and climb inside of it,,,”

“~~Current weather data for your location. A winter storm warning is in effect now through seven A.M. tomorrow morning. Today. Snow likely. Accumulation of ten to twelve inches. (25-30cm) East winds of twenty to thirty miles per hour. (30?50 KPH.) Lows twenty to ten. (-6 to -12 C) Chance of precipitation above ninety percent.~~”

“~~Tonight. Snow continues. Additional accumulation of ten to twelve inches. East winds of twenty to thirty miles per hour. Lows three below zero to twelve below zero. (-19 to -24 C) Wind chill thirty below zero to forty-five below zero. (-35 to -43 C)~~”

“~~Danger! Colorado Department of Transportation has closed the section of highway that you are now on due to “~~Danger! Colorado Department of Transportation has closed the section of highway that you are now on due to anticipated snow accumulation and high winds that are expected to generate snow drifting.~~”

“~~Analysis. Your current location is on an exposed ridgeline of the Rampart Range. You are located in the middle of this geographic formation. Continuing along this route is not an option. Turning back is not an option. Your lives are in great peril. Seek shelter immediately.~~”

“Define shelter! Can we hole up in the car? Isabel can convert the center console to metal and I can use my gifts to heat it. Will that be enough?”

“~~Your plan is implausible. The rate of heat loss from the vehicle will exceed your capacity to produce energy. Even if you utilize Isabel’s recourses, you will both be energy depleted by daybreak. You will both die. Your only option is to seek a secure commercial building or private dwelling immediately,,,~~”

“Unless you know something that we don’t know, there is no shelter,” Isabel snapped.

“~~There is state secondary highway paralleling the interstate to your east. Exit the interstate at the next opportunity and proceed on this route. Your opportunities for shelter should be greater on this road,,,~~”

“There is a rectangle in the snow just ahead. Hopefully it’s an exit sign.”

“If we can’t see the highway, how are you going to find the exit?” Isabel pondered out loud as she began to wring her hands and bite her lower lip.

Alex reached over and took her hand. “It’s not that bad, I can see the reflectors on the side of the road,,,”

“I can’t see them,,,”

“Well, they’re not really reflectors anymore, they’re covered with wind driven snow, but they’re enough to keep me on the road,” he said reassuringly as he eased the Volvo down the exit ramp.

“Is that a traffic light?” Alex asked worriedly.

“I don’t know,” Isabel replied honestly. “All I can see is a blob of something.”

“I think it’s a traffic light, but it’s either packed full of snow or it’s not working.”

“Great, so we’re right smack in the middle of a power failure,,,”

“Right? Left?,,”

“Turn right. If this is a connecting road, and the secondary highway is to the east, we need to turn right.” After about a quarter mile, (250m) they came to another intersection. “This must be the road we’re looking for, north or south?”

“Wait! There’s a flashing light down the road to the left,,,”

“A snowplow? Maybe we can follow it somewhere,,,”

“No! It looks like a building. It looks like there’s a sign out by the side of the road, but it’s covered with snow.”

A minute later, after carefully navigating into the drift laden parking lot, the young couple were stomping their feet in the lobby of a magnificently warm, if slightly run down motel. They watched as a businessman stood at the desk arguing with the clerk.

“So you’re telling me that there’s no electricity, no cable, no internet, and yet you expect me to pay full price?”

“Listen,” the clerk tried to explain patiently as a woman came into the room behind him, positioning herself near the phone. “There is nothing I can do about the weather, and nothing I can do about the fact that we lost power. But there was one thing I could control, and that was the installation of a five-thousand dollar (3800€) emergency generator that I am still making payments on. So if you want, you’re welcome to go somewhere else, but I’ll give you fair warning, we’re the only shelter for miles.”

Apparently the businessman was convinced, because he handed over his credit card and checked in without further complaint.

Before he left the lobby, Isabel was at the desk. “It was a wonderful idea to put the yellow beacon light on the corner of your roof, it was the first thing we saw from the road.”


Isabel slinked out of her bathroom. Dressed in the sheerest red nightie that she owned, she was ready for battle. But to her astonishment, the subject of her pending conquest was nowhere to be found. With disappointment evident in every move she made, she snatched her terrycloth robe from its hook on the back of the door, and then cinching the waist tie so violently she almost cringed, she began a search and destroy mission for her absent husband.

Isabel found Alex, and the sight of him washed away her ire as well as taking her breath away. Her heart overflowed with happiness as she stealthily watched him rock Cassiopeia until their daughter fell asleep in her father strong arms. She watched as he carefully lowered their most precious gift to the crib before wrapping her with the comforter that Diane had so lovingly made. Even then the father could not leave his daughter side. He stood and watched her, counting her breaths, as if he was afraid that their gift from heaven would be snatched away.

Isabel wrapped her arms around her husband and rested her chin on his shoulder as she too gazed upon the miracle before them.

“You're not going to cry again, are you?” he whispered. “We've not going anywhere.”

“I know that,” she said tenderly. “It may have taken years for me to come to believe it, but I have come to tolerate the fact that you want to spend time with me.”

Alex took her by the hand and after checking that the baby monitor was functioning normally, he let her out to the hall way before he began to tease back. “Tolerate? What ever happened to love, honor, and obey. For that matter, whatever happened to dragging me off and having you wicked alien way with me?”

By now they were standing besides Isabel's side of the bed. She pulled the tie around her waist open and let the modest terrycloth robe fall to the floor revealing the sheer pantyless baby doll nightie underneath. Hearing her husband moan in appreciation, she smiled seductively as she wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed her to be pulled into his passionate embrace. Her obsidian eyes locked up on his as her body struggled to wrest control of her mate from her mind. “In case you haven't noticed, it's time again for you to have your wicked way with me.”

“I know,” he said with an evil grin. “I've been planning for your next ‘visit’ for months. Will you submit to me?”

By now Isabel's nostrils were flaring with every breath she took. The single tie holding her nightie snapped under the strain of trying to contain her heaving breasts as her body prepared for the delightful exertions that his words promised. “Yes. Take me and make me your woman. I need you. I won't be able to live another minute unless you take me and make me yours.”

Alex pulled the covers from the bed, dragging them over the foot board and dropped them into a messy pile on the floor. “You must really be horny if you going to let me get away with this.”

“You have no idea,” she gasped in reply.

He then walked back to his wife and slowly reached for the shoulder straps of her nightie before gently guiding them down the length of her arms and letting go. “My God Izzy,” Alex sighed, the sight of his wife still exciting him after almost twelve years of marriage. “You get more beautiful every day.” He guided her back onto the bare satin sheets, and then using a pair of his good silk ties, he tied her ankles to the foot board.

“Make me yours!” Isabel gasped as she trembled with every touch.

Alex just smiled as he went to the head of the bed. He took her arm and pulled the towards one of the head post. He took another silk tie, passed it over her open palm, and wrapped it twice around her wrist before laying the end of the tie atop her open hand. “Close your hand,” he commanded. Then, after quickly doing the same to her other arm, he looked her in the eyes. “Now I’m not going to tie your hands, you’re going to restrain them yourself because I want you to. Do you understand me? Don't let go until I tell you to.”

“Rough sex,” Isabel moaned as her entire body began to undulate. “Alex is going to give Izzy a hard fracking,,,”

“Actually Alex is in the mood to be gentle,” he whispered into her ear.

“No!,,” she moaned as the touch of his breath drove her wild. “Take me,,, Use me for your pleasure,,, Frack me and make me yours,,, Noooo,,,”

As Alex placed the last silken tie around her head, blocking her sight of him, he reminded her, “Do not release yourself until I tell you to,,,”

“I can’t see,,,”

“All the better so you can’t anticipate my next caress,” he whispered before blowing on the special spot just behind and under her ear. In fact Alex did not touch her once during the next half hour while he stoked her fires with words, whispers, and gentle puffs of air. By the time he was satisfied that she was ready for more she was thrusting her hips into the air in a vain attempt to anticipate his location and force contact against her burning skin, all the while making the little noises that so inspired him. She never expected his first kiss would be there!


Alex did indeed use her for his pleasure, but only after he had reduced the intelligent and beautiful goddess who had miraculously consented to become his wife to a quivering puddle of sweat. Barely conscious, he rolled off her, flopping onto his back as he gasped for breath like a fish out of water.

Isabel felt the loss of his weight atop of her as if a part of her was missing and she struggled to reestablish contact with him. She strained to roll onto her side to maintain contact with him, but aside from her legs, which had become free from the torn ties when she crossed them behind his ass to pull him deeper, she could not reach him. “Breathe Sweetie,” she implored. “Stay with me, just take a deep breath.”

As Alex slowly regained his senses, the first thing he noticed was the loss of his wife. “Release yourself,” he croaked.

Instantly Isabel opened her hands, allowing her silken bonds to slip through her fingers as she rolled into Alex’s side. She placed her head on his shoulder and her hand on his heart, calming him. After several minutes when she began to feel more and more confident that she had not killed him, she hopped out of bed, grabbed the edges of the covers, and carefully tucked him in before settling back against him.

“Are you going to make it?” she asked softly.

“I don’t know yet,” he advised honestly in a sleepy voice. “Thank God you only get this way every eighteen months.”

“Well I have news for you Sweetie. I may not get my period again for a while, but I’m going to want you again tomorrow.”

On the brink of sleep, Alex limited his response to a groan, but to Isabel’s ear he sounded more happy then upset.


“Alex! Sweetie! Wake up!”

“What?” he asked groggily. “Cassie!” he barked as he bolted upright.

Isabel placed a comforting hand on his cheek, turning him to face her. “Cassie’s fine. Everyone’s fine,,,”

“What then?’’

“Connect with me,” she implored, pressing him back onto the bed.

As he reached out for her with his mind he turned to face her.

“Deeply,,, All the way,,, Hurry!”

“Seriously?,,”

“Shhh,,, Just a moment,,, Stay still.”

Alex did as she asked, for after all there were worse things than being deeply connected to the goddess who was his wife, and moments later his efforts were rewarded as he began to sense a warmth spread through their bodies. It was a new sensation, Pleasant, but alien to his sensibilities. The only way he could think to describe it was as he was watching a desert sunrise as a sense of warmth and contentment swept through them.

“Wow,” he gasped as Isabel burrowed deeper into his side. “What was that?”

“Andy.”

“Andromeda?”

‘Umm-hum,” Isabel answered tenderly. “That was my egg dividing. She’s only two cells big right now, but in eleven months we’re going to have another daughter,,,”


“Alex! Sweetie! Wake up!”

“What?” he asked groggily. “Izzy!” he barked as he bolted upright.

Isabel placed a comforting hand on his cheek, turning him to face her. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine,,,”

“Seriously?,,’’

“Did you see that dream?” Isabel asked nervously. “I can’t figure out where it came from, was it some kind of premonition?,,”

“Relax, that was my dream,” he answered softly as he send love and calm through their connection. “Well I guess it’s not a real dream, it didn’t come from my subconscious. It’s more of a fantasy I’ve been refining the last several weeks, and after the day we had, I thought this would be a good time to share it with you.”

Isabel found this to be so overwhelming that tears began to stream down her face.

“Izzy, Sweetheart, don’t cry,” Alex implored. “You know I can’t stand to see you unhappy,,,”

“I am happy,” she replied. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my entire life, but at the same time it’s so scary to think about,,, Having our own family.”

“Shhh,” Alex said softly. “We still have a lot of growing to do before we’re ready to have the girls; besides, I want to be a couple before we’re a family. There are so many places to see and things to do.”

“Sweetie, I don’t think I have anything left that you haven’t seen yet,” Isabel teased.

“I want us to go to London to see Big Ben,” Alex pondered. “Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, the Alps, the Pyramids. How about a trip to Hawaii? Lying out on a black sand beach, looking down into an active volcano?”

“Ummm,” Isabel agreed as she drifted off towards sleep, although she realized that when she made love to her husband on that far away beach she’d have to be careful not to get sand where it didn’t belong.

TBC

“Actually it was my wife’s idea,” he replied in a relieved voice as he waved her forward. She grew up here, and she’s gone through enough white-outs to know how to survive.”

“We’re just relieved to have found you,” Alex said with a smile. “Do you have a room for us?”

“Rooms we have. Two twins or a Queen?”

Alex hesitated, allowing Isabel to reply.

“I’m too cold to sleep alone,” Isabel said softly. “If you don’t mind,,,”

“We’ll take a queen,” Alex answered for her.

”Thank you for letting me maintain my modesty,” Isabel teased.

“My pleasure.”

“I’m going to put you in room one-oh-one. Under normal conditions it isn’t one of our best rooms, being right close to the office and diner, but under these conditions, I think it’s best. We’re really on minimum power until the lights come back on. There’s a propane heater in each room, but the generator isn’t powerful enough to run the blowers in the heaters, so the rooms will be on the chilly side. The overhead light will work, but none of the others. We have power for the well, and the water heater runs on propane, but please, take quick showers and don’t use more water than you need. The good news is that the diner’s open. Limited menu, but we have enough food for a week.”

“That’s fine,” Isabel said with a smile. “Considering the conditions out on the highway we’d be foolish to complain.”

Isabel checked her cell, no bars. “Are your phones working? We need to call home and tell our families that we’re delayed but safe.”

“The phones in the rooms are out, but you can use the phone here in the office,” the woman replied. “John, why don’t you take them to their room, make sure their heater is on high.” She turned her attention back to Isabel. “Once you’re settled, come back here. I’ll make you something to eat.”


Later that evening, Alex’s attention turned towards the bathroom as the door opened. What he saw next surprised him. “Flannel? You’re wearing flannel PJ’s? I didn’t even know you owned flannel PJ’s.”

Isabel pulled up the edge of the covers and slid in besides her husband. “Just a little alien alteration. Under the circumstances, I thought they were appropriate.” She snuggled deeply into her husband’s side. Moments later she was asleep.

TBC

Photo links:

Charles’ AUG-A1
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... AUG-A1.jpg

Firefighter Alex Taylor, Alex’s rescuer when he was shot at the Kettle’s
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... Taylor.jpg

Isabel’s Floating Heart, a gift from Alex after Prom
http://www.kheigl.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi? ... t/kh34.jpg
Courtesy Khegil.com

Isabel’s Earrings, Alex’s present for her Eighteenth birthday.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... arings.jpg

Isabel’s Engagement Ring
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/S ... sring2.jpg

oh please come back with another post soon . loved the snow storm

excellent chapter, one of the best i've read. the ending has definetly got me hooked and intrigued.

please hurry back with more

just a bump please come back soon

update soon please were anxiously waiting

I'm all in favor for more and as soon as possible!!
:
Kara

I'm working,,, and will post, probably this weekend,
as soon as i get acouple of continuity issues fixed,,,
that's what i get for having so many threads open at once,,,

and re Grey's, you may have noticed that i have a bit
of a medical background?
We have a rule,,,
Noone's dead until they're warm and dead.

P

Stargazer Gets the Girl
Chapter 24-E There be Heroes Here
By Stargazer MD

Michael was going to have to talk to Alex. He was on the receiving end of a salvo of blast to his chest, and they were starting to hurt. Obviously his vest was defective.

“Michael!” Maria snapped as she poked him in the chest. “Wake up!”

“You’re going to have to do better than that Lonnie,” Michael taunted as he pulled his covers back up to his neck, trying to get comfortable enough to get all the way back to sleep. “You’re fighting like a girl,,,”

“Lonnie!” Maria gasped indignantly. “I’ll show you Lonnie,” she said as she dug down under his covers.

“HOLY FRACKING SHIT!!!” Michael shouted as he levered himself up out of his bed. Unfortunately he did this with the tightening of every human muscle in his body, not his alien powers. As a result, when he came back down he fell off the edge of his mattress, slamming his head on his nightstand, and landing in a pile between his bed and the wall.

Before he stopped moving Maria was on her hands and knees, crawling across his bed before lying across his mattress with her face just inches from his.

“What the hell you do that for?,,”

“Oh give me a break you girlie-man. I just pulled out four or five pubies. That’s nothing compared to a bikini wax,,,”

“If this is your way of picking a fight so you can get some make-up sex,,,”

“Why the frack is everything about sex with you,,,”

“Well then what the frack are you doing here at the crack of dawn if you don’t want sex,,,”

“The crack of dawn is the only crack you’re going to see for quite some time,,,”

By now Michael had struggled upright and was rubbing himself through the front of his boxers. He looked over at the clock. “It’s the middle of first period. What are you doing here? You have a class.”

“It may come as a surprise to you, being a drop-out in training, but you have a class too,,,”

“Mr. Cowan and I have an understanding,,,”

“Understand this!,, Alex and Isabel are missing,,,”

“What!” Michael bellowed as he scrambled for yesterday’s clothes. “Why the frack didn’t you say something?”

“I just did,,,”

“What do you know?”

“They both have first period class, neither of them showed up,,,”

“You called?,,”

“From the pay phone in the lobby. No answer at either of their houses, no answer on their cells,,,”

“Did you ask the Granolith? If they needed help on the road they would have called it,,,” Michael asked as he finished pulling on his shoes. “Give me that!” he snapped as Maria pulled his cell out of it’s charger.

“Why, so you can blow it up like you blew up mine?”

“I keep telling you, I was trying to charge the battery,” but he skidded to a stop as Maria turned to face him, her face thunderous.

“There are three messages here from Isabel,,,” she said in a deceptively soft voice.

“~~Michael, this is Iz. We had to spend the night in a motel waiting out a snowstorm. Make sure you tell Maria. I don’t want her worrying about us.~~”

‘~~Michael, are you up yet? I can’t get through to Maria, and Liz isn’t going in until second period. Call her, would you? We’re just crossing through Clovis, so until we get to the Pecos crossing we’re not going to have a signal,,, WAKE-UP!!!~~”

“~~Michael, we’re in the parking lot and don’t see the Jetta. If Maria’s with you, ask her to leave just a little piece of you intact, so I can have something to beat on,,,~~”

“See? Everything’s alright,,,” Michael pleaded.

“No, everything’s not alright, because when I get done with you Isabel’s going to be so disappointed, because there’s going to be nothing left of you for her to beat,,,”

**********
Steve Lydick caught Maria at her locker. “You’re really doing this?”

“Yea.”

“Okay, I’ll put ten dollars on six.”

“Six?” Maria confirmed as she took out a little black book. “Got you covered.”

**********
Later at lunch, Tish Okabe placed a restraining hand over Isabel’s as she sat next to her in the Quad. “What’s your hurry, got a hot date with Alex in the eraser room?”

Isabel, sensing another opportunity to enhance her husband’s reputation smiled as she replied, “Alex in the eraser room? Not really,,, well maybe if one of us if frustrated, but for the most part a fifty minute period isn’t enough time for him,,,”

“Fifty minutes? Alex? Excuse me Isabel, but less than a year ago Alex was standing in the Quad demonstrating his ability to wrap his arms around his head without letting go of his hands. Now you’re telling me he’s a super stallion?”

Isabel pivoted on her seat, but before she left she looked her friend square in the eye. “Times change Tish, but not my standards. When have you ever known me to settle for less than the best? Now-a-days when we get to the fifty minute point I’m usually finished with seconds and going for thirds, but Alex is still in foreplay mode. He can usually keep me flying most of the evening.”

“Fifty minutes,” Tish sighed in resignation. “By then Patrick would be done, have wiped his dick on my duvet, and eaten about half way through my refrigerator.”

“I keep telling you Tish, you’ve got to give up on jocks. They are so full of themselves they have nothing left for anyone else. You’ve got to try a nerd.”

As Tish watched Isabel walk away she gave her words a lot of thought. ‘Considering the last couple of jocks I went out with, what have I got to loose. They certainly can’t be any worse.’

**********
“Maria!” Amber Walen said happily as she walked in the girls room. “I’ve been looking for you,,,”

Maria held up her hand warily as she looked around the restroom, taking stock of potential witnesses. “Okay.”

“Great! I want to put twenty on two in your pool.”

“Two? You don’t have much faith in our guy, do you?”

“You think I should change?”

“No, you got to go with your gut.”

Amber thought for a minute, “Yea, two.”

**********
That Wednesday Assistant Principal Jim Cavanaugh and Miss Leigh were standing on the edge of the Quad keeping an eye on things. With the escalation of tension between the two schools Mrs. Schaffer had ordered that the outside areas of the campus be monitored at all times. She was bound and determined that the violence that was starting to break out between the sports teams would not spread to her school.

“What the hell is that geekoid Bruce Gray doing sitting with the cheerleaders?”

“He was invited.”

“Invited? Him? Why?”

“Well according to Lucinda’s web site Tish took him out on a date Monday night after being challenged to try a nerd by Isabel Evans. Word is that Tish claims he turned red every time he got a glance at her cleavage but when she pinned him against her porch railing and kissed him goodnight, he kissed back with an eight inch tongue. (Authors note,,, While I normally translate measurements into the metric system, I am not going to dignify this one with a computation.) So as of right now, every cheerleader who is single and several of the ones that are already hooked up are competing for him. Stacey Scheinin says it is their duty to ‘break him in right’.”

“Isabel Evans, hugh?”

“What about Isabel,” Miss Leigh challenged.

“She’s responsible for this,,, this freak of nature?” Mr. Cavanaugh practically spat. “Cheerleaders exist for one reason and one reason only. To frack athletes so they can concentrate on their game instead of having to worry about finding some bitch to bang. Tish dumped Patrick, who had to settle for Pam Troy. That cost us the Clovis game last night.”

Miss Leigh looked at her superior, her mouth agape. “I don’t know what to say? Where do I start? Your callous disregard for women? Athlete’s expectations that they can have anything they want? That with attitudes like that you still have a job?”

“Baahh,” he spat before showing her his back and retreating inside.

**********
Thanksgiving snuck up on our friends in Roswell, and as could be expected with so many of the teens coupled up, it made for some interesting Thanksgiving Dinner plans. Some combinations were obvious. Michael went to Maria’s, taking charge of turkey, stuffing, and side dishes while Amy applied her considerable talents to home made soups, rolls, and deserts. All the better for her to show off her domestic skills for her special guest Jim, who, needless to say, brought Kyle and Ava with him.

Max chose to spend Thanksgiving with the Parkers, who under the pressure of having the restaurant closed for only the one day, had a celebration that was elegant as well as efficient. One benefit of their short respite however, was the fact that they could spend the day together.

Since Alex and Isabel would be spending Christmas with the Whitman’s, who were planning to have as many of their sons home as could arrange leave, Alex and Isabel chose to take this holiday dinner with Isabel’s parents. Since this would leave Gloria and Charles alone, Gloria decided to accept Diane’s gracious invitation to join them for the day. Neither of them arrived empty handed.

**********
Meanwhile, in the Parker’s apartment above the Crashdown, Nancy was enjoying a holiday meal prepared by her daughter and Max, who had been dragooned into service. But while enjoying the time together, being Claudia’s daughter, Nancy could not help but study the teens as she watched the young couple chat with Jeff. She subconsciously compared them to their friends, smiling as she thought of the fight that Michael and Maria had had in the restaurant’s kitchen the night before. She did not know what it had been about, in fact she doubted that they knew. What she did know is that Michael and Maria were more alike than not. Products of their environments, both had evolved a sense of self reliance and were fiercely protective of their independence yet they were in need of each other more than either would ever admit.

Amused at her employees antics, she couldn’t stop her amusement from slipping as she compared them to Max, the complex individual that was now sharing her table, for while she would be eternally grateful to Max for having saved her daughters life, she couldn’t but wish for the simpler days before his secret had been revealed. As far as boyfriend material went, she compared Max to Kyle, deciding that she liked who Liz had been during the summer she had dated Kyle, for despite the jock stereotype, he had always conducted himself honorably. An unusual couple, the honor student and the athlete, they were good for each other, and more importantly, neither took the relationship too seriously, not allowing their dating to interfere with Kyle’s games of Liz’s studies,,,

“Mom?”

Nancy’s reverie was broken. “What?” she stammered.

“Wine?” Liz asked hesitantly, her a face a mask of concern.

“Thanks,” Nancy replied, holding up her glass as she watched her daughter walk on egg shells around her, all because she had appeared distracted during their family dinner. That’s what scared her, that her daughter had become a stranger to her. Liz had changed so much in the past year, she had become a perfectionist, and a dreamer. With Max, she was a different person. The two of them lived with their heads so far in the clouds, they couldn’t see the world around them for what it was, and then that world departed from their ideal, they were thrown for a loop. In the short time since they had been together, they had faced two hurdles, neither of which Liz had chosen to share, but both times they had come close to breaking up, and she swore that for over a year they had spent more time miserable than happy.

Take the fact that Liz had adored her mother, but again Liz had looked at her grandmother through rose colored glasses. She took delight in Claudia’s visits, everyone of them replete with tales of her many travels and accomplishments. But Liz had never accepted that this success came with a price. Nancy was lucky if she saw her mother once a year, a pattern that dated back almost her entire life, and Nancy truly felt that Liz was not prepared to pay the price that would be demanded of her in her future career, she just hoped that she would not be shattered when her dreams were not realized.

On the other hand, what you see was what you got from Kyle and Ava, she thought. Ava was like a child in a candy shop, taking in every new experience that was placed in front of her, while Kyle, who despite having shown signs of maturing during the past year, nevertheless remained the stereotypical high school jock, looking for a good time.

‘Isabel and Alex were the couple that was going to make it,’ she thought. The two of them were going out into the world with their eyes wide open, willing to perform the hard work that it took to succeed in both life and their relationship. Isabel’s drive and propensity for planning, along with Alex’s hard work and easy going nature, made them uniquely resilient to life’s challenges. Even when it had become necessary for them to kill to protect each other and their families, they had been able to do so. Maybe it was Alex’s military upbringing and Isabel’s lifelong exposure to the court system, but whatever it was, they were able to view an act of defense as a unpleasant duty to be performed and put behind them.

Nancy pushed back from the table. “That, in a word, was fantastic. Thank you,” she gushed as she started to stack the dishes.

“Mom, we’ll get that,” Liz protested.

“You cooked,” Nancy protested, “We’ll clean up. Besides, you have your Turkey Bowl game this afternoon.”

**********
“Do you see anyone?” Liz asked nervously.

“No, they should all be in the locker room by now,” Max replied as he looked around the school’s parking lot. Finding themselves alone, he used a discrete burst of power to open Kyle’s drivers side door. Moments later he was holding it open before running around to the other side and jumping in the passenger seat. “After we finish, we can go to your balcony, right?”

“Huh?” Liz replied as she fumbled around in her purse, “Yea, now do your stuff.”

Minutes later Liz held up a much mangled fork. “It took three tries to get it right. Hand me the duct tape.”

**********
Early evening found the Goddard High Rockets playing the West Roswell Comets in their annual Turkey Day Tournament, but this year there was much more than possession of the traveling trophy on the line. The tension between the two schools had already boiled over, and with less than two minutes left in the first half, many of the starting players had already fouled out.

Steve Lydick was the next player pulled. Even though he only had two fouls against him, Coach Clay was fearful that one of his few remaining starters would burn out early.

“Why the frack aren’t you hitting anyone?” Kyle asked angrily.

“Because someone’s got to win the game,” Steve spat.

“They slimed your fracking truck,,,”

“There’s no fracking way I’m letting those pig frackers get their fracking hands on that fracking trophy,” but their discussion was interrupted by a disruption under the bleachers near the visitors locker room.

“Stay Focused!” Coach Clay snapped at his squad.

Kyle and Steve watched helplessly until the horn blew, ending the half with the score tied. Not knowing whether to be angry or disappointed, they headed back for their locker room, only to find Ava waiting by the door.

“What happened?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t know,” she answered. “I’ll find out what I can and let you know when you come back out.

**********
Isabel and Alex, having spent most of the day at the homeless shelter cooking and entertaining, arrived at her home just as the turkey was coming out of the oven. Alex went through the kitchen into the living room to put in an appearance with the dads, while Isabel perused the kitchen for problems before proceeding to the dining room to inspect the table and evaluate the quality of the presentations that their moms had prepared.

Moments later, Isabel raised her brow in question as Alex joined her in the dining room. “Denver Broncos at Dallas,” he answered, but upon seeing her expression sour, he realized that wasn’t what she was asking. “What?”

“What shape are they in?”

“They’ve been watching football and drinking beer all afternoon, they’re pretty well smashed.”

“Your mom came armed with a case of Sutter Home,” Isabel replied distastefully as she rearranged her grandmother’s silverware. “It’s a wonder they haven’t burned the house down. “You’re going to have to carve the turkey, I don’t trust any of them with a sharp knife,,,” but her instruction was cut off as Alex grabbed her from behind.

“I woodent woory about that, my Izzy-Wizzy worky woo-woo,,,” he slobbered into her ear.

“Alex!” she exclaimed, slipping from his embrace and turning to find him watching her with a more goofy than normal grin on his face.

“You’re going to wove this one,” he promised.

“Have you been drinking?”

<singing> “I’m so happy, I’m so gay, cause I come everyday, I’m your mailman,,,”

“You’re drunk!” Isabel exclaimed.

“I’m so happy, I’m so gay, cause I come every day, I’m your mailman,,, Pops taught us this one while we were camping. Mom hates it.”

Isabel realized that he was indeed drunk, and while alcohol had brought out her brothers romantic tendencies, her husband seemed to have reverted into his natural born role of entertaining her and making her happy.

“I can come in any kind of weather, that’s because my bag is made of leather,,,”

“This can’t be happening,,,”

“I’m so happy, I’m so gay, cause I come every day, I’m your mailman.”

“What did you have to drink?” Isabel hissed, pulling him towards the corner of the room before their parents noticed.

“I didn’t have anything to drink.”

“You’re cocked off your ass, you must have had something!”

“All I had was this teensy-weensy piece of fruitcake,,,”

“That’s not fruitcake! That’s Gram’s rum cake. Didn’t you see the liquid dripping out of it when you cut it?”

“That was rum?” Alex asked innocently as he turned his head on it’s side and gave her his most endearing grin.

“Yes Sweetie,” Isabel answered, unable to stay mad at him. “That was rum.”

**********
Kyle exited the locker room searching for Ava. “What happened?” he asked as he watched the knot of people around the visitors locker room start to part.

“It’s Pamela Troy,” Ava answered. “Someone attacked her,,,”

“What do you mean ‘attacked’ her?” Doug Highsinger demanded.

“Apparently a couple of guys dragged her under the bleachers. They all wanted BJ’s, but Pam refused. She said she might be easy, but she wasn’t a slut. She had never pulled a train before, and she wasn’t going to start now, especially with a bunch of guys she didn’t know. She struggled to get away and caught the attention of a couple of people up in the bleachers, but then she fell. She must have hit her head on the way down because when they got to her she was pretty much out of it and there was blood everywhere from a cut on the back of her head,,,”

Ava’s report was interrupted as two EMT’s rolled a Stokes stretcher from the visitors locker room towards the main entrance.

“She didn’t know who attacked her?” Pauly asked.

“No, apparently not,” Ava answered as she watched Pam raise her hand from the stretcher and wave to the bleachers, a gesture which resulted in a round of applause and cheers from her schoolmates.

“Those fracking Goddard assholes,,,”

“How do you know they were from Goddard,,,”

“If she didn’t know them they had to be from Goddard, she’s blown everyone from our school,,,” a comment that was interrupted by the officials blowing their whistles, trying to restart the game.

“That’s right, she may be a slut, but she’s our slut,” Steve Lydick commanded as he led the second half’s starting team onto the court. There was fire in Steve’s eyes as he took his place opposite John Andrews, Goddard’s center, but as the referee tossed the ball in the air Steve’s eyes never left the opposing player’s. John easily got the tap, but the moment his feet hit the floor Steve’s fist hit his face. That was the signal the other Comets were waiting for. Within moments five fights had broken out on the game floor, that number swelling as the benches emptied.


Deputy Owen Blackwood was just starting to get a feel for what had happened to Pam when the fight broke out. “Now what the frack?” he muttered as he headed for the basketball court. “Fracking-A!” he bellowed as a full scale riot broke out around him, but his Mesaliko heritage prevented him from calling for assistance. This was nothing but a bunch of kids, no match for a man who had Apache warrior’s blood in his veins.

Deputy Blackwood grabbed the first two fighters by the hair and pulled them apart. While one of the kids tried to carry on the fight, the second started to swing at Owen, only to pull his punch at the last second when he recognized his intended target, a realization that took the fight out of him. ‘A reputation is a good thing,’ Owen thought as he pushed them apart, only to be shocked to see the first player continue pummeling his opponent despite the fact that he had stopped fighting.

Knowing that he couldn’t really hurt any of these fracking bastards, the Deputy reached past his PR-24, instead grabbing for his Mace canister on his belt. He only gave the fighter a little puff in the face, but that dropped him to his knees as his hands went to his eyes. Owen knew a good thing when he saw it, and proceeded to give everyone who was actively fighting a small burst. Even if he couldn’t get them in the eyes, the burning sensation of the Oleoresin Capsicum spray was enough to drop even the biggest athlete. Luckily for him, and everyone else for that matter, he was using a cone pattern spraying, non-vaporizing canister of Mace, which meant that only his intended targets were affected. This was as a result of his researching the properties of every item he carried, as well as the fact that when Hanson had used a misting pepper spray in the department’s holding cell, the vapors got sucked in by the building’s air condition system and it took three days for everyone’s eyes to stop running.

“Get them into the locker rooms and hose them down,” Blackwood commanded the increasing number of adults who were starting to gain ground in breaking up the fighters. “And I want to see the coaches from both teams now!” He then turned to one last scuffle that was within easy reach, and finding that his can of Mace was empty, he kicked both teens in the ass, sending them sprawling onto the floor.

Finished, he found the Goddard’s team student manager standing there. “The Coach is in the locker room making sure everyone’s alright and then reaming their asses,,,”

“Now I promised the Sheriff a weekend off, so you tell your coach I want him and his team captain at the Sheriff’s office at four o’clock on Monday!”

“Monday? But we have practice,,,”

“Practice! Do you want me to tell you what to do with your practice?”

“No sir!” the teen stammered before turning and running back towards their locker room.

“Hey!” Owen shouted.

Goddard’s manager skidded to a halt and turned fearfully.

“You tell him to make sure he’s there. He really doesn’t want to make me go looking for him.” Turning away, he practically slammed into Coach Clay. “And just what the frack do you want?”

“Ahhh,” the coach stammered, visibly intimidated by a man who could stop a riot single handed..

Leaning into the Coach’s personal space, Owen slammed his clenched fist into his hips and bellowed, “Do you think I’m pissed off? Just wait until you’re face-to-face with the Sheriff. If you know anything, you’d better start talking.”

“One of my guys threw the first punch.”

“See? That wasn’t so hard. Just make sure he’s with you on Monday.”

**********
Later that night, after Isabel returned from driving the Whitman’s home, she found Alex sitting at the desk in her room, furiously pounding away at the Win-Tel server while dictating programming directly into the Blade workstation while his stereo boomed. ‘Well at least his other obsession isn’t smashing my room with his guitar,’ she thought.

“What is that sound?” Isabel beseeched as she turned down the volume on his CD player. “It sounds like someone is using a hockey stick to beat on the side of a shipping carton filled with angry cats.”

“Microphone off!” Alex commanded, pausing the Blade as he answered her question without pause in his work on the Win-Tel. “It’s Egyptian music,” he explained patiently. “Listen to it, really listen. There’s no vocals, no strings, no brass and no keyboards. It consist entirely of woodwinds and percussion. It’s amazing that they can do so much with so little; besides, I love listening to different types of music for a change of pace.”

“So what? You’re tossing me over for a guy in a turban?” she teased as she gently took his chin and turned him away from the workstation.

“What?” Alex asked as if seeing her for the first time.

“Come here,” she whispered into his ear as she gently took his hands, leading him up to the steaming kiss that awaited him.

**********
“What the frack is this?” Kyle muttered when he found the bent fork taped to his steering wheel, but instead of getting upset with Liz, he smiled as he gave her credit for getting back at him for his little business propositions. That feeling turned to irritation however, as he found that the strong duct tape left snotty adhesive residue allover his airbag. “Well, a little goo-be-gone and everything’ll be fine.

Moments later he fired the Mustang up, shifted into reverse, and gunned the engine, all in one fluid motion. Therefore, he was already on the way out of the parking lot before his CD player booted and his speakers started booming:

“~~Oops!,, you did it again. You played with my head, pulled me in the game,,,~~”

“What the frack?” Kyle muttered as he turned onto West Hobbs Street. “Damned chick music. That’s what I get for letting Ava drive my ‘Stang.”

“~~Oh baby, baby. Oops!,, you think I’m above, getting help from my love,,,~~”

“Wait a minute, that’s not Britney Spears.”

“~~I’m not that innocent,,,~~”

“That’s Liz,,, and she’s horrible.” He reached over and hit the eject button. It didn’t work. He then tried to turn down the volume, but that control didn’t work either. Nothing that Kyle tried worked, the song segment just kept repeating over and over.

By the time Kyle got home, it wasn’t funny anymore. He turned off the engine, finally silencing the disk, but it restarted again as soon as he turned the key. “Frack!” he muttered as he opened his door and knelt on the ground. He bent over sideways and reached under the dashboard for the fuse box, but to his dismay, even though he systematically pulled every fuse, the noise did not go away.

“Ava!” he shouted as he slammed into the house.

“Kyle!” Jim snapped in reply. “You’re not on the basketball court anymore. Stop shouting.”

“Sorry, do you know where Ava is?’

“Frack Ava, I got a call from Owen. He told me about the riot,,,”

“Dad, I really need to talk to Ava,,,”

“She’s at the hospital with a couple of the cheerleaders waiting for Pam Troy to be released, now come in here and sit your ass down!”

**********
Santa Claus Threw Up
Phillip was near the point of exhaustion as he turned onto Murray lane. “I’m happy we only do that once a year.”

‘Stop complaining,” Diane answered from the back seat. “We got all our shopping done in one trip to Lubbock.”

“But why on the day after Thanksgiving?” Gloria complained. “The stores were packed.”

“Oh we have our reasons,” Phillip replied cryptically as he parked his Lexus in front of the unopened garage door. He stepped out of the car and turned to open the back door for Gloria before stretching luxuriously.

“Why didn’t you pull into the garage?” Charles asked casually.

Phillip pretended not to hear, but Diane stopped at the front of the car. “Tell them.”

Phillip continued to play dumb.

“They have a right to know what their getting themselves in for.

“Getting ourselves in for what?,, With Isabel?” Gloria asked hesitantly. “Nothing can be worse than the shock of learning her little green secret,,,”

“Oh it gets worse,” Philip sighed as he stopped next to the garage door and keyed in the password causing the overhead door to open. Moments later the openers light flickered on revealing that the space once reserved for Phillip’s Lexus was now taken over by a precisely stacked pile of white packing cartons, each with a large number on it’s side.

“Twenty-seven,” Diane moaned. “That means four new boxes since last year,,,”

“Four boxes of what?” Gloria asked slowly.

“Christmas stuff,” Diane answered.

“What?,, No,,, Her presents were loose and already wrapped,” Gloria stammered.

Diane stopped and looked at her friend, “She has another stash?”

Gloria hesitated a moment, concerned that she may be violating a confidence, but decided that the selfless nature of Isabel’s ‘project’ deserved mention. “She has a stash of Christmas presents out across from Rocket Fuels. They’re for the children at the orphanage.”

“A storage locker full?” Phillip asked doubtfully.

“Yes,” Gloria replied, gaining confidence in Isabel’s decision.

“She must be really acting out the Princess side of her personality,,,”

“Princess?” Gloria challenged. “I know she’s your only daughter, but Princess, I don’t think so. I’ve seen her before she’s had her morning Tabasco,,,”

“No, not small ‘P’ princess, I mean Princess as in the daughter of King Zan and Queen Lauranna,,,”

“She’s royalty? Frack me! I had no idea.”

“Yea,” Diane answered. “It’s not something she tells people,,,”

Meanwhile Charles turned to Phillip. “Christmas stuff?”

“You’ll see,” Phillip warned direly as he led them through the garage, through the dining room, and into the family room, where he screeched to a stop, causing the others to slam into his back in a chain reaction.

Isabel was sitting on the couch, with a sleeping Alex’s head in her lap. She held one finger over her mouth, asking for quiet, while she stroked his hair with the other. “I think I wore him out,” she explained softly.

By now the rest of the adults had worked their way into the room and were looking around with differing levels of shock and amazement. “It looks like Santa Claus threw up in here,” Charles commented.

“Seriously,” Gloria agreed.

“This is why we beat feet out town?” Charles asked.

“Yea,” Phillip answered. “We learned our lesson two years ago. Last year we went to Albuquerque while Max stayed here,,,”

“Isabel practically worked him to death,,,”

“Hey!” Isabel protested, causing Alex to stir. “Sorry Sweetie,,,”

“What?” Alex stammered as he sat upright. “No problem, only closed my eyes for a moment,,,”

“Come on Sweetie, I’ll tuck you in.”

“No, I’m not going to bed this early on a Friday night, especially during a four day weekend,” Alex said dismissively. “Let’s go down to the Crash and see who’s there. Maybe we can put together an after hours party.”

“Sorry Sweetie,” Isabel replied with obvious disappointment in her voice. “Max is taking Liz out to Señor Chow’s for dinner, and then they’re playing pool.”

“The Giant Haystacks are playing at the University House in Las Cruces tomorrow night,” Alex said consolingly. “We could go dancing?”

“It’s a four hour drive back, we’d have to get a room,” Isabel replied hopefully, her mind already in high gear.

“Okay, dancing tomorrow. Tonight we’ll stay in and get a pizza. Go upstairs, put your PJ’s on then come downstairs with your hairbrush.”


As Diane and Gloria watched Alex scoot through the kitchen, following Isabel up to change, she turned to her friend, “They are so much better together than they ever were apart.”

“They’re so lucky to have found each other so early in life.”

“Yup,” Diane agreed. “All in all, life is good.”


As Alex chugged up the stairs he thought to himself, “I get to snuggle with Isabel. All in all, life is good.”


Isabel stripped down to her underwear and, in deference to her husband’s command that she not upset their fathers, pulled on a modest yet luxurious set of red satin pajamas. In her mind she was already planning tomorrow’s seduction of Alex. ‘I’ll wear shorts for the drive down, and leg tease him all the way. That’ll get me laid before dinner. Then while we’re dancing I’ll wear my backless Vera Wang with lace top stockings. That’ll get me laid again when we get back to our room. Then I’ll cuddle and fall asleep naked in his arms, spending the entire night in his dreams. If I play my cards right, we’ll both be ready to frack the ever loving shit out of each other come morning. After I get my three introductory ‘O’s’, we’ll super connect and I’ll try for two big ‘O’s’ instead of the usual one. Course that’ll mean that he’ll be unconscious for the ride home, and I’ll be quite sore, but all in all, life is good.’


“You do realize what your son is going to do to my daughter, don’t you?” Phillip said dejectedly.

“I’d offer to beat him up for you,” Charles replied taking a deep sip of his Black Jack. “But to be honest I’m afraid of what Isabel would do to me if I did. The whole situation sucks.”

“Yup,” Phillip agreed. “All in all, life truly sucks.”

**********
Saturday morning Alex looked up to see Isabel enter the kitchen, but he was surprised by her appearance, to say the least. Over a pair of flannel sleep pants she was wearing one of his wife-beater shirts under a stretched out but comfortable looking pink knit camisole, all covered by a thin housecoat that she had not bothered to close.

“What the frack is that infernal racket?” she asked with irritation as she reached for her mug and a tea bag.

“Language dear,” Gloria warned from her place in front of her brand new stove.

“That’s a leaf blower,” Charles answered innocently, without looking up from the sports section.

“Who would waste their money on a leaf blower?” Isabel snapped. “This is Roswell. There’s only seven trees in the entire city.”

“You know something Izzy?” Alex teased. “I think this is the first time you've ever come downstairs with bed head,,,”

“Hsssssss,” Isabel snapped through bared teeth.

“That had better be intended for Alex, young lady,” Gloria interjected, “Because if you ever get catty with me I’ll drag you down to the vet’s by your hair and have you fixed.”

Charles put down the sports page and took a quick look at the woman before deciding that it was time to clean the garage. “Come with me Son,” he commanded as he stood. Maybe it was too early to clean the garage, but they would definitely retreat there, while they still could. He didn't quite understand what was going on, but he knew on an instinctive level that it would not be good for him.

Not even noticing that the men were gone, Gloria looked at her newest daughter-in-law with concern. “What's wrong honey?”

“Nothing really,” Isabel said listlessly as she sat down in the seat that had been warmed by her husband. “I am half human you know, and still all teenager, so with the long day we’re going to have today I was looking forward to nine-and-a-quarter hours of sleep, but due to that racket I got only seven-and-a-half hours instead.” Seeing Gloria struggling to keep from laughing, she couldn’t help herself. “What?”

“You scheduled yourself for nine-and-a-quarter hours of sleep? Most people simply settle for sleeping in late, but you have to schedule exactly nine-and-a-quarter hours,” Gloria teased as she slid a plateful of bacon and eggs in front of Isabel. Then, leaning down, she brushed a gentle kiss on top of her head. “Don’t ever change.”

“Thanks,” Isabel said with surprise.

“Now don’t you tell Alex I made those for you. If he wants breakfast he can make his own,” Gloria admonished. “Us girls are outnumbered in this household, we have to stick together.”

“Outnumbered?” Isabel asked with confusion.

“Just you wait until Jesse gets home,” Gloria warned. “You’ll see what I mean.”

“I can’t imagine you ever feeling outnumbered,” Isabel replied honestly, but her mood turned as she reached for the Tabasco, which by now occupied a permanent place on the table. Vigorously shaking the condiment over her plate, she continued, “Don’t ever change, you say. I’m afraid I’m incapable of changing. Just look at me, the first thing I did this morning was get into a fight with Alex,,,”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by that bed head comment,,,”

“I know,,,”

“In fact I’m sure he meant it as a good thing, that you’re getting more comfortable around us, that you’re allowing yourself to be yourself,,,”

Isabel reached out and took Gloria’s hands in her own, “That’s exactly the way I feel,,, I’m,,, This is like home to me. Now all I have to do is apologize,,,”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Gloria commanded. “There’s something you need to learn about guys. They have what they call a no harm-no foul philosophy. They don’t sweat the little things.” She paused to gather her thoughts. “If you’re going to spent the rest of your life with Alex, you’re both going to have to learn to stop tip-toeing around each other, and develop a trust that you’re going to have to shrug off the millions of little offenses and disappointments that you will encounter every day. Otherwise you’ll let life pass you by because you’re afraid to get out of bed in the morning.”

Isabel’s face broke into a radiant smile as she recognized the truth in the older and wiser woman’s words.

“Now take tonight’s supper for example. With you kids gone Charles will be disappointed when I put a turkey loaf on the table, but into every life a little turkey loaf must fall; besides, if he wants a steak he can damned well take me out to dinner.”


“So what are we doing out here Pops?” Alex asked.

“I really don't know,” Charles answered honestly, “But things were going from bad to worse in there and I figured it was time to get out before we were blamed for something,,,”

“Blamed for what? We didn't do anything wrong,” a reply that earned a chuckle from his father. “Wait a minute, you don't think I'm in trouble because of the bed head comment, do you?”

“No I doubt it had anything to do with that,” Charles said reassuringly. “Do you remember how you used to complain that your mom would jump on your case the moment you walked in from school? How you simply wanted a couple of minutes to listen to music or play your guitar, giving you time to mentally change gears? Well Isabel just needed a moment to wake-up. That’s all.”

“Oh, so everything’s okay then?,,”

“I didn’t say that,” Charles chuckled. “We’re guys, and if they want us in the dog house, they’ll put us there. There’s nothing you can do to prevent that,,,”

“Frack me,,,” Alex moaned.

“Don’t worry about it,” Charles admonished as he stood and started back towards the kitchen. “Isabel’s a good kid, and she’s madly in love with you. As long as she doesn’t spend too much time with your Mom, you’ll be all right.”

“That’s right, she does love me,” Alex waxed dreamily as he rose to follow before his father’s words struck home. “Wait a minute, define too much time!”


“As Gloria watched her men folk return to the kitchen, she became alarmed as she watched Alex open the pantry. “What are you doing?”

“Hummm?” he answered without conscious thought. “Feels like a Captain Crunch and Count Chocula kind of morning.”

Gloria’s hand shot out, restraining Isabel before she could rise. “Sit down!” she commanded as she rose and walked to the refrigerator. Coming out with the carton of eggs she continued, “As long as you live in my house, you’re not eating cereal on a Sunday morning.”

Charles sat at the head of the table, both hands wrapped around his steaming mug of black coffee, watching the interchange between the others with amusement. His wife gave Isabel a wink while Isabel shyly smiled at Alex, who responded with his trademark goofy grin. ‘Apologies offered and accepted,’ he thought to himself, ‘And all is right and wonderful in the world.’

**********
Meanwhile, at Jim’s house Ava placed her hand over Kyle’s CD player for a third time, this time scrunching her entire face in concentration, but within moments it was apparent that she could not undo whatever spell had been placed upon it. “Sorry,” she gasped as she gave up. “I don’t know who did this, but they have serious Mo-Jo going for them,,,”

“Fracking Max,,,”

“Max?” Ava replied a little too quickly.

“Yea Max,,,” Kyle said slowly. “Why do you say that? Do you know something?”

“No, not really, but Max and I were married. We were King and Queen. If he did this I’m pretty confident that I should be able to undo it.”

“It couldn’t be Michael,” Kyle pondered. “It’s too subtle a gag for him; besides, even if he would have done it for Liz, he would have botched the job and blown my stereo to kingdom come.” Kyle paused a moment as a look of sheer horror passed over his face as he had a new thought, “Isabel?”

“You think Isabel did it?”

“It must be. With her seal thing going for her you wouldn’t be able to undo it.”

“It could be Alex. He’s Liz’s best friend, and with his Granolith seal, we really don’t know what his powers are,,,”

“No, this is something Isabel would do,,,”

“Sounds like you’re going to have to do a little groveling,,,”

“Grovel to Isabel?” Kyle replied dismissively. “No way. I’ll rip it out and put in a new one first, but a least in the mean time you were able to cut the volume a bit.”

“Yea, there’s that,” Ava agreed, knowing that she had accomplished much more. In addition to cutting the volume to a tolerable level, she had covered for Max and kept herself out of hot water, all the while keeping Liz’s secret while in the process earning herself free Crashdown food for a week.

TBC