Title: Podmates
by: Kara
Spoilers: Graduation
Summary: Ava gets lonely sometimes.

She went to McDonald's because she felt the buzzing in her head that meant that one of her podmates was nearby. So it wasn't a big surprise when the Roswell set showed up instead of Lonnie and Rath. They pulled up just when she thought they would, driving some busted old van that looked like it would die as soon as it stopped. The side door slid open before they actually got into the parking spot and a blond girl ran out. Maria. That was Maria, the one who talked more than Lonnie did. And faster, if that was possible. Liz followed at Maria's heels, like it was the natural order of things or something. Lonnie—not Lonnie, Isabel—jumped out last, slamming the door shut.

"We could've stopped at the In-N-Out down the street. That at least looked clean." She'd forgotten that this Vilandra was kind of a priss. Isabel would never live in a sewer. But Isabel wouldn't push anyone in front of a truck either.

Isabel's Zan and Rath followed her. The jock, Kyle, slid out the driver's side, arguing with Rath—Michael—over a map. Kyle said they were lost, and Michael was complaining at the top of his lungs about the uselessness of Earth maps. Rath complained too, but he would've never let a human smack him and make comments about the need for crop circles when you had super-advanced alien technology.

And then they both grinned at each other, and that made all the difference in the world.

The Roswell four made her head buzz the same way that her podmates had. Their energies hummed in sync with hers, something she hadn't felt in almost two years. She'd traveled a lot since leaving Roswell, trying to find Zan's distinctive energy, but no one ever felt right. There was that run-in with some leftover Skins, but they melted pretty easily. And those alien hunter guys who knew way too much about how to find her. That's when she learned that pink hair was a bad thing, especially when you were trying to blend in with the crowd. Usually humans didn't vibrate the right way for her, but Kyle did this time. She could feel his presence the same way she felt Max and Michael.

And then the girls came running back, pairing off with the guys like it was the natural order of the world. Liz hummed and vibrated the same way as Kyle. But Maria didn't. It didn't surprise her to see Liz back with Max and Maria hanging on Michael. But Isabel and Kyle hovered around each other like Lonnie and Rath used to—not because they wanted to, necessarily, but because they just did. Convenience. And all that destiny bullshit.

And it didn't surprise her that Kyle saw her first, because Kyle had always stared at her in that "I wanna jump your bones" way. The same almost wary way that he watched her double. It wasn't the same way that Zan looked at her, or even that Max looked at Liz, but it was something tinged with affection. Or at least it used to be. Now he looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"You're not Tess. You're the other one." Kyle seemed almost relieved as he stepped around Isabel, his blue eyes focused on her the whole time. "Except your hair's normal now. And curly." His fingers reached out to touch one of her curls, but he stopped himself before his hand brushed up against her hair.

Ava tugged on a blond curl, pulling it out and letting it spring back towards her head. Michael stared at her as she did it, until Maria elbowed him in the ribs. "People notice you if you have pink hair. People don't notice you if you're blond, because everyone else here is." And it was too warm to wear a hat all the time. Even if the humans did, because their bodies didn't adapt to the weather as well. "So are you guys the Scoobies or somethin' now?" She nodded towards the van.

"See, I told you someone would think we're Buffy rejects," she heard Isabel mutter. "We should've ditched the van in Texas and stolen a better car."

"The hippie van is pretty lame," Michael added. "And the gas mileage sucks. There's enough of those hybrid car things here. They don't eat gas. And if we have more money, then we don't have to listen to the Princess complain about her diet." He shot a look at Isabel who glared back.

Maria snorted. "Listen to Captain Planet over here. At least it's better than a dirt bike."

Ava was surprised when Michael gave Maria a quick kiss instead of glaring at her. Liz actually smiled at her confused look. "A lot changed in a year." But the smile disappeared pretty quickly. "You're here alone, right?" Liz exchanged a long look with Max, and they had an entire conversation with their eyes. "She could be the reason why we're here, Max. It's possible."

Max looked doubtful, something she didn't think Zan had ever felt.

"We're gone on crazier wild goose chases," Maria added. "Remember the whole thing with the dog that was predicting the future with a Ouija board?"

"When did we go from Buffy to X-Files? I think I'd rather be back in Sunnydale." Isabel shifted away from the van, looking over her shoulder as she did. "It's too cliché to be Fox Mulder. Especially now. In fact, can we go inside? We're too conspicuous out here."

Michael threw an arm around Maria. "We're teenagers hanging out. It's not cliché, it's normal. And we're supposed to look normal. Which is why we drive the Mystery Machine instead of a normal car that might blend in with everybody else." It sounded like an old argument, even to Ava.

Max and Liz did the silent communication thing, so it was obvious who still led the group. Even though they'd grown up in completely different places, the dynamics of the Roswell group wasn't that much different than her podmates. Zan was the responsible one that Rath and Vilandra fought every step of the way. Except this group didn't have an Ava. And there were three humans added to the mix. "Where's Alex?" The skinny boy had been nice enough to her while she was in Roswell, even if he twitched a little every time he saw her.

Maria just glared at her before going into the restaurant. The others followed after without a word. "He died, Ava." Liz's voice was soft as she passed by. "Tess killed him before she went back to Antar. And then she died to save her son."

Ava went into McDonald's after them, because she really didn't have a choice. A familiar energy hummed in the air, but there was no sign of Zan. She looked around just in case, the way she always did. The others stood in line and ordered as if they hadn't eaten in a while. From the look of their wrinkled clothes, they probably hadn't slept in a while either. If her double killed someone, that would explain why the alien hunters were out there in greater numbers now. And why the Roswell group was on the run. Their guardian always said that the government was just waiting for an excuse, and that they always had to be careful not to get caught. Zan woke up screaming three years ago, with nightmares about a white room where doctors kept cutting into him. And she'd fainted last year, feeling like someone was burning her from the inside.

As they waited on their food, she let her eyes wander around the restaurant. The guardian taught her to always be on her guard, watching her surroundings. Rath and Lonnie were so obvious and noticeable that someone had to make sure no one was staring too much. She wondered if they were still alive somewhere. The buzz that she felt in LA didn't have their particular feel. For a while she thought it was Zan, but the Roswell group wasn't too bad as a second choice. They almost felt like family, even if they hated her about as much as her own podmates did.

She was surprised when they saved her a seat at their table. They sat two by two, in the same pairings that she noticed them falling into outside the van. Max and Michael pretty much ignored her, but Kyle stared at her every once in a while. And Liz and Maria were in their own little world, having some secret conversation that involved a lot of hand gestures and loaded looks.

It was kinda comforting to sit with them, like she belonged somewhere, even if it was just on the fringes of the group. But she could feel someone's eyes on the back of her head. Liz noticed her looking around, and opened her mouth to ask something. Ava shook her head as she continued her surveillance. The only one staring at her was a toddler who had ketchup smeared all over his mouth, and what looked like a French fry in his blond hair.

"Someone's got a boyfriend." Maria grinned at her. "He's a little cutey. Pretty curls too. Kinda like yours."

Ava waved at the little boy, not sure what else to do. Her experience with anyone under the age of ten was pretty limited, since Lonnie's little boytoy Kivar was the youngest person she was used to. The boy smiled a slow smile at her, his goldy-brown eyes shining. They looked like Zan's eyes almost, or Max's.

"Max?" Isabel's voice sounded concerned. She glanced back at Max and Isabel, who were staring at the little boy just like she was.

"Xander, stop playing with your food! Honestly, I can't take you anywhere!" The woman gave the little boy a warning look.

The little boy held up a fry as a peace offering. "Sorry, mummy?" Xander smiled at his mother. Ava could see his small hand glow a soft silver as he reached towards the woman. His mother slapped his hand away, glancing around to see if anyone noticed. The woman's eyes looked frightened as she met Ava's.

"Zan." Everyone else's head turned as Ava spoke the name. "That's Zan's baby. He's one of us. She stole him. She can't—" As she started to stand, Liz yanked her back down in her seat.

"That's not Zan's baby, Ava. That's Max's baby. And he's safest where he is." This time, Liz's dark eyes weren't as friendly as they had been.

But the last Antarean didn't belong with some human mother who wouldn't understand him. Especially not Zan's namesake. Especially not when he buzzed with the same energy Zan had, something that stood out even among the Roswell set's energy signatures.

Liz watched her, almost as if she knew what Ava was thinking about. Even if Liz did feel like someone from Antar now, she was still human. And she was paired, so it's not like she'd understand. None of them understood.

Ava closed her eyes, focusing on the group at the table with her. She tried to project a new image on them, a day at McDonald's that didn't involve her. It wasn't that hard, especially since Kyle kept giving her suspicious looks, and Maria had glared at her ever since she mentioned Alex's name. All she had to do was play off of their own antagonism, and the fact that none of them really wanted to remember they saw her today. Especially now.

Time stopped. Only Xander seemed to see her, holding his arms out to her with Zan's smile on his face. "Mummy?" His voice was a whisper.

She picked him up, settling him on her hip the way she'd seen other women do. Two year olds ate regular food, so it shouldn't be too hard to come up with something. Vending machines were always a good source of cash, and CoinStar machines never asked questions about where you got the money.

And they'd survive together. She and Zan always did. "Mummy's here, Zan. Right here."