A/N: This really is a general fic, no solid couples at the moment. All characters belong to Melinda Metz and Jason Katims and all that fun stuff. Please review!

Isabel glanced at Michael again studying his face for any sort of hint as to what he could be thinking. What they'd heard in the cave that day had come as a shock to them all, Tess being the only possible exception. Max had had the most immediate reaction of course, but that was to be expected. That was Max. And now, more than ever, Isabel truly understood. That night they'd learned more than she'd ever really hoped they would and, truth be told, more than she may have ever really wanted to. This was not to say that Isabel wasn't happy to see and hear her mother, on the contrary, she was still elated over that, it was just all the talk of their "destiny" that was hitting her almost painfully hard. Max was her brother, no real change there, and he was the leader of their people, again not a big surprise. Also not surprising was Michael's role as his second-in-command...but he wasn't her brother. She glanced at him again, still unable to glean even the slightest hint of what he could be thinking. Michael had always been harder for her to read than Max and now, with what they'd learned, she felt as if she'd never known him at all. Unlike Max, Michael had turned out to be very much not her brother....but the man she herself was destined to have a family with. But then again, this same decree named Tess as Max's young bride. And it was because of that knowledge that Liz had taken off.

It wasn't as if Isabel and Liz were ever really friends, or even that she'd ever been happy about the whole Max/Liz thing, but now that she'd taken off, rejecting the brother Isabel so dearly loved...well it made things a little different. But only a little. When Izzy had first learned of her new friend Tess's crush on her brother, she'd laughed it off. Liz and Max, despite their differences in species actually were a great couple and it was obvious how happy she made him. It was only once Isabel herself had entered into her own cross-species relationship with Liz's friend Alex that she could begin to understand the bond which Max and Liz shared. She had been the last to find someone, which was actually kind of funny when she took the time the think about it. She could easily be considered to be one of West Roswell High's most popular students, a role she'd always taken seriously and been proud of. Funnier still was the fact that Alex's popularity was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum from her own. But he was funny and, more importantly; he made her feel like someone cared. While she had been glad that both of her ''brothers" had found people they could trust their hearts let it had made her feel more than just a little overlooked.

Tess was convinced that none of them had any choice but to follow their destiny, she'd known about her fate with Max before then. But Max loved Liz. Not in that cheesy teen drama sort of way that most high school kids claimed to love, but as an actual real soulmate thing. It was something none of the rest of them could even hope to understand, not Michael and Maria, not herself and Alex. She cared deeply about Alex but wasn't foolish enough to call it love. She'd felt romantic love only a very few times and she had been asleep. As much as she tried to forget the dreams about her and Michael they still managed to creep into her thoughts. Maybe that's why she wasn't totally shocked to learn about the roles they were to play in each others future. Not that they were going to give in to what they'd learned, which is what Tess was convinced they had to. Max was not about to just roll over and give in, even with Liz's attempt to force him to, so why should she and Michael? But Isabel couldn't help but think that maybe that wouldn't seem so bad. This time when she glanced at him he turned to meet her gaze.

"Why don't you just ask me about whatever it is you're trying to figure out instead of just looking at me?" Michael noted, that mocking smile which seemed to be his signature playing across his lips.

Isabel was slightly startled when he addressed her, causing her to flounder a bit with her words. "Oh I just...was thinking is all." She shook her head, putting on the nonchalant facade she'd perfected so well. "Don't worry about it."

"We've always been able to talk about everything Iz, even uncomfortable subjects."

"I know." She sighed, biting her bottom lip hard enough to draw a bit of blood.

Michael looked at her, studying her face. "The only time you ever clam up like this is when you think that saying what's on your mind would somehow betray Max."

Was that true? Was the real issue holding her back the fact that she thought embracing her destiny when Max was so against it would be a betrayal? Isabel furrowed her brow, deep in thought about the point Michael had just brought up. "He's so sad, Michael. I don't know how I can even begin to think about myself when he feels like his life is over?"

"If you shut down every time Max is upset then you'll never live your own life." He pointed out. "But maybe you never have." Before she could catch herself, Isabel nodded. "And maybe I never have either." He added. "Maybe all you and I have ever really done is...Live for him."

Isabel took in a shaky breath. ''In which case, we've always been living out part of our destiny...serving our King."

"And Max has always acted the role of the leader."

"But now that they are telling him he has to, he's resisting." Isabel supplied.

"And I think it's only because he feels like it has to be all or nothing."

"And all would mean losing Liz."

Michael nodded. "And Liz taking off can only have cemented his logic further."

"Maybe I'm just naïve, but I can't help but believe we have a choice in matters. Yes, we appear to be clones of some sort, and because of that we are of the royal bloodline of our people which would Make Max the heir to the throne." Isabel surmised. "So in that sense, yes, Max is destined to rule, but I don't believe they were able to program us to love certain people. That's not something genetic."

Michael nodded, deep in thought. "Meaning you think all that stuff about you and I is bogus."

"Don't you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know what to think more." He stood up. "I'm gonna go."

"Oh, um, O.K." Isabel didn't want to be alone but maybe it was best to have time to think before she and Michael had that conversation. "Yeah I'll see you around."

"I'll be by again tomorrow." He said before climbing out the window.

She watched him go and then picked up the phone. She didn't want to be alone but wasn't sure who to turn to. Maria and Liz were definitely out, as was Max for obvious reasons. This left Alex and Tess. So what kind of interaction would she benefit from the most: Witty laid-back humor with slight romantic undertones or somewhat angst filled chatter about their destiny? Neither was all that ideal. She dialed carefully, waiting for the person on the other end to answer. "Tess? It's Isabel. You busy?"

"You didn't invite me over just to watch a crappy Keanu Reeves movie." Tess quipped. She waved her hand towards the TV, turning it off. "You're thinking about what we learned." It wasn't a question.

"You believe all of it, don't you?"

"Believe what? Isabel, there's nothing to think about! It's what we exist for!"

"How do you know?" Isabel shot back.

"Because we were told."

"What exactly were we told? That we were sent here, Max is our leader blah, blah, blah. And you were sent because you were Max's bride. You were sent as a gift for Max. No one said he had to love you. Plus, who's to say you even love him? Like, okay. I understand that my brother can be found attractive but you hardly know him."

"Of course I know him! He is my destiny!"

"Then why does he love Liz?"

"He doesn't, he's just confused."

"If anyone's confused it's you, Tess."

Tess was about to make her own biting response but forced it back. "Isabel, why don't you stop attacking me and just admit that your thinking more about your issues with what you heard about you and Michael than you are Max and I."

''I never said that. God, why would you even-?"

"Because I know you, too. Isabel, you and I hit it off as friends instantly. We have a ton in common. I'm not saying you aren't concerned for your brother, I just think you're arguing with me in order to convince yourself about Michael...but Isabel? The tension between you and Michael is pretty blatant."

"What tension? Until those dreams started I saw Michael as a brother."

Tess rolled her eyes. "You can lie to yourself all you want but I don't buy it. Maybe you did when you were young but I think that changed when he hooked up with Maria."

"I have a boyfriend."

"And Alex is sweet but he's not one of us, just like Liz isn't one of us. You and Michael belong together. Just as Max and I do."

Isabel stood up, shaking her head firmly. "Just stop, okay?"

"Stop what? Isabel, you know how I feel about this. If you wanted to hear that everything we've learned is a lie, that what you are thinking about Michael was simply planted there...why didn't you call Alex?"

"Tess..."

"What? We both know I'm right. And to say what Michael and Maria have is real," she paused, "well that's just crazy. Just like you and Alex isn't real, even though you wanted it to be."

"Let's say, hypothetically, that I agree there...are you going to say that Max and Liz aren't real either?"

"It doesn't matter. Max and I are destined to be together."

"But he loves Liz."

"For now, but he's my destiny." Tess shook her head. "Isabel, can you honestly say that part of the reason you ended up with Alex wasn't that you were jealous of Max and Liz and Michael and Maria? And that you were freaked out about the dreams?"

"Couldn't that be considered a bit shallow?"

"No. It could be considered normal. You saw your brother fall in love, you saw your best friend find someone...and that left you out. And Alex stroked your ego...no one is blaming you."

"Fine, maybe that was part of it, but how does that mean I'm secretly pining for Michael?"

"Because you are."

"Tess you frustrate me." Isabel sighed and then walked to the kitchen, grabbing a soda. She could hear Tess follow her.

"If I frustrate you, it means I'm telling you what you know is true. What's holding you back from admitting it?"

"If you're so smart, shouldn't you already know?"

"Well either you feel guilty because you like him but you have Alex, or you're scared because you like him but he may reject you for Maria, or you don't like him."

"Can we just not talk about this?"

Tess smiled. "That's fine. I'll just assume it's the first two."

"Assume what you want, I can't stop you."

"You could always dream-walk him tonight and see if you can get an idea of how he's feeling."

Isabel sighed, walking back to the living room and flopping down onto the couch. "I've never walked him before, it kind of seems wrong to. Like a violation of their privacy."

"If you want to look at it that way, it's a violation of anyone's privacy."

"But it would be almost as if I was violating his trust, by going uninvited into his head instead of asking about whatever it is I'm trying to find out."

"If you asked Michael about this flat out, would he tell you?" Tess asked, and when Isabel gave a reluctant nod she smiled. "So it isn't as if you're doing it to find out a secret, it's simply preempting possible conflict."

"You're a bad influence, Tess Harding."

"Only because you can't argue my logic."

"He thinks I'm not bringing any of this up because I feel like talking about it would be a betrayal of Max."

"Well do you?"

"I don't know, I guess it's just...well, he thinks this whole destiny thing is a load of bull. So to discuss it as a possibility is going against that."

"To not would be a betrayal of yourself." Tess paused, raising her eyes to Isabel's. "And to your mother." She knew immediately that she had the other girl convinced.

Isabel sighed looking away. "Yeah..."

"Max can try and deny this all he wants, but denial won't just make it go away."

"Before you showed up in Roswell, I used to believe that our race of aliens must be tall."

Tess noticed the complete change of subject but chose to let it go. She'd convinced Isabel and in pushing it she would risk making her change mind again. "Yeah I can see how I proved that theory wrong." She laughed softly.

"Granted I also thought I was the only female of my kind. Again with you proving me wrong."

"Apparently it's a trend."

"Apparently." Isabel glanced at the clock.

Following her gaze, Tess noticed the time. "He could be asleep. I'll go and leave you alone. "

"I'd invite you to stay but if Max were to show up things could get tense."

"No need to explain, I understand." Tess smiled and headed towards the door.

"Come over tomorrow. Michael's coming too."

Tess nodded. "Got it. I'll be here."

Isabel lay on her bed, holding a picture Max had taken of her with Michael only a few weeks earlier. It was of the two of them sitting in a booth at the Crashdown, smiling and laughing over a plate of fries. She remembered that day. It had been right before the whole pregnancy scare. As she studied it she couldn't help but recall the comment Tess had made about the obvious feelings between herself and Michael even before the dreams. The way there were looking at each other, the playful way he was pushing her...maybe Tess was right. Isabel's mind returned to the task at hand. She was about to jump into Michael's dream. Her finger traced the soft curve of his face as she concentrated on making the connection. Her head dropped to the side and then she was in.

All she saw at first was a barely lit room but slowly, almost like stage lights, the room brightened a bit to reveal a bed...a bed on which Michael lay, clad in red silk boxers. Isabel's stomach lurched, because she knew, without a doubt, she was going to learn who Michael desired. She watched a smile overtake his face as he sat up a little, staring at something across the room. Slowly, she followed his gaze, scared of who she would see. Her eyes fell upon her own figure, which appeared in a tiny black robe...and with hands untying the sash of said robe. As it fell to the ground, Isabel felt a blush rise in her cheeks. The woman, no she, stood before Michael in a black lace corset and thong. Unable to stop herself she let out a gasp of surprise. Normally the dreamer was completely unaware of her presence but she felt dream-Michael's eyes on her as she snapped awake. He'd seen her. The shock of it was so overwhelming; she didn't even stop to consider what she saw. Her head fell back onto her pillow as she forced her breathing to slow. Finally she could feel her heat stop pounding, her muscles releasing their tension, and began to breathe normally.

Right as she was calm again and sitting up to begin to consider the dream, her bedroom window was thrown open and Michael climbed through. "Jesus Michael, scare the shit out of me why don't you." Isabel said, her voice shaking slightly.

"Just getting even." Michael replied with a shrug.

"Even?" She remarked, her tone full of feigned innocence.

Michael just shook his head, walking towards her and picking up the picture. "Do you have any clue how much you freaked me out with this? Why'd you do it, Isabel? Why couldn't you have just asked me?"

"Michael, I'm sorry."

"I don't want an apology, Isabel. I just want you to tell me why."

"I just...I was confused, and I didn't want to open my mouth only to ruin our friendship when you told me you didn't see me as anymore than a sister. So then Tess suggested I simply take an innocent peak to see if I could get a hint about how you felt, so that if you didn't feel anything no lines would be crossed." She paused, gathering the courage to look up at him. "Michael, I'm sorry."

He stood, simply staring at her for a moment. Finally he moved to sit beside her on the bed. "Well did you get your answer?" He demanded.

Isabel was flooded with shame, as she gathered the nerve to look at him. "Michael, I never meant to-"

Her sentence was abruptly cut-off when his lips pressed to hers. His eagerness was apparent in the urgency his kisses possessed. She felt him adjust and then slowly put pressure upon her to lay back on the bed. "Izzy..." He murmured, before his lips overtook hers, igniting a sensation which somehow managed to be both brand new but familiar at the same time.

Isabel did not speak until his kisses had trailed to her neck. "Oh God, Michael..."

He lifted her up slightly, with gentle pressure on her back and then removed her shirt. He paused then, His need to taste and feel her momentarily overruled by his desire to simply look at her. "Are you okay?" He asked, a bit surprised he'd managed to get any words out.

"Yeah..." Isabel's voice came out as a thick whisper and she swallowed hard.

"Oh my God!"

The exclamation swung the heads of both teenagers to the door. Isabel gasped. "Max!"

Max sat on the edge of his bed, head swimming. After Liz had taken off he had needed time to himself so he had taken a long walk. The plan for after the walk was to come home and talk about everything with his sister. Isabel knew how to calm him down, how to help put things in perspective. He should have knocked, but the thought never even crossed his mind. They never knocked, not even when the door was locked, which it hadn't been. As far back as Max could remember, there had never been a door between himself and Isabel that was actually intended to keep him out. Normally a closed or locked door meant Isabel was using her powers to change the color of her nail polish and didn't want to chance being caught by their parents. He should have thought to knock but the idea of walking in on his sister and Michael doing things he had never pictured his sister doing with anyone, least of all his best friend. But there they had been, on her bed, doing what could only be called "making out"...and to top it all off, her shirt had seemed to have gone missing. Michael and Isabel...Max turned the thought over in his mind. But that was their destiny, right; what their dreams had indicated and their mother had confirmed? Michael, Isabel, Tess. All accepted the roles they were given. Why couldn't he? But he knew. One thing kept him from it: Liz.

She had left so he wouldn't reject his given destiny for her. So he would be with Tess as his fate decreed. Had Max never met Liz then he probably could have been with Tess. But he had met Liz and nothing, not Tess, not his destiny, not her leaving, could ever change how he felt about her. Yes, Liz had left, but her life was in Roswell. She would be back and once more they would be together. It made him smile a little. He did believe in destiny, but his was Liz Parker.

He heard the door open and then close as Isabel entered; something he'd been expecting since he'd left her room. "I see you've found your shirt."

"Max...I know what you're thinking." Isabel said softly, sitting down beside him on the bed.

"Then tell me, because I'm not sure I know what to think." He sighed. "Isabel, I know you feel as if you have to be with Michael, but-"

"No Max, I don't have to. I want to."

"You never wanted this until you had those dreams, until you heard the prophecy."

"Until then I thought he was our brother!"

"Isabel, I just don't understand how you and Michael can just suddenly have these feelings."

Isabel closed her eyes. "Max...what Michael and I feel or do...it doesn't affect your feelings for Liz."

"What about Michael and Maria? He said he loved her."

"They've never had what you and Liz do." She shook her head. "Look Max, it's been two days since we found out and all any of us have done is keep to ourselves. Liz went to New York but I can't believe it's forever. She just wants you to have time to think. But you're not the only one who's been thinking. I didn't just go 'Oh, Michael's my destiny? Great, I have to make-out with him right now.' I did a lot of thinking and I decided that if it seemed Michael wanted to try it then I would go for it. And he did, so we did...well until you came in. Now he went home."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it was probably for the best. But he's coming over tomorrow morning so we can all talk."

"All meaning you, me, and Michael?"

"Yeah." Isabel forced a bright smile. "OhandTesstoo." She muttered quickly.

"You invited Tess here?! Why?"

"Because. She's one of us Max. Without her we'd still be pretty damned clueless about who we are. Her destiny with you isn't her fault, and with what was said, I can't really blame her for clinging to it. You learned that you're our leader, a King Max. Michael is your trusted second-in-command. I'm your sister, his wife, and a princess. But all Tess is, her whole reason she was sent here, was because she was your bride. She was sent here for you to love. It must be very had for her to have to accept that you don't that because we didn't wait for her when we all emerged from our pods we didn't know her and you fell for someone else."

Max silently considered this. It was true; they had left Tess in her pod. It was that that indirectly led to him being where he was now. "I guess you're right."

"Our destiny seems to have been predicted with consideration to only one factor: nature. These predictions completely ignore the concept of nurture. What if you had learned that I wasn't your sister and that it was me with whom your destiny laid? Would you be this upset?" Isabel could tell that Max was thinking about what she'd said, even without him verbally responding. After a short pause she decided to continue. "We've always referred to Michael as our brother, but it was always meant in the figurative sense. But if he'd grown up in the same house as us, been raised as our actual brother, well no dreams and/or prophecies would have convinced me to kiss him. Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

"Surprisingly, yes. I think I do." Max said with a nod.

"For a Princess, I'm not very eloquent, now am I?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way though, I couldn't ask for a better sister."

Despite her efforts to suppress it, a look of love and pride flushed Isabel's face. "Yeah, you're probably right." she laughed, standing and moving towards the door. "Just remember...you aren't alone."

Max watched his sister leave his room and then crawled into bed. It would never cease to amaze him just how insightful Izzy could be when she chose to be when didn't stop to second guess herself. She was strong, intelligent, and beautiful but yet, so insecure. He supposed that he and Michael probably had something to do with that. He closed his eyes and began to imagine Liz. She had to come back to him. Liz Parker was his world and it was she that made him truly human.

There were two things Liz Parker noticed immediately upon arriving in New York City: It was loud and it was crowded. Liz's Aunt June, her father's younger sister, had invited her to come visit over summer break. She had been undecided but the events in the pod chamber had quickly made up her mind and she'd flown out the next afternoon. Max had looked so hurt, hadn't wanted to let her go, but he did because as much as it hurt, it was what had to be done. It wasn't goodbye forever, just as long as she felt was needed for everyone to absorb what they'd learned. She loved Max, but this wasn't a question about whether or not she and Max were in love. This was his destiny, the future of his people that was on the line here so if for all of it to work meant that Max had to be with Tess then that's what had to happen. Had Liz stayed in Roswell, Max wouldn't have viewed the situation objectively. It was hard to walk away, harder than anything she'd ever had to do.

The roads in Manhattan bore signs communicating the law passed by Rudy Giuliani disallowing the usage of car horns but apparently most people ignored them. The noises, combined with the thoughts which constantly plagued her mind, made sleep basically impossible. She needed her sleep too, because the next day she was going with June to the Majestic theatre, where she worked as a make-up artist. It would be fun, but only if she let if be. Her aunt had been great, understanding how upset she was and respecting the fact that she didn't want to talk about it. Being here was exactly what she needed; something completely separate from Roswell, New Mexico and the life she'd lived there...a life that was gone now.

She believed that everything would work out for the best; she just wished she knew what that entailed. Liz rolled over, forcing her eyes closed. She had to sleep but the more she tried the harder it got. Finally she turned to a tried and true method: the recitation of the periodic table of elements. Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium...by Molybdenum she was fast asleep, but the rest was far from peaceful.