If It Takes Forever

Part 1: Background

Author: Ice

Pairing: Mostly A/I

Future Fic

Disclaimer: I do not own Roswell. If I did Alex wouldn't be dead and he and Izzy would be together. So please don't sue.

Written After Cry Your Name but before season 3,

            Alex looked at his wife of three years lovingly as she slept. He put his arm around her only to get halfway because of her pregnant stomach. She instinctively snuggled in closer to him as she slept.

            "I love you Izzy," he said as he kissed her cheek. If someone told him in high school, that he, Alex Whitman would be married to Isabel Evans, Ice Princess and Goddess of West Roswell High, he would have said, 'You're crazy I don't have a chance on earth with her.' But that was before he found out and accepted her secret. That was before the four humans and three aliens became closer than friends. Alex laid his head back on his pillow and fell asleep once again.

            "Sure Liz. You can drop Luca and Charlie off here. I could use the help," she listened, "No Liz, it's no problem. I would love to see my niece and nephew and plus they could help me out around the house and stuff." She listened as her husband came into the kitchen and put his arms around her, kissing the side of her neck that wasn't cradling the phone. "Ok see you at ten. Bye Liz." She put the phone down and turned to face her beloved. She kissed him and said, "Luca and Charlie are coming over at ten."

            "Ok." He pulled away from her and went to the cabinet to get a bowl and some cereal. Isabel went back to cooking her own breakfast on the stove.

            "Knock! Knock!" Maria DeLuca walked into the kitchen of the Whitman Mansion through the kitchen door.

            "Hey Maria." Alex greeted her with a wave of his spoon.

            "Izzy!  What are you doing? Cooking over a stove when you could give birth any second now? Give me that spatula. Maria shot a dirty look at Alex before carefully pushing Isabel out of the way of the stove.

            "Maria, I'm fine." Maria wouldn't take that and gestured for her to sit down.  Isabel finally gave in and looked at her husband and best friend as she thought about the past few years.

            Isabel couldn't believe that five years ago, after their second year in college, the Whit's demo got recognition. Alex and Maria's career's took off. They were on MTV2 every other video, TRL everyday, and now Maria lived next door to the Whitman's in the richer part of Roswell, NM. Isabel then thought about the rest of her family and she felt the tears coming on. Max and Liz had gotten married right out of high school. And now have a 7 year old girl, who is as smart as the two but as sassy as her Aunt Isabel, Luca Bella, named for Maria and Isabel. They also have a six year old son, Charles, Charlie, Michael, for Alex and Michael. Maria and Michael never got married, but in their first year at Las Cruces, they moved in together. Maria's mother wasn't thrilled about it, but she had a new husband that kept her distracted.  Besides Amy knew how Michael felt about her daughter and it helped that before he even brought up the subject of moving in together with Maria, he talked with Amy first. But it didn't last long. Maria took a leave of absence from school a few months later, as did Alex and went on the road with the Whit's.  Michael and Maria tried to be apart, but Michael couldn't deal and became sort of an annoying fixture at the Evans' and Valenti's. So Jim bought him a ticket to Omaha where the band was and he stuck with Maria until they stopped touring. Isabel smiled to herself at the memory of Michael, the rock of the group, cooing over Maria and Kyle's little sister Cassandra when Maria was away. During this time Alex and Isabel were doing all they could to not be together. They called and wrote e-mails everyday, sometimes just to say hi, or to say what the road was like or what new cute thing that Luca had done. Liz and Max were Isabel's support system, and the few times that the Whit's were home, a birthday party, a birth, a concert, Isabel and Alex were rarely seen without one another. Then finally after three years on the road, the Whits came back to Roswell to record their second album in Alex's brand new home studio. By the time they finished recording Isabel, Max, Liz, and Kyle had graduated from college, and Isabel left to be on tour while the Whit's promoted their second album. Then while on Live with Regis and Kelly, Alex called a waiting Isabel and Michael out from the wings and asked Isabel to marry him. She said yes immediately crying. Maria was standing off to the side, no clue Alex was about to do this and had to keep herself from answering for Isabel she was so happy for the two. That was four years ago.  That Valentine's Day they were wed. Maria was the maid of honor, Liz a bridesmaid, Luca was the flower girl.  Michael was a groomsman, as was Max, and Kyle was the best man. It was an intimate ceremony, with only the 7 of them, Luca, Charlie, the Parker's, Valenti's, Evans' and Whitman's, the band. The reception was at the Crashdown. 'That was a great day.' Isabel thought as Alex kissed her goodbye on his way out the door to run errands, "I'll be back soon." She nodded and smiled as he waved goodbye. Maria left after she did the dishes, and Isabel realized that Liz and the kids would be at the house soon. She went up the stairs and into the bedroom to get dressed.

            "Iz? Alex? Anybody home?" Liz called into the house as sounds of feet ran straight into the den.

            "Upstairs Liz!" Isabel yelled down, brushing her blonde hair. She could hear her niece and nephew turn on the TV and start up the custom made Whit's Pinball machine that Isabel had gotten Alex as a birthday present. Liz walked into the room. "Hey Liz."

            "Hi Isabel." Liz sat down on the chest at the foot of the bed with a sad look on her face. On days like this Liz was usually thinking of Max. She would drop the kids off at Isabel's, her parents, The Evan's , sometimes even Kyle's or Jim and Amy's. Isabel knew that Charlie looked so much like Max that Liz just couldn't take it sometimes.

            "You okay Liz?" Isabel walked over and hugged her sister in law.

            "Yeah I'm okay. I'm just thinking about him again."

            "It's okay Liz, he's been gone for a year, they both have, we miss them."

            "Yeah. I'm just glad you didn't go. I don't think any of us would have been able to take it." Isabel smiled rubbing her bulging stomach thinking that if she had gone too that she might have had to go through this pregnancy without Alex. She might not have even gotten pregnant. But Max and his second in command had to go reclaim the Antarian throne. That was a big fight that Isabel and Max went through when she said she wasn't going. Michael understood though. It was killing him to leave Maria.

            "Okay. Pull yourself together Parker. I'm okay now Isabel."

            "Luca and Charlie can stay here as long as you want them to Liz. Alex and I need the practice." She smiled.

            "Thanks." Then they heard a crash from downstairs and Luca saying, "Uh-oh, Aunt Isabel's gonna get you for that!" The women looked at each other and hurried downstairs, Isabel wishing she had let Alex put that escalator in. When they got to the den Isabel saw that the glass coffee table that Alex had brought back from New York was shattered. "Oh guys…" Isabel said exasperated.

            "Who did this?" Luca and Charlie pointed at each other. Isabel shook her head and waved her hand over the coffee table, and the pieces came back together into table form. Liz walked over to her kids.

            "You be good for Aunt Isabel and Uncle Alex okay? I'll be back in a little while." She hugged Luca and tried to hug and kiss Charlie but it was too hard. She stepped back, tears in her eyes and walked out of the house. Luca and Charlie, not noticing anything was wrong, went back to the lego house that we were building with Alex.