Protector
Chapter 2: Admonitions
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Roswell.
A/N: Chapters 1-4 all take place in the span of a couple of hours. Thanks for the reviews they are appreciated. I'm trying my best to clear Tess' name so bear with me.
A/N: After this chapter, there will be the beginning of some serious rebel activity, you've been forewarned.
Avoiding the scene before him, Max found his thoughts wandering to the woman that had suddenly reintroduced herself into their lives. For so long Max had been harboring hatred for Tess for killing Alex and taking his son away from him. Although she was back among them now, Max found that his animosity toward her had not disappeared; on the contrary, it seemed to have grown greater. She had left with his child who he thought was dying; she lied to him and left all of his friends believing that Alex was dead. Max deserved an answer, and he would get one tonight.
Slowly, in an attempt to avoid any attention, he made his way into the den where Tess was changing Zan. Quietly he walked inside, watching Zan's tiny hands attempt grip his mother's wet, curly hair.
"We need to talk," he said.
Tess looked up at him momentarily before returning her attention to the gurgling child that lay beneath her. "There's nothing more to say," she said grimly. "Alex is back. You have your son. You would think that would be enough to make you happy."
Max glared at her. "You left us, remember? You lied to everyone, including me, you had Alex fake his death and you left the planet with my son! Then you come back here with Alex and Zan and you think the problem is solved?"
Max stared at her, waiting for Tess to respond. The mocking smile barely faded from her face as she picked up Zan and walked out of the room. Ready to charge after her, Max was surprised when she walked back into the room without their son. With a gentle click she closed the door before turning to face him.
"What do you want to know?" she asked, leaning against the door, her arms crossed beneath her breasts.
Slowly Max sat on the armchair of the nearby couch. "Well for starters, I want to know why you lied to me. "
"You know what Max? You are so quick to blame me for my behavior towards you when you treated me even worse when I first came to Roswell. If anything you're just as much to blame as I am for everything that happened, so get off your high horse and stop talking to me like I'm a criminal. I've done far less wrong than you and all the mistakes I've made I've paid for and I got ten times more than I deserved," she said, turning toward the window.
Grimacing, a nagging part of him conceded that she was right; all of them had treated Tess poorly when she first arrived. Letting his anger fade, he stared at her, waiting to hear whatever she had to say.
"Alex is a Seeker," she said, turning to face Max. "When the Engineers recreated us, they used an ancient form of magic to ensure that there would be a Seeker, someone our own age whom we would trust to help us get back home. A Seeker is someone born with the knowledge of how to acquire the translation of the Book. There were five Seekers placed in Roswell. The Skins killed two of them, I don't know who or where the other two are and Alex was the fifth.
"Nasado was really working for Khivar," she continued bitterly. "And he knew that you, Michael and Isabel had gotten extremely close to Alex and that could threaten your return. Upon Nicholas' report that the three of you had no memory of the past and no desire to return home, you were a minimal threat to him here on Earth. The only catalyst to your return was Alex and his knowledge regarding the Book. It was Nasado's job to kill Alex and then return home with the Granolith."
"How did you find all this out?" asked Max.
"Nasado trusted me," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "He rarely bothered hiding his indiscretions. Eventually he thought I would join his cause."
"Why would he think that?"
Tess laughed. "He knew that you guys didn't trust me and would never accept me. Why do you think he pushed you to get to know me so much? Nasado wasn't stupid; he saw your devotion to Liz and knew that you would do everything in your power to shut me out. Eventually, he figured I would give up on you and together he and I would find Alex, retrieve the translation of the Book and return with the Granolith. Without it, you, Michael and Isabel would be stranded on Earth; I would be reinstated as Queen with Khivar as my King and Nasado as second in command. The return of the Queen with an heir would calm down the resistance and ensure the continuation Khivar's reign."
Looking around, Max tried to stop the millions of thoughts racing through his mind. For so long he had blamed Tess for their current situation when it had been he who had pushed everything this far.
"What happened next?" he asked
"Obviously I wouldn't side with Nasado because I was too devoted to you," she said disgustedly. "But he didn't know that, which is why he was probably so shocked when I killed him."
Jerking his head upward, Max stared at Tess' grim expression. "But he said the Skins—"
"Mind warp," she said simply, brushing a thick blonde strand from her face. "I made the wounds seem as though they were caused by the Skins, then I mind-warped him to believe it was them." She paused. "I'm not sure why he came to warn you. If need be, Nasado would have killed you, your friends and your families just to get a pat on the head from Khivar."
Watching Max silently contemplate, she waited for him to respond to her. "I know what you're thinking. I'm a murderer, how could I do that? That's the wrong way to—"
"I wasn't thinking that," he interjected, his voice low and gentle. "He would have killed Alex, probably us if he had the chance."
"Could this be, Max Evans finally understands the dog-eat-dog universe we live in?"
"That still doesn't explain why you lied about Alex," he said, ignoring her snide remark.
"Alex was a liability, Max. He knew how we could get home and Khivar would have to make a choice; kill Alex, kill the Royal Four, or kill all of us. Obviously we're a harder target, we have the means to protect ourselves, but Alex is basically a sitting duck. Unfortunately the Engineers didn't think enough to give the Seekers any kind of protection."
"And you couldn't have told us all this?" asked Max.
"No. You didn't trust me and you would've found a way to someone pin this on me especially cause I lived with Nasado. It's called guilty by association."
"Tess I wouldn't—"
"Oh shut up, Max! Any chances you had to shut me out to win more brownie points with your precious Liz you would've taken," she replied sourly.
Despite his arguments, Max knew Tess was right. By that time he was desperate to get Liz back and probably would have pushed Tess away further if he could have.
"I was trying to decide what to do about Alex, and then I got pregnant and despite what you or anyone else thinks, Zan was really sick. My baby was on the verge of dying and Khivar was deploying the Skins to assassinate us. I panicked. I mind warped Alex into finding the translation; I mind warped Kyle, Liz, Maria and Mrs. DeLuca so they would have various memories regarding me killing Alex, memories that never actually happened."
"You did all that with no promise that it would work. What if the mind-warps failed and they never remembered?" asked Max.
"My son was dying, I made sure I didn't mess up," she said coldly. "And as for then entire plot not working, there was something I could always count on to ensure mine and Alex's departure, and that was Liz. Anything she said to you Max, you'd believe. It was my word against hers and I knew you would pick her over me any day. Liz sealed all of our fates, from the beginning to now. Alex was hiding in one of the pods and joined me after you guys left."
Covering his eyes with his hands, Max grieved. She had done all of this to protect them, to save their baby, and he had played a pivotal role in her plans because she knew that he never trusted her.
"Tess," he said, walking towards her, his voice barely audible even though the room was deadly silent. "I'm sorry—"
"Don't Max," she said firmly, putting her hand forward to stop him. "If you had trusted me then our son would be dead by now. What's done is done and we can't go back. There's no point thinking about it now."
Max stared solemnly at the small girl who had blossomed into a woman during her thirteen month absence. She seemed so frail but she alone had more courage than he and all his friends. He found himself drawn to her, wanting to hold her and tell her that everything was alright now, that she wouldn't have to fight anymore. Most of all, he wanted to take care of her, and protect her, the way she had always protected him.
"There's something else," he said, his curiosity sparking. "You said Khivar was dead and that you killed him. What happened back on Antar?"
"It's a long story," she said dismissively.
"We've got all night," Max replied, offering her a gentle smile and promising himself to offer her so much more.
Next Chapter: Alex explains himself, Max and Tess connect, Tess comes into power and the military comes looking for the baby.