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Part 3
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she smiles
way too much but
i'm glad you're
on my side, sure
i'm glad you're on
my side still
"Michael's in jail."
The four words ran through her head over and over again. Tess had forgotten who broke the news now, or even what was said. All she could do was think about what that meant. From the little he had said about his history with Hank, along with the guilt complex, Michael wouldn't be dealing well. And yet, Max had been here criticizing Michael for his careless dumping of Pierce's bones.
"You told him it was a good idea to hide them there!" The accusation flew out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she winced at the glare that Max gave her. He'd been like this to her ever since he had caught the two of them practicing. She didn't understand him sometimes - he was so hot and cold. Also, his leadership skills were lacking, something that Nasedo had never said about Zan.
Max turned and glared at her, his eyes hardening as he realized she wasn't backing down. Ever since he had seen her with Michael practicing their powers, something had been different about her. She was questioning, not merely trying to gain their acceptance.
"Whatever" he huffed, running a hand over his face, trying to wipe away some of the stress that Michael's incarceration had caused. "It still doesn't change the fact that he was out there, investigating."
"Yeah, because he was trying to protect all of us. You know, doing what he was supposed to do!" She hissed, knowing that it was better to keep quiet, they were in the back room of the Crashdown after all. At least Nasedo had left to further investigate the Congresswoman's role in all of this. He wouldn't appreciate her questioning the 'once and future king'.
"Tess" Isabel groaned as she saw the anger flash across Max's face. This wasn't solving anything, it was just an alien pissing contest. Michael was still in jail, and he had a better shot at getting out if they all worked together. However, Tess failed to acknowledge her and Max looked about ready to rip into Tess again. So much for everyone just getting along.
"What he's supposed to do is follow my lead. I'm the king." He stressed the last word and glared at her, reminding her of the destiny she had inflicted upon them all. Isabel's attempt to calm their tempers falling on deaf ears as they continued to glare at one another.
Tess scowled, resisting the urge to slap him across the face. How dare he now accept his destiny just because it benefitted his argument! "Like you've been leading for the past three months? Gee Max, it's no wonder Michael went off and did his own thing!"
She blanched as she felt his eyes narrow and focus in on her. She didn't know where those words had come from, in fact, a part of her wished she could revoke them. This defied everything that she had ever been taught, she had insulted the king. It wasn't her place to do this, she thought to herself, her role was to support him.
Yet, here she was, opening her mouth and arguing. If it had even been a few weeks ago, she would have been mortified and apologizing right about now. In fact, she doubted that she would have said anything at all. But, it was different now. Max had basically showed no concern for Michael, her one true friend in Roswell.
Isabel looked over at Tess, who had a mixture of embarrassment and indignation painted on her features, as if she couldn't decide if she should apologize or embark on another tirade. It mirrored her own conflicting emotions, she didn't know where to side on this one. She agreed that maybe Max should have done more when they realized that Grant dug up the bones, but at the same time, Michael should have come to all of them first before camping out there alone.
Her point was, this was getting them nowhere. And judging from the hateful looks Max was sending her way, he was merely coming up with a response to her last comment and not ready to move on.
She opened her mouth, desperate to change the subject, to let the sharp words stop, when she heard Max's voice. It was stoic, devoid of emotion, and she knew then, this argument was far from over.
"You have been telling for months to accept my destiny. And I have. Be careful what you wish for Tess."
Tess clenched and unclenched her fists, trying her hardest not to slap him across the face. This was below the belt, even for him. Granted, he was mad, but his words stung. He was taking destiny, the thing that she had been told to appreciate and strive toward for years, and twisting it, throwing it back in her face.
"Whatever" she huffed, swallowing hard to force back angry tears. She didn't want to let him see how his words had affected her. Emotions were a weakness, she thought bitterly, one that she didn't feel like exposing. Without another word, she brushed by them, racing out the back door of the Crashdown. What Michael needed right now was a friend, someone who would help him out of this. And since Max and Isabel were content to let him suffer for daring to protect them, it was up to her to do something. And she would, even if that meant mindwarping the police department to get him out of there - it sure would be more effective than arguing with Max.
Tess scowled as she scanned the parking lot, looking for her car. "It's gone" she muttered, cursing Nasedo for taking it to go away from here. "Figures" she scoffed, then took off running toward the police station, hoping to find Sheriff Valenti there. They hadn't really interacted much, but he at least knew the truth, and she had a better shot of actually talking to Michael if a friendly face was on duty.
Busting through the door of the Roswell Sheriff's Office, she didn't care what anyone thought of her display. She was out of breath and had grown more and more determined to see him as the seconds dragged on, she just didn't know why.
"Tess?" Sheriff Valenti asked as he watched the small girl rush into his office, wondering what exactly had brought her here. He knew that it had something to do with Michael, but she seemed like the least likely of the group to come. She, like Kyle and himself, were on the outskirts, whereas the other 6 had a long history between them.
"Can I..." she paused, gripping the table as she greedily inhaled, needing the oxygen. "Can I see him?"
Valenti stared at the girl, taking in her disheveled appearance. She looked genuinely upset that Michael was there and, unlike her father, filled with emotion. However, he was reluctant, the last thing that any of them needed right now was for her to use her powers and break Michael out of there. It would raise far too many questions, and he viewed that as a last resort. Michael had agreed with him when they'd talked in private a few moments ago.
"Please" she stressed, noticing the doubt that streaked across his face. "I promise, nothing... you know, weird, is going to happen" she added, hoping that her vague reference to not using her powers would be enough to win him over.
"Fine, but only for a few minutes" he acquiesced, trying to be stern while a grin spread across her face. It had been too long since any of them had really smiled, and he was glad that something so small as seeing her friend made her happy. From his brief encounters with Nasedo, he had come to realize that she didn't experience that very often.
"Thank you" she stated, blushing slightly as she realized how much of a grin was painted on her face. She then watched as Valenti got up and led her down the hall, opening up a door and revealing the empty cells, until they landed at one on the end that housed Michael. She frowned, hating this - it was too dark, too depressing and not the place to put someone who had saved their lives.
If only the people of Roswell actually knew what their own were doing, she thought bitterly. It wasn't that she shared Nasedo's blind superiority complex, but she had to admit that humans definitely feared the wrong people.
"Tess, what are you doing here?" Michael asked as he watched them approach. He was surprised to see her there, and a little glad at the same time to have company. He didn't really understand it, but whenever he was around her he felt more like a person. She actually seemed to care about him and his well being, and not just because they were bound together by their heritage.
"I'll leave you two for as long as I can" Valenti interrupted, then turned on his heal and left. He had work to do and for whatever reason he actually trusted the two of them to not violate the law.
Tess nodded her head and met Michael's eyes, her concern shining through her blue orbs. "I... I just needed to see you. I thought you might want someone to talk to, given the circumstances."
"So Maxwell didn't send you to ream me out?" he teased, then groaned as he watched her frown at the mention of Max's name. Great, Guerin, the girl comes to see how you're doing and you piss her off, he thought to himself as he clawed at his eyebrow.
Tess blanched at Max's name, was that all he thought she was, even after the time they had spent together? Max's bitch? She steeled herself, trying not to show how disappointed she was in Michael. "No."
Michael frowned as he heard the tone that her voice had adopted in her reply. The one word answer spoke volumes to what she was thinking, even if her face was devoid of emotion. She was mad at him, upset that he thought she was just doing it for Max. He thought about adding a "just kidding" but reasoned that she would just be more offended by the offhanded justification.
She sighed in resignation, running a hand over her hair and smoothing it against her head. It was clear that he wasn't going to explain himself or even initiate conversation with her. A small part of her didn't really blame him, it had to be rough to be here, in prison. She'd be lying if she hadn't heard the negativity surrounding Michael's reputation and his life with Hank - a lot of people at school thought this was where he would end up, and she wondered if a small part of him thought that as well.
Looking into his tired eyes, Tess whispered, "I came to see how you were holding up. Are you okay with everything?"
Michael frowned as he idly scratched his eyebrow, deciding whether or not to give her the same speech he had given Valenti earlier. It was a version of the truth, at least, he had killed a man and this was where killers went, like he told Valenti. But at the same time, he wasn't nearly as indifferent to the situation as he had acted. "No" he said finally, tired of feeling her eyes on his flesh, trying to divine an answer to her question. "All I can think about is the fact that I killed someone. He may have been out to kill us, but at the end of the day he's still... gone and I wonder how long it's going to be before I do it again."
She bit her lip nervously, mulling over what he had told her. Tess wanted to comfort him, tell him that it would be okay, but she, probably better than anyone else, knew that he'd never be the same again.
"I can't begin to understand what dealing with that is like for you, and I'm not going to try" Tess began, watching as Michael gave her an appreciative nod. She had read him right, he didn't want to be placated. "And I'm not going to talk about destiny and Nasedo's mantra of how we're better than everyone else. But what I will tell you, Michael, is that what you did that day, it saved all of our lives."
She raised her left hand as he began to interrupt, her blue eyes begging for him not to interrupt. "I'm not finished, I didn't spend this morning arguing with Max about this to be interrupted." She paused, smirking at Michael as he took in the weight of her words. "Anyway, while you may not trust yourself right now or even believe that you did good, I just want to let you know that I will always trust you not to hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it." She whispered, taking his hand in hers through the bars of the cell.
A small bit of relief washed over him as he looked at her small hand in his. Tess trusted him even now, after he had killed someone and was in jail. She was willing to argue with Max, her destiny, because she believed in him. "You fought with Max?" he asked, deciding that they were done with the serious tone of their conversation. He would consider what she had said, but for now he was more interested in her argument.
"Yeah, he was being a dick. I decided to say something about it. He really didn't appreciate that much, surprise, surprise" she explained rolling her eyes to emphasize her point.
"He went on a power-trip, huh?" Michael asked, already sure of her answer. Max had taken to his new role as king easily, often using it as a justification for his actions, which were not always well thought out. And while he had gotten the brunt of Max's actions, he was sure that Tess had received a lot of it as well. Max never really stopped blaming her for Liz's departure this summer.
"Yeah, you could say that" she admitted as the first few notes of her cell-phone interrupted them. She reached into her pocket, retrieving it and looking at the display. "Speaking of his royal pain in the ass" she groaned, flipping the phone open and placing it against her ear with an apologetic look. "Are you calling to apologize or are you going to scream at me some more Max?"
Michael smirked at her answer, she really wasn't taking any crap from him anymore and he found that amusing, and a little intriguing. She had opened up a lot more since they had begun talking, becoming more assertive and less willing to just sit around and wait for things to happen.
"You what? Max, please tell me you're joking!" She exclaimed, glad that Michael was currently the only occupant of the cell block. She couldn't believe that the congresswoman had taken the bones to have them examined. "Well do you have a plan, or what?" she snapped, not really willing to get into a long winded discussion of how much worse this all had just gotten. She knew, they all knew.
Michael frowned, from her tone of voice and the scowl on her face, whatever had happened just got monumentally worse. He wanted to ask her what was going on, but she was too angry to really pay attention. As the silence continued, he watched as her features softened slightly, but the worry was still evident on her face. Maybe Max had come up with a plan after all.
"That could work, yeah, I can meet you now. Bye Max" she rushed out, flipping the phone shut before Max could say another word. She turned to Michael and gave him an apologetic look, sorry that she had to cut this short. "I have to go, we're going to get you out of here."
"Okay."
"Bye Michael" Tess whispered and gave his hand a small squeeze before she turned and left.
Michael watched as she left and just before she opened the door, he called out to her. "Tess" he shouted and watched as she turned around to face him, "Thanks" he finished earnestly, needing to let her know how much the visit had meant to him.
Tess gave him a shy smile, touched by his gratitude, especially since he didn't normally give it to people. "You're welcome" she stated, before exiting the cell, more determined than ever to get him out of there.