Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So, I know I've probably said this before, but I want to reiterate, I have no intention of making any of the main eight characters evil or mean or cruel. This includes Liz and Maria. And Liz especially is going to start to play a larger role in this. So for those of you who don't like her, I will warn you now, she is going to be good, and, starting in this chapter, she is going to interact with Tess a lot, and not always in a bad way.

Also, as a response to one of the reviews, and for anyone who may have read my Salvation Series (Checkmate, The Crucible, etc...), this is going to have a much happier ending than that did. I'm not killing off any of the main characters or throwing everyone and everything into war, devestation, and despair. There may be a bit of sadness, but nothing like the Salvation stories.


Chapter Seven: Strange Bedfellows

"Lonnie!"

"What?" Vilandra asked, shoving a strand of hair out of her eyes and staring over at her brother. She was tired, and she didn't want to be here. Why did her brother have to ask her about politics anyway? He had a million different advisors, not to mention Rath and Ava. Why did he have to bug her with things that just weren't that interesting?

"Did you listen to a word I said?" Zan demanded.

"No," Vilandra replied, shrugging. Behind Zan, X'tal and Shirgai both gasped. The two advisors were always shocked at the lack of respect she showed her brother. She was the only one who could get away with so blatantly ignoring her bother when he was speaking to her. Not even Ava dared to do that, and everyone knew how much Zan loved Ava. But Vilandra was his sister, and that gave her the power to completely ignore all etiquette.

Zan signaled for his two advisors to leave, and they did so quickly, bowing to the king and the princess several times on their way out. Zan turned his attention back to Vilandra. "Well, would you please listen?" he asked in frustration.

Vilandra crossed her arms. "You have advisors, Zan," she argued. "You have Rath. Why do you continually pester me with all these questions? Why not ask them?"

"I have," Zan replied. "And I've asked Ava as well. But I want your opinion, Lonnie. You are my sister, why you think matters to me."

Lonnie smiled slightly at that. She sighed and said, "I think, Zan, that you have little choice in this. I know you do not want to join forces with any of the Intergalactic Merchants, but they control the trade, and if they place tariffs on our goods, it will ruin our economy."

Zan nodded. "And what of the consequences?" he asked. "Too many of my people have been used and tossed aside by the Merchants. Their organization is not welcome here, and many may rise up against me if I side with them."

Lonnie nodded. "I know. But it is not your job to make your people happy, Zan. It is your job to keep them alive, healthy, and safe. They may hate you, but at least they will be alive to hate you."

Zan nodded, accepting her words. In the game of politics, you often had to join sides with the people you hated the most.


Maria pushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes and dragged the wet rag across the table, cleaning up the sticky residue from the spilled Coke. Across the room, Liz was clearing the last of the dishes from the tables. The diner had closed only moments before, and each girl was eager to leave.

A soft knock on the door caused Maria to glance up and smile as she saw Alex standing there, waiting patiently for one of them to let him in. Maria dropped the cloth and wiped her hands on her apron as she walked over to him. Unlocking the door, she stepped aside and let Alex enter.

"Hey," she greeted him. "I thought you were hanging out with Isabel?"

"We did," Alex replied. "But she had to do some homework, and so I decided to come and see how you guys were doing."

Liz walked over to her two best friends, balancing the tray of dishes carefully in her hands. "You want anything to eat or drink, Alex?" she asked. "It's on the house."

Alex shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm okay," he replied, waving away her offer.

"Are you sure?" Liz pressed. "You know its no problem."

"Well, if you don't mind, some tomato juice would be nice," Alex said at last.

Maria raised an eyebrow. "When did you start drinking tomato juice?" she asked curiously as Liz went off to find her friend a glass of the requested drink.

Alex shrugged. "It's good for you," he said. "My dad's always trying to get me to drink it, so… I figured I'd give it a shot."

Maria shrugged. "Better you than me," she said with a shudder. "I can't stand the stuff." She slipped into a booth, and gestured for Alex to do the same. He took the seat across from her, and a moment later Liz reappeared with a glass in her hand. She handed it to Alex and sat down next to Maria.

"It's been a while since it was just the three of us, hasn't it?" Alex remarked as he took a sip of his juice.

"Yeah, we haven't really hung out since you went to Sweden," Liz agreed. "We should do a movie night or something."

"We could watch Ever After," Maria said excitedly.

Alex grimaced. "I'm not watching that with you," he objected. "You've seen it like twelve times, you quote each line before the character says it."

Maria frowned. "Fine, what about Legally Blonde?"

"What about a guy movie?" Alex asked.

Liz raised an eyebrow. "Fine. You want to watch Terminator? Or Fight Club? Or how about The Usual Suspects?"

"Okay," Alex agreed readily.

Liz rolled her eyes. "Alex, you know you hate those kind of movies," she objected. "You'll be just as miserable as we will if you make us watch them."

Liz and Maria both stared at Alex expectantly, waiting for him to say something, but he just stared down at his drink silently. Liz shot a confused look at Maria, who reached across the table and slapped Alex lightly on the arm.

"Earth to Alex?" she called. Alex turned and looked at her and she said, "This would be your cue to say 'but I'd rather watch those movies than another chick flick.' It's not like we haven't had this argument a million times before, you should remember your trademark lines."

Alex looked at her blankly for a moment, then gave a lopsided grin. "Sorry, must have zoned out of the conversation before we got back to my lines."

Maria accepted this explanation, but Liz still looked confused. She gave Alex a puzzled look, before standing up abruptly and saying, "I'm going to make sure the grill is turned off and everything's put away. I'll be right back." She turned and walked away.

Maria turned back to Alex and was about to say something when there was another sharp knock on the glass door. She looked up and saw a strange man standing there, someone she didn't recognize. Glancing over at Alex, she said, "Be right back," and walked over to the door.

The man smiled at her as she opened the door for her and said, "I'm sorry, Miss, but I was here this afternoon, and I think I left my jacket on the chair I was sitting at." He pointed to one of the tables, and Maria turned to see that, sure enough, a jacket was tossed over the seat of the chair.

"Oh, sure," Maria said quickly, letting the man step past her.

The man walked over to the chair and grabbed his jacket. As he did so, he locked eyes with Alex, and for a moment, the two stared at each other. Then the stranger broke the gaze and turned away, giving Maria a smile.

"Thank you," he said.

"Sure," Maria replied, having missed the strange silent interaction between the stranger and Alex.

But Liz had stepped out of the backroom in time to see Alex's eyes widen slightly as he looked at the man, as though he recognized this person. She frowned, her brown eyes narrowing as she watched the man leave, closing the door behind him. Then she slanted a look over at Alex, and saw him tip the contents of a Tabasco bottle into his tomato juice before carefully screwing the cap back on the bottle and taking a sip of his new concoction.

Outside, the Seeker walked briskly away from the Crashdown. Once he was sure he was out of sight of the three occupants of the diner, he paused and ran a hand through his hair.

"Interesting…" he murmured to himself.

This was an interesting development indeed.


"What do you want me to do?" Michael asked, holding the phone to his ear, not entirely sure he had heard Max right.

"I want you to find out if anyone new is in town this week," Max repeated.

Michael shook his head. "Max, Roswell may be small, but it isn't that small. More than one person probably came to visit in the past week. What exactly am I looking for?"

"Something… something that could be a threat," Max said.

"I thought you said you didn't believe Tess?" Michael questioned sharply.

"No," Max replied. "I said I didn't think she was right in her idea about how to deal with this new threat. If it really is a threat. But I do trust her instincts."

Michael rolled his eyes and thought to himself that Max had a funny way of expressing that trust. "Okay, but you're going to have to be a bit more specific because I still don't know what I am looking for. Did she tell you what the guy looked like?"

"No," Max admitted. "Just… just look, okay? Check the bus station logs and that sort of thing. Get Valenti to help you if you want, he still has connections to the Sheriff's office, even if he isn't the Sheriff any more. Just… see if there is something there."

Michael agreed reluctantly, "Okay," and thought idly that it sounded like he was going on a wild goose chase. He hung up the phone and frowned, wondering exactly how he was going to go about this investigation for Max.


Kyle pulled the door open and stared in surprise at the girl on the doorstep. When he had heard the knocking, he had assumed that it was either one of the aliens, or one of his football friends. So to find Liz standing there, staring up at him with concern in her brown doe-eyes, left him speechless for a moment.

Then horrible scenarios flashed through his mind, most of which featured enemy aliens killing everyone.

He had tried to tell himself that he didn't care about the others. They had ruined his father's career, and he should not have cared what happened to them. But because whatever happened to them would affect Tess, he found that he did care, and the sight of Liz standing there worried him.

"What is it?" he demanded, preparing himself for the worst.

Liz shifted from foot to foot, then said, "Is Tess here? I need to talk to her?"

Kyle looked taken aback, but he nodded. "She's in her room." He wondered if he should go with her, make sure she didn't start yelling at Tess or something. But he decided against it, because he knew Tess could take care of herself.

And she would kill him if he tried to interfere.

Liz stepped past Kyle and walked over to Tess' room. She knocked on the door, her a voice call out, "Come in," and pushed the door open.

Tess was sitting on her bed, reading. She looked up, and Liz could tell that she was startled to see the brunette human. For a moment, she said nothing as her blue eyes widened, and then she asked in a rush, "Did something happen? Max? Isabel? Michael?" It was late, very late, what would Liz being doing here if they weren't hurt?

What would Liz be doing here at all?

Liz shook her head. "No…" she swallowed and looked around the room, suddenly unable to meet Tess' eyes. She hated that she was here, asking Tess for help, but at the same time, she knew it was the only way. After all, this was Alex she was worried about, and there was nothing she wouldn't do for her him. Summoning her courage, she said, "I need your help."

Tess slipped her legs off the side of the bed and stood up, gesturing for Liz to enter the room and close the door. Liz did so, and the two stood uncomfortably for a moment, before Tess asked, "Well? What is it?"

Liz swallowed. "It's Alex," she said. "He's been acting… strange. And I… well, today, at the Crashdown, this guy came in, because he had forgotten his sweater, and I swear Alex recognized him. It was like he was afraid or worried or angry, maybe? I don't know. But then he put Tabasco sauce in his tomato juice, and he never drinks tomato juice. And he didn't know the right things to say, and he seemed distant, and he's been different all week. More confident and more… I don't know, but since he got back from Sweden…" She stopped, and paused to take a breath. Her words had come out rushed and cramped together, and she had stumbled over some of them, still surprised that she was doing this.

But Tess had stopped listening around the point that Liz mentioned the stranger at the Crashdown. Could this possibly be the same person? But what would that have to do with Alex?

"Anyway," Liz continued, "I thought maybe you would be able to tell me if…" she stopped again, suddenly realizing what she was about to say. She was about to ask if Tess could tell her if Alex was being possessed or mind-warped or something, and that was just ridiculous. After all, this was Alex. He was just more confident because he had gone away for a while, and was more in touch with who he was. And the Tabasco thing, maybe it was something Isabel got him started on. As for the strange man, she had probably just imagined that interaction.

After all, if something was wrong with Alex, Isabel would have noticed.

Right?

But then why couldn't she shake the feeling that something was very wrong?

"You think something is wrong with Alex?" Tess asked.

Liz nodded wordlessly. There was another silence, then Liz asked hesitantly, "Is there anyway you could figure out if he is being possessed or mind-warped?"

Tess thought about it for a moment. "I can try," she said at last, wondering exactly how she would try. Then she narrowed her eyes. "What did Max say when you told him your suspicions?" It would be so like the alien king to trust his human soul mate implicitly, even when he had earlier dismissed his alien wife's fears.

But Liz's answer surprised her. "I didn't."

Tess didn't ask why, finding suddenly that she didn't really care. She had moved on from Max, she told herself. She had agreed to go on a date with one of Kyle's friends. Matt was nice, and she could date him and forget about Max.

Right?

Finally, Tess nodded. "I'll help you if you'll help me," she said.

Liz raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you need help with?" she asked warily.

"Today, at the Crashdown, I saw this guy who just… felt wrong…"


The Seeker sat down on the bed in his hotel room and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. He was tired, somehow the husk that he was using did not fit quite right. He had never really had time to perfect the technology behind it. He couldn't ask Khivar for help on that one, it would be too blatant of a clue to the Intergalactic Council that he was accepting outside help. So he was forced to learn how to use a husk himself, and he was too new at it to really expect to get it perfectly figured out.

And, even if he had asked Khivar for help, he wasn't entirely sure he could trust the skin king anymore. He had already lead him astray once, and now…

He ignored the dull ache behind his eyes. It was unpleasant, but that didn't matter. He had come this far, he was not going to give up now.

Except…

There was a new development in his plan, a new complication, and he wondered how he was going to deal with it.

The boy…

He rubbed the back of his head and fell back against the pillows.

He didn't know what was going on, but he knew his best option was to strike quickly, to get to the Queen before anyone had a chance to ruin his plans.

The problem would be, of course, getting the Queen by herself. He closed his eyes again and let his thoughts wander, hoping he would come up with a plan.

Anyways, how difficult could it be to get a teenage girl alone for a few minutes? Human teenagers went off on their own all the time, without people really paying attention to where they had gone or how long they would be gone. No one would notice she had disappeared until he had slipped away.

After all, it wouldn't take that long to kill her.


"Oh, Liz isn't here right now, Max," Mrs. Parker said into the phone as she stood in front of the mirror and took the bobby pins out of her hair with one hand. It had been a long day, and she was ready to go to sleep, but her daughter and husband were both still out, and she made a habit of not falling asleep until at least one of them, though preferably both, were safely home.

"Do you know where she is?" Max's voice asked through the phone line. "I tried calling her, but her cell phone was turned off."

"Yes…" Mrs. Parker said. Liz had left a note about where she was going, what had it said. She thought about it for a moment, then remembered and told Max, "She went to the Jim and Kyle's house to talk to that Harding girl you guys are friend with. Tess, I believe?"

"Tess?" Max sounded surprised. "Did she say why?"

"No," Mrs. Parker said. "Should I tell her you called?"

"Yes, please do," Max said, and Mrs. Parker hung up the phone.

In his bedroom, Max stared at his own phone in confusion, and wondered why on Earth Liz would have gone over to talk to Tess.

He put the phone down and stood up, intent on heading over to the Valentis' house and discovering the answer to his question.


If the need is great enough, you'll work with the strangest people. It's a common thing is politics, the far right and the far left coming together on some random issue, when usually they can't even be in the same room without trying to kill each other. Or, at the very least, tryin to discredit each other.

But if the need is great enough, you'll go to whatever lengths you can. And you'll do things you never thought you'd do.

Maybe you'll go up to the person who came out of nowhere and claimed to be your soul mate's destiny, and ruined your life, and you'll ask her for help.

Or maybe you'll go up to the girl who took everything away from you when she become the love of your husband's life, and you'll ask her for help.

Or maybe you'll join with an organization you oppose and risk losing popularity and having your people hate you, because you know if you don't, the organization will ruin you, and all you hold dear.

It may gall your pride and it may contradict everything you ever believed in, but you'll do it.

Because someone or something else is important enough to you that you make that sacrifice.

The thing is, and though people rarely think about this, it will affect you later on down the line, once the crisis is over and the need is gone, you still have to live with what you did, and who you did it with, because the consequences don't just fade away.