Max drove out to Alex's cabin to ask a favor. Michael was there, as he almost always was lately.

"Will you host a poker night here? Just us, Noah and Kyle. Noah's hurting. A night out might cheer him up."

"What about Isobel?" Alex asked.

"She's hurting, too, but she knows why. Noah doesn't understand what's going on and she won't tell him. I can't have it at my place because she stops by a lot to talk or crash for the night if she doesn't want to be alone in Michael's trailer."

"So you don't want Isobel to know you're siding with Noah?" Michael asked.

"I'm not siding with him. Isobel is my sister. She's first with me and she knows it. But Noah is caught in the middle of something he never signed up for."

"Of course we'll do it," Alex said. "It'll be fun. We haven't gotten together since karaoke."

"I'll bring everything," Max offered.

"That's not how it works," Alex said. "Everybody brings something, even Noah. It's poker, not a pity party."

Max looked at Michael. "He's tough."

"Military cuts no slack," Michael agreed. "Keeps me in line."

"Nice of you to let Isobel stay in your trailer."

"I figure she'll give the place a good cleaning."

"She already has. All your shit was stacked outside. The inside was like crime scene clean-up. She was practically hosing it out with bleach."

Michael looked worried. "My alien stuff …"

"Isobel's head is in a bad place right now but she's not crazy enough to mess with that. She was careful. Her mission was dirt. She said something about re-grouting the bathroom."

"Got to appreciate perfectionism."

"Yeah, you owe her."

"I owe her," Alex said. "It gave Michael an excuse to move in. Who knows how long it would have taken him otherwise."

"I was almost living with you anyway."

Alex and Michael looked at each other, forgetting that Max was still there.

"Okay, I'm out of here. You two can barely keep it in your pants." Max left, relieved to avoid witnessing any tender moments.


Kyle had a weekend shift starting on Saturday so he would have to sober up before the evening ended. He would do his drinking the first couple of hours then switch to Gatorade and water which was his personally tested hangover prevention. As designated driver he drove Max and Noah to the cabin, bringing with him tortilla chips and ten fine cigars.

"These are above my pay grade," Alex said admiringly, inhaling the aroma of the cigars.

"And mine," Kyle said. "Gift from a grateful patient."

Noah offered up a bottle of scotch and a layered dip. "Isobel's recipe," he said sadly. "I hope I made it right."

Michael dipped a finger in, licked it off and nodded approval.

"This is twenty-five year old single malt," Alex said. "Also above my pay grade."

"A gift from a grateful client," Noah said. "I've been saving it for a special occasion."

"And we qualify?" Max asked. "Honored, man."

"I need grateful clients," Michael said.

"Military get free drinks sometimes," Alex said. "Mostly beer."

"Coffee and donuts for cops," Max said. "The cliché persists."

"I can take anything from the junk yard," Michael said. "I do pretty well, actually." He made extra money selling refurbished parts.

Max had brought a variety of craft beers and Michael had made wings. The men toasted the evening with a generous pour of scotch. They lit cigars, switched to beer and settled down to Texas Hold 'Em with Alex's poker playlist for background music.

The host usually acted as dealer but Alex deferred to Max's experience. And maybe Alex wanted to be free for other activities. Players from Max's left were Noah, Michael, Kyle and back around to Alex on his right. After a couple of hands Michael gave a small grunt of surprise and his eyes went to Alex.

"Did I kick someone?" Alex asked. "Sorry, lost control of my fake foot."

Max was pretty sure he knew where the foot had landed and that it hadn't been a kick. He looked around the table. Noah was oblivious. Michael was carefully not looking at Alex. Kyle was studying his cards but there was a twitch at the corner of his mouth that told Max he had caught what was going on. Alex's feigned innocence had been a little unbelievable. Max wondered when the gay relationship became the least complicated one in their circle.

They didn't talk about Isobel and Noah's separation. No words were needed. Noah appreciated their silent support. He loved his wife with all his heart and mind and soul. He was sure that Isobel loved him, too, but she was distant sometimes and she had what he was starting to think was an unhealthy attachment to Max and Michael. When he had learned their history, he understood and accepted her absences to be with them. But the secret drinking was serious. She had been raised in a loving home with devoted parents since the age of seven. He felt he had been a good husband and that they'd been happy. If all that hadn't overcome her abandonment issues, she needed professional help. So he had tried tough love and now he had to wait to see what Isobel would do.

Max knew his sister was having a worse time than Noah right now. But Isobel had him and Michael, and Noah was isolated. He had done well in law school. He could have gone anywhere, joined a big firm, and made a name for himself. But he stayed in Roswell because Isobel didn't want to live anywhere else. He didn't have family nearby. People he worked with were more colleagues than friends. Max wished that Isobel would just tell Noah. He thought she might have if being an alien was the only secret she was keeping, but she had been devastated by the realization of her role in the deaths of Rosa and two other girls. Max thought that Noah giving Isobel an ultimatum was probably a good thing. It had just happened at the worst time.

Michael liked Isobel's husband well enough. They were friendly but not close. Sometimes he thought Noah was whipped and sometimes he thought the guy was too nice for his own good. Overall, he admired Noah for finally taking a stand. It was too bad there was so much more going on. Michael hadn't told Alex about Rosa and the other girls. It felt wrong to keep it from him but Isobel deserved time to process something she hadn't faced for ten years. Michael was confident that Alex would understand but it was going to be a big fucking deal when it came time to talk about it.

Kyle hadn't crushed on Isobel in high school. She was cool and aloof and he preferred Liz's warmth. He knew now why Isobel kept herself remote but he suspected something else had happened recently. He wasn't privy to all the secrets and that was okay because he had his own situation to figure out. He and Liz were on hold. So were Max and Jenna. So were Max and Liz. In other circumstances he and Max would avoid each other but they were bound by something bigger than relationship drama. Besides, they'd known each other more than twenty years. Kyle didn't want to treat another friend like he'd treated Alex in high school.

Alex barely knew Noah. They had met after he got back to Roswell and had seen each other only a few times since. It couldn't have been easy for him coming to live in Roswell among Isobel's friends who had known each other forever. It had been strange for Alex at first, after being away for so long. Liz probably felt the same. And now Kyle, Liz, Max, Jenna, Isobel and Noah were in couples' hell while Alex and Michael were living in domestic tranquility. Alex wasn't going to be smug about it, though. He hadn't told Michael about the secret room under the cabin. It was Kyle's secret as well, or rather Jim Valenti's, and they had agreed not to talk about it yet. That meant Alex couldn't talk about the alien artifact either.

They ended the evening with a second round of the scotch and final puffs on the cigars. They had each won a few hands but Kyle was the biggest winner. Noah won a couple of small pots but his attention wasn't fully on the cards. Still, he seemed happier by the time they called it a night. He was the first to collect empty bottles and cans and start cleaning up.

"Thanks for helping," Alex said.

"He's a credit to Isobel's training," Michael said quietly to Max.

Thanks, all of you. This means a lot." Noah was drunk enough to have become a bit maudlin. "I love you guys."

"Brothers," Max said. "Not just brothers-in-law."


After they left Alex removed his prosthesis and massaged the stump.

"Hurts?" Michael asked.

"A little more than usual," Alex admitted.

"Serves you right. You probably strained it stretching under the table to poke my dick."

"I wondered if you'd excuse yourself to rub one out in the bathroom."

"Ten years ago I would have come at the table. Five years ago I would have gone to the bathroom. Tonight I was so hard I hurt for a few minutes but it went away. Guess I'm getting old."

Michael helped Alex to the bathroom then went back to the living room to move his prosthesis and crutch beside the bed, ready for morning.

In the bathroom, Alex was balancing with one hand on the vanity and trying to get his pants open with the other hand. "I'm a little drunk for fine motor skills."

Michael unzipped Alex's jeans, pulled his cock out and aimed it.

Alex put his arm around Michael's neck and said, "That feels good."

"Pissing or me holding your dick?"

"Why can't it be both?"

Michael tucked Alex's cock away and asked, "Are you going to return the favor?"

"Hold me up."

So Michael steadied Alex and Alex helped Michael take a piss.

"Teamwork," Michael said.

"Foundation of a good relationship."

"What about love?"

"Of course. And communication. And honesty and trust."

"Understanding and respect. I googled the elements of a healthy relationship."

"Take me to bed, Cowboy."

A few minutes later Michael asked, "Is that enough foreplay? Because I'm about to hump your stump."

"Is it weird of me to find that exciting?"

"It was weirder of me to say it. But seriously, Private, I'm ready."

Suddenly Alex tensed, groaned and relaxed. "Uh, I just …"

"Yeah, I felt it."

"Sorry. I was closer than I thought."

"No apology necessary. But you could help me finish now that you're done."

"Tell me what you want."

Alex had squeezed Michael's butt when he came. Michael reached back and moved Alex's hand between them. He kissed Alex as he moved his own hand to Alex's butt.

"Hand, mouth, ass," Michael said. "That's my pick three tonight in your body lottery."