Title: New Ties
Summary: After the group leaves Roswell to escape from the FBI (in the final episode of Roswell), they continue to live their destinies. The group meets other hybrids that join them. This fanfic was written after the final episode of Roswell, and may or may not have accurate names in it for the planets mentioned in the V solar system the aliens come from.
Disclaimer: I do not own Roswell or any of it's characters. I only claim the characters that I created in this fanfic, not the original ones. I wrote this for fun, not for profit, so please don't sue.
Feedback: Thank you for the feedback and reviews everyone. I really do appreciate it! Please review. Thanks again!
Chapter 12
Staring at the ground, not one of the remaining group members could believe it. Over the coming days, their shock would not dissipate quickly. If there had been char marks, dust, or remains of some kind then maybe, just maybe, they would have been able to accept it. Without so much as an out of place twig on the ground, the guys lived the following weeks in disbelief. They're lives quickly became foggy, as the days blurred from one into another. At first, Clay and Michael exploded, refusing to accept the inevitable. While Max and James, being the calm ones, just stared in wonder and spoke of the feelings they still had. The senses they still felt of the others. This lasted for weeks before Kyle lost his temper with everyone who was left.
"Face it! They're gone! They aren't coming back. They didn't disappear, they weren't taken without us knowing it, they didn't just vanish! They're gone! Dead! Stop dreaming! They're gone!" Kyle's cries faded into hesitant sobs. Staring in disbelief, Max felt the twinge of feeling in his gut he had waited for, almost prayed for. Anger. Anger. At least it's an emotion. At least I'm able to feel something real that I can quantify, something I'm familiar with. It's been five weeks since the last time I've felt anything. They sacrificed everything… for us.
"Stop it! I won't let you rant. How dare you speak that way! They saved us! They saved a solar system we may never see. How dare you! I will never accept them being gone." Max said, hating himself for thinking I'll never accept her being gone. Looking back and forth between his two friends, Michael knew instinctively it was time to move on.
"We should pay our respects before moving on. They deserve that much at the very least." Michael said, glancing at Clay for confirmation before standing up and walking to the tree at the center of campground. Agreeing, Clay walked forth and stood at Michael's side.
"We'll honor them here tonight." Clay said, standing still as James, Kyle, and then finally Max joined them at the tree.
That evening found the five men gathering personal objects of the women they loved so much. Max looked at his wedding band, rubbing the shiny gold. He would honor his wife's memory this night, all of which would be signified by the circle of love on his ring finger. Kyle took a different route, eyeing one of Isabel's favorite scarves. He knew Isabel's pain at being separated from her husband, a good man. A man he did not look forward to writing too about the events of last month. Kyle respected Jesse though, so he would honor Isabel's memory for him tonight with the others.
As Max and Kyle prepared themselves, Michael looked on in unabashed shame. He didn't want to say goodbye, he didn't want to move on, he just knew they had too. Even Max understood that much, but he hated himself for being the one to say it. And now that he had, now that everyone was getting ready to do just that, Michael found himself unable to. I can't really say goodbye. Can I? Throughout all of the make out sessions and fights, Michael had known that Maria would always be there, in his life, to offer whatever support he needed. And now, she's gone. Shaking his head in disbelief, Michael stared at the tree where everyone would be paying their respects. I'll honor her tonight. And I will move on. But I will never say goodbye, not to my Maria. His decision made, Michael turned and walked to the large tent that the guys had been sleeping in still these many weeks. Hunching until he could see his backpack, Michael reached in and grabbed that ludicrously large pack. Bending over further, he zipped open a couple of pockets before reaching in and pulling out a small velvet bag. Holding the soft object in his hand, Michael released the pack in favor of using his other hand to open the velvet bag. Turning it over, a shiny silver necklace dropped out. Looking at the delicate necklace, Michael focused on the small emerald encased in an intricate silver pendant. The emerald reminded him of Maria's eyes, forcing him to take a few seconds to refocus on his task. Originally planning to give Maria the necklace the day of the final battle, he had never had the chance. Taking in a deep breath, Michael placed the necklace back in the velvet bag and walked over to join the others.
By this time, Clay and James were just now walking up to the tree. Squeezing his hand tightly, Clay did not notice the mixed hue of red and purple that his fist was slowly turning. As he walked up to the tree, he slowly loosened his squeeze to reach into a pocket and pull out a shiny, platinum ring. The ring was gorgeous, showcasing a large square ruby surrounded by an intricate design of silver and diamonds. An antique, Clay had received the ring as a gift for helping an elderly woman and her son a little over a year ago. Always intending to marry Caitlin one day, Clay had accepted the gift graciously and planned to present it to Caitlin on their wedding day. Now, holding the beautiful ring in his hand, it hurt him to know that it no longer represented their future. Instead, it encompassed all their heartache and dreams, along with all his love for her. Looking back at the tree, he instinctively knew that honoring their loved ones tonight was what they had to do. It could be no other night, no other time of day even, something about this night made it special.
Now standing in front of the tree, side by side with the others, Clay glanced over and noticed the sweater James was holding. A brilliant royal blue, Clay instantly recognized the sweater as one Caitlin had made for James at 16. He could still remember the slim teen walk up shyly and the neatly wrapped gift to her brother. Caitlin had worked on the sweater for three months. Her pride and joy, it was the one and only time she had learned to knit and successfully completed a project. Her 25 year old brother, now as proud of his sister as he had been at 16, stood in front of the tree unconsciously gliding his long fingers over the soft material. It had also been one of Sonya's favorite sweaters. To James the sweater held many memories, not only of his sister but also of the girl he had loved since the first time he saw her laugh. Sighing, Clay looked down momentarily. Is it really meant to be this way? Feeling a sense of calm overtake him, Clay looked up and noticed everyone was ready to start. Everyone was focused in front of them, like they too had felt the time had come.
Stepping forth, Max took his wedding band and laid it in the crook between a large root and a smaller one. Looking down at the ring, Max concentrated on his wife. The innocent little girl, the courageous teenager, the beautiful woman, in that instant all of what Liz was and had ever been to him poured out.
"I love you Liz. I always have, and I always will. Tonight we aren't together, and we might not be tomorrow or the day after that, but one day, we will be. I promise, Liz Parker Evans, one day we will be together again." Max said, before falling down to one knee and sobbing. Taking in a deep, hesitant breath, Kyle stepped next to Max and squeezed his shoulder. Unwrapping the scarf from around his hand, Kyle then bent down and placed it at the foot of the tree. As he stood back up, Kyle grimaced.
"I don't know what to say Isabel. I haven't known what to say to you, not since I discovered how I really feel about you. But there are things, important things, you should know. You are brave, and you are strong. What you guys did when Kivar and Petrax attacked proves it. But I never needed that proof. I always knew, I could always see. You've been with Max and Michael through everything. Always the loyal and loving sister, and friend. That's how I knew you. That's how I remember you now. I will write Jesse, and let him know. I'll tell him about your sacrifice, and that of the others. So he'll know too, he'll know the loyal and loving wife you've always been. We love you Isabel, and we always will." Kyle said, finishing his last sentence quickly before stepping back. Unable to keep his control any longer, Kyle didn't bother wiping away the tear that slid down his right cheek.
Sensing a pull, Clay stepped forward abruptly. Taking out the ring, Clay placed it in the crook of two large branches. Looking at the gleaming silver and red, Clay sighed.
"It's never going to be easy Caitlin. What did we ever do in our past lives? It's never easy. But I don't care. Because I love you, I would go through it all ten times over if it means being with you. I'm incomplete without you. I remember growing up, how we used to watch romance movies and laugh at the corny lines. Inside, my chest feels like it's going to explode. That's how much I need you. You've done so much, you've always been so strong, so beautiful to me. You will always be the missing part of me." Clay said huskily, before stepping back.
Michael needed to vent, he needed to let go with what he was holding inside. So stepping forward as the others had, he bent down and placed the black velvet bag with necklace on a small branch. Once standing back up to his full height, Michael exhaled deeply.
"I always figured I'd be the one to leave. I never thought you or Liz or Isabel would leave us. You've changed since the first time we talked, really talked, after Liz told you about us. Maria, it's not right. You should be here, at my side, for always. I've never accepted you being gone. It's like a nightmare, and I keep hoping I will wake up front it. I'm not going too, am I? I want to though. I want you back with me so much it hurts. Wherever we go from here, whatever happens, please know I'll always love you." Michael whispered.
As Michael stepped back to be relatively parallel with the rest of the guys, James stood forward. Feeling the soft fabric of the sweater one last time, he leaned over and placed it on two large branches. Looking the tree head on, James stood a moment in utter silence. Getting concerned for their friend, the others glanced at him and noticed as his eyes became refocused.
"Thank you. All of you, Liz, Isabel, Maria, Caitlin, you four have given us our lives back. You have sacrificed yourselves for us. Thank you. We're selfish, each and everyone one of us, as we stand here to say goodbye. Because all we want is to turn around and see you, friends and lovers, standing there holding your arms out for us. We haven't been able to accept your loss, because we don't want to lose you. We'd rather die ourselves then have any one of you hurt, much less taken from us. Thank you. All we can say, is Thank you. It's not the end, but thanks to the new beginning you've graciously given us, we can move on. None of you would want us lingering here, refusing to face reality and letting our lives pass us by. So tonight, we pay you all the honor you deserve. We love you guys, so much, so this night is for you. In honor of your memories, your lives, your love, your sacrifice. Thank you." James said, unable to hide his pride in his younger sister, cousin, and friends. The sadness overcame James quickly, knocking him to the ground. The others soon followed, a feeling of overwhelming sadness and grief shocking them to their very cores.
