Title: Details in the Fabric

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Summary: Sequel to Time After Time. AU Season Three. In the end, it's the little things that can pull a group together. And it's the little things that can tear them apart.

Chapter Twenty-One: Of Nightmares and Dreams

"So… you had a dream about your friends back home?" Maggie asked hesitantly, tilting her head to the side and regarding Liz with some concern. "And… that is what got you all upset? But it's just a nightmare."

Liz ran a hand through her hair and nodded. "I know. I know, but…" But it wasn't just a nightmare. It really, really wasn't just a nightmare. And something was dangerously wrong.

Eileen was perched on the edge of her bed, and she said casually, "You kept saying the name Max over and over. He a friend of yours?"

"He is… was… my boyfriend," Liz admitted reluctantly. She'd left him completely out of any backstory she'd given to her friends, and so was not surprised to see Maggie's eyebrows rise questioningly or Eileen's smile turn into a smirk.

"I thought your last boyfriend was Kyle Something-or-Other," Maggie argued.

"After Kyle and I broke up, I started dating Max. We dated off and on for sophomore and junior year," Liz explained. "He… he's part of the reason that I left Roswell."

"Roswell?" Eileen repeated, and Maggie's eyebrows rose even further. Too late, Liz remembered that she had told them she was from California. She'd managed to keep that secret for so long, but now the lies seemed to be unraveling, and she was too tired and too worried to bother stopping them.

Her mind kept going back to the dream and the fear in her chest could have been irrational panic, but she did not actually believe that it was.

She buried her face in her hands and tried to think.

"Beth?" Maggie prompted. "Tell us about this… this Max guy. Did he hurt you? Is that why you left?"

Liz looked up sharply. "No. I mean… well, yes, he did hurt me. But not in the way that you're thinking. Max was never violent or… or anything like that. We just…"

Maggie wrapped an arm around Liz in a comforting gesture, and Liz was grateful for her support, but couldn't help wishing that it was Maria or Alex there instead.

"What happened?" Eileen asked as she lit a cigarette.

Liz let out a long breath. "At the end of last year, there was a car accident. The Sheriff… who happened to be Kyle's father… was killed. And one of my best friends was in a coma. We thought… we thought he wasn't going to make it."

She felt the tears burning in her eyes and wondered how her emotions had swung so far out of control. Alex had survived, and merely mentioning his name should not upset her this much. Or was it the Sheriff she was thinking of, and the loss of his life that was causing her to cry?

Or maybe she was just remembering everything that had happened afterwards, and how it had torn the group apart.

She chewed her lower lip for a moment, feeling a surge of rage against Courtney. She did not regret taking the deal and saving Alex's life, and she did not regret convincing everyone else to do the same. But she wanted to kill Courtney. She really, truly wanted to murder the rebel skin.

She forced herself to continue the story. "Max and I got into an argument about it. About Alex. It seemed like… like he was willing to give up on Alex. And I wasn't. We did and said a lot of things that… that maybe we shouldn't have, and…"

She wiped at her eyes with the back of one hand. There was no way to finish the story without including Courtney's betrayal, and so she lapsed into silence.

"But Alex woke up? I mean… is he okay now?" Maggie questioned.

Liz nodded once. "It's… it's more complicated than that, though. The car accident wasn't really an accident… I mean… one of our… friends… had caused it but didn't admit to it…"

"A hit and run?" Eileen asked with a low whistle, clearly assuming it was some sort of car crash. "That's a serious crime, especially when someone gets killed."

Liz blinked. "Yeah," she whispered. "She left town… she was never caught. And the whole thing just… just really tore apart my group of friends. That's why I left. Not just because of Max, but because of all of it. I needed to get out of Roswell. It hurt too much to stay."

"But now you're having nightmares about Max?"

"About all of them," Liz answered. "About them getting hurt."

"Like another car crash?" Maggie pressed. "But… I think that's probably normal, Beth. I mean, you clearly still care about them, and because of what happened last year, some part of you is still worried. But it's just a nightmare. It's not real, they're not going to get hurt."

Liz sniffed. If only that were actually true.

"You can always talk to the counselor about it," Eileen suggested. "I mean, she's crazy like all shrinks, but whatever. It might help."

The air in the room was now heavy with the scent of smoke, and Maggie wrinkled her nose in distaste. Eileen rolled her eyes at Maggie and blew a puff of smoke towards the blonde. Liz, meanwhile, glanced up at the ceiling and wondered vaguely why Eileen's smoking hadn't set off the smoke detectors yet.

"It was Max's name you kept saying," Eileen said after a pause. "Not anyone else's. Doesn't seem to me like you're really over him."

"He hurt her," Maggie said pointedly.

"You said it was an argument. You said that you both said things you shouldn't have," Eileen countered, looking at Liz thoughtfully. "So did you hurt him, too?"

"Probably," Liz whispered. She couldn't quite bring herself to admit it, even though she knew the answer to that question was a definite yes. She had hurt Max… but he'd hurt her, too, and she'd only wanted to find a way to save Alex. That had been the most important thing in the world to her.

So why hadn't it been as important to Max?

"Look, if he's a complete jerk, then whatever. You're clearly better off without him. But if you're having nightmares about him getting hurt, then you aren't over him. So that's where we should start. Do you have any belongings of his? We could burn them. Or… oh, voodoo! We could get a voodoo doll and castrate him!"

Liz laughed. Eileen, as usual, was reminding her of Maria. A slightly more violent version of Maria.

"I have a sewing kit in my room," Maggie said with a grin. "It has pins and needles in it. So all we need is a doll."

"That shouldn't be too hard to find," Eileen said thoughtfully. "We can probably even make one."

The horror of the dream was slowly fading, although some part of Liz was already determined to call Maria and make sure that everyone in Roswell was actually safe. It was hard to be scared now, with the lights on and Maggie and Eileen with her, but it didn't mean that she was completely able to let of the nagging voice in the back of her head, the whispered words that something was still wrong.

"Honest question, though," Eileen said thoughtfully, giving Liz a long look. "Max… he wasn't abusive, right? He didn't maliciously try to hurt you? He didn't… it wasn't about getting control over you? He wasn't horrible to you during the rest of the two years you guys were dating?"

Liz shook her head. "No. Max wasn't any of those things. It was just the fight…"

"But you didn't tell us about him. You wrote him out of your life completely when you made up this new history," Eileen prompted.

Liz shrugged. "It hurt to think about him."

"Does it hurt because you want to get over him, or does it hurt because you want to be with him?"

Liz didn't answer. In her dream, something bad had happened. And she didn't know what it was, but she knew that it had brought Max to tears, that he was falling apart because of it. Someone in the group could have died, could be dying…

And it was Max that she was worried about.

So didn't that make the answer to Eileen's question rather obvious?

"So you ran off to talk to an alien shape-shifter who couldn't actually tell you anything helpful," Maria said, staring hard at Michael as she stacked several bottles of ketchup onto a tray and carried them into the backroom. She wasn't quite able to keep the anger at of her tone, but at this point, she didn't know what she was angry about. Alex was with Isabel, Max was filling Tess in on everything they had learned, and that left her alone at the Crashdown with Michael, and with no idea what to say to him.

He'd told her everything they'd learned – or, rather, everything they hadn't learned – and as far as she could tell, they were now all planning on invading Isabel's dreams that very night. As soon as Michael was done talking to her.

"It wasn't a complete waste of time," Michael argued, following her. "We were able to learn a few things about Khivar. And now we know that the only way to stop him from hurting Isabel is to attack him through her dreams."

"According to Langley, who can't be trusted," Maria said.

They were standing in the kitchen, and she glanced around. The diner had long since closed for the evening and everything was cleaned and put away. The bottles of ketchup had been the last items needing to be cleared. Some of them needed to be refilled, but that was usually done in the morning by whoever worked the early shift.

She sighed. She didn't really want to leave. The Crashdown was one of the few places were Liz's presence lingered, and it was almost as though she could hear her best friend walking around with her, making jokes and gossiping and commiserating with her problems.

"We know he can't be trusted," Michael agreed, interrupting his thoughts. "But this is our only chance."

"I still think you should have let me come with you," Maria said.

Michael gave her a brief, annoyed look, then said with a frown, "It's too dangerous."

"It's always too dangerous," Maria countered. "But I thought we were in this together." She turned and walked away from him, over to the grill. It was pristine and perfectly clean, but she still grabbed a towel and ran it over the metal surface, pretending to wipe away the day's accumulation of grease.

"We are in this together," Michael agreed. "But that doesn't mean you should take stupid risks."

Her eyes darted to his face. She couldn't read his expression, and it bothered her. They had been so close over the summer, but now it was almost as though she didn't know him anymore. What had happened? How had this all changed?

"You took a stupid risk. You and Max both. And now the four of you are considering doing it again, taking Langley's advice and confronting Khivar."

Michael threw his hands into the air in frustration. "It's Isabel, Maria. What do you want me to do? What do you want me to say? We can't just… just not do anything."

"I'm not suggesting that you do nothing," Maria snapped.

She leaned against the wall. Max had clearly convinced Michael to see his point of view at least a little. The normally stoic hybrid seemed ready to jump into anything to save Isabel, and even if he was clearly still annoyed at Max for all of this, he was willing to trust Langley.

"Then what are you suggesting?" Michael asked in a weary voice.

"Don't shut me out," Maria said.

"I'm not."

"Yes, yes you are," Maria retorted angrily. "God, Michael, when did you start taking Kristalia with you instead of me? When did you start only caring about Isabel?"

"When I decided I didn't want to risk your life on a reckless mission," Michael answered furiously. "When I decided that you couldn't really help out on this particular mission, anyway. When Isabel started having dreams that are driving her insane and when the Royalists couldn't come up with an answer. This isn't really about you, Maria. This isn't even about us. This is about Isabel and Khivar and the war and I am trying to do what is best."

"You don't think I can help?" Maria repeated, shaking her head and backing away from him. "What, I'm not alien enough for you?"

Michael scratched his eyebrow. He had a helpless look on his face, and his shoulders sagged some as he stared at her. "That's not what I meant," he said tiredly, "and you know it."

She averted her gaze. "I need to get home," she said. She walked around him, towards the door of the kitchen, then paused and looked back. "I really hope this works, Michael. I hope this helps Isabel."

She didn't wait for a response, but instead quickly pushed the door open and stepped out of the kitchen. Michael didn't follow her, and she stood in the main part of the diner for a moment, suddenly exhausted. She desperately wished Liz was there.

Maybe she would call Liz when she got home.

But it was late, she realized, and with the time difference, it would be even later where Liz was. No doubt her best friend was fast asleep. There was no reason to wake her up, especially not so that she could listen to Maria complain for a while. She would call in the morning, or maybe after school.

And hopefully Liz would be able to explain what was happening to her, because she had no idea.

She got home a little while later and poked her head into the kitchen to see her mother sitting at the table, waiting for her. Amy usually went to bed earlier than this, but ever since the Sheriff's death, whenever Maria worked the last shift at the Crashdown, she stayed up to make sure her daughter got home safely.

Maria wondered vaguely if her mother was expecting another car crash, another cruel twist of fate to take away someone that she loved.

"I'm home, Mom," she said.

Amy looked up with a smile and tears in her eyes. "Good. It's late, and I don't really like you working this late on a school night. Can't Jim switch you to the afternoon?"

Maria shrugged. She didn't really mind the evening shift, but if it bothered her mother, she was willing to make the change, at least for a little while. "I'll ask Mr. Parker about it," she promised.

Amy got up and walked over to Maria. "Thank you," she said, kissing Maria on the forehead. And she wandered past Maria towards her own bedroom.

Maria sat down at the kitchen table and glanced up at the ceiling. She really wished there was someone she could talk to…

As if on cue, her cell phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her pocket and stared at the caller ID, eyebrows raising into her hairline at the sight of Liz's name. She flipped the phone open immediately, her own problems fading into the back of her mind. She was scared, suddenly. Scared for Liz.

What would cause Liz to call her this late at night?

"Lizzie? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I don't have a whole lot of time," Liz said in a rushed voice, her words running together. "Eileen and Maggie went to see what they could find to use to make a voodoo doll and they'll be back soon."

"A… wait… what?"

"Is anyone hurt?" Liz asked, ignoring Maria's question.

"Hurt?" Maria echoed. "I don't… I mean, Isabel is, but… but that's different, that's not really hurt…" She knew she wasn't making much sense, but Liz wasn't either, and her sense of foreboding was rapidly growing. "Liz, what's going on?"

She heard Liz sigh on the other end of the line. "I don't… I don't know. I had a dream. I think… in my dream, someone died. And Max was really upset about it. What's going on with Isabel?"

Maria propped one elbow up on the table and said, "It's just a dream, right? I mean, just a nightmare. You're not Czechoslovakian, Liz. You don't have crazy premonitions or whatever."

"It's more than a dream. I can't explain it, Maria. I just… I just need you to believe me. I know it is more than just a dream." Liz's voice was firm and unyielding, but there was an underlying sense of pleading, a desperate need for Maria to believe what she was saying.

Maria sighed. "Yeah… okay. I believe you." She wasn't sure if that was actually true or if she was just humoring Liz. The very idea that Liz might have some weird power was just too much for her to handle at the moment, but Liz clearly needed someone to talk to. And she seemed so sure of herself, so completely convinced that what she had dreamt would come true.

"What's going on with Isabel?" Liz asked again.

"I don't even know how to explain it," Maria answered honestly. "Khivar has been invading her dreams. Keeping her from sleeping well, I guess. They think he's trying to drive her insane. Michael and the others are going to try to fight him off. They're going into Isabel's dreams tonight."

"Is it dangerous?" Liz asked worriedly. "Could one of them get hurt?"

Maria chewed her lip. "I think so," she admitted. She and Michael had skirted that issue in their argument, but she knew that the Royalists had apparently alluded to the dangers involved in fighting Khivar this way. Michael had told her that much.

But she also knew that none of them would care. As far as the other three hybrids were concerned, this was the only option. And they had a point. As Tess had said multiple times, Isabel wasn't getting any better.

"What exactly did you see in your dream?" she asked.

"I don't know. I mean… I know that someone died. And Max was really upset about it. I saw him crying, and throwing and kicking things. He was really… I could feel his pain. He was angry and furious… and he felt helpless. Like it was his fault. Like he should have been able to stop it."

Maria swallowed uneasily. She didn't like the way that sounded.

"I don't think I can sleep with everyone staring at me," Isabel said uneasily. She appreciated the fact that everyone seemed to want to help out, but it was odd to be lying on her bed while Max, Michael, Tess, Alex, her parents, Ahab, Kristalia, and a handful of Royalsts she didn't recognize crowded into her bedroom.

"We could always sedate you," Tess suggested with a faint smile.

Isabel rolled her eyes. "You're not helping."

The smaller blonde shrugged. "Wasn't really trying to."

"I still don't like this," Diane spoke up from where she stood in the corner of the room. Her eyes had not once left Isabel, not even as several unknown aliens filed into her daughter's room. Her expression was filled with concern and wariness, and her gaze was firm and hard.

Isabel pushed herself into a sitting position. "It's the only way, Mom," she said. "You and Dad… you really shouldn't be here for it. You can't… you can't help fight him, and you don't need to witness…"

Diane pursed her lips. "Alex is here to offer moral support, isn't he?" she asked sharply. "If he can help you, then certainly your father and I can, too."

Isabel nodded and wished she could better explain what she meant. She knew her mother would take her statement as an insult of some kind, as though she thought her parents couldn't help her. But it was more than that. Alex had been through all of this, Alex knew what they were up against. At least, he knew as well as any of them did. Her parents didn't know, not really. And she still wanted to protect them from that, from the reality of this war.

They had no way of knowing if they would come out of this unharmed. And she didn't really want her parents to be witnesses to this if something went wrong.

But before she could come up with a good way of explaining this, Max was speaking again. "So… are you sure Isabel can pull us into her dreams? It is a bit different from dream-walking, isn't it?"

"A little bit," Ahab agreed, looking between Max and Isabel. "But similar enough that she still has the power. All she needs to do is channel it."

Isabel bit back a laugh at his words. He said it so simply, as though accessing an unused, heretofore unknown gift, was nothing out of the ordinary.

"So she'll bring all of us in to her mind?" Michael asked, looking around the room.

"Yes," Ahab answered. "If Kal is right," and here there was a bit of murmuring from many of the Royalists, "then this is where the battle must take place. The four of you can face Khivar, and the rest of us will do our best to protect you."

Alex took both of Isabel's hands in his own and said quietly, "I'll be right here, right by your side. Waiting for you to come back. Okay?"

Isabel nodded slowly. "Okay," she murmured.

"Are you ready?" Max asked, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

"No," Isabel answered honestly. "Do we have to… I mean, this is so soon. So rushed. Max, you just got back from visiting Langley. Can't… can't we wait?"

"Do you really want another night of having him in your dreams?" Max countered gently.

Isabel couldn't really argue with that logic. The sooner they faced Khivar, the sooner she would be able to sleep again. And they would have to do this eventually. The fight was inevitable, so why put it off? Why force her to wait any longer than absolutely necessary?

And yet… she didn't feel ready. How could she face him? How could she face herself?

"We'll be right there, by your side," Michael promised.

Isabel nodded and leaned back against the headboard of her bed. "Okay," she said. "Okay." Alex let go of her hands and moved off the bed, and Michael took his place, with Tess crawling over Isabel to sit on the opposite edge of the mattress. The four hybrids took each other's hands, forming a ring, and then the Royalists moved closer, resting their own hands on the shoulders of Max and Michael. Forming a connection. A unit.

Alex stood at the foot of the bed with Diane and Philip just a few steps behind him. He met Isabel's gaze and held it, refusing to look away even as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pulling herself and the others into her dreams.

It was dark.

An expanse of endless black, a void. Isabel was the first to appear, stepping into her dreams without any hesitation. A moment later Tess appeared and dropped Isabel's hand, walked away from her, looking around.

"Where are the others?" Isabel asked nervously.

"You and I are used to being inside people's heads," Tess answered, looking back at her friend. "Max and Michael aren't, so it will take them a little longer to acclimate… Just give them a moment."

Almost as soon as she had stopped speaking, Max appeared, bringing Ahab with him. And a moment after that, Michael burst into the darkness, still holding tightly to Isabel and Max. The rest of the Royalists came with him, and he immediately dropped the hands of the two hybrids and tensed, ready for an attack.

"Khivar isn't here," Michael said.

"Give him time," Isabel answered. "He never shows up right away, but he always shows up. He'll come."

They were silent for a little while. It felt like forever to Isabel, like hours and hours. But she knew it wasn't. She knew it was probably no more than a few minutes, but her anxiety and her tension made even seconds feel as though they stretched into eternity. The darkness hung over her, over all of them, and all they could do was wait.

But she felt the change before it happened and knew what she would see. She had only a brief split-second to warn the others, a hurried, "He's coming," before the emptiness around her was filled in, a floor and walls and windows all appearing as though by magic.

In some ways, she thought bitterly, it was a kind of magic. Khivar's gifts, his abilities, used against them all.

They were standing in the corridor again, and Khivar was at the other end, partially concealed by the fluttering black curtain of one of the windows.

"You're not alone, VIlandra," he said as he stepped forward into the light. His eyes washed over the others carelessly, landing on Max. A smirk touched Khivar's lips, and then he laughed and looked away, shaking his head. "Come to fight me, have you?"

But thought his entire posture and expression oozed confidence and smug superiority, there was a wariness in his eyes, a sign that this was not what he had expected. He seemed hesitant, unsure if he should attack or withdraw. He was sorely outnumbered, but he still had the home-court advantage here, even in Isabel's mind. He was the one controlling the dream, after all.

Max stepped forward, standing in front of Isabel. Between her and Khivar. "You are going to leave my sister alone," he ordered viciously, eyes narrowed. "You are going to get out of her dreams, and you are going to stay out."

"Am I, Zan?" Khivar asked with a laugh. "She's my love, not your sister."

"I am not Vilandra anymore," Isabel snarled angrily, splotches of color appearing on her cheeks. "I won't betray my family. I won't join you. Ever."

"So you've come to fight me," Khivar said. "And what if I don't want to fight?"

"Don't let him leave, Princess," one of the Royalists whispered urgently, "or we may never get another chance."

Isabel nodded to show that she had heard the warning, and extended her hand. Ahab had been convinced that she could control what happened in her dream, that once Khivar entered, she could keep him here long enough for them to fight. And Max and Michael had supported her as well, had told her that she could do this. But she didn't know how.

And that made quite a bit of difference.

Still, focusing all her energy on Khivar, she attempted to latch onto his spirit, to his presence. She felt something shift in her chest, and then her hand was burning. It felt like she was holding pure fire in her palm, and it hurt, but her fingers wrapped around something. She couldn't explain it, because she could see her hand and she knew that it was closing around nothing at all – just air – but it felt different. It felt like she had something trapped.

Someone trapped.

"That's right," Tess said approvingly. "Just hold on to him, Izzy. This is your dream. Don't let him go."

Khivar chuckled. "Very good, Lonnie. You're learning, I see. But the power you have just makes you even more enticing. Perhaps it is the thrill of the chase?" He took a step closer to her, and though she could keep him trapped in her dream until she woke up, she had no idea how to stop him from coming closer.

Her heart started hammering in her chest.

"I thought you didn't have to chase me," Isabel said. "I thought I already belonged to you? Isn't that what you keep saying?"

"And you listen," Khivar laughed. "How wonderful."

Without warning, Michael raised both hands and flung a burst of energy at the ceiling above Khivar. The stone exploded, raining fragments down towards Khivar. But the skin king merely looked up and flicked one wrist, freezing everything in place.

"Is that the best you can do?" he mocked. Then he pointed at Michael, and the stones above him flew towards the hybrid General with alarming speed. Only Max's quick reflections in conjuring a shield protected them, and even he stumbled backwards under the strength of the stone hitting his force-field.

"This may be Vilandra's dream," Khivar continued, advancing on them, "but I am the one who controls it. I can do anything, access any power. Do you really think you can stop me?" And, as though to prove his point, he spread his arms wide and the dream changed. The corridor slipped away, and he and Isabel were standing alone in the desert.

The others were nowhere in sight.

"What did you do to them?" Isabel demanded, fear coloring her tone. "Where are they?"

Khivar smiled. "Does it matter, love?" He advanced on her slowly, and she couldn't find the power to back away. She stood still, frozen in horror. Where were the others? Max, Michael, Tess… the Royalists. Where was her family?

Khivar's fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling him towards her. "The more you use your powers, Vilandra, the more you connect with your alien half," he said softly, his voice low and sultry. "And the more you connect with your alien half, the more you connect with me."

She ripped her arm from his grasp. "I hate you," she spat, venom in her words. "I hate everything about you. You are my enemy, Khivar, and I will kill you if I have to."

He turned away from her. "You won't," he said, and he said it with such firm belief, without even the slightest bit of doubt in his tone. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him that he was wrong, but she couldn't form the words. She back away, arms wrapped around her chest, and tried to focus on her powers.

She knew she was still holding him in her mind. And this was her dream. She could control it. She could fight him.

"There's only one way out, Vilandra," Khivar murmured, facing her once more. "Wake up. Wake yourself up and get out of this dream."

But she shook her head. If she did that, she would be releasing her hold on Khivar. He would leave, he would escape. And the next time he visited her, he might bring reinforcements. An army of skins. She had to fight him now, while he was still alone. Otherwise…

She didn't want to think about what would happen to her – to all of them – if she failed.

Next Chapter: The Beginning of the End

Due: 1/16