Many of the characters within this story, and the universe they inhabit, are the intellectual property of Jason Katims Productions.

Roswell: Reimagined

Written by

Horatio Zedekiah Jaxx

Chapter 21: Detective Kyle

"What's wrong?" Jim Valenti inquired of his son, Kyle, shortly after he came through the front door of their home.

It was after six o'clock in the evening. Kyle had spent nearly all of the afternoon at football practice. As usual, Jim was seated on the living-room sofa watching the news on the television.

"Oh nothing, I'm just tired I guess," Kyle answered somberly as he shut the front door behind him.

Kyle promptly set off for his room with his backpack and football gear in tow.

"Was it a rough practice?" Jim called out to his son as he walked away.

"No more than usual I guess." Kyle responded without giving it any thought.

This was an unusual inquiry for Jim. He and Kyle had a nonverbal relationship, for the most part. Their conversations were invariably brief and instructional. They were two males who were not given to gossip, or to sharing their thoughts and feelings about anything they had no particular interest in. The bond that held them the closest was sports. They would watch most televised team sporting events together and debate the relative merits of the teams in length.

"Then what's wrong?" Jim inquired when Kyle walked into the kitchen. He muted the television in anticipation of his response.

"I told you, Dad. I'm tired," Kyle answered as he retrieved the carryout meal that was being kept warm in the oven.

Cooking their own evening meal was something that the Valentis had not done for more than three years, when Susan Valenti, Kyle's mother, was still alive. The routine that they had lived by since was for one them to stop at a restaurant and bring home dinner for two. Because of Kyle's football practice sessions, and the games they were for, Jim was pressed into doing this during most week days.

Susan Valenti was the family member who made their house a home. Having and maintaining a family was her fondest wish. She and Jim were fiercely in love and Kyle was always the perfect addition to their family. He identified with his father's fiercely masculine demeanor, but he basked in the love and affection of his mother. Her passing was a shock, but not a surprise, to them both. Susan Valenti had been fighting the cancer that killed her for nearly a decade. Kyle had never gotten over the loss of her. He simply learned how to endure it.

"I talked to your coach before your last game," Jim called out over his shoulder. "He says you've been distracted all season."

"I've had a few things on my mind," Kyle explained absentmindedly. "It'll pass."

Kyle took his plate and a can of soda into the dining area and sat at the table facing the television. Jim retrieved his soft drink from off the coffee table as he got up. He then walked around the sofa and took a seat at the table at the right end from Kyle.

"A few things, you mean like Liz," Jim nudged?

Kyle hesitated to answer this inquiry as he gave his father a look. He comprehended for the first time that Jim had an agenda behind these questions. He contemplated what this might be for a moment before deciding to reveal his thinking about Liz.

"She's been acting strange, Dad. This has been going on since before the break-up. I don't know what's happening with her and it's bothering me."

Jim's only concern here was the well-being of his son. He had hopes that Kyle would win a football scholarship and go on to play for a Division One College team. This was all simply a matter of pride for him. There was never any doubt in his mind that Kyle would go to college. He had been making financial preparations for this since before he was born. Jim simply hoped that his son would surpass the ambitions that he once had for himself. He was not going to let the distraction of a broken heart get in the way of this without a fight.

"She's been through something that most people will never experience," Jim rationalized for Kyle. "Being shot is a pretty traumatic event. It can take a little while to get over it."

"I know Liz, Dad," Kyle sharply countered. "She's not some frail little flower. She bounced back just fine."

Kyle's sudden defense of Liz's state of mind caught Jim by surprise. He took a second to study his son with a look of confusion before responding to his assertion.

"I thought you said she was acting different?"

"Yes, she has. But not in the way you're thinking," Kyle corrected. "Not even in the way that I would expect. She's just being weird."

Once again, Jim was confused by what Kyle was saying. His concern was that Kyle was hurting over the loss of Liz. But his words were suggesting that he was simply worried for Liz. After a moment of thought he could only conclude that his son had reasoned a way for his preoccupation with Liz to be her fault and not his.

"Kyle, I know that being rejected by a girl that you like can be painful," Jim counseled in a concerned tone of voice. "It's happened to me more than once. But it's normal. After a while, someone else catches your eye and life goes on."

Kyle was immediately put out, to a small degree, by what he considered to be a patronizing speech. He briefly gave his father a look of exasperation before giving a laconic reply.

"That's not what's going on here. This is different."

"It always feels different," Jim quickly retorted in defense of his thinking.

"You're not getting it," Kyle declared with finality and a shake of his head.

"Okay than, how is it different?" Jim questioned with relenting sarcasm.

Kyle could see that his father was predisposed to think that he was fabricating this situation with Liz in his mind. After a second of thought he decided to try and end the whole conversation.

"That's alright, Dad. Don't worry about it," Kyle spoke an instant before shoving some food in his mouth.

"No, I want to know. Explain it to me," Jim encouraged with a wave of his hand. "How is this different?"

Mildly annoyed by the conversation, Kyle relented, hesitantly, to his father's request.

"Well, there's this guy at school, Max Evans. And he and Liz are acting real funny around each other."

"Max Evans, why do I know that name?" Jim pondered aloud.

"He was with Liz at the Crash-Down that day," Kyle apprised a second behind the query.

"Okay, I remember now," Jim recalled with an affirmative nod of his head. "Well I guess that's normal. I mean he did save her life."

"But it's not normal, Dad," Kyle asserted quietly as he ruminated about them. "At least not in the way that they're acting, it's not. She likes him. I know she does. But she won't admit it, despite the fact that she can't keep her eyes off of him."

"And what makes it even stranger," Kyle continued with a look of incredulity. "He likes her too."

"Has he told you that?" Jim questioned as he studied his son.

"That's just it, he doesn't have too," Kyle responded excitedly. "He can't keep his eyes off of her. They just walk around pretending like they don't see each other."

"It sounds to me like this is a good thing," Jim offered optimistically. "After a while she'll probably get over this infatuation and forget all about this Max Evans."

"I don't think so, Dad. Liz doesn't get infatuated. She's not like that," Kyle continued reflectively. "She knows what she wants for her life and she goes after it. She doesn't get distracted from what's important to her."

"It sounds like you've given this a lot of thought," Jim softly suggested.

"I like Liz, Dad," Kyle declared. "And I think something, not normal, is going on between her and Max."

"You have any evidence to back that up, Detective?" Jim questioned humorously.

"Yeah, Dad, I know," Kyle reacted with a smile and a shrug. "It sounds ridiculous."

Kyle took a few seconds to act out his exasperation at being mocked by his father. After shaking his head a few times and waving his hands in surrender, he elected to give his father the last bit of bizarre information he had.

"Well if you think that's funny then this is really going to be hilarious. There's talk going around the school that Max did more than just stop Liz from bleeding to death. Rumor is that he used some kind of magical power to bring her back to life."

To his surprise, Jim was not as amused by this at all. He recalled his detectives telling him that Liz should have died within a few minutes of being shot. A recollection of Max in his blood stained clothes caused him to ponder if Max Evans could have done something more than just stem the flow of blood.