Chapter 33


Max - November 16, 2007 Friday

They had everything they needed. Liz had the death certificate, the kid's birth certificates. Max had all the paperwork for everything ready. The judge was patient with them as they went through, in order, everything. The judge had a lot of input and advice. Marriage license and officiating with the judge. Then there were the adoption papers. Then change of name papers for everyone in the Pierce family. Liz filed a will. It was a busy morning.

Liz went to Phillip and got to work on how her married status would affect her business information. For the most part it wouldn't but it didn't hurt to be prepared. There was a document they had notarized and filed in with Daniel's will so that, when the time came, there wouldn't be an issue.

Max had the job of taking Nate for ice cream to explain a few things. He remembered vaguely his father doing something similar with him. Explaining that his world was changing and that he was going to be taken care of. Nate was still little. This talk was going to be surreal and it would have to be repeated at some point, probably a couple of times. Nate was adorable, dressed in his "work" clothes. Little sweater vest, slacks, tiny loafers.

"Hey bud?"

"I Nate."

"I know. Nate." Max watched him dig his spoon into his ice cream. "Mom and me went to the judge this morning."

"Go work."

"Yeah. We got some work done today." Max watched him carefully. He was wholly focused on that ice cream. "So, Mom and me, we got married."

"Why?"

"Cause I love her a lot and she loves me a lot."

"Oh." Stuck his finger in the ice cream and licked it off.

"We got married so that I can be her husband and she can be my wife and so that I can be your dad."

"What?" Nate made a face.

"Yeah. I can be your dad and take care of you."

"Oh."

"You don't have to call me dad. I can be your Pop. Or your… pappy?"

"My Max, you is… silly."

"That's me. Silly Max." Max picked at his ice cream. The conversation was way over Nate's little head. So, he'd just have to start acting the part. Like Liz wanted. He took two pictures out of his pocket. One of himself from years ago that Liz liked and one he had taken with Nate a few months back. "Mom fixed these for you."

"My pictures." Nate took them, smearing ice cream all over them. "That's me."

Max finished his ice cream and waited while Nate played with his. It was close to nap time. Nate climbed into his lap and Max tucked him under his chin. He hummed a song and Nate stopped fiddling with his ice cream. Gently, Max cleaned up his face with some water and napkins but Nate fell hard into sleep. Songs did it every time.

Max carried Nate out to the car as Liz was pulling up with the other kids. She had the back of the SUV full of packing supplies. "How'd it go?"

"It didn't really. Not sure he was listening." Max sighed. "Did you break it to your parents?"

"Yeah. They're fine." Liz laughed. "Mom was disgusted that she was beat to the punch. She has a nice little thing planned but I think she's shifting focus to a reception."

"He called me silly."

"That's what he says to everything that confuses him." Liz stroked his arm. "I'm going to start calling you Daddy to them."

"Okay." Max kissed her hand. "You really want to move over Thanksgiving?"

"I think it's the least disruptive. I'm packing up any and all of his shit and sending it to Pittsburgh. Once we get things settled, I'll just shut down the house and we'll forget about it until the boys are of age."

"I like it when you take charge, Mrs. Evans."

"That sounds good." Liz touched his face. "I get to practice writing my new name."

"Liz Evans."

"My initials are E.E." She laughed.

"Mine are M.E."

"I feel so much better. A weight has been lifted." Liz smiled at him. "Sorry we're not taking a traditional honeymoon."

"We got a lot going on." Max sighed. Lucy was cooing. Pete was out.

"By the end of this month, it'll all look better."

November 22, 2007 Thursday Thanksgiving

Max loaded up what he could before the kids woke up. The truck was full. They had all been sleeping in Liz's bed. Their bed. Theirs. Crowded but the kids' room was in the truck somewhere. The kitchen, the living room. They were living out of suitcases and laundry baskets for the moment and just one crate of toys.

The plan to put the kids at her parents' place had been scrapped when Liz's uncle had made the trip from Las Cruces ahead of schedule. He'd be leaving after dinner so the kids could have the room. The three days' worth of children's things were already in the SUV for the ride to the Crashdown.

Kyle was in town for the holiday, but he promised he would lend his arms before dinner. Michael was in. Max had to find a way to sneak Zan dinner but he had a feeling that Tess was getting that taken care of. Zan was putting everyone off about whatever he was doing and Max couldn't remember what that was. It felt important but with all the wedding and adoptions and house moving, Max had lost sight of it. If Zan needed his help, he'd poke his head in… and hopefully not into Max's head.

Kids loaded into the car with the diaper bag and all their spare clothes, Max dropped Liz off at her mom's. Max ran back to the house to throw the bedroom stuff in the truck. Liz had put their bedding in a bag already. Easy stuff. He'd do another sweep Sunday night.

He drove the van to the new house. Liz had already put some stuff in, essentials like toilet paper and cups. Signs on the doors for easy directions. Michael and Kyle pulled up while he was wrangling the mattress out of the truck on his own. Between the three of them, they got most of the truck unloaded in a couple of hours. Big stuff was put in the garage for later. Once the garage door was shut, he and Michael would alien power that stuff to the right place. Liz wanted to do all the unpacking and Max would gladly leave it to her but… he had to unpack the kid's room. At least the beds. Kyle helped put the crib back to rights. "Hey you know… sometime in the next… five years, you're going to pay me back for this."

"Sure will. Tess have you on a timer?"

"And then some." Kyle laughed and it looked strained.

Max laughed and waited for Kyle to say something but he just got back to cleaning up the mess. Max got Nate's bed made and set up Lucy's new crib in the master next to the mattress. They had time to unpack and arrange stuff, later. That was the plan anyway. Liz had been plenty distracting lately and he'd been glad to let her do it. It made him peaceful that she was relaxing so much with him.


Zan – November 18, 2007 Sunday

The Whitman house was quiet. Alex had the kids playing in the den and Isabel was taking a nap in the bedroom. Alex pulled Zan into the "safe room."

"What the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look, the lost time…" Alex took a shuddering breath. "So much is happening here."

"Lay it out."

"Vilandra is slowly taking over. We're up to two days a week when I can't figure out what she's doing. Two days and nights a week when I don't know where my wife is or what she's doing or who?"

"Who?" Zan straightened up.

"Vilandra fucked a man in our driveway." Alex was trembling. "Then she came inside, kissed my kids and left her dirty panties on my pillow." Fury poured off him. "An hour later, Isabel came to in the shower. No memory of anything. Chuck is scared of her."

"When did this happen?"

"Couple weeks ago. I just… hoped it was a one-off." Alex took a breath. "I started… putting her to sleep…. When she's still Isabel."
"How?"

"I got the recipe from Agent Kinney's private files. Found someone who could mix it up for me."

"You dosed your wife with the same shit they gave Lannie?"

"Yeah." Alex nodded and wiped his hands on his legs. "I don't know what to do. I can't keep knocking her out. I can't… I gotta protect my kids."

"Why are we in here and she's not?" Zan pointed to the walls of the cell.

"I can't get her to come in here anymore." Alex opened the door to the fridge to show off his stash of alien knockout cocktail. "So this is safe in here."

"Oh fuck." Zan took a breath. "If this had happened before Halloween, I could have had someone get a team together and get her to the black site. I'm the only person left of the unit. I got… Liz in New Mexico with fucking… Pierce somewhere, somehow hanging around but I can't find him."

"What do you mean he's hanging around? I thought he was dead."

"I've been holed up for months looking for him. I can feel him but I can't…" Zan sucked in a breath. "We lost control and I'm not sure where."

November 21, 2007 Wednesday

Zan looked to Alex. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm ready." Alex nodded.

Zan caught Isabel as she was making her lunch. Alex had the kids playing in the backyard. She was herself, he thought. "What you got there?"

"I don't know." Isabel shook her head. "It was in the freezer. I'm sure there's more."

"How are those contracts coming?"

"Fine. I have a lot of messages to go through." She made a face. "I'm tired, sorry."

"I was wondering… if I could talk to my sister."

"I don't have Lannie in here." Isabel put her fork down.

"I meant Vilandra. Lannie… was a pale shadow of who Vilandra was."

"It takes a lot out of me." She swallowed down a lump. "She gets out of hand."

"How do you know?"

"Because… Alex looks at me different."

Zan noticed the red around her eyes, the dark shadows underneath. "Let's talk. You and me. Somewhere… quiet."

"Um… we can go to my room. The… depleted Uranium room." She took her microwave dinner with her. Zan signaled to Alex and followed her. Isabel picked at her dinner and waited for him. Zan shut the door and wished he could lock it from the inside, but his powers didn't work on this door. That was kind of the point. Alex would be through in a few minutes to lock them in. "What, Zan?"

"You okay? I mean… really."

"You came across the country for a chat? A welfare check?"

"Alex is concerned. Says the kids are scared."

Isabel tossed her fork down. She sat on the bed in the corner. The frame was made of depleted uranium. Zan started to really notice all the little details that Alex had put into the room. "I don't know. I'm missing time. It's like… a fog settles in and I'm awake, but I can't see or hear anything and…" She pointed to the bracelets. "These don't work."

"I think they do. I think it'd be worse." Zan watched her carefully but Isabel was there, front and center.

"There can't be worse. Not after the places I've woken up the last couple of weeks."

"Any idea about what you've been doing?"

"Destroying my marriage. Destroying my career. Scaring my children." Isabel sobbed but sucked it up. "Vilandra is destroying my life and Max keeps telling me that she and I are the same person, but I don't see how."

"You, Isabel, always remind me of Vilandra but you are definitely not her." Zan sat on the little desk and did something he never did. "Lannie was all the worst parts of Vilandra. The ego, the ambition, the… need to always be right and to… dig a knife in to make her point."

"We were horrified when we found out what happened to her." Isabel offered. "I know you and she weren't… you know, on the same side but she was still your sister."

"I've done a lot of bad things. I don't regret most of them. Never gave them a second thought." Zan hadn't heard it in his head in a while and he was a little afraid acknowledging that would bring it back. "I hear the sound in my head sometimes. I don't sleep. Maybe three times this year I got a good sleep. I just hear it. I see her face. I put her down like she was a wounded animal."

"You couldn't heal her?"

"I didn't see the point. I could have killed myself healing her if I hadn't just had it out with Pierce. I couldn't heal her all the way without killing myself. No way he was going to let me walk out with her anyway. So, I killed her, and I turned her to ashes so they couldn't experiment on her."

"You got into a fight with Pierce? What was that like?"

"Surprisingly spry for an old guy. He had some crazy mastery over that freezing thing, and he didn't even have it that long." Zan sniffed. "You know… we had an all-out fist-fight, power-fight and his agents just… stood there. Like nothing was happening."

"Who do you think was offing the agents?"

"Kal."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Especially after how the woman bought it."

"What woman?"

"The secretary. She was FBI but she didn't do field work. She just… kissed Pierce's ass all the time. It was gross and…" Zan snorted. "I couldn't tell if Liz hated the fact that she was into Pierce or if she put on a show about hating it."

"Ew, mooning over that psychopath?"

"Sociopath." He held up a hand. "Trust me, he'd explain the difference to you until you want to end yourself. I thought about it a lot while he was talking."

"In my… rare quiet moments when I could spare a thought for Liz. When I wasn't obviously horrified by what we asked her to do… I would feel… I imagined he wore black socks while fucking in missionary, flossed his teeth over the kitchen sink and organized his books by ISBN." She nodded at him to see if he got what she meant. "That's the impression I got from him."

Zan barked out a laugh. Isabel reminded him of his sister. "He was such a weird guy."

"Did you… get to know him?"

"Not like Liz but… yeah, kind of by default. I made myself the star of the office so he would cut me some slack. Me and Kinney, his best buds. I think he thought he was my mentor or something. Such a weird guy." Zan cleared his throat when he thought he heard the door lock. "I got bored while I was waiting for reports, so I did a deep dive on him. Little payback for him knowing everything about us."

"Ew, what'd you find out?"

"That he was normal for most of his life. I thought he had serial killer traits and I was curious if he was one of those loners who drew murder scenes in his spare time. Old man Morton definitely had a flair for torture that skipped a generation because Pierce could get real creative with that shit. Nope. None of it. Until he died the first time, average guy with an average social life. Boring. Predictable."

"What happened to him? I mean, something had to, right? If he wasn't always the epitome of evil. Like me. I'm not always an evil cunt. I wasn't born this way."

"I mean… I saw some stuff, after I healed him. I tried not to look at it but… he died once before he knew about aliens. After that, he was… the Pierce we knew."

"Like what?"

"He killed someone, and he didn't feel any way about it."

"Just… did it? Just one day killed a person."

"If there had been an emotion attached to it, I would have gotten it. There was nothing. A void. Not sure he intended to kill the man before he did it. Then… I don't know. Maybe it was just… easier. Like… breaking a seal."

"That's terrifying. Truly."

"I make jokes but yeah. He was awful. I can't find where he is right now, but I can feel him. I can feel his fucking fingers in my kidney all over again."

"In your kidney?"

"He like." Zan motioned with his hand. "Jabbed me with his fingers and froze my kidney. Fucking hurt." He shook his head. "I can heal myself over time way faster than humans can, forget when I'm actively using my powers. My only comfort is he had to go home looking like shit when we were done with each other."

"Then… why did Liz stay there if he went home looking like that?"

"That was my fault. I didn't text her. I didn't answer her texts. She didn't know. He was hiding from her. Probably like he's hiding from me, now."


Liz – November 20, 2007 Tuesday

So much to do. Liz signed the checks with her old name because the bank was still processing her new name. She filled out the forms for the deposits and got Todd off before the bank closed. She glanced at her watch. She had a flight to catch but she had a few hours.

Marisol walked in and closed the door. "Ma'am."

Oh, the way she said that it was going to be a sit-down not a stand-up. "It can't wait until next week?"

"I don't think it should."

Liz took a breath. "Okay. Out with it."

"Paternity case is dead. Good news on that score."

"Thank you for handling that." She listened with trepidation that she wasn't going to have to miss her flight.

"I've been closing up Mr. Kinney's affairs." Marisol took a seat. Liz held back a sigh. Marisol shouldn't have had to do that but Mr. Kinney did not have a life outside work. "His lawyer needed a hand. He reached out."

Liz had to think about that for a second. "Isn't he my lawyer, too?"

"Same guy." She nodded.

"What do you have?"

"Lots of inquiries from the director of the FBI but I managed to get in and get anything that looked interesting before they showed up." Marisol placed a stack of disks, flash drives, hard drives on the desk. "Don't think we're supposed to have this stuff."

"What is it?"

"I only had a look." Marisol promised.

"But you've had these for a few weeks."

"I did. Mr. Kinney was surveilling your sister-in-law. It was on our books. So, when I found the surveillance, I reviewed it. She's cheating on her husband. She's neglecting her kids. She's barely performing her work obligations."

Liz sat back. "She's cheating on Alex? With who?"

"More like… who isn't she cheating with."

"Oh no." Liz fiddled with the flash drives as she listened to the report, her powers finding some of the images as she touches the devices. Sleeping with executives, actors, actresses, the occasional valet, partying it up, dressing in… odd apparel for a mother of three. Very stylish but also very… it felt angry. How could clothes look angry?

"How would you like to proceed?"

"I don't know, yet." Liz stood and patted her pants pockets. "I have a plane to catch and I should probably talk to my husband." She took a deep breath. "Do you think Alex knows?"

"Yes, I think he does. He's got surveillance everywhere himself. I'm very sure he knows."

"Okay. Thank you, Marisol."

"The Vermont property is in need." Marisol stood and cleared her throat.

"Right. Get with Todd, his Aunt is spearheading that property's needs."

"Okay."

Liz grabbed her purse and all the drives, just in case. "I'm… thinking of bringing in some investors. Might do to have an idea about a new lead for the third team."

"I'll put my feelers out."

"Appreciate it." Liz got the car to the house and a service picked her up for the airport. She was sitting there in the waiting area when she picked up the phone. It rang and rang. She left a message for Alex to give her a call when he could. She was about to board when she got the rather lengthy message. "Oh, Alex."

Liz texted with him until they made her shut her phone off. Once she was allowed to use her phone again, she put in a call to her Philadelphia lawyer to give some instructions. It was going to be a long week. By the time she got home, it was very late, and her kids were all asleep in bed with Max. She frowned at him. "Honey?"

"Hmm?" Max cleared his throat and put a book on the bedside table, barely opening his eyes. "Hi."

"What happened to the plan?"

"Your uncle happened. He came and he's staying with your folks. I said it wouldn't be a big deal." He looked over the bodies all over the bed. "Climb in. There's an inch or so at the foot of the bed."

Liz looked at how exhausted he was and decided not to tell him about Isabel. Not yet. Liz got ready for bed and picked up Lucy, who yawned in her face and snuggled in. She was so big. So big. Pete rolled over and Max moved Nate over a bit and then they were all in bed together.

"What's the plan?" Max asked softly.

"Tomorrow, packing as much as we can. Got to corral the kids into the pen and the bouncer." Liz touched his arm. "I'm worried about Alex and Isabel, we haven't heard from them."

"Isabel gets busy. Alex will call if he's coming or if… they need anything." Max gave her a little smile. "Kal will say something if it's too much for them."

"Okay." Liz nodded. Didn't stop her from thinking about all the texts that Alex had sent all evening. The plans he was making. He was right about her not telling Max. Max would tell Isabel or let it slip somehow.

November 22, 2007 Thursday Thanksgiving

She couldn't sleep. Daniel paced the room but didn't say anything. That was annoying. He'd been quiet lately and that in itself was disturbing. In the morning, they got the kids up and dressed for Thanksgiving at Grandma's. Their suitcases and diaper bags. Liz took the kids upstairs and helped Max stow their luggage in the breakroom before he went to finish off the house. He kissed her for a long time before going to start the moving process. That was so good, hands on her husband while kissing him so deep. Playing with the hair at the base of his skull and feeling the rebound of the surface connection they had settled on.

Liz ran up the stairs to hug her uncle again. "Can't believe you're here."

"Tired of being anti-social." He shrugged. "I heard you got married and not to the guy you embarrassed in my living room."

"I did marry him but not until like a week ago. My life has been strange." Liz picked up Pete, who was gnawing on a chair leg. "And busy."

"I heard. Three kids. Wow. Wasn't even sure you liked kids."

"Fred." Nancy smacked him. "Leave her alone. She's been through a time, but things are looking up."

"They are." Liz nodded and kissed Pete's chubby cheeks. "Max is unloading the van at the new house, so tonight, he and I can start unpacking."

"Are you still taking the kid's to Diane's?" Her mom called over.

"Probably. It'll be easier to unpack without the kids underfoot. Packing with Nate hopping up and down to get my attention wasn't great and then…"

"You flew to Pittsburgh?" Nancy pressed.

"I did but I got in late Tuesday. Max and I had to take turns on tot patrol while we packed. We got the most done during nap time."

"Goodness." Nancy kissed Pete and turned to grab Lucy who was crawling all over her blanket. "Where's Nate?"

"Probably with Grandpa." Liz looked around. "Dad!"

"Yeah?" He called from the kitchen.

"You got Nate?"

"Yeah!"

"I'm beginning to think that Isabel getting a nanny was probably a good idea." Liz bit her lip as soon as it was out. She glanced at her watch but didn't check her phone. "Need help with anything?"

"Um… we're eating downstairs. Phillip and Diane are coming… um…" Nancy held her breath. "Tables. We'll put the food on the counter and push the tables together."

"I can do that." Liz took Pete with her and Uncle Fred followed. Uncle Fred put the pen up in the dining room near the door. Pete happily played with his rabbit and blocks while Uncle Fred and Liz lined the tables up and arranged the chairs. Liz moved the counter around to ready it for the food.

"You know, I was surprised to hear you'd gotten married to some other guy six months after you crashed on my couch."

"It was a complicated time." Liz shrugged. "It was weird and rough but now I have three children, I'm on my second husband and I have two businesses and somehow, have not quite completed my degree but I am working on that."

"Little one sleeping through the night?"

"Kind of. Max and I tradeoff who wakes up with her. If neither of us sleep, the munchkins win."

"Mama!" Pete shouted.

"Hi!" Liz waved to him and took a breath. Daniel was standing over Pete. Just staring at him.

"Liz! Jim and Amy are coming, better make room for Michael and Maria's brood as well."

"Got it!"

Liz looked around. They slid more tables together, put tablecloths across them. Liz found some paper in the office and cut out place cards. She drew little turkeys and leaves on them and set them around the table. Uncle Fred was having a blast with Peter.

Sheriff Valenti walked in with a turkey. Amy with sides. The Evans showed up with rolls and pies. Maria walked in with more sides. Her mother came down to deliver Lucy and Nate before running up to help Jeff with the food he had up there. Kyle showed up first, said Max and Michael were moving some big stuff and let it be at that. Tess showed up a bit later and stuck next to Kyle every moment.

Max and Michael appeared looking like they had been working hard. Liz fixed them both cherry cokes with Tabasco that they gulped. Liz poured drinks for everyone. She made Sean a hot cider since he was still struggling with his body temperature. Uncle Fred gave him something to spike it with.

Every baby had an adult in charge of their feeding. Everyone had a drink. Liz said a quick prayer to herself for Alex and then they had a prayer led by Sheriff Valenti. "It's been a rough few years, and it took a lot of hard work to get everyone back home but we did it. Looking around this table, there are a few souls missing but we know they are doing fine. Good to have Kyle back for a few days from the police academy, Liz home with her kids … and a wedding that no one was invited to."

"There's a party to happen later. It's been a busy month." Max held his hands out to everyone. "We don't even have rings yet. So… Moms… ring ceremony to be had."

Liz squeezed his hand. They Amened and started serving each other. Liz fed Lucy some mashed potatoes and mushed carrot while trying to eat around Lucy's demands for more food. Then Lucy promptly started nodding. Lucy got tucked against Liz's chest while Liz struggled to eat. She wasn't asleep yet but she was getting there so Liz kept waving off any attempts to take her.

"So, Max, I heard you spent a day with the judge getting your name all over Liz and her kids." Maria asked.

"We did. It was a lot of talking." Max nodded. Liz felt Lucy's dead weight drop on her. She was finally asleep. She stood to take her to the breakroom where the crib from upstairs had been deposited. Her family was thinking of everything. When she got back, Max was explaining everything. "Normally there's a whole series of hoops to jump through. Be married a year before beginning the paperwork, then the three months of adoption process and then the name changes."

"How'd you get it done so fast?"

"It's done but it's not done." Max shook his head. "Given a lot of givens and Dad's friendship with the judge, who is a real hard-ass by the way, it took a unification on all our parts for this to happen. Showed my paperwork on the house as proof that I am financially capable of providing for the family. Showed my 10-99s for the last couple of years. We got married. We had all the paperwork ready. I still have to take some parenting classes and we'll get dropped in by the county social worker from time to time. We have rules to follow for the next six months as a precaution."

"Like what?" Maria shrugged her shoulders. "You can't get any speeding tickets?"

"Well," Liz sipped her water. "I can't take the kids out of state for six months. I can't use their new legal names until the judge says so. We have to prove that Nate is okay. Peter and Lucy are too little for this to affect them, really but Nate knows who his dad is. That was the other thing. The judge saw the trials and was not a fan of my kids' dad. Even given their ages, he agreed that not having his name would far better benefit them starting young. We have to make sure we're doing this in a healthy way. I can travel for work, but I can't take them with me. Max can travel for work, but he can't take them with him. Everyone lives in the house. That is our home, our mailing address. We're not allowed to work out of the home."

"But he did give a provision for a locked room for items like my PI computer and any weapons I might use for that capacity as well as Liz's secure server. For now, we're sharing the toolshed in the garage. I need to convert the outside shed to an office for one or both of us if we need to complete work tasks at home in the future." Max took a breath and inhaled some turkey smothered in cranberry sauce and hot sauce.

"What's the endgame there?" Kyle asked.

"A normative environment." Liz leaned on Max. "He really wanted me to quit my job but when I explained what I do at one of my jobs, he had to take a beat and rethink himself."

"Liz ran him in circles. I think he enjoyed it." Phillip joined in. "He couldn't very well expect the backlog of crime lab work to do itself. She had the forethought to bring in the number of solved cases she personally did over her brief tenure and then the increase in completed testing since she hired on staff. She even offered a contract to have two of her technicians to work current cases while the rest of her contingency worked on the backlog."

"What did he say to that?"

"That I have to hire a CEO for the lab, and I have to hire a COO and CFO for the security firm." Liz shrugged. "I needed those things anyway."

"The judge loves her." Max kissed her head.

"He also wants me to make sure I bring her once a month to the green." Phillip laughed. "I told you that your bank shots would be noticed."

"You were right." Liz nodded. "I'm full. Who's got Peter?"

"Still eating." Diane told her. "He's loving the turkey."

"Did he get anything green?"

"Oh yes, we did. We did." Diane cooed at Pete. "Green beans and some broccoli."

Liz looked over and Michael had command of two giggling boys who were eating with their hands. Broccoli bits and mashed potatoes all over their faces. Macaroni in Nate's hair. "Maybe we should take them outside to be hosed off?"

"They're having fun." Max stroked her back.

Liz's pocket buzzed. She glanced at her phone and then excused herself to the backroom. "Alex? Are you okay?"

"We're fine." Alex breathed. "We're at the lodge. Thanks for getting it stocked up."

"Well, that wasn't me. My security firm has some really efficient people."

"Really. They even got us some Thanksgiving treats. We got in last night but… I had to…"

"Fortify. I know. Do you need anything?"

"Got a babysitter?"

"Not in Vermont. I have a nanny in Pittsburgh. Zan has her info if you need it. She might like spending the winter in Vermont, but she'd probably bring her daughter. She's sick but getting better."

"We'll see."

"My former tenant is now the property manager. If you need anything, you let her know. Maybe she already knows folks in town that can get you a babysitter or… anything."

"I don't want strangers around my kids."

"I know but she's practically family. Talk to Michael and he'll tell you."

"It's not that I don't trust you."

"But you are. It's okay, Alex… we'll get through this."

"Did you tell Max?"

"No. Not yet."

"Don't… for a while. Zan needs to do what he needs to do and then we can… re-evaluate."

"Got it." Liz hung up and got back to the diner. Empty plates all over the table.


Alex – November 21, 2007 Wednesday

The nanny was there the night before so Alex could do some laundry. She didn't notice him packing bags and taking them to the car because his kids were thirsty for maternal love and they had her surrounded. With Liz's help, his destination was taken care of. The part where he got there was not. He'd spent time in the office figuring this out. Three kids under three in transit. Covertly. Road tripping across the country was not an option. Covert was adjacent to his plan.

Alex just kept seeing her face that night. That last night he could pretend that everything was okay. He'd glanced at the tablet because the floodlights had turned on. He'd glimpsed the shadows and recognized her hair. He'd set the tablet down and waited. Eventually she walked in and Alex had watched her from his desk. She'd leaned on the wall across from his office, hiked her skirt up and slid her panties down and off before moving down the hallway. The way she'd looked at him. Like… he was her servant, beneath her and only there to serve. He'd found her present later and he'd taken himself to the living room for the night. Even after she'd come out of the shower, bewildered by the aches in her body.

Alex had to do something. The car they could take to… a place where he could get a charter plane. Private. Expensive. Cash. Shit. He had all that, but it was a fucking headache. He had enough black market contacts that he could arrange something but it would be costly. Kids asleep, he made Isabel a glass of iced tea with lots of fake sugar, Tabasco and probably too much serum but he had things to do.

"Thank you. I'm so thirsty." Isabel lay in their bed. Oblivious to anything she'd done the last few weeks. She downed half of it in one go.

"Get some rest."

"I feel like I'm sleeping all the time. We have laundry." She pointed to the full basket in the hallway.

"I'm doing laundry and I have… about an hour left on nanny time before she's off for the holiday."

"Thanksgiving. I need to cook." She started to get up.

"I put in a catering order. Rest." Alex brushed her hair out of her face and handed her the glass. "Hydrate. I'll make you another."

"Thank you."

Alex made the tea, but she was asleep by the time he got it to her. He left it just in case and then cleaned out his safe. Money, fake IDs. Packed it all into the car with some baby basics. Made sure all the car seats were in. He'd wanted to go home. To his house in Roswell but he didn't want to bring Vilandra to Maria. Everyone else could hold their own but Maria didn't have powers and she was the weak link. Vilandra would strike there first, given the chance and Alex was removing that chance.

He finished up his plans and reread the emails he'd been exchanging with Liz. This had to work. She had other places for him to go. Closer places but he'd wanted to get as far away as humanly possible. Everything was ready and all he needed was for Zan to do this thing. To keep Isabel busy while Alex got the kids safely away.

He sat on his office futon watching her sleep through the monitor. Watching the kids' door to make sure she didn't get up and go in there. That was imbedded in his mind, too. Vilandra sneering at Chuck when he ran up to her, knocking him over before Alex could get there. Pinching Bobby before Alex could get him to the nanny. He didn't dare let her close to Freddie.

Zan came out of the guest house around dawn. Helped get the kids fed and a cooler of food into the car. They were outside enjoying the sunshine when Isabel woke up. Zan had to put her in the room. That's the only way it would work. She had to walk in there herself. Zan had told him to knock her out and then leave. Alex couldn't do that. Not with how powerful Vilandra was. Zan had looked away. It was something that Alex could feel as a human so surely Zan would know that and it appeared he did.

So, when Alex saw them walk down the hallway, he gathered the kids into the stroller. He locked the door from the outside and pushed the stroller to the garage. Kids in, stroller in the passenger seat, Alex drove to LAX to get on his plane. He'd bought out the whole chartered thing to make sure he had space for his kids without too many extra eyes. He had assistance to load up. The airline had given him a dedicated flight attendant who had also inspected the cooler to be sure it was just snacks for babies.

"Flying home to see Mom?" The woman had smiled at him.

"Recently widowed." Alex breathed out. Looking exhausted wasn't hard. Not looking nervous in the process was the thing. "Just… trying to get a handle on the world."

Her smile faltered but she recovered and helped him strap the kids in with their carseats. Most of their belongings were stowed in the undercarriage but Alex made sure the cooler made it and so did a crate of toys. It was going to be a long flight.

"Daddy." Alex sat next to Chuck and kissed his head. "Where we going?"

"We're going to see snow." Alex told him. "We'll make snowmen and eat snow cones."

"What's snow?"

Alex got them through take-off. He double-checked his car reservations for the other end. Bobby and Freddie were fussy about the car seats but Chuck was able to move around on his own, so Alex let him out. The crate of toys were immediately all over the little sofa. Alex tried to entertain his kids through the flight, but it was not happening. He had to let the flight attendant take Bobby while he got Freddie fed and put to sleep. It was such a stressful six-hour flight. When they were napping, the flight attendant tried to get him to relax.

"How old?"

"Chuck will be three in February. Bobby is two just after Christmas. Freddie just turned one this past June. We were… stuck in the honeymoon phase." Alex looked at them all, piled on each other like puppies. "I forget sometimes that Freddie wasn't just born."

"I have six nieces and nephews and every time I see them, I feel like I've missed years and it's only been months. They grow up so fast."

"I need a nap but…"

"Go head, we've got time. A solid hour or two might save your life."

Alex nodded, grateful she hadn't mathed the distance between Bobby and Freddie. Alex stretched out on the sofa above his kids and shut his eyes. He didn't really get more than doze before the first dirty rear end woke him up. Then it was a train of dirty bums and teaching the flight attendant a trick with a trash bag to limit the odor.

The other side of the country was cold. He bundled the kids up before he had the flight attendant walk with him and their cart of luggage to the rental desk. She helped him load them up, making sure each car seat was belted in before Alex drove from New York to Vermont. The kids were upset and he had to pull over twice to tackle food and diapers but they got there. Screaming and crying but they got there. He was grateful for the attached garage. Gave him the opportunity to stake things out before he put his children in a strange house. It was clean, stocked and there were childproofing implements that were mostly installed. Alex appreciated the effort of Liz's team. He made a pallet in the living room area and brought his boys in to disrobe and breathe after their claustrophobic day. He almost let them out sans diapers but that was a mess he did not want to clean up.

They got fed and changed and put to sleep where they could spread out. Alex watched them sleep for a while before arranging furniture around them and taking inventory of their location. He remembered Tess's lessons. He needed an escape plan, just in case. Vilandra didn't care about the boys but Isabel did. Where one went, the other had to follow.

He cried. Let it out. He'd run away from his wife because he was scared some part of her was going to kill him and their kids. That was a horrible feeling to have, horrible thought to have. He was human. It was the only thing he could do, run. Washing up, he hauled his laptop out of the car and got to work securing what he could, hijacking cameras from the local PD, making contacts to build a network. When the boys woke up, they were looking for Isabel, but he had to distract them with the Thanksgiving parade and the food that he found in the fridge.

When they fell asleep again, he called Liz to let her know he'd made it. She sounded like she was hiding while she was on the phone and he was grateful. He had to get the lay of the land outside the lodge and three kids was a lot to tote around, even with the triple stroller. His hands trembled and he had to sit down. He ended up in the fetal position on the floor for an hour.

Then he got up and got meals ready for his kids and made himself not check on the cameras at his house. He didn't know how proficient Vilandra was about detecting things Isabel knew nothing about, but he needed some items before he risked checking in. He ordered a new cell phone using his fake ID and matching credit card and once he had that, he could do more. Meanwhile, there were only a few people he could call on the lodge's phone.

November 23, 2007 Friday

Alex got the boys settled in one of the rooms. It had cribs and bedding and a variety of clothes. Geez, what kind of outfit was Liz running? There were toys, of course and Chuck dove into the pile of them. He recorded a video of him thanking "Auntie Yiz" for all the toys. Bobby stuck to his favorite toys from the crate. Freddie was fussy and stayed on Alex every moment, rubbing his eyes and pulling at his ear. Shit. The flight attendant had been holding him.

He texted Liz. She sent him a response back. To be on the lookout for a sedan and a tall blonde. Two hours later the sedan pulled up and two people got out. An older man with mostly salt in his hair and a black bag in hand and a tall blonde with severe eyebrows. Alex let them in.

"Hi, I'm Laurie and this is Dr. Wendell. I can watch the boys while you and the doctor look over little Freddie."

"Just… keep them in here." Alex motioned to the living room.

"Okay." She nodded.

Dr. Wendell took Freddie to the dining table and looked him over. Made goofy faces and looked in various orifices. "Well, Dad, looks like an ear infection."

"First one." Alex gestured to the boys. "We manage who comes near them."

"Well, first one is always the hardest and hate to break it you but… an ear infection is the result of a cold. If this one has a cold, then so does that one and that one. They're going to pass it around for the next two to three weeks."

"OH, no." Alex took a deep breath.

"You and mom can handle this."

"It's just me, right now."

"Well, I suggest you get a little help because one is hard enough, two would be rough but three… there's some sleep deprivation that will take you back to when they were newborns." He wrote out a script for baby number one. "Let me look the other two over and we can make a game plan."

"Come here." Laurie took Freddie and cooed while Alex hopped out of the play area with Bobby next.

"These are some handsome boys you got." The doctor commented. "Rather close together in age."

"Unfortunately, my wife and I had no birth control… or self-control." Alex crossed his arms and watched as the doctor repeated his routine on Bobby.

"His sister-in-law had the same problem with her first husband." Laurie commented.

"Liz's kids are a little more spaced out than mine." Alex cleared his throat.

"But barely. I saw Lucy one time. So cute." Laurie dangled a toy for Freddie and kissed Chuck's bear when he brought it over. "Met Nate a few times. He looks just like his dad and Pete… I have never seen such a happy, rolly baby."

"Did you know… Liz's first husband?" Alex asked, gently.

"We met a few times, he helped me out of a jam and I actually stayed here for a while." Laurie told him and seemed to take what Alex was laying down. "Liz has picked up the slack since he died. I'm paying it forward, anything you need, you call me. Liz made me property manager. I know this place inside and out."

"Time for the big brother." Dr. Wendell took Chuck when he returned Bobby.

Alex's fury kept him from passing out on the spot. Liz's help was with the enemy. But the enemy brought a doctor. He was so tired.

"Dad, your turn."

"Really?" Alex frowned.

"I was instructed to ensure all members of your family were in good health."

"By who?"

"Mrs. Evans, the owner of the property and the reason we have Ms. Dupree in town being lovely as ever."

"Diane?"

"The new Mrs. Evans. Liz."

"Oh." Alex let the doctor do his thing. They all got prescriptions and instructions. Alex made a note to text Liz that evening about that babysitter she'd offered.

Laurie saw the doctor out and returned to start banging around in the kitchen. Alex stood to watch her for a minute. She waved. "Soup. My granddad made me soup when I was little and I was sick. You are sick. You have to stay out of the kitchen."

"I'm not sick."

"You are. The doctor said. It happens. You feel good until you drop and then who's going to take care of you? Chuck?" Laurie pointed to the boy laying on an ottoman with his head hanging off and a stick of some kind in his mouth. "Least I can do after all Liz's family has done for me."

"Who are you?" Alex stood up. "Liz gave me some vague story about family but didn't explain it."

"Oh." Laurie put the pot on the fire and began her hunt for the can opener. "Well, as I understand it. My connection to you all is through… your friend Michael."

"What?"

"Michael's DNA template came from my grandfather. I inherited Grandpa's bad blood and that leaves me open for… paranoia, depression, anxiety… infertility."

"You're a donor line." Alex crossed the kiddie gate to the kitchen. "I guess that explains why Pierce helped you out."

"He was very sweet to me. Him and his buddy… Mr. Kinney. They got me out of the mental hospital and over to Auntie Jolene to get me better. I am… mostly. Still have some PTSD. I have a lot of lawsuits I will be placing against my family and some employees at the facilities that held me. Liz is going to keep helping me with that."

"Do you know… about him?"

"I've… seen some things. Read some things, watched some videos from the trials. The person in those videos… that man is not the man who stashed me in a quiet place near a fancy rehab so that I could get the treatment I needed. Who pulled the strings to get our family back together so we could help each other."

"You consider Daniel Pierce to be family?"

"Yes. Auntie Jolene is the last living donor and she tried to keep the donors together. After my grandfather died, there was some… falling out and so… I'm going to pick it back up. Liz and I will. With maybe Todd when Auntie Jolene is no longer able to help. A triumvirate."

"Okay. So I know how you feel about the donor lines but what about the recipients of that DNA."

"I haven't met anyone except Michael and… I have a soft spot for a man who looks like my grandfather and talks like him and moves like him. Lennon… looks just like my dad. So, if Michael can be so good, then I have to believe that everyone else can be, too."

Alex took that in. "Did Liz tell you why I'm here?"

"No. She just said that you needed help. I'm here. To help. If you need to sleep, I'm here. I'm not… too familiar with babies but… I can follow instructions."

"Liz offered me a babysitter. A woman who watched her kids in Pittsburgh."

"I can get with Todd to get her number if you prefer. I heard she was a nurse in her younger days. Still has her license."

"Wow."

"Todd is a… quiet gossip. I hear a lot of things, but he does so under the cone of silence. He only gossips to me and to his girlfriend and probably Liz… and always to Auntie Jolene. Always assume he's telling Auntie Jolene everything." She poured the soup into the pot and sat down for a second. "I have… vague memories of Grandpa's friends coming to visit. This tall man with a… sharp smile and his wife, this tall model of a woman… She was kind. Motherly. Fussy." Laurie smiled suddenly. "She always wanted me to eat cookies and oatmeal and play dolls… but I just wanted to sit on Grandpa's lap and smell his cigar smell and listen to his voice."

Alex burst out laughing and sat on the other side of the island. "Sounds like Izzy."

"Your wife?"

"Yeah. She's always been the fussy, motherly sort."

"But not now."

"But not right now." Alex took a breath. "What do you know?"

"Aliens, clones. I kind of… stopped at that."

"There's a little more to it and it's happening to my wife, right now. Her… alien side is… unsettled. She's… losing time. But I've seen some of the things she's done."

"Like DID?"

"Almost." He nodded.

"Well, let me finish this soup up. I'll run to the store for other sickie remedies and the meds for the lot of you. I'll call Todd and see what we can do to get the nanny here. You. Rest."

"This place get cable?"

"Netflix and Hulu. I got the house rigged when I lived here." Laurie pointed the remotes out to him. "Also, the stereo is rigged to the PC upstairs. Tablet down here… audiobooks and ebooks."

"Thank God." Alex found the tablet and the remotes and jumped back in with the boys.

Alex got the boys cleaned up and wrapped warmly. The house was wonderfully insulated but Alex wanted to limit the chances of getting worse. Freddie stayed near to him but Bobby and Chuck were running all around the fort of furniture he had built. He must have dozed off because when he heard the door open, he popped up. A dirty bum to be cleaned and a breath of fresh air from the cold outside. Freddie was asleep and Chuck was halfway there. Bobby went with him over the fence to see what Laurie had brought into the house.

She had a tablet she was writing on. "Three babies with similar medicines and a drowsy daddy. This is how we're going to keep up on their meds."

"Is this a dosage sheet?"

"Yep. We had these… similar to these at the facility I was at." Laurie wrote quickly. "I got Pedialyte pops. I know it's cold out but… the hot kid's things are gross."

"It's fine." Alex nodded. "Thank you."

"The men stocked your fridge based on what Liz feeds her kids and I know you're from California so I made sure there was more organic stuff."

"Thanks."

"Todd is reaching out to Penny but warned that Penny would have to bring her daughter and we'd have to arrange for Penny's daughter to get her treatments out here. I do that part." Laurie pointed to a door. "That door goes to the other side of the lodge. They can stay over there, especially with everyone being sick. Penny's daughter would have to stay over there."

"If she's too sick, maybe they shouldn't come."

"It's… just… family. You know? She can do her treatments herself but they're hard to come by. Having her mother close is good for her morale."

"Okay." Alex stared at her hard. "How do you know so much about Liz's nanny?"

"I ask questions. I talk to Todd. I talk to Liz. Neil. I'm alone out here. I'm getting to know the folks in town, which is how we got the doctor to come out. I have a good sob story. I'm likeable. People want to help. Let us help you."

"Fine."


Maria – November 24, 2007 Saturday

Maria took a casserole over to the Evans house. Mrs. Evans had baby stuff everywhere. Maria pitched in while she knew Sean and Michael had her kids.

"Thank you for dinner. I don't know how Liz and Max do all this."

"Alien powers is how. Only answer I have." Maria gathered abandoned toys for the crate and piled up baby clothes for the washer. "Missing a child."

"Peter and Grandpa Phil are nap partners."

"Of course."

"Nate will run wild but if the babies are asleep, he'll play quietly." She pointed to where he was coloring at the coffee table. "Liz says she has her kitchen in order and Max says he's almost done with the boys' room but he wants to get most of Lucy's stuff in her room."

"Ooh. Lucy gets her own room." Maria kissed Nate's head and stacked some books next to him. "He's getting so big."

"I a big boy." Nate told her.

"He is. Max has been sneaking over in the early morning to make sure he's using his big boy potty."

"Sneaking?"

"To keep routine. Nate won't tell Liz when it's time."

"Weird. Sammy is not afraid to tell me about poop time. He describes it to me."

"Lord. When I got Max and Isabel, they were older but… they still had to be potty trained. It was easier once we got them home. Isabel figured it out really quickly. She did not want to be dirty. Max… was scared of the flushing… so we did a lot of poops without flushing. He'd get Phillip to do that part. Then Phillip had to run to Clovis for an overnight case. He still wouldn't get me."

"Oh no."

"The smell got to him, I think. He figured it out on his own."

"Or Isabel did it for him."

"No. She let him have his time. She used my bathroom and that's kind of how I figured it out." Diane watched Nate coloring. "It's so odd. How… coincidentally a lot of this was."

"How do you mean?"

"I told Liz already, I think the kids look like Max and she said that since Max is like a great uncle to them, that… it would track. But look at them."

"I mean, they do favor their dad pretty heavily and… I don't think Max and… Pierce look similar exactly but if you got them all in a room, the men of the Morton family, there would be no denying they were related to each other." Maria shrugged. "It's going to make Liz's scam go off without a hitch though."

"Scam?"

"Nothing, it's… she's… putting away all of their father's things so that Max is the only dad they'll remember."

"I was a little surprised the judge went along with that plan but given how he feels about misuse of government resources, I can see how it might be something he could get behind." Diane began mixing some items for baby dinners.

"I hear you got new pictures." Maria sat on the floor next to Nate.

"Yah." Nate excitedly pulling the abused pictures out of his pocket. "That's me and that's my Max."

"Yeah, it is." Maria pulled her wallet out. She showed him pictures of her family. "Who's that?"

"Sammy." Nate pointed, licking his lips as he made himself comfortable against her. "Nenin."

"Lennon." She watched his little face. "Who's that?"

"You!"

"And what's my name?"

"Aunt Nuhria."

"Close enough." Maria laughed to herself. "Maria?"

"Nuhria."

"Okay. Who's that?"

"Sammy's daddy."

"And what's his name?"

"Untle Nitle."

"Uncle Michael."

He flipped to the next picture. "Nonno and Nonna."

"I see my mother got to you already." Maria laughed and Diane hovered over them. "Yeah, Nonno Jim and Nonna Amy."

"That's my Gemma Dinan and Gempa Phil."

"Yeah."

"That… That's…"

"You don't know him." Maria squeezed him. "That's my cousin Sean."

"Shhon."

"Close enough." Maria switched to her digital camera. "Who's that?"

"That my mommy!" Nate poked his little finger at the screen. "And Gamma and Gampa."

"He's so cute." Diane watched his little face.

"Who's that?"

"My Max!"

"He gets so excited." Diane breathed out.

"Did you know that Max married your mommy?" Maria asked him.

"Yah." Nate nodded. "My Max say… he say… so he can take care of me. He is my mommy's… house band."

Maria snorted at how cute and serious he was. "Yeah. Husband." She tried not to laugh too hard but talking to two-year-olds was sometimes hilarious. "Is Max your daddy, now?"

"I don't know."

"Did you ask him?"

"I don't member." Nate shrugged and then reached for Diane. She scooped him up and kissed his little face. "Can we make… My Max his cookies?"

"We sure can." Diane looked up at Maria. "Would you mind hanging around to be a taste-tester for me? Max has it in his head that if I follow the recipe without doing anything "to taste" that I am a fine cook."

"That was kind of rude of him."

"My doctor backs him up. My meds are "leveling" and I am tasting some differences."

"I can do you one better." Maria brightened up. Her "what would Liz do" had kicked on. "We'll make regular cookies for the humans and kiddies and I can show you how to make cookies for aliens."

"Oh. I never thought of that. Max and Isabel have been doctoring their own food forever."

"It's a bit messy, double-cooking but when you see their faces. Worth it."

November 25, 2007 Monday

The house was pretty big but cozy and it had miles to go before it looked like Max and Liz's house. Sammy oohed and Lennon sucked on his thumb. "Hello?"

"Back here!" Liz called out.

Maria followed the voice to the hallway bathroom where Peter and Nate were wearing towels and Lucy was having her bath. "Hi!"

"Hi, Maria. Would you mind taking them to get dressed? Clothes are laid out. Lucy pooed her water and I had to start over."

"Kids. Gotta love 'em." Maria guided the boys with her to the boys' room. She stared at them. "Who's first?"

"Me." Nate told her.

He dutifully let her dress him before he took off running with Sammy. Peter let her dress him and he was too cute not to kiss and tickle, which he loved. By the time she was done with the boys, Lucy was getting dressed in Liz's room.

"This part of your house alone is twice as big as your old house." Maria told her.

"I know. I liked that cozy little house but I ran out of room. Max is out there cleaning it out of everything so that Greg and Glory Troy can move in." Liz quickly changed her shirt to a drier one and found her socks.

"I thought you hated the Troys."

"I hate Pam Troy. She's a monster. Glory's great. Greg is fine. They've been staying in a motel for the last three weeks because that's how awful Pam and her mom are. Ugh."

"Double ugh."

Liz led their train to the den where the toy box waited. Nate and Sammy hopped around. Liz ran a comb through Nate's hair as he passed between taming Pete's unruly dark hair. Lucy made happy noises at Lennon who only waved because he was sleepy and not sure if he wanted to be there.

Lennon stood on Maria's lap while Liz got Lucy to play on the floor near Pete. "How was it last night?"

"Okay. Max had to sleep on the floor in the boys' room because Nate was scared. Max read him stories and kissed him a bunch, but he was… I don't know." Liz took a breath. "I was sitting in his bed this morning trying to figure out what he's seeing or how he's feeling but I couldn't get it."

"Why didn't you put him in bed with you guys? I thought that's what you were doing."

"We do but… Max and I wanted to be clear that he's big enough to sleep in his own bed." Liz sighed. "He's so tired right now."

"Well, we going to brunch?"

"Can we make brunch, here? Please?"

"Yeah." Maria nodded and handed over Lennon.

Maria got the batter going and the eggs scrambled. Liz traded off with her to get the hashbrowns and bacon going. Then Liz called her when food was ready. Pancakes and eggs for the kiddos. Hashbrowns for the brave. Liz made poached eggs on English muffins for the grownups. Everyone ate with their hands. Liz made them mimosas. The kids played and played while they chitchatted and drank iced tea.

Pete came to Liz first. He was asleep by the time she got him settled in her arms. Liz struggled to stand with him. "Be right back. He'll sleep till it's time to eat again."

Maria watched Nate carefully. He was so tired, but he kept playing with Sammy. They giggled and traded stuffed animals and cars and blocks. So much fun. Liz returned with a blanket for Lennon and Lucy to play on together. Then Nate came to Liz and asked if Sammy could go home. Liz bit her lip. "Oh honey, what's wrong?"

"I seepy."

"Okay, come here."

Maria watched her cuddle him up in her arms. He was so big. Sammy kept right on playing. Liz rocked Nate and murdered an old blues song, but Nate's eyes fluttered shut and a few minutes later he was practically drooling.

"Oh, I missed it." Max whispered as he walked in looking filthy. "The house is clean and the Troys are moved in. They did not have a lot of stuff, but I got some basics set up for them, so Glory doesn't have to move around too much."

"How did she look?"

"Better than she did that night downtown." Max took Nate, who started but then relaxed as he realized it was Max. "Let me go put him down."

Maria started gathering her kids' things. Liz helped and cuddled on Lennon while he let her. Max returned and relaxed on the couch looking cleaner than when he'd walked into the house. "How's it going, Max?"

"It's going."

"Nate still on the fence about calling you 'dad?'" Maria raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yeah." Max took a breath. "He gives me funny looks when I talk to him about it."

"He acts confused." Liz clarified. "He's not, though."

"Do you think he's… thinking about…" Maria gestured.

"Maybe. I have to take him to a therapist and after my interview with the therapist, I have to go, too." Liz took a breath.

"Why?"

"The therapist reports to the judge and the judge said that she said I might have PTSD and he said that given who I was married to, he believed it was likely. I know, I do but I never exactly got treated for it. I have to talk to the director of the FBI about it."

"Why?" Max bit out.

"I read my contract. If I talk about what happened in the Unit, I am breaking my contract and I can be imprisoned. So, I have to talk to the director and let him know that I am in court-ordered therapy and that I will be using… coded language." Liz's lip curled up. "I hate that man."

Maria adjusted Lennon in her arms. "So, what's the deal? Coded language?"

"So, I have to reveal my inner angst, but I can't tell a civilian therapist that my late, first husband and I met when he illegally incarcerated me in a secret facility."

"Ah." Maria nodded. "Complicated."

"Very." She took a breath. "I have to talk about what I was feeling in my house so that they know what Nate is feeling now, in this house. Why it's different. Why he's different."

"I asked him if Max was his new dad… he said he didn't know, and he didn't remember." Maria made a face at them. "I think he's confused."

"Yeah." Max nodded. "I suck at giving the talks."

"He's two." Liz reminded him. "We'll just… demonstrate more."

Maria picked up Lennon and Max helped her put Sammy in the car. "We're going to Nonna's for the afternoon. You guys okay?"

"Yeah. First full 24 hours in the new house. I have to leave this week and Liz is staying home from work. She's gonna get bored."

"PI job or Kal job?"

"Kal job." Max nodded to her screwed-up face.

"Okay. Be safe. She looks happier."

"Yeah, she does." Max grinned and ran back to the house. Maria took her kids to her mother's. They had a blast with Nonno Jim on his day off. Amy was fussing over some bills. Maria helped.

"You're good at this, honey."

"Michael and I had to learn to be." Maria tapped a bill. "That's for the power at a house that no one lives at."

"I know. I just…"

"Let Sean rent it from you. He can pay the bills and keep it up. He's getting a handle on himself."

"He is but… I think living alone is too much for him."

"Michael wants him to move in with Monk."

Amy barked out a laugh. "I do like those boys."

"They'll need parenting. Sean's never lived without one of us and Monk's never lived anywhere without his mom." Maria pointed out.

"You really think he could do this?"

"Yeah. He's thinking about buying a car. They could pay you enough to get the property taxes taken care of. Pay those electricity bills and the water…" Maria pointed to the list of bills. "Stop using your nest egg to do that."

"You know, I had a thought when I got married and moved in here that you and Michael would take my house but then you wouldn't do it. Then you took Alex's house."

"I didn't like the person I was when I lived in that house. I was me but… I was angry." Maria furrowed her brow as she thought about it. "Looking back, I was mad about so much and I just… never said anything or if I did… it would come out in this hurtful explosion and I'm… seeing that I'm still doing that in a nice house with a support system around me so… I have to… work on me."

"Sweetheart."

"I was at Liz's earlier and she was talking about how she and Nate have to do therapy and she was talking about it like it was any other Monday and I wanted to shout at her. No reason. Just tell her to get the fuck over it."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because she said the words. "I have PTSD." And I guess that as long as Liz never said those words then I didn't have to acknowledge that she has something wrong with her and it's not even that something's wrong with her… Something happened to her and I know what it is because she told me but it was like… she told me a story about something that happened to someone else." Maria took a breath. "Like all the things I experienced in high school, we couldn't talk about it and so… it happened to some other Maria."

"You've done therapy." Her mom had a tone and Maria had to rush to explain herself better.

"And I didn't do it right. Because Liz remembered something that I didn't. I have the answer for why I was so angry in that house and why I didn't want to go live there with my family and… I just… packed it up. Put it away. Ignored it even when my body did some insane things to remind me."

"Maria, you're scaring me."

"I liked a boy when I was too young, and I let him… hurt me and then I locked it away. I didn't tell anyone and I made Liz swear never to tell anyone and now, sometimes when I'm stressed, my body locks up and I can't do things… like make love to my husband when we want to or… I have found, I can't even take a shit when I want to." Maria took a deep breath. "I made myself forget what happened so that I didn't have to be the girl it happened to. I'm tired of being angry. I'm tired of being anyone but me."

"Who did it?"

"A dumb boy. It doesn't even matter who. He doesn't get to live in my head. Agent Pierce doesn't get to live in my head. Brian DeLuca doesn't get to live in my head. I have enough on my plate."

"Oh honey." Amy hugged her tight. "How about we take turns taking care of these boys at my old house? Or… we can get together and cook for the week for our respective households and drop by to clean and feed those boys. You know they're going to starve."

"I'd like that." Maria nodded. "Mom…"

"Boys are dumb. Yes. Maria DeLuca is my daughter, and she is smart. Just because that happened, doesn't make you dumb. It doesn't make you less. It's a scar and scars can heal, and they can leave marks but… you are here, and you are good and brave and imperfect and that is okay."

"I'm Maria Guerin, now."

"But you're Maria. Always." Amy sat up. "And if I ever find out who that boy was, my husband is going to have to arrest me."

"Did you say something, hon?" Jim called over.

"Nothing, sweetie." Amy grinned at him.


Tess – November 11, 2007 Sunday

Tess woke in the middle of the day feeling absolutely wrecked. Like she'd been using her powers all night and run a marathon and… she was ill and starving at the same time. Shower first.

Hot water was awesome. Sweatpants on, she gulped water and then made tea, sweet and spicy. Gulped that. Ate everything in her house before she realized she was just taking the edge off her hunger and ordered a pizza. Everything on it. Tess sat on the floor and waited. Paulie delivered it. She threw money at him and took the pizza before slamming the door in his face.

By sunset, she finally felt okay. She made a list for the grocery store because she would need to get something before work and then shop after work. She passed out at the kitchen table. She overslept and had to hit a drive-thru before work. It was gross.

Sean brought donuts when he arrived for his shift and slipped her the cinnamon cruller. She doused it in hot sauce and inhaled it. After fixing her make-up, she got to work on the grants and interviewing the lab-techs on their personal projects.

"The idea is that we're going to be doing very diverse work here and I need to know what your focus is. That way we can team you guys together better." Tess held her clipboard of questions in front of her.

Serena took a breath. "Well, I was hoping I could pursue molecular cloning and genetics."

"Why didn't you go to a huge facility?"

"Politics. I didn't realize there wouldn't be a load of experienced staff, though."

"Working on that." Tess told her. "We actually have a mentoring program we're trying to get off the ground. Hoping to lure in some older folks who um… are aging out in some facilities."

"That would be amazing. Though, I do love that we're… helping people while we're waiting on funds." Serena smiled brightly. "You're glowing, did you know that?"

"I'm sweating. I think I'm sick." Tess shook her head. "Good thing about the loving what we're doing. Liz said that Dr. Skaarsten has taken an interest and hopes to give some lectures. Will probably be by Skype. We're working out the details."

"Wow, so… you'll be hosting professors and scientists?"

"That's the plan." Tess tapped her clipboard. "So, if you have ideas, put them in the box. I'll be researching the grants and finding the funds for us. It'll be constant hell but we're working on lots of projects. As long as we stay on top of our crime lab work, we get to do lots of things."

Tess rushed to the bathroom and vomited. She hadn't been lying about the sweating. It was as she was sitting in the restroom, gathering herself, she had a vague memory of seeing Zan Saturday night. That was it. Just him walking up to her porch.

Getting to her feet, she washed her mouth out and wished there was a vending machine in the break room. That got her thinking. She looked up some prices and vendors before putting the request in Liz's inbox. Liz was irate when she walked in. "You okay?"

"God, I thought that when I opened my own lab, that I would get to work in my own lab." She took a breath and shut her eyes for a long moment. "I have to take Friday off. I have to go to Pittsburgh this weekend and won't be back until Tuesday night."

"What can I do?"

"Just keep this place going." Liz looked at her inbox. "Jesus."

"We need help."

"We do."

"Do we have time to plan?"

"No. I'll figure it out."

Tess left her to it and got back to her desk to try to match talents and interests to the grants she could find. She ordered lunch and it was sauce heavy. She didn't care. Kyle sent her an email reminding her that he would be in on Wednesday night of the following week for the holiday and then he was going back. Right.

In the grocery store, Tess found herself in the snack cake isle and knew that wasn't going to cut it. Bakery, she bought five cakes and three giant bottles of hot sauce. She ordered five meals to go at the Crashdown. She ate and ate in the little kitchen of her little house and cried. She was afraid. She knew. She knew why she was so tired and so hungry. She knew.

She put up walls. She built them high. No one could know. If Kyle wasn't coming home for Thanksgiving, she could probably stay out of sight until Christmas. She didn't know what she was going to do after that. She used Kal's credit card to buy groceries the next night and the next night.

November 16, 2007 Friday

Tess was sitting at the desk, eating from a container of noodles when her stomach started to revolt. She threw up her breakfast and lunch. She cleaned up and couldn't eat anymore. She wanted to call Liz and tell her that she was going home but then… Liz had trusted her to keep the place going and keep on top of things.

Steve's wife stopped in and they toured the daycare. Tess was sweating. She got through the tour and they made plans to enroll the two kids when the new semester started. With Liz's boys, that would give them four. Enough to hire the day care specialist. Maybe Michael would enroll his boys. That would keep them for a while. Maintaining and allowing Tess to try out some programs.

Around three, Tess was no longer eating or drinking. She was breathing hard and she put herself in Liz's office until she could make a getaway. Her bones ached, her muscles were quivering but she got home and immediately pulled her dress off. She climbed into the bathtub, shivering, intending to turn on the hot water but then it happened, her eyes closed and she blacked out.

November 17, 2007 The Weekend

Tess cleaned herself up, dissipating the mess she woke up in. She sat in the tub, soaking for a long time before she finally got out and got dressed. Sweat pants. Sweater. She watched the sun rise and then called Jolene. They had a long conversation and Tess got through her morning without falling apart.

She didn't eat. Couldn't. She napped, restlessly. Her normally efficient healing was negated by the hormones fighting in her system. She could feel her body shifting back into place though she hadn't really felt it shifting out of place.

Sunday, she had to get dressed enough to get to the pharmacy. Chocolate, pads, hot sauce. She got home and back in bed. She wanted to call out for the next day but she couldn't. Liz was out of town. She just had to make it through Tuesday. Then Kyle would be home, but she couldn't tell him what happened. She didn't even really know what happened. She ran into Maria Monday morning as she was trying to get breakfast, but nothing was appetizing.

"No." Maria shook her head. "No. No Crashdown breakfast."

"What?" Tess looked at her.

"Liz told me that you and she have a pact and I'm not going to let her beat you. Go to my mother and tell her I said to make you an energizing smoothie."

"Where is your mother?"

"In my house with my kids." Maria took the menu away from her. "You look like shit, by the way. No more pizza. It's bad for your skin."

"I hate you." Tess stood up.

"Good. Get going. See you at Thanksgiving!"

Tess took herself to the Guerin house where Michael was rushing out the door with breakfast in his hands and his cellphone in his hand. Tess walked into the house and found Amy was feeding the boys while they played. "Hey, Mrs. Valenti."

"Oh ew." Amy made a face. "I think you're the first person to call me that."

"Really?"

"I usually answer to "Hey Mom!" "Hey Aunt Amy!" "Hey babe!" and "Nonna!"" Amy went back to feeding Lennon some breakfast mush. "Please don't tell my husband I said "ew.""

"Secret is safe with me." Tess breathed out.

"What brings you by? Maria's at the Crashdown."

"Maria found out that Liz and I were motivating each other to lose weight and… I was at the Crashdown… so she sent me here for an… energizing… smoothie…" Tess's voice trailed off. She didn't trust her voice anymore. She could feel it. Right under the surface.

"Honey?" Amy stood up and looked at her. "What's wrong? If Maria was being rude, I will handle her."

Tess shook her head but couldn't open her mouth. Then Amy's arms were wrapped around her and Tess started bawling her eyes out. Somehow they ended up on the floor and Tess found herself draped over Amy's lap while she got her hair stroked and Amy continued feeding the boys who played with their toys and walked over for bites of soft egg and mushed potatoes. Sammy brought her two stuffed animals before leaning against her to pretend to read a book. That got Tess going all over again.

When she finally got control over herself, she sat up and Amy cleaned up Sammy. Sammy sat in Tess's lap and read to her. Amy got Lennon cleaned up and started making noise in the kitchen. Amy returned with a pile of scrambled eggs, pancakes and bacon. Tess ate heartily. Amy brushed her hair. "Honey, I don't know what happened but it's going to be okay."

Tess almost started crying again but Sammy was helping her eat and he was so sweet. Sammy put the fork through a piece of pancake and put a nugget of egg on it and tried to balance a slice of bacon on it. "Here you go. It's a… flying saucer."

Tess couldn't contain her giggle but dutifully ate the flying saucer. Amy gasped. "I didn't even think. Do you want syrup and hot sauce?"

"No. This… is… the first solid food I've eaten in a few days." Tess shook her head. "Much better than the Crashdown version but don't tell Mr. Parker."

"Please, I taught him how to make pancakes." Amy put some braids in Tess's hair. Lennon brought them blocks and random bits of toys as he held on to furniture to traverse the distance between them and the toy box. "What happened, Tess?"

"I think I… had a miscarriage… but… I don't know."

"Honey, I'm sorry. Have you talked to Kyle?"

"No. I talked to Jolene. I don't… I just… want to sleep for a week."

"We'll keep Kyle busy. You rest. Insist on cuddles. Okay?"

"Okay." Tess finished her breakfast. "Thank you for… Thank you."

"Any time. Where you off to?"

"To work. I am very late."

"I'll write you a note."

"My boss is mean… and also out of town." Tess got herself together and stood up. She kissed the babies and hugged Amy and got into the office where there were some very nerdy folks ready to check out some evidence. Tess delivered their instructions with their packets. When they had each completed their quota for the day, they switched to their independent studies and Tess took a nap in Liz's office.

Serena burst in. "You're not Liz."

"I am not."

"Fine. I got us an invitation to a bid."

"On what?" Tess sat up and opened up the email on Liz's desktop to take notes.

"She's gonna love this. It's not pharmacology."

Tess nearly fell asleep listening to Serena explain the very sciencey thing but dutifully took the notes and sent them to Liz, who responded with "SET IT UP." Tess was about to open her mouth to tell Serena when she got the follow up. "CALL JOLENE." Tess looked at Serena. "I'm not good at this part but Liz wants us to talk to her silent partner."

"For real?"

"Yeah." Tess wrote the number down and handed it over. "Do it."

"Oh my god." Serena picked up the phone. "I can't screw this up."

"Jolene throws money at Liz. She'll dig it." Tess busied herself looking up as much as she could so she could keep up with the grants she had Liz applying for. She was almost normal when she got the phone call. "Hello?"

"Heya, Tess."

"Zan." Tess shut her eyes and took her cell phone to an empty closet. "What do you want?"

"I need you to do me a favor."

"I think I'm done doing you favors."

"No, you need to. Isabel's… worse. I have a plan but I need you to come in a few days."

"When?"

"You'll know when."

"I have a life, Zan."

"Right now, your life is helping your people not implode on this planet. I have to return Vilandra back to her fucking box and then you can play house with your cowboy."

"Look, I'm having some trouble right now."

"I don't care. You're going to do this. When I call for you, you're going to come. Understood?"

"Yes." Tess couldn't stop herself from agreeing. She felt something inside herself… tug. "Fine."

"And don't tell anyone. Anyone."

"Got it." Tess got off the phone and got back to Serena fangirling on the phone. "Hey! Caplan. Focus."

"Right. Right. So, like I was saying."

Tess did a walkthrough of the lab and chastised a young man for not properly washing his beakers. It was like Liz was on her shoulder. She had to get out for a minute. She listened to Sean talking about some girl he met at the Shake Quake. "Is she pretty?"

"Yeah." Sean nodded. "Super pretty."

"You going to ask her out?"

"How soon should I let her know that I was… technically in prison?"

"Well, it wasn't technical. You were in prison."

"I mean, but was I?"
"You have a record. You are banned from several public venues, Sean. You can't join the bowling league. You can't attend anything at the high school. The Roswell Grande has banned you for life. That means you cannot take a date to the Chez Pierre." Tess broke it to him. "Your next best option… is the steakhouse. They have their own bibs, Sean."

"But do I have to tell her."

"Depends."

"On?"

"Is this a one-night thing? Or is this a… bring her home to see Aunt Amy thing."

"Oh." Sean nodded. "I should think about that."

"Okay. I'm taking the last donut." Tess took it with her back to her desk. She shook some hot sauce on it and took her time eating it as she scrolled through her pinterest. She closed up her desk and went for a walk. Amy sent her a text reminding her to get some rest but she was restless and angry and sad and she had 48 hours to get herself under control.

November 22, 2007 Thursday Thanksgiving

Tess opened the door and led the way to the couch. Kyle groaned and unbuckled his belt while balancing the leftover plates. He tossed the plates in the fridge and kicked out of his pants. He found a pair of sweats and got himself over to Tess, who was huddled in a ball on the couch. Kyle straightened her out and held her while he dozed. They had eaten so much. He was tired after helping Max that morning but he had to get his Tess time in.

When Kyle woke, it was dark out and Tess was dead asleep. He carried her to bed and helped himself to some pie and coffee. It was dark out but still early. Tess woke in her bed in a panic. Then she had to calm herself. It was seven pm on Thanksgiving Day. She found Kyle in the kitchen and joined him to stare out the window. "So quiet now."

"Thanksgiving with kids. It's what happens." Kyle sipped his coffee. "How've you been?"

"Busy. Running down grants."

"Shouldn't the cattle be doing that?"

"I like them focused and completing the work for the state. They got all these routines going. Extraction takes no time but mapping it does. So… we have to make sure they get everything going and then they keep busy while they're waiting for the next batch. We just do results. We do not interpret. Once the results are done, we pack it back up and ship it back. We sent the report on a secure server, copy of it with the samples." Tess sighed. "I like it. I just… keep the ship running."

"You look… sick."

"I know." Tess nodded. "Been… sort of… out of it."

"You talk to Max?"

"He's busy." Tess sighed. "I'm supposed to see Zan soon. I'll have him check me out."

"Okay." Kyle nodded. "If it's the fertility treatments…"

"I talked to Jolene already. She needs more information." Tess glossed over that conversation. "I'm okay. Just tired a lot."

"Want some leftovers?"

"No. I need fruit." Tess got up and set about getting an orange, apple and banana chopped and tossed with hot sauce. They watched a movie and Tess stared at the wall. Tess got a glimpse of something. It reminded her of her old days before marrying the monarch. Just a glimpse. Just enough to gird her strength. She kissed Kyle softly before getting up and going to the bathroom. She breathed in deep once the door was closed and the glimpse had already faded. The end was near.


TBC