~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Cause
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Or maybe it's just somebody's idea of a great big cosmic practical joke," Maria continued, trying desperately to not wish for something she couldn't have. "Maybe someone out there is just toying with us, waiting to see how long it will take before we go completely nuts."
As she finished her thought, Mickey caught sight of her and bounded across the diner, full of boundless enthusiasm. "Mommy!"
Kyle turned and watched as the little girl leapt down from the stool and approached the pair of women who stood just inside the door. He had always expected that they would look different somehow once they'd reached adulthood. Except for the worry and exhaustion that was clearly evident even across the room, he could have sworn he was back in school, hanging out and waiting for the rest of the group to show up and discuss the latest news of FBI agents or other-worldly objects. He rose from his stool and continued to watch the interaction.
"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"
Maria's head bobbed with her daughter as she bounced up and down. "What is it, munchkin?"
"Mrs. Parker showed me the bedroom she said was mine until we go back home. It's got a big bed and tons and tons of dolls!"
"I told you," Liz said to Maria, laughing at Mickey's antics.
"So I get stuck in the guest room with every doll you ever owned and refused to get rid of," Maria grumbled.
"Mrs. Parker said I get to sleep there! You have to find someplace else, Mommy."
"You little terror!" Maria gaped at the child, her eyes sparkling with repressed laughter at the sudden turn of events. Mickey was generally positively clingy but ever since they'd gotten to Roswell she'd become little Miss Autonomy. She tried to convince herself that it was purely a coincidence, that they just happened to get to town at the moment Mickey flew headlong into a new stage of her young life, but her thoughts wouldn't cooperate with reason. Something was going on and she had no clue what it was or how to deal with it.
"Looks like you're stuck in my old room with me, DeLuca," Liz commented, thoroughly amused.
"Great," she drawled. "Maybe we should tie up Alex when he comes back and force him into that sleep over idea..."
"Only if I'm invited too." Kyle had approached as the trio discussed their sleeping arrangements.
"Kyle. It's good to see you." Maria watched him closely, still waiting for someone to lash out at her in anger over her sudden departure.
"I looked for you, Maria. I found out you were in Quebec and searched for you but you weren't there anymore." His tone was achingly sad but not angry.
"You were in Quebec?" Liz asked. Leave it to Kyle to know more about her best friend than she did.
"Umm, Mickey? Why don't you go see if Mrs. Parker needs help with anything," Maria suggested. "And take the crayons and book with you." She gestured to Mickey's forgotten toys at the counter.
"Okey dokey!" She was gone in a flash, sailing past the counter as she swept the items into her hands and dashed through the kitchen toward the stairwell that would lead her to her temporary home.
"I don't get it," Maria said, puzzled, "she isn't this obedient usually; I mean she's a good kid most of the time but it's almost like she's under some kind of freaky good behavior spell or something. And she doesn't act this much at home when we're actually at home." She shook her head at the curiosity before returning to the subject at hand. "You wanna join us Kyle?"
They slipped into the booth and sat in relative silence until the waitress brought them their drinks. Maria was still trying to decide where to begin when Alex walked back into the diner.
"Alex? What are you doing back so soon?"
"You said I was supposed to come back later. It's later."
Maria grinned and gestured for him to join them.
"You were in Quebec?" Liz repeated.
"Yeah. Quebec, Drumheller, Juno, Amherst, Knoxville, San Diego... We've been all over at one time or another, even went to Guam for a little while."
"So Kyle, let me guess why you're here." Maria turned her gaze from the tabletop to their most recent arrival, swiftly turning the subject of their talk away from her past. "You felt this overwhelming need to come back to Roswell, dropped everything, and hit the road."
"How did you know that?"
"It's the same for all of us," Liz explained. She just wished she knew the reason behind it.
"Has anyone heard of any... activity in the area recently?" Alex questioned.
"I don't know, I could ask Mom and Dad though. We'll have to catch the news tonight and see what it says."
They continued their discussion until late afternoon. Mickey had long since departed the Crashdown with Liz's mother in order to do some 'girl stuff'. The sheriff had stopped by for a late lunch and was surprised to find his son in the diner and not in Chicago. A few of the people they had attended school even managed to wander through, stopping to say hello before rushing off to their boring average lives.
"I wonder what it's like," Maria said watching the couple leave the diner. Melinda had been in her Spanish class their junior year and she remembered going to kindergarten with Scott. They looked so happy and at ease. She was envious.
"Wonder what what is like?" Liz chased the half melted ice cubes around her glass with the straw.
"Being average and normal and boring. When I was a kid I wished for an exciting life but I wasn't exactly thinking about aliens and death threats. I think I was hoping for a knight in shining armor and fighting for a worthy cause."
Liz laughed. She wouldn't exactly call Michael a knight in shining armor, maybe a half-cocked soldier in tarnished armor... And knights always came back to reclaim their lady loves and it was unlikely that would be happening. Maria was stuck in the same spot she was, except Maria had the added worry of trying to raise a half-alien child without raising anyone's suspicions.
~~~
Maria peeked into the Parker's guest room, slowly opening the door to check on Mickey. A muted night-light illuminated her rosy cheeks and sweet mouth as she slept. A dozen or more dolls were all tucked into the bed with her, surrounding the little pixie like a troupe of protective fairies. Leaning against the doorframe, she watched the steady rise and fall of her daughter's chest.
"Isn't it amazing that even when you know they're safe and well, you still need to look in on them?"
Maria turned toward the hushed voice and saw Liz's mother standing behind her. Startled that she had let down her guard long enough for someone to approach her unnoticed, Maria could only nod.
A long moment passed in silence as they watched the sleeping child.
"I'm sorry for the intrusion, Mrs. Parker..."
"Nonsense. You're welcome here for as long as you're in Roswell, however long that may be. You both are." The older woman reached out to place a reassuring hand on Maria's shoulder. "You're family, Maria. Don't you know that? And I meant what I said earlier. I love spending time with your daughter; I've missed having a little girl in the house ever since Lizzie grew up on me. Mickey and I had a great time today and I promised her that I'd take her to the festival tomorrow. You take the time to be with Liz and the others, don't worry about Mickey." Seeing the tears that glistened in Maria's eyes, she pulled her close and wrapped her arms around her. "You'll see, everything's going to be okay."
"I hope you're right."
"I'm a mother, I'm always right."
~~~
Long after the Crashdown had locked its doors for the night, Liz found Maria sitting on the balcony outside her old bedroom window.
"It's been a long time since I crawled out here," she remarked, pulling herself over the windowsill. "Climbing through windows didn't seem like a very mature activity," she supplied, noting the question in Maria's eyes.
Her friend smiled in response. That was something she was familiar with: trying to decide what the mature action would be in any given situation. She tilted her head up to look at the night sky, catching glimpses of falling stars, a lot of falling stars.
"A meteor shower? I don't recall hearing anything about a meteor shower." Maria glanced back to Liz.
They were about to climb back through the window when a car pulled up under the balcony.
"Come on, let's go," Alex's voice called out.
~~~
Alex's car tore down the desert road and into the deepening night as a thousand stars seemed to fall from the heavens. The three passengers had remained eerily quiet, watching the bright streaks of light.
"Alex? Where are we going?" Liz kept her eyes trained to the sky.
"There." He pointed to a rock formation that loomed out of the horizon. They'd all been there before long ago, just before they'd experienced the grief of loss and now they had returned.
The Cause
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Or maybe it's just somebody's idea of a great big cosmic practical joke," Maria continued, trying desperately to not wish for something she couldn't have. "Maybe someone out there is just toying with us, waiting to see how long it will take before we go completely nuts."
As she finished her thought, Mickey caught sight of her and bounded across the diner, full of boundless enthusiasm. "Mommy!"
Kyle turned and watched as the little girl leapt down from the stool and approached the pair of women who stood just inside the door. He had always expected that they would look different somehow once they'd reached adulthood. Except for the worry and exhaustion that was clearly evident even across the room, he could have sworn he was back in school, hanging out and waiting for the rest of the group to show up and discuss the latest news of FBI agents or other-worldly objects. He rose from his stool and continued to watch the interaction.
"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"
Maria's head bobbed with her daughter as she bounced up and down. "What is it, munchkin?"
"Mrs. Parker showed me the bedroom she said was mine until we go back home. It's got a big bed and tons and tons of dolls!"
"I told you," Liz said to Maria, laughing at Mickey's antics.
"So I get stuck in the guest room with every doll you ever owned and refused to get rid of," Maria grumbled.
"Mrs. Parker said I get to sleep there! You have to find someplace else, Mommy."
"You little terror!" Maria gaped at the child, her eyes sparkling with repressed laughter at the sudden turn of events. Mickey was generally positively clingy but ever since they'd gotten to Roswell she'd become little Miss Autonomy. She tried to convince herself that it was purely a coincidence, that they just happened to get to town at the moment Mickey flew headlong into a new stage of her young life, but her thoughts wouldn't cooperate with reason. Something was going on and she had no clue what it was or how to deal with it.
"Looks like you're stuck in my old room with me, DeLuca," Liz commented, thoroughly amused.
"Great," she drawled. "Maybe we should tie up Alex when he comes back and force him into that sleep over idea..."
"Only if I'm invited too." Kyle had approached as the trio discussed their sleeping arrangements.
"Kyle. It's good to see you." Maria watched him closely, still waiting for someone to lash out at her in anger over her sudden departure.
"I looked for you, Maria. I found out you were in Quebec and searched for you but you weren't there anymore." His tone was achingly sad but not angry.
"You were in Quebec?" Liz asked. Leave it to Kyle to know more about her best friend than she did.
"Umm, Mickey? Why don't you go see if Mrs. Parker needs help with anything," Maria suggested. "And take the crayons and book with you." She gestured to Mickey's forgotten toys at the counter.
"Okey dokey!" She was gone in a flash, sailing past the counter as she swept the items into her hands and dashed through the kitchen toward the stairwell that would lead her to her temporary home.
"I don't get it," Maria said, puzzled, "she isn't this obedient usually; I mean she's a good kid most of the time but it's almost like she's under some kind of freaky good behavior spell or something. And she doesn't act this much at home when we're actually at home." She shook her head at the curiosity before returning to the subject at hand. "You wanna join us Kyle?"
They slipped into the booth and sat in relative silence until the waitress brought them their drinks. Maria was still trying to decide where to begin when Alex walked back into the diner.
"Alex? What are you doing back so soon?"
"You said I was supposed to come back later. It's later."
Maria grinned and gestured for him to join them.
"You were in Quebec?" Liz repeated.
"Yeah. Quebec, Drumheller, Juno, Amherst, Knoxville, San Diego... We've been all over at one time or another, even went to Guam for a little while."
"So Kyle, let me guess why you're here." Maria turned her gaze from the tabletop to their most recent arrival, swiftly turning the subject of their talk away from her past. "You felt this overwhelming need to come back to Roswell, dropped everything, and hit the road."
"How did you know that?"
"It's the same for all of us," Liz explained. She just wished she knew the reason behind it.
"Has anyone heard of any... activity in the area recently?" Alex questioned.
"I don't know, I could ask Mom and Dad though. We'll have to catch the news tonight and see what it says."
They continued their discussion until late afternoon. Mickey had long since departed the Crashdown with Liz's mother in order to do some 'girl stuff'. The sheriff had stopped by for a late lunch and was surprised to find his son in the diner and not in Chicago. A few of the people they had attended school even managed to wander through, stopping to say hello before rushing off to their boring average lives.
"I wonder what it's like," Maria said watching the couple leave the diner. Melinda had been in her Spanish class their junior year and she remembered going to kindergarten with Scott. They looked so happy and at ease. She was envious.
"Wonder what what is like?" Liz chased the half melted ice cubes around her glass with the straw.
"Being average and normal and boring. When I was a kid I wished for an exciting life but I wasn't exactly thinking about aliens and death threats. I think I was hoping for a knight in shining armor and fighting for a worthy cause."
Liz laughed. She wouldn't exactly call Michael a knight in shining armor, maybe a half-cocked soldier in tarnished armor... And knights always came back to reclaim their lady loves and it was unlikely that would be happening. Maria was stuck in the same spot she was, except Maria had the added worry of trying to raise a half-alien child without raising anyone's suspicions.
~~~
Maria peeked into the Parker's guest room, slowly opening the door to check on Mickey. A muted night-light illuminated her rosy cheeks and sweet mouth as she slept. A dozen or more dolls were all tucked into the bed with her, surrounding the little pixie like a troupe of protective fairies. Leaning against the doorframe, she watched the steady rise and fall of her daughter's chest.
"Isn't it amazing that even when you know they're safe and well, you still need to look in on them?"
Maria turned toward the hushed voice and saw Liz's mother standing behind her. Startled that she had let down her guard long enough for someone to approach her unnoticed, Maria could only nod.
A long moment passed in silence as they watched the sleeping child.
"I'm sorry for the intrusion, Mrs. Parker..."
"Nonsense. You're welcome here for as long as you're in Roswell, however long that may be. You both are." The older woman reached out to place a reassuring hand on Maria's shoulder. "You're family, Maria. Don't you know that? And I meant what I said earlier. I love spending time with your daughter; I've missed having a little girl in the house ever since Lizzie grew up on me. Mickey and I had a great time today and I promised her that I'd take her to the festival tomorrow. You take the time to be with Liz and the others, don't worry about Mickey." Seeing the tears that glistened in Maria's eyes, she pulled her close and wrapped her arms around her. "You'll see, everything's going to be okay."
"I hope you're right."
"I'm a mother, I'm always right."
~~~
Long after the Crashdown had locked its doors for the night, Liz found Maria sitting on the balcony outside her old bedroom window.
"It's been a long time since I crawled out here," she remarked, pulling herself over the windowsill. "Climbing through windows didn't seem like a very mature activity," she supplied, noting the question in Maria's eyes.
Her friend smiled in response. That was something she was familiar with: trying to decide what the mature action would be in any given situation. She tilted her head up to look at the night sky, catching glimpses of falling stars, a lot of falling stars.
"A meteor shower? I don't recall hearing anything about a meteor shower." Maria glanced back to Liz.
They were about to climb back through the window when a car pulled up under the balcony.
"Come on, let's go," Alex's voice called out.
~~~
Alex's car tore down the desert road and into the deepening night as a thousand stars seemed to fall from the heavens. The three passengers had remained eerily quiet, watching the bright streaks of light.
"Alex? Where are we going?" Liz kept her eyes trained to the sky.
"There." He pointed to a rock formation that loomed out of the horizon. They'd all been there before long ago, just before they'd experienced the grief of loss and now they had returned.