Sacrifice
A Sequel to Quietly into the Night
Conventional Couples
Rating: PG-13

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Earth – Roswell, New Mexico

Kyle looked around the room, dazed from his journey across time and space. He looked down to reassure himself that both Kam and Lexie were both firmly secured to his legs. Putting the orbs on a nearby table, he leaned down and untied the bindings he had used to secure them.
"We're home, we're home!" cried Lexie. "Kam, want to see my room?"
"Yes Princess, you are home, but we don't have time to play in your room. We're going to get the two of you changed into some clean clothes, get some food, and then we're going to go find your grandparents. Does that sound like fun to you?"
"Okay," agreed Lexie, amicably. "Come on Kam," said the little girl, holding out her hand. "I'll show you where daddy keeps my clothes."

Kyle smiled as he watched the two children go up the stairs. Once they were out of sight, he grabbed the orbs and began to recharge them. Remembering how Lexie had come to Antar, he placed them on top of a very high bookshelf, and put a plant in front of them, blocking them from view. He took the stairs two at a time and located Max's room. He allowed himself the luxury of a shower, and slipped into some of Max's clothing, using his powers to modify them so that they would fit. Following the sounds of laughter, he walked down the hall into Lexie's bedroom.
"Barbie," he said when he saw the preponderance of pink that filled the room. "Max let you have a Barbie bedroom?"
"I am NOT sleeping in this room, Unca Kyle," said Kam. "It's all girlie."
"Well, we're not going to worry about that right now Kam," said Kyle, stifling a grin. "We need to get the two of you cleaned up and into some other clothes."
"I'm not wearing any girl clothes," Kam said with a scowl on his face. His arms were folded, and he stuck out his chin in a mutinous gesture.

Kyle laughed and went into the bathroom and began to fill the tub up with water.
"Come on you two!" he shouted over the running water. "Get undressed so I can throw you in the tub." He grabbed the giggling twins and stripped them down and tossed them into the tub. By the time they were finished, the children were clean, and Kyle needed to use his powers to dry his sodden clothing. Lexie dressed herself, and Kyle routed around in her closet until he found a pair of jeans that would fit Kam. Using his powers, he changed a Care Bears tee shirt into a miniature West Roswell High tee shirt and got Kam dressed. The three went downstairs and into the kitchen. Kyle grabbed some cookies from the cabinet and gave them to the kids to much on. A brief search of the kitchen, and he found Max's car keys hanging on a hook. Grabbing the kids by the hand, he walked out to they walked out to Max's Jeep Grand Cherokee. Lexie climbed right in and began to strap herself into her booster seat.
"Damn," said Kyle. "Kam's going to need a seat too."
"We gots another one, Unca Kyle," said Lexie, pointing towards the garage. "Daddy keeps it here in case one of my grammy's wants to take me somewhere."
"You are a most excellent little doodle bug Lexie Bear," said Kyle. He quickly installed the seat and lifted Kam into it.

Once both children were secured, he started the car and backed out slowly. He made his way slowly through the streets of Roswell, and was shocked when a set of flashing lights appeared in his rear view mirror.
"Damn, damn and double damn," he said, banging his hand on the steering wheel.
"Keep your hands up where I can see them," came the voice from behind him.
Kyle raised his hands up into the air and remained motionless. He stared straight ahead, trying to come up with a convincing story to explain why he was driving Max's Jeep, with Max's children in the car.
"Grampy Jim, Grampy Jim!" shouted Lexie from the back. "It's my Grampy Jim!"
"Max!" shouted Jim Valenti as he moved towards the car. I didn't know you were back. What happened? Did you find…" his voice trailed off as he reached the car window. "Kyle?" he whispered. "Is that you?"
"Dad," said Kyle as he unbuckled his seatbelt and slid out of the car. "Oh God, Dad, it is so good to see you." The two men hugged and laughed on the street as traffic passed them by. Jim released his son and looked into the car.
"Welcome back Lexie, we missed you." He looked at Kam, and then back at Kyle. "Who is your friend, Lexie?"
Lexie giggled and smiled at Jim.
"He's not my friend," she said. "He's my brother!"

"Dad, I have a lot to tell you, but I need to get the kids to the Parkers. Can you meet me there so I can explain everything at once?"
Jim looked back into the car and smiled and then looked back at his son.
"Sure thing Kyle. Whatever you need, you know that."
"Great, we'll meet you at the CrashDown. But do me a favor; don't tell Liz's parents I'm on my way. There are some things I have tell them."
Jim hugged his son tightly, afraid to let go for fear of losing him again.
"Dad, I have to go," said Kyle gently. "I'll see you at the CrashDown."
The two men went to their respective cars and headed towards town. Kyle found a place to park, and smiled to himself as he listened to the children in the backseat chattering away.
"Come on kids," he said, reaching around to unsnap their booster seats. "Let's go inside. I know some people who will be very happy to see you.

Kyle walked the kids around to the back entrance of the restaurant, wanting to avoid a scene until they had come up with a cover story to explain Kam's existence.
"I'm sorry, you can't come in this way," said Geoff Parker, brusquely, barely looking at the longhaired stranger and two children who were standing in the doorway of his kitchen.
"Grampy Geoff," piped up Lexie. "I always come this way."
Geoff whirled around, his complexion gray under his perpetual tan.
"Lexie, oh sweetie, you're back." He looked at the strange man holding his granddaughter's hand. "Kyle? Kyle Valenti is that you? And is that…?" he paused looking at Kam."
"Hey, Mr. Parker," said Kyle with a grin. "I sure could use a Will Smith burger."

"Nancy!" Geoff bellowed. "Nancy get back here right away."
Nancy Parker made her way from the counter back to the kitchen, just as Jim and Amy Valenti, followed by Philip and Diane Evans came in the back way. There were shouts of excitement from all the adults. Lexie joined right in and hugged her grandparents and jumped up and down gleefully. Kam, however, crept closer to Kyle and held onto his leg tightly.
"Unca Kyle, I don't like it here, I wanna go home," he whispered, tugging on Kyle's pant leg.
Kyle bent down and picked up the small boy.
"Don't worry, Kaminator. Everything is fine, and this is home. It will all make sense in a little while, I promise," said Kyle and he stroked the boy's hair.

"Look, why don't we go upstairs and talk," said Kyle. "All this noise and confusion is frightening Kam. The adults smiled sheepishly at their exuberance and trooped upstairs. Geoff hung back to make sure there was enough coverage in the café before joining them upstairs.
"Everybody, I would like to introduce you to Kyle Alexander Michael Parker," said Kam. "Kam, this is your Grandpa Geoff, and your Grandma Nancy. They are your mommy's mom and dad. Remember, we talked about them before, remember?" The small boy nodded, some of the fear leaving his face.
"And this is your Grandma Diane, and your Grandpa Philip, they are your daddy's mom and dad."
"Hi Kam," said Diane gently. "How are you?"
"Hi," whispered Kam through the fingers he had stuck in his mouth.
"And this, is Grandpa Jim and Grandpa Amy. They are mine and Auntie Maria's mom and Dad," said Kyle with a smile. Amy gave a trembling grin at Kyle's pronouncement.
"Hi Kam," said Jim. We saw each other when you were in the car, remember? And this is Beth," he said, pointing towards the infant carrier.
"Lizzy Belle!" shouted Lexie gleefully. "We're her big sister, Kam!"

The adults laughed at the child's pronouncement. Lexie took Kam by the hand and led him to Liz's old bedroom, which had been transformed into a child's playroom.
"So tell us everything," said Jim, once the children were out of the room. "What happened, starting with you and Liz, and don't leave anything out."
Kyle proceeded to fill them in on Liz's visions when the first went to Antar, and the surprising news that she was carrying twins. He explained how there was no way she could travel without putting the children in danger, and the terror she felt when she found out what kind of danger Lexie could be in from Kivar.
"So she decided to send Lexie back with Max, and stay and give birth to Kam," said Kyle. "Michael and I both fought her on it, but there was no changing her mind. Michael insisted on staying, he felt it was his job to protect her, but she wouldn't let him. She insisted he belonged with Maria and no place else."

The parents sat, horrified hearing the agony in Kyle's voice as he told them of their years of captivity on Antar. He told them how Liz was virtually imprisoned in their suite of rooms, but he, with a lot of help from Liz, managed to convince Kivar and his lackey's that he wasn't loyal to Max.
"It allowed me some freedom, and I was able to get out of the palace and hook up with Naloch," said Kyle. "But then, Kivar started pressuring Liz to marry him, so he would appear more legitimate to the people of Antar. He was, he was," he paused and swallowed deeply. "Kivar was torturing her," he said finally. "She managed to let me know what was happening, and to get Kam out of the palace. I didn't want to leave her!" he cried. "It killed me to leave her in the hands of that monster, but she made me promise to get Kam out."
He buried his head in his hands to hide the tears that fell from his eyes.

"Kyle," said Nancy Parker. "Look at me Kyle," she said. "None of us hold you responsible. Kyle, you helped to keep Liz safe for three years, at the risk of your own life. You rescued our grandson and brought him back to us. We owe you so much. Why don't you take a rest for now, you can tell us the rest later."
"No," said Kyle, drawing a deep breath. "I have to tell you all this now, because I have to go back."
"What!" shouted Jim. "You can't go back, I won't let you go again Kyle!"
"I have to Dad. Let me finish, and you'll see why. He told them everything, about Lexie's arriving alone, followed by Isabelle, and their getting captured by Nicholas, and their escape, and how they found Liz who had managed to escape from the palace. While the parents listened, enthralled, he explained how by sheer luck, he found Maria.
"And so we were all together again. Naloch took us up to an old cabin he family owned, and we hid there for a while," explained Kyle.
"Then what?" asked Philip Evans.

Kyle took the coffee that Amy handed him and took a deep sip before continuing his tale.
"We were getting ready to leave, when Kivar and his men burst into the room where the tunnel entrance was. I had just activated the door, and stepped into the tunnel when it happened. Max shoved the kids in with me, along with Maria's backpack that contained the orbs. As he shut and sealed the door, Max screamed for me to bring the kids home, so I did. But I left them there to fight Kivar. I got out, and they are still there, so I have to go back," he concluded in anguish.