What is the Truth?
By Didi
Disclaimers: Do I really need to do this? I mean how many of you would believe me if I did say that I owned them all?
Note: Starts just at the end of Season 2 but I'm writing it my way cause I simply refused to except the way the writer screwed up that storyline. So, here's my take on the end of the episode and what happens afterwards. Forget everything that was on UPN, it didn't happen.
Caution: I can handle creative criticism and all but please no flames of any sort. Oh and if you are a Max/Liz fanatic, I doubt you'll like this story much.
"Spoken," *thoughts*
~~~~~
"You sure we should be doing this?" Maria asked yet again as they silently moved around the little shack toward the window that would allow them a view of Tess.
"We have to know weather Alex can be trusted or not," Michael murmured back, his brows furrowed with concern. He didn't like letting Alex leave but didn't exactly have a lot of choice.
"This is Alex we're talking about here," Isabel hissed back, shocked that he would say such a thing. "Of course we can trust him."
"The Alex we knew wouldn't have lied to us, Issy," Michael explained softly, obviously hating the fact that his doubts were causing her pain. "We don't know what Tess could have done to him."
"She didn't do anything to him," Max replied, keeping a careful eye on the window as they approach. The last thing they need was for Tess to look out the window and see them. "She didn't need to."
Liz frowned at him. "When did you become her champion?"
He glanced back at her, not saying a word.
~~~~~~~~~~
Alex brought the breakfast tray down slowly and winced as he glanced at the creation that was currently making him slightly queasy. The golden brown waffles were topped with light whipped cream and swirled with strawberry preserves. It looked like a toothache waiting to happen. He kept the small bottle of Tabasco sauce on the side cause he simply couldn't bring himself to add the last ingredient. It was simply asking too much of him.
Touching her brows with a wet towel, Alex sighed and prepared for the performance of his life. "Hey Sleeping Beauty, meal time."
The came awake slowly, eyes clinched shut for a moment to drive away the pain. Tess took a couple of deep breath, willing herself not to appear weak in front of her friend. Forcing her lips to comply, she smiled at him as she struggled to sit up. "Hey, you were gone for so long."
He tried not to look too guilty for having left her alone for so long. "Sorry, I...needed a walk."
"I understand," she reached out and touched his hand, her cold fingers barely brushing his. "Any time you need to leave, just do it. I don't want to be a problem for you."
"You're not a problem," he bent and retrieved the tray. "Here, I bought you some food. Sorry no pancakes, after the tenth one got stuck on the ceiling, I gave up. Hope you like waffles."
"Waffles," her face brightened considerably. "They're my favorite." She dipped a finger into the cream and bought it to her lips. "Umm.... Oh thank you, Alex."
Alex silently thanked Max for his considerable memory. "I'm glad you like it. I bought you some of this new hot sauce they were pushing at the store. I've got the regular kind in the kitchen if you don't like these."
Tess picked up the bottle and examined it for a moment. "Green Tabasco sauce?"
He shrugged, wanting to keep it all light. "They're supposed to be as good as the red. But what do I know?"
Feeling adventurous, "Well, you only live once, or twice in my case," and poured some onto her waffles.
Alex could almost feel himself turn as green as the hot sauce.
Taking a big forkful, Tess savored the sweet and hot taste with pleasure. "Oh, this is wonderful."
"I take it green agrees with you?"
"You can't even tell the difference," she smiled and offered him a forkful. "Want some?" He backed away so fast that he knocked over the stool he sat on. Laughing, Tess offered her hand. "I know, I know, it's not to your taste. But how would you know unless you try some?" She bit into the food with a wistful smile. "Kyle would sometimes sneak a spoonful here and there."
"You mean Kyle actually tried that?" Alex shook his head in amusement. "He's braver than I thought."
She laughed, glad for the happier memories to reminisce about. "You know who makes the best waffles? Not that yours is not great and all..."
"Right," he laughed and rolled his eyes. "Who?"
"Michael," she smiled remembering the guy in this apron and hat pretending to slave over a hot stove in the back. "I loved it when he cooked at the Crashdown. He knew just how crispy to make the fries, or how hot to make the soup. And he always added extra whipped cream when you ordered waffles with the works." She smiled, appearing like a sweet child talking of her favorite brother. "Everyone always compliments him on how fast he could get the orders out. Of course he cheated and used his powers. The only thing he wouldn't cook with his energy was the hamburger. Said it made them taste funny when he did that."
Alex laughed. "Isabel use to complain about that as well."
"Sheriff Valenti wouldn't let me cook hotdogs that way either, said it took all the flavoring out of it." She glanced down at the half eaten meal, feeling suddenly sad. "I miss him." Smiling suddenly with fondness, she looked up at Alex. "I miss having him yell at me about cleaning up the living room, or making the bed, or not closing the curtains when I cook so no one would see."
Alex held her hand as he forked up piece that appeared not to have any hot sauce on it. "It's not too late to go back."
She shook her head quickly and set the tray aside. "No, I can't." She squeezed his hand. "But you..."
"Let's not go there again."
Turning solemn, she turned to him. "Alex, let's be serious here. You have your life to look forward to. All it would take is about two minutes of deep mind-warp and it can all be yours again."
"Tess..." pulling away.
"No, listen," she tugged on his arm. "I'm not going to last much longer and I have to do it soon, while I'm still strong enough to do so. I can make other arrangements to dispose of my body, it doesn't have to be you."
"Oh course it does," he took a deep breath and prepared himself. "We're in this together remember? You and me, against the universe."
She smiled, "I wish I had been a better friend to you."
"You're the best."
"No I am not. I'm so selfish to have dragged you into this whole big..." she gasped as the shooting pain started once more and she doubled over in agony.
~~~~~~~~~~
Max and Kyle jerked up almost at the exact same moment, both wanting to go to her at the sight of her pain. Michael managed to tackled Max before he revealed their location and Valenti grabbed Kyle's arm before the boy could move more than an inch from his position.
"Down, you two," Isabel hissed as she peeked up over the windowsill. As much as she had hated Tess before, watching her in agony like that... *We really misjudged you, did we? You really cared about us, didn't you?*
Max held his breath - willing her his strength - as he watched Alex rock her slowly, trying to ease her pain. *Hang in there, Tess. Just hang in there.*
"Breathe, Tess," Alex's murmured soothingly over the painful gasps as Tess tried to force air into her lungs while keeping the pain a bay. "Come on, breathe slow now." His arms were tight around her, trying to absorb some of the ache that twisted her beautiful features. "I gotcha. I gotcha."
Maria's nails dug deep into Michael's arm as she stared blankly at the wall, almost as if she could see through it. "She's really dying." Until that moment, Maria's mind hadn't accepted that Tess did this for Max and the others. It was unreal. But faced with that kind of self-sacrifice, she felt her heart clinch painfully and her eyes water. "Michael, she's really going to die, isn't she?"
Michael Guerin lived for three things. Finding out the truth of his past, Max and Isabel. He'd be the first to admit to never completely trusted Tess. Sure she was there, always helping him develop his powers, pushing him to the limits to make him better. There were things she would say to him that made him nervous. [Michael, you have to get better. Max and Isabel, they depend on you to protect them. In war, it's kill or be killed. And there are always sacrifices to be made.] He swallowed the lump in his throat. *She always sounded so cold-hearted when she said those things. Like she expected me to sacrifice myself or something. No, she was talking about herself, about the sacrifices that she was preparing to make for us.*
"Stay with me now," Alex sniffed as he shifted her tighter in his arms. "Just hang on, it'll pass soon. Just hang on," he could hear her shallow breath, coming haltingly. "Just breathe through it."
Liz stared into the sky, her eyes filling with painfully hot tears. *You were doing it all cause you loved Max, weren't you Tess? I lied to him cause I loved him. You'd die for him cause you loved it. You were even going to allow me to have him.* She didn't know whether to thank her or curse her.
Valenti held his son, whether it was to archer himself to his spot or to stop Kyle from going to Tess, he wasn't sure. *Oh god, kid. Why didn't you just tell me? I would have helped you.*
Kyle bit his lip. *Big boys don't cry. Big boys don't cry.* But he did. He cried cause his little sister was in pain and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
TBC....
~~~~~
Honestly, what do you people think of the story?
By Didi
Disclaimers: Do I really need to do this? I mean how many of you would believe me if I did say that I owned them all?
Note: Starts just at the end of Season 2 but I'm writing it my way cause I simply refused to except the way the writer screwed up that storyline. So, here's my take on the end of the episode and what happens afterwards. Forget everything that was on UPN, it didn't happen.
Caution: I can handle creative criticism and all but please no flames of any sort. Oh and if you are a Max/Liz fanatic, I doubt you'll like this story much.
"Spoken," *thoughts*
~~~~~
"You sure we should be doing this?" Maria asked yet again as they silently moved around the little shack toward the window that would allow them a view of Tess.
"We have to know weather Alex can be trusted or not," Michael murmured back, his brows furrowed with concern. He didn't like letting Alex leave but didn't exactly have a lot of choice.
"This is Alex we're talking about here," Isabel hissed back, shocked that he would say such a thing. "Of course we can trust him."
"The Alex we knew wouldn't have lied to us, Issy," Michael explained softly, obviously hating the fact that his doubts were causing her pain. "We don't know what Tess could have done to him."
"She didn't do anything to him," Max replied, keeping a careful eye on the window as they approach. The last thing they need was for Tess to look out the window and see them. "She didn't need to."
Liz frowned at him. "When did you become her champion?"
He glanced back at her, not saying a word.
~~~~~~~~~~
Alex brought the breakfast tray down slowly and winced as he glanced at the creation that was currently making him slightly queasy. The golden brown waffles were topped with light whipped cream and swirled with strawberry preserves. It looked like a toothache waiting to happen. He kept the small bottle of Tabasco sauce on the side cause he simply couldn't bring himself to add the last ingredient. It was simply asking too much of him.
Touching her brows with a wet towel, Alex sighed and prepared for the performance of his life. "Hey Sleeping Beauty, meal time."
The came awake slowly, eyes clinched shut for a moment to drive away the pain. Tess took a couple of deep breath, willing herself not to appear weak in front of her friend. Forcing her lips to comply, she smiled at him as she struggled to sit up. "Hey, you were gone for so long."
He tried not to look too guilty for having left her alone for so long. "Sorry, I...needed a walk."
"I understand," she reached out and touched his hand, her cold fingers barely brushing his. "Any time you need to leave, just do it. I don't want to be a problem for you."
"You're not a problem," he bent and retrieved the tray. "Here, I bought you some food. Sorry no pancakes, after the tenth one got stuck on the ceiling, I gave up. Hope you like waffles."
"Waffles," her face brightened considerably. "They're my favorite." She dipped a finger into the cream and bought it to her lips. "Umm.... Oh thank you, Alex."
Alex silently thanked Max for his considerable memory. "I'm glad you like it. I bought you some of this new hot sauce they were pushing at the store. I've got the regular kind in the kitchen if you don't like these."
Tess picked up the bottle and examined it for a moment. "Green Tabasco sauce?"
He shrugged, wanting to keep it all light. "They're supposed to be as good as the red. But what do I know?"
Feeling adventurous, "Well, you only live once, or twice in my case," and poured some onto her waffles.
Alex could almost feel himself turn as green as the hot sauce.
Taking a big forkful, Tess savored the sweet and hot taste with pleasure. "Oh, this is wonderful."
"I take it green agrees with you?"
"You can't even tell the difference," she smiled and offered him a forkful. "Want some?" He backed away so fast that he knocked over the stool he sat on. Laughing, Tess offered her hand. "I know, I know, it's not to your taste. But how would you know unless you try some?" She bit into the food with a wistful smile. "Kyle would sometimes sneak a spoonful here and there."
"You mean Kyle actually tried that?" Alex shook his head in amusement. "He's braver than I thought."
She laughed, glad for the happier memories to reminisce about. "You know who makes the best waffles? Not that yours is not great and all..."
"Right," he laughed and rolled his eyes. "Who?"
"Michael," she smiled remembering the guy in this apron and hat pretending to slave over a hot stove in the back. "I loved it when he cooked at the Crashdown. He knew just how crispy to make the fries, or how hot to make the soup. And he always added extra whipped cream when you ordered waffles with the works." She smiled, appearing like a sweet child talking of her favorite brother. "Everyone always compliments him on how fast he could get the orders out. Of course he cheated and used his powers. The only thing he wouldn't cook with his energy was the hamburger. Said it made them taste funny when he did that."
Alex laughed. "Isabel use to complain about that as well."
"Sheriff Valenti wouldn't let me cook hotdogs that way either, said it took all the flavoring out of it." She glanced down at the half eaten meal, feeling suddenly sad. "I miss him." Smiling suddenly with fondness, she looked up at Alex. "I miss having him yell at me about cleaning up the living room, or making the bed, or not closing the curtains when I cook so no one would see."
Alex held her hand as he forked up piece that appeared not to have any hot sauce on it. "It's not too late to go back."
She shook her head quickly and set the tray aside. "No, I can't." She squeezed his hand. "But you..."
"Let's not go there again."
Turning solemn, she turned to him. "Alex, let's be serious here. You have your life to look forward to. All it would take is about two minutes of deep mind-warp and it can all be yours again."
"Tess..." pulling away.
"No, listen," she tugged on his arm. "I'm not going to last much longer and I have to do it soon, while I'm still strong enough to do so. I can make other arrangements to dispose of my body, it doesn't have to be you."
"Oh course it does," he took a deep breath and prepared himself. "We're in this together remember? You and me, against the universe."
She smiled, "I wish I had been a better friend to you."
"You're the best."
"No I am not. I'm so selfish to have dragged you into this whole big..." she gasped as the shooting pain started once more and she doubled over in agony.
~~~~~~~~~~
Max and Kyle jerked up almost at the exact same moment, both wanting to go to her at the sight of her pain. Michael managed to tackled Max before he revealed their location and Valenti grabbed Kyle's arm before the boy could move more than an inch from his position.
"Down, you two," Isabel hissed as she peeked up over the windowsill. As much as she had hated Tess before, watching her in agony like that... *We really misjudged you, did we? You really cared about us, didn't you?*
Max held his breath - willing her his strength - as he watched Alex rock her slowly, trying to ease her pain. *Hang in there, Tess. Just hang in there.*
"Breathe, Tess," Alex's murmured soothingly over the painful gasps as Tess tried to force air into her lungs while keeping the pain a bay. "Come on, breathe slow now." His arms were tight around her, trying to absorb some of the ache that twisted her beautiful features. "I gotcha. I gotcha."
Maria's nails dug deep into Michael's arm as she stared blankly at the wall, almost as if she could see through it. "She's really dying." Until that moment, Maria's mind hadn't accepted that Tess did this for Max and the others. It was unreal. But faced with that kind of self-sacrifice, she felt her heart clinch painfully and her eyes water. "Michael, she's really going to die, isn't she?"
Michael Guerin lived for three things. Finding out the truth of his past, Max and Isabel. He'd be the first to admit to never completely trusted Tess. Sure she was there, always helping him develop his powers, pushing him to the limits to make him better. There were things she would say to him that made him nervous. [Michael, you have to get better. Max and Isabel, they depend on you to protect them. In war, it's kill or be killed. And there are always sacrifices to be made.] He swallowed the lump in his throat. *She always sounded so cold-hearted when she said those things. Like she expected me to sacrifice myself or something. No, she was talking about herself, about the sacrifices that she was preparing to make for us.*
"Stay with me now," Alex sniffed as he shifted her tighter in his arms. "Just hang on, it'll pass soon. Just hang on," he could hear her shallow breath, coming haltingly. "Just breathe through it."
Liz stared into the sky, her eyes filling with painfully hot tears. *You were doing it all cause you loved Max, weren't you Tess? I lied to him cause I loved him. You'd die for him cause you loved it. You were even going to allow me to have him.* She didn't know whether to thank her or curse her.
Valenti held his son, whether it was to archer himself to his spot or to stop Kyle from going to Tess, he wasn't sure. *Oh god, kid. Why didn't you just tell me? I would have helped you.*
Kyle bit his lip. *Big boys don't cry. Big boys don't cry.* But he did. He cried cause his little sister was in pain and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
TBC....
~~~~~
Honestly, what do you people think of the story?