Friendship.
Liz, Maria and Isabel all sat on the double bed. Maria, having now found contentment within her that she had never experienced before, was back to her usual bubbly self.
"Why didn't you tell me Maria? You're my best friend." Liz told her lying down on the bed, her head resting on her elbow.
"Because Liz I wasn't sure. I kinda suspected, ya know with the whole throwing up in the morning thing, but I guess I tried to make myself believe it wasn't happening. I was so scared of how Michael would react and I was so scared that if I was pregnant that I'd lose all you guys as friends."
"Why would you think that?" Liz asked.
"Because this child isn't exactly human Liz. It makes everything more complicated."
"I guess, but that's no reason for not telling me sweetie." Liz replied taking Maria's hand and giving it a squeeze.
"I know and I'm sorry. Liz I wanted to tell you. I was so scared. The whole reason I came over tonight was so we could talk, so I could tell you. That's why I brought a pregnancy test with me."
"But we kinda wrecked that huh." Isabel commented rather sadly.
"Isabel you didn't wreck anything. If you guys weren't here we would have lost this child. You saved our little girls life. She's a part of you too and you saved her. You let her know she was wanted here. In a weird way it seems like tonight was meant to happen, like she's been sent here to bring us all together again. If you and Max hadn't come over she would have died, and none of us would have been talking the way we are tonight."
"You really want this baby don't you?" Isabel commented.
"Yeah I do. I know we're young and I know this is in no way going to be easy, and I know we were both irresponsible for letting it happen.... But if you love someone you can't always plan something like this. It sometimes does just happen and it feels so right."
Liz smiled.
"You're going to me a great mom." Liz told her.
"You think?" Maria asked.
"Sure you are. This baby's gonna adore having a mother who can sing her lullabies and who is wise and kind. And a mother who has a big heart that only a few people really get to see. She's going to be really lucky." Liz told her friend.
"And she's gonna be lucky to have an aunt like you." Maria replied giving Liz a hug.
"You do realise there is gonna be so much fighting over babysitting duty." Liz commented.
"I do." Maria replied. "I'm dreading telling mom though. She's gonna go nuts...not that that's much of a stretch for her."
"Maybe she'll surprise you." Liz commented.
"Yeah maybe."
"You know if you need somewhere to stay..."
"I know who to call." Maria replied.
"One of us a mom...wow. I can't wait to go shopping for all those tiny clothes."
"Me either. I'm gonna do good Liz." Maria told her sincerely.
"I know sweetie. You're gonna do so good." Liz replied, taking Maria's hand and squeezing it.
"But what if it happens again...I don't want to lose this baby." She told Liz, concern prominent in her green eyes.
"We won't let you." Isabel replied quietly, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
"Isabel are you okay? You're really quiet." Liz commented.
"I'm fine...Look I uh... I can't do this." Isabel told them getting up off the bed and walking over to the window her body then being overcome by sobs.
"Isabel?" Maria asked her friend, getting up off the bed and walking to her side. "Isabel what is it?" She asked again turning Isabel around to face her, shocked by the sight of tears streaming down the face of someone who once upon a time she had thought to be made of ice.
"Don't make me do this." Isabel quietly told Maria through her tears.
Liz walked over to where the pair were standing.
"Do what?" Liz asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"He would have loved this. It's just...I miss him so much and every time something happens I can't help wishing he was here or wondering what he would have thought."
"Alex?" Liz whispered.
Isabel nodded.
"He probably would have been just as excited as we are. And scared." Maria added. "He probably woulda gone straight after Michael too if he saw me as upset as I have been lately." She replied, remembering Michael telling her about one time Alex had come after him because he had found Maria crying in the Crashdown because of Michaels involvement with Courtney.
"I'll go get you some water." Liz told Isabel leaving her and Maria to chat.
"Yeah." Isabel agreed. "He was a great guy like that, always trying to protect you and Liz."
"And you Isabel. He thought the world of you. He would have lassoed the moon for you, you know that." Maria told Isabel leading her back over to the bed, knowing how strongly Alex had felt for Isabel.
"But what did I ever give him." Isabel told Maria starting to cry once more. "I loved him so much, for as long as I can remember, and I was so cruel to him. I knew he had a crush on me, I knew he loved me and I treated him like dirt. I pushed him away because I was so scared that all the walls I've ever put up would be torn down...because I knew he was the only one who could see who I really was. He was the only one who could break through them."
"Oh Isabel."
"He died because of me. That night when we kissed at the prom...It felt so right Maria and I knew I was ready. I was ready to let the man I loved in and I didn't care what anybody thought because I knew he loved me and would stand by me whatever happened and I knew I felt the same. He took care of me for a long time and I was so naive to not notice what I had right in front of me, and so stupid to hurt him for so long. And then he died trying to get to me...and I miss him, and I'm so angry with myself." She told Maria sincerely, teardrops having left tiny patches on her pink sweatshirt and mascara having run off her long eyelashes onto her pale face.
"He wouldn't want that Isabel." Maria comforted, not being able to imagine the torment that Isabel had obviously been silently enduring since Alex's tragic death.
"I know." Isabel replied. "When I found out he died it was as if my whole world shattered into pieces and I didn't know where I was anymore. I was completely lost and I think, in all honesty, I have been ever since. There was so much I should've said to him."
"He knows Isabel. He's probably up there looking down on us all right now. If he's looking over any of us I'm sure it would be you." Maria told the woman knowing in her heart that it was most probably the truth.
"I've never told anyone this but I see him sometimes. I see him in my dreams and he kisses me...He holds me tight and talks to me...He makes me feel like life's worth living again. That's when I know he's watching over me. That's when I know that he's with me and how I know he loves me. I hope he knows I love him too."
"I don't have any doubt about that."
For a moment the pair sat there in silence. Never before had Isabel ever spoken as frankly or sincerely as she had just done to Maria. This had shocked Maria, but it had also caused her to develop a new respect for Isabel and to see she wasn't as hard, or as cold, as she had made herself out to be. She truly did have a heart, and a broken one at that, and Maria wasn't about to let her go through anything on her own.
Isabel meanwhile was also shocked, the scatty Maria DeLuca whom she had often found it hard to connect with had just sat there and comforted her, no questions asked. It hadn't mattered that they hadn't had the smoothest of friendships, or that they were so different and had argued more times than Isabel could count. She had listened. She was still willing to listen and both were glad that they had each other there at a difficult time.
"You know, I know we haven't had the easiest of friendships. I know we clash and I know that I can come across as being a total ice queen but just having you listen...that means a lot."
"Yeah it's a nice change." Maria agreed putting a hand on Isabel's shoulder.
"The truth is Maria I'm kinda jealous." Isabel told her, suddenly finding the bracelet she was wearing very interesting.
"You? Jealous of me?" Maria laughed.
"Yeah. I mean look at you. You're such a strong person. So much stronger than I am."
"I don't know about that." Maria commented.
"No you are. And you've got Michael who thinks the world of you. You have a baby on the way and you look so happy. I can't help being jealous because..."
Maria nodded for Isabel to continue.
"Because believe it or not that's all I ever wanted. I want a family. I want someone who loves me and who I love. I want the little house with the picket fence...I wanted all that with Alex...I could have had that with Alex if only I hadn't been so selfish and cruel and scared..." she told Maria beginning to cry again. "If it had been me pregnant I would've been petrified, but at least I would've had a part of Alex with me. I would have been so happy because like you it would've felt so right, and as hard as it is to picture me with kids...I would've been a good mother...I will be because I want it more than anything. That's why I'm jealous and I'm sorry if I'm quiet around you...it just makes me wonder what if..."
"I know. But in the meantime you have all the duties of being an aunt and more. I know you loved him, you must've loved him so much. We all did. And one day you'll have what you want... just not with Alex. I know you don't feel like it now, I know all you want is him and I know you'll never forget those eyes or that smile. No one ever forgets his or her first true love, but you will have to get on with your life. One day."
"It's just hard to picture life carrying on without him. Even the dreams can't go on forever." Isabel admitted.
"No they can't, but there will always be a part of him in your heart. He'll be there always in your thoughts, and he'll always be watching over us all, laughing his head off at all of us making total idiots out of ourselves with the baby."
"That I believe." Isabel commented, a small smile appearing on her face. "Why do things always turn out so there's so much left unsaid. Why does life end up being so cruel?" Isabel asked lying back on the bed.
"It's the way of the world hon." Maria told her lying back too, a hand once again resting on her stomach.
"You won't tell anyone about all this will you?" Isabel pleaded.
"What you mean that you're not the complete bitch that everybody thought you were...no I won't."
"Want to do this again sometime?" Isabel asked meaning every word that she had said, this being no exception. Her conversation with Maria hadn't been pressured, or forced. It had been refreshing to talk to someone who she previously had never even dreamt of having such a heartfelt conversation with. All she knew is that it had done her good, and she hoped it had made Maria understand her a little better too.
"Sure." Maria replied smiling.
"Everything okay?" Liz asked with a confused look on her face as she appeared with a glass of water in her hand for Isabel.
The girls starting giggling.
"Okay..." she said almost to herself sitting down on the bed before finally joining in with Isabel and Maria.
"What is up with them?" Michael asked as he and Max stood in the doorway watching the three girls in fits of giggles.
"It's this baby thing. I swear it makes women go nuts." Max replied smiling. "You know I don't think I've seen Isabel smile like that since Alex died. I think that talk with Maria must've done her a lot of good."
"Talk with Maria? You mean they actually had a proper conversation? When did that happen?" Michael asked leaning against the doorpost; the girls now so wrapped up in talking about the baby that they didn't even notice the boys standing there.
"When you were in the bathroom. Liz told me Izzy had got upset and that she had left her and Maria to talk."
"And they actually did?"
"Yeah they did. Liz could hear them chatting when she made her way back to the room and she thought they both probably needed it, so she left them to it for a while."
"Things are certainly changing tonight." Michael commented watching Maria who was glowing with happiness.
"Yes they are." Max replied smiling at Liz and Isabel.
"And do you think it's a good thing?" Michael asked, Maria looking up and seeing him, then giving him a big smile.
Max hesitated for a moment before replying.
" Yeah I think it's a good thing. I think it's gonna make us all a whole lot stronger as people...and as a unit." Max added.
"The Roswell seven huh." Michael commented entering the room, Max directly behind him.
"Seven?" Isabel asked as the boys came and joined the girls on the bed.
Maria immediately snuggled up to Michael who put his hand on her stomach where their child was blossoming.
Max put one arm around Liz's shoulder and the other around Isabel's.
"Me, you, Max, Liz, Kyle, Maria here and little baby..."
"Isabel Alexandra." Maria told him.
"Isabel Alexandra." Michael agreed smiling at Maria.
"And maybe one day your little boy too Max." Liz commented referring to the child Tess was carrying when she left in the Granolith.
"Maybe." He replied sadly.
"You're gonna name her Isabel? Maria you've only just found out. You might change your mind." Isabel told her shocked and flattered.
"Some things feel right Isabel. This does too." Maria told her smiling.
"Yes it does." Michael agreed. "So live with it. You're gonna have a namesake." He told Isabel making her smile.
"To the Roswell seven, a team forever." Liz told them, putting a hand out in the centre of the group.
"To the Roswell seven." They chorused, Max laying a hand on top of Liz's and squeezing it, the others following in suit.
"And to loved ones who may not be here, but who are forever in our hearts." Isabel said quietly.
"To Alex." They all chorused then collapsing in a group hug on the bed.
Liz, Maria and Isabel all sat on the double bed. Maria, having now found contentment within her that she had never experienced before, was back to her usual bubbly self.
"Why didn't you tell me Maria? You're my best friend." Liz told her lying down on the bed, her head resting on her elbow.
"Because Liz I wasn't sure. I kinda suspected, ya know with the whole throwing up in the morning thing, but I guess I tried to make myself believe it wasn't happening. I was so scared of how Michael would react and I was so scared that if I was pregnant that I'd lose all you guys as friends."
"Why would you think that?" Liz asked.
"Because this child isn't exactly human Liz. It makes everything more complicated."
"I guess, but that's no reason for not telling me sweetie." Liz replied taking Maria's hand and giving it a squeeze.
"I know and I'm sorry. Liz I wanted to tell you. I was so scared. The whole reason I came over tonight was so we could talk, so I could tell you. That's why I brought a pregnancy test with me."
"But we kinda wrecked that huh." Isabel commented rather sadly.
"Isabel you didn't wreck anything. If you guys weren't here we would have lost this child. You saved our little girls life. She's a part of you too and you saved her. You let her know she was wanted here. In a weird way it seems like tonight was meant to happen, like she's been sent here to bring us all together again. If you and Max hadn't come over she would have died, and none of us would have been talking the way we are tonight."
"You really want this baby don't you?" Isabel commented.
"Yeah I do. I know we're young and I know this is in no way going to be easy, and I know we were both irresponsible for letting it happen.... But if you love someone you can't always plan something like this. It sometimes does just happen and it feels so right."
Liz smiled.
"You're going to me a great mom." Liz told her.
"You think?" Maria asked.
"Sure you are. This baby's gonna adore having a mother who can sing her lullabies and who is wise and kind. And a mother who has a big heart that only a few people really get to see. She's going to be really lucky." Liz told her friend.
"And she's gonna be lucky to have an aunt like you." Maria replied giving Liz a hug.
"You do realise there is gonna be so much fighting over babysitting duty." Liz commented.
"I do." Maria replied. "I'm dreading telling mom though. She's gonna go nuts...not that that's much of a stretch for her."
"Maybe she'll surprise you." Liz commented.
"Yeah maybe."
"You know if you need somewhere to stay..."
"I know who to call." Maria replied.
"One of us a mom...wow. I can't wait to go shopping for all those tiny clothes."
"Me either. I'm gonna do good Liz." Maria told her sincerely.
"I know sweetie. You're gonna do so good." Liz replied, taking Maria's hand and squeezing it.
"But what if it happens again...I don't want to lose this baby." She told Liz, concern prominent in her green eyes.
"We won't let you." Isabel replied quietly, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
"Isabel are you okay? You're really quiet." Liz commented.
"I'm fine...Look I uh... I can't do this." Isabel told them getting up off the bed and walking over to the window her body then being overcome by sobs.
"Isabel?" Maria asked her friend, getting up off the bed and walking to her side. "Isabel what is it?" She asked again turning Isabel around to face her, shocked by the sight of tears streaming down the face of someone who once upon a time she had thought to be made of ice.
"Don't make me do this." Isabel quietly told Maria through her tears.
Liz walked over to where the pair were standing.
"Do what?" Liz asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"He would have loved this. It's just...I miss him so much and every time something happens I can't help wishing he was here or wondering what he would have thought."
"Alex?" Liz whispered.
Isabel nodded.
"He probably would have been just as excited as we are. And scared." Maria added. "He probably woulda gone straight after Michael too if he saw me as upset as I have been lately." She replied, remembering Michael telling her about one time Alex had come after him because he had found Maria crying in the Crashdown because of Michaels involvement with Courtney.
"I'll go get you some water." Liz told Isabel leaving her and Maria to chat.
"Yeah." Isabel agreed. "He was a great guy like that, always trying to protect you and Liz."
"And you Isabel. He thought the world of you. He would have lassoed the moon for you, you know that." Maria told Isabel leading her back over to the bed, knowing how strongly Alex had felt for Isabel.
"But what did I ever give him." Isabel told Maria starting to cry once more. "I loved him so much, for as long as I can remember, and I was so cruel to him. I knew he had a crush on me, I knew he loved me and I treated him like dirt. I pushed him away because I was so scared that all the walls I've ever put up would be torn down...because I knew he was the only one who could see who I really was. He was the only one who could break through them."
"Oh Isabel."
"He died because of me. That night when we kissed at the prom...It felt so right Maria and I knew I was ready. I was ready to let the man I loved in and I didn't care what anybody thought because I knew he loved me and would stand by me whatever happened and I knew I felt the same. He took care of me for a long time and I was so naive to not notice what I had right in front of me, and so stupid to hurt him for so long. And then he died trying to get to me...and I miss him, and I'm so angry with myself." She told Maria sincerely, teardrops having left tiny patches on her pink sweatshirt and mascara having run off her long eyelashes onto her pale face.
"He wouldn't want that Isabel." Maria comforted, not being able to imagine the torment that Isabel had obviously been silently enduring since Alex's tragic death.
"I know." Isabel replied. "When I found out he died it was as if my whole world shattered into pieces and I didn't know where I was anymore. I was completely lost and I think, in all honesty, I have been ever since. There was so much I should've said to him."
"He knows Isabel. He's probably up there looking down on us all right now. If he's looking over any of us I'm sure it would be you." Maria told the woman knowing in her heart that it was most probably the truth.
"I've never told anyone this but I see him sometimes. I see him in my dreams and he kisses me...He holds me tight and talks to me...He makes me feel like life's worth living again. That's when I know he's watching over me. That's when I know that he's with me and how I know he loves me. I hope he knows I love him too."
"I don't have any doubt about that."
For a moment the pair sat there in silence. Never before had Isabel ever spoken as frankly or sincerely as she had just done to Maria. This had shocked Maria, but it had also caused her to develop a new respect for Isabel and to see she wasn't as hard, or as cold, as she had made herself out to be. She truly did have a heart, and a broken one at that, and Maria wasn't about to let her go through anything on her own.
Isabel meanwhile was also shocked, the scatty Maria DeLuca whom she had often found it hard to connect with had just sat there and comforted her, no questions asked. It hadn't mattered that they hadn't had the smoothest of friendships, or that they were so different and had argued more times than Isabel could count. She had listened. She was still willing to listen and both were glad that they had each other there at a difficult time.
"You know, I know we haven't had the easiest of friendships. I know we clash and I know that I can come across as being a total ice queen but just having you listen...that means a lot."
"Yeah it's a nice change." Maria agreed putting a hand on Isabel's shoulder.
"The truth is Maria I'm kinda jealous." Isabel told her, suddenly finding the bracelet she was wearing very interesting.
"You? Jealous of me?" Maria laughed.
"Yeah. I mean look at you. You're such a strong person. So much stronger than I am."
"I don't know about that." Maria commented.
"No you are. And you've got Michael who thinks the world of you. You have a baby on the way and you look so happy. I can't help being jealous because..."
Maria nodded for Isabel to continue.
"Because believe it or not that's all I ever wanted. I want a family. I want someone who loves me and who I love. I want the little house with the picket fence...I wanted all that with Alex...I could have had that with Alex if only I hadn't been so selfish and cruel and scared..." she told Maria beginning to cry again. "If it had been me pregnant I would've been petrified, but at least I would've had a part of Alex with me. I would have been so happy because like you it would've felt so right, and as hard as it is to picture me with kids...I would've been a good mother...I will be because I want it more than anything. That's why I'm jealous and I'm sorry if I'm quiet around you...it just makes me wonder what if..."
"I know. But in the meantime you have all the duties of being an aunt and more. I know you loved him, you must've loved him so much. We all did. And one day you'll have what you want... just not with Alex. I know you don't feel like it now, I know all you want is him and I know you'll never forget those eyes or that smile. No one ever forgets his or her first true love, but you will have to get on with your life. One day."
"It's just hard to picture life carrying on without him. Even the dreams can't go on forever." Isabel admitted.
"No they can't, but there will always be a part of him in your heart. He'll be there always in your thoughts, and he'll always be watching over us all, laughing his head off at all of us making total idiots out of ourselves with the baby."
"That I believe." Isabel commented, a small smile appearing on her face. "Why do things always turn out so there's so much left unsaid. Why does life end up being so cruel?" Isabel asked lying back on the bed.
"It's the way of the world hon." Maria told her lying back too, a hand once again resting on her stomach.
"You won't tell anyone about all this will you?" Isabel pleaded.
"What you mean that you're not the complete bitch that everybody thought you were...no I won't."
"Want to do this again sometime?" Isabel asked meaning every word that she had said, this being no exception. Her conversation with Maria hadn't been pressured, or forced. It had been refreshing to talk to someone who she previously had never even dreamt of having such a heartfelt conversation with. All she knew is that it had done her good, and she hoped it had made Maria understand her a little better too.
"Sure." Maria replied smiling.
"Everything okay?" Liz asked with a confused look on her face as she appeared with a glass of water in her hand for Isabel.
The girls starting giggling.
"Okay..." she said almost to herself sitting down on the bed before finally joining in with Isabel and Maria.
"What is up with them?" Michael asked as he and Max stood in the doorway watching the three girls in fits of giggles.
"It's this baby thing. I swear it makes women go nuts." Max replied smiling. "You know I don't think I've seen Isabel smile like that since Alex died. I think that talk with Maria must've done her a lot of good."
"Talk with Maria? You mean they actually had a proper conversation? When did that happen?" Michael asked leaning against the doorpost; the girls now so wrapped up in talking about the baby that they didn't even notice the boys standing there.
"When you were in the bathroom. Liz told me Izzy had got upset and that she had left her and Maria to talk."
"And they actually did?"
"Yeah they did. Liz could hear them chatting when she made her way back to the room and she thought they both probably needed it, so she left them to it for a while."
"Things are certainly changing tonight." Michael commented watching Maria who was glowing with happiness.
"Yes they are." Max replied smiling at Liz and Isabel.
"And do you think it's a good thing?" Michael asked, Maria looking up and seeing him, then giving him a big smile.
Max hesitated for a moment before replying.
" Yeah I think it's a good thing. I think it's gonna make us all a whole lot stronger as people...and as a unit." Max added.
"The Roswell seven huh." Michael commented entering the room, Max directly behind him.
"Seven?" Isabel asked as the boys came and joined the girls on the bed.
Maria immediately snuggled up to Michael who put his hand on her stomach where their child was blossoming.
Max put one arm around Liz's shoulder and the other around Isabel's.
"Me, you, Max, Liz, Kyle, Maria here and little baby..."
"Isabel Alexandra." Maria told him.
"Isabel Alexandra." Michael agreed smiling at Maria.
"And maybe one day your little boy too Max." Liz commented referring to the child Tess was carrying when she left in the Granolith.
"Maybe." He replied sadly.
"You're gonna name her Isabel? Maria you've only just found out. You might change your mind." Isabel told her shocked and flattered.
"Some things feel right Isabel. This does too." Maria told her smiling.
"Yes it does." Michael agreed. "So live with it. You're gonna have a namesake." He told Isabel making her smile.
"To the Roswell seven, a team forever." Liz told them, putting a hand out in the centre of the group.
"To the Roswell seven." They chorused, Max laying a hand on top of Liz's and squeezing it, the others following in suit.
"And to loved ones who may not be here, but who are forever in our hearts." Isabel said quietly.
"To Alex." They all chorused then collapsing in a group hug on the bed.
