CHAPTER 12 (A night in the woods)

Gerald Whitman waited anxiously for his son's answer. This weekend was the annual father/Child camping trip and every year, he and Alex went along with Max, Maria and their dad. Only this year their dad wasn't going for obvious reasons, but Gerald sure as hell was going to try to show those kids a good time. He always thought of those two as his extended family. "So? What do you think? Still want to go?"

Nodding, Alex smiled at his father. "Of course we'll go dad. You know I love going. I wouldn't miss it."

Of course he wanted to go. Ever since the community of Roswell thought of this idea, Alex had been keen on going. It was the one weekend a year where he and his father could really bond and he cherished it. Sure he still wanted to find his real home, but while he was on earth he wasn't about to waste the time he had with his family. He loved them and they loved him like he was there biological son, not just an adopted one. "I'll ask Max and Maria, but I'm sure they'll be up for it."

"Oh good, well I'll go out and look for all our camping stuff in the garage, are you going to help or are you going out?" Gerald asked as they headed out the front door.

"No I'm heading over to Maria and Max's place. I'll ask then now if they want to come, I also have to talk to them so…" he trailed off and his father nodded.

"Ok, just don't be home to late alright! Your mother was in hysterics the last time you didn't come back until the wee hours of the morning."

Alex chuckled at the memory of his mother worried out of her mind. That was the night when he had gotten sick and went to the cave to be healed. Max had forgotten to call his parents and by the time he had gotten home his mom was yelling into the phone calling the police incompetent morons who were too lazy to look for her lost baby. After an hour of being smothered, he was grounded for a week. Lisa Whitman was one weird woman.

*~*~*~*

At the Sheriff's station

Jim Valenti sat back in his leather seat and sighed. Ever since the incident at the soap factory when he arrested Maria and Isabel he had been even more interested in finding out whom they really were. The Evans kids had always intrigued him, especially when their parent's died and Maria put her hands over her father's chest and waited. He wasn't sure what she was doing, but ever since the shooting, he was pretty sure she wasn't just feeling for a heartbeat, but now his suspicions where even higher than ever.

Before the shooting his interest revolved around Max, Maria and Alex but now, now they had involved Michael, Isabel, Liz and even his own son. When Kyle became involved it became personal. If these three children were dangerous then he needed to find out what they were. Not for his sake but for Kyle's. All he had left was his son and he was not about to let anything happen to him. Not now, not ever.

Valenti was brought out of his thoughts when there was a knock at the door and Deputy Hanson walked in accompanied by a trucker. "Sheriff? Ah this man here says that he saw something out in Fraiser woods that you might be interested in." Jim nodded and ushered the man in. Waiting until Hanson left the room, he turned to the man in flannel.

"What's this about Fraiser woods?"

The man wiped a brow of sweat from his forehead. "Well sir, I know that people are saying that it was just dry lightning, but I have to tell you Sheriff, it wasn't no dry lightning."

"Then what was it?" Jim asked. Apparently there had been a sighting out in Fraiser woods the other night but it was passed off as dry lighting as it had been happening a lot lately in that area. Jim however was not convinced and if this man had information, he wanted it.

"Well, at first there was this bright light, then it died down and a figure walked through it. He was somewhat tall but I couldn't see his face. He looked just like a normal person only when I followed him, he stopped by a nearby car and put his hand over the guys chest and the next thing I saw was another flash of light and he was gone. I swear Sheriff, this was no dry lighting, it was an alien."

Jim pursed his lips together. This was good. If what this man was saying was true, then this may be the key to finding out what Max Evan is. If he had heard what had happened, then he would surely be looking in to it. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I'll look into it and let you know if I find something."

The man nodded and left. Jim sat back in his chair and mulled over what he had been told. If it was true, then that meant that there was another alien around, either that or Max Evans was the killer in question. He'd have to find out where he was the night of that incident. As he reached for his phone, his door opened and Kyle walked in. "Son? What are you doing here?"

"Hi dad, I was just wondering where you put all the camping stuff we used last year?"

Jim shrugged. "I think it's in the back room. Why?" he asked confused. Why would he want camping equipment? Kyle looked at his father surprised that he had forgotten what this weekend was.

"Dad, this weekend is the camping trip. We always go." Jim sighed and put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe he forgot. Kyle was going to be crushed.

"Son…" he started but stopped when Kyle, had gotten a hurt look on his face.

"Dad, we have to go. We always go. I'm sure that if you asked, someone would cover for you here. You always said that I was more important than work and this is the only time a year that we actually get to spend the whole weekend together, you can't not go with me." Kyle said trying to convince him. He hadn't spent much time with his dad, since the whole alien thing started and actually wanted to go on the camping trip.

Jim gave a defeated sigh. He couldn't let his son down. "Ok son, we'll go. I'll get Hanson to fill in for me." Kyle smiled and Jim laughed at his happy expression. "So where is it this year?"

"Fraiser woods." Jim nodded but didn't hear his son talk about what they would do when they got there. All he was thinking about was there location. He was sure that Mr. Whitman would go meaning Alex would go.

Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to follow them. If he had been right and they were also looking into the sighting, then he was sure that they'd sneak off to look for clues. If they did that, then his suspicions would be correct. Those three teenagers were not of this world.

*~*~*~*

"Dad, I can't go on this trip. It's not cool anymore," Isabel whined. Her father was making her and Michael go on that stupid camping trip with him. She looked to Michael for help.

He shrugged. "Don't look to me for help, I want to go." Isabel huffed and stomped her foot like a little girl throwing a tantrum.

Brian Guerin laughed at his daughter. "Honey, I'm not asking you to come," she smiled in hope but it was soon dashed when he continued. "I'm telling you to come." With that he walked away chuckling at the sounds of shock coming out of his daughters mouth. 

"Wha…bu…no!" she cried out as she slumped in the chair beside her brother. "I can't believe I have to go with you guys. It's so not fair, I don't even have any clothes suitable for camping." Amy took that opportunity to enter the room.

"Oh sweetie we'll go shopping for some ok. This weekend means a lot to your father so try to have fun ok, please? For me?" Isabel sighed and nodded. Usually she would have put up more of a fight but when being bribed by with a shopping trip, well…that was just to good to pass up. "Good, now lets get going before the shops close."

Michael sat back and rolled his eyes. His sister was way to predictable sometimes.

*~*~*~*

At the apartment

"I'm not going," Maria announced after a few minutes. There was no way she was going on a stupid camping trip.

Alex sighed. "Why not? Come on it'll be fun, not only that but it will be perfect chance to look for clues about that sighting. Maybe it was Nacedo and he was trying to contact us?"

"That was just dry lighting Alex, not a sighting. And my answer is still no." Maria told him as she walked towards the window. Max put his arm on his sister's shoulder and turned her around to face him.

"Please Maria, I want you to come, and what if we actually find something. Wouldn't you want to be there to see it?" Maria shook her head.

"For the last time, it was friggin dry lightning and I'm not about to go on some lame father/child camping trip," she yelled then paused and said in a slightly quieter voice, "When I no longer have a father." She walked over to the coat and grabbed her jacket. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to go." She said as she opened the door. Max watched as his sister exited the room.

Alex sighed. "I didn't mean to…you know, get her thinking about your parents."

Shaking his head, Max walked over and sat on the couch. "You didn't. She's been thinking about them for a while now. I guess its still to hard on her. She'll calm down eventually." Alex nodded and Max stood, walked over to the hall closet and opened it. "Come over and help me find my camping stuff."

Outside

Maria kicked a rock that got in her way as she walked down the street, her hands shoved in her pocket. As she continued her brisk walk, she didn't see a person walking in front of her and bumped into them. She looked up to yell at them but stopped short upon seeing that the person was River dog. "What are you doing here?"

He glanced around the area before pulling Maria over to a near by ally way. "It was real." He stated. Maria shook her head and a small smile played on her lips.

"Ok, your gonna have to be more specific here. What's real?"

"The sighting, it was real." Maria gaped at him. It was real? Was this finally something that could lead them into gaining more answers? River dog nodded as if hearing her thoughts. "Yes child. It was real, meet me here tomorrow night and I'll take you."

Maria gave a curt nod before watching as River dog continued on his way. She stood there for a moment longer and contemplated telling Max and Alex but thought better of it. 'They'll be at the camping thing,' she thought. 'If River dog has something to show me of importance then I'll tell them.'

*~*~*~*

The next day, Fraiser Woods

"So Maria had assignments to get through huh?" Alex nodded at his father. He had to lie because he knew that his dad considered Maria and Max as family and would feel bad if he told him the truth. "Well that's too bad. I guess well make do without then." Max smiled at Mr. Whitman as he unloaded the tent from the trunk of the old BMW. "Alex, why don't you go and find the perfect spot to set up camp."

"Ok Dad." Alex grabbed the tent from Max and headed into the woods with a couple of other families. After a few minutes he spotted a clearing that wasn't to far from everyone else, but far enough not to be noticed if they snuck off.  Nodding to himself, he dropped the tent and yelled out to his father and Max who started to walk towards him.

"Alex?" The alien jumped in surprise when he felt an arm on his shoulder and cursed himself for not being aware. He turned to the voice and smiled when he came face-to-face with Isabel, Michael and there father. "I didn't know you'd be here, you mind if we set up camp with you?" she asked.

This trip may not have been a bad idea after all. 'A little campfire, one small blanket that they'd have to cuddle in due to the cold, some stargazing…' she was brought out of her fantasy when Alex said that it was ok and Michael told her to get her ass into gear. "Rude much," she said hitting him the shoulder.

Michael smirked and shook Alex's hand. "Hey man, so ah…where's Maria?" he tried to ask nonchalantly but failed miserably. Hiding a smile, Alex told him that she wasn't here and watched as Michael tried to cover his obvious disappointment. Michael sighed and went to help his father set up their tent.

As they stuck the tent pegs into the ground, Michael looked up as he heard his name being called and saw that Kyle was heading towards them. "Hey," he said and Alex and Max turned to see whom he was talking to.

They glanced at each other as they saw the sheriff following Kyle and knew that their plan to leave was screwed. Kyle noticed their looks and walked over to them. "Hey guys, don't worry, he won't bother you." Max nodded still a little unsure but knew that Kyle would try to stop him if he started to ask them questions. At times like this, it payed to have Kyle Valenti on your side.

"Ahh!" all of the men jumped as they heard an ear piecing scream come from Isabel. Alex pushed past Kyle and Max, ran over to her and asked what was the matter. Isabel pointed to the tree she was standing by. "Spider." Michael, Max and Kyle rolled their eyes while Jim, Gerald and Brian chuckled. That's what you get when you bring a woman camping.

*~*~*~*

Roswell

Maria shifted on her feet as she waited for River dog to show. She'd give him another 10 minutes then she was out of there. 'This better be worth it,' she thought as she hugged her coat around her body tighter. Maria snapped her head to the left as when she heard someone step behind her. She turned and saw River dog waiting near a car. "Nice wheels," she said as she got in.

"I borrowed it from Eddie, he taught me how to use it." Grabbing her seat belt, Maria fastened it tighter to her body a little frightened. River dog glanced at her and smiled. "Do not worry child, I am very good." Maria clucked the dashboard when River dog speed out of the parking lot.

'Great," she thought. 'He's gonna get us killed before we get there.' As they drove down the highway, Maria took the time to look at his profile. For a while now, she had thought that maybe, just maybe he could be there father. He did know a lot about them. Deciding that she needed to know, she asked him. "Are you our father?"

River dog swerved the car but managed to regain control. "Father? Heavens no." he said as he turned a corner and hit a dirt road leading into the Fraiser woods car park. "I'm not your father, I knew Nacedo and that is how I knew about you." He parked the car and turned his head to look at her and took in her sad features. "I'm sorry," he said patting her hand that lay in her lap. "You fill find them though I'm sure of it. After all, Nacedo left you a sign didn't he?"

"Well that's still to be determined." Maria said and River dog nodded. They got out of the car and he motioned her to follow him.

*~*~*~*

Campsite

Max followed Alex as they snuck out of their tent, making sure they didn't disturb Mr Whitman. They closed the tent and jumped when torchlight was shone in their faces. "Where are you going?" Alex rolled his eyes when he saw that the person who caught them was one, Liz Parker.

"What the hell are you doing here and why haven't we seen you till now?" Max snapped. Now was so not a good time for this. Liz's jaw dropped at the tone in his voice.

"I came here with my Dad and was going to the bathroom when I saw you guys crawl out of your tent. I didn't even know you were here. But now that I do, I want to know where you are going?" she demanded.

"You might want to keep it down if you're trying to sneak out," Michael pointed out as he walked up behind Max with Isabel and Kyle behind him. Max groaned and mumbled to himself about stupid plans.

Alex sighed and motioned for them to follow him away from the tents. "Why are you guys here?" Michael shrugged and told him that Kyle wanted to look for firewood and Isabel tagged along due to not wanting to listen to her father snore. "Fine, you can come with us but you have to be quiet. We want to check out the place of the sighting, we think that Nacedo may have left us a message or something."

They all headed into the woods. After an hour of walking and hearing Isabel complain of the bugs, they all silently cursed when they heard voices calling out there names. Isabel turned to Alex. "That must be our Dads, they're probably looking for us. Look, you guys go and find what you're looking for and Kyle, Liz and I will go, and get caught."

"Ok thanks but why not Michael too?" Max asked

"Oh because Michael will be your cover story. We'll tell them that Michael went to the rest room or something and you guys went to look for him. Now go and we'll see you later." Alex smiled and walked up to her. Leaning close, he kissed her on the cheek.

"Thanks Iz, you're the best." She blushed as Kyle dragged her away. A few minutes later they were found and delivered their story while Jim Valenti, headed off in the direction they came from. He was right. Those kids were not what they wanted everyone to believe they were.

*~*~*~*

"Shit," Michael all but screamed when someone bumped into him. Turning, he faced the person that rammed into his back. "Maria?"

"Michael?" she asked confused then saw Max and Alex walk up behind them. "What are you doing here?"

Alex motioned towards River dog. "We could ask you the same thing." Maria went onto explain what River dog had told her. "Why didn't you tell us this before?" Alex whispered harshly. Why would she keep that from him?

Maria sighed, "I didn't want you to get your hopes up if it turned out to be nothing." She said and Alex nodded. He then noticed River dog head towards a small clearing out in front of them. He pointed to the ground and told them that this was it.

All four teens walked over and the three aliens couched on the ground before waving their hands over the grass that then produced a symbol imbedded in it. "He was really here," Maria whispered in awe. Nacedo was trying to contact them.

Michael stepped back a little with a strange yet sad look on his face. That entire symbol meant to him was another thing that would forever take Maria away from him. Maria glanced up from the ground and caught Michael's eye. She stood and was about to speak to him when Jim burst out through the trees.  "Got you," he said with a smug look.

Running his hand over the ground, Max took away any trace of the symbol and stood. "What do you mean Sheriff?" he asked innocently and stepped forward. "Thank god you found us, Michael here has no direction at all."

Jim stepped forward to where they were on the ground and found nothing. Whatever was there they had obviously done something to. He glanced at Maria and River dog. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh River dog wanted to teach me how to read the stars and this is the perfect spot. We just ran into the guys a few minutes ago." She lied. Jim looked at her sceptically and looked towards River dog. He was somehow involved and must be talked to. The conspiracy grew.

"Well let's head back then. Maria, you had better be on your way home, it's late." Max and Alex followed Jim while Michael stayed. He anted to talk to Maria.

"I'll wait by the car," River dog told her and he left. She ran a hand through her hair and blushed when she saw him staring at her.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "I mean, why help?"

Michael shrugged. "I'm not sure really. It's just that it all seems to mean something to you so…" he trailed off. Maria half smiled.

"You did this to help me?" Michael nodded. "Thank you Michael."  She said stepping forward. She grabbed his hand from out of his pocket and kissed his palm. "Thank you," she whispered.

Michael smiled and brought her in for a hug. He breathed in the scent of her hair and dropped his head to rest in the crook of her neck.

"Maria?" he murmured. "I know that you want to look for your home and everything," he said as he pulled away to look at her face, " but I don't see why you can't do that and be with me at the same time." He looked at the ground as he continued. "I like you Maria, and I know that you like me so why can't we be together?"

He waited for Maria to speak and began to lose hope until she grabbed the sides of his face and brought it closer to hers. Before there lips met, she whispered, "We can." Michael smiled against her lips. A moment later they pulled apart breathless.

Maria gave a small laugh and Michael asked her what was funny.  "I just thought that after everything I did and said to you, that I'd have to work a lot harder to get you back."

"Consider yourself lucky," he said with a smile before adding, "This time." Maria nodded; she knew that the last part was a warning. A warning that the next time, he wouldn't make it easy for her. Michael just hoped that there wouldn't have to be a next time.

Maria brought him in for another kiss, while somewhere off in the distance, an alien and a girl were sitting on a log, stargazing cuddled in a small blanket. The girl smiled as the boy placed his arm around her and she thanked god for making her fantasy come true.

TBC

What did you think? Any feedback is appreciated but please try to be nice. Next chapter will be out as soon as I have finished writing it. Thankyou every one who has reviewed this and told me that they liked it, I just hope that you are all still reading.