A/N: Wow. It's been two months even since I last posted. I do apologize to
any (few and far between) who may have been waiting. There have been.
circumstances. I moved, had surgery, and now I'm moving again. from upstate
NY to Hawaii. God. Well, the time has not been idle. this chapter is fairly
large (nearly 6000 words, 16+ pages). Once I got over a couple of week-long
mental hurdles, things started moving again, and I'm onto the next chapter.
where I've got another hurdle. Sigh. This writing thing kinda sucks
sometimes, but, I really do enjoy it a bit. And, well, I hope you do too.
Disclaimer: Not many, or any, actually, BtVS references here, but just to be on the safe side, it belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Roswell belongs to Jason Katims & Co.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Maria, you're never going to believe what happened today."
"How can you say that, with all the crazy stuff we've been through?"
"No, this is nothing like that. I think."
"So no alien babies?"
"Maria!"
"What?"
"That's something I really could not have been reminded of."
Maria sighed into the phone. "Okay. So, what?"
"Well, Max and I... found someone."
"Found? I didn't know you had lost anybody."
"No, Maria. As in... found, found. Someone who was lost. Sorta." Liz frowned.
"Liz, I can hear you doing that frown-thing over the phone. Spill."
She sighed. "Well, we were out driving on 285 South-"
"Where were you going?"
"Nowhere in particular."
"Ooooh, cruisin' for love..."
"Maria, shut up! So we're on 285 South about sunset, maybe five miles south of town, when Max starts freaking out."
"I can already see a hole in your story."
Liz paused. "What's that?"
"Max doesn't freak."
She sighed. "Well, if he was going to freak, it would probably be something like this. He said he saw something out in the desert, and was looking out for it... instead of driving! We were swerving all over the road."
"Wow. That does sound freaky. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. So we drive off down this little dirt side road, looking for whatever it was he saw."
"In the convertible?"
"Yeah. Bumpy ride. So, about a mile down this dirt road, we find someone."
"Someone?"
"Yeah, someone. A girl."
"A girl? Who?"
"Don't know."
"Well, what was her name? What was she doing out there?"
"That's just the thing. See, she was unconscious and naked."
Maria gave a little yelp. "What?!?"
"So, we took her to the hospital, and on the way, she woke up."
"Well, what'd she say?"
"Nothing. She just looked at me and got this horrified look, and passed right back out."
"Wow. Creepy."
"You have no idea. When she looked at me, it was... it was like she looked through me. Way scary." Liz shivered at the thought.
"So what did the doctor say?"
"Well, he said she was fine."
"Fine?"
"Yeah, fine. Perfect health. Just - asleep."
"Wow. This is getting wierder."
"Well, one of the sheriffs showed up and started interrogating Max and I. Pretty soon after that, my parents dropped by."
"What did the deputy have to say? And why the 'rents?"
"Mostly just stuff about where we found her, this, that, and the other. It sounded like he thought we knocked her over the head and dumped the body ourselves. And my parents... well, I called them."
"What? Why?"
"Well, the hospital wouldn't treat her without insurance... so I gave them mine."
"Once again... why?"
"Well, I couldn't just leave her there! What was I supposed to do?"
Maria sighed. "You're a sap, Liz. But you're a good sap. I bet the parents loved that."
"Well, Dad was about to give me what for when the girl woke up."
"You're kidding."
"Nope."
"So, who is she? What's the deal?"
"Well, that's the thing. She doesn't know."
"You're shittin' me."
"Nope. She has no recollection of who she is, where she's from, or why she's in Roswell."
"My God. Welcome to Roswell, land of the really, really, extremely strange."
"I'm not done yet. How about this - she's living with me."
Liz winced at the clatter from Maria dropping her phone. "What's wrong with you people? And your dad agreed to this?"
Liz shrugged. "Actually, Mom suggested it. She'll be working at the Crashdown for room and board, and to help repay her hospital expenses, which, thankfully, there aren't going to be too many of; she's only staying tonight for observation."
"Since when did your dad become a good Samaritan? He's a slave driver at the Crashdown!"
"I don't know, Maria, but I can't wait for you to meet Sarah. She's really nice. There's just something about her..."
"Sarah? I thought she had amnesia."
"She does. That's the name she picked."
"She's lucky - I wish I could've picked my name."
Liz started laughing.
"What? What'd I say?"
"Oh, nothing." Another fit of giggling.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, what with everything that's been on the news recently? You don't know anything about this girl, aside from the fact that she dropped from the sky with no memory! What if she's an alien, or a crazy person? You could get axe murdered!"
"I won't get axe murdered, Maria. And she's human. We're sure of it - Max told me before we took her to the hospital."
"So what does he think about this?"
"Well, I'm not really sure. He doesn't exactly wear his heart on his sleeve, and he hasn't bothered to tell me."
Maria was quiet for a moment. "I still don't know, Liz. Something feels off about it all."
"Well, we're picking her up from the hospital tomorrow. You need to meet her - she's really sweet."
"What about the rest of the pod squad? What do they have to say?"
"Well, they really don't know yet. I got home and pretty much called you."
Liz could hear Maria's smile. "You're the best."
"Well, I need to head to the store and pick her up some clothes. Want to come with?"
"Sure. I'll be by in ten minutes."
"Later." Liz hung up.
Twenty minutes later, Maria and Liz pulled into the parking lot of the hottest shopping spot in Roswell - Wal-Mart.
"Wow, Liz, you're really going all out here," Maria observed as they entered the building.
"Well, I'm not rich, and Gucci isn't exactly open at eleven p.m."
"Why couldn't she just wear some of your stuff until she could come out here with us?"
Liz stopped and faced Maria. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm tiny! Sarah has about seven or eight inches and like forty pounds on me."
"Oh. So, we're shopping for someone like Isabel, then." They resumed walking.
"Not quite so supermodel-y. Sarah's a pretty regular size girl... about the right height, though."
"So what are we looking for?"
"Let's just get her a couple of blouses and some pants - just something until she can come shopping with us."
The girls picked out some clothes and were headed to the checkout when Maria's cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Maria? It's Max. Is Liz with you?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I need both of you to meet me at the quarry in about half an hour. The Valenti's will be there too."
"It's almost eleven-thirty! Couldn't this wait till morning?"
"Just tell Liz."
"Look, dude, I -" She was cut off by silence as Max hung up.
"Who was that?"
"Bossy the Alien Cow." Maria made a face.
"And what'd Max want?"
"He wants us to meet at the quarry in half an hour. Avengers assemble, or something."
"This late?"
"That's what I said. You know, he is pretty damn rude to everyone but you."
Liz shrugged and handed her bank card to the cashier. "He means well."
"Yeah, but - " Maria lowered her voice as they left the register with their purchases. She waited until they were outside to continue. "He's supposed to be a king. You'd think he'd score a little better in Popular Leadership 101." Maria popped the trunk, and Liz dropped in the clothes they had bought.
"He can be a little... gruff at times, but he does mean well," Liz replied as they got into the car. "And it's not like Michael's the nicest person in the world either." Her voice had a hint of amusement in it.
"Well, that's... okay, he's not, but he has his good qualities too." Maria had a little smile on her face.
"Like what? Come on, Maria. You two fight more than any couple I've seen!"
"He can be sweet sometimes! And considerate, too. And besides, he's really... uh... he's got nice eyes." Maria blushed.
Liz stared at her friend, a look of understanding growing on her face.
"You!" She pointed, her voice rising in mock horror. "You... you...you!"
Maria glanced at Liz, then back to the road. "What?"
"Why didn't you tell me?!?"
"Liz! Speak!"
"That you... and Michael..." She collapsed into her seat and smacked her forehead with a palm.
"You want to be a doctor, Liz. I'm sure you can say it."
"That you and Michael were... committing acts of nakedness, and you didn't bother to tell your best friend?"
Maria spluttered and laughed. "I guess you could call it that. For someone so smart, you can be really squeamish sometimes."
Liz stuck out her tongue. Maria laughed again.
"So that's why Michael chose not to go back with the rest, then?"
"Well, I'd like to think that it was a rare moment of lucidity, and not cause I was putting out." Liz punched her arm. "Ow!"
"Don't be so crude!"
"Alright! Jeez!" Maria rubbed her shoulder. "Sorry, it just... we've had issues, and it was just the one time, right before the Granolith left... and things got all crazy."
Liz sighed. "Maria, I... its okay. I mean, that's the kind of thing you usually tell your best friend, right?"
"I know, I meant to, but stuff kept getting in the way."
They drove in silence for a while, the only sound the puttering of the Jetta's engine and the radio, tuned to an all-night rock station playing Matchbox 20. Liz sang along softly to herself.
"Well, I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell and I know that right now you can't tell.
"But stay a while and maybe then you'll see a different side of me...
"I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired and I know that right now you don't care.
"But soon enough you're gonna think of me - and the way I used to be..."
"You know, this means you'll never get to hear about my escapades." Liz' face was deadpan.
Maria didn't even look away from the road. "Bullshit."
"Eh?"
"Come on, Liz. If you ever did anything with Max besides kiss, Tess would be a dead alien bitch."
"You know me too well." She sighed.
Maria grinned toothily. "That's what I'm here for - to keep your raging hormones in check." She slowed and turned onto the quarry service road.
"MY raging hormones? Oh, please! Where do you have room to talk?"
"At least I got some, Parker. Don't knock it till you've tried it..."
Liz made an indignant squeal of rage and attacked Maria, who was laughing to hard to either fend her off - or drive, for that matter. The Jetta swerved erratically on the gravel road until it came to rest at the bottom of the quarry, illuminated by the headlights of the other vehicles waiting.
The two girls came out of the car laughing and shrieking, the petite brunette apparently doing her best to beat the taller Hispanic blond into a pulp. Max, his sister Isabel, their best friend Michael, and the ex-Sheriff Jim Valenti and his son Kyle stared incredulously.
"What has you two all riled up?" Michael asked from his seat on the hood of his friend's convertible.
"Nothing! Nothing at all. So what's up?" Maria caught Liz's wrists and held them behind the struggling brunette. The black-haired girl cast a friendly glare at her taller friend, and a muttered curse.
"Slut."
"Prude."
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Kyle asked from his spot leaning on his father's jeep.
"Just wondering why we're here... I'm tired." Maria went over to sit next to Michael on the car, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"That's a good point. Max, what gives?"
The tall, dark haired teen was silent for a moment, seemingly intent on his own thoughts. A good thirty seconds passed before his sister prompted him.
"Max? What's up?"
He spoke quietly. "Something happened today that I wanted you all today be aware of. Liz and I found a girl out in the desert."
"So?" Michael took a bite from a candy bar.
"We have no idea who she is, where she's from, or why she's here. And neither does she."
"Do you think she's an alien?" The elder Valenti inquired.
"No," Max shook his head, "And the doctor at the hospital seems to agree with me. But there is still something about her that isn't normal. I just want everybody to be careful around her."
"Why do you say there's something wierd about her?" Isabel's voice was calm.
"It's hard to describe. You know the energy field you sense around someone when you connect with them?"
"Not really, but I'm listening." Kyle said wryly. Isabel and Michael merely nodded.
"When we found her, I tried to touch her mind, to see if she was human. Well, she is - but that field is different from all the others I've felt - Kyle's and Liz's. It's hard to describe how. I don't really have a whole lot of experience in the matter."
"What does that mean?" The ex-sheriff spoke again.
"I'm not sure, Mr. Valenti. That's why I'm saying we should be careful."
Maria, who had been quiet till now, spoke up. "It sounds like your talking about an aura."
"Sort of like that, I guess." Max shrugged.
"Well, wouldn't everyone's aura be different? That is something that's kinda personal, like a fingerprint."
"True, and they are, but..." Max threw up his hands in a frustrated motion. "I'm not sure how to describe it. What I'm saying is she's not like us, but something about her is not like you either."
Michael raised his hand. "Uh, Maxwell, why does any of this apply to us? It's not like we're going to see her."
"Well, actually, she's living at my house. She'll be working at the Crashdown." Liz answered his question.
"Oh. Huh?"
"Yeah. What gives? I thought we all learned better from the last time I took a homeless alien into my home." Kyle's voice was bitter.
"It's not like that, Kyle. She's not like Tess at all. Sarah is unbelievably nice, and sweet... plus the amnesia thing, so I'm thinking so not a threat."
The elder Valenti raised an eyebrow. "Sarah?"
"That's the name she decided on."
"Well, this is all fascinating, but unless there's anything else, I'll be going." Michael slid off the hood of the convertible and got on his bike.
"Where are you going?" Max asked.
"Home - it's late, I'm tired, and I gotta work tomorrow, and why'd we have to come all the way out here for this? Later, Maxwell." His helmet visor clicked down, and the bike roared off into the night.
"Well, he's touchy," Maria observed.
"When is he not?" said Isabel.
There was a jingle as Jim Valenti produced his keys. "He does have a point, though. We've gotta be going. Thanks for letting us know, Max, and Liz - good luck." The two got into their jeep and left.
"Okay. Then I'll see you tomorrow, Liz?"
She smiled and took his hand. "Sure. We'll go pick up Sarah from the hospital tomorrow morning about nine?"
"What do you have planned for tomorrow?"
She considered for a second. "Dad'll probably want her to start at the Crashdown -" she made a face - "but I think we'll do some other stuff, too, like get clothes and. stuff."
Isabel was waiting in the car, as was Maria. One of them honked a horn. Liz jumped at the sudden noise.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Definitely. Tomorrow." Liz turned back to Maria's car, her hand lingering on his for a fleeting moment.
Maria shifted the Jetta into drive as Liz slid into the car.
"God, Parker, could you have any more sexual tension? Why don't you just get it over with?"
"Maria! Come on. It's... complicated."
"Prude."
****
Sarah awoke with the dawn. Yellow light streamed in the window and warmed her beneath the blankets. She smiled a contented smile and stretched languidly. She had always liked waking up.
Sarah pushed aside the covers and stood, stretching as she looked out the window. A black expanse of asphalt greeted her.
Oh yeah, she thought. I'm in a hospital.
And still no idea who she was.
The hospital room was spartan. The only furniture, besides the bed, was a chair and small table. The walls were a shade of red that reminded Sarah of adobe.
'Well', she thought, 'Liz is coming to get me in a while. I should do my best to make myself all presentable-like.'
She opened the door and peeped out into the hall, looking up and down for someone. She wanted to find a nurse, but was more than a little self- conscious about her flimsy paper gown. A moment later, a nurse walked into the station at the end of the hall. Sarah waved at her, but the woman's head was in a book.
"Psst! Hello!" Sarah whispered fiercely, waving her arm madly while leaning a little into the hall. No luck. She jumped up and down. Still no luck.
Sarah sighed in frustration and turned back into her room. Immediately, her eyes alighted on a little button stuck on the bed frame labeled "Nurse Call."
"Oh. Duh..."
This time, the nurse responded promptly. She knocked and entered to find Sarah sitting on the bed.
"Can I help you, dear?"
"Yeah... is there anywhere I can take a shower?"
"Sure. The bathroom's right down the hall, that way." She pointed. "You should find a towel and slippers in the cupboard."
"Okay... and... um... is there anyway I could get some clothes?" Sarah said sheepishly.
"Why?" The nurse looked confused.
"I... I don't have any."
"Not even what you wore in?"
Sarah blushed. "I was a little naked."
"Oh. Well, I'll see if I can get you some scrubs."
"Thanks," Sarah said gratefully. "These paper gowns aren't much with the covering-up."
"No problem, dear."
When Sarah returned from the shower, she found a set of loose, green scrub pants and a t-shirt with the hospitals logo folded on the bed. She smiled and brushed out her shoulder-length blonde hair, which was still a little wet from the shower.
After changing into the clothes the nurse had left, Sarah climbed onto her bed and sat Indian style in the swath of light streaming in through the window. She took a deep breath to calm herself... felt her heart beating and her breath moving in slow, regular time. When her body was in rhythm, Sarah eased her mind into a relaxing subconscious state. The simple meditation refreshed her, and replenished the reserves of energy she had expended during the night. Sarah was very uncomfortable sleeping in a place that had not been warded against all the evil things she knew lurked in the night. She hadn't even really slept the night before - her rest was light, and dreamless, as it was wont to be when you kept the psychic equivalent of one eye open all night.
And that was how Max and Liz found her - perched on the bed Indian style, elbows on knees with her head in her hands. Her hair, which was still damp, hung loosely about her face.
"Sarah! Are you awake?" Liz said after knocking on the slightly open door.
She took a slow, deep breath and opened her eyes. "Yeah - come in."
"Are you feeling okay?" Liz said, a note of concern in her voice.
"Yeah! I'm fine. Feeling surprisingly good for just having woken up from a coma." She said lightly, untangling her legs and standing to greet her guests.
"Hi, Max." She raised a hand in salutation.
"Morning." Max leaned on the doorframe.
"Here you go... thought you'd like some clothes." Liz dropped a small backpack on the bed.
"Thanks! I - I mean, you didn't have to."
"Actually, I did. We have a law against public indecency." Liz smiled matter-of-factly.
"Oh." Sarah blushed. "Well, yeah."
"I guessed on the sizes. There's only a few things in there - we can go out and get more stuff today."
"Liz, you - I mean, I couldn't..."
"Of course you can. That is, unless you want to sport Roswell General forever. We'll let you get changed." She pushed Max out the door and closed it after them. Max remained his usual unflappable self.
"You know, you could've let her get a word in edgewise," he observed.
Liz shrugged. "I just want to make sure she's okay."
"Why are you doing this? It isn't like you."
"It isn't like me to what? Help a person in need?"
"No, not that. This is way more than helping someone in need."
"Is it?"
"Yes! It's like picking up a stray puppy..." Inwardly, he winced.
Her eyes narrowed. "I know you didn't just say that."
"Liz..." At that moment, the door opened and Sarah, dressed in a dark green blouse and khaki pants, came into the hall.
"I can't thank you enough for this, Liz. For all of this," she said quietly.
"Don't worry about it, Sarah. I know you'd do the same for me."
The blonde girl frowned. "How do you know?"
Liz gave her a warm smile. "I just do. Let's get out of here, okay?"
Sarah grinned back, the relief and happiness apparent on her face. "Sure."
*******
The next few hours were spent acquainting Sarah with the sights in Roswell - the sheriff's office, the school, the UFO museum, the Crashdown... Liz and Max were hard pressed to come up with anything else in the town of any significance, which Sarah found endlessly amusing.
"So this entire town's economy is based around aliens?" Sarah asked, leaning forward to the front seats of the convertible.
"The aliens don't actually provide much business," Liz replied seriously. "It's the tourists looking for them."
Sarah giggled. "So how do you guys feel about it? I mean, aliens?"
Liz stole a quick glance at Max. "Jury's out," he said calmly. "Traveling between the stars? It sounds kinda farfetched."
"Oh, come on," Sarah said. "Didn't you watch Star Trek?"
"You remember Star Trek?"
"Well, yeah - I think." She frowned. "Bald guy, big ship, two good movies and one bad one?"
"That would be it."
"What about you, Liz?" She turned to the dark-haired girl.
Liz turned her head to look at Max. "I haven't lost hope."
Max glanced at Sarah in the mirror. "Do you believe in aliens?"
She shrugged. "I'd be surprised if there weren't. With all the other strange stuff in this world, aliens would seem almost normal."
That was an answer Max had not been expecting. Just what was she talking about?
Liz was apparently wondering the same thing. "Stuff like what?"
Sarah mentally smacked her forehead. Ooops. Uuuh... "You know, like Michael Jackson, the Spice Girls, and robot dogs." She made a little doggie hand puppet that went Yip! Yip! Yip!
Liz gave a wide-eyed sideways glance at Max, who had a little half-smile on his face, and couldn't help but laugh. She looked back at Sarah, whose blonde hair was drying in the wind. She was wearing an innocent grin. 'This girl reminds me of Alex.' The thought flashed across Liz' mind, and brought the familiar pain with it. It felt wrong to laugh at a joke that could've been his... like she was somehow betraying her friend. But Sarah made some of that pain go away. Liz had known the girl for less than a day, but already felt a strong kinship, a sisterly affection for this person who had just been royally screwed by whatever powers that be. Despite circumstances that could be described as 'just about the worst possible', Sarah still managed to radiate life and warmth. It was hard not to be cheerful around her.
"Lunch?"
Sarah shrugged. "I could eat."
The convertible pulled up to the Crashdown, and the three ducked inside the diner. Liz waved at Maria and headed to their usual booth. Maria brought two glasses of Coke.
"Hey! What's up?" Max gave her a gesture of greeting that vaguely resembled a wave.
"Sorry, I don't know what you like to drink... you must be Sarah. Liz is just being rude."
"Hi." Sarah gave a beaming smile. "Just water, please."
"No problem." She went to fetch a glass.
"So this is where I'll be working?" Sarah asked.
"Yep."
"I don't know if I'm any good as a waitress."
"It's really not that tough. Look, Maria's doing it!" Liz raised her voice just as Maria returned.
"I hope you're not making fun of me, Parker, cause it would just break my heart." She sat down with them, next to Max. Liz and Sarah were next to each other on the other side of the table.
"How do you like Roswell so far?" Maria asked the other blonde.
"Flat - and hot." Sarah took a big gulp of water.
"We have lots of that here," Max pointed out.
"Oh! Almost forgot. Sorry." Maria pulled a menu from her pocket and slid it over to Sarah. "It's been awhile since I had to pull a menu out for this crowd."
"It's okay. I think I'll have..." She looked up with an expression that combined amusement and shock.
"What's going on with these names?"
The three Roswellians laughed. "It's part of the gimmick," Liz explained.
"Sure. Then... a salad?"
"Alien Plant Platter, comin' up." Maria slid out of the booth.
"She's kidding, right?" Sarah looked at the menu. "Oh Goddess, she's not."
Liz was laughing really, really hard. Max even cracked a smile.
***
The sun was setting over the New Mexico desert. It was a sight that Sarah had never seen before - or at least didn't think she had. Standing on the rooftop that served as Liz' balcony, she had an excellent vantage point to see the sun sink below the western horizon. The sand slowly turned from blinding white to a deep red when the sun touched the mountains... what were they called? Sangre de Cristo, the Blood of Christ.
Sarah shivered and pulled a blanket around her. The wind was kicking up out of the east, and the desert rapidly cooling. Her blonde hair streamed out in the wind. The desert was fading from red to purple now, the sun almost obscured by the low mountains. The harsh beauty filled Sarah with wonder. She started to sing quietly, the winds snatching the words and carrying them out to the sand and sky. The tune was old - it had first been sung in the highlands of Scotland, nearly two thousand years before.
"Sarah? You here?"
Liz ducked out the window and came to stand beside the taller girl.
"Yep, I'm right over here. Just me, over here."
Liz smiled and sat on the ledge. She had put a light brown jacket over the tanktop she had been wearing earlier.
"It can get cold out here at night, you know."
Sarah tugged the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "I noticed."
"Why are you out here, then? You should probably be making with the rest or something."
"I know, but... I wanted to watch the sunset."
"It is really pretty out here."
"Yeah, the desert has its own sort of charm."
"Yep."
For a moment, the only sound was the low whistle of the wind and the faint sound of music from down the street. The two girls watched the sunset in silence. As the last rays slipped under the horizon, Liz spoke up.
"What were you singing?"
Sarah looked to the west, to the desert. "When?"
"Just now, when I came out. I didn't catch the words, but it was very pretty. Sounded almost familiar." Liz swung her feet over the edge of the roof.
"Oh. It's. um. its called a vesper. It's sung to greet the sun in the morning, and bid it safe journey in the evening."
"Wow. I've never heard of that before."
Sarah shook her head. "I don't know where it comes from either. I mean, I feel like I should, but... it just feels like something I should do. It kinda feels familiar, like it's something I used to know, but fell into this hole in my memory... and now it's one of the only things I've got left."
Liz stood up. "Come on."
"What?"
"Let's go."
"Where?"
Liz pushed her back to the window. "I want to show you something. Get some shoes."
***
"It's not too much farther." Liz scrambled over some rocks, and gave a hand to help Sarah. The blonde climbed up and took Liz' hand to jump up the last bit.
"So, do you do much late-night rock climbing here?" Sarah brushed her hands off on her pants and looked up the trail.
Liz laughed. "You'd be surprised, actually."
"What's the occasion?"
"I just wanted to show you this place. I come up here sometimes to think, and sort things out. I figured you'd appreciate it." Just then, they came to the end of the trail and crested the ridge. The desert spread out beneath them, an endless sea of sand. Roswell was a twinkling pool of light in the distance. The sky was a deep midnight blue rather than black. Stars, both faint and bright, spattered across the heavens. The Milky Way was clearly visible, a dense smear of light in the north. The two girls paused.
"Wow... there are so many stars!"
"Yeah - I love it out here. You can see so much more of the sky than from town." Liz sat down on a convenient rock. Sarah sat cross-legged on the ground a few feet away.
"It's so peaceful. I can see why you'd come up here to be alone." The night air was still, cool, and utterly quiet. Sarah found herself almost whispering to keep from spoiling it.
"I used to come up here in junior high, with Alex. We were in an astronomy class, and his dad had a telescope..."
Sarah was silent as the other girls voice trailed off. She could tell that her friend was upset. She looked at Liz with her mind's eye, and saw the dark-haired girl's aura was a dull silver.
"Who's Alex?" She asked quietly.
"He's... he was my best friend. Maria, Alex and I. He died a few months ago."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"It's okay... it's just sometimes things remind me of him. Completely random things, and it's like it starts all over again."
"What was he like?"
Liz blinked back a tear and quickly dried it with her sleeve. "He was kind of like you, actually. Always cheerful, kinda goofy, smiled a lot... always seemed full of life. Made lots of obscure jokes." Her voice wavered ever so slightly.
"And I remind you of him?"
"A little."
A cricket chirped and hopped up on Sarah's knee. She gently coaxed it onto her finger and set it back on the ground.
"How did it happen?"
"He was in a car accident." Liz' voice was toneless. She didn't want to go into the story with Tess, and how the conniving bitch murdered her best friend.
Sarah shook her head sadly. It couldn't help but suck when someone you loved died... but, she could tell there was more to the story. No need to push, though. Everyone deals in their own way.
A thought suddenly occurred to Sarah, and before she realized it, she was talking.
"My mother died... when I was seventeen. I... I know how you feel - I had all these thoughts, and feelings, like... like I was a bad person, like it was somehow my fault... but, it gets better. If - if you ever need to talk about it..."
The dark-haired girls expression softened.
"Oh, jeez, Sarah, I'm sorry. I don't want to dump my problems on you. You've got your own stuff to... Hey! I - I thought you couldn't remember anything!"
Sarah paused. "I..." - and just as quickly as it came, the memory slipped away, swallowed into the darkness at the bottom of her mind.
"I did." She held her face in her hands. "It's gone again - just like that. Nothing but a flash."
"But that's a good sign, at least!"
Sarah looked up. "You think so?"
Liz smiled confidently. "I know so. That means your memory is still there - and that it could come back, with time."
"Yeah. I guess you're right." The blonde girl brushed aside a loose lock of hair that had fallen in her eyes, and curled her knees up to her chest.
Both girls were quiet for a moment. Sarah gazed out over the desert, which was tranquil and empty. She then looked at it with her other eyes, and saw that it was full of life - far more than was out during the day. The shifting auras of hundreds of small animals made the desert sand fairly glow with silvery-blue light.
"Oh, wow. Look at that!" Liz pointed to the southern sky.
Sarah snapped out of her reverie and turned to look. The southern sky was filled with hundreds of falling streaks of light.
"Wow. Is that a...?"
"Meteor shower. I didn't know there was supposed to be one tonight."
"I've never seen one before - at least, I don't think I have. It's really beautiful."
"I haven't seen many. One's this big are really rare." Her voice was quiet, as if speaking too loud would shatter the scenes fragile beauty. Standing there, on top of a mountain on a clear summer night, both girls felt a bit of awe as they watched stars quietly fall from heaven. It was a powerful and moving sight.
"You know," Sarah said, "its times like these that just make you feel... like, somehow, everything will turn out okay."
Liz smiled. "You know what? I think you're right."
Sarah turned to her host and grinned mischievously. "So... tell me about Max."
Liz laughed, the first time she had done so that night.
"Well, you see, it started about two years ago. I was at work, at the Crashdown, when these two guys who were arguing started shooting at each other. Max and Michael - you'll meet him later - were there, and..."
So Liz told Sarah the tale of how she and Max had met, omitting the slightly more extraterrestrial parts. It was a good story, nonetheless, one that suited the locale. Sarah quickly became so wrapped up in the recounting, and Liz in the telling, that neither noticed the time slipping by, nor the nighttime chill of the desert.
Nor the one particularly bright meteor that did not burn out in the upper atmosphere like its cousins - but instead fell all the way to the horizon, and vanished without a trace.
--End Chapter 4--
Disclaimer: Not many, or any, actually, BtVS references here, but just to be on the safe side, it belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Roswell belongs to Jason Katims & Co.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Maria, you're never going to believe what happened today."
"How can you say that, with all the crazy stuff we've been through?"
"No, this is nothing like that. I think."
"So no alien babies?"
"Maria!"
"What?"
"That's something I really could not have been reminded of."
Maria sighed into the phone. "Okay. So, what?"
"Well, Max and I... found someone."
"Found? I didn't know you had lost anybody."
"No, Maria. As in... found, found. Someone who was lost. Sorta." Liz frowned.
"Liz, I can hear you doing that frown-thing over the phone. Spill."
She sighed. "Well, we were out driving on 285 South-"
"Where were you going?"
"Nowhere in particular."
"Ooooh, cruisin' for love..."
"Maria, shut up! So we're on 285 South about sunset, maybe five miles south of town, when Max starts freaking out."
"I can already see a hole in your story."
Liz paused. "What's that?"
"Max doesn't freak."
She sighed. "Well, if he was going to freak, it would probably be something like this. He said he saw something out in the desert, and was looking out for it... instead of driving! We were swerving all over the road."
"Wow. That does sound freaky. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. So we drive off down this little dirt side road, looking for whatever it was he saw."
"In the convertible?"
"Yeah. Bumpy ride. So, about a mile down this dirt road, we find someone."
"Someone?"
"Yeah, someone. A girl."
"A girl? Who?"
"Don't know."
"Well, what was her name? What was she doing out there?"
"That's just the thing. See, she was unconscious and naked."
Maria gave a little yelp. "What?!?"
"So, we took her to the hospital, and on the way, she woke up."
"Well, what'd she say?"
"Nothing. She just looked at me and got this horrified look, and passed right back out."
"Wow. Creepy."
"You have no idea. When she looked at me, it was... it was like she looked through me. Way scary." Liz shivered at the thought.
"So what did the doctor say?"
"Well, he said she was fine."
"Fine?"
"Yeah, fine. Perfect health. Just - asleep."
"Wow. This is getting wierder."
"Well, one of the sheriffs showed up and started interrogating Max and I. Pretty soon after that, my parents dropped by."
"What did the deputy have to say? And why the 'rents?"
"Mostly just stuff about where we found her, this, that, and the other. It sounded like he thought we knocked her over the head and dumped the body ourselves. And my parents... well, I called them."
"What? Why?"
"Well, the hospital wouldn't treat her without insurance... so I gave them mine."
"Once again... why?"
"Well, I couldn't just leave her there! What was I supposed to do?"
Maria sighed. "You're a sap, Liz. But you're a good sap. I bet the parents loved that."
"Well, Dad was about to give me what for when the girl woke up."
"You're kidding."
"Nope."
"So, who is she? What's the deal?"
"Well, that's the thing. She doesn't know."
"You're shittin' me."
"Nope. She has no recollection of who she is, where she's from, or why she's in Roswell."
"My God. Welcome to Roswell, land of the really, really, extremely strange."
"I'm not done yet. How about this - she's living with me."
Liz winced at the clatter from Maria dropping her phone. "What's wrong with you people? And your dad agreed to this?"
Liz shrugged. "Actually, Mom suggested it. She'll be working at the Crashdown for room and board, and to help repay her hospital expenses, which, thankfully, there aren't going to be too many of; she's only staying tonight for observation."
"Since when did your dad become a good Samaritan? He's a slave driver at the Crashdown!"
"I don't know, Maria, but I can't wait for you to meet Sarah. She's really nice. There's just something about her..."
"Sarah? I thought she had amnesia."
"She does. That's the name she picked."
"She's lucky - I wish I could've picked my name."
Liz started laughing.
"What? What'd I say?"
"Oh, nothing." Another fit of giggling.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, what with everything that's been on the news recently? You don't know anything about this girl, aside from the fact that she dropped from the sky with no memory! What if she's an alien, or a crazy person? You could get axe murdered!"
"I won't get axe murdered, Maria. And she's human. We're sure of it - Max told me before we took her to the hospital."
"So what does he think about this?"
"Well, I'm not really sure. He doesn't exactly wear his heart on his sleeve, and he hasn't bothered to tell me."
Maria was quiet for a moment. "I still don't know, Liz. Something feels off about it all."
"Well, we're picking her up from the hospital tomorrow. You need to meet her - she's really sweet."
"What about the rest of the pod squad? What do they have to say?"
"Well, they really don't know yet. I got home and pretty much called you."
Liz could hear Maria's smile. "You're the best."
"Well, I need to head to the store and pick her up some clothes. Want to come with?"
"Sure. I'll be by in ten minutes."
"Later." Liz hung up.
Twenty minutes later, Maria and Liz pulled into the parking lot of the hottest shopping spot in Roswell - Wal-Mart.
"Wow, Liz, you're really going all out here," Maria observed as they entered the building.
"Well, I'm not rich, and Gucci isn't exactly open at eleven p.m."
"Why couldn't she just wear some of your stuff until she could come out here with us?"
Liz stopped and faced Maria. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm tiny! Sarah has about seven or eight inches and like forty pounds on me."
"Oh. So, we're shopping for someone like Isabel, then." They resumed walking.
"Not quite so supermodel-y. Sarah's a pretty regular size girl... about the right height, though."
"So what are we looking for?"
"Let's just get her a couple of blouses and some pants - just something until she can come shopping with us."
The girls picked out some clothes and were headed to the checkout when Maria's cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Maria? It's Max. Is Liz with you?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I need both of you to meet me at the quarry in about half an hour. The Valenti's will be there too."
"It's almost eleven-thirty! Couldn't this wait till morning?"
"Just tell Liz."
"Look, dude, I -" She was cut off by silence as Max hung up.
"Who was that?"
"Bossy the Alien Cow." Maria made a face.
"And what'd Max want?"
"He wants us to meet at the quarry in half an hour. Avengers assemble, or something."
"This late?"
"That's what I said. You know, he is pretty damn rude to everyone but you."
Liz shrugged and handed her bank card to the cashier. "He means well."
"Yeah, but - " Maria lowered her voice as they left the register with their purchases. She waited until they were outside to continue. "He's supposed to be a king. You'd think he'd score a little better in Popular Leadership 101." Maria popped the trunk, and Liz dropped in the clothes they had bought.
"He can be a little... gruff at times, but he does mean well," Liz replied as they got into the car. "And it's not like Michael's the nicest person in the world either." Her voice had a hint of amusement in it.
"Well, that's... okay, he's not, but he has his good qualities too." Maria had a little smile on her face.
"Like what? Come on, Maria. You two fight more than any couple I've seen!"
"He can be sweet sometimes! And considerate, too. And besides, he's really... uh... he's got nice eyes." Maria blushed.
Liz stared at her friend, a look of understanding growing on her face.
"You!" She pointed, her voice rising in mock horror. "You... you...you!"
Maria glanced at Liz, then back to the road. "What?"
"Why didn't you tell me?!?"
"Liz! Speak!"
"That you... and Michael..." She collapsed into her seat and smacked her forehead with a palm.
"You want to be a doctor, Liz. I'm sure you can say it."
"That you and Michael were... committing acts of nakedness, and you didn't bother to tell your best friend?"
Maria spluttered and laughed. "I guess you could call it that. For someone so smart, you can be really squeamish sometimes."
Liz stuck out her tongue. Maria laughed again.
"So that's why Michael chose not to go back with the rest, then?"
"Well, I'd like to think that it was a rare moment of lucidity, and not cause I was putting out." Liz punched her arm. "Ow!"
"Don't be so crude!"
"Alright! Jeez!" Maria rubbed her shoulder. "Sorry, it just... we've had issues, and it was just the one time, right before the Granolith left... and things got all crazy."
Liz sighed. "Maria, I... its okay. I mean, that's the kind of thing you usually tell your best friend, right?"
"I know, I meant to, but stuff kept getting in the way."
They drove in silence for a while, the only sound the puttering of the Jetta's engine and the radio, tuned to an all-night rock station playing Matchbox 20. Liz sang along softly to herself.
"Well, I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell and I know that right now you can't tell.
"But stay a while and maybe then you'll see a different side of me...
"I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired and I know that right now you don't care.
"But soon enough you're gonna think of me - and the way I used to be..."
"You know, this means you'll never get to hear about my escapades." Liz' face was deadpan.
Maria didn't even look away from the road. "Bullshit."
"Eh?"
"Come on, Liz. If you ever did anything with Max besides kiss, Tess would be a dead alien bitch."
"You know me too well." She sighed.
Maria grinned toothily. "That's what I'm here for - to keep your raging hormones in check." She slowed and turned onto the quarry service road.
"MY raging hormones? Oh, please! Where do you have room to talk?"
"At least I got some, Parker. Don't knock it till you've tried it..."
Liz made an indignant squeal of rage and attacked Maria, who was laughing to hard to either fend her off - or drive, for that matter. The Jetta swerved erratically on the gravel road until it came to rest at the bottom of the quarry, illuminated by the headlights of the other vehicles waiting.
The two girls came out of the car laughing and shrieking, the petite brunette apparently doing her best to beat the taller Hispanic blond into a pulp. Max, his sister Isabel, their best friend Michael, and the ex-Sheriff Jim Valenti and his son Kyle stared incredulously.
"What has you two all riled up?" Michael asked from his seat on the hood of his friend's convertible.
"Nothing! Nothing at all. So what's up?" Maria caught Liz's wrists and held them behind the struggling brunette. The black-haired girl cast a friendly glare at her taller friend, and a muttered curse.
"Slut."
"Prude."
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Kyle asked from his spot leaning on his father's jeep.
"Just wondering why we're here... I'm tired." Maria went over to sit next to Michael on the car, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"That's a good point. Max, what gives?"
The tall, dark haired teen was silent for a moment, seemingly intent on his own thoughts. A good thirty seconds passed before his sister prompted him.
"Max? What's up?"
He spoke quietly. "Something happened today that I wanted you all today be aware of. Liz and I found a girl out in the desert."
"So?" Michael took a bite from a candy bar.
"We have no idea who she is, where she's from, or why she's here. And neither does she."
"Do you think she's an alien?" The elder Valenti inquired.
"No," Max shook his head, "And the doctor at the hospital seems to agree with me. But there is still something about her that isn't normal. I just want everybody to be careful around her."
"Why do you say there's something wierd about her?" Isabel's voice was calm.
"It's hard to describe. You know the energy field you sense around someone when you connect with them?"
"Not really, but I'm listening." Kyle said wryly. Isabel and Michael merely nodded.
"When we found her, I tried to touch her mind, to see if she was human. Well, she is - but that field is different from all the others I've felt - Kyle's and Liz's. It's hard to describe how. I don't really have a whole lot of experience in the matter."
"What does that mean?" The ex-sheriff spoke again.
"I'm not sure, Mr. Valenti. That's why I'm saying we should be careful."
Maria, who had been quiet till now, spoke up. "It sounds like your talking about an aura."
"Sort of like that, I guess." Max shrugged.
"Well, wouldn't everyone's aura be different? That is something that's kinda personal, like a fingerprint."
"True, and they are, but..." Max threw up his hands in a frustrated motion. "I'm not sure how to describe it. What I'm saying is she's not like us, but something about her is not like you either."
Michael raised his hand. "Uh, Maxwell, why does any of this apply to us? It's not like we're going to see her."
"Well, actually, she's living at my house. She'll be working at the Crashdown." Liz answered his question.
"Oh. Huh?"
"Yeah. What gives? I thought we all learned better from the last time I took a homeless alien into my home." Kyle's voice was bitter.
"It's not like that, Kyle. She's not like Tess at all. Sarah is unbelievably nice, and sweet... plus the amnesia thing, so I'm thinking so not a threat."
The elder Valenti raised an eyebrow. "Sarah?"
"That's the name she decided on."
"Well, this is all fascinating, but unless there's anything else, I'll be going." Michael slid off the hood of the convertible and got on his bike.
"Where are you going?" Max asked.
"Home - it's late, I'm tired, and I gotta work tomorrow, and why'd we have to come all the way out here for this? Later, Maxwell." His helmet visor clicked down, and the bike roared off into the night.
"Well, he's touchy," Maria observed.
"When is he not?" said Isabel.
There was a jingle as Jim Valenti produced his keys. "He does have a point, though. We've gotta be going. Thanks for letting us know, Max, and Liz - good luck." The two got into their jeep and left.
"Okay. Then I'll see you tomorrow, Liz?"
She smiled and took his hand. "Sure. We'll go pick up Sarah from the hospital tomorrow morning about nine?"
"What do you have planned for tomorrow?"
She considered for a second. "Dad'll probably want her to start at the Crashdown -" she made a face - "but I think we'll do some other stuff, too, like get clothes and. stuff."
Isabel was waiting in the car, as was Maria. One of them honked a horn. Liz jumped at the sudden noise.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Definitely. Tomorrow." Liz turned back to Maria's car, her hand lingering on his for a fleeting moment.
Maria shifted the Jetta into drive as Liz slid into the car.
"God, Parker, could you have any more sexual tension? Why don't you just get it over with?"
"Maria! Come on. It's... complicated."
"Prude."
****
Sarah awoke with the dawn. Yellow light streamed in the window and warmed her beneath the blankets. She smiled a contented smile and stretched languidly. She had always liked waking up.
Sarah pushed aside the covers and stood, stretching as she looked out the window. A black expanse of asphalt greeted her.
Oh yeah, she thought. I'm in a hospital.
And still no idea who she was.
The hospital room was spartan. The only furniture, besides the bed, was a chair and small table. The walls were a shade of red that reminded Sarah of adobe.
'Well', she thought, 'Liz is coming to get me in a while. I should do my best to make myself all presentable-like.'
She opened the door and peeped out into the hall, looking up and down for someone. She wanted to find a nurse, but was more than a little self- conscious about her flimsy paper gown. A moment later, a nurse walked into the station at the end of the hall. Sarah waved at her, but the woman's head was in a book.
"Psst! Hello!" Sarah whispered fiercely, waving her arm madly while leaning a little into the hall. No luck. She jumped up and down. Still no luck.
Sarah sighed in frustration and turned back into her room. Immediately, her eyes alighted on a little button stuck on the bed frame labeled "Nurse Call."
"Oh. Duh..."
This time, the nurse responded promptly. She knocked and entered to find Sarah sitting on the bed.
"Can I help you, dear?"
"Yeah... is there anywhere I can take a shower?"
"Sure. The bathroom's right down the hall, that way." She pointed. "You should find a towel and slippers in the cupboard."
"Okay... and... um... is there anyway I could get some clothes?" Sarah said sheepishly.
"Why?" The nurse looked confused.
"I... I don't have any."
"Not even what you wore in?"
Sarah blushed. "I was a little naked."
"Oh. Well, I'll see if I can get you some scrubs."
"Thanks," Sarah said gratefully. "These paper gowns aren't much with the covering-up."
"No problem, dear."
When Sarah returned from the shower, she found a set of loose, green scrub pants and a t-shirt with the hospitals logo folded on the bed. She smiled and brushed out her shoulder-length blonde hair, which was still a little wet from the shower.
After changing into the clothes the nurse had left, Sarah climbed onto her bed and sat Indian style in the swath of light streaming in through the window. She took a deep breath to calm herself... felt her heart beating and her breath moving in slow, regular time. When her body was in rhythm, Sarah eased her mind into a relaxing subconscious state. The simple meditation refreshed her, and replenished the reserves of energy she had expended during the night. Sarah was very uncomfortable sleeping in a place that had not been warded against all the evil things she knew lurked in the night. She hadn't even really slept the night before - her rest was light, and dreamless, as it was wont to be when you kept the psychic equivalent of one eye open all night.
And that was how Max and Liz found her - perched on the bed Indian style, elbows on knees with her head in her hands. Her hair, which was still damp, hung loosely about her face.
"Sarah! Are you awake?" Liz said after knocking on the slightly open door.
She took a slow, deep breath and opened her eyes. "Yeah - come in."
"Are you feeling okay?" Liz said, a note of concern in her voice.
"Yeah! I'm fine. Feeling surprisingly good for just having woken up from a coma." She said lightly, untangling her legs and standing to greet her guests.
"Hi, Max." She raised a hand in salutation.
"Morning." Max leaned on the doorframe.
"Here you go... thought you'd like some clothes." Liz dropped a small backpack on the bed.
"Thanks! I - I mean, you didn't have to."
"Actually, I did. We have a law against public indecency." Liz smiled matter-of-factly.
"Oh." Sarah blushed. "Well, yeah."
"I guessed on the sizes. There's only a few things in there - we can go out and get more stuff today."
"Liz, you - I mean, I couldn't..."
"Of course you can. That is, unless you want to sport Roswell General forever. We'll let you get changed." She pushed Max out the door and closed it after them. Max remained his usual unflappable self.
"You know, you could've let her get a word in edgewise," he observed.
Liz shrugged. "I just want to make sure she's okay."
"Why are you doing this? It isn't like you."
"It isn't like me to what? Help a person in need?"
"No, not that. This is way more than helping someone in need."
"Is it?"
"Yes! It's like picking up a stray puppy..." Inwardly, he winced.
Her eyes narrowed. "I know you didn't just say that."
"Liz..." At that moment, the door opened and Sarah, dressed in a dark green blouse and khaki pants, came into the hall.
"I can't thank you enough for this, Liz. For all of this," she said quietly.
"Don't worry about it, Sarah. I know you'd do the same for me."
The blonde girl frowned. "How do you know?"
Liz gave her a warm smile. "I just do. Let's get out of here, okay?"
Sarah grinned back, the relief and happiness apparent on her face. "Sure."
*******
The next few hours were spent acquainting Sarah with the sights in Roswell - the sheriff's office, the school, the UFO museum, the Crashdown... Liz and Max were hard pressed to come up with anything else in the town of any significance, which Sarah found endlessly amusing.
"So this entire town's economy is based around aliens?" Sarah asked, leaning forward to the front seats of the convertible.
"The aliens don't actually provide much business," Liz replied seriously. "It's the tourists looking for them."
Sarah giggled. "So how do you guys feel about it? I mean, aliens?"
Liz stole a quick glance at Max. "Jury's out," he said calmly. "Traveling between the stars? It sounds kinda farfetched."
"Oh, come on," Sarah said. "Didn't you watch Star Trek?"
"You remember Star Trek?"
"Well, yeah - I think." She frowned. "Bald guy, big ship, two good movies and one bad one?"
"That would be it."
"What about you, Liz?" She turned to the dark-haired girl.
Liz turned her head to look at Max. "I haven't lost hope."
Max glanced at Sarah in the mirror. "Do you believe in aliens?"
She shrugged. "I'd be surprised if there weren't. With all the other strange stuff in this world, aliens would seem almost normal."
That was an answer Max had not been expecting. Just what was she talking about?
Liz was apparently wondering the same thing. "Stuff like what?"
Sarah mentally smacked her forehead. Ooops. Uuuh... "You know, like Michael Jackson, the Spice Girls, and robot dogs." She made a little doggie hand puppet that went Yip! Yip! Yip!
Liz gave a wide-eyed sideways glance at Max, who had a little half-smile on his face, and couldn't help but laugh. She looked back at Sarah, whose blonde hair was drying in the wind. She was wearing an innocent grin. 'This girl reminds me of Alex.' The thought flashed across Liz' mind, and brought the familiar pain with it. It felt wrong to laugh at a joke that could've been his... like she was somehow betraying her friend. But Sarah made some of that pain go away. Liz had known the girl for less than a day, but already felt a strong kinship, a sisterly affection for this person who had just been royally screwed by whatever powers that be. Despite circumstances that could be described as 'just about the worst possible', Sarah still managed to radiate life and warmth. It was hard not to be cheerful around her.
"Lunch?"
Sarah shrugged. "I could eat."
The convertible pulled up to the Crashdown, and the three ducked inside the diner. Liz waved at Maria and headed to their usual booth. Maria brought two glasses of Coke.
"Hey! What's up?" Max gave her a gesture of greeting that vaguely resembled a wave.
"Sorry, I don't know what you like to drink... you must be Sarah. Liz is just being rude."
"Hi." Sarah gave a beaming smile. "Just water, please."
"No problem." She went to fetch a glass.
"So this is where I'll be working?" Sarah asked.
"Yep."
"I don't know if I'm any good as a waitress."
"It's really not that tough. Look, Maria's doing it!" Liz raised her voice just as Maria returned.
"I hope you're not making fun of me, Parker, cause it would just break my heart." She sat down with them, next to Max. Liz and Sarah were next to each other on the other side of the table.
"How do you like Roswell so far?" Maria asked the other blonde.
"Flat - and hot." Sarah took a big gulp of water.
"We have lots of that here," Max pointed out.
"Oh! Almost forgot. Sorry." Maria pulled a menu from her pocket and slid it over to Sarah. "It's been awhile since I had to pull a menu out for this crowd."
"It's okay. I think I'll have..." She looked up with an expression that combined amusement and shock.
"What's going on with these names?"
The three Roswellians laughed. "It's part of the gimmick," Liz explained.
"Sure. Then... a salad?"
"Alien Plant Platter, comin' up." Maria slid out of the booth.
"She's kidding, right?" Sarah looked at the menu. "Oh Goddess, she's not."
Liz was laughing really, really hard. Max even cracked a smile.
***
The sun was setting over the New Mexico desert. It was a sight that Sarah had never seen before - or at least didn't think she had. Standing on the rooftop that served as Liz' balcony, she had an excellent vantage point to see the sun sink below the western horizon. The sand slowly turned from blinding white to a deep red when the sun touched the mountains... what were they called? Sangre de Cristo, the Blood of Christ.
Sarah shivered and pulled a blanket around her. The wind was kicking up out of the east, and the desert rapidly cooling. Her blonde hair streamed out in the wind. The desert was fading from red to purple now, the sun almost obscured by the low mountains. The harsh beauty filled Sarah with wonder. She started to sing quietly, the winds snatching the words and carrying them out to the sand and sky. The tune was old - it had first been sung in the highlands of Scotland, nearly two thousand years before.
"Sarah? You here?"
Liz ducked out the window and came to stand beside the taller girl.
"Yep, I'm right over here. Just me, over here."
Liz smiled and sat on the ledge. She had put a light brown jacket over the tanktop she had been wearing earlier.
"It can get cold out here at night, you know."
Sarah tugged the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "I noticed."
"Why are you out here, then? You should probably be making with the rest or something."
"I know, but... I wanted to watch the sunset."
"It is really pretty out here."
"Yeah, the desert has its own sort of charm."
"Yep."
For a moment, the only sound was the low whistle of the wind and the faint sound of music from down the street. The two girls watched the sunset in silence. As the last rays slipped under the horizon, Liz spoke up.
"What were you singing?"
Sarah looked to the west, to the desert. "When?"
"Just now, when I came out. I didn't catch the words, but it was very pretty. Sounded almost familiar." Liz swung her feet over the edge of the roof.
"Oh. It's. um. its called a vesper. It's sung to greet the sun in the morning, and bid it safe journey in the evening."
"Wow. I've never heard of that before."
Sarah shook her head. "I don't know where it comes from either. I mean, I feel like I should, but... it just feels like something I should do. It kinda feels familiar, like it's something I used to know, but fell into this hole in my memory... and now it's one of the only things I've got left."
Liz stood up. "Come on."
"What?"
"Let's go."
"Where?"
Liz pushed her back to the window. "I want to show you something. Get some shoes."
***
"It's not too much farther." Liz scrambled over some rocks, and gave a hand to help Sarah. The blonde climbed up and took Liz' hand to jump up the last bit.
"So, do you do much late-night rock climbing here?" Sarah brushed her hands off on her pants and looked up the trail.
Liz laughed. "You'd be surprised, actually."
"What's the occasion?"
"I just wanted to show you this place. I come up here sometimes to think, and sort things out. I figured you'd appreciate it." Just then, they came to the end of the trail and crested the ridge. The desert spread out beneath them, an endless sea of sand. Roswell was a twinkling pool of light in the distance. The sky was a deep midnight blue rather than black. Stars, both faint and bright, spattered across the heavens. The Milky Way was clearly visible, a dense smear of light in the north. The two girls paused.
"Wow... there are so many stars!"
"Yeah - I love it out here. You can see so much more of the sky than from town." Liz sat down on a convenient rock. Sarah sat cross-legged on the ground a few feet away.
"It's so peaceful. I can see why you'd come up here to be alone." The night air was still, cool, and utterly quiet. Sarah found herself almost whispering to keep from spoiling it.
"I used to come up here in junior high, with Alex. We were in an astronomy class, and his dad had a telescope..."
Sarah was silent as the other girls voice trailed off. She could tell that her friend was upset. She looked at Liz with her mind's eye, and saw the dark-haired girl's aura was a dull silver.
"Who's Alex?" She asked quietly.
"He's... he was my best friend. Maria, Alex and I. He died a few months ago."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"It's okay... it's just sometimes things remind me of him. Completely random things, and it's like it starts all over again."
"What was he like?"
Liz blinked back a tear and quickly dried it with her sleeve. "He was kind of like you, actually. Always cheerful, kinda goofy, smiled a lot... always seemed full of life. Made lots of obscure jokes." Her voice wavered ever so slightly.
"And I remind you of him?"
"A little."
A cricket chirped and hopped up on Sarah's knee. She gently coaxed it onto her finger and set it back on the ground.
"How did it happen?"
"He was in a car accident." Liz' voice was toneless. She didn't want to go into the story with Tess, and how the conniving bitch murdered her best friend.
Sarah shook her head sadly. It couldn't help but suck when someone you loved died... but, she could tell there was more to the story. No need to push, though. Everyone deals in their own way.
A thought suddenly occurred to Sarah, and before she realized it, she was talking.
"My mother died... when I was seventeen. I... I know how you feel - I had all these thoughts, and feelings, like... like I was a bad person, like it was somehow my fault... but, it gets better. If - if you ever need to talk about it..."
The dark-haired girls expression softened.
"Oh, jeez, Sarah, I'm sorry. I don't want to dump my problems on you. You've got your own stuff to... Hey! I - I thought you couldn't remember anything!"
Sarah paused. "I..." - and just as quickly as it came, the memory slipped away, swallowed into the darkness at the bottom of her mind.
"I did." She held her face in her hands. "It's gone again - just like that. Nothing but a flash."
"But that's a good sign, at least!"
Sarah looked up. "You think so?"
Liz smiled confidently. "I know so. That means your memory is still there - and that it could come back, with time."
"Yeah. I guess you're right." The blonde girl brushed aside a loose lock of hair that had fallen in her eyes, and curled her knees up to her chest.
Both girls were quiet for a moment. Sarah gazed out over the desert, which was tranquil and empty. She then looked at it with her other eyes, and saw that it was full of life - far more than was out during the day. The shifting auras of hundreds of small animals made the desert sand fairly glow with silvery-blue light.
"Oh, wow. Look at that!" Liz pointed to the southern sky.
Sarah snapped out of her reverie and turned to look. The southern sky was filled with hundreds of falling streaks of light.
"Wow. Is that a...?"
"Meteor shower. I didn't know there was supposed to be one tonight."
"I've never seen one before - at least, I don't think I have. It's really beautiful."
"I haven't seen many. One's this big are really rare." Her voice was quiet, as if speaking too loud would shatter the scenes fragile beauty. Standing there, on top of a mountain on a clear summer night, both girls felt a bit of awe as they watched stars quietly fall from heaven. It was a powerful and moving sight.
"You know," Sarah said, "its times like these that just make you feel... like, somehow, everything will turn out okay."
Liz smiled. "You know what? I think you're right."
Sarah turned to her host and grinned mischievously. "So... tell me about Max."
Liz laughed, the first time she had done so that night.
"Well, you see, it started about two years ago. I was at work, at the Crashdown, when these two guys who were arguing started shooting at each other. Max and Michael - you'll meet him later - were there, and..."
So Liz told Sarah the tale of how she and Max had met, omitting the slightly more extraterrestrial parts. It was a good story, nonetheless, one that suited the locale. Sarah quickly became so wrapped up in the recounting, and Liz in the telling, that neither noticed the time slipping by, nor the nighttime chill of the desert.
Nor the one particularly bright meteor that did not burn out in the upper atmosphere like its cousins - but instead fell all the way to the horizon, and vanished without a trace.
--End Chapter 4--