Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell or the Night World Series, because if I did, then we would be watching season 5 right now, and I would be reading more about Rashel and the others.

Author's Notes: Okay, in The Chosen, never does L. J. Smith state that Timmy was Rashel's brother. In fact, when you read the first chapter, it states that Timmy was a month younger than Rashel. I'm bringing this up now, because I know that a lot of fanfiction writers just say that Timmy and Rashel are brother and sister. I'm not saying that it's not possible, but biologically, it's very unlikely that Timmy is Rashel's younger brother, unless one of them was adopted. On the other hand, it's not unlikely that they were cousins, or close family friends. If any of you, Night World writers, have a problem with this, I suggest that you re-read the book, because you'll see when Rashel talks to Nyala about her first encounter with vampires, she doesn't even mention Timmy, doesn't say she watched Hunter "kill my mother and brother," only "kill my mother." When she's connected to Quinn, he mentions her mother, but again, nothing about Timmy. Why am I making a big deal about this now, because I'm revealing something about Timmy's and Rashel's past which some of you die hard Night World fans may not like.

For the rest of you who have no clue what I'm talking about. Timmy was a four year old boy who was with Rashel when she went to the carnival in the first chapter of the book. She was supposed to watch him, and they were supposed to climb up some ropes together, but she went first. When she looked back he was gone, so she followed him, and found Hunter feeding on him. This is when she realizes that vampires are real and things go down hill from that. I'll talk more about it in my next chapter.

Hope you like this one.

Chapter 3 – First Day

"So, have you two lived in Roswell all your lives?" Thierry inquired, after Max told him about the UFO Museum.

"Um, we were adopted by the Evans in 1989," Max answered carefully. Deciding to take the focus away from his sister and himself, he asked a question of his own. "Where are you from Thierry?"

"Las Vegas," Thierry was about to say more when he heard the door of Topolsky's office open. Turning he saw Rashel walking through the door, carrying her bag in one hand and her schedule in the other. The noise also caught Isabel's attention. Looking beyond the attractive young man, she saw a tall, lanky girl wearing blue jeans; a green shirt covered by a somewhat tattered jean jacket, and black boots. Automatically, she started to internally inspect the new girl. Not a bad face, but no real competition for me. Looks like she has a fairly normal fashion sense, a bit conservative though. No designer things like her friend, wonder how they know each other. Of course, the jocks will probably be all over her since she's new; she'll probably welcome the attention, unless she actually has a brain.

Rashel saw Thierry with two other students. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves; she needed zanshin, and she needed it now. The idea of Night People living with Aunt Diane and Uncle Phillip made her feel uneasy, especially if the pair turned out to be lamia. How ironic would that be? It was also possible that the two were lost witches, more descendants of the lost Harman Twins, like Gillian. Assuming that Isabel was the girl in front of Thierry, she guessed the boy standing next to her was Max. Thierry was right, his eyes were like Hunter's; two orbs of amber, guarded and aloof. Yet, unlike the vampire, Max's eyes showed some kindness and something else. There was something lurking in the back, a yearning of some kind. It's like he's searching for something or someone. She thought as she approached her friend. "Sorry for making you wait so long, Thierry."

He shrugged to show that he didn't mind, "Let me to the introductions. Rashel, this is Isabel Evans; she'll be showing you around the school. And this is her brother Max. Isabel, Max, meet my friend, Rashel Descouedres, your new classmate."

Max didn't miss the fact that Rashel had the same last name as Thierry and asked her about it as she shook his hand.

"All of my family died when I was young, so I've spent most of my time in foster homes. Finally, I was sent to Thierry's family and though they were very good to me, I felt the need to be independent, so became emancipated before the school year started. Still, his family was the only family that really welcomed me, so I took his last name."

Max and Isabel decided not to ask more, reminded again how lucky they were to be adopted by two loving parents. Isabel and Rashel were about to begin the tour when Mrs. Talvers, the elderly school librarian came into the office and saw Rashel; she asked to talk to her for a moment. Isabel used that moment as an opportunity to tell Missy what she found out about Thierry so far, and Max excused himself to go look for Liz. Thierry waited outside of the office for both Rashel and Isabel to come back, although there was a door between him and Rashel, he could still hear most of the conversation. Apparently the older woman figured out that Linda Jordan was Rashel's mother. She was giving Rashel a small speech about how she remembered Linda, how sorry and shocked she was about Linda's death, and admired how courageous Rashel was in returning to Roswell after everything that happened to her. He rolled his eyes, this was exactly what Rashel wanted to avoid. He realized belatedly that her suggestions to use glimmer spells or at the very least let her dye her hair to change her physically appearance were a good ones. Isabel returned at the same time Rashel left the office with a weary look on her face.

"Is something wrong?" Isabel asked.

Rashel gave the girl a wan smile, "Is Mrs. Talvers a gossip?"

Isabel grimaced. "Yeah, why? You didn't tell her anything embarrassing about yourself?"

Rashel shook her head, but looked grim, "No, I guess you can say that by the end of the day; I'm going to be getting a lot of pity looks from my teachers."

Isabel was curious about what she meant, but decided not to ask anymore questions as Thierry quickly reminded Rashel that he and Hannah would be back at the end of the day to pick her up, and then they would have to go to the reservation. Saying a quick good-bye, Rashel and Isabel finally were by themselves. Isabel gave the girl another smile, "Well, welcome to West Roswell High."

"Look, I know that you probably would rather spend the time with your friends, so don't feel obligated to give me the grand tour of the school. I've been to so many schools in my life; I can figure out where everything is pretty quickly. So here's what I was thinking; why don't you show me where my locker is and where my classes are located." She told the other girl, getting to business right away. "And don't worry about me becoming one of those annoying groupies coming to you for everything. I can handle learning about the school hierarchy on my own."

At that moment, Isabel decided that Rashel Descouedres was a welcome normal addition to the alien abyss of Roswell.

After leaving the school, Thierry went back to Rashel's new apartment to get Hannah before going out to explore Roswell. The two decided to go to the UFO Museum around midmorning. When they finished, the pair headed over to the Crashdown for lunch. Although it was a weekday, they could tell that the café was popular among the nearby businesses by the amount of people inside and the constant flow of pick-up. It was while they were waiting for their food, when Hannah noticed Sheriff Valenti walking towards the counter.

Jim's entrance didn't go unnoticed by Jeff Parker either. Seeing the sheriff, he grabbed a pot of coffee to fill up the other man's cup. The two men exchanged pleasantries; Jeff got his order, and then they talked about meaningless subjects, like the weather, and sport teams, small talk which Hannah and Thierry ignored until Jeff asked Jim a question that piqued their curiosity. "So, Jim, have you heard? Rashel Jordan is back in Roswell."

Jim almost choked on his coffee. Rashel Jordan was back in Roswell? "When did this happen?" There wasn't a day that went by that the sheriff didn't wonder what had happened to the small 5-year-old child since she left. Besides the mysterious deaths occurring in 1959, Linda Jordan's murder was one of the most public investigations that Roswell had seen in years. Young single mother found with a broken neck in a carnival tent; her young daughter shouting about some stranger trying to touch her; and an even younger boy missing. Oh, yes, the press had a field day with that one; young Timothy's disappearance, and Rashel's insistence of a stranger got all the attention of many alien conspirators. Even now, every once in a while, he would still get a call from some website or new letter asking him if there was any new information about Timothy's abduction by aliens. If word got out that she came back, he could only imagine the circus that would descend upon her. On the other hand, with Rashel's return he may be able to finally give some closure to Timothy's parents, if Rashel remembered anything of importance. Still, 12 years was a long time, and no doubt, Rashel experienced a great deal of trauma; she may not be able to shed any more light to the old case, and he'd need permission from her guardian to talk to her.

"She was in here yesterday. Came in with the two teens sitting at the back booth, over there." Jeff told him, nodding towards Hannah and Thierry.

"Isn't she only 17?" Jim asked confused.

"Emancipated."

"Really, I may just have to pay her a visit. You wouldn't happen to know where she's living now, would you?"

"Yeah, Amy and Nancy demanded her address as soon as they learned she was staying for good." Jeff got a piece of paper and wrote down the information, then handed it to the lawman. "This is it, but you won't find her there right now. She started her first day today at West Roswell High. Might want to give her some time to settle down before talking to her. I think she hasn't even seen the Evans yet, anyway, here's your order Sheriff."

"Thanks, Jeff. I'll be seeing you." Jim finished his coffee, tipped his hat to the man, and left the café.

Hannah stared at her soulmate; concern evident in her eyes. Thierry, what should we do? Rashel hasn't exactly figured out what to tell the Sheriff he asks her to talk about what happened. She wanted to talk to Timmy's parents first before talking to the police.

I know, but we have no legal recourse. When she became emancipated, it gives the police permission to talk to her whenever they want to. I could try to influence him into taking action later, yet I'm not sure that's a good idea either.

Why not? Hannah heard the mental equivalent of a sigh before Thierry answered her question.

Roswell is one of those towns where everyone knows everyone else. It's a very close knit community. Many of the parents and other adults currently living in Roswell probably lived in Roswell for most of their lives. I'm guessing that most know about Linda's murder, and if they don't, someone will probably tell them, once the adults in this town realize that Rashel in Roswell. She's the only known witness to the murder of her mother and the abduction of Timmy; we all know that murder cases have no statute of limitations, the people of this town will probably want to know immediately if she came back to solve her mother's murder. It places the sheriff in a bad spot because he'll be torn between answering the public's demand for an answer, and giving Rashel the time she needs to give him what he needs.

But she can't ever really tell him the truth, Thierry.

We know she can't; that's why she wanted the new name; she was hoping she could slip back quietly. Rashel is use to slipping in and out of big cities, where she was another nameless face in the crowd. I don't think she expected it to be quite so easy this time, but I don't think she counted on having such a close resemblance to her mother. Remember, she doesn't have any photos of her family and very few memories as well.

It doesn't sound like Rashe not to have a back-up plan.

Oh, she does. Rashel always has something to fall back on. She picked that up from Quinn. Anyway, figuring that it was possible that she'd become the next big gossip subject in Roswell; she decided that she'd approach everyone connected to the case before they get a chance to ask her.

You mean she's going to go to voluntarily go to talk to Timmy's parents and tell them what she saw, along with the police? Why?

Thierry gave Hannah a shrug, "In hopes that it'll give the local gossips and alien believers less to speculate about."

She sighed, "God, Thierry do you know what that's going to do to her? She can hardly talk about what really happen to Quinn, let alone any of us. Sure, she can say her mother was murdered, but when some one asks for the exact details about what happened that day; she clams up. How is she going to be able to talk about to strangers, and by herself? At the very least one of us should be with her when she goes to talk to them."

"And it may bring her some closure as well as Timmy's parents. Can you imagine what these past 12 years have been for them? Never knowing what exactly happened to their little boy, not knowing if he is alive and well or dead somewhere? Rashel knew that returning to Roswell meant eventually she'd have to see them." Looking at his watch, Thierry noticed that it was close to the time they would have to pick Rashel up from school. Giving Hannah a smile, he grabbed her hand from across the table. "Hannah, Rashel is a very strong woman. She's been able to survive everything that Hunter did to her and then some; she will survive this scrutiny, with or without our help. Come on, we should go and pick her up now."

Rashel sighed as she looked at her watch; only five minutes had past since the last time she checked it. Study hall is extremely boring when you don't have anything to study. She had already finished most of her assigned work in other classes and was desperately trying to avoid most of the staff. Ever since Mrs. Talvers spoke to her; Rashel received a combination of pity speeches from the adults, thinly veiled come-ons from the upper classmen boys and jocks, and curious looks from the rest of the students since she was new. How she hated being the new student, but it was role she knew well and played often. So she leaned back into her chair and attempted to concentrate on The Crucible.

Attempting was the keyword in the sentence since she found herself re-reading the same paragraph three times. Annoyed with herself, she decided to see if the school library had old yearbooks for her to look through. Walking past the computers, towards the reference section; Rashel was aware of someone following her; she couldn't shake the feeling since lunch. Turning quickly she startled Alex; she was about to glare at him when he held up his hands in submission.

"Sorry, didn't mean to bother you, but I wanted to know how your first day was."

Rashel sensed that he interest was sincere and gave him a genuine smile. "It's always a bother being the new kid in school, but I'm use to it."

"Well, I got to say; I think you've managed to make on of the most memorable entrances possible." She frowned in puzzlement. "I'm heard about the Joey Walker incident at lunch.

She winced in comprehension. She was supposed to a fairly low profile and even if her past made that difficult now; she wasn't suppose to make waves.

Alex misunderstood the reason for her grimace. "Hey, I didn't mean it was a bad thing. Joey and his pals have made my life at Roswell public schools difficult to say the least. When Maria told me you flipped him over after he repeatedly sent you catcalls and grouped you, I just about fell out of my chair laughing. That news made my year; I'm only sorry that I didn't get to see it."

"Still, it was a bit extreme, but he just got on my nerves." She replied, "Hey, you don't think I went too far in embarrassing him?"

Alex's smile dropped a bit, "Why? Feeling guilty?"

Rashel gave him a small nod. "I mean, I completely emasculated the guy in front of his friends and about half of the student body. I could have just calmly explained to him that I wasn't interested and if he couldn't understand that, then I would be forced to go to extreme measures."

"Like flipping him over."

"No, like blackmail."

Alex looked intrigued, "What type of blackmail are we talking about?" He whispered.

Rashel looked around to see if anyone was listening, "Well, you know I don't have that many clear memories right?" When Alex nodded, she continued. "However, I do have a couple distinctive ones like the time Joey Walker ran around the neighborhood."

Alex furrowed his eyebrows confused. "So?"

"Apparently, his mom just got him some He-Mann clothing which he was very happy and proud of owning." She told him innocently.

Understanding crept through Alex's eyes and Rashel's slow growing smirk only confirmed his imagination. "Please say it was underwear; tell me it was underwear."

"And was yelling 'I have the Power' too. But now that I think about it, that story is better in my back pocket, just in case Joey decides he wants payback."

Alex started to laugh at Rashel's serious expression. "Are you sure about this?"

"Well how about the next time you see him, why don't you ask him if he still likes He-Man?" She asked him as she walked out of the aisle and back towards her table when she saw Hannah coming towards her. "Excuse me, Alex. I need to see what Hannah wants." She gave him another smile and started to walk to her friend. She topped halfway and turned her head to glance around the library stacks on her left. Rashel definitely felt someone watching her, but couldn't locate the actual person.

"What's wrong?" Hannah asked her.

"Nothing, just imagining things. You're early, what's up?"

"Thierry and I were at the Crashdown and the sheriff came in for his lunch…"

"And…"

"And Mr. Parker told him that you were in Roswell."

Michael remained huddled behind one of the library stacks. Damn, she almost caught me watching her. He was in the quad when he saw the new girl flip Joey. It was one of the most amusing things he ever saw and it made him admire her. At the same time though, it made him suspicious of her, what if she was some undercover agent from the police, or worse the FBI? He had to make sure, so he decided to follow her for the rest of the day. It wasn't easy though, the newbie had an almost sixth sense about being watched, and he almost got caught a couple of times. He got a lucky break when Alex ran into her at the library. Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have eavesdropped, but the Joey Walker story was definitely worth the risk of being caught.

On the other hand, the story left him a bit confused. He was under the impression that the new girl just moved into Roswell, what was her name again? Rashel Descouedres, as far as he could remember, there never was a Descouedres family that lived in Roswell, was there? Isabel never did say explicitly that the Rashel never once lived in Roswell, and as far as he could tell most of the student body didn't seem to know who she was. However, Michael noticed that some his teachers were acting weird today. Then again, they tended to act weird whenever he decided to show up for class, but that was irrelevant. No, he noted that when Rashel entered the classroom, most of his teachers just would have her say her name and assign her a seat, no whole, "Why-don't-you-tell-the-class-something-about-yourself?" speech, that stuck him as odd. Another thing was the how Mr. Seiglman asked to speak with her at the end of class. He didn't hear much, but from what he saw; it appeared as though the adult knew Rashel very well, considering the hug he gave her. There were also the hush whispers he saw some of the other teachers exchanged whenever she'd past them. So, maybe she wasn't a narc, but she was definitely hiding something from the rest of the student body.

He came really close to thinking that maybe Rashel was just returning to Roswell, after some horrible tragedy when he followed her in the library. Michael felt a little relieved, until her friend came in.

"Sheriff Valenti knows I'm in Roswell," the girl shrugged. "We knew it was only a matter of time before he realized this. That alone wouldn't have made you come here."

"But have you figured out what you're going to tell him yet?"

"Not really, but I should figure out something soon, because if he knows I'm here then the Evans probably know now too, and I need to tell them about their son before I talk to Valenti."

At that moment Michael froze. "Their son," they were talking about Max? How did either one of them know Max, and what information did they have on him? Where they at the Crashdown when Max healed Liz? Did they see anything? He rose a little to peek over the books and saw Rashel talking to the blonde. They were talking in hushed tones as the two went towards the table with Rashel's things. He not longer felt bad about being a voyeur; he really needed to find out what the two knew, and fast.

"I haven't been in Roswell in years, Hannah, it's not like I can just show up at their doorstep, and tell them everything. I don't know if they can handle the truth."

"They're his parents, don't you think they deserve to know."

"I'm not arguing about whether they have the right to know, because they do, it just doesn't feel right that I should be the one telling them."

The blonde gave her a sympathetic smile, "If not you, then who?" Rashel nodded sadly before grabbing her books to put into her bag. The other girl continued, "So, I assume you have a plan? What is it?"

Rashel shrugged again, "I sent the Evans a letter a couple of days ago with my address and phone number; they'll probably receive it in the mail in the next few days. If they want to talk to me, they know how to reach me." She finished with her bag at that point and slung it over her shoulder checking the time on the clock. It was a couple minutes before the bell. The blonde and she started walking towards the door, and Michael realized that the conversation is finished. He waited until they were out of his line of sight before high tailing it out of there, with only one thought on his mind. I've got to tell Isabel and Max.

Jadeling's Notes: Ahh, another chapter done. Okay, I thinking I have one more chapter left before I finish the first arc, getting Rashel settled in Roswell. Then I can focus on Liz, but I'm kind of curious how many people actually read this story, so that's why there's the new poll. I want to know if people actually want me to finish this or not.