Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. I'm simply borrowing them until the Season 2 DVD's get released.

Tomorrow's Yet to Come

Chapter Fourteen – Ticket to Ride

Isabel and Alex rushed through the terminal, racing against time as they tried to make their flight. Gasping for breath, they stopped at the security gate waiting anxiously for their turn to pass through the metal detectors. Alex went successfully through the metal detector first. He stopped on the other side to gather up his wallet, watch and cell phone, and put his shoes back on, and watch while Isabel had her turn. She stepped through the detector, and alarms sounded.

"Please pass back through, ma'am," said the airport security official. Isabel smiled wanly, but complied, and stepped through the device again, and again, the alarms sounded. Isabel flushed, and looked apologetic as the security guard motioned for her to step to one side.

Alex looked at his watch, and at the large screen that noted arrivals and departures. They had five minutes to make their flight. He scanned the crowed, and waited while a female security guard used a hand held metal detector to scan Isabel's body. Again, and again, the alarm sounded, but each time it did, the wand passed over a different part of Isabel's body.

"Maybe there's something wrong with it?" Isabel offered hopefully.

"That's doubtful, ma'am," said the guard. "The equipment is checked and calibrated daily."

"Why is this happening, then?" she asked. "Do I look like the terrorist type to you?"

"We can't be too careful," said the guard.

"No, you can't be too careful," whispered Isabel. She looked around, and spied the Armani suit guy watching her intently. She surreptitiously pressed her hand against her shirt and pants and metal studs popped up in various places on her clothes. "Wait," she said. "Do you think it could be the studs on my clothes? It's a new look for me, and I forgot about them."

"It's possible," said the guard. "Let me scan you again." She passed the wand over Isabel's body. Isabel shot a beam of energy at the wand, and it remained silent.

"Look's like you're all set," said the guard. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

"You can't be too safe in this day and age," replied Isabel. "I'm just sorry I didn't think about the clothes. You have a very nice day." She smiled politely at the security agent, gathered her belongings from the tray, and joined Alex. "He's here," she whispered. "Armani guy."

"Where," said Alex, as he took her arm protectively.

"Over there, by that planter," she said. She turned to point, but the man was gone. "Never mind," she said, her voice laced with disappointment. "He's gone. God, Alex, am I losing my mind?"

"Come on, let's go board the plane. We'll talk about it more later, I don't want to take the chance of being overheard."

They raced to the gate, and presented their tickets and boarded the plane with seconds to spare. The flight attendant directed them to their seats, and as the made their way down the aisle, they were shocked to see Michael and Maria sitting in two of the plane's seats. Isabel opened her mouth to greet them, but caught the imperceptible shake of Michael's head. Instead, she continued down the aisle, and took her seat, while Alex stowed their carry on bags in the overhead compartment.

"What do you suppose is going on?" Isabel whispered to Alex after he had taken his seat.

"I don't know," he answered. "I'm guessing that something happened to freak them out too, and they just took off, like we did."

"I wonder why they didn't call us?" Isabel queried.

"Probably for the same reason we didn't call them," answered Alex, reasonably. "The game plan had already been set. We knew where to go if there was a problem."

"I'm being unreasonable, aren't I?" asked Isabel.

"Well, yeah, but we can blame it on a by-product of being totally freaked out," said Alex. He looked up and saw that the flight crew had finished their pre-flight instructions to the passengers, and had buckled themselves in for takeoff. He reached over and took Isabel's hand in his, and brought it to his lips. "We're going to be okay, you know that, right?" he asked. Isabel nodded, and he continued. "After take off, we'll find some way to get a message to Michael and Maria. Will that make you feel better?"

"Yeah, thank you Alex. You are far more understanding than I deserve," said Isabel. I'm going to write them a note, right now, telling them what's going on." She reached into her bag, and the ever-organized Isabel pulled out a small notebook and a pen.

"How do you do that?" Alex asked in amazement. "Even after all these years, you still amaze me with your ability to find just what you want within seconds in your bag. Maria and Liz couldn't do that if their lives depended upon it."

"Being a control freak and being so organized was always my way of coping, you know, before."

"Before what?" asked Alex as the plane began to taxi down the runway.

"Before you Liz and Maria became a part of our lives. I coped with our giant secret by being super organized. Max was Mr. Stoic, and Michael, well, Michael was Michael, explained Isabel. "Plus he had a hell of a lot more to cope with than Max and I did." She thought back to that horrific encounter in Michael's trailer with his foster father, Hank. "We all had our little idiosyncrasies; our coping mechanisms. Then we found you, and we didn't need them anymore. However, I like being ultra organized, so I've kept that one," she laughed.

The seatbelt sign went off, and the flight attendants came around, taking orders for beverages. Alex ordered soda's for them both, while Isabel hastily scribbled the events that occurred that led to them being on the flight to New Mexico.

"How do we get it to them?" asked Isabel. "We're a little bit past the passing notes stage."

"Give it to me," said Alex. He got up and walked to the bathroom, the folded piece of paper visible in his hand. He went into the restroom, and placed the note in a visible spot, and exited the cramped bathroom. He gave Michael a pointed look as he returned to his seat. Michael correctly interpreted the look, and went to the restroom himself.

He returned to his seat, took the folded up piece of paper out of his pocket, and passed it to Maria so that she could read it along with him. When she finished, she looked at Michael. "What the hell is going on?" she asked. "Someone trashes your studio, and calls you Rath, and Isabel is seeing Max, but it isn't Max. God, Michael, I thought our worries were over when we got rid of Tess."

"No, I'm afraid they're just beginning," said Michael. He reached into Maria's bag and pulled out a pen, and started to scribble a reply.

"Hey, you're supposed to ask before you go into a woman's bag!" said Maria. "In fact, it's wise to never ever do that again. Especially when the woman in question can fry the hair right off of our head. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," said Michael, clearly unrepentant, as he continued scribbling. "Look, take this to the john, and leave it in there. Alex or Isabel will pick it up."

"You forgot to tell me to fetch," snapped Maria, but she took the note from his hand. "You know, if I didn't love you so much, I'd kill you. In fact, I may just do that anyhow."

"Well, can you at least do it after you deliver the freaking note, Maria?" snapped Michael.

Maria didn't say anything, she glared at Michael and stood up, stepping hard on his foot as she passed by him.

"Ouch! You did that on purpose," said Michael.

Maria smiled and raised her eyebrow, and walked up the narrow aisle to he bathroom. She spent several minutes in there, fixing her hair, and make up. She left the note on the side of the sink, and opened the door. She choked back a scream when she saw Isabel standing right outside the door, waiting to go in.

"Are you two okay?" she whispered as she stepped aside to give Isabel access to the restroom.

"Yeah. How about you two? How are you doing?"

"Surviving, but barely. He's driving me nuts," whispered Maria.

"Hang in there, Maria. He needs you, and you know how he gets," said Isabel.

"Yeah, I know. Listen, we'll hook up when we land, okay? I better get back before the general has a hemorrhage or something," said Maria. She reached out and gave Isabel's hand a quick squeeze and returned to her seat.

"What the hell was that all about?" demanded Michael after she sat down. "Talk about drawing attention to yourself. Jesus, Maria, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I love you, Space Boy," said Maria. She leaned over and kissed him briefly on the cheek, then turned to look out the window to watch the clouds fly by.