Michael was up extra early on account of the nerves for the upcoming day, so he decided he'd fix breakfast, 'positive outlet' he repeated over and over in his mind.
"Michael?" He heard an achingly familiar voice ask from the hall. Still in her pink pajamas.
"How'd you sleep?" He asked flipping an egg
"Fine, fine, what's this?" She asked
"umm, positive out let for my nerves" He said. She giggled
"Its all gonna be ok, Michael, really. Come here" She said pulling him to her, she reached up with on of her long fingers and wiped a bit of mix from the side of his nose
"No matter what, Im always going to be right here, I promise." She told him "So don't worry" He smiled kissing her chastely
"Go get dressed." He told her smacking her butt with a spatula
"Ow… Im going Im going." She jogged up the stairs to her room to find Max waiting
"Jesus Max you scared the crap out of me, get out so I can get dressed."
"Your not going anywhere till you tell me where you were last night."
"Im just getting dressed Max, Im not to fond of walking around in my pink Nightgown round company," She began rifling through her closet for something sliming, she was beginning to feel fat even though her figure probably wouldn't begin to change for another week. Tess had told her that alien pregnancies take only a month to complete, not even, 28 days, so every day was something like 2 weeks to a normal human pregnancy. Her musing over such things was cut short by her brother's boorish attitude.
"Im not leaving"
"Im still changing" She began to lift up her nightgown and he bolted down the stairs. She shut the door and changed into a tight green low-cut sweater, long tight black pants and black cowboy boots.
"OK, im dressed now Max, Michael, is done with breakfast and you can start slinging accusations now." She said
"You two had sex didn't you?" He asked wearily. Even he, an unobservant male could see the sexual chemistry and glow about them.
"You don't beat around the bush do you Maxwell?" Said Michael shoveling a small pile of eggs and bacon onto his plate then onto Isabel's.
"Im not hungry" She said
"You have to eat something Isabel, you need the nutrition"
"Fine"
"See, what is this, your acting like some…I don't know…married couple!" He shouted
"Oh god, please tell me you didn't get married do you?" His sister spit her apple juice back into her cup.
"No" Michael said,
"Thank you, some common sense surfaces through the idiocy" He said
"Excuse me?" She asked
"Well this is ridicules, you and Michael are like brother and sister… you cant honestly have a real relationship."
"I beg to differ, and how dare you say such a thing Max" he looked at his sister
"Your serious?" He asked
"Im in love" She told him
"But you only just…"
"Its Destiny Max" Michael said sitting next to Isabel putting a hand on her knee "Not idiocy."
"You don't hardly… I mean, you…you just cant"
"Why cant we?" She countered
"Because you're my sister, and you, are my best friend" He said pointing at them. "You… you just cant"
"Well we are Max, so get used to it" She said harshly throwing her napkin on the table and leaving the kitchen. Michael sighed
"Maxwell, do you think maybe in future you could handle this situation with a bit more delicacy, for everyone's sake, and just do us a favor. Try to think about what your protesting to exactly. Name five things that are wrong with us being together. Your so blinded by the past that you cant see anything right in front o you. I love her and she loves me and its going to be that way for a very long time from now on. Please Max, just think before you speak, all right, and…Im begging you, don't make it a choice between you or me for her. Please. I don't think I could bear that, and I don't think you could either." He put a hand on his friends shoulder as he stood from his kneeling position. And patted his back. :Now im going to go calm her down, bring her back in here, and we will all sit down an talk about this like adults. No screaming, no yelling, no crying, which means you don't upset her and I wont make you cry you understand?" Michael asked and his friend smiled
"Like you could… maybe I wont make you cry." He whispered
"You know the sad truth of the matter?" he asked
"that really Isabel would make us cry" Max said spooning the eggs around on his plate.
"Im gonna go tame the lioness, come into the living-room when your ready ok?" He nodded.
Michael found Isabel on the step sitting, most likely listening to the entire exchange between the two men in her life… well, now there would be a third, but…this thought made her lip quiver.
He sat down next to her and put his thumb over her bottom lip
"What is it?"
"He's not going to be happy when we tell him…is he?" He voice broke
"I don't know Izz, Maybe"
" I so wanted him to be happy, for me, and for us." She leaned her head on his shoulder soaking his shirt with her tears
"I know baby, I know… but it'll take time, for everyone, but especially your brother, because he loves you the most. But we cant exactly wait a couple of months to let them get used to it." He said putting a loving hand over her belly
"I think they'd notice something?" She asked joking to try and lighten the mood
"maybe" He said sarcastically.
"what are you thinking about right now?" She asked
"How it is possible to be so sad and so happy at the same time" He told her fingering a lock of her hair "It hurts, so badly to see you cry, but then, theres like this big 'happy' cloud hovering over my head. Because I know that in a few weeks, im going to be a daddy, and better yet, that I love you, and you love me, and my life, weather its spent here or in a galaxy far, far away, will be fantastic, because I'll be with you." He said softly
She sniffed. "Now why did you do that, your going to make me cry again" She said wiping her eyes with her fingers "Oh god, how's my make up?"
He laughed
"what's left of it, is streaming down your cheeks" taking his finger and wiping the black from her cheek and showing her. She groaned
"Let me fix it" He said holding his palm to her face. In a few seconds her face was a picture of perfection. No red eyes nor blotchyness and her make up was in perfect order.
"Thank you Michael, for everything… but most especially, for this." She took his hand and put it over her belly
"Your welcome" And he kissed her. It sent butterflies all through her stomach.
"Why do you do that? Its just cruel" She said smiling
"You know me…" He said getting a laugh from her "Come on" He took her hand, intertwining their fingers together and pulled her from their sitting position. He followed her into the living room
It didn't take Max long to join them in the sitting room.
"I need to understand this" He said
"What's there to understand?" Isabel snapped
"Are you doing this just because of those stupid dreams and that book, or…or" The words caught in his stomach "Are you serious about this?" Max asked
Michael leaned forward "Max, you know us, we wouldn't just do this because we were 'told' to. We want this, for us and we are very serious about this." He told him
"and your…" He stopped
"Very serious…" Michael repeated. Max sighed.
"What about Maria and Alex?"
"Max, were aliens, no matter how much you wish we weren't, we are. We aren't meant to be with humans, what I had with Maria, and what Isabel had with Alex…It wasn't…real" He said taking her hand "We are. I know you cant possibly understand this, but trust us" His friend said
Max sighed again "All right, I'll leave this alone, but don't expect me to like it." He said. Isabel's eyes filled with tears. Michael began rubbing her back in an attempt to soothe and comfort her, but to no avail. Max averted his eyes to the mantel while Michael leaned up to pull the hair from her face
"Shh, it'll be ok" He said petting her hair. She stood quickly and ran to the bathroom with a hand over her mouth. He got up and went after her as did a curious Max. She knelt down to the toilet just in time and Michael kneeled next to her holding her hair and whispering soothingly in her ear. When she was finished he got her a wet washcloth and a glass of water
"Thanks" She said weakly. "Um could you…?" She asked motioning to the door
"No." He said. She did a double take and raised her eyebrows "I was just joking, let me know if you need anything." He said kissing her temple and leaving shutting the door behind him.
Max's doe eyes met Michael's chocolate ones right outside the bathroom door
"What's wrong with her?" He asked genuinely concerned Michael ran his hand over his face and then threw his hair blowing out a breath
"She's pregnant Max" He said gently
"No she's not, Tess said we cant get pregnant from dreams, we already"
"Not from the dreams"
"You mean…" he choked on the words "How could you…not use…protection or something, and she shouldn't be feeling this effects after less than 24 hours. She cant be pregnant Michael…no"
"She is, and we didn't….forget…protection. Isabel, and I wanted this. You didn't see the dreams. The baby, us, we were happy. Really, truly happy. We felt that, and after feeling that, for each other, and for our son… You cant understand but there wasn't a choice. It was right what we did, and we won't be sorry for it Max."
"She's only 18." He hissed
"Which makes it her Adult decision."
"Jesus… a baby" Max ran his fingers threw his hair
"Please be happy for us?" Michael came as close to pleading as he had ever come. Max saw the look in his eyes, and could do nothing but comply. He reached out and hugged Michael in a brotherly manor and Michael clung to him letting a tear slip from his eye before discreetly wiping it away.
"Take care of her?" Max said Michael nodded as the bathroom door opened and Isabel came out. The men separated and Michael jammed his hands in his pockets and gev her a small smile. Max approached her and hugged her as well. With her arms wrapped around his neck he whispered "congratulations" in her ear. She pulled away looking shocked first at her bother then Michael
"You told him?" She asked quietly. He nodded.
"And your ok with it?" this to Max. He nodded smiling
"Im gonna be Uncle Max, how could I be unhappy about that?" he jested. Isabel walked over to Michael
"Is he under a mind warp?" She asked. Both men chuckled
"No," Michael said "We just, came to an understanding" He wrapped his arms around her and rested his hands on her midsection.
Max averted his eyes. While he may be happy for them, he was not ready to see his sister in such a light. They went back to the livingroom. Michael sat on the couch, but Isabel chose the floor, saying it was more comfortable and Max perched himself on the back of the love seat. Michael joked that it was because "No head shall be higher than the kings" but was silenced by the pillow flung from Max's direction.
"If you both saw the baby in the dreams, do you know what its going to be?" Max asked popping a candy into his mouth
Michael looked down at his love and smiled. "Yea, It's a boy" Michael said swelling with pride.
"A nephew?" Max asked excitedly.
"Were naming him Zan." His sister said hands settled on her abdomen.
"After…"
"You." She nodded
"I…I don't know what to say…I" Isabel threw a pillow at him for the theatrical face he put on
"Stuff it you jerk." She said laughing
"Not to spoil the mood but I heard a car, I think your parents are home." Panic flashed on Isabel's face.
"What'll we tell them?" She asked to Max
He thought for a moment "Everything, we cant hide the fact that this baby is alien, and they deserve the truth." He said finally sighing. She knew he did not want to involve them in this.
"Thank you Max." She said standing and squeezing his hand. "Can we wait for a day though, I d like to spend, some time with mom before I see that look in her eyes" both men nodded knowing the look. The dawning realization that they were some kind of freaks. Michael pet her hair, ring gliding across her skin making her shiver.
"I love you" He told her,
"I love you too" She whispered giving his a quick kiss before sitting back down trying to look semi casual.
As her parents entered the door bags in hand their eyes fell on the group.
"What is it?" He mother asked The ttenageres gave her what them hoped looked lik puzzled looks.
"Don't look at me like that, you three only ever have these little meetings when something is up, now tell me" their mother said as their father set the bags at the bottom of the stairs and went to back her up.