Chapter 7- Moving On
As Jim Valenti got off the plane from Colorado Springs, he took in the Roswell Airport's sights and smells. In his carryon were the photos Max had doctored for him to show his human friends. There were a lot of conversations that needed to be had- from the school, to the teens, to Kyle.
The first stop would be the Sheriff's office, then the school, then last home. It was mid morning, so Kyle and the others would still be in school. Diane had asked him to inform the school about Isabel, Michael, and Tess and to let the office know they would be in touch when they got back to put together a small memorial for the group.
Jim got to his truck then paid for his parking. He also needed to set up a meeting with the human members of the Pod Squad and their parents as Max had referred to them. He would set that up back at his office.
A few hours later, Valenti rubbed a hand over his face. He'd just finished calling Amy, the last that would need to be at the Crash Down tonight. His next stop would be the school. He stood from his desk to let his Deputy know where he was heading.
Luck was on his side- Jim made it to the office without bumping into any of the teens- including Kyle. He knew his son didn't have anything after school today, so his hope was to catch him before he went out for the evening, then head to the Crash Down after it closed to talk with the others. The principal agreed to hold off on telling the school for a day and would wait for more information from the Evans about the memorial.
With those two chores checked off his list, he grabbed a quick lunch and went back to his office to prepare for the conversations he would need to have this evening. He spent the afternoon catching up on the reports from his absence and filled out the paperwork piling up on his desk.
Around three, Jim let the officers on duty know he needed to head out again, but would be back later. He got in his truck to head back to his house, hoping to catch Kyle before he left to hang out with his friends.
Kyle was pulling into the driveway a few seconds after Jim, a look of surprise on his face when he saw his father was back.
"Hey Kyle," said Jim in a voice that didn't quite reach its desired level of lightness, "can we chat for a second inside? I have something I need to tell you about the last few days."
"Yeah, sure." Said Kyle, still a little pissed his dad had taken off like he had with very little explanation, "by all means- tell me all the excuses for this sudden departure."
Jim was expecting the jab, so he let it go. He nodded and knew Kyle was following him into the house. He set his bag inside the door then sat on the couch, "A few days ago I got a call from a friend who works in law enforcement across the country. He'd found a few teens that had Roswell drivers licenses on them and asked me to come out to help him with the case."
Jim paused to look Kyle in the eye, "it was Isabel, Michael, and Tess- they were murdered by someone I know as Nasado."
Kyle inhaled sharply, "Jesus Christ- what? how?!"
"There was some kind of fire involved, their insides were boiled to the point that their bones were all fused together. I know it was this Nasado person because of the unique signature of the deaths. He'd been doing the same thing out here for a while, and I've been trying to catch him."
Jim paused to let Kyle take that in before adding, "I'm really sorry for leaving so abruptly a few days ago. I know there really isn't a good reason that I can give you, but I can apologize and hope eventually you can forgive me."
Kyle seemed to be in shock as he processed everything, "who else knows?"
"I told the school this afternoon. They are going to hold a small memorial for the four- Max, Isabel, Michael, and Tess. I believe Max was killed a week ago- also by Nasado, before he grabbed the others and took off. I need to talk to Liz, Alex, and Maria tonight with their parents as they were also pretty close with the others. But I wanted to tell you first. I'm just so glad you are okay and here." Jim pulled Kyle into a tight hug, which Kyle returned automatically.
"Wow," said Kyle a minute later, "I think I need to be alone for a bit. To process all of this." He got up, went to his room and closed the door.
Jim wanted to give his son space so he went to put his clothes from the trip into the hamper. He started dinner then left it in the oven for Kyle when he was hungry. He knocked on Kyle's door- "Son, I'm going to head to the office for a bit- I still need to catch up on paperwork. Then I'll be at the Crashdown to talk to the Parkers, DeLucas and Whitmans."
"Yeah, okay," said Kyle, who was clearly still processing what Jim had said.
Jim made sure he had the file with him before leaving the house. He knew he was going to have a tough couple of hours ahead.
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"What?!" Cried out Liz Parker when Jim was telling the three families about the "deaths" of Isabel, Michael, and Tess. The two teen girls were holding onto each other, trying to fight off the shock of what Valenti was telling them. Alex had an arm wrapped around them both in support, but was also in shock.
Jim paused in his story to nod to Liz, "I'm sorry Ms. Parker, but it's true."
"Oh my God," said Mr. Parker, "Diane and Phillip must be devastated." He and his wife moved to hug Liz, while Amy and Mr. Whitman did the same for their children.
"No- no no no no no," said Liz, pulling away from her parents to grab onto Jim's shirt in her denial, "he wouldn't… Nasado… he wouldn't kill them."
"Liz-" said Maria, also distraught, "we don't know that for sure. Remember how Max didn't trust him?"
"They had the same mark, the hand print that was his calling card, on their chests when their bodies were found," said Jim, as he gently detangled Liz from his person, "their insides were boiled to the point their bones fused together. I'm sorry Ms. Parker, but it was him. I'm just glad he didn't try to grab all of you as well."
Liz started crying even louder into her mom's shoulder when she realized what Valenti was saying to them.
"Is that where Diane and Phillip went then?" Asked Alex's dad.
Jim nodded, "I called them after I got there and also identified the bodies. They confirmed it was Isabel and were staying behind to answer questions that will hopefully help the investigation. They will be flying back in a few days for a memorial service. There is also a nationwide BOLO out for Nasado."
"Any word on Max Evans?" Asked Amy DeLuca, as she hugged her own daughter as she cried as well.
"Still missing and presumed dead," said Jim, "I can't be sure, but I believe Nasado killed him as well- it would fit if he thought Nasado was trouble." While Liz, Alex, and Maria knew it was really the FBI that had killed him, they also knew the Sheriff couldn't come out and say that to their parents without opening a whole new can of worms.
Valenti paused for a moment to let all that information settle before adding, "if you all don't have any more questions, I would like to head home to spend some time with Kyle. I informed the school about the incident and they will make an announcement tomorrow. They will also have grief counselors on hand if any of you need to talk to someone. And as always, my office is always open."
"Thank you Jim," said Amy as everyone else nodded. He nodded back then turned to leave.
"Sheriff," said Maria, as she detangled from her mom for a moment, "if you need someone to talk to, I could be okay if that was my mom."
Amy rolled her eyes, but smiled at her daughter and Jim, "you know where to find me Jim."
"I appreciate that Ms. DeLuca. Amy." Jim nodded to them both before leaving the Crashdown to head home to Kyle, his heart very heavy. The conversation with Jack about time being precious came back to him at that moment, and he decided to take a long weekend to reconnect with Kyle. They both needed it with everything that had happened this year. He'd let Kyle pick their destination and leave the Deputies in charge- they could clearly handle the station as they'd shown the past few days. He'd use his PTO so it was official.
/Yeah,/ thought Jim with a nod, /we definitely need a vacation./
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Once it was decided the Evans were going to stay on base for a few days to work out the details of their move, the group packed up the cabin and went back to Cheyenne Mountain. Everyone was signed in, and Max was given his room back next to Teal'c's, while his parents got a room across the hall from them. Max was happy they would be close by. A couple airmen were assigned to help the trio navigate around the base as well, which made Max a little wary, but he pushed through the anxiety as best he could. He thought he might not be able to make it around the base, but didn't want to end up somewhere he wasn't supposed to be by accident. Everyone dropped off their bags, and Daniel suggested a tour, since he'd not had the chance to give Max a full one prior to his kidnapping a few days before.
"And this," said Daniel, as he led the group into the Mess Hall as part of their tour of the SGC, "is the mess hall."
Max walked in behind his parents, but jumped back into Teal'c when the whole room broke out in applause, whistles, and hollars of joy around him. Teal'c put a steadying hand on the teen's shoulder, but also subtly pushed him further into the room.
Max looked around in confusion at this surprise celebration, but General Hammond put him out of his misery a moment later, "Max Evans, it is an honor to present you with this small token of our appreciation in your quick thinking and actions to keep Colonel O'Neill alive and well after you were both attacked by the NID agent."
Hammond handed Max a small box with an SGC pin inside, "We want you to know you are an honorary member of the SGC, and we would be proud to have you stay with us in whatever capacity you choose."
"Told you there would be a cake," said Daniel quietly to Max when Hammond was done talking.
Jack cuffed Daniel on the back of the head, "Yes Daniel. You were right Daniel." He put an arm around Max's shoulders to steer him further into the room, "See Kid? What you did went above and beyond us rescuing you."
Max nodded at Jack and Hammond, "Thank you General, Colonel, for everything."
"And now, for cake!" Said Jack as he maneuvered Max further into the room, towards the cake. Max felt his parents come up behind him and rub his back in support.
Once everyone in their small group had some cake, Daniel continued the tour, "Next up, is the control room and the Stargate!"
The SGC personnel were also finishing their cake so they started heading back to their normal duties. They were all sending salutes or nods towards Max on their way back out of the mess hall. Daniel led the group back out of the Mess then back to the elevators to go down further into the base. He brought them into the conference room to show the Stargate through the window. "We have a team heading out in about an hour for a mission," said Daniel as the Evans gasped in surprise when they saw the Stargate through the glass windows, "we can come back so you can see it in action."
"Is that what the alarm was about?" Asked Max as he looked at the gate, and remembered the alarm that went off when he was still on the infirmary floor.
Daniel nodded, "a team had to come back earlier than scheduled. When the Stargate is activated outside of our mission schedule, it sounds an alarm."
"...Can we go down to that room?" Asked Max, as he looked over to Jack.
"The gate room?" O'Neill eyed Max, not sure why he was asking.
"Yeah," said Max, as his eyes went back to the Stargate.
Jack eyed Max, the gate, and his team- who all shrugged in confusion. Mr. and Mrs. Evans also shrugged, not sure why Max was asking, "why do you want to go down there Sweetie?" Asked Diane after a minute.
"...Dunno…" said Max, "I have a feeling." He shrugged, not sure how to explain what he was thinking.
"Let me check with the General," Jack knocked on Hammond's door. When he got the go ahead, he opened the door to talk with Hammond. A few minutes later George and Jack came out of the office, "General Hammond said it should be okay," said Jack, "as long as your parents agree also."
Phillip and Diane shared a look and shrugged, "I don't see why not," said Phillip.
Max was moving towards the stairs even as Jack and his parents were giving their consent. SG-1 followed close behind him, as well as Hammond and his parents. He moved through the control room, then down the stairs to the gateroom, while Jack stopped the personnel on duty from stopping him.
A few seconds later he was on the ramp, and moving up to the Stargate. He could feel a connection to it, but wasn't sure why.
"Careful Kid," said Jack as he came up next to Max on the ramp. The rest of the team was down at the bottom, keeping Max's parents there as well. Max put a hand out towards the ring, "it's missing something…"
"The DHD," said Carter, "we think it was destroyed in Egypt thousands of years ago."
Max nodded to show he heard, then touched the ring gently over one of the symbols. "I know this symbol." He got a flash of space and several planets in that system, so he pulled his hand away. He wasn't sure why the gate seemed so familiar, but perhaps there was one on his home planet as well. He wondered if he could activate it with his power, but decided to not test the idea.
"Your planet must also have a gate," said Daniel as he voiced the thoughts Max was having, "that might be the symbol of origin for your world."
Jack brought a hand around Max's shoulder so the teen used their connection to show Jack what he'd pulled from the ring. "Woah," said Jack, not expecting the move, "cool."
He used his arm around Max's shoulders to steer him back down the ramp to the rest of SG-1 and his parents.
"Well," said Daniel, when Max and Jack were off the ramp, "that's everything of note on the base."
"This would be a good time to start looking over housing options," said Carter. She nodded at Phillip and Diane.
"I'd actually like to talk with some of your lawyers to start the process of switching the lawsuits over to the NID," said Phillip, "I'm sure whatever house Diane and Max choose will be lovely."
"Spoken like a true husband," said Jack jokingly, while Max raised an eyebrow and smiled at his father.
"No." Said Phillip to Max suddenly, which made Max smile wider, "I didn't say anything." Said Max innocently.
"U-huh," said Phillip, sporting his own small smile. Diane rolled her eyes at their antics, but didn't elaborate. This was clearly a running inside joke for the family.
The group split up, Jack took Phillip to meet with the Base's Jag lawyers, while Carter showed Diane and Max to another officer who would help them set up housing. Teal'c was asked by Hammond to help train a new SG team, and Daniel was pulled in another direction to help with another translation.
Max lasted about an hour after with Diane and the officer looking at house listings before his boredom got the best of him. "Can I take a break mom?" He asked Diane.
"Sure honey, you know where we'll be." She squeezed his hand as he got up from the conference table.
One of the airmen at the door moved from his post, "I will escort you where you would like to go Mr. Evans."
Max nodded to him then moved into the hallway, "thanks."
The pair walked for a minute to get to the elevator, "I'd like to stop by Doctor Jackson's office, I think I remember how to get there, is that alright?"
The airman nodded, "The General didn't say that area was off limits." When the elevator opened the pair got on and Max pressed the button for the archeology floor. The pair could hear Daniel's voice coming from his office when the elevator opened.
The airman stopped near the elevator, "I will wait for you here Mr. Evans."
Max nodded again then walked to Daniel's office. He stopped in the doorway, to watch Daniel work through another translation on a second white board.
"...Daniel?" Max spoke up a minute later to get the archeologist's attention.
"Oh," Daniel slowly turned his attention to Max, "Hey Max… what's up? Come on in, pull up a stool." He moved some books off a stool onto his work bench.
Max came in and sat down at the table, "What language is that you're translating?"
"It's actually a unique combination of ancient Lithuanian and Egyptian that SG-4 found written on cave walls on their recent mission. Their linguist wanted me to double check his translation because it's not a typical language combination."
Max nodded, "looks like fun."
Daniel nodded, "Jack likes to tease me about how much I love this kind of thing. Do you speak any other languages?"
Max shrugged and made sure to keep his hands in his lap so as to not accidentally touch something that looked important, "I took Spanish last year, but that's about it."
"Did you need something specific, or were you just stopping by to chat?" Asked Daniel a moment later when Max didn't say anything else.
Max shrugged again, "Sort of? I.. I wanted to apologize. For umm. When you brought me food after I first woke up, I … I pulled some memories from you." He held eye contact with Daniel while he stumbled through his explanation.
"Ah," said Daniel, "I know. I figured it out when you sent me the flashes from Area 51 the next day. You brushed our fingers the same way."
"Yeah," said Max, "I did that on purpose. I'd hope you'd realize it, but I couldn't be sure if you had made the connection."
Daniel paused for a moment before asking, "what'd you see?"
"Your wife?" Max stated a moment later, "she's very beautiful and had a strange accent when she spoke your name. Then another flash with her eyes flashing gold. SG-1 was going through the stargate and you came out on another planet. You were explaining an artifact to a bunch of people in the conference room near General Hammond's office…" Max paused, not sure how to word the last thing, "there was ah… screaming while an exhibit in a museum fell apart?"
"...wow." Said Daniel after a moment as he processed what Max said, "you pulled a lot of information from such a brief interaction."
Max nodded, "the higher my stress level, the easier it is to do."
Daniel nodded back, "what planet were we on? Were you able to see the symbols on the gate?"
Max shook his head, "no, but the stargate disappeared after you were all through."
"Oh," said Daniel, "The Nox Home World. Teal'c knew of a bird that could turn itself invisible. We were on a mission to see if we could bring it back to study."
Max unconsciously rubbed his left arm at Daniel's explanation and nodded in understanding, "Ah."
Daniel realized what he'd said and how it sounded to the teen a minute later, "We didn't end up bringing it back," he said lightly. "It was being protected by a race called the Nox. It turns out it was their technology that was hiding the bird, not an innate ability the bird had."
The archeologist paused again then added, "the museum… that was my parents. It was the anniversary of their death a week or so ago and the date brings back the memory sometimes."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Max said quietly, "If you ever want to talk about it, I'd be happy to listen."
"Thanks," said Daniel, "but I'll be okay."
The pair sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Daniel asked, "what was the artifact I was talking about?"
Max looked around the room, trying to see if he could find it, "it was…. it was kinda small- and stone." He got up and moved to the back table that had a bunch of items on it, and pointed to a small stone tablet but was careful not to touch it, "that."
Daniel walked over to see what it was, "ah, yes. Jack grabbed that from Heliopolis- PB2-908. We ended up rescuing Dr. Ernest Littlefield who'd been trapped on the planet since the 40's."
The archeologist thought over the visions as a whole for a moment, "it's interesting that these were the visions you pulled from me. I wonder…" He paused to work through a theory, but also grabbed the tablet and brought it back over to the work table where they'd been talking.
Max raised an eyebrow, but followed him back to the table and resumed his seat. Daniel pushed the tablet in front of Max, but kept it on the table, "why don't you touch this and see if you can pull a vision from it."
Max raised his other eyebrow to join the first, "you think there's a connection between the visions?"
Daniel shrugged, "could be? Or those could've been things I'd been thinking about recently- honestly I'm not sure which it would be." He paused again thinking about what he was asking Max to do, "although, if you'd rather not touch the tablet that's okay too."
"No," said Max as he hovered a hand over the tablet, "it's okay. Just to warn you though, I might not get anything from it."
He moved his hand to gently touch the writing on the tablet and got a flash right away. ~/A naked man was muttering to himself as he accidentally pulled the stone off the wall…/~ Then ~/Two people who looked similar to Tess and Isabel, as children around nine years old, were standing behind adults from a few different races as they gathered around a floating orb. The pair were giggling and whispering together as they pointed at someone Max couldn't see./~
Max pulled his hand away and shot up from the table while he stared at the tablet in wonder, "woah."
"What? What'd you see?" Asked Daniel, his curiosity spiked, "are you okay?"
The teen nodded, "umm.. Doctor Littlefield didn't wear clothes much while he was on that planet." He was going to keep the other part of the vision to himself. It was possible he was overshadowing his own desires on what he saw, though if that was the case, Max had no idea how he could've done it.
Daniel cracked a smile, "ah. Yeah. He was alone for a very long time." The archeologist shrugged along with his explanation, "so I guess there wasn't a connection between the visions after all."
Max nodded, not sure he could trust himself to not give away the second vision. Some of the things he had pulled from Daniel were connected, he did know that much. He just wasn't sure how.
It wouldn't be for another few months before Max figured out how the visions were connected.
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The week that followed was a bit of whirlwind for Max, even though there wasn't much for him to do. His parents worked out the housing situation for Colorado Springs and were getting ready to head back to Roswell to start the next phase of the plan- Memorials for Isabel, Michael, and Tess, then packing the house to move. Phillip would also be working on transferring his work location from Roswell to Colorado Springs. He wouldn't be leaving the firm completely yet, but he would be splitting his time between the two locations for a while. It would be a hard transition, but a necessary one.
Max wanted to go back to help with the move, but knew he couldn't. For one, he wanted to see Liz and his friends to say goodbye, which he knew he couldn't do as they thought he was dead. It would be about a month before his parents were back, and he would be staying on base until they arrived with the moving trucks. Unpacking the truck then setting up the new house, that he could at least help with.
His mom had worked with him to set up his meetings with one of the base psychologists- Kate Heightmeyer, who he was meeting with once a week. His parents requested he at least keep up with his school work even though it wouldn't be an official transfer until the next school year. Daniel suggested some classes at the local community college, so he was enrolled in a math class, English class, and science class for the summer.
The hardest thing for Max, was trying to get over his fear of the infirmary and the doctors working there. Doctor Heightmeyer suggested he try to help out in the infirmary in little ways, specifically working with Doctor Fraiser. The two doctors, Max, and his parents had a long conversation about it. With the General's permission, Max would also be "interning" in the infirmary a few hours a week, though he wouldn't start that until his parents were back in Colorado Springs.
At the end of the week, Max hugged his parents goodbye in the airport parking lot, then waited with Teal'c and Carter in the van while Jack and Daniel escorted them to check in for their flight.
When Jack and Daniel got back in the van to head back to the mountain Max spoke up, "Colonel, I don't want to keep your team from continuing your missions because you're babysitting me. I will be okay at the Mountain on my own."
Jack looked at Max through the rear view mirror, "Kid, we're not babysitting you. I mean, yes- at the cabin we were. But since we got back there's been a lot going on. The General and I wanted to make sure you were settled before the four of us resumed active duty. Besides, these guys needed a break! The lot of them are work-aholics- no breaks, no fishing… it's a terrible existence honestly."
Carter rolled her eyes, but Daniel rose to the bait, "We aren't work-aholics Jack!"
"Daniel Jackson," said Teal'c, joining the conversation, "I was called to your office yesterday at two o'clock in the morning, to escort you to your room on base since you hadn't slept in two days while working on that translation."
Max raised an eyebrow at Daniel, who sputtered in response. Jack just smiled back at everyone as he drove, "see? I rest my case."
When they got back to the base, Jack did talk to Hammond about SG-1 resuming missions. They ended up getting put back in the rotation within a few days. Max saw them off from the control room, then went back to his room to read the books for his English class, which would be starting the following week. He also made a list of some things he'd like to try with his powers when Carter got back. She was excited to start working with him to test what he could do and attempt to figure out how he did it.
While Max was sad to leave his life in Roswell behind, the thought of being free to be himself, of being safe, and of finding his family, left him feelings of warmth and a sense of calm. Something he didn't have in abundance in Roswell.
/This next chapter of my life will sure be exciting/ Thought Max as he closed the door to his room and went to his desk to grab the book he had to read for class.
He made it about three chapters in, before the base alarm started going off, "Unscheduled off world activation. Security teams to the gate room."
Max looked up from his book, shook his head, and smiled- exciting indeed.
-End Book 1-
Note: This is a semi conclusion for Book 1. Book 2 will take place more in the SGC verse, with Max featuring in certain episodes/situations. More about his origins will also be revealed in Book 2, along with the hunt for Isabel, Michael, and Tess.