Many of the characters within this story, and the universe they inhabit, are the intellectual property of Jason Katims Productions.

Roswell: Re-Imagined

Written by Horatio Jaxx

Chapter 11: Delirium to the Max

"Oh, there you are," Maria gushed with surprise.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, the next day, when Maria was finally given permission to pay Liz a visit. When she entered the hospital room where Liz was convalescing, she noted with surprise, that she was partially sitting up in bed. A single IV attached to her right arm was the only visibly evidence that she had recently been operated on. Physically she looked nearly as healthy and strong as she did before the shooting.

"Hi," Liz meekly responded with a soft smile.

Liz was flanked by Nancy sitting in a chair next to her on the right side of her bed and Jeff sitting in a chair on the opposite side. Nancy was holding her hand. Maria walked up to the foot of the bed and stopped there to examine her. In her hands she held a vase full of flowers.

"Wow," Maria exclaimed with a confused smile. "You look better than I expected."

"Yeah well, I feel worse than I look," Liz retorted with a suppressed grin. "I don't think I'll be dancing for a little while."

"Yes, but the good news is that you will be dancing again," Jeff reassured with enthusiasm.

Nancy maintained a broad smile and beamed in Maria's direction as Liz and Jeff spoke. "The doctors say she's doing great, better than expected actually," she added a second behind Jeff's endorsement.

Jeff and Nancy were ecstatic about their daughter's condition. Dr. Whitesell advised them that he would not give any assurance that Liz was out of danger until twenty-four hours had passed. The doctors that examined Liz that morning had beat him to the punch. The Parkers were told that all indications supported a prognosis that Liz was well on her way to a full recovery. She was then promptly taken out of the ICU and placed in a single occupancy room.

"So, how long will she have to stay here?" Maria queried Nancy.

"Dr. Whitesell said that they're going to keep Liz here for at least a week for observation and then it'll be a day-by-day decision," Nancy reported back.

"There goes that A-average," Maria jested with a grin.

Looking to be moderately subdued in her mood, Liz gave no comeback to that. After a brief uncomfortable pause, Jeff jumped in with a response in her stead.

"We're not going to worry about that right now. We just want our little girl to get well and to come home."

"Yeah, right," Maria awkwardly nodded in agreement.

Maria paused for a moment to give all three of the Parkers a look and then she continued with the thought she intended to proffer.

"Well, if you want, I mean if you're up to it, I can collect your assignments and bring them to you—if you want."

Maria carefully submitted her offer out of confusion over Liz's mood. Given her present condition, she expected Liz to be gung-ho, at least to a small degree, about keeping up with her studies.

"Yeah, okay, if it's not too much trouble," a distracted Liz reacted after a moment of thought.

Nancy and Jeff were pleased with their daughter's acceptance of that offer. Liz continued to look noncommittal about the idea.

"So great, then we'll do that," Maria stumbled out as she went to the window behind Jeff and set down her vase of flowers.

Maria was unsure about Liz's state of mind, and that worried her. Jeff and Nancy did not share in that concern. They accepted Liz's subdued and distracted state as a consequence of the trauma of being shot. Their primary concern was her physical health, and they were too busy being relieved that their daughter was on the mend to give any great importance to a mild case of depression.

"Hello Dr. Whitesell," Nancy greeted just as Maria turned back around.

Dr. Whitesell had only recently returned to the hospital. He had been informed by telephone of Liz's condition, and he Ok'd her departure from the ICU during that call. Nonetheless, he was eager to see how his new patient was doing, and he put her examination at the top of his list. Maria asked if she should leave and was advised that it was not necessary. Dr. Whitesell gave Liz a superficial scrutiny and then turned his attention to the chart at the foot of her bed.

"You're doing remarkably well, Miss Parker," he reported with a hint of surprise.

Nancy, Jeff and Maria were relieved to hear that. Liz appeared to be unfazed by the report.

"How do you feel?" Dr. Whitesell continued.

"Okay, I suppose," Liz reported after a brief search for the answer. "I mean, I'm sore a little, but that's about it."

An instant after Liz had concluded her report, a thought came to her, and she quickly threw it out.

"Oh, and I'm hungry. I could really do with something to bite into."

"Well, that's a very good sign," Dr. Whitesell responded with a smile. "But we're going to keep you on fluids for a few days."

Dr. Whitesell then turned his attention to Nancy and Jeff.

"Your daughter is doing amazingly well. I'm tempted to refer to her pace of recovery as superhuman. If this keeps up, she'll be out of here by the end of the week."

Jeff and Nancy were pleased to hear that and reacted to it with grins and smiles. A minute later, Dr. Whitesell took his leave, and they turned their attentions back to Liz.

"Did you hear that, Baby, you're going to be alright," Nancy gushed as she squeezed Liz's hand.

"Yeah, Mom, that's great," Liz responded lethargically.

Liz was made even more despondent by Dr. Whitesell's report. The word superhuman sent her thoughts racing and her stare into the empty space in front of her characterized the deep contemplation she was engaged in. After a few seconds of thought she awakened from her reverie and quickly put forth a thought that she had just come up with.

"You know you guys should go home and get some rest," Liz urged with looks back and forth between Nancy and Jeff. "You've been here all night and I know you have to be hungry."

"No, Baby," Nancy quickly countered. "We're fine."

"Your mother is right," Jeff quickly supported. "We're not leaving you alone. We're going to switch off starting tonight. That way one of us will always be with you."

"You're not fine," Liz affectionately overruled. "I don't want you guys getting sick because of me. Maria will stay with me until one of you comeback. Won't you, Maria?"

"Yeah, sure," Maria quickly concurred.

Jeff and Nancy were checkmated by that and saw no reason to resist. They instructed Maria that one of them would be back by six. They both gave Liz a pair of kisses to her forehead and then left the room.

"What's going on with you?" Maria questioned when Jeff and Nancy were a safe distance away from hearing what she said.

Liz suddenly displayed a new alertness and quickly focused in on Maria.

"Something happened to me, Maria," Liz reported in astonished tone of voice.

"Well yeah," Maria responded with a bit of sarcasm. "You got shot."

"No, I mean with Max," Liz corrected excitedly.

"Yeah, he saved your life," Maria quickly reported.

"No … I mean yeah, he did, but he changed me somehow," Liz asserted with a confused expression.

Maria was even more confused and gave Liz a perplexed stare to express it.

"Changed you, how?"

"Didn't you hear the doctor? My body is healing at a superhuman pace," Liz pointed out with a stunned expression. "That was him. That was Max."

"What was Max?" Maria continued to query with a look of confusion.

"He did this to me somehow," Liz imparted with a bewildered shake of her head. "He fixed me with his mind."

Maria was caught off guard by that report. It was the last thing she expected to hear, and she was at first unsure how to respond to it.

"So, you're saying that Max Evans has some-kind of superhuman power?" Maria questioned carefully.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's true," Liz partially pleaded.

"I don't think you're crazy, Liz," Maria exclaimed in a calming tone of voice. "I just think you were shot, and you lost a lot of blood, and you were delirious."

Liz was not dissuaded by that perspective and became even more determined to convince Maria that it did in fact happen.

"He was in my head, Maria. I'm not imagining that," Liz retorted in a staunch tone of voice. "It was like we were one person, and I could feel his mind directing my body to repair itself."

"He was directing your body to fix a bullet wound?" Maria mocked with a questioning inflection. "Liz, are you hearing yourself," she continued with astonishment.

"You heard the doctor, Maria," Liz challenged in a raised tone of voice. "My body is repairing itself at a superhuman pace."

"Or could it be that you just have a freaky body?" Maria questioned with an intonation of irony.

"It wasn't a delusion," Liz softly responded as she resigned herself to the fact that she was not going to convince Maria otherwise. "It couldn't have been."

No sooner had that been said did the door to the room partially open. A second later, Kyle Valenti stuck his head through the opening and peeked into the room.

"Hey, can I come in," Kyle asked softly.

"Hi, Kyle, come on in," Liz responded gently.

Kyle pushed open the door and walked into the room carrying a vase of flowers.

"How's my girl?"