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 27: Family Feud

It was shortly after nine o'clock at night when the Parkers and the Evans were notified that their children, Liz and Max, were arrested by the Military Police at the White Sands Missile Range. The call came from the Chaves County Sheriff Department. They were informed that they would call when their respective child could be picked up at the Sheriff Station in Roswell. It was explained to them that a Sheriff Department patrol car was sent to White Sands to collect Liz and Max and bring them back to Roswell that night. What they were not told was that the Military authorities at White Sands spent much of that evening attending to Max's injury, and that they waited until after determining his injuries were not major before committing themselves to surrendering the juveniles to the Chaves County Sheriff Department.

The next call from the Sheriff Department to the Parkers and the Evans went out shortly after three o'clock Sunday morning. The Parkers and the Evans promptly raced down to the station to collect their respective child. Mr. and Mrs. Parker, and Mr. and Mrs. Evans, raced through the front doors of the Roswell Sheriff Station seconds apart. They eyed each other suspiciously and with more than a little resentment. To the surprise of them both, when they went to the desk sergeant, they found Jim Valenti waiting for them in front of the counter. He promptly stepped towards them and raised his hands to flag their attentions towards him.

"Your children will be here in a few minutes," Jim announced. "And you will be able to take them home as soon as they arrive."

"What happened?" Jeff Parker almost demanded.

Jeff and Jim graduated from high school together and had been childhood acquaintances. But they were never close friends. Jeff, however; did know him well enough not to be impressed by his position or feel the need to be formal in his mode of address.

"They were picked up by military police for trespassing onto a military installation," Jim explained in a calm voice.

"Oh my God," Diane Evans responded to herself.

"Were charges filed?" Phillip Evans quickly challenged.

"No," Jim answered in a word.

Jim paused for a second to note if the two families registered the significance of that answer. He then continued to explain what happened and why.

"Apparently the chain locking the gate to the installation was cut and they could find no evidence that your children had anything to do with that. Max and Liz said that they wandered onto the installation by accident and got lost. The officials at White Sands decided to accept that explanation and no charges will be filed."

"What were they doing so far away from home?" Nancy Parker questioned Jim with an alarmed inflection.

"You'll have to ask them that question," Jim responded with a shrug.

"Well, my daughter couldn't have gotten there on her own," Jeff asserted with a glare towards the Evans. "She doesn't even have car. So, your son must be responsible."

Phillip took the accusation in silence. Diane's response was angry and loud.

"My son was at home minding his own business when your daughter came over and dragged him out of the house."

"My daughter is an A student," Nancy blared back.

This was no longer the truth. Liz grade point average had fallen to a B-, But this was something that she did not want to admit at this moment.

"She would never do anything like this on her own," Nancy continued in a furious tone.

"Of course not," Diane rifled back. "Not when she manipulates someone else to do it for her."

"You bitch!" Nancy roared at Diane.

"Are you talking about me or your daughter?" Diane hollered back. "Because I don't know if I should be offended or pleased."

Phillip and Jim simultaneously stepped halfway in front of their wives with extended arms to restrain and calm the situation.

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions," Jim softly asserted as he moved between the two families. "This could all be some innocent mistake."

Diane and Nancy backed away and fumed in silence. As they did this, Phillip spoke up with a question that he had been pondering.

"Why is the Sheriff Department involved with this," Phillip asked with a curious inflection. "This would have been a Federal Crime if charges had been filed."

Jeff, Nancy and Diane were quickly drawn in behind that question. They all looked to Jim for the answer.

"We were contacted for information on your children," Jim coolly explained.

"What kind of information," Jeff quickly inquired.

"They just wanted to know if Max or Liz had records," Jim replied with a shrug.

"Well, I don't know about that boy of theirs," Jeff sharply reported. "But Liz certainly doesn't."

"Max has never been in trouble with the law," Diane quickly defended.

"Then they must have been considering charges at some time during all of this," Phillip questioned more that stated.

Jim paused in response to Phillip's implied question. Both the Evans and the Parkers noted that and watched as he searched for the words to explain.

"Apparently there were some injuries involved," Jim began delicately.

"What?" Diane questioned with a start.

"Injuries!" Nancy parroted in the same moment.

"They weren't serious, I'm told," Jim quickly reported. "Large institutions like to cover all the bases when injuries are involved, especially to a minor."

"I don't understand," Jeff reacted aloud.

"They wanted to make sure they weren't vulnerable to being sued before deciding if they should or should not press charges." Phillip explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Exactly," Jim agreed in a word.

"How did they get injured," Nancy questioned in a worried voice.

"There was a car chase, and they ran into something," Jim answered softly.

Nancy and Diane were visibly worried by this news. Jeff was visibly infuriated. He gave Phillip a glare that he ignored.

"The vehicle was confiscated," Jim continued to explain. "And is being towed to our impound yard. You can pick it up Monday at the earliest."

The two pair of parents paused to process the information they were given. They stood there for several seconds, staring at the space between them and the floor, when the sound of someone coming through the front entrance suddenly drew their attention.

Liz and Max walked through the front entrance of the Roswell Sheriff Station flanked by two uniformed Deputy Sheriffs. Halfway down the hallway between them and their parents, Jim waved the deputies off, and they quickly turned about and went out the way they came. Max had a large bandage above his right eye. Liz looked slightly disheveled but no worse for the wear. Diane and Nancy both rushed to their respective child and took them into their arms.

"Oh, Baby, are you hurt bad?" Diane questioned as she moved back to examine his bandage.

"No, Mom," Max replied softly as he studied his father's disapproval out the corner of his eyes. "It's nothing."

"You alright …," Nancy questioned after pushing back to look her daughter in the eyes.

"I'm fine, Mom, really," Liz responded softly with a shake of her head.

"You sure you're alright, Liz," Jeff questioned with a hint of anger.

"Yeah, Dad," Liz responded while trying to avoid his gaze. "I wasn't hurt."

No sooner had Liz finished giving her answer did Jeff turn his attention toward Max with his anger unchecked.

"What the hell did you think you were doing taking my daughter a hundred miles outside of Roswell," Jeff roared with point.

"Don't point your finger at my son," Phillip roared back as he stepped out ahead of his son.

"It's my fault, Dad" Liz quickly asserted as she moved a step closer to her father.

"Hold on, hold on," Jim quickly blared as he moved between the two fathers.

"No, it's my fault," Max declared to Jeff an instant behind. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have taken her there."

Phillip and Jeff fumed at each other as Jim stood his ground between them.

"Come on, Phillip," Diane called out two seconds as she began pulling Max towards the front exit.

Phillip took a second more to stare down Jeff Parker and then turned away to follow.

"Keep your boy away from my daughter," Jeff called out to Phillip's back two steps later.

Phillip stopped and looked back around before responding, "Keep your daughter away from my son."

After exchanging glares for a couple of seconds, Phillip turned back around and followed Diane and Max out the front entrance.

Jeff watched the Evans walk away out the front entrance before turning to Jim Valenti with a scowl.

"Is there anything I should know about that boy?" Jeff questioned in an angry tone.

Jim hesitated to answer the question. He glanced at Liz and then looked to Nancy before giving a response.

"Can we talk for a minute," Jim suggested with a point to the far side of the atrium. Jeff followed Jim's lead to the area he was moving too.

"Wait here," Nancy instructed as she followed them both.

Jim stopped and turned about when he was convinced that they were out of earshot of Liz. Jeff and Nancy stopped close in front of him.

"I don't have anything on Max Evans," Jim spoke softly. "I do know that he is a close friend of a kid named Michael Guerin. Him we do have a history with. He stole a car at the age of thirteen and he was picked up for vandalism once."

"So, this kid is bad news?" Jeff questioned bluntly.

"I don't know that," Jim responded with a shrug. "But what I do know is that my son is worried about Liz," he continued in a concerned tone. "He says that she's been acting strange around Max and that she's keeping secrets."

Jim paused to give Jeff and Nancy a moment to assimilate that.

"Have you noticed anything different about Liz lately," Jim gently inquired as he searched their eyes for a response. "Has she been acting disoriented? Has her attitude changed at all?"

"You think that it's drugs," Jeff quickly challenged.

Nancy was visibly shocked by the suggestion.

"I like Liz," Jim quickly responded. "I think she's a good kid and I'd hate to see a bad influence send her down the wrong path."

"Her grades," Nancy whispered aloud with an inflection of alarm.

"What about her grades," Jim questioned with curiosity.

"Liz's grades have been falling ever since she got out of the hospital," Jim explained at close to whisper.

"What do we do?" Nancy questioned with a hint of fear in her voice.

"There could be a reason other than drugs for that," Jim countered. "Being shot is a traumatic event."

"But what if it is drugs?" Jeff gruffly challenged. "How do we find out?"

Jim took a second to glance into the eyes of both Jeff and Nancy before responding to their inquiry.

"Well, you should talk to Liz first of all," he began with an introspective look. "And just keep watch for the signs, dilated pupils, slurred speech, erratic mood changes," Jim explained with an off the cuff delivery.

Jim hesitated to say more, and then he finished his thought at near to a whisper.

"The White Sands Military Police are doing a drug test on Max Evans at my request," Jim reported with careful attention to his words. "They're going to call me with the results. If I discover anything that should give you cause to be concerned, I'll give you a warning."

"You do that," Jeff insisted

Jeff, Nancy and Jim exchanged looks for a few seconds and then the Parkers left for home.