I realize I never said that I don't own Roswell and all that yada yada. Sadly, not mine. If it was Michael and Isabel would have so gotten together and Maria would have become a superstar. Oh and Alex would have never died. So, yeah Roswell totally not mine. And no that's not exactly what will happen in this story even though it's what I would have wanted for the actual Roswell.

Anyway, have you ever outlined a chapter and then written something that was almost completely different as if the story was writing itself? Yeah that's this chapter. I started wanting a simple conversation between Alex and Isabel about alien DNA and ended up with all this. But I like it and hope you do too ;) anyways reviews make my day so please let me know what you think.

DNA, gods and stars

A few weeks pass since the incident in the cave. True to their words, Alex has been helping with decoding the book and Maria has been a great support. Isabel never thought she would have close friends who were girls, but this summer had so far surprised her. She had not gained one, but two friends, and now she trusted Tess and Maria as she had never been able to trust any girl before. Tess understood Isabel the alien and her powers and her connection with Adam almost as good as Michael. She was a source of strength and an assurance that it was okay to be what they were and to fight for Adam, though at times she couldn't fully comprehend Isabel's fears. Still, Isabel was slowly learning to appreciate Tess relentlessness even if it meant being far from normal. And when Isabel couldn't handle Tess' talk of destined relationships and fighting a war and felt completely out of place, Maria made it better. Even though the girl was completely different from her she was able to understand her human fears better than Isabel ever expected and surprisingly Maria made her feel at ease. Isabel wanted to be normal and liked and Maria helped her understand that normal was overrated and that people would think whatever they thought and it didn't matter.

"Stop the anxiety girlfriend. Everything will be fine and you will be the best mother little Skywalker could have. He couldn't dream of anyone better," Maria assured.

"Maria, I'm only seventeen. How am I supposed to be a good mom?"

"Alright Queen Ami, it's true that it would blow to be a mom so young. As the child of a young mom who got ditched by a jerk of a father, I wouldn't recommend the whole teen parenting thing. And if you had just gotten pregnant from having unprotected sex I would be calling you and Michael all sorts of synonyms for irresponsible and foolish along with screaming bloody murder about cheating and all that. But that's not what happened. You are the queen of the responsible look good and even volunteer kind. You are going to be fine with that kid. And you have people to help you. Michael for starters will never let anything happen to the little man and Max and Tess and Alex and I will help too. And when she comes back Liz will be supportive. She's amazing like that. The worst that can happen is little Adam will inherit a permanent scowl on his brow like the one that adorns the face of our most beloved and handsome alien ape," Maria said like it was the simplest thing in the world, making Isabel smile.

"Don't let him hear you say that," Isabel teases. "He's still cranky over the Chewie jokes you started us on."

"Relax, I can handle Mr. Joy. For all his scowling, we're practically back together and even he knows he has a soft spot for me."

"He does," Isabel answers, feeling suddenly strange about it. But she shouldn't be, right? She should be happy that Maria was slowly getting Michael back. It wasn't official and Michael said nothing about it but she could tell that Maria was slowly wearing him down. Those two were talking more and would be an item again soon. She is an amazing girl and perfect for her dearest friend, her brother. That is that.

"Hey, princess, stop it with the tense looks. Your son will be just fine. Trust Auntie Maria and it'll all be better."

She's right, Isabel thought. I have to stop being weird. I have gained two great girlfriends and have brother who is listening to me more and more and I have… Alex and Michael.

She smiled and let herself relax and watch Princess Bride with Maria. But Isabel still got distracted and kept thinking. She knew that she needed to figure Alex and Michael out sooner rather than later. Alex still gave her those adoring looks that made her feel like she was floating. He made her feel special and gorgeous and amazing. And Michael… he was her brother, even though he was the father of her child, right? God this was all so upside down and yet… whenever Michael was around she felt at ease and safe and understood, especially after the cave. She felt deep down that she had royally messed up by bringing Alex and Maria to Adam's pod chamber and making her son feel so scared. Yet Michael didn't make her feel guilty about it and kept meeting with her everyday to visit the baby. It was strange but when they sat in the cave alone with Adam and held their hands together to soothe their child, she felt at peace. It was natural to just sit there not needing to speak or even really think. It was easy to just sit and watch Michael smile in a way she had never seen him smile. It was so simple to take turns looking at Michael and then the little pod and again at Michael. She didn't even realize that she was constantly smiling after those visits.

At the Crashdown.

"Hey," Alex greets.

"Hey," Isabel answers. "So?"

"So what?" he asks, looking at her mesmerized. She is so beautiful.

"You called me, remember? Something about the book," she says, smiling at him. He is so sweet.

"Right, right. I had the book carbon dated. It's around fifty years old." Alex can practically see the wheels turning in Isabel's head.

"From the crash?" she says quietly but with excitement in her voice.

"I think so too. The crash was in 1947 and the carbon dating resulted in an estimate of about forty-six to fifty-five years old, which checks out."

"So, the book must have come with us."

"Yeah."

"Did you get anywhere with the decoding program?"

"Yeah, we figured out that a portion of your pages refer to DNA."

"My pages?"

"The pages that Tess thinks are about you and Michael."

"Right."

"I'm not completely sure what all the text means. We know some pages are about a sort of DNA sequencing scheme, but Bio isn't really my thing. Tess was going to see if she could compare it to human DNA sequences but she's not that into Bio either. She also said since it's incomplete it will probably not work. See we can never finish decoding any of the pages in full without my computer dying, so all we have is these strange pieces of genetic something. I keep trying to change the program because if we can get it to work for one page then I can run different jobs and try to link pages after. But I think we need more RAM. Some meaning may still be lost by doing one page at a time, but it will be better than the one sentence thing we've been trying. Especially because there are no markers for sentence beginnings and ends in your language so I've been coding just a random number of symbols as a sentence. Anyway, I think page start and end would work better."

"That makes sense. It should work. Thanks Alex. I think we're getting somewhere. I can feel it. Thank you so much."

"No problem."

"So you think the Y symbol relates to DNA?"

"Not necessarily. The program decoded the DNA thing from another three symbols that are in the text, but a lot of the holes we have relate to the upside down Y, which Tess thinks it's the main sign. I really don't know much about that symbol besides what Tess brought me and well..."

"What?" she asks hopefully. She looks all wishful and perfect. Oh damn. "Well…" he clears his throat. She's so distracting without even trying. "There is a lot of options, but I haven't found one that looks exactly like the one in the book or on Adam's hand and none of the meanings we have work well for the decoder when I try them."

"Okay," she says, looking disappointed. "What did you find?" She doesn't have that hopeful dreamy look anymore, but he can tell that he still has her full attention and faith.

"Well scientifically speaking, the most popular upside down looking symbol is lambda, the greek letter. It's often used in math problems to signify some form of rate, like a rate of growth or decay or well some other thing that happens over time like in e to the lambda. In physics it's most often used for wavelength and some programmers have begun to use it… never mind. I don't really think that is related to this. The most interesting meaning was..." He stops he feels weird saying it.

"What?"

"Look, I haven't talked Tess about it yet. It's just… it's the closest to the symbol on Adam's hand and it means… God."

"God?"

"Sort of, not exactly, it's depicted in several ways in a few ancient texts… the savior, the king, the promised, god. They're all kind of synonyms so I tried them with the decoder and well king and savior worked for a while."

"Which texts say that? Where did you find that meaning?"

"Tess ordered this insane amount of old books and astronomy charts from the Library of Congress and got a bunch of articles emailed to her from a library in Italy."

"She did?"

"Yeah, but she needed help with reading them because it was two boxes full of books and sixty four email attachments. She said she gave you and Michael the astronomy charts."

"She did but she didn't tell us about the books and emails. They all say this?"

"Yeah, most of them relate to the same idea. Some form of Y-like symbol for the savior, king, god."

"No."

"Look, I'm sure this is just myths and your son is not like really a god you know. Breathe," Alex assures and places his hand on hers giving her a reassuring but gentle squeeze.

"Alex, it's not whether he is or not," she says, squeezing his hand back. "In the memories Adam showed us, I said he would be the next King."

"Yeah, but from king of another planet to an actual deity it's still a big leap. Max was King and I don't see him becoming a god. I mean he can heal and do things that are incredible. But so can you and Michael and Tess. And well the texts also say that this Y is related to king so maybe it's just plain king and not really savior god and anyway it's not even a perfect match and kills my computer within an hour."

"But… Alex, I think Tess believes it. I think she believes Adam is some sort of savior."

"So? Tess isn't going to hurt him. You already brought her and Max to the chamber and the baby reacted well. You said that you think he recognized them and definitely didn't fear them. So, just don't worry," he says in a bit of a commanding tone. He understood that she was protective of her kid, but she seemed to go a bit overboard sometimes and needed to relax.

She releases his hand and speaks. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm not just some worry wart. I need to be prepared. What if there are other people or aliens or who knows what out there who believe Adam is some sort of promised saviour god?" Isabel stands up. "I have to talk to Michael."

At Michael's apartment four aliens and two humans sit in the living room.

"So, Isabel, you wanted to talk," Max says.

"Yes, I… wanted to ask Tess something with the rest of us here."

"So this is about me?" Tess asks defensively.

"No. This about Adam. And it was my idea," Michael answers.

"I know I should have talked to you directly, but Michael needs to hear this and Alex was the one that told me. He understands things you two have worked on in a way that I don't. And they should know too," Isabel estates, referring to Max and Maria.

"Is this you angry at me again over destiny?"

"No, Tess. I respect what you think and why. You're my friend."

"Look, it's me that wanted to be with you two when she asked you. It's me that asked her to have some back-up so if you're going to be mad be mad at me," Michael interrupts. "Do you think our son is some sort of God?" he asks directly.

Max and Maria look confused.

"You told them what we have so far," Tess says, looking at Alex.

"Was it supposed to be a secret?"

"No, it's fine."

"So?" Michael asks.

"I'm not sure, okay."

"Tess, what do you think? What do you believe? Please tell me," Isabel pleads.

"Why should I? All you're going to do is toss my ideas out the window until you can't avoid them and need me. You'll all tell me that I'm not "human enough" and my memories and ideas won't matter because they don't fit your oh so normal life."

"Tell her," Max orders. "Now."

"Stop it," Alex interrupts. "She's not your enemy or your servant. She's been working on this non-stop and the least you can do is be thankful."

"I am," Isabel interjects. "Max, don't talk to her like that. Not anymore. She is one of us. Tess you know I am grateful. We can't do this without you and I… I'm sorry. I don't think I've ever actually apologized and I should. You were the first girl that I ever really befriended and was happy to hang out with but as soon as things got weird I turned my back on you and... I'm sorry. I know you think I will always side with Max and Michael, but don't. I will listen to you and if I believe you're right I'll stand up to them and make them listen too. I promise," she says coming closer to the petite blond and taking hold of her hands.

They look at each other for a second and then Tess speaks, "Okay."

"Thank you," Isabel says and then they hug each other.

Max looks contrite, Michael seems fine with the display and Alex seems happy about the outcome. Maria is unsure about how she feels, but she does want to get this little pow wow moving. "Ummhh... as much as I enjoy a good kiss and make-up and I do," she says. "I'm still very confused about our baby Skywalker somehow turning into Zeus or something. What's this about?"

"Tess got copies of ancient texts that say the symbol on Adam's hand is a symbol for something like a God," Michael says.

"It's not that simple," Alex counters.

"Please don't argue," Isabel says. "Tess did get those, but it isn't necessarily a translation for God. It can mean king, savior, promised, something like that. So, Tess, what do you believe? Why did you get all those books and emails."

"Well… in the pod chamber, your mom said he was the future of our people. Why would she say that if we are the ones that have to save them and end the war in our planet and bring a better future? I just didn't get that part. And then after you brought me to see Adam, I… he… he helped me feel different. I don't know why but since then I feel like I'm me in a way I wasn't before and I want to be there for him."

"Is that why you asked to see him again?"

"Yeah and also since I saw him I've been... remembering."

"Remembering what? I need to know," Isabel says.

"I know you do," Tess answers. "I just don't know if this is something everyone would want to hear."

"We do," Michael assures. Max looks apprehensive.

"Okay," Tess answers. "I remember... me and Max. I think we were older than we are now… we wanted to have a baby." Max and even Maria look unhappy, yet they remain quiet. "I don't know why but people feared that there would be no royal heir. Something about reproduction in our planet not being that easy. I remember us going to this place that was like a temple but full of scientific instruments and charts of the stars. We talked to a few people we called elders and they said we should keep trying the normal way for at least a full turn of the suns before any interventions involving the king's gifts. He said our bond was one of the strongest they had ever studied so it should happen."

"And how does this relate to Adam?" Max asks, clearly annoyed about any speak of him and Tess together.

"I also remember speaking in a circular room filled with people that looked important. You were in the center of it," Tess says, looking at Max. "I was defending Michael and Isabel from something. I don't know what they did, but I told them that the General and the Princess had been able to conceive a child without any bonding. I said the baby was the miracle that we had waited generations for. That we could not condemn them for their actions since they were truly in love." Everyone in the room looked uncomfortable. "But, there was a man or something like it, he had green skin and purple lips. He said that the war was her fault and since she couldn't be punished because she was with child then he should pay the price as outlined by the Glannak."

"The what?" Maria asks.

"I think it must be the law or something."

"Okay," Michael says. "So we were in like a trial."

"I think so."

"But, they were freed," Max says. "I saw myself trying to heal Izzy. And then Michael with you, trying to heal us with the stones."

"Yeah they must have been freed," she says, looking at Max. "I remember us talking by a balcony that overlooked this blue and purple garden. We saw them below, sitting on a stone bench and making flowers bloom and glow all around them. They held hands over her stomach and looked so at ease… happy. I told you that their child should be the next king. That even if we had our own, he was the one Antar needed. That our world would flourish again under his rule. You agreed. I don't remember much else about it. Nasedo has only told me that the Princess was bonded to the General before the war got really bad. That matches what your mother said, that he was her husband. But why would Adam be the future of our world? Why would I convince you to give the throne to our nephew instead of waiting for a baby of our own, a baby we wanted? Why would we put barriers to see him in the pod chamber that could only be accessed by Michael and Isabel together? There has to be something special about Adameus, something powerful that must be protected even more than we were, something that I believed in. I just know it in my bones. So I went through a bunch of mythical signs related to power and strength and found a similar symbol to Adam's by accident. It's not an exact match but I just ran with it."

"Isabel," they hear Michael whisper.

"Yeah?" she answers.

Maria approaches him. He looks winded and his hands are balled into fists. "Space Boy, are you alright?" Maria asks, putting her hand on his forearm to comfort him.

"Michael?" Max asks, looking at his best friend.

"I'm fine," he answers. His voice is raspy. "Flash. Memory," he adds.

Isabel speaks. "You said my name. Did you see me?"

He looks at her and seems hesitant, but nods. "Blue forest. Purple sky and glowing flowers. You were just sitting." He stops and stands up. He looks away from everyone. "Then... you and Adam dying in my arms like we saw before but this time I saw you, your glow fading away."

Maria approaches Michael and hugs him from behind. Isabel stands but stops herself and just stares.

"I'm fine," Michael says disentangling himself from Maria.

"So… what do we do now?" Alex asks.

"Continue the research," Tess answers as if it's the simplest of things.

"With your assumption that Adam is a savior god?" Max asks.

"I knew you would do this."

"Do what?"

"Think I'm crazy or trying to trick you or something. You know I don't spend every hour of every day figuring out ways to seduce you."

"You mind warped me and made me dream things."

"I mind warped you once at the Crashdown, the rest was all you."

"I would never betray Liz."

"And I didn't make your precious Liz walk away."

"Watch what you say about her," Maria warned, holding back the space slut jab she reserved for blondie.

"Knock it off!" Michael orders. "Maxwell, Tess how about you deal with your issues on your own time. I don't need to know about your fantasies and who put what thoughts where. Plus Izzy and I found something in the star charts."

"You did?" Tess asks.

"Yeah," Isabel answers. "I don't know how you chose those but they all chart the same thing, the Taurus constellation."

Michael pulls out a small drawing. "One point of interest starts from the first Hyad to the rest of Taurus," Michael says.

"An upside down Y with Lambda Tauri in the middle," Isabel states.

"It meets the V shape," Tess says. "Our V."

"Yeah. I think our planet is in Taurus in the V or Y part or both," Michael adds.

"You think it's in the first Hyad," Max says.

"Possibly. That's part of both the V and the upside down Y."

"I agree," Isabel says.

They talk about constellations and myths and pieces of DNA information for what feels like hours. They decide they will meet once a week to share what they find. Alex and Tess will focus on decoding the book. Max will check if he can find any more about the first Hyad and other details pointed by the charts at the UFO center. Maria will finish the review of the myths related to the Y and the swirl. And Michael and Isabel will look into the DNA.

Isabel and Tess leave together and Max gives Alex a ride home.

Maria's POV

She stays behind, knowing her Space Boy needs her. Something about how he looked after that flash unnerved her and she has to make sure he's okay.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Don't close off. Keeping everything in will only make it worse," she says, approaching him.

"Maria, don't."

She steps closer to him. "Let me in."

"Just don't."

"Space Boy, I told you I'm not giving up and I meant it. I love you," she says and then kisses him. She sees stars and silver suns and purple moons and red planets. This has never happened before and it's thrilling. But then things change. She feels what he feels.

The sky is a dark purple and the blue trees around them have a faint glow. He is dressed in a white and blue suit and has a machine like purple thing strapped to his hip. He looks put together and larger than life with a reddish hue around him. It makes him think that cannot possibly be him. Then he sees her dressed like those princesses she used to have. She sits on a stone bench, looking pale and tired but still holding a gorgeous golden glow around her. He's worried but remains stony.

"I… I..." she speaks. She looks like she wants to desperately say something. Instead she stands up, turns away from him and breaks into tears.

He looks at her shaking shoulders, hears her choked sobs and the sternness of his face melts away. He walks towards her, knowing he shouldn't. He mustn't touch her but he can't stop himself. He gently takes one of her hands in his and turns her to face him. Then he lifts his free hand and from it blooms a yellow flower. Her eyes widen and the golden hue that surrounds her intensifies and soon outshines the small flower he had produced. "You are warmth. You are hope. Never despair," he states, meaning every word. He gently places the blossom in her hand and steps away from her, eyes downcast.

"You didn't forget."

"I… I could never forget you," he mumbles, so full of emotion that no one would believe this was him speaking.

He looks up and their eyes meet and time seems to stand still. Ever so slowly they meet in a whisper of a kiss. Their lips are barely brushing and their hands along with the tiny yellow bloom are set in the space between them. It would be so easy to think it never happened; it's barely a peck. But nothing has ever felt like this. Then she whispers against his mouth, "I'm in love with you." She deepens the kiss and it's as if the entire world explodes inside him and he can't get enough. The flowers around them begin to glow brighter and new ones bloom. His red hue melts into her golden glow and their bodies seem to be trading colors. Then he separates from her as if he's been scalded. He's blinking and breathing rapidly and staring at her almost stupidly. He is aroused and alive and feels like he wants to cry but also scream in joy all at once. She's looking at him with those big brown eyes and then he runs.

Maria jumps away from him. "Oh god!"

"I told you not to!" Michael says angrily.

"You… you… oh my God!"

"Maria."

"Have you always thought of her when you kissed me?"

"No!"

"Dammit Michael, you said you loved me too much."

"I did."

"But now you love her! I thought this was all about the baby. That we were getting back together."

"You just don't listen!"

"I'm listening! Explain it to me!"

"Maria."

"Are you in love with her?"

"No!" Maria glares at him. "I told you… I told you that I don't know what the hell the flashes mean. The flashes, the dreams, Adam, I didn't ask for them."

"So this was the flash you had. You saw you kissed her and you lied to everyone."

"Just held back some details."

"Michael, I have to know. You have to tell me how you feel about her."

"She's my best friend."

"But that's not all you are feeling?"

"I don't know what I'm feeling!"

"But you have feelings."

"Maria, dammit! I'm trying not to be an asshole. I'm trying because I do care about you. But I'm being honest. I don't know and I don't care what I'm feeling! I don't care what it means! I just care about Adam. He's all that matters now. Not me. Not even Isabel."

"Bullshit!"

"What?"

"That's bullshit and you know it! You care. I know you do. I know no matter how much you deny it, you want to be happy and you want her to be happy. So just say it. Just tell me what Isabel means to you."

"She…Maria please."

"Just say it."

"Izzy's like me but... It's just she has always been in my life. Her and Max are my first memory and when she found me again it was… it was special. I know I can count on her to have my back and try to understand even better than Max, even when I don't say anything or when she thinks I'm wrong or when Max tries to stop her and keep her away and normal and we argue she still… never mind."

"No keep going. Tell me."

"Maria, you should just go. Forget it."

"No, you tell me now, Michael Guerin! You having these flashes, it means something to you. I think we both know it. Just admit it. What do they make you feel?"

"Confused, happy, sad, insane, I don't know Maria!"

"What about me? Have I been just a fool trying to get you back? Did we not mean anything?"

"I'm not a liar! I loved you, still do."

"But not like her?"

"I don't know! What do you want me to say?"

"Just be honest. Please."

"Fine. It's like… she gets a part of me I didn't know I had before." Maria looks crushed and he tries to clarify. "She gets Adam. She gets what he means to me. You do too now but it's not the same?"

"Why? Why's it not the same?"

"Because when I'm with them… just sitting, holding her hand and soothing him, doing nothing special, I'm just me and it's simple, it's…easy."

"What's easy?"

"Everything."