RETURN TO ROSWELL

Chapter 2
Contact

No matter how many buckets of water they boiled, there never seemed to be enough. Too many people were ill, and there weren't ever enough drugs, people, beds, and most of all food for all the sick men, women and children who surrounded them. Still, Los Moches had been worse, and they all agreed that Hermosillo would be worse still. It took a toll, but when they could heal people quietly, and watch them rise the following day, it had its rewards.

Michael hefted one bucket over his shoulder and turned sideways to maneuver his way between the stone wall on his right, and the tent pole on his left. He'd barely stepped through it before the bucket was plucked out of his hands. "You're always working too hard, Guerin, it makes me look bad in front of the ladies."

Iz made a scoffing sound, and looked back at him over her shoulder, "It takes a good first impression to look bad later, Kyle. We know better."

Maria made no attempt to keep herself from laughing. With the work they were doing, laughter was a luxury these days, and she wouldn't hold it back. Liz chuckled a bit, but recovered quickly and rubbing her nose with the back of her wrist to keep her wet hands away from all the soft tissues on her face, she chuffed Isabel slightly. "I've always had a good opinion of Kyle." She smiled at him, and Kyle waggled his head in Isabel's direction, "There…see, at least someone in this group appreciates me." As if on cue all of them chimed in at the same time, "We all appreciate you, Kyle."

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Kyle turned back to grab the second bucket from Michael and added it to the trough Liz was working in. Just then Max walked out between the canvas flaps that served as a door to the hospital tent. His face was stern, and with little more than a blank look, caused them all to feel ashamed. Kyle was the first to speak up, "Sorry, Max."

Max walked up and kissed the nape of Liz's neck. "Let's just keep that stuff boiling. Sick bodies only heal when you feed them. What are you making, anyway?"

In unison, Liz and Isabel said, "Beans, of course." Stifling giggles.

Max shook his head and a slight smirk lifted one side of his mouth, "Okay, okay, dumb question - dumb answer. I get it. I didn't come out to harass anyone anyway, I just wanted to know what happened to all the extra rags."

Maria pointed across the area that was serving as their kitchen, to a wheel barrow piled to overflowing with stained, but clean rags. Walking over to illustrate, she continued, "I haven't made it to folding them yet, but they're clean and dry."

Max leaned over and gave Maria a small kiss on the cheek as he reached for a handful. "You're doing a great job, rockstar." Maria smiled and dropped a sad excuse for a curtsey, then said in a mockingly high pitched voice; "Thank you, your highness, we aim to please." Max shook his head and chuckled.

Michael leaned over from the counter where he was working as sous chef, and pulled Maria's waist against him. Michael planted a very direct kiss on the opposite cheek from the one Max had just kissed, and glared at Max pointedly. "My rockstar."

Max held up both hands in surrender as best as he could with clumps of towels grasped in each hand.

As the groups laughter subsided, the sound of a motorcycle approaching came within hearing distance. Max walked over to the edge of their impromptu and watched the motorcyclist draw closer. A silent intensity had swept through them all at the first sign of the sound, and none of them joked now.

The bike seemed to be heading downhill for the other side of the tent until Max raised an arm and waved, drawing the rider's attention, who adjusted his course and began climbing the hill before them. As the bike came up over the rise, a dirt-smeared, dark, sweaty face revealed itself to be familiar, "It's just Iggy." He said, and the group all relaxed, visibly.

The boy's name was Ignacio Xavier Giquamea. Michael heard it the first time the boy introduced himself, and immediately replied, "It's nice to meet you, Iggy." And the boy had grinned so wide with only half of his teeth actually intact that they'd all adopted the name, because he so clearly loved it.

The boy sprang off his bike, leaving it in the dirt with the engine chugging softly. He ran up to Max and began speaking quickly in Spanish. Max was the only one who had really picked up the language in all its essentials. Liz was nearly as good with it as Max, but not quite. The rest of them stumbled through with pigeon-Spanish and hoped for the best. Iggy gestured wildly in the northern direction of Hermosillo, and was frowning very deeply. The more he spoke, the more Max's expression began to mirror that of the boys.

Max asked a few questions, Iggy responded, and then Max reached for the ladle they all used to drink from the fresh water sack hanging from one of the tents roof supports. The boy took it and drank several ladles full while Max turned to the rest of them to convey what he'd been told.

"Iggy's…" Max turned and queried Iggy again, one short question, then nodding, turned back to them, "Iggy's Aunt received a package this morning and she sent it down to Iggy immediately." Iggy walked to Max at that moment, pulling what looked like a tiny black rope from her pocket and, after pulling it completely out, he dropped it into Max's open and waiting hand. Max turned and opened it for the rest of them to see. Cupped in his hand was a metal pendant with a symbol on it they all recognized. "The return address was Crashdown." Max and Liz looked at each other, and whatever was in that look, it drew them to each other. The rest of them looked alternately at each other, all wearing the same questioning expression. It was Isabel who asked the question they all wanted an answer to. "Is it safe?"

Max looked at her over Liz's head, with fear and concern plain in his eyes, "Never, but we're going."

Sheriff Valenti pushed through the doors of Crashdown with an air of resignation. The TV Jeff had installed a year or so ago was showing a report on the missing boy from Rochester, and a muscle in the former Sheriff's cheek twitched. He hoped none of the kids would see the news reports before they arrived, because if they did all it would take is one look at that kid for Max. There'd be no way Max would come if he knew why the Sheriff had contacted him. Recognizing he was mildly known for harboring fugitives, the Sheriff had deduced that keeping Zan at his house wouldn't work, So Zan was hiding out in Liz's old room above the café. He'd worked hard to get his title as Sheriff back, after rejoining the department as a Deputy. He wouldn't do anything to risk it again.

He walked to his usual spot at the counter and plopped himself down on a stool. The uncomfortably young looking waitress immediately made her way towards him, already unsheathing her notepad to corner him into choosing something quickly.

"Afternoon Sheriff, what can I get you today?" She stood brandishing the pen and pad at him.

"How about a Grilled Mooncheese Sandwich, and a coffee."

"Fries or Orbit rings?" she asked him.

"Fries, please." She wrote quickly, nodded and turned away.

It had been about a week since he'd overnighted the package to one Maria Chapamea, per the directions he'd been given.

Every day they didn't arrive meant another day the boy was missing, and it was starting to wear on him in a very uncomfortable way. Of course, if things were the way he suspected, he wasn't sure what it might mean for the boy.

The waitress, her name was Cara, which in his humble opinion was only half a word, hustled over and dropped a mug of Crashdowns finest - which was a pretty decent cup at any time - on the counter before him. The bell dinged to signal an order was ready, Cara came back with his steaming sandwich and fries. After placing the plate in front of the Sheriff, she held her hand out. Assuming it was his change, having forgotten he hadn't paid yet, Sheriff Valenti held his hand out to receive it.

"Mr. Parker said to give this to you; he said you left it here last time you were in."

When she removed her hand, the Sheriff looked down to what he held in his palm. It was the contents of the package he'd sent. He started to jump up intending to run out, but stopped himself and sat back down. He called out to Cara and when she returned, said; "Could you make this to go. I just got a lead on something and I'm going to have to hit the road if I want to get off for the day by sundown." Cara nodded and took the plate and cup. She returned a moment later with a bag and his bill. The Sheriff strolled over to the register, paid and walked out.

The years of scrutiny had taught the Sheriff he needed to take his time. If he seemed excited, he'd excite people he'd just as soon have ignoring him. He got into the car and set the bag down beside him, and stuck the coffee in the cup-holder. A prosperous couple of tourist years had allowed the Roswell PD to upgrade their vehicles, and he drove a Department issued Ford Escape. It was smaller than his old truck, and he missed the Explorer, but a cruiser is a cruiser. Sheriff Valenti had had a plan in place for a long time, for just this kind of moment. So he called into the station, told them he'd had a lead on the case he'd been working on (the deputy asked if it was about the missing kid. Valenti jumped the guys case for assuming a kid from New York would ever make his way to New Mexico, as being purely stupid, and the deputy dropped the subject quickly.), and drove out to the old Brown house, his Dad's deputy's family had owned during his days as Sheriff. The house was right on the edge of Frazier wood, and butted up against the former Pohlemen house, too. Investigating things in his early days, when he was still suspicious of his Father's illness, he'd discovered a run between the two houses. After the kids had left, he'd parked a car at the Pohleman's, and left it there for future potential use.

Apparently the future was now, so he parked; went into the Brown house, and then left the Pohleman ranch house about 45 minutes later.

He was walking around the rocky area where the pods were, and was caught up in trying to figure out how he was going to get inside the pod chamber when someone spoke from the quiet behind him.

"Do you know where a guy can get a room for a night?" the voice asked.

Without turning around, Jim smiled from ear and ear, and then recovering to his normal look of determined concern. "Well, I do know of one that's been vacated since my son went away. How would that work for ya?"

"Only if it's free," the voice replied.

Sheriff Valenti turned and opened his arms for a wide hug, having recognized the voice as Kyle's.

"I've missed you, son." He said, hugging the man tight against him. He was older, 30's now, but he'd always be Jim's boy.

His father released Kyle and held him away from him by his shoulders. The Sheriff gave a cursory look behind Kyle to confirm what he already knew, and asked, "Where are the others?"

Kyle's eyes flicked briefly to the sharp cliff outcrop, near what the Sheriff knew to be the door to the pod chamber, in silent, mutual agreement they walked up the short ridge. Though it had been a long time since Crashdown, and subsequently all of the parents, had been under intense scrutiny the smoke wasn't ever going to truly clear. The first few years after the wild events of Roswell High's unforgettable graduation in 2002 had left them all under a magnifying glass, and erring on the side of caution was imperative.

Jesse had been the only one of them who was questioned, and detained. Phillip had tried every trick he could from his extensive law training, but no one would tell them where he was, whether he was alright or why he was being held.

Then one day about 3 years after Grad night, invitations had been received for funeral services for Jesse at his Mother's house. All the families had gone, and Sheriff Valenti knew from an anonymous message he'd received from Max that the kids had all had a difficult time keeping Isabel from returning to attend the service.

After that, Jeff Parker, and Phillip and Diane Evans maintained distance. They rarely met, and if they did it always coincided with some event or another to explain why they'd all been in the same place at the same time.

After going through what it was like to be those kids for a couple years, and the subsequent death of Jesse Ramirez, the Sheriff understood the need for caution in an entirely new way.

He followed Kyle up the rocky formation and then through the doorway into the inner chamber, and they were all there. They all stood around the chamber, years of being on the run making them nervous of relaxing. They were clearly nervous and wary.

They'd gone first to Canada. After assuming new names Liz had pursued a degree in molecular science, for biology and genetics. Max had worked to get a Doctorate in Medicine. Izzy, Kyle and Maria had all studied as nurses, and Michael had trained to be an EMT in the first few years, and been one pretty much ever since. After they were all finished with training, they'd slowly quit their various jobs and each joined Doctors without Borders. The first place they'd been sent to together was South America. The board decided they worked well as a team, and so moved them around often, on the other side of the border. It had been a pretty smooth transition. So far, they seemed to be safe, and it kept them within reasonable distance New Mexico for anything, at any time.

Jim hugged them all, but kept close to his son. After they hugged Max said,

"We got your message, has anything happened, are all our parents okay?" Liz followed Max's question with, "Where's my Dad, and Max's parents?"

Sheriff Valenti answered Liz's question first, "Liz, your Dad is on his way," he turned to look at Max, "and the reason I called you back here is with him. Your Mom and Dad went on vacation about a week ago Max, they're in London I think. They'll be back in about a week and a half."

Michael was standing with Maria, and said, "I'll go wait for Mr. Parker."

Everyone asked the Sheriff questions about Roswell, what was going on, what they were missing.

He told Maria, her Mom had gone to visit her sister and said Maria would have to let him know if she wanted him to tell Amy they'd visited.

When Michael came through the door, Liz was the first one to notice anticipating her Dad would be right behind him, she cried out.

"Dad!" she exclaimed just as Mr. Parker appeared. He almost ran over to Liz.

They hugged tight, and then Mr. Parker held Liz's face between his hands, "It is so good to see you, even if you don't look like my little Liz anymore, you're beautiful." Liz looked a little embarrassed but she almost glowed with happiness, and Max who never felt she should have left with them watched with a slight frown dropping his brows. Mr. Parker turned to him with a fierce glare in his eyes; "I'm never going to forget you left with her like you did. That you put her in danger and tried to push her away so many times, but … absence you know…" Mr. Parker's expression softened and he shrugged, "I'm just glad she has someone who loves her almost as much as I do so," Mr. Parker grabbed Max by the neck and pulled him forward into a hug "I guess I forgive you."

They all stood for a moment, letting the awkwardness of the first hello's settle in and relax, and then Kyle turned to his Dad. "So…Dad, what is the big mystery?!"

Jim looked at Jeff and some silent communication passed between them. Jeff nodded and with a smile at Liz, he said, "I'll be right back." Mr. Parker looked like he was a little afraid she'd leave before he returned, he walked around the wall towards the doorway. When he came back in, he was facing backward, and hesitating. He was talking to someone behind him, "Come on."

As Mr. Parker coaxed, the Sheriff turned back, "It's really nothing, we've just had a little visitor and it's going to be up to you to decide what you want to do with him."

Michael, always the one to jump to conclusions spoke first, "Is he like…a visitor, visitor?"

Jim smiled, and nodded his head, "In a way I guess you could say he is."

Mr. Parker was still trying to convince the 'visitor' to come in, "It's okay, come on." He said.

Finally, a kid stepped around the wall, and when his face came into view, Liz gasped. Slowly, first one, then another and finally all of their faces turned to look at Max. Max had stopped breathing and only when Liz's hand landed lightly on his arm did he remember to exhale. She said, "Oh my God, Max…"

Jim put a hand on his shoulder, and squeezed it, "It's your son, Max. It's Zan."

Max and Liz drifted unconsciously forward, their friends moving apart to let them through. The boy walked into the chamber and he was looking right back at Max, his eyes glancing nervously at the rest of them here and there, but mostly the two faces which were so very much alike kept looking at each other.

The boy stepped forward and looking up at Max, "Are you…are you my real Dad?"

Max's eyes filled up, and unable to speak, he nodded. The boy looked a little nervous, but then something in his face seemed to change and he stepped forward and threw his arms around Max. Max wrapped his arms around him, and lifted him off his feet.

"My son," Max sobbed out.