They were walking down a busy sidewalk. Isabel was following Jesse, who was alone. They were in a city and Isabel had to assume it was Boston-though she'd never been there herself. She felt regretfully glad he had taken her advice and moved on-but she also felt a pang of longing to be with him.
Jesse suddenly stopped, staring into a large picture window of a department store. Isabel also paused, trying to keep her distance from him. She wanted so desperately to make her presence known to him but this was his dream, so she held back.
It felt like an eternity that Jesse stood staring into the window. Isabel, unable to see what he was looking at, watched her husband instead. He was staring almost expressionless through the window when suddenly he began to cry. Isabel's heart tore. She wanted to rush forward and embrace him; she wanted to hold him tight and stroke his soft hair and tell him everything would be alright.
But she didn't. She was frozen in place, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.
After a few minutes Jesse started walking again, no longer crying but his head hung low. Isabel moved forward to see what was in the window. She felt her own heart leap at the site. It was an exact replica of their living room from their apartment in Roswell. And seated on the plush couch were she and Jesse. They were laughing, and cuddling, and behaving with each other as they had when they were first married; before the "alien business" messed everything up.
Isabel understood now why Jesse was crying and as much as it hurt her, it also made her feel good; he missed her and he still loved her. Isabel turned her head to look for Jesse, but he had disappeared into the masses of faceless strangers crowding the sidewalk.
Slowly the city around her faded away…
Isabel opened her eyes and stared at Jesse's picture, feeling emotionally exhausted. Once again she had gone to Jesse in his dreams. She was still sitting in the back of the VW bus next to Kyle, who was breathing quite loudly with his head resting heavily on her shoulder. Raising her head to take stock of the others, Isabel saw that everyone but Max, who was driving, had fallen asleep. She couldn't blame them; there wasn't much else to do. She checked her watch and saw it was after 8 in the morning. She wondered fleetingly why Jesse would still be sleeping…
Isabel gently eased her bottom off the ground so she could pocket her photograph of Jesse. Kyle stirred next to her mumbling something about dancing and raised his head off Isabel's shoulder, resting it against the side of the bus.
Isabel looked to the front and met Max's eyes in the rearview mirror. He was looking right at her, so she offered a reassuring smile but was fairly certain her brother didn't buy it. Minutes later the van slowed and stopped. The sudden ceasing of motion woke the others and grumbles of "where are we", and "are we there yet" filled the van.
Max turned in his seat, his eyes still on Isabel. "Break time. We'll stop here for a little bit and stretch our legs."
"So what's up, Iz?" Max asked as they took a walk away from the others.
Isabel kept her eyes on the ground, watching her worn brown boots bend the few dry blades of grass. She half-shrugged in response to her brother's question.
"I know you miss him," he said. Isabel couldn't help but smile. Max always seemed to know, even when she didn't tell him.
"Yeah, I do," Isabel admitted. She stopped walking, raising her eyes to her brother. What she saw reflected back was the unconditional love she shared with Max, and with Michael.
"It's hard. Especially when I see you and Liz together," Isabel said, smiling apologetically. She knew it wasn't Max's fault Jesse wasn't with her, and it wasn't fair to blame him for being happy. But, it was the truth, and she'd always shared the truth with her brother.
Max opened his mouth to respond but stopped as Isabel raised her hand. "It's not fair I know. It's just how I feel," she said. Max closed his mouth, looking back towards the others before he spoke again.
"You do have ways to visit him," he offered and Isabel had to suppress a grin. Max obviously didn't know she'd been visiting Jesse every night since they'd left Roswell. Sometimes she went in more than once. She found it amusing that her brother would even suggest that she use her powers for this.
"I know. I have been," Isabel admitted as soon as she felt safe speaking out loud. Max nodded, smiling.
"I should have known," he added.
"Well, you have Liz, Michael has Maria, which leaves me and Kyle out on the fringes. In fact," Isabel took her turn to look back at the group. Michael and Maria were sitting at a picnic table making sandwich's, Liz was writing in her new journal, and Kyle was pacing underneath the shade of the picnic shelter, "I think Kyle is the one that needs the help and the attention. He's not doing so well."
Max turned his eye towards the man that once upon a time hated him for getting involved with Liz. "I'll try and talk to him," he finally said.
Isabel suddenly grabbed her brother, embracing him tightly. "Thanks, Max," she said.
"Hey, grubs on!"
Isabel pulled away from her brother at the calling voice of Michael. The four others were gathered around the picnic table, staring at Isabel and Max. Isabel smiled at her brother and the two headed towards their breakfast of peanut butter, jelly and Tabasco sandwich's, and Snapple.
A little less than an hour later they were back on the road, their stomach's full and their attitudes fresh for another day on the road. Before leaving the rest area they had pulled out a map of the western states that they'd marked the probable trail of James. They were reaching a crossroads. Soon they would have to make a choice, onto Nevada, or onto Utah. They were coming up on Flagstaff, Arizona and only an hour from deciding their destination and either catching up with James, or falling further behind him.
"So what's the plan once we get into Flagstaff?" Maria asked. They were on the road again and they had just passed a road sign indicating they were only 55 miles from Flagstaff, Arizona.
Max driving again and didn't answer at first. Everyone in the VW had their eyes on Max. Whether he wanted it or not, he was their leader and would always be the one they looked too for what to do next.
"Max?" Liz questioned her new husband. Isabel watched her, the way she looked at Max and felt a momentary flash of jealousy. Her hand casually traveled to her rear pants pocket making sure Jesse's photograph was still there, and safe.
"I'm not sure yet. The last three towns were small, and we had no problems tracking him, but Flagstaff is a little larger, so we can't afford to draw attention from the authorities. I only wish Kal had provided us with a little more information," Max answered.
"Where's that postcard he mailed us?" Isabel asked, feeling the need to read it again, even though she had it memorized.
Liz pulled it from the back pages of her journal and passed it back to Isabel. Isabel turned the tattered postcard over in her hands, finding the irony in the picture on the front; a still from the old classic horror film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". She turned it over and read the scrawling print of their second protector, contemplating any possible hidden meanings.
Be on the watch for James (5'11", black hair, black rimmed glasses). He knows the secret. The SU knows he knows. Follow Rte 60 and find Snowflake.
"Why didn't Kal just tell us where this James person was to begin with?" Isabel asked, frustrated that they were forced to play this game again, avoiding the Special Unit and searching for mysterious answers they weren't likely to ever find.
"It's a game to him, Iz. He can't not help us, but he can resist helping us outright," Max replied as they passed another road sign, Flagstaff, now only 30 miles away.
Isabel bit on her lip, a stray thought suddenly forming in her mind. "Maybe," she started, but doubting herself she stopped.
"Maybe what," Michael insisted, urging Isabel to continue.
"Where did we get this postcard again?" Isabel asked.
"In Taos, where I mailed my journal back to my dad-," Liz answered, but cut herself off. "Wait-you think he knew?"
Isabel nodded. "I do. I think he knew we'd be in Taos and he arranged to have this postcard there for us. Maybe he'll do the same in Flagstaff?"
"So what, we go to every Post Office and Mailbox rental place asking for a postcard addressed to the "Roswell Aliens"?" Kyle piped up, the bitterness and tiredness evident in his voice.
"Well, yes and no. This one was addressed to Max. I think we do need to search all the Post Offices, and other mailbox places, and ask for a postcard addressed to Max. I think he's left us another clue," Isabel ignored Kyle's tantrum.
"Right, we can split up and search. Michael and Maria, Isabel and Liz, and Kyle and I," Max paired off the sextet. Isabel met her brother's eyes in the mirror, giving a slight nod.
"Right, great, can't wait," Isabel heard Kyle mumble as he fell back against the side of the VW and closed his eyes.