Traveling and living like they were was exhausting and soon after leaving Flagstaff Isabel passed out.
Awhile later, waking from a vague but disturbing dream, Isabel looked around the quiet, dark van. Everyone was asleep except Max, who was still driving, and Liz. Isabel sighed, trying to shrug off the doomsday feelings plaguing her. Silently she pulled Jesse's picture from her back pocket, caressing the glossy, flat surface and fighting the tears that threatened to burst forth.
Isabel was afraid. The love she felt for her husband was fading just a little each day. With only a photograph and her ring to remember him by, Isabel felt the distinctness of the distance between them. It broke her heart every time she thought about it and she wondered if anyone had ever died from a broken heart. She sure felt it was possible.
The van swayed beneath as the road stretched endlessly ahead. The gentle motion paired with the soft murmurs of Max and Liz soon lulled Isabel back to sleep, the photograph of Jesse still clutched loosely in Isabel's palm. Thoughts of him swarmed her mind.
Isabel and Jesse are together. Hand in hand they enter what looks like a school gymnasium. There are bright streamers of flowing colors crossing the ceiling, and there is soft music playing. A banner at the front of the gym pronounces, "WELCOME BACK, CLASS of '95".
Strangers come up to them, greeting them like they are long lost friends finally reunited. Isabel starts to understand. This is Jesse's high school class reunion. These are his friends. Isabel feels herself loosening up, enjoying the scene before her. Jesse certainly had a lot of friends Isabel observes, smiling at her husband.
He returns her smile but quickly it fades. So does the friendly chatter that had been surrounding them. The music also stops. Isabel, feeling confused, tried to reach out to Jesse but he backs away, his face alight with fear and revulsion. Isabel turns in a circle, all the faces around her showing the same fear, the same revulsion.
Coming full circle she faces Jesse once again. "Jesse-," she starts, uncertain about what is going on.
"Get out of here, freak," a tall, gorgeous, black-haired beauty says. She is now gripping Jesse's arm and Isabel notices her ring, the ring Jesse had given her in Roswell when he had proposed, was now on this woman's left hand.
Isabel raises her own hand to confirm that her ring was still there. For a moment Isabel thinks she is standing under a colored spotlight. Moving a few steps forward (and absently sensing the surrounding crowd taking a few steps back) Isabel still stares. Her hand was green and it wasn't changing as she moved; and her ring was gone.
"Freak," a loud male voice called out.
"Freak!" a shrill woman's voice joined and soon there was a chorus of people calling Isabel names.
"Monster!"
"Alien!"
"Thing!"
Backing towards the exit the crowd follows, screaming at her. Isabel searchs for Jesse but he is with them, calling her names and gripping the beautiful woman's arm like he used to hold hers.
Spinning on her heel Isabel flees the names and wicked laughter carrying on the breeze behind her…
Silent tears wetted Isabels cheeks as she woke up from the nightmare. She had a tight grip on Jesse's photograph. Cringing with residual emotional pain Isabel shoved Jesse back into her pocket.
"Okay, Iz?" Max called from the front. He was watching her in the rearview mirror.
Isabel nodded.
"Bad dream, I'll be fine," she said settling back in her seat and staring out the window into the blackness of the night desert.
"When we get to Laughlin we're gonna get a hotel room. We can rest until morning then see if we can track down the next clue," Max was still watching her, so Isabel forced a smile.
"Okay," she said, a little too cheerily and secretly she thanked Liz when her sister in law distracted Max with a whispered question.
Finally, after a seemingly endless trek from Flagstaff, the van and its occupants arrived in Laughlin, Nevada.
"Isabel Evans?"
It was a stranger's voice, yet familiar somehow. Isabel and the others were having breakfast in a local diner when a young woman approached their table.
"Yes?" Isabel responded as she looked to the young woman. She had short, brown hair and a heavily freckled nose and for Isabel it was as if a time warp had engulfed her and she was back in Roswell at a sleepover party with her friends, Jamie, Karrie, and…
"Meg!" Isabel shrieked as she leapt from the booth, eliciting annoyed looks from the other patrons and looks of confusion from her travel companions.
Meg grinned and the two embraced, giggling all the while.
"What are you doing here?" Isabel blurted, astonished to have run into anyone she knew in Laughlin, let alone Meg. Meg had been from the richest family in Roswell and just weeks before the shooting at The Crashdown and the ensuing years of hiding and lying, Meg's family had moved to Los Angeles.
Isabel had meant to keep in touch, but with the shooting she had completely forgotten her old friend. A wave of guilt swept over her as she remembered how upset they all had been when Meg left. It had been a devastating blow for a 16 year old girl.
"Everyone this is Meg Jacobs. She was my best friend back in Roswell. Her family moved just before-," Isabel faltered. She had about said just before the shooting. "-she moved right after the start of tenth grade."
Isabel corrected herself and presented her old friend. Meg smiled confusingly.
"This is Max, you remember Max-," Isabel winked and motioned around the table as she introduced everyone else. "-Liz Parker, Maria Deluca, Michael Guerin, and Kyle Valenti."
"The Sheriff's son?" Meg blurted, her expression displaying her unfavorable thoughts about Isabel's traveling companions. Kyle simply stared back at Meg and slowly nodded.
"Yes, I am the Sheriff's son," Kyle said slowly, stifling a laugh.
"Right, nice to meet you all," Meg turned from the table to face Isabel, "come sit with me for a minute, I want to catch up with you!"
Isabel looked to Max, and he shrugged. Isabel, glad for some human contact and conversation outside the alien business, grinned and followed Meg to a booth on the other side of the small diner. She thought she heard some sniggering from behind her but she didn't even care.
"So, what are you doing here? And what are you doing with those people?" Meg asked as they sat. Isabel could see her brother and her friends at their booth from her seat. She watched them talking and laughing.
"We're just taking a long road trip to Las Vegas, in celebration of graduation," Isabel lied, amazed at how easy it came to her and how utterly believable her lie was. "What about you? I never thought I'd ever see you again, let alone in Laughlin, Nevada!"
Meg grinned and flashed her left hand in front of Isabel. "I'm getting married!"
Isabel smiled at her friend's obvious happiness and examined the tiny diamond. It was nothing like the engagement rings Meg used to talk about expecting from her fiancé. It was tiny, and set in a thin gold band. Isabel couldn't even guess its weight in carats as it was so small. Isabel kept her own, significantly larger ring, under the table and out of sight.
"It's lovely! Tell me more," Isabel urged as Meg lowered her hand and lovingly adjusted the band on her finger.
"His name is Jesse, he's an actor," at the name Isabel started, the shock of hearing her own husbands name come from another woman's mouth brought back images of her nightmare-Jesse with another woman on his arm.
"Isabel, are you alright? You are white as a sheet," Meg asked, concerned.
Isabel nodded as she forced a smile. "I'm just a little tired. Please, continue, I'm interested to hear about what's been happening."
Over Megs shoulder Isabel saw Max and the others stand to leave. Max motioned that they were going to search. Isabel nodded understanding and for the first time in a long time was grateful she could forego the "alien stuff" for "normal stuff".
"Well, Jesse's an up and coming actor, as I said. He works on that daytime soap, The Hospital. Have you seen it?"
Isabel shook her head. She hadn't watched any television in years.
"Well, he's just been signed as a contract actor on that show. He says he'll get me a larger diamond after he makes some money. I told him I didn't care," Meg once again stroked her tiny ring, "We met at a party on the UCLA campus. I'm going there in the fall," Meg boasted her future plans and Isabel felt twinges of jealousy start to invade her otherwise pleasant mood.
"That's so great! I'm so glad for you!" Isabel forced herself to be joyful. She was happy for her friend, but she was also saddened. There were so many chances and opportunities that were vanishing from her the longer she was away from her own Jesse.
"So, is Kyle your boyfriend?" Meg leaned over and asked in a subdued voice.
"NO!" Isabel protested, perhaps a little too vehemently. "I mean, no. We're just friends," Isabel slid her own ring off her hand and slipped it into her pants pocket, just in case.
Meg nodded knowingly and Isabel sighed. She was too exhausted to keep insisting that she and Kyle were just friends. Let Meg believe what she wanted. No harm in that. Kyle wasn't such a bad guy and Isabel could do a lot worse.
"So how did you end up here?" Isabel asked, moving the conversation away from her own, sad, love life.
"Oh," Meg's face fell a bit as she considered the question, "well, my parents were less than thrilled that I wanted to get married before I even started college, and they refused to help us pay for the wedding. Believe it or not, Jesse is from Laughlin. We came back here to be with his family and tomorrow we'll be having a very small, family only ceremony in his childhood church. You should come! I would love to have you stand up with me," Meg looked on Isabel with such hope that Isabel found herself dreaming of staying on and helping her friend through her wedding day.
Realism set in, however, and Isabel slowly and sadly shook her head.
"I can't, Meg. I'm sorry. We are on a particular schedule that can't be strayed from," she explained, knowing how weak and pathetic an excuse it really was.
Meg sighed with disappointment. "I guess I understand. You should tell your brother to stop being so anal about stuff. He needs to relax and live a little!"
Isabel wanted to laugh. Meg had no idea…
The two girls chatted a little while longer, reminiscing about old friends, and soon Jesse came in and Isabel saw how completely in love they were with each other. Her heart ached to feel that joy again.
As they parted ways they promised to keep in touch. Meg gave Isabel the address of Jesse's apartment in Los Angeles and Isabel pocketed it, knowing she would probably never have any contact with her old friend again.
Back at the van, parked at the local park, Isabel sat outside in the hot sun and read one of Maria's romance novels. As the morning wore on Isabel grew sleepy. She set aside the novel and curled up on the bench seat in the van. A shaft of sunlight shone down on her, flecks of dust dancing in the air. On the verge of slipping into sleep, loud voices, namely Michael, brought Isabel to a sitting position.
They were back and they were arguing. Isabel stepped out of the van and waited for the group to reach her. She couldn't make out what was being said as they were all talking at once. They stopped as they reached Isabel.
Stepping forward, Max shook his head. "Nothing. I don't know what to do now. I was certain this was the place. If we don't figure out where James is running too and get to him first…"
Isabel didn't need him to finish to know.