Part 5

March 25, 2005

            “Mommy, who that?” three year old Alexia asked Liz as she peered at the picture of Alex that rested on the mantle above the fireplace.

             Liz glanced at the picture and smiled sadly.  “That’s your Uncle Alex.  He was my best friend and he would have adored you.”

             “Where is he?” Alexia inquired.

             Liz brushed her tears aside and replied, “He’s in heaven, with all of the other angels.  You see, he always was an angel and now he’s resting peacefully at home.”

             Liz studied the picture a moment longer and turned her attention back to her computer.  Alexia frowned and picked up the picture and ran softly back to her room with it.

             “Somehow, I don’t think you’re dead,” she said to the picture.

             She closed her eyes and touched the picture, not at all surprise when it rippled under her touch.  Alexia was brought into an outlandish restaurant that was decorated with an alien theme.  Her eyebrows raised as she caught sight of one of the uniforms the waitresses were required to wear.  She continued to look around until she saw younger versions of Alex, her mother, and five of their friends sitting at the back booth.  Alexia was intrigued and walked over to listen to them.  Suddenly, Alex looked up and locked eyes with Alexia.

             “Who are you? Why are you dream walking me?” he asked, trying not to sound harsh since Alexia was a child.

             Alexia grinned.  “My name is Alexia Maria Evans.  I’m dream walking you because Mommy said that you were dead, but I knew that you weren’t.  I could just feel it.”

             “Evans? Are you Max’s daughter?” a bewildered Alex asked.

             “I think that’s his name.  I’ve never met him, though.  I live with my mother and have never met any of her old friends and I know she hasn’t talked to them in four or five years.”

             “Is your mother Liz?”

             Alexia nodded. 

             “How old are you? You look like you’re only three or four, but you’re way too smart to be that young.”

             “I’m three.  I turned three on February 8th.”

             Alex stared at her in wonder.  “No way! You’re definitely Max and Liz’s kid, then.  Why haven’t you ever met your father?”

             Alexia told him what she knew and filled him in on what was going on in Liz’s life.  Alex was shocked to hear that Liz was a FBI agent.  Finally, Alex told Alexia that it was time to wake and not to tell Liz about it because it would only put them both in danger.  Alexia promised to not to tell and Alex gave her his phone number that was only to be used in an otherworldly type emergency. 

             Alexia woke up and sighed.  ‘I hate keeping secrets from Mommy,’ she thought with a frown.

 

             In New York, Alex shot up in bed and tried to think of what to do.  Without much thought, he ran into his best friend Serena Guerin’s room, yelling for her to wake up.

             The beautiful blonde warrior opened her eyes wide enough to see Alex and mumbled, “This had better be good, Whitman, or I will kick your ass all the way back to Roswell.”

             “The King and Queen’s daughter just dream walked me,” Alex murmured.

             “What?! Since when did Liz and Max get back together?” Serena screeched, now fully awake.

             Alex sighed and sat down on the edge of Serena’s king size waterbed.  “Liz and Max slept together the night Tess left and that’s when Alexia was conceived.  Liz freaked about something and left Roswell.  She hasn’t had contact with anyone from her past, including her parents.  Alexia saw a picture of me and instinctively knew that I was alive and dream walked me.  She’s very powerful, especially for a three year old.”

             Serena’s eyes widened in fear for the first time ever.  “Alex, we have to keep Liz and Max apart until Alexia turns six.  Only then will her powers be strong enough to fight Khivar.  How are we going to do that and not expose ourselves?”

             “Remind me again why it’s important that we keep them apart.”

            “Because, Khivar can sense that Alexia is in America, but her signal isn’t strong enough for him to pinpoint even her general location.  The same goes for Max and Liz, though Khivar knows where Max is.  When they’re together, however, their signal is strong enough for Khivar to sense their location within several miles.  We cannot lose the royal family, they are our only hope.”

             “Don’t you think I know that, Serena? My God, I gave up everything to save them.  If I ever meet up with them again, do you have any idea how freaked they’ll be? I can never have back what I lost, so Liz, Max and Alexia are gonna stay safe, God dammit!” Alex said with conviction.

             Serena grinned and shook her head at the hyperactive boy at the foot of her bed.  “Well, now that that’s decided, may I puh-leeze go back to sleep?”

             Alex nodded absently and left the room.  Serena could not get back to sleep to save her life.  Her mind lingered on the feeling inside her that she’d never felt before: fear.  She feared Khivar and she feared for the fate of Antar and Earth.  Those fears chilled her to the bone, but what she feared most was herself when she eventually came face-to-face with Khivar.

Part 6

How can I just let you walk away
Just let you leave without a trace
When I stand here taking every breath with you
You're the only one who really knew me at all

How can you just walk away from me
When all I can do is watch you leave
'Cause we shared the laughter and the pain
And even shared the tears
You're the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now
'Cause there's just an empty space
There's nothing left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face

So take a look at me now
When there's just an empty space
And you're comin' back to me is against all odds
And that's what I've got to face

I wish I could just make you turn around
Turn around to see me cry
There's so much I need to say to you
So many reasons why
You're the only one who really knew me at all

Take a good look at me now
'Cause I'll be standing here
And you're comin' back to me
Is against all odds
It's the chance I've gotta
Take
Hey yeah

Take a look at me now

~Against All Odds- Mariah Carey and Westlife~

 July 7, 2007

Evans Household

             “I can’t believe you’re really here,” Max said for the millionth time that night.

             Liz gazed into his beautiful eyes and murmured, “Neither can I.”

             “Why did you stay away for so long?” he asked with hurt in his eyes.

             “I don’t know,” she sighed.  “I met Dana and Mulder and they became such great friends.  I even moved in with them after Alexia was born.  They helped me with my job, and I was still so hurt by the Tess ordeal that I couldn’t bring myself to come back.”

             “You haven’t talked about what you’ve been doing for a living.  Are you a scientist now?”

             The agent hesitated and looked anywhere but at Max.  “No.  I’m actually a, um, FBIagent,” she spat out.

             “A what?” Max asked while the color drained from his face.

             “I’m an FBI agent, as are Dana and Mulder,” Liz admitted.

             “How could you after all that they did to us, to me?”

             “Can’t we talk about this later?  Besides, I have never been involved with cases dealing with aliens, at least not until now,” she muttered under her breath.

             Max eyed her suspiciously.  “No, this can’t wait.  What do you mean?”

             “You cannot tell anyone, understand?” Max nodded.  “Read this.”

             Liz watched Max’s face as he read the file.  Several emotions danced across it: surprise, confusion, anger and finally, fear.

             “Alex is alive? How is that possible?”

             Liz shrugged.  “I don’t know; that’s all they gave me.”

             “And who’s this Serena Guerin? Do you think she’s the person the future me spoke of?”

             “That’s what I was thinking.  Did you see their address?”

             “Yeah, I can’t believe they live two streets over from me.  How could I not notice them? This is so weird.”

             “What’s weird?” Alexia asked, joining her parents in her father’s room.

             Max instinctively picked her up and placed her in his lap, holding her close.  Liz studied the father and daughter and smiled.  ‘They are so cute together.  Its almost like they’ve always been together.’

             “Hello? What’s weird?” Alexia repeated.

            “Oh, nothing sweetie.  Just something Mommy and Daddy were discussing,” Max said.

             “Does it have something to do with Uncle Alex?”

             Max and Liz stared at their daughter with wide eyes.

             “How did you know?”

             “When you passed out yesterday you had a file with his name and picture on it.  I thought it was strange since he’s dead,” she said smoothly.  ‘Oh yeah, I’m good.’

             “Oh, yeah.  That’s right.  We were talking about Alex,” Liz stuttered.

             “Is he alive or something?” Alexia asked innocently.

             Max paled and said, “We think he might be, but we’re not sure.”

             Alexia nodded.  “Well, I’m just gonna give you two some more alone time.  I’ll, uh, be in Aunt Isabel’s room.”

             With that, she skipped out the door, closing it behind her.

             Max shook his head.  “How did she get so smart?” he asked in awe.

             “I have no clue.”

 

             “How exactly are we going to tell them? We can’t just walk up and expect everything to be peachy,” Alex said.

             “No shit, Sherlock.  I think we should approach Liz first since she knows you’re alive and you were her best friend.  She’ll probably be the most reasonable.”

             “Yeah.  Hold that thought!” Alex said as the phone rang.

             “Hello?”

             “Hi Uncle Alex!”

             “Hey Alexia, what’s up?”

             “I just thought you should know that Daddy knows about you too.  He and Mommy were just discussing it.”

             Alex sighed.  “Great.  How’d he take it?”

             “Well, he got really pale.  They both looked pretty spooked.  You need to approach them soon.”

             “Yeah, more than you know.  Where are you now?”

             “The three of us are at Daddy’s.  Aunt Isabel just left to pick up dinner.”

             “Okay.  I think I’m just going to come over.  The sooner we get everything sorted out, the better.”

             “You’re coming over now?” Alexia asked incredulously.

             “Yep.”

             “You have balls, man.”

             “Excuse me? Did you tell me that I have balls?” a bewildered Alex asked.  Serena glanced up from her Vogue to stare at him in horror.

             “Yeah, what about it?”

             “Never mind, we’ll discuss it later.  I see you in a few minutes, okay?”

             “Okie dokie. Bye.”

             Alex hung up the phone.

             “Well, that sounded interesting.  Are you sure you’re ready to go over there?” Serena asked.

             “As ready as I’ll ever be.  Let’s go.”

             The two climbed into Serena’s BMW and drove to their King’s home.

             “Brace yourself, its gonna be a bumpy ride,” Alex mumbled and rang the doorbell.

 

             “We can’t just go over to their house and ring the doorbell, ya know,” Max said as he and Liz debated on how to handle the Alex situation.

             “I know.  I don’t have a clue as to what to do!” Liz groaned.

             All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. 

             “Who could that be? No one around here rings the doorbell anymore.”

             “Mom! Dad! Door!” Alexia yelled from Isabel’s room.

             “Thanks, sweetie.  We heard it,” Max called back.

             The two weary parents walked downstairs and opened the door.

             “Oh my God!” they exclaimed in unison.

             “Hey guys.  Wassup!” Alex said cheerily.

 Part 7

July 7, 2007

Outside the Evans’ house, several minutes before Alex’s entrance

             Dana looked at her watch and sighed.

             “Why are we staking out Max Evans’ house again?” she moaned.

             “Because he lives two streets over from this Whitman guy, he’s Alexia’s father, he was mentioned in Whitman’s obituary and there’s one or two weird FBI files he’s mentioned it,” Mulder replied.

             “And your point would be…?”

             “Don’t you get it?” Dana shook her head.  “Liz and Max both knew Whitman, as did Max’s sister, Kyle Valenti, and the Guerins.  Whitman was also quite close to Kyle’s father, the Sheriff.  These people are definitely hiding something.”

             “Mulder, you’re jumping to conclusions.  Those poor kids all think the boy is dead.  Liz probably got the shock of her life when she read that file.”

             “I doubt that,” Mulder mumbled and crossed his arms.

             Dana rolled her eyes and glanced up and she heard a car approach.  When Alex and Serena climbed out of the convertible, she sighed.

             “I hate it when you’re right,” she muttered to Mulder.

             “Huh?”

             “Look who just arrived.”

             “I knew it! I’m gonna turn on Liz’s bug now.”

             “You bugged my best friend?” Dana asked in horror.

             Mulder shrugged and put his finger to his lips.

             “Hey guys! Wassup!” Alex said cheerily.

             “Holy shit!” Max exclaimed.

             “Alex? Are you real? I mean, you’re the real Alex, right?” Liz asked.

             “Yeah, Liz, I am.  Uh, can we come inside?  I kinda feel weird standing here in the doorway.”

             “Oh, yeah, of course,” Max stammered.

             “This is a really nice place you got here,” Serena said approvingly. 

             “Um, thanks.”

             Max and Liz stared at the blonde dressed in painfully high black stiletto heels, tight black leather pants and light yellow spaghetti strap top.

             Serena caught them staring at her and stuck out her hand.  “Serena Guerin.  It’s a pleasure to finally meet you both.”

             Max and Liz shook her hand and sat down on the couch.

             “What’s going on Alex? I don’t understand this.  You’re supposed to be dead,” Liz said.

             “Yeah, well, so are you.”  Max and Liz looked at him in shock.  “I guess I’d better start from the beginning.”

             “Yeah, that might be nice,” grumbled Max.

             Serena squeezed Alex’s hand and he began.  “Okay, Max knows about Future Max, right?”  Max flinched and nodded.  “Good.  Well, about a week before I supposedly died, Future Serena appeared to me.  She told me about my death and that we had to do something to stop it.  Apparently, my death tore everyone apart.  You two stopped speaking, Max slept with Tess, etc. 

 Anyways, Serena was from ten years in the future.  Zane, Max and Tess’ kid, returned to Earth and was one evil little bastard.  With his army, he killed Maria, Michael, Izzy, Kyle, and you two.  Serena was badly injured when she arrived and had barely escaped Zane.  That bitch Tess had turned the poor kid into a killing machine at the age on ten.  Serena knew all about me and figured that I was her only hope.

 The first thing she did was heel all the damage that Tess had done, which changed me like you and Kyle, Liz.  She told me her story and that we had to prevent my death.  She also told me how Liz was the true Queen because Max had given her some sort of pendant and that when the two of you were together, you sent off some sort of signal that allowed Khivar to track you down.  When she told me that, I knew that I still had to die to keep you two apart.  We eventually devised an insane plan. 

 The night I was supposed to die, Serena broke into Kyle’s house.  She then mind warped Tess and Kyle into thinking that I was there and that Tess killed me, etc.  When it came time for Max and Tess to do the nasty, Serena stepped in again.  She knocked Max out and mind warped Rath and Tess into sleeping with each other.  That way Tess would really be pregnant.  Then she got rid of Rath and replaced him with Max right before everyone woke up.  That’s why Max only remembered waking up next to her.  After that, we just let things take its course.”

 “Oh my God, Alex.  I can’t believe you did all that,” Liz murmured.

 “Damn it! I could have killed her when I had the chance since she wasn’t carrying my kid,” Max hollered. 

Alex smiled.  “You still wouldn’t have killed her.  Besides, she’s dead now so it doesn’t matter.”

 “Really?”

 Serena laughed at the look of twisted delight on Liz’s face.  “Yeah, Khivar got pissed at her and killed her not too long ago.”

 “I have a question.  Max and I, uh, made love a while back and afterward I saw flashes of him and Tess together.”

 Alex winced and Serena glared at him.  It was apparent that that subject was not a happy one between the two of them.

 “Well, that was me,” Alex said quietly.

 “What?!” Max and Liz exploded.

 “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you!” Liz shrieked. 

“I had to keep you two apart! Khivar would have found you and killed you! I didn’t want to do it, but I had to figure out a way to keep the two of you apart.”

 “Well, thanks Alex.  Because of that, I missed seeing my daughter grow up for the first five years of her life!”

 “I know, I’m sorry,” Alex muttered.

 “Wait, how did you know about Alexia?” Liz asked.

 Serena and Alex looked at each other, but before they could answer Alexia appeared at the foot of the stairs.

 “Aunt Serena! Uncle Alex!” she exclaimed as she launched herself at them.

 “Hey sweetie! You’re getting so big!” Serena gushed.

 “What the hell? How do you two know Alexia?” Max nearly shrieked.

 “I dream walked them,” Alexia stated simply.

 Anything Max and Liz were going to say was cut off by a scream behind them. 

“Oh my God, Alex,” Isabel said before she passed out.

 “I swear Alex, what is it with you and your friends and fainting?” Serena mumbled.

 Alex glared at his best friend and dropped to the floor beside Isabel.

 “It’s going to be a long night,” he sighed.

 Meanwhile, Mulder and Dana sat outside in their car, completely stunned.

Part 8

            Still July 7, 2007

            NY, NY

             “Yo, Zan! Quit your pacin’.  You’re drivin’ me up a freakin’ wall,” Ava wailed.

             “Sorry.  I’m just worried about Serena, ya know? First she was really nervous, and then she was fine.  Now she’s really tense and a little worried.  Dammit! I hate being away from her!” Zan yelled.

             Ava rolled her eyes at her friend and sighed.  “Ya know, I’m more grateful every day that ‘Rena took you off my hands.  You’re such a whiner.”

              “Took me off your hands?” Zan repeated.

             “Yeah.  I knows we were meant to be and all, but I’m much better off without ya.  You’re so freakin’ pathetic, just like Max.  Plus, I sure as hell wouldn’t want ya worryin’ over me like this.”

             “What makes you think I’d worry about you?”

             Ava was about to rip Zan a new one until she saw the twinkle in his eyes.

             “Whatever.”

             Zan laughed and continued to push.  “Besides, you never would have taught me correct grammar.”

             “Excuse me? Are you insultin’ the way I talk?  You only use ‘correct grammar’ when in the presence of your little queen, and ya still screw up sometimes.”

             Zan narrowed his eyes and mumbled, “Yeah, well, oh never mind.  I can’t believe we’re fighting over grammar.”

             Ava giggled.  “Neither can I.  Oh well.”

             Zan sighed and slumped onto the couch that was formally his fiancé’s.  He tried to think of something to busy himself with, but was pulled from his thoughts by the phone.

             “Yo!” Ava said.  “Hey Serena…Yeah, hang on a sec.  Yo, Zan! Its your fiancé!”

             Zan’s eyes lit up as he grabbed the phone.  “Serena?”

             “Hey baby.  How are things in the Big Apple?”

             “Fine, fine.  What’s going on there? You’re all nervous and shit.”

             Serena gave a tired laugh.  “Yeah, I’m just worried about Isabel, that’s all.”

             “What happened?”

             “She saw Alex and passed out.  I’m worried about how she’s gonna deal with it, but Alexia says that I should be more worried about Maria’s reaction.”

             Zan grinned.  “From what Ava’s told me, that sounds about right.  How did Max and Liz take it?”

             “I think they’re mostly focused on the fact that Alexia knows Alex and me and that Alex was the one who gave Liz those awful flashes.”

             “Damn, Alex is lucky they didn’t kill him.”

             “Tell me about it.  They both exploded and I could tell that her highness was ready to snap Alex’s neck.  Oh well.  I also don’t look forward to telling them about you.” 

            “Yeah, I’m another person back from the dead,” Zan muttered.

             “Zan, do you think you and Ava could get Frankie to fly you out here tonight?”

             “Sure babe, but why?”

             “Well, there’s a reason we came to Max and Liz tonight.  Zan, Khivar is on his way to Earth.”

             Silence.

             “Zan? Are you okay?”

             “Oh, sorry Serena.  Are you sure?”

             “Zan, he’s my father, of course I’m sure.”

             “Right.  Oh God, he’s gonna go after the Royal family, isn’t he?” Zan groaned.

             “Well, duh.  Max, Liz and Alexia are second on his little list of people to kill. Only Alex and I are above them, but that’s only because he know he’ll have to kill us to get to the other them.”

             “I agree that its safest if we’re all together.  I’ll call Frankie right now.”

             “Okay.  I’ll see you in a few hours then.  I love you Zan.”

             “And I adore you, Serena.  Stay safe.”

             “I will.  Bye, love.”

             “Bye,” Zan whispered as he hung up the phone.

             “Ava!” he called.

             “What?” she asked, entering Serena’s old bedroom.

             “Pack your things, we’re going to Roswell.”

             “Oh goody,” she grumbled.

 

             Serena returned from her trip to the bathroom just in time to see Isabel wake up.

             “Hey Izzy, are you okay?” Alex asked with concern.

             “Alex? Are you really here?” she asked with tears in her eyes.

             “Yeah, baby, I am.”

             “How? You’re dead.”

             “It’s a long story and I’ll tell you when I tell Maria, Michael and Kyle, okay?”

             Isabel nodded and threw her arms around Alex.  “Can you just hold me forever?”

             Alex smiled.  “Of course, Iz.”

             “Guys, I really hate to interrupt, but you have some phone calls to make and I need to speak to Alex privately,” Serena said.

             Isabel glanced up at her.  “Who are you?”

             “Serena Guerin.  I came here with Alex.”

             “Are you Michael’s sister?”

             “We’ll talk about that later.  Alex, now!”

             “Okay.  Iz, I’ll be in the study, okay?”

             Serena followed Alex into the study and closed the door.

             “Did you talk to Zan?”

             “Yeah, he and Ava are getting Frankie to fly them over here.  Alex, I’m worried.”

             “About what? Maria killing us?”

            “I wish.  How are Michael and the others gonna react when they find out that he and I are Khivar’s kids?”

             “I don’t know Serena, I just don’t know.”

             “God, I hate that man so much! I can’t believe I came from him.  I feel like friggin’ Princess Leia and Michael’s Luke Skywalker.”

             “Does that make Zan Han Solo?”

             “Alex!” Serena shrieked.  “Now is not the time to be making jokes!”

             “Sorry.  C’mon, let’s get back to the others.”

             “Lead the way, Chewbacca.

Part 9

            July 7, 2007

            Outside Evans’ residence

             The married couple had sat in silence for half an hour now.  Finally, Mulder broke the silence.

             “Dana?”

             “Yeah?”

             “Did we really just hear all of that?”

             “Yeah.”

             “Were they serious?”

             “Yeah.”

             “They were talking about aliens and time travel and all that stuff, right?”

             “Right.”

             “Wow.”

            “Dana turned to her husband.  “The question is, do you believe them?”

             Mulder’s eyes widened in surprise.  “Of course I believe them! They were dead serious and I knew something was going on.  That stuff I found on Liz and that Alex guy was weird.  Why?  You believe them, right?”

             “I want to, but aliens? I know that they believe what they were sating, but I’m not so sure I do.  Besides, there’s a lot we don’t know.  Just turn off the bug and let’s go get some rest and digest all of this.  We’re going to eventually have to talk to Liz about this and she can fill in the blanks.”

             “But-“

             “No! We’re not going to spy on my best friend anymore! Turn the damn thing off and go!” Dana shrieked.

             “Fine, but I’m going to get my answers,” Mulder pouted.

             “Whatever!” Dana muttered and rolled her eyes.

 

             Guerin residence

             “Why do you think Max wants us over there?” Maria asked.

             Michael shrugged.  “Hell if I know, but I don’t think it has anything to do with Liz.  His voice sounds a certain way when he’s talking about her.  He sounded a bit dazed.”

             “Alexia then?”

             “Possibly, but I think there’ something more.  I heard a girl’s voice in the background that I didn’t recognize.”

             “Really?” Maria furrowed her brow.  “What was she saying?”

             “Something about how this guy was Chewbacca because he was tall, hairy and obnoxious.”

             “What?”

             “That’s what she said.  I heard Isabel and Liz laugh, so I guess we’re the only ones out of the loop.”

             “Yeah, us and Kyle.  Did Max say anything about him coming?”

             “I think so.  C’mon, let’s get over there.  Alex! Beth! Go get in the car!”

             The twins came flying through the living room and ran out the front door.  Michael shook his head and joined his family in their white minivan.

             As they pulled into the driveway, Michael turned to his children and said, “When we get inside, go with Alexia and play quietly in Isabel’s room, okay?”

             “Okay Daddy!” Alex and Beth chimed.

             The family climbed out of the car and met Kyle and Jim on their way in.

             “Hey guys.  Do you know what they wanted to talk to us about?” Kyle asked.

             “Not a clue,” Maria replied.

             Before they even reached the door, Alexia threw it open.

             “Hi Alex! Hi Beth! Let’s go play!”

             The three giggled and ran up the stairs before the adults had even entered the house.

             “Hi everyone,” Max said as he greeted them at the door.  “Before you go into the living room, I just want to warn you that there’s two people in there.  One you will be surprised to see and the other you won’t know.  Do not freak out, okay?”

             “Okay, Maxwell,” Michael said, giving his best friend a wary glance.

             The group entered the room and saw Liz, Isabel and Serena seated on the couch.

             Maria frowned.  “I don’t get-Oh sweet Jesus!” she screamed as Alex stepped forward from back corner of the room. 

            Michael, Kyle and Jim stared at Alex with dropped jaws while Maria started pacing the room.

             “Oh my God, my pregnancy is making me delusional.  I’m seeing dead people.  I’m not freaking Haley Joel Osment so I shouldn’t see them.  Oh Lord, you did this to me!” she shrieked, turning to her husband.

             “Wh-what? What the hell are you talking about?”

             “You’re alien sperm is making me delusional!”

             “Maria, I’m really here,” Alex said quietly.

             “No, you’re not.  Tess killed you six years ago.  We were all at your funeral; we all heard the damn gerbil confess! Don’t you understand that you’re dead? Stop haunting us! You’re going to make me go insane.  No, I already am.”

             “Maria, I’m not a ghost.  I’m real, I never died.”

             “Yes you did!” Maria screamed through her tears.  “You died and our world fell apart.  The group was basically divided between humans and aliens and everything went to hell.  Max and Liz went to war against each other, Isabel totally lost it, Max slept with your murderer and got her pregnant, and they almost left the planet with her.  Then Liz split and we went crazy for six years because we couldn’t find her.  You had to have died, otherwise all of that pain was totally avoidable.”

             By this time Maria had slumped to the floor and was shaking uncontrollably.  Alex walked to her and knelt in front of her.

             “Maria, I had to fake it to protect everyone, especially Liz and Max,” he said softly.

             “So you’re really here?” she asked in a small voice.

             “Yeah, I am.”

             “Oh God, Alex!” she cried as she threw herself into his arms.

             After a few minutes, Alex helped Maria up and turned to the other newcomers.

             “Hey boys.”

             The guys grinned and each gave him a tight hug, thankful was alive.

             Michael turned to Serena.  “If Alex was the one we weren’t expecting, that makes you the one we don’t know.  So, who are you?” he asked bluntly.

             Serena smiled nervously.  “My name is Serena Guerin.”

             “You’re my sister, aren’t you?” Michael asked with a small smile.

             “Yeah.  I’m also…” Serena trailed off and looked at Alex.

             “Might as well.  They all need to know,” he said.

             She nodded and continued.  “I’m also…we’re also…Khivar’s children.”

             Silence filled the room as everyone turned to look at Michael.

             Michael blinked a few times and Maria’s heart broke when he slid down the wall with his head in his hands, crying.

             “He’s coming, isn’t he?” Michael asked without looking up.

             All Serena could do was nod.

             Michael didn’t need to see it, he already knew the answer.

             “I know.  I’ve know for weeks,” he mumbled.

             This time they turned to look at him in shock.

            Part 10   Index