'What about Jesse?' Isabel blurted out, trying to keep the conversation on track. 'He had a heart attack, they said.'
'A heart attack!' Diane exclaimed. 'Why, he can't be more than twenty-six!'
'He's fine now,' Philip told her. 'His symptoms completely reversed themselves. He told me the doctors said that if they hadn't seen the attack themselves, they wouldn't have even been able to tell he'd had a heart attack.'
'But does that mean he'll have one later on?' Isabel asked, still worried. 'When he's older?'
Philip shook his head. 'They ran some tests, can't even find a single warning sign of congenital heart disease. And it runs in his family. It seems that whatever they used to cure him actually reversed the genetic weakness entirely.'
Max's DNA, Isabel thought. It's his healing power, working correctly this time. She smiled. No one in Roswell really understood what had happened… the CDC had taken samples of Liz's DNA, found an anomaly, and used it to create a sort of vaccine. Only Isabel and her friends knew that Liz's DNA had been changed by Max, and that's what had saved them all. 'So Jesse is okay?' she asked.
Her parents both looked at her in surprise.
'Yes, he's fine,' Philip replied. 'I never knew you paid so much attention to my employees and their health.'
Isabel gave him a kiss on the cheek. 'I'm just looking out for my dad,' she chirped. Nothing could ruin her good mood now… Jesse was back to normal!
'So your mom will be okay?' Sadie asked as she loaded a duffel bag full of Marias old clothes into the car. The city-wide quarantine had been lifted as of this morning, and Sadie and her dad were on their way back to Arizona.
Maria nodded. 'They all will. Liz says they gave everyone the medicine they made from her DNA, and all of those diseases reversed course immediately. Its like everyone was miraculously cured at once. Wild, huh?'
Her dad shrugged. 'I'd forgotten that about Roswell.'
'What?'
'All the weird stuff that happens here,' he said. 'Everyone gets sick with hereditary diseases they probably didn't know they had. And then, boom! They're all better and the genes carrying those diseases are gone. It's like some giant lab experiment.'
If only you knew how right you are, Maria thought. 'Was it always like that?' she said out loud.
'Yeah,' Richard answered. 'There used to be strange murders, and unexplained lights in the sky, and plant life that had unidentifiable DNA. You'd read about it in the paper. But every time something weird would happen, it would just go away a little while later. Nobody ever got an explanation.'
Maria grinned. 'I guess that's one thing that will never change.'
Her father smiled back. 'Well, I guess we'd better get going,' he said.
'Yeah, I have to get over to Meta-chem to pick up my mom.' Maria turned to Sadie and opened her arms.
'I'm gonna miss you,' Sadie said with a sniffle as she threw herself into Maria's embrace.
'You have my e-mail,' Maria told her little sister. 'We might not see each other for a while, but you can keep in touch that way.'
Sadie looked up into Maria's eyes. 'And we'll always be friends, right?'
'Right,' Maria told her. She felt a pricking at the back of her own eyes. It's amazing how attached I've gotten to her in just a jew days, she thought. She kissed Sadie's cheek and pulled open the passenger door. Sadie climbed into the car and shut the door.
Maria turned to her father, knowing that they couldn't keep pretending nothing was wrong.
'Maria,' he said. 'I know we're not exactly on good terms… '
'Dad, listen,' Maria said. 'I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad that I know where you are and that you're okay. And I'm glad you had Sadie, because she's amazing.'
'I sense a 'but' coming,' Richard said sadly.
'But I'm just not ready to say everything is okay between us,' Maria went on. 'Because of you, I've spent my whole life feeling worthless. I can't get over that so eas-ily.'
'Okay,' her father said quietly.
'Mom has been my mother and my father for ten years now,' Maria said. 'And I take her for granted. I'm going to try to make my relationship with her better. Then maybe
I'll want to make a new relationship with you. I just can't do them both right now. I've given this a lot of thought, and I'm not trying to punish you.'
'I understand that, Maria,' Richard said. 'For the record, I'd like to be involved in your life. But I'll leave the time frame up to you. Please promise me you'll at least think about it.'
Maria took a deep breath. 'Okay, I'll think about it.'
Her father gave her a long, serious look. 'I do love you, Maria,' he said. Then he turned and climbed into the car.
Maria watched them pull away from the house. Half of her wanted to run after the car, and the other half of her hoped she would never see him again.
'You okay?'
She turned to see Michael standing in the doorway of her house. Maria let out a little sob, and instantly Michael rushed over to hold her.
Maria buried her face in his chest and let the tears flow for a minute. Then she took a deep breath. 'I'll be all right,' she said shakily.
'Good.' Michael released her.
'When did you get here?' she asked.
'A few minutes ago. I came in the back; I didn't want to interrupt you guys. I don't think your father likes me.'
Maria laughed.
'You know, your mother doesn't like me either,' Michael joked.
'Who cares?' Maria said. 'I like you just fine.'
Liz walked slowly down the stairs to the Crashdown. She'd been home for a full day, but this was the first time
her father was letting her get out of bed. She hadn't minded the rest, actually. The strange symptoms of her sickness were completely gone, but her body still felt exhausted. She pushed open the swinging door to the dining room.
'Surprise!'
Liz gasped and jumped. A little crowd of people had gathered in the Crashdown: Max and Michael, Maria and her mom, Kyle and Valenti, and her own parents. 'Hey, everyone,' she said.
'Here's the girl with the magic genes,' Amy teased, giving Liz a hug. 'Are you as happy to be out of Metachem as I am?'
'You know it,' Liz replied. 'I'm never going back there, scholarship or not.'
'Me either,' Kyle put in. 'I called my boss and quit this morning. I've seen enough of that place to last forever.'
'And I won't mind having you home where I can see you for a while,' Valenti said, punching his son on the arm.
'I'll second that,' Maria joked, punching her mother on the arm.
'Who wants brunch?' Jeff Parker asked, heading toward the kitchen. 'It may be a while before the Board of Health lets us reopen, but I can serve you all cold cereal.'
'That's just what I'm here to talk to you about,' Maris Wheeler said from the doorway.
Liz jumped. She hadn't even heard the bell ring. Maris made her way over to the counter. 'I hope you don't mind the intrusion,' she said. 'I wanted to make sure Liz was feeling better.'
'I am. Thanks, Ms. Wheeler,' Liz told her.
'I keep telling you, call me Maris,' she corrected with a smile. 'Liz, I have some news. The CDC's investigation has determined that the chemical spill in Dr. Sosa's lab was responsible for creating a mutation in your DNA that led to the virus. Somehow you must have infected the water you were carrying, and then the water spread it to
