Turnabout

never to hold too closely with rules and traditions.» Valenti immediately looked crestfallen, but a moment later, Amy grinned and added, «But my policy is a rule, so I can't exactly follow that now, can I? So… yes!» The group around them erupted in more clapping, whistles, and cat-calls. Isabel picked up a stack of soiled cake plates and used forks and prepared to take them into the Crashdown. «You don't need to clean up, Isabel,' Nancy Parker said. «It's okay, Mrs. Parker,' Isabel said. «You guys have more important things to think about than cleanup duties.» «Okay, if you insist,' Nancy said, smiling at her. Isabel entered the restaurant and placed the plates and forks near the far end of the counter. It was nice to get away from the crowd for a moment and have a quiet moment to herself. «Do you want me to leave then too?» a voice asked her. Isabel whirled and saw him sitting there, next to the window, where he could look out at the others. «Alex?» «Hey,' he said, smiling. «The wedding was really something, huh?» She slipped into the seat across from him and tried to take his hand. It was insubstantial, and her hand passed right through it. «You've been here the whole time?» «Here and there,' Alex said. «I've been with you all at various times. Sort of rooting for you.» He gestured toward the crowd outside. «Some of them just don't know I'm here.» «Why can 1 always see you?» Isabel asked. «I don't know. Maybe it's because you and I were supposed to be the ones who got together? Maybe it's because your power threads the line between the waking world and the unconscious?» Isabel felt a pang of guilt stab her in the heart. «Were we meant to be together, Alex?» He shrugged. «Maybe. I don't know for sure. It certainly seemed like that was in the cards for us, before everything went wrong.» He looked out the window and gestured toward Jesse. «But he's right for you, too, Isabel. He's sacrificed a lot for you.» Isabel nodded slowly. «Maybe we could have been something if I hadn't been ' «Shhhh,' Alex said, putting his ghostly hands on top of hers. She felt a slight tingle at his ethereal touch. «Don't torture yourself over might-have-beens. I don't want you living with regrets.» He paused for a moment, then said, «I'm going away now, Isabel. There's something wonderful waiting for me, and it's time for me to let go of all of you.» Isabel could feel tears sliding down her cheeks. «Wait for just a moment, please.» When Alex nodded, she slid off the chair and exited the Crashdown. She made her way over to Liz and Maria and touched them both on the shoulders. «I need you both to come with me. Now.» They followed her without a word, though she saw the flickers of doubt on their faces. She brought them back into the Crashdown and turned to them. «Give me your hands,' Isabel said, and they complied, though with curious expressions on their faces. Isabel sent a pulse of her power out to her friends, willing them to see what she had. Liz gasped first. «Alex?» «Hi, Liz. You look beautiful.» Alex smiled from nearby, where he stood beside the kitchen door. «What are you doing here?» Maria asked, tears in her eyes. «Saying good-bye to my best friends in the whole world,' Alex said. «I guess you could say that I've tried to be your guardian angel, but you don't need one of those anymore. And I have to go now.» He smiled at them. «Liz, Maria, Isabel… you're going to be safe. You're going to be happy. You're going to do great things. And you will always, always be loved.» «What's it like?» Liz asked. «Where you are?» «I can't really say,' Alex said, almost smirking. «I think it's best not to be in too big a hurry to find out.» Alex paused, then said, «Close your eyes.» Isabel watched Liz and Maria close their eyes, and then followed suit herself. A moment later, Isabel felt as though a wind had blown right through her. Not a chilling wind or even a real movement of air. Instead, it felt colorful and energizing and joyous and cleansing, all at once. Isabel felt the tears on her cheeks dry in an instant, and the sadness in her heart was replaced by a blossom of something that felt very much like… hope? Isabel opened her eyes, as did Maria and Liz. They were smiling now, not in happiness, but in acceptance. And she knew as she knew they did that Alex would be a part of each of them forever. Kyle saw Ava sitting off to the side, away from everyone else. She looked beautiful, but sad. He walked over to her, bringing a glass of fruit punch and a bottle of Tabasco sauce. «Here you go,' he said, setting the items down on the table beside her. «House specialty. I hear it's an acquired taste.» She smiled at him shyly, and he could sense that she was a bit surprised by his kindness. «Back in New York, we were partial to mixing in chili powder. They didn't have as much Tabasco there as they seem to have out here.» «Yeah, it is more of a Southwestern thang,' Kyle said with an exaggerated drawl. «So, what do you think of all this? You seem to be sitting as far as you can from the festivities.» «Well, I still don't know why they invited me,' Ava said. «Don't get me wrong. Everyone's been so nice to me. The Evanses have even offered to let me stay with them for a while. But I can feel everyone looking at me out of the corners of their eyes. They don't trust me. They think I'm going to be… her.» Kyle shook his head. «I don't think Liz is afraid of you. I mean, I know she just married your husband from Antar and all, but I'm not sensing a jealous ex-wife thing going on in your head.» He grinned. «How do you know what's going on in my head?» Ava asked. «I was linked up with you for a while,' Kyle said. «Back when we were fighting the Special Unit. I saw you the real you.» He took her hand in his. «I know you aren't Tess. I know you would never mindwarp us. I know that you're the Ava that Max or King Zan married back on his homeworld, the Ava that loved him for what he represented, and who helped the people she governed. You're a good person, Ava. You're not Tess.» Kyle looked her directly in the eye and smiled. «They're all willing to give you the chance, Ava. And I'm willing to help you.» He paused, then added, «And before my little speech starts getting too sappy, I'm going to make you promise that if my powers do come back, that you'll help me figure out how to use them.» «You've got a deal,' Ava said, squeezing his hand. Her smile was radiant. «There you are,' Michael said as he finally caught up to Maria. He had been looking for her for several minutes now. «Where have you been?» She smiled at him, but he could tell she had been crying. «I was inside the Crashdown. What's up?» «Come over here and sit down for a minute,' he said, pointing to some folding chairs. «Uh-oh,' she said. «This doesn't sound good, Spaceboy.» Michael sighed as he sat down. He was determined not to let her jagged little barbs get to him. «I have something to talk to you about. Kal Langley asked me to come to Hollywood with him. He says he's going to get me acting lessons and train me to use my powers fully. He keeps saying I remind him of a young David Duchovny. He's going to put me up at his mansion ' Maria's eyes went wide. «What? Langley is gay? I've heard about this with that one producer guy. He hired young guys as his pool boys and then turned them into stars, but they were really his boy-toys all along the way.» Now it was Michael's turn to be incredulous. «Who said Langley was gay? I'm not Maria, what are you thinking? I swear, sometimes you can be the most insufferable jumpto-conclusions person I have ever known.» Maria crossed her arms in front of her chest. «Well, what am I supposed to think? At this highly emotional time, you announce you're running off to Hollywood without me and going to work for Langley. And meanwhile, I'll sit here and rot away in Roswell and end up going from waitressing to a job at the cheese factory until I ' Michael clapped a hand over Maria's mouth as softly but as firmly as he could. «Maria, shut up. Just listen for once.» He saw her eyes narrow, and then finally her body language signaled that she was calming down. «Maria, you have been the only constant positive thing in my life for the last few years. Even when we've been fighting, or throwing accusations at each other, I always knew one thing for sure and that's that I love you.» He paused, and repeated himself. «I love you. And I want you to come to Hollywood with me. I played Langley your demo tape, and he loved it. He wants you to record an album. Your album. Your way.» He took his hand away, and when it looked as if she was going to say something, he put his finger back over her lips. «Maria, I know I'm not perfect. I probably wasn't anything like perfect even back on Antar. And I know I'll never be the kind of man you want to grow old with. But I want to keep trying.» Maria stared at him for a moment in silence, then moved his finger away from her mouth. «You're wrong about that, Michael Guerin. I think you can be the kind of man I want to grow old with.» Then Maria smirked. «But until then, I can live with you being the kind of alien I want to grow old with.» «Are you certain that's what you want to do?» Max asked. «Yeah, Max,' Isabel said. «Jesse and I want to live in Boston. He's doing well there with his practice, and I could really use a change of scene.» Max was bemused. Just over a year ago he had forbidden Isabel to leave Roswell, and had threatened to drag her back here if she ever tried. Things had been very tense then, with the iron fist of the government closing inexorably around them. Now, their future seemed wide open, and keeping the Royal Four together simply didn't seem as important as it had back then. «Do you really think we'll be safe there, Max?» asked Jesse, standing at Isabel's side. «I can't see the future,' Max said. «Not even Liz can do that anymore. I know that those alien-tracking ken-teejs got whammied along with the Special Unit, so hostile aliens will have a harder time finding us. If we're not all clustered in one spot, they'll have an even harder time. Still, I expect more danger to crop up for us from time to time.» He paused, and looked over at Michael and the others. «And if anybody does come after us again someday… well, I think our recent experiences have made it pretty clear that we can be pretty darned tough when we need to be. In the meantime, there's no point living in fear.» Diane Evans came over and grabbed Max by the arm. «Come on, Max. It's time to take some pictures.» She gestured to Isabel and Jesse. «You, too. Everybody in these shots.» «Okay, Mom,' Max said with a sigh. He was grateful that his parents and Liz's had bounced back from their Special Unit ordeal without suffering any visible scars. As Langley's photographers checked their equipment, everyone gathered in front of the Crashdown. Max and Liz stood in the center, flanked by Isabel and Jesse on one side, and Michael and Maria on the other. On the outside of the group were their parents, and on the far periphery were Jim Valenti and Amy DeLuca, along with