posted on 11-Feb-2002 3:52:43 AM by DMartinez
don't know where the old post is. that had the massive header and disclaimer. All other parts are at http://pub65.ezboard.com/brealmdm

The Fate of Destiny Part 60

Max raised a sleep weary brow when Kathy walked into the house through the kitchen. It took her five seconds to realize that he was upset. "Have you any idea what time it is?"

"Dad..." She started to protest.

"No, listen for a moment." He sat up straighter in his seat. "I worked the evening shift yesterday. The plan was to come home, wait for you and then go to bed because I have another shift in..." He checked his watch. "Three hours. You couldn't call to tell anyone where you were? At least that you'd be coming home at three in the morning?"

"Dad..." She pleaded with him.

"Go to your room."

"Dad..." She tried again.

"Go to your room. You are grounded. No phone, no friends coming over and no going out."

"DAD!" Kathy screamed, banging her fists on the table. "Could you listen for one minute?" She didn't wait for an answer as she jumped into her explanation. "We didn't plan on being late but we were caught in a place that we couldn't call or even leave. We were out at the reservoir when these guys showed up. One of them sounded like a cop, so we were quiet. We had to wait until we were sure they were gone before we could think about leaving... Dad, we heard them talking."

"What are you talking about?" Max shook his head and crossed his arms.

"They were talking about the Special Unit. One of them was paying the other one to investigate in town. Dad, the one paying... he looks just like you." She watched him take in her frightened appearance. "Exactly, like you. He knows that something happened here twenty years ago and he's going to find out what."

"Is he Special Unit?" Max whispered as he got to his feet.

"No, I don't think so. He was more interested in what they were involved in here. They were watching him, too, he said. He's blackmailing the other guy to look into things." She took a deep breath and waited for him to say something.

"Go to bed, Kathy." He whispered.

"But Dad..."

"This isn't your problem, Kathy. Go to bed." Kathy stared at her father for a long moment before stomping her foot and running upstairs to her room. He stood there for a long moment until he felt Liz's arms wrap around him. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't asleep." She whispered. "Max... it's probably nothing."

"Nothing?" He turned around to face her. "Did you hear what she said? Someone is looking for me. Who knows who or what he is?"

"Max, relax." Liz pleaded. "Relax. We know. We'll just have to be careful. Just like we've always been. Tomorrow we'll call Michael and Isabel... we'll have a meeting and figure out what needs to be if we can do anything. Remember that the most important thing is to keep on like we don't know anything."

"I guess you're right." Max pulled her to him tightly. "I just thought all this was behind us."

--

Michael turned off the alarm as soon as it went off and rolled back to his fiancée. He stroked her dark hair and then lightly caressed her stomach. Making sure she was still asleep, he rose from the bed. There was only one reason he was up so early. He could hear the TV on in the main room, which meant that Emily was up and early at that. There she was, sitting in the middle of the floor with a bowl of cereal, flipping through morning cartoons.

Scratching the back of his head, he made his way to the kitchen to retrieve his own bowl. Soon they were both settled in, watching X-Men. Silence settled over the two of them for two scenes of the cartoon adventure. Then Michael realized it was up to him. "So, we need to have a talk."

"Oh yeah?" She mumbled, staring into her bowl.

"How long have we lived here?" He mused as he glanced around. Isabel had helped him decorate it after she got married and that's the way it had stayed ever since.

"Since I was five." Emily cleared her throat and set down her bowl. "We're moving in with her, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we're thinking about it. Either that or buying another house altogether." He didn't miss the scowl on her face but chose to ignore it.

"Why can't she just move in here? She already sleeps here..."

"We need the room, Em."

"Dad..."

"Em, listen to me for a minute. I need to tell you something."

"What?" She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"It's important." He couldn't stop it from coming out as a bark.

"Then what is it?" She barked right back.

"I'm not going to fight with you right now, Em. We're moving into Oriel's because she's..." Michael took a breath. "We're going to have a baby."

Emily didn't say a word. She just rose to her feet and walked out the door, slamming it behind her. After a few minutes, he picked up the discarded bowls and dropped them in the sink. Sighing he picked up the phone and hit the speed dial. "Liz... yeah, I know it's early... yeah.... I told her. She's heading over to your house now... thanks."

All he could do was stand there until eventually Oriel woke up and found him. "Morning... what's wrong?"

"I told Em."

"How'd she take it?" Oriel winced at the expression on his face. "Oh no. That well?"

"I just have to wait for her to come back, tonight. We'll talk some more then." Michael nodded and then turned to stare at the counter. "Of all the things to pass along... running away is the one thing she picked up." Oriel snorted and started to walk off. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've seen the pictures. Hair color was not the only thing she got from you. She might look like Maria but she's all you. You're both stubborn as hell, resort to running away until chased down, show the world this bad-ass attitude." Oriel turned to face him. "What? No one ever call you on that before?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Michael shook his head and turned on the water to rinse out the dishes.

"And the awesome defense mechanism just kicks right in. Ever think that the reason that you and Em have been butting head recently actually has nothing to do with me and everything to do with how much alike the two of you are?"

--

Liz made a stack of sandwiches and packed them into a cooler as she listed to Em and Danny talking over their own untouched food. She knew that Kathy was upstairs moping and her youngest two were playing in the den.

"She's having a baby, Danny." Em whispered and lifted one corner of her sandwich, sliding a potato chip into it and pressing into it until it cracked. "They are having a baby."

"Look at it this way... you're going to have a brother or a sister." Danny tried to cheer her up.

"Danny..." She sighed heavily. "We graduate next year and then I'm out of there. It's not going to be like a family. Dad will spend all his time on the kid and what will I have?"

"A father that still loves you. A step-mother who will want to help you out when you need it... and a half-brother or sister that will look up to you forever." Liz answered quickly. "Ask Kathy."

"No. You are her mother. She's never known anyone else." Em shook her head.

"Ask Alex." Liz put her hand on her hip, daring her to challenge that one. "His sister and brother love him to death... Kyle loves him like his own."

Danny watched Em's face carefully. She wasn't showing any signs of cracking. "Hey. It won't be so bad. So you move into her house... you'll get a bigger room..."

"Yes, cause that's what this is about." Liz flicked his ear and picked up the cooler. "I'm taking your dad something to eat. We'll be back later." She reached for the keys on the hook above the door. "When I get back..."

"I know... homework." Danny griped and glared at her back until she had disappeared into the den to retrieve the little ones. He turned his gaze back on his girlfriend. "You look tired."

"Gee thanks." Emily threw a chip at him.

"Did you sleep last night?"

"Not much."

"Come on. Eat and we'll lay down... watch a movie or something." He took a bite of his sandwich and watched her play with hers.

--

The camera caught Max as he tossed his four year old son into the air and caught him before swinging him low to the ground. The next shot had his nine year old daughter sitting on his shoulder as they reached up into a tree for a perfect yellow leaf off the tree. The next shot captured the Evans sitting on a blanket eating their lunch. Max leaned over his plate and planted a kiss on his wife seconds before his young son tackled him, sending him onto his back. One shot found Max rushing back inside the hospital. An hour later, he returned to kiss his wife, sleepy son and beaming daughter.

"He's crazy. That's Mr. and Mrs. White Picket Fence. Ain't no dirt on them." The man snapped another picture. "Where're the other two kids? Huh, Mrs. Evans? That's right, show me." He started his ratty old car and followed the mini-van to its destination. Parking down the street, he waited. "Come on. No such thing as the All-American family... show me the dirt..."

Several hours later, he had filled up two rolls of film. His phone rang when he was rooting around for the burrito he had bought that morning. "Hello."

"You get anything?"

"Mister, I ain't got nothing."

"Did you find him?"

"Yeah, I found him easy enough. They didn't even bother to torch the place and I've had all day to read."

"And?"

"Max Evans, surgeon at Roswell Memorial Hospital, married. Liz Parker Evans, high school science teacher. Four kids. Daniel Parker, Kathleen, Bethany Parker and David Parker. 16, 16, 9 and 4. Kids are all smart. They got a nice house... that's all I got."

"Keep digging, keep watching."

"Gotcha." He turned off the phone and picked up his laptop again. Getting past the high school and hospital firewalls had been easy but they didn't give him any information. He'd have to try something else.

TBC

[ edited 6 time(s), last at 26-Aug-2002 3:48:38 AM ]
posted on 26-Feb-2002 11:21:39 PM by DMartinez
The Fate of Destiny Part 61

Emily caught her father stroking the thinning hair on Maria when she walked into her room that night. He didn't even look up when she stopped abruptly. "You can't keep doing this, Em. This isn't getting us anywhere." His brown eyes rose to meet her green ones. "This is happening. I'm marrying Oriel and we're having a baby. I know it's not what anyone planned but it's happening. You are in the middle of it until you leave."

"I know... and I am leaving. I am not going to stick around for the replacement family." Emily tore off her jacket and threw it in the closet.

"Who's replacing who?" He tried not to get angry.

"I never asked you to go and date her. I didn't ask for this. I don't want to move. I don't want a mother and I don't want a baby."

"Well, this isn't about what you want, Em." He rose to his feet. "I have been alone, Em. Alone since your mom died. I admit that when I first started dating, I wasn't ready. I... we've been through this, Em. I love Oriel and I'm ready to marry her and have this baby. This is not your choice but you are going to have to live with it. There's no debate and I'm not going to cave in the morning. I suggest you start packing."

"You want me to leave?" Em took a step back, blinking in shock.

"No!" Michael threw the doll on the bed. "Em... I love you more than my own life. Why can't you understand how important to me it is to have both you and Oriel where I need you both? I need you both, I do." He tried a different tack and sat back down. "You and I have a year and a half before you leave. We can't spend it fighting over who loves who more."

--

"So you're breaking up with me?" Jacobi backed up. Kathy wouldn't look at him. "Just like that? What about what I know?"

"What about it?" Kathy turned her blue eyes on him. Surely he wasn't going to use that against her. "Tomorrow you won't know a thing."

"What?" He raked his hands through his hair. "Why are you doing this? I love you."

"And I love you too much to get you involved in this. My father might be playing it off but if what he's told me is true... you being with me could get you hurt and I will not do that to you." Giving up, she sank onto the park bench and put her head in her hands.

"So what? We're over now and you're going to do something to me so I can't tell. I would never do that."

"That's not what it would be." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "If we are being watched, they might get you anyway and I... you can't know anything. It'll be like we never dated..."

"No." He shook his head. "No. I love you. Do you understand that? I love you and I don't care who knows or can hear. I'm not going to leave you alone to deal with this." He saw the set in her eyes and took another step back. "Don't... change my memories Kathy. I want to remember you, being with you..."

"You can't." A tear slipped down her face. He knelt in front of her and looked directly into her eyes, pleading. The pain in his eyes wretched at her heart and there was only one thing to do. "Ok, fine. I'll let you remember... I won't warp your memories."

"Thank you." Jacobi leaned in and kissed her gently, catching her sobs with his mouth. Kathy kissed him with more fire even as the tears continued to slip down her cheeks. It was really better this way. She slipped her hands into his hair and opened her mind to dive into his.

[Jacobi motioned Kathy under the bleachers. Slowly, she followed him, eyebrows raised. She glanced around to see if anyone was watching before ducking beneath them to join him. "Hey, what's up?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you." He shoved his hands in his pockets, head bowed to stare at his shoes.

"What is it?" She stepped closer.

"I was just..." He sighed heavily and looked up at her. "You're beautiful."

"Well, that's not a question, Jacobi. Do we need to go back over vocal inflection and statement clauses?" She teased him lightly, blushing at his comment.

"Seriously. You are beautiful. You've got to be the prettiest girl in the sophomore class and I... was wondering if maybe you might want to get together sometime before school lets out."

She couldn't move she was so stunned. How could it be possible that the guy who had picked on her since elementary school was expressing an attraction towards her? This was the kid that had stolen her homework in the fourth grade, the one would had pulled her braids in the fifth grade, snapped her bra in the seventh grade. This was the same guy who had spent the ninth grade harassing her for hanging out with her dorky brother so much.

Then again, he had gotten nicer since the year before, taller, more built, he grew into his huge feet and big nose. He was actually attractive now that she thought about it. It wasn't as if he was that bad a person. He could actually be sweet sometimes.

"I guess that's a no." He bowed his head and started to leave.

"Jacobi, wait." She caught his arm. "I'd like that."

His head spun around fast and they found themselves nose to nose. "Um, does that mean that we're friends that hang out or that we'd hang out because... you like me at least half as much as I like you." Her eyes dropped to his lips. He was going to kiss her... probably... maybe. "I don't really want to be friends. I mean, I would really rather be more... than a friend."

"Then definitely the second one. The not a friend one." She nodded slowly and closed her eyes. Not one second later, his lips were on hers.]


Mentally, she pulled a veil over his memories of her and their times together. Panting, she pulled out of the kiss and jerked backward. Quickly she ran a hand over her face to rid her face of tear tracks and smeared make-up. When Jacobi opened his eyes, he blinked at her. She opened her mouth first. "I'm sorry. This can't. I don't... feel that way about you, Jacobi. I just... I don't."

"Kathy?" He shook his head slowly. "I thought that you and I had something."

"I don't feel it." She lowered her eyes. "I don't think we can still be friends after this. It would be awkward and..."

"It's fine. I understand. I just... thought. I'm sorry." Jacobi got to his feet. "I'll see you at school."

"I guess." She nodded stiffly and drew her knees up to her chest. The second he was out of sight, she ran down the street and back home. She hadn't even told anyone she was leaving and by now they had to be wondering where she was.

--

"The Quarry." Isabel waved her hands around and glared at her brother. "Do you remember the last time we were all here?"

"Yeah, there were more of us." Michael spoke quietly. Tess, Alex and Maria were the only ones missing and the only new addition was Oriel. They had all left the kids in the capable hands of their grandparents. "So what's this all about?"

"Kathy came home late last night." Max cleared his throat. His voice carried to their ears but not beyond their circle. "Seems that she and Jacobi got stuck in the reservoir... literally... when uh... some men showed up. They weren't noticed but they heard what the men were talking about."

"Talking about what?" Kyle pulled his wife to his side.

"Apparently, there's someone who was negatively affected by us in high school." Max motioned them closer. "It's kinda dangerous to meet like this but I couldn't think of another place."

"What is it, Maxwell?" Michael bit out.

"Someone's looking into the Special Unit and why they were here in Roswell back then." He met every one of their eyes in turn. "Oriel, I don't know if Michael told you about that but the government got a lot closer than was comfortable..."

"So what's going to happen?" Isabel whispered.

"Someone is spying on us, being paid and blackmailed into spying on us by... a man that looks exactly like me." His amber eyes darkened slightly at their alarmed stance. "Kathy saw him. From the conversation she described to me this afternoon... he could be the son or grandson of my DNA donor."

"Oh my god. It's gonna happen all over again, isn't it?" Isabel sagged against her husband. "The hiding, the running, the... shit all over again."

"Least this time we have some warning." Max cleared his throat again. "Just be careful and talk to your kids. They have to understand how serious it will be to blend in. We will have to keep our eyes open and find the spy. I want this threat eliminated as soon as possible so that we can all go on with our lives."

--

Diane looked up as a blur ran through her kitchen and disappeared down the hall. She looked to Danny where he was manning the stove her for. He just shrugged and kept stirring. "Kathy."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Don't know. She's been acting weird all day."

"Could you start your little brother and sister?" She set down a last plate and went in search of her granddaughter. She found the quiet Evans in Max's old bedroom. Slowly, she eased onto the bed and took a deep breath. "Where did you go?"

"For a walk."

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"I don't buy that." Diane chided gently. Never in her whole life had she seen Kathy so upset. But true to the nature in her planted by her father, she wouldn't admit a thing and she wasn't shedding a tear. "Sweetie?"

"It's nothing." Kathy tried to shrug her off but she had to give in, eventually. "Jacobi and I broke up."

"Oh, sweetie. It'll be okay." Diane reached over and rubbed her back soothingly. "It's not the end of the world. You're young... someday you'll meet that someone... and then... you'll know it. You still have time to fall in love and... that's all you can hope for."

Kathy nodded and buried her face in a pillow. "Can I be alone for a little while?"

"Okay. Just holler if you want to talk." Diane made her way back to the kitchen where she could hear her other grandchildren chattering.

"How come we don't say grace before we eat?" Bethany's small voice filled the room and drifted down the hallway.

"We just don't." Danny answered.

"What's grace?" David asked, his mouth full of food.

"It's a prayer people say before they eat." Danny cleared his throat and served himself.

"Tracy's family says grace." Beth insisted.

"Yeah well... both Tracy's parents believe in God." The elder Evans child could feel the headache coming in strong. He hated talking about it. No one had explained to him how it worked. He had learned by observing his parents.

"So?"

"So... So Mom believes in God and Dad doesn't. So we don't say grace."

"Daddy believes in God." Beth protested, her brow furrowed.

"No, he doesn't. Neither do I." Danny raised an eyebrow and shrugged at her look.

"Then who's right?"

"I don't know." He took a bite of his food and thought a moment. "I don't think we'll ever know who's right but everyone is entitled to believe what they want. Grandma and Mom's parents believe in God. Aunt Isabel and Uncle Kyle believe in God. Dad and Uncle Michael don't. That's just the way it is."

"Is it because we're different?"

"I don't know."

"Do... Is it okay for humans to believe in God but not aliens?"

"Humans are funny. Some don't believe in God but believe in aliens. Some believe in both. Some believe in God but not in aliens."

"No. I meant us. Do we not believe in God because we're aliens?"

"Maybe... but we're part human too. Mom believes in God so... I guess it would be okay if you did." He nodded firmly and hoped that was the end of the conversation.

Diane put a hand to her mouth and couldn't bring herself to interrupt. It was hard to believe her ears. Surely the child hadn't meant what it seemed like she meant. The events flashed in her mind.

[Max walked over and picked up the bird and simply held it. He locked eyes with his new mother and then released it. The bird flew. It flew away when moments before it had a broken wing.]

["Kids, don't touch that bird. He could be sick."

They ignored her and finally Emily got her hands on it and shoved it into Daniel's arms. Diane watched her son's son take the bird and whisper to it. The bird seemed to calm down and after a moment, Daniel locked eyes with his grandmother and threw the bird up in the air. The bird flew into the air and never came back, it just kept flying.]


It could make so much sense but was it true? Had she heard right?

TBC
posted on 18-Apr-2002 1:42:10 PM by DMartinez
The Fate of Destiny Part 62

"Kathy?" Danny whispered as he sank onto the bed. It didn't look as if she had moved since running into the house earlier. "Kitty?"
"Don't call me that." She whispered, voice devoid of the anger that had been meant in the response. She couldn't even joke about the old nickname. He hadn't called her that since they could speak correctly.
"What happened? I didn't even know that you had left and then you come back like this." The dark in the room saturated him. Made him feel hopeless... then again that could just be the vibes he got off his sister. "What's going on?"
"I had to break up with Jacobi. He shouldn't get involved in this." Tears threatened to stop her speech. "Go ahead. Say 'I told you, so,' you know you want to. You were right. I never should have gotten involved with him."
"What if he talks? If he's mad—"
"He won't." She cut him off. "I fixed his memories... he won't even remember." Then she burst into fresh tears. "Why can't someone do the same to me?"
--
Diane looked up when her children walked into her house. They all looked dusty. Max noticed the snow on the television screen first. The red light shone on the VCR. He knew what she had been doing. "Mom? Something wrong?"
"You tell me." She whispered and eyed Liz. She knew. She had to know. Isabel stood just behind them in confusion.
"Mom?" Isabel furrowed her brow. She had just planned to stop in and visit for while but the room felt incredibly small. Her mother was staring at her strangely, as if seeing her for the first time... "Mom?"
["You're supposed to be our mother, you're not supposed to investigate us!">
She had known somewhere in her mind that it was both her children but she had never quite believed that Isabel was the same as Max. It made sense. They were found together, they would be brother and sister, therefore they would be the same.
"Mom?" Max stepped into the room. She had been watching the tape again. "Mom, what happened?"
"I trust you, Max." Diane whispered softly. "I still do but I need to know if what I heard is true."
"What did you hear? Who's been talking to you?" His internal alarms went off. Had the detective dared to come to his mother? Had he exposed them in hopes of getting them to expose themselves? "Mom. Did someone call? Stop by?"
She shook her head in confusion. What was he talking about? What the hell was going on? A glance at the kitchen and then she could speak. "I heard the kids talking. I told you that I trusted you and I do. You're raising them up well. I remember the things you can do, that Danny can do..."
["You're angry?"
"What?" Max turned his head to his mother.
"You looked angry, why?" Then it dawned on her. "You knew. You knew he could do that. You've told him not to. Why?"
"I don't want anything to happen to him." Max answered immediately. "I've told him it's dangerous. I can't believe he would ignore me like this."
"Max." Diane reached out to touch him. "It's dangerous? You told me that it wasn't... but I suppose it's different with your children."
"Mom." Max sighed. He couldn't talk and love his way out of this one. There were no ceramic houses now. No hiding behind pots of water. "I don't want him to be afraid like I was."
"I know. We always want what's best for our children. Don't want them to suffer if we did. Don't want them to hurt like we did..." Diane nodded and kissed his forehead. "Max, it's ok. He's a special little boy. Sometimes it's good to be special.">

Max took a step back as if he had been socked in the gut. This was it. Immediately, he felt Liz's arm around his waist. Incoherent, calming whispers into his back that tried to ward off the chill that had taken over.
"Mom?" Isabel looked from her mother to her brother and back.
"I suppose you're special like he is... all of you... Michael, too. And the kids. Aliens?" Diane's blue eyes sparkled as she prayed they would tell her that she was wrong but the ashen looks told her different.
Max looked back to Isabel and swallowed. He spoke to her with that look. {Tell her now or we don't tell her at all.}
"Mom." Isabel pinched her lips together, hand on her stomach. The bile just churned, threatening to fill her mouth. "We're not bad... or evil... just lost."
"It's true?"
"Mom..." Isabel took to Max and at his nod, she approached her mother slowly. "I can explain everything that we know... if you want me to."
"What's going on?" Danny suddenly appeared behind them.
"Go get your brother and your sisters." Liz told him, shooing him back where he came. "We're getting ready to leave."
--
"This would be Ma Evans." He made a note and looked up, sliding just low enough in his seat to see over the dash but not be seen. "What is this? Murray Lane?"
After some typing into the laptop he made some more notes. "Pa Evans, dead, heart attack about 8 years back. No biological children." His eyes rose to the house before him. "Daughter Isabel took over the family firm without proper schooling... paralegal to raise kid from dead guy... Max went to medical school and raised a family. Daughter Kathy from an affair, home wrecker died apparently in childbirth. Still looking into the adoption of Max and Isabel. Something doesn't smell right there."
--
"Dad, what's going on?" Danny noted all the grave faces and then his grandmother's stunned one. "Grandma?"
Isabel knelt in front of the only mother she had ever known. "Mom... I know this is a lot to take in but it's true and it just got dangerous again. You have no idea how much I've wanted to tell you or for how long..." She took a deep breath, tears in her eyes. "We're the same people we've always been... only now... you know more about us."
"You told her?" Kathy asked her father and he nodded slowly.
"And all the kids... are half alien?" Diane whispered softly.
"All except for Kathy." Max uttered, pulling his daughter into his arms. "She's full blood, like me."
"Mom, please don't be afraid of us." Isabel pleaded. "Please, Mom."
"I..." Diane blinked back the tears that threatened to cloud her vision. "I always thought my babies were special."
--
"Mister, get the pics?"
"Where the hell did these come from?"
"Told you I been tailing the family."
"Who the hell is this guy?"
"Told you. He's the one they took 20 years ago. He's the one they were after."
"Jesus. He looks just like me... this his kid? Shit."
"Those are them. Didn't you know what he looked like?"
"No. Shit. God damn it." Silence held over the line. "That kid looks like my kid... You said the father, this Max guy... he was adopted?"
"'89 from what I can figure, I'm still trying to get the details on that. Those records will be the most difficult and risky to get. They don't like people poking around in those confidential files, even if they're way over age."
"Get them. I don't like to think there are things that my father or grandfather never told me."
"Yeah, that was about my guess as well. Get me some pictures of the old men, might make things run smoother when I go poking around."
--
"Mom?" Max guided his family out the front door. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm fine." Diane nodded with a small smile, weariness had settled in her eyes. "I'm fine."
"I still love you. You're still my mother." Max leaned forward and kissed her forehead, grateful when she didn't pull away but gripped his arm instead. "You'll always be my mother. If you need anything, just call, we'll come over but remember not to say anything to anyone."
"Is everything going to be alright? I'm so scared for you, Max." She whispered.
"I've done it before and I can do it again. I promise that nothing will happen."

TBC
posted on 10-Jun-2002 5:38:52 PM by DMartinez
The Fate of Destiny Part 63

Max stretched out on the hospital bed. Two minutes was all he needed. Just two minutes of undisturbed sleep and he would be good to go. He nearly cried when the door swung open. "Doctor, Mrs. Kelly just passed. Her family wants to talk to you."

"Did you explain about her orders?"

"Yes, which is why they want to talk to you… They aren't about to tear you to pieces if that's what you're thinking." The nurse smirked and pulled the door shut behind her.

"Of course not." Max muttered before dragging his sorry butt out of bed to attend to his patient's family. Two more hours and he could go home.

--

The secretary looked up and blinked. That was all the invitation he needed. "Hi. I'm a private investigator, Len Scott. I was wondering if I could make a few inquiries."

"Sir, I'm sure you realize that…" She sighed heavily, she should have never looked up from her desk. Lowering her voice so that her bosses couldn't hear, she grudgingly answered him. "We can't really help you."

"I understand but I am just doing my job… like you are doing yours. Let me just say this… my client is only trying to find the truth and there is only one person who can give it to him. Now, this person may or may not be in your files." Len reached into his jacket and pulled out two pictures. "These men are father and son. Now, I am not really sure which one it was but one of them kept a secret from my client in the form of a son. The relevance would mean an uncle or a brother for my client." He locked eyes with her. "I specialize in reuniting families."

"I want to but you know that I can't." The secretary bit at her lip. This Len seemed so interested and she could almost recognize the men in the pictures. They looked familiar enough. Maybe she could help and just maybe this was one of those Unsolved Mysteries things… "I'll see what I can do. Do you have anything besides those pictures?"

"Birth year would be around '82 or '83. Male. Actually though…" Len paused for dramatics. "I haven't told my client this yet but I suspect that my target may have a sister, same parents. I don't want to get his hopes up… you understand."

"Oh. I totally understand." She smiled and typed frantically into her computer, running tips into the database for a match. There it was. There were six possibilities. The names blinked at her but upon a quick inspection of the names, she knew. "Well, this would be unofficial of course, hearsay."

"Of course." Len nodded. "I won't mention where or who I got the information from."

"There's a doctor. I went to high school with him. Bears a striking resemblance to those men." She leaned closer, an eye on her bosses' door. "He's got a sister. I… I can't give you their names."

"I understand."

"But…" She licked her lips and motioned for him to come closer. "Sometimes people talk and I hear. Found them both in '89, wandering through the desert, stark naked. No memory of their parents, didn't speak a word of anything… been lots of rumors about crazy stuff when they were younger… important people now. Wouldn't do to have either for an enemy… even if you could muster up a reason to hate them."

"No chance of me getting a peek at the file, huh." Len nodded but filed every word away for further use and investigation. "Just poof out of thin air."

"That's what people say. I just… I can't help you any more than I already have… and I could get in trouble for that little bit."

"Since you seem to know who these people are and you can't talk. Can you confirm something for me?" Len reached into his jacket once more. "Is this the man we're both speaking about?" He produced a surveillance photo of Dr. Evans and his wife.

The secretary's eyes slid from the photo to the bosses' door once more before she nodded slowly. "But I haven't said a word."

"I wasn't even here, sweetheart." Len nodded and replaced the photos in his jacket pocket.

--

Kathy did her best to avoid Jacobi. She explained everything to the gang, filling them in on what their parents hadn't told them yet. Alex had stuck by her side and even risked Lynette's wrath by blowing her off to make sure Kathy was okay. The bleachers had become a welcome hideout.

Alex fiddled with a hackey sack and turned to Kathy. "You know, ditching class isn't necessary, it kicks up a fuss, teachers complain, call meetings with our parents."

"You're just bitching because this will be the fourth time this term." Kathy muttered. She whipped her dark hair over her shoulder and stared out at the football field.

"True… and I made a deal with Mom that I would go to class." He grinned despite his worries about phone calls to his mother. He glanced around. "They're still back there, aren't they?"

"Don't remind me."

--

A reassuring kiss on the mouth, soft caresses down her back, light pressure down against him. Emily groaned at the touches. She cursed at their lack of privacy. Kathy and Alex were just on the other side of the press box.

Danny nuzzled her neck and let his hands fall to rest on her thighs on either side of him. He fought the urge to thrust against her, they both knew he was semi-hard but the thought of the consequences kept him still. Needed to cool the mood just a little. "When do you move?"

Whimpering a little, she pulled away. "Dad wants to do it soon but not before he and… Oriel decide where's what."

"It'll be okay, you'll see." He brushed a kiss against her forehead. "Oriel is nice. She's one of us. Nothing bad will happen."

"I guess you're right." She let out a deep sigh and resumed the pressure of her lips against his. "Think we could go somewhere a little more private?"

--

Liz glanced up at her doorway when she heard the knock. Diane. She let in her mother-in-law and gestured to the room of empty desks. "Guess you want to talk."

"Yeah, sweetie." Diane nodded and took a seat. "I guess… I'm not sure what I want to know but I know you have answers that Max couldn't possibly have thought of."

"I love him, Diane." Liz whispered as she slid into the next desk. "I always have, ever since the moment that he saved my life. I cannot regret one single moment because I love him and the life he's given me."

"Liz, honey… I just… I love my son and my daughter but this is just so much to take in." She let a tear slip down from her blue eyes. They had always been her children.

"It always is in the beginning. There has been so much hurt and betrayal but it's easy to look past it if you want to." Liz reached forward and squeezed her mother-in-law's hand. "Max meant what he said. He loves you as if you had given birth to him. You and Philip made him into the man he is today. That… Zan is only a part of him, the alien side. Max is the product of his human parents, his human side.

"They never wanted to ruin the illusion for you. They knew how much having them in your life meant to you and so… even after all the trouble seemed to go away, it just seemed better not to tell."

--

Kathy roamed the halls without even caring about getting caught out of class. It had been eating up at her since it happened. She missed Jacobi and he probably hated her for hurting him the way she had. She saw his head bent over his desk in history, saw his weak attempt at a smile when his friend Ryan said something that made everyone else burst into laughter, saw the hurt when he saw the things that reminded him of her in his locker. And all she could do was watch from afar.

--

Emily felt the mood change the second she pulled off her shirt. Danny seemed so focused on touching her breasts so gently. He kissed at her neck and chest as he stroked and teased at her breasts. She shifted slightly, so that the bulge in his jeans rubbed against her center. Felt rather than heard his groan at her movement. Slipped her hands down and had his pants pushed down in an instant. "Wait."

"What?" She panted.

"Not he-re." His voice cracked when her hand slid inside his boxers. "Not here." For all he managed to make protests, he couldn't make her stop stroking his erection. "Please, Em…"

"Then where?"

"I don't know. Just not in the Eraser room." He pleaded. "Of course, now we'll have to wait to leave."

"No…" She whined and went to retrieve her shirt. "We're going now, while everyone else is in class. Hurry."

"Em…" Danny shook his head but untucked his shirt and refastened his pants. "Let's go." They raced down the hall to the nearest exit but screeched to a halt when the Evans women emerged from Liz's classroom. "Uh. Hi."

"Daniel Parker…" Liz scoffed lightly. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere. I just needed to grab a book from the Jeep." He leaned forward to kiss his grandmother's cheek. "I really have to go. I only have two minutes."

"I have gym. I'm really late. Later, Liz." Emily waved and ran out the door ahead of Danny.

"Catch you at home, Mom." Danny kissed her cheek before he raced out the door himself.

"What was all that about?" Diane murmured.

"I don't know but if I find out that they were ditching, they're going to hear it from me." Liz shook her head and prayed that they weren't doing what she hoped they weren't doing.

--

Danny swept all the junk off his bed and yanked his shirt over his head. By the time he got it on the floor, Emily was on the bed topless and working at her jeans. Gently he grabbed the ankles of her jeans and pulled on them until they slid onto the floor. His head bent to kiss her stomach as he worked at getting his own jeans on the floor. Before he even stepped out of the denim, he was pulling her underwear over her hips and down her legs.

Emily tugged at his boxers and reached desperately for the nightstand at the same time. Knowing what she was trying to do, he helped out and kicked the boxers away. The condom was clenched in his hand before he joined her on the bed, kissing and tasting each other's skin.

The sobering moment came when Danny knelt on the bed to put the condom on. Silence. Then breathing and crinkling wrapper. Forcing his father from his mind, he remembered what his father had told him about putting the condom on. Gently, he spread her legs and just looked at her. "Beautiful, Em." Ran his hands up her thighs and then his thumbs along her sex. Slowly, he guided himself into her opening and paused.

He shifted so that he hovered over her. Em nodded quickly to the question in his eyes. "Slow. Please." His hips rocked back and forth, working his way inside her, each time diving just a bit deeper than before. Her cries urged him on until he heard the sharp gasp when he finally pushed through her barrier. "God."

"Em?"

"I'm okay."

Despite her protests that she was fine, Danny stayed still and simply kissed and caressed her body, ignoring the fact that he would explode any moment. When he was satisfied that she was feeling good, he began rocking his hips against hers.

--

Michael packed his things into boxes. He was concentrating so hard on covering breakables and getting as much into one box as he could muster that he didn't hear her coming until she was sliding onto his lap. "Busy?"

"A little but it can wait." He dropped the picture frame he was holding and wrapped his hands around his waist. "I was waiting for Em to get home from school but it's been a couple of hours."

"She's probably at Liz's or something." Oriel sighed. "She's really attached to her, isn't she?"

"Yeah. Liz has been great. She's raised her kids and mine." Michael stared up at his future wife. "You are going to be great though. Our child will have the best mother in the world."

"I hope so." Her hand went to her stomach. "I just hope I survive the cravings. Let's go eat."

--

Danny pulled his shirt on and kissed Emily again. She laughed and wrapped her arms around him. "Come on. I gotta go."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm great." She pressed a kiss to his lips. Groaning she stood. "Walk me out. I was supposed to be home a long time ago."

"I could give you a ride." Danny was about to reach for his shoes when she stopped him.

"No. If I go home grinning like this and Dad sees you… you're a dead man." She laughed and pulled him out the door and down the stairs.

Danny took her face in his hands. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. See you tomorrow." She pressed one last kiss to his lips and disappeared out the front door.

Danny circled back to the kitchen. His father was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and dinner started on the stove. "Hey Dad."

"Hey." Max looked his son over from head to toe. "I hope you used something."

"What?" Danny froze and paled when he opened the fridge.

"You and Em. You used protection?" Max set his cup down and waited until Danny faced him with a slow nod. "Next time, if you don't want me to know… brush your hair, put on a clean shirt… and at least put some socks on. You never walk around the house barefoot after school. Also, the music was off. If you're home, the music is usually on."

"It's that obvious?" Danny grabbed a coke and sat down.

"Only to me… and even more so to your mother." Max picked up his cup again. "You're lucky that she worked late today. I just got home. Don't…" He paused to rethink his words. "Not in the house, understand me?" Danny nodded. "Don't go causing indecent scenes but I don't want to catch you in the house. If your mother catches you, you'll be stuck in that room until you're 30."

"Yes sir." Danny nodded and bowed his head.

"I know that nothing I say will really make a difference in what you do. You and Em will sleep together regardless but understand me, please. If Michael finds out… I didn't know a thing about this."

"Yes sir."

"Ok. Go check on your brother." Max rose to return to the stove when he stopped. "Where's Kathy?"

--

Liz was about to get into her car when she saw Kathy sitting on the hood. "Sweetie?"

"It's hard, Mom."

"What is?"

"Watching him walk around with this hurt look… knowing I put it there… knowing that he can't even remember the good times we had together like I can." Kathy wiped at her eyes.

"Are you sure this was the best way?" Liz tossed her things into the backseat and shut the door.

"I didn't see any other way. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to him because of who we are."

"Sometimes… it's better to let the person you love make the decision for himself." Liz gestured for her to get into the car. "Your brothers and sisters would not exist if your father had succeeded in doing to me what you've done to Jacobi."

"Mom?" Kathy sat in the seat and lowered her voice when her mother turned up the music. "Do you ever regret falling in love with Dad?"

"No. Not one single time in all my live." Liz smiled sadly at her daughter. "Not through any of the hurt and pain or worry. Not one moment. Your father is not the best at expressing himself, so when he does, it usually comes out wrong. There are still things that have been left unsaid between us but I make sure he knows that I have never regretted my life with him."

"Thanks." Kathy whispered.

TBC
posted on 12-Aug-2002 6:29:30 PM by DMartinez
The Fate of Destiny Part 64

Oriel shifted nervously in the doorway. Emily had been staring out that window with a smile on her face for over twenty minutes. Boxes lay stacked all over the room untouched. She hated to ruin the look on the young girl's face but… "Emily? You hungry? Your dad wants to order in pizza."

"I'm not really hungry." That pretty smile faded quickly but she never turned to look at her future stepmother.

"I could make something." Oriel offered. "Later. If you get hungry."

"Cold pizza will be fine. Later. When I’m hungry." Em shifted, her happy daydream had been interrupted for the moment.

"If you change your mind… kitchen's always open." Oriel tapped the doorframe and wandered back downstairs to Michael. He was fiddling with a shelf, trying to hang it straight when she walked in. "She's not hungry."

"She is. I've never known her to go without a meal." Michael groaned and hefted the shelf onto the nails. "I'll get her."

"No. Don't. If she doesn't want to come down, she doesn't have to." She shook her head and took a seat. She winced at how uncomfortable the chair was. "Is there a pillow around here?"

"Yeah. I'll get you one." Michael motioned for her to stay put and went in hunt of the nearest soft pillow. Grabbed the phone while he was gone, as well. Dialing quickly, he fluffed the pillow and helped Oriel get comfortable.

--

Alex looked up when his window slid open and cocked his head in intrigue when his girlfriend slid into the room. Before he knew it, she was stretching out beside him on the twin bed. Their lips met in a sweet kiss, breath mingling, lips opening just a little. "Mmm… So it seemed like you were kinda avoiding me today."

"I wasn't. Kathy was just having a hard time dealing with the aftermath of the break-up." Alex flicked his blue eyes over her face. "What are you doing in here?"

"I wanted to see you. I didn't really want to be interrupted if people knew I was here."

"Interrupted?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I… didn't plan on doing anything when I got here. I just figured that since normally your mom or your sister or brother tend to be in here when I am… I just wanted you all to myself." Lynette tucked her head into the crook of his neck and settled in. "Problem?"

"None at all."

--

Em rolled her eyes when she heard them sweet talking in the living room and immediately headed for the kitchen for some of that pizza before it got cold… but it wasn't there. Groaning, she headed back to the living room.

"Michael, that tickles." Oriel's giggles and some disgusting kissing noises met her ears and Em had to go back to her room.

Michael lifted his head when he heard the stomps on the stairs. When he realized that it was Em, he sighed. He kissed Oriel's gently rounding stomach and sat back in his chair to finish his pizza. He stewed for a few moments, ignoring the exasperated looks she shot him. Then he jumped to his feet. Before he knew it, he was at Emily's door. "Em, come down and eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Come down and eat." He knocked on the door again.

"I said, I'm not hungry."

"And I said come down and eat." Michael called through the door. "That wasn't a request, Em." He turned the knob and threw open the door. "Come down and eat. Now." She stared at him dumbly from amidst the mess of boxes. "I won't have you thinking you can disrespect me just because you don't like the things that are happening. Come down and eat before the pizza gets cold."

He stood aside to wait for her to get up and go downstairs. She stomped down the stairs and threw herself on an armchair. She knew if she tried to out run him and get out the door, he would only catch her and drag her back. He used to do it when she wouldn't take a bath when she was much younger. Michael bent to retrieve a paper plate and two slices of pizza and handed them to her. She picked at them in silence.

Michael polished off his slice and his temper got the best of him. "This is a family, now. We eat together. I won't tolerate brattiness. I won't tolerate being a push over. Both of you have to learn to get along." His eyes raked both of them over. "Emily is a child and you are an authority figure in her life. Oriel is soon to be your step-mother and while she is not your mother, you will respect her as if she were. You will respect me because I am your father. I have some rules."

They stared at him blankly as he continued. "We will eat meals together like a family, whether it's pizza or meatloaf. We will spend at least one hour as a family every day. Sundays… no one goes anywhere, except as a family. Friday and Saturday nights can be excused… after six o'clock… provided that everyone is home to go over wheres and whens. I will not although this… animosity to go on. I will not allow Oriel to bend over backward to accommodate you and I will not allow Emily to disrespect you."

"Michael, calm down." Oriel whispered, reaching to put a hand on his arm.

"No. These are my rules. I know none of us are used to it but until we get along, this is the way it will be." He snapped and then his face paled. He had heard the tone in his voice just then. His head bowed and tears formed in his eyes. He took a deep breath and then they both could hear the tears in his voice. "I just want us to be a family. No fighting. Soon enough, there's going to be one more of us and this will be a happy family. I don't know how a real family is supposed to work but it's how I want this one to."

"Okay, Daddy." Emily nodded, head bowed.

"Alright, Michael." Oriel nodded and watched him carefully. He couldn't even look at them. Something else was going on in his head.

--

Len made notes occasionally as he ran through his notes to make a report for his client. Something was fishy there. There had to be some reason the Special Unit was interested in these people. Tight group of friends, easy to connect to one another as such. From what was left of the S.U. files, they were all involved, no outsiders, save for Guerin's girlfriend. Evans and his wife, four kids, Evans's sister and her husband, three kids, Guerin, one kid and a girlfriend. Nothing that screamed odd but the S.U. wasn't in for taking in civilians of any age for just any reason.

TBC
posted on 22-Aug-2002 11:38:24 AM by DMartinez
The Fate of Destiny Part 65

Max stuck his head into Michael's office. "Hey Michael, gonna grab lunch, you coming?" Then he watched how Michael was hunched over his desk. "Michael?"

"They're afraid of me." Michael muttered to the desk.

"Who is?" Max stepped fully into the office and shut the door behind him.

"Oriel and Emily. I yelled at them last night. God, I was such a jerk." Michael banged his head on the desk.

"Why did you yell at them?" Max got more confused the more Michael talked.

"I just wanted to eat a meal together. One meal and…" Michael slammed his fists on the desk. "Em wouldn't come out of her room. Oriel was bending over backward so Em wouldn't have to. And I lost it. I made her come down and I yelled at them both."

"You think you scared them?"

"I saw the looks on their faces, Max. It was like they didn't know me. I know what I sounded like. I sounded like…" he let the sentence die but Max took a seat across from him.

"Like who, Michael?" Max leaned forward to get a good look at the haunted glaze in his friend's eyes. "Michael." Michael turned his face up and Max sat back, understanding. "You're not him. You've never lifted a hand against them. You never would."

"I shouldn't have talked to them the way I did. I sounded like him, Max. It was like I channeled him." Michael's eyes lifted to the ceiling. "I've never yelled at Em like that before. We've had our fights but they were always fair. Last night, she wouldn't look at me."

"Michael. It's not as bad as you think."

"It's probably worse."

--

Len barely had time to duck when the folder came back to him. His client paced the length of the room. "You've told me what color shorts he wears under his scrubs but why in the hell did he make my life hell?"

"It's not like that was in the records, boss." Len cleared his throat. "I've put some bugs in their cars and I'm working on getting them in their homes but that's hard to do."

"Why?"

"Read the report. The Valenti home always has somebody in it. It's the Sheriff's house for Christ's sake, not only that, the former Sheriff is the one always in it. Dr. Evans keeps hellish hours. I'm trying to get a handle on his schedule. Not to mention his kids are hardly ever in school. The Guerin house will be easy. I have to hurry though. The girlfriend notified her employers of her impending maternity leave. So long as the kid stays at her boyfriend's when she ditches, it'll be good." Len finished and waited. "You want anything else, boss? Fries and a coke?"

"Just find something soon. My funds are running low and the letters in my pocket are itching to find their way into a mailbox and to your wives."

"Hey!" Len barked. "I'm trying. It's like trying to say that June Cleaver was a Playboy bunny. Even if it was true, no one would believe it. I don't even have anything to pin on these people other than being too good to be true."

"Go over this again with me. Start with Evans." The client took a seat and waited for Len to retrieve the folder.

"Okay. Max and Isabel Evans. Orphans found by Philip and Diane…"

--

Liz carried the stack of books to her car and paused at the sight of the nearly empty parking lot. There, in the back, Danny's Jeep. After dumping the books in the trunk, she looked at the Jeep again. When she had spoken to him earlier, he had said he was going to the Crashdown for lunch. Slipping her keys in her pocket, she made her way across and her eyes grew wider the closer she got. She slapped her hand on the side of the Jeep hard enough to hurt her hand.

"Alex, get lost."

"Daniel Parker Evans, get your butt out here right now." Liz shouted at the Jeep. A thud, several curses and much shuffling later, the door flew open. Daniel appeared, fear in his eyes. "Emily Guerin." A few moments later, the young girl slid out of the Jeep as well. "Don't lie to me, either of you."

"Mom, we were just…"

"I said don't lie. I know what you were 'just' doing in there." Liz took a breath. "This is neither the time nor place to be having this discussion. Emily, go get cleaned up." Hesitantly, Emily left them in the parking lot. Liz looked at her son. "I thought we discussed this with you… we don't want you… doing this and certainly not in your car in the school parking lot. If any other teacher had come by, you would have both been suspended."

"Mom."

"No. I'm not having this discussion here. Go straight home after school. I will be there at four and you will be there waiting for me." Liz swallowed suddenly, tears in her eyes. "If you father is there, you will not get him on your side. I am going to deal with you this time. Get to class."

Liz walked off fighting tears. There was no denying it anymore. Her son was growing up, was grown up. Somehow it had been easier to pretend he was still a little boy even while she watched his friends grow up around him. Recent revelations should have warned her but she was content to be blind to it as long as possible.

--

Len read over the case files from the SU again. They just didn't make any sense to him. Obviously whoever wrote them knew what they were talking about but not a poor detective from West Texas. It wasn't a code but it was written with a certain understanding that Len just didn't have. Too many medical terms. Too many scientific words.

--

Alex cruised the coke machines outside the gym looking for something to drink in his next class. He heard the footsteps behind him but he chose to ignore them. This is was what he was trying to overcome. This was the reason he rarely attended school. Even having Daniel as a friend couldn't prevent this.

"Well, if it isn't Alexander." Nicole Jensen's boyfriend Robby McGill.

"It isn't." Alex replied without turning.

"How's your mom?" Robby pressed.

"Let it alone." Alex clenched his fists. He knew what was coming.

"How can you stand it, Whitman? Measurements like that? It must kill you that a hot body like that belongs to your mom… and that's the closest you're going to get." Robby prodded Alex's shoulder when he turned. "I mean, really. You think she'd give me a turn?"

"I said shut up." Alex ground his teeth. He could attack the guy but he'd only end up a bloody pulp for his trouble. Then again, there was only so much a guy could take about his mom.

"Come on. Give me the digits. Your mom's gotta be high voltage in the sack." Robby never knew what hit him. Alex lunged for Robby, punching him square in the jaw, sending him reeling back into his friends. Unfortunately for Alex, his friends had quicker reflexes. Two of them pinned Alex to a wall and the third picked Robby up and set him on his feet. Robby rubbed his jaw as he steadied himself. He approached, rolling his shoulders and clenching his fists. "You're gonna regret you did that."

--

Kathy leaned against the wall of the stall, wishing the earth would swallow her up. Outside the girls gossiped and reapplied makeup. "Omigod, you hear? Jacobi Wilson is in total shock. Greg asked him how he was doing post-Evans and Jacobi said that there wasn't really anything to get over. Then Babs asked him how he was doing and he nearly bit her head off. He said something like how come everyone made a big deal about someone he never actually dated."

"You're kidding."

"He's in so much denial or… can you imagine how devastated Kathy's going to be when she hears that he's pretending they never dated?"

"I know. I heard she's pregnant."

"Nuh-uh. I heard he made her get an abortion and that's why they broke up."

"I thought Emily was the one that was pregnant."

"Are you kidding?"

"Daniel Evans is so gay. He wouldn’t be able to keep it up long enough to get her pregnant."

That was the last straw. Kathy opened the bathroom stall door and let her blue eyes burn into each girl. These were girls she knew and had trusted to some extent at one point. "And this is what's supposed to be the cream of the crop? I weep for our country's future." She walked an invisible line in front of the quieted girls. "Making up nasty rumors is something I'd expect from Nicole Jensen and her coven but from you guys? Is this where society has led you? Tossing around bits of untruths for entertainment, forget the truth. The truth has no place in our high school hierarchy. Let's just talk about the people who have never done any of you any wrong."

"Kathy, we didn't know you were in there." Jules whispered.

"And if you had? Then what would you have talked about? The bible?" Kathy shook her head. "None of you could ever regain my trust. My friends spreading rumors about me, my brother… who next? My cousin? How about my little sister? My parents? Hell, my grandparents are fair game. I know! Let's talk about nuns. They're devious creatures anyway."

"Kathy, calm down." Jules hissed. "It's just talk."

"Talk. Aren't you guys supposed to be dispelling rumors about one in the group?" Kathy shook her head. "I'm out." A couple of girls tried to follow her but she kept right on walking.

--

Max finished off his lunch and stared at Michael. "It's not so bad. You lost your temper. Apologize."

"I just don't know it that'll be good enough." Michael shook his head.

After a moment of silence, both their heads snapped up. A few seconds later, Max's beeper went off.

--

Isabel looked up when her secretary opened the door. "What is it?"

"School just called. Hospital. Get there. Now. The ambulance is taking your son." The skinny girl whispered. "I think it's the one in high school."

"What? Why didn't you pass the call along?" Isabel was already on her feet gathering her keys and her purse.

"Your buzzer was off and I asked what they wanted and to leave a message. Mrs. Valenti." The girl stopped her. "I think it's really serious."

"How serious? What did they say?" Isabel felt the world spinning.

"It was the principal. He didn't sound too good." She stepped aside as Isabel rushed from the room. "I'll call your afternoon appointments."

"Thanks. If Kyle calls here, tell him where I am."

--

Liz threw her keys on the counter and stared at her son, hands on her hips. He was on the phone. "Get off the phone, now."

"Mom, you wanna take this." Danny held out the phone. "It's Michael."

"What?" Liz felt the strange mood in the air.

"Mom." Kathy whispered from where she sat at the table. "Something's happened."

--

Max pulled on his gloves. He had a bad feeling about the mess that was headed in. Junior at West, severely beaten, found behind the gym. His unease grew the closer the sirens got. Suddenly, it was there and the EMTs were pulling the stretcher out and there lay Alex Whitman Jr. "Shit."

"Dr. Evans, Alex, junior at West. Took a beating. Looking for the punks that did this now. Our guy here has got many open wounds, contact with fists and feet. He's got a concussion. He's coming in and out of lucidity. Told us his name. We think there are some cracked ribs, broken arm." She rattled off a mouthful as they carted him into the ER.

"Jr." Max tried to make his eyes dilate and contract but they wouldn't even focus. "Jr. It's Uncle Max, you in there?" He noted the neck brace and turned to the nearest EMT. "This?"

"Just a precaution. I don't actually think they got him that bad." The EMT looked to his buddies. "You know this kid?"

"My sister's first born. We got it from here guys." Max's mind reeled at the sheer amount of blood and bruises that covered his nephew. "Saline drip. Don't draw any blood."

"Excuse me, doctor?" One of the nurses looked at him.

"I know him, I know his mother. I know what she'll consent to." Max rushed around the table to feel at the tender ribs. "Two cracked ribs. Cut the shirt off. We're going to have to set that arm and cast him. Get the X-Ray machine in here." He carefully and efficient searched for signs of internal bleeding. "Jr.? Can you hear me, buddy?"

A moan. Good sign.

"Jr. It's Uncle Max. Do you know where you are?" He returned with the flashlight. More responsive. "Jr.?"

"Uncle Max?"

"Yes. Do you know where you are?"

"Why can't I move my head?" Alex tried to turn his head.

"Because you have a collar to keep you from hurting yourself. If you'll wait a minute, we'll get that off. Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital."

"Do you know why?"

"Oh god." Alex squeezed his eyes shut. Then the pain set in. "Oh god."

"Jr. Stay with me. We're going to patch you up but you gotta stay with me, Jr. Talk to me. Tell me what happened."

"It was… that guy… that guy…" Alex tried and tried but the name would not come.

"You know him?" Max ran his hand over his stomach. "That hurt?"

"No. Yeah, I know him. He's… he's… dates that girl… the one that picks on Kathy." He was drawing a blank on the names. Then the room spun. "Ah!"

"Hold on, buddy." Max tried to juggle the chemistry in his head. "I think I can give you something for the pain."

"It's my head. I can't see straight. The room is spinning."

"Calm down. Calm down. I'm going to fix you up." He turned to the nurse. "Aspirin, half."

"Dr.?"

"Trust me, it'll be more than enough for him." Max took a breath. "Do me a favor. Let me know when my sister gets here but don't let her in here."

--

Michael stared around his office. Everyone was crammed in there, waiting for word. Isabel was wearing a hole in the floor. Kyle leaned against a wall, looking ready to punch anyone who came near. Liz sat with her eldest son. Emily had found another corner and hadn't come out yet. Kathy sat on the desk and stared at her feet. The room was getting more and more crowded as time past and kids found their way to the hospital.

A soft knock at the door got everyone's attention. Isabel raced for it. "It's about damn time."

When she opened it, a dark haired girl stood there. "I just heard, Mrs. Valenti. The nurse told me you were in here."

"Come in." Isabel hugged Lynette and took a breath. "We haven't heard from Max yet."

"What's the deal?" Kyle slammed his fist into the wall. "I can't go looking for the punks. I can't see him."

"Sweetie, calm down." Isabel reached out to rub his shoulder. "Why can't I see him? What in the hell is going on that I can't see my son?"

"Isabel." Kyle pulled her to him.

"That's it. I am marching down there and demanding that Max speak to me." Isabel threw open the door and got four steps before Max stopped her. "There you are. Max, where is he? I want to see him."

"Resting. You can see him in a little bit." Max tried to calm her down. "He's going to look a lot worse than he is. He was beaten and he's working on trying to remember who did it. He's still a little disoriented. He's got a concussion, two cracked ribs and a broken arm. They just finished his cast. I have him a little aspirin."

"So, he's gonna be okay?"

"He's gonna be okay. We're going to keep an eye on him overnight for the concussion. I'll try to get him discharged tomorrow so he can heal up at home. I've taken care of everything else." He met her eyes and stressed those words. "Okay? It's taken care of. Don't worry about it. It was luck that I was in the ER today. He's gonna be okay. When his head clears, we'll figure out who did this to him."

"I need to see him." Isabel let him guide her to the room. She wanted to cry when she saw her son lying in that bed with the bandages and the cast and the bruises.

"Hey Mom. In the neighborhood?" Alex adjusted his throbbing head against the pillow.

"In twenty minutes he's going to do that again." Max whispered to her. "Whenever I think he's finally with it, we have to start over again. We'll know we're out of the woods when he remembers that he's been awake awhile."

"Thanks, Max." Isabel nodded and entered the room. "Hey sweetie. We'll get you out of here in no time."

Max backtracked to Michael's office where he had to repeat everything that he had told Isabel before he sent Kyle into the room with the warning about Alex's memory.

TBC
posted on 26-Aug-2002 3:48:49 AM by DMartinez
[center]The Fate of Destiny Part 66[/center]

Liz sipped her morning coffee and gazed out the window where her two youngest were playing in the backyard. Max was sleeping in the bedroom. Kathy doing her homework and Danny fidgeting across the table from her. "Are you… active?"

"Define active."

"Don't try to be cute."

"Yes." Danny cleared his throat and glanced behind him to his parent's bedroom door. "We were careful."

"I guess that's supposed to make me feel better." She took a breath.

"Em and I are it, Mom. I love her."

"You fell in love every week when you were nine." She stared into her cup.

"I'm not nine anymore. I'm—"

"You're only 16, Daniel." Liz looked up at her son. "I know that you think you feel strongly and that you think if you're careful nothing will happen but this isn't the time to be experimenting with anything." Tears filled her eyes. "I just watch you and your sister making so many mistakes and there's nothing that I can do about it. I'm trying but nothing's getting through."

"Mom…" Danny rushed to the other side of the table. "Mom." His voice sharp. "Do you really think that we're making mistakes?"

Liz sighed and turned to face him. "No. I guess I don't. I'm worried about the two of you. Kathy's not happy and Jacobi won't know to do anything about it. You… you're a good boy." She touched his hair. "You remind me so much of your father and sometimes I'm afraid of that similarity."

"Why?" He saw the hesitation.

"Don't worry about it. I just don't want you to grow up. Soon enough you'll be off at college. Then before I know it Beth will be gone and then it won't be long until there's no one in the house but me and your dad." She forced a smile. "Guess I need to cut the cord."

"Mom. It's a little premature to be envisioning the house without us." He tried to reassure her.

"If something happens you'll leave, I know it."

"Nothing's going to happen."

--

Kyle gripped the desk as four boys were escorted into the juvenile cells. Their head were held high as they were locked up… until Kyle stepped in front of them. Fear shone in all their eyes. "This wasn't doing doughnuts on the football field. It wasn't cherry bombs in the toilet. You beat a boy until his own mother could barely recognize him. Your rich fathers aren't going to get you out of this mess. This was an assault. Four against one were unfair odds. You aren't little boys anymore. You know better. Right from wrong. This kind of behavior is not acceptable in our society. I want you boys to think about what you've done and be damned glad that my son is going to be just fine… though from his injuries, that was… That worried us, he could have not made it. He's a strong boy and lucky for you four, there's no brain damage."

"Sheriff." Deputy Harris tapped his shoulder. "How long are they in for?"

"Ask Billy. I'm not on this case." Kyle turned on his heel and left the level.

--

Max fought the urge to groan over the line. "Freddy."

"Max, this won't look good when the family presses charges. The boy's files are lacking proper notes on care. Why haven't you passed him off?"

"I promised I would personally see to him until he's released." Max shut his eyes. "It's my sister's kid."

"Tylenol 3. It's not on his chart."

"I'm not giving him Tylenol 3. He gets half an aspirin as he needs it, not to exceed two aspirin in a 16 hour period." He waited for the shout and it never came.

"Why?" Curious. That's interesting.

Out with the lies. "It's a genetic thing. My sister and I don't respond well to drugs and alcohol. More than half an aspirin for the pain would be like… taking morphin for a minor headache… not a good idea. I'm taking care of him."

"A genetic thing."

"I suppose it's hereditary but if you meet my biological parents, feel free to ask them about it. The mental rewinds stopped that night before we let him sleep for the night. His break was set, he's casted and bandaged and on the aspirin. He's doing great." Max sighed. "Freddy, don't worry about it. This will not be a legal issue for the hospital. I'm coming in tonight anyway."

"Remember this. You're a surgeon, not just a doctor."

"If I'm only a surgeon, why am I scheduled to two ER rotations a week?"

"Because you're a damn fine doctor. I'll see you… tonight? You're off."

"I'm checking on my nephew. His mother wants him home tomorrow. I'll sign off on it."

"I will. I want to see him for myself… there's no blood tests. Max. What the hell is going on with this kid?"

"Trust me, Freddy. No malpractice suits and certainly not from my sister. We… we don't allow blood tests in my family."

"Remind me not to join your cult, Max." Click.

--

"Mom?" Alex sat up awkwardly. His mother was asleep in the chair next to his bed. "Mom?"

"What?" Isabel jerked awake. "What?" She looked around and found him awake. "Hey sweetie."

"Why aren't you at work?" He tried to scold but he wasn't feeling too strong.

"Because my baby's in the hospital."

"MOM." But of course, being a teenager, he could always manage a whine. "I'm fine. Just tired. If you don't leave me alone I'll put out a restraining order."

"You will not." She smiled and leaned over to kiss an unmarred spot on his face. "So, did you talk to the policeman last night?"

"Yeah. I told him that Robby and his friends did it." Alex picked at his blanket with his good hand. "Mom, I had to tell him the truth. I threw the first punch."

"Why?" She sat up straight. Silence. He wouldn't answer. "Alexander Whitman. Why on earth would you punch first?" More silence. "Alex."

"Actually, he did kind of shove me first but yeah, I threw the first punch." He laid his head back. Conversation over. "Where's Berty and Kyle?"

Isabel let it slide for the moment but she'd get it out of him eventually. "Granpa Jim has them at the park across the street. You want to seem them?"

"No. I'd rather be in my own bed when they ask what happened to me." He shut his eyes and winced. "I need more aspirin."

"Not for another twenty minutes. Max said." She shook her head. She was grateful that Max was figuring out the ration thing. Excedrin the adults could take as prescribed but only once in a while, Tylenol seemed to affect them worse… much worse for some reason. Max thought maybe it had something to do with the caffeine levels, maybe the mix of ingredients.

"What are they going to do to Robby and his friends?"

"Don't know yet but I am pressing charges."

"They did start it Mom. I threw the first punch but they started it. Ask anyone at school, it was only a matter of time before they came at me." He flexed his fingers lightly.

"What reason in the world would they have for doing something like this to you?" She wiped at fresh tears.

"It's Robby. He would have thought of something."

--

Len turned on his monitors. This was some expensive stuff but technology made it possible to monitor five houses from the apartment he was renting. Monitor 1, four-way split screen; Guerin kitchen, living room, master bedroom and a fourth blank square in the daughter's bedroom. No need to get brought in on pedophile charges. All he needed was the sound. Monitor 2, four-way split screen; Evans living room, kitchen, master bedroom and grandkids playroom. Monitor 3, four-way split screen; Valenti living room/dining room, master bedroom, backyard, audio in the oldest kid's room. Monitor 4 and 5, split screens; Evans master bedroom, living room, den, kitchen, audio in all the kids' rooms. All blank screens were set to display a pattern when the audio picked up.

All he had to do was wait.

--

"It's my fault." Kathy whispered into the phone.

"It is not your fault It's Robby's fault." Emily punched her bed angrily, nearly upsetting the phone next to her ear.

"I was so wrapped up in my non-baggage with Jacobi. We left Alex alone."

"It's as much my fault as yours then. Your mom busted me and Danny. We had to beat it to all our classes early after that." Emily took a breath. "We left him alone too."

"God, it makes me so angry. It's all because of me. Nikki hates me, so Robby hates Alex. I'm not even with Jacobi anymore."

"Nikki would have wanted anyone you dated. Didn't just have to be Jacobi." Em sat up and glanced at the clock. "I gotta go. Dad's coming home soon and we gotta touch base before tonight."

"What's tonight?"

"Nothing in particular. New house rules. Dinner together every night plus an hour of hanging out. Friday and Saturday we gotta touch base before going our separate ways. Sunday, no one goes anywhere." Em snorted. "It's a party at the Guerin house, every week."

"When's the wedding?"

"They're going to the JP next week. Or they were. I don't know anymore."

"Did he tell you what started it?" The softer tone told them they were back to their original subject.

"Yeah. I hope those bastards get what they deserve."

"We could help. Meet me tomorrow before school."

Em didn't like the sound of Kathy's voice but she'd have to play along to see what the blue-eyed devil was up to.

TBC