Pullman Ranch, outside Roswell, New Mexico

[izzyalienqueen]

Isabel drove the car to the end of road and parked. "Come on," she told Wyatt. "It's just a bit of a hike into the hills there."

[For the boyfriend, and potentially massive amounts of slowplay.]

Comments

[blessed_twice]

"I could orb us there, you know," Wyatt said.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"A tiny little hike it too much for you?" Isabel teased. "I did it when I was six. And barefoot."

[blessed_twice]

"But were you stuffed from Christmas feasts?" Wyatt asked, grinning. "My mother put out a good spread yesterday."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"No. Actually I was naked and had just hatched," Isabel told him.

[blessed_twice]

"Then is it tradition to go back naked?" Wyatt asked, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I don't think so," she said, rolling her eyes and pulling her jacket a little tighter around her body. "It's a little to chilly for nakedness."

Isabel reached for his hand as they started up the trail. "So it was a nice visit?"

[blessed_twice]

Wyatt squeezed her hand. "Yeah, it was okay, I guess. A little awkward. They wanted to know all about Fandom and how we ended up there."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Well there shouldn't have been awkward silences if you were telling Fandom stories," Isabel laughed. "Even just stories of the random weirdness could fill a few hours."

[blessed_twice]

"Well, I left out a few things," Wyatt said. "But not the part about Chris turning into a girl."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"You're evil," she teased. "I'm sure Chris appreciated that."

[blessed_twice]

"Oh yeah," Wyatt said. "So then he regaled them with tales of me turning into a kid."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I'm so glad Max and Michael don't go to Fandom," Isabel said as the trail led them up into a canyon. "At least this way I get to control what stories my parents get told."

[blessed_twice]

Wyatt looked thoughtful. "So you think. . . ." he teased.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel eyed him, "What are you implying?"

[blessed_twice]

"I'm sure I could tell them a few stories," Wyatt said slyly. "Unless I'm properly motivated to keep my mouth shut."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I think I can help you with that motivation," she told him with a grin.

"And we're here," Isabel said growing more serious. She stopped in front of a blank wall off of rock and studied it for a moment before holding her hand out and waving it over a small section of the stone. The glowing alien script appeared under her hand for a second as a larger section of the wall in front of them disappeared, exposing a dark cave. "I haven't been back here in almost two years."

[blessed_twice]

"Lead on," Wyatt said. "Show me around."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"There's not all that much to see," she told him. "So don't get too excited. The crash happened down in the field near where we parked. Somehow, Nasedo and Langley managed to get our pods up here and hidden away."

The faint green light that had illuminated the chamber in the past was gone, Isabel supposed that with the Granolith gone, it no longer had a power source. Fortunately she'd tucked a small flashlight in her back pocket. Not that she had issues with the dark or anything. Flipping the light on, she led the way over to the pods. "So this is where is was for almost fifty years. Weird isn't it?"

[blessed_twice]

"Wow," Wyatt said, looking at the pods. "You were just stuck in there for that long?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel nodded, brushing her hands over the leathery remains of the sacs. "Yeah, I don't know if that was intentional. Or a result of everything going wrong with the crash. I still remember that first night. Of becoming aware, seeing Max and taking his hand. Losing Michael. It was scary."

[blessed_twice]

"I can imagine," Wyatt murmured, wrapping his arm around Isabel's shoulders. "Did you know what you were right away, or did that come later?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I think we always knew we were different," she said, leaning into him. "It was only later, once we were able to understand all the crash stories that we realized what we were. And then we started looking for answers. Well, no, Michael once we found him again, he was always the one that was looking. I just wanted to pretend I was a normal girl."

[blessed_twice]

"And then you found yourself smack in the middle of a bunch of weird crazy people, huh?" Wyatt said, turning his head to kiss her temple.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"That's one way of putting it," Isabel said with a small smile. "I prefer to think of it as finally finding a place where I felt safe. And more importantly, found some important people."

[blessed_twice]

"Me, too," Wyatt said. "And you're always safe with me. Promise."