izzyalienqueen | Roswell, Thursday Night, NFB

But Max didn’t come home for dinner and their fight that morning was still on her mind. So after helping her mother clean-up after dinner, she pulled on her coat and started to walk.

Unseen by Max, she stopped in the driveway and watched as he kicked at the trashcan and then sank down against the side of the house in tears. Without thinking, she stepped forward. "Max?"

He looked up, wiping his eyes, trying to hide the tears. "Isabel, what are you doing here?"

Isabel shrugged, "It doesn’t matter. What’s wrong?"

"Tess is pregnant," Max said quietly.

"What?"

"She's pregnant and the baby's dying because it can't live in this atmosphere." Max let his head fall back against the side of the house.

Stunned, Isabel sat down next to Max and rested her hand on his arm.

"And...I don't know what to do because I...I'm so scared. And how do I explain this to Mom and Dad? They don’t know the truth. How can I explain now? I feel so irresponsible, and stupid and...I know this is supposed to happen, because it's our destiny." His head dropped down into his hands. "Oh my God, what am I gonna do?"

Isabel stood up and held out her hand. "Max, come with me. Come on."

He was silent as she led him down the street to a small park. They stopped in the center, each taking a seat on a swing.

With a small smile, Isabel waved her hand and it began to snow. "Remember the first time we saw snow?"
"I remember," said Max. "It snowed for two days. Biggest storm to hit in Roswell in a century. It was a disaster for everyone but us."

"We built snowmen and made snow angels," Isabel said.

"And pelted Michael with snowballs," Max laughed.

"It was magic."

Max nodded, "Just like this."

Isabel sighed, "Max, I had no idea what you'd been going through. My problems are really nothing compared to this, so I'm sorry."

"No, they're not. Your problems aren't nothing. They're important. Your life is important. I'm sorry for not realizing that." Idly he pushed his feet against the ground, setting the swing to moving. "Do you want to go back to your school?"

"It doesn’t matter. You need me here."

"But you were happy."

She shrugged, "I was, but if I need to be here now, I will. I just wish…"

"What?"

"Why didn’t you ever call me back after I left you that message?"

"What message?" Max asked curiously. "You never called, I thought you were being stubborn."
"You never…" She stopped, remembering the day of phone chaos. For a moment she panicked, wondering who got the message. But it’s been over two months and no one has said anything. It’s not an issue now. "I guess it didn’t go through then."

Using her toe, she pushed the swing into motion and turned her head to study Max. "I really haven’t had a chance to tell you about the school. God, Max, you wouldn’t believe some of the stories I can tell you."

"You’ve been having fun," he said.

"I have, but it’s not that. The people there…" her voice trailed off. Taking a deep breath, she blurted out the truth. "Max, there are aliens there."

Max was on his feet in an instant. "What? How? Do they know about you? You could be in danger."

"Max, it’s fine. I’m not in any danger." Isabel rolled her eyes, there was no way she was going to admit that one of extraterrestrial students knew the truth. And explaining Peter and Angel would be even more bizarre, and definitely not going to happen.

"Most of them are human, just from a different world. I’ve tried to ask some questions, and I don’t think they have anything to do with us." She tipped her head back, letting the snow fall on her face. "Aeryn and Anakin, if I could tell them the truth, they might know something. But I haven’t. Everyone there thinks I’m just this nice normal girl from New Mexico."

"Isabel, what kind of a school has aliens? I don’t understand." Max shook his head, clearly confused.

"It’s a special place, magic even," she said as she gestured at the snow. "Just like this. I’ll be honest, I’ll miss it."

"It’s okay, Max. You need me here. I’ll stay." She hopped to her feet and stood before him. "We'll figure something out for you and Tess and your...do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"A boy," he said with a small smile.

"Wow. You're having a son," Isabel said as she hugged him. She stepped back at the sound of an approaching motorcycle.

"A little public, isn't it?" Michael asked, looking at the snow.

Isabel grinned, "It's a freak storm, you know, who cares?"

"Not me," Michael said. "I got bigger things to talk about. Maxwell, this is for you."

"What's this?" Max asked as he took the notebook Michael held out to him. Silently Isabel took the long crystal rod Michael offered her.

"It's everything we've been looking for. It's a translation to the book. You know - the alien book."

"You're kidding!" Isabel exclaimed.

Michael shook his head, "Not even a little."

"Well what does it say?" she asked as Max silently paged through it.

Max looked up. "It's the way home. We can go home."

"Max…" Isabel said quietly.

Michael held up a hand. "There’s more. Iz, Max, It’s about Alex. I've been lying to you about Maria, Liz, and the whole investigation into Alex’s death. Instead of stopping 'em, I've been helping 'em. And they were right. Someone had him brainwashed and set up in a room at the University in Las Cruces. He never went to Sweden, he was there the whole time translating the book."

"Then it really was our fault that he died," Isabel said.

"No Isabel, it’s not." Max said firmly. "But tomorrow I’m going to find out whose fault it is and they will pay for it."

[OOC: No interaction possible. Scene based on the Roswell episode Baby It’s You.]