Room 406, Saturday afternoon

[izzyalienqueen]

Isabel wasn't sure what time she finally left Cedric's room. All she remembered was that it was very, very late and that she was glad the spell had finally broken.

It hadn't been the best of weeks. A dinner that was supposed to fun was entirely too angst-ridden. And although some classes had been fun. Others? Well, the company was good, but being on guard against possessed people wasn't. Fortunately research had given them answers and others were able to fix things. Although after finally checking her messages, Isabel was worried some people might be hurt beyond repair. After leaving a message of her own, it was finally time for bed.

She slept in late Saturday morning, then got up and and started gathering supplies for poster-making this evening. Half distracted in a search for glitter and markers, Isabel never looked at caller ID.

"Hello? Isabel? Honey is that you?" a familiar and very worried voice asked through the phone.

Shocked, Isabel sat down on the bed.

"Who is this? Please. I'm looking for my daughter."

"It's me dad," she said finally, her voice shaking.

[ooc: Open although most likely it'll be SP till this evening.]

Comments

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

After Gun Club, Parker was just going to go quietly die in her room. Then she decided Isabel's room would do just as well.

She knocked on the door with knuckles that even felt achey.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

The phone call had opened wounds that had only just started to heal.

Isabel was still clutching the phone when she heard the knock. "It's open."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker wandered in and collapsed like a limp rag doll into the nearest chair. "Hey. Very unwell." Then she saw Isabel's expression, and frowned. "You too?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"What happened to you?" she asked, ignoring Parker's question for now. "Rough night?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Tequila. Champagne. And teeny tiny bit of black evil from space. Relief got the best of me and I got stupid last night," Parker said, closing her eyes. "And then I had Gun Club. So, yeah. I'll live. What about you?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel nodded, "Ah, the Seahorse party. I thought about coming by, but instead I wound up sitting with Cedric instead. His magic's back. But he was too tired to party after everything."

"My father called."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Yay, magic back," even though Parker's not sure she knew the magic was gone, and what the hell, Evil Lana?, then, "Yeah?" And finally: "Oh." Parker finally took off her shades at that, studying Isabel's face.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I forgot they get the phone bill and when they saw someone was using the phone, my dad called to see what was going on. Needless to say, they're upset."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Ohhhhhhh boy." Parker bit her lip, shaking her head, then gently asked, "How much did you explain to them?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"As much as I could," Isabel replied, reaching down and scooping up Annie for a cuddle. "Max had left a video before he left. And the Maria, Liz and the Sheriff, they tried to answer what questions they could. But it's still not enough. I mean we lied to them our entire lives. Then we left, now I'm the only one that's back and I'm talking about rifts in space and time."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker couldn't begin to imagine the existential freak-out Isabel's parents wanted to have right now. But she could wonder, "Are they mad at you? Or do they want you to go back to Roswell?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I wouldn't say mad. More confused and upset then anything." Head down, eyes closed, she tried to find the answers somewhere in the cat fur under her hands. "They do want me to go back."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker stumbled over to the bed to sit by Isabel, but didn't touch her, just watched her pet Annie. "You can't blame them. This is all mind-boggling. And you're a thousand miles away, when they thought your were light-years away." She smiled a little, then quietly said, "Can I help? Any way?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"There's nothing you can do. I mean not only do I have to face my parents, I have to face Liz and Maria." Annie squirmed away, unhappy with being squeezed so tightly. "How do I tell Liz how cold Max became? How do I tell Maria the last time I saw Michael, he was hurt, possibly dead?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker sighed, watching Annie escape, then said, "You don't. You stick to the facts, for a while. Maybe you write a letter with all that, let them process it, then talk to them on the phone. You don't need the emotional beating-up that goes with being the only one here to explain." Her voice softened. "Especially if you don't feel up to it."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I don't need it. I don't feel up to it. But I'm still going to have to do it," Isabel said quietly. "I owe it to them. I'm going to try and do it on my terms though. I'm going to talk to Bel and see if he'll bring me out and back on Monday. I think a day is about all I can deal with."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

After a moment's consideration, Parker nodded. "Yes. I can see that. As long as you've got an escape hatch ready-- are you sure you want to do this alone?" She gave Isabel an anxious look. "Will they understand about Bel?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I've thought about it," she admitted. "But I don't think I want to subject anyone to that. Because they'll get questioned as well and that's not fair. As for Bel, he's my object lesson in why I need to be here, where people actually get everything, instead of going back to Roswell and trying to pretend I'm just a normal girl."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker's got enough secrets that she knows she's not a good candidate. But it's still not great for Isabel. "If you're sure... And you yell as soon as you're back, if you need to talk or cry or just collapse somewhere and not thing." She picked up Annie, stroking her fuzzy head slowly, then said, "Just remember. We get it, and we love you. By the time your parents understand, the last six months-- or ten years-- won't matter to them either."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"More then likely I'll be here. I'm fairly certain it's going to be a emotional and exhausting day. So I think I'll probably just come back and collapse." Isabel picked up the small, framed photo of her family and studied it. "I always wanted to tell them. And now that they know, I'm scared. It's not that I think they'll stop loving us. It's just...I know they're going to be hurt that we didn't trust them."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"It wasn't your decision alone," Parker pointed out. "And it maybe you went along with it, and blaming Max and Michael when they're not here... anyway. It was as much about protecting them as about trusting them, wasn't it? I think they'll be okay with it, eventually." No matter how far away that was.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"It was," she agreed. "And I'm sure the Sheriff's told them that. I'm just going to have to wait till Monday to see how things go."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker pressed her hand against Isabel's, wishing there was more she could say. Wishing that Isabel's life was the kind of stupid soap opera with no consequences where she could go along, tra la, and not have to deal with all the fallout.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel squeezed Parker's hand once then got ready to put the happy face back on. There were posters to make and friends to spend time with. She'd deal with everything in Roswell when she got there on Monday.

"So have you heard from Jarod? We've played phone tag. He remembers who he is now."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker looked away, then back, her own game face on. "No, I left him a message. I expect he's busy apologizing to people for not knowing them. I'm glad, though."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I'll stop by Caritas and visit one night next week. Tonight Peter and I are going to be making posters for prom and mask making," she said pointing towards the pile of supplies.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Cool. I might stop by, watch you guys at work." Parker gave her hand one last pat as she stood up. "Call me if you need anything?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"We'll be there," Isabel smiled. "And I will. Thank you."