Room 406, evening

[izzyalienqueen]

The trip home to Roswell had quite possibly been even longer and more emotional then Isabel thought it would be. But she'd gotten through it and answered questions as best she could. Despite the worry that had Liz pale and silent and Maria frantic with panic, Isabel was still grateful that for once there were no more secrets. Her parents hadn't let her out of there sight for the day, they'd been upset by the years of deception, but in the end they'd understood that they were only trying to keep them safe.

They hadn't wanted her to come back to school though. It took a lot of talking and Isabel nearly breaking down before they'd finally agreed. Even then, she wasn't certain that believed all her reasons for wanting to go back. Apparently it was one thing to believe in aliens, but demons, wizards and time travellers were another story entirely. Fortunately that was when Bel turned up to bring her home. Isabel didn't think she'd ever forget the shocked expression on her mother's face as Bel took her hand and they started to shimmer away.

They reappeared in her room and Isabel let go of Bel's hand to collapse on her bed, worn out by the day.

[ooc: Post is open! Bel modded with permission]

Comments

[demonbelthazor]

"It went that well, huh?" Bel asked.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I'd rather fight trolls," Isabel sighed. "They don't look at you like you've kicked their puppy."

[demonbelthazor]

"They'll get used to it," Bel said. "They just need time to sort things out."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I know. I'm hoping it can only get better at this point."

Her phone started to ring and Isabel held out her hand as it flew across the room. She raised an eyebrow at the caller ID and flipped open the phone. "Mom? Yes. I am," she said. "In Virginia. I told you, he's can do that." Isabel facepalmed with her free hand. "No, I am not going to ask him to bring me back there once a week for dinner. I know mom. I love you to. I'll talk to you soon."

Clicking the phone shut, Isabel sighed. "I suppose that's a good sign."

[demonbelthazor]

Bel snickered. "See, she's getting used to things already if she's asking to arrange rides with the cosmic taxi."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I think it's just desperation. Max is gone. I'm all they have left. They'll deal with anything if it means seeing me," she explained. "But as much as I love them, I'd rather be here."

[demonbelthazor]

"For all its weirdness, this place is home," Bel agreed. "It's going to be hard leaving."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I know. Graduation is going to be hard," Isabel nodded. "Parker, Jack, you, Aeryn...I hate saying good-bye."

[demonbelthazor]

"Me too," Bel said. "I don't even know what I'm doing. Phoebe and I haven't really talked about it. I think she wants to go to college but I don't know what I'm going to do."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Go with her. Figure out what you like to do and look for a way to make a career out of it," she suggested.

[demonbelthazor]

"I could start a detective agency and fight against the forces of evil," Bel mused. "Oh wait, that's been done."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel snickered. "Maybe you could open the San Francisco branch? Just without the obnoxious sidekick?"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack had been waiting pretty impatiently all day and he'd finally gotten fed up with doing so. Isabel would either be back or she wouldn't, but at least going to check would give him something to do besides wait.

Which was why he was now knocking on her door.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"It's open," she called, not moving from where she was resting with her eyes closed on the bed.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

In what was becoming habit, he slipped inside and shut the door behind him. This time he didn't bother with hanging around near the door, just walked over and sat next to Isabel. "How'd it go?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Better in some ways, worse in others," Isabel sighed, reaching for his hand.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

He folded her hand in both of his. "Want to talk about it?" he asked, corner of his mouth quirking up. "I am going to bug you to tell me what happened, but I can hold off until tomorrow if you need me to."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"There's not much to say. My folks were thrilled to see me. And they say they understand why we never said anything," she told him, smiling a bit at the memory of her mom's frequent hugs. "But it was hard, explaining to Maria and Liz why I'm here and Michael and Max aren't."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"I'll bet," he said quietly. "But at least your parents understood. That must have been an interesting conversation."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"There really wasn't a lot to say. At least about us. Max had left a video that explained a lot and the Sheriff, Liz and Maria filled in the rest, so that that helped." Isabel closed her eyes, wishing the rest of the afternoon as been as easy. "They didn't want me to come back."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack stiffened at that, his concern for Isabel temporarily overcome by his worry that she'd be leaving. "But you're here," he said, tugging gently on her hand. "That means you're staying. Right?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I'm staying," she nodded. "I think when I started panicking, they realized I really couldn't stay."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack relaxed and freed one hand to pull her into a hug. "Good. Good. I get why they'd want you to stay, but we need you here." He was quiet for a minute, then asked, "How much did you tell them about what happened to you? And to Max and Michael?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I need to be here. It hurts when I'm there. I kept waiting for Max or Michael to come through the door," Isabel said as she relaxed against him. "The only thing I didn't tell them about was what Kivar did to me. I didn't want them to worry."

[ismyhairout.livejournal.com]

A tumbleweed slowly rolled past the room. It wasn't eavesdropping or anything. Really! Except that it was. Nosy bastard.