I Am What I Am(Open)

[Michael "Mike" Andrew Guerin]

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It was another long and boring day for Michael. His life never use to be boring, but running from the feds and being apart from his friends, there wasn't much to do anymore. As he sat quietly in his little booth he listened to the sounds around him. The clang of coffee cups, the sound of the bell above the door as a customer came or went. He looked down at his chocolate cake covered in hot sauce. It had been 5 years. 5, long bad years. Michael hasn't seen his friends for that long.

And for what, cause the government wants to make him their own personal science project? 5 years of running, of moving from town to town, not seeing any one he cared about. Stupid FBI. He heard the clinking of the waitress's shoes as she approached him and refilled his cherry cola. "Thinking about a girl?" She asked him in a deep southern accent. Michael really wasn't thinking about a girl, but he kinda was. Maria... Michael didn't let himself get attached to many people, it was hard enough running for his life, and so he couldn't get involved.

He really didn't talk to anyone unless he had to, let alone go on dates and get romantically involved with someone. Michael was a bit different from the others. They preferred to stay in one place for awhile and then move on when they had to Michael was a little different, he was a drifter so to speak. Michael moved from place to place, making money when he could. Sometimes making money wasn't easy. So he would have to steal it. He felt bad about this of course, but it was the difference between life and death for him.

"You can say that." Michael finally replied to the waitress. Lets face it, stealing to survive wasn't the biggest reason the FBI was after him anyways. She nodded understanding that he didn't really seem to want to chat with her and she began walking away until something on the table caught her attention and she stopped and looked at him.

"Hot sauce on cake?" She questioned him. Michael just looked away from her, not really wanted to explain to her why right now, not that he would. That would be a great conversation, its cause I am an alien and sweet with spicy tastes good to me. Michael was the one who knew out of all his friends he was likely to be the one to get caught first, as he was the one that was most likely to do something reckless or stupid. Michael has always been like that, he was always the most curious of the group about his origins, and wanted to go home, until he fell in love with Maria that is.

He was also the one that was likely to get caught using his abilities, as he wasn't nearly as careful with them as he ought to be. If that is the case, and Michael was likely to get caught, then they would have to kill him cause he won't tell them anything about his friends, or about their where abouts. Not that he really even knew in the first place, Michael tried not to ask those kinds of questions. He would take any information he had to his grave and the FBI won't get anything out of him if they caught him.

"So, is it like a metaphor for your girl troubles?" The waiter asked him, causing him to look at her questioningly, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Think about it, you are clearly sweet on her, the cake. But, you put up a wall between you and her cause you are worried about getting to attached, the hot sauce." The waiter said to him before walking away. Michael began to think about this very carefully. Wondering if the waiter just Jedi mind tricked him or something he continued eating his cake. Michael then realized something, the women had a point.

Not that the cake was merely about Maria, some of it was her, but it was about everyone that he cared about. Max, Liz, Isabel, everyone. The Cake was him and his friends. The Hot sauce was the FBI. Poured on to their sweet life together and ruining the sweetness. Forcing them apart. Michael didn't want his life to be chocolate cake covered in hot sauce any more, not that it didn't taste good to him. He stood up dropping a ten on the table, which should be enough to cover the tab and the tip. Though for some reason Michael thought that he was the one that got the tip.

He was tired of being a part from his family, his only real family that is. They were the only people he would ever call his family, Max and Isabel and Liz, even Liz was like a sister to him. Most of all he was tired of being away from Maria, who is and will always be the only love of his life. Even though they have had their problems and have broken up for far to long, he still loved her and wanted to be with her. He began walking towards the door, stopping to look at the waiter one last time. "Where are we?" He asked, Michael realized he lost track of states about 2 months back.

"Your in Victoria Texas, love." The waiter spoke to him. Michael nodded to her and opened the door, hearing the ringing of the bell above the door one final time.

"Thanks... for everything." Michael said to her, he had one goal, reunite with his friends. That is all that mattered right now. How he was gonna do that he didn't know, he just started walking, his feet seemingly carrying him somewhere, he did not know where. He knew it wasn't to Roswell, because it was a different direction. Still he could only guess at this point where any of them were.

Three months pass... Michael made his way to a town called Richmond. Why he was there was beyond him. He entered a cafe. What was it about Cafes that he liked? Well, other then the fact Max saved Liz in one, forever changing all their lives, he felt safe in them. They usually had multiple exits, plenty of windows to see incoming danger and had wide open floor plans. Not to mention food, He sat down at a vacant booth and took his jacket off. Where were his friends and why was he here?

Tags: Open/RP Sample
Words: 1095
Notes: None

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[bobthejeep]

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Isabel Evans walked quickly down the sidewalk, her purse slung over one shoulder, snug against her side. She wore tight blue jeans with high-topped cowgirl boots: just enough Western to pull together the thick belt around her waist, but not enough to downplay any of her soft girl-next-door appeal. A sheer teal half-jacket loosely covered her shoulders around the blank tank, just enough to show off her chest without drawing the eyes directly there. Rounding the corner, Isabel headed straight towards the Richmond Cafe, only stopping long enough outside the door to check her reflection in the window. She carefully tucked a loose piece of hair back, brushing her side part over with a gentle flick of her thumb.

She looked good. She knew that. But something about the outfit just didn't seem right. It wasn't exactly her usual style. Back before leaving Roswell, she had been so modern, with soft laces or leather halter tops, depending on her mood. And while she liked the new carefree playfulness her current fashion brought, it all just seemed a little--a little-- She couldn't exactly find the right word. Besides, it didn't matter. She couldn't be the girl she used to be. It wasn't safe. She was already taking a huge risk coming to Richmond to begin with, so this new look would just have to do. At least the cowgirl boots reminded her of the desert. There was that, at least.

As she entered the cafe, Isabel immediately glanced around, her eyes looking for the exits. It was habit now, part of her daily life, to constantly be aware of her escape routes. Between the government, the Skins, ridiculous alien jellyfish things, and who knows what else, she had to be careful. Now more than ever. Max was going to be furious when he found out she was here. He was always saying it wasn't safe, they shouldn't meet, they needed to stay low and keep their heads down. Well, Isabel was tired of only seeing him in his dreams. She was tired of only talking to Michael once every few months for a brief time before the dreamwalk was too much to maintain from the hundreds of miles between them. Last time she visited Max, she had learned he was in Richmond. And now she was here, too.

Slipping into a booth, Isabel pulled her planner from her purse and placed it on the table, just as a waitress came to greet her. "What'll it be today?" she asked. Isabel flipped open the planner to the current week, glancing up at the waitress. She smiled. "Just a Coke and," she paused a moment, quickly glancing at the menu above the counter. "A slice of chocolate cake."

"No problem," the waitress said, not bothering to write down the simple order. Isabel tapped her pen against the calendar before her, then crossed out an event that had been scheduled for today in San Francisco. She paused, then looked back up at the waitress, who was halfway back to the kitchen.

"Excuse me, miss?" Isabel called quietly across the cafe. "And do you have any Tabasco?" She rolled her eyes, apologetically, knowing full-well that it was an odd request, given her order. "And…some fries?"

Fries. Ugh. Like she needed the calories from both cake and fries. But, at least she wouldn't be raising suspicions if she pretended to use hot sauce on something like potatoes instead of shocking the waitress by pouring half the Tabasco into her Coke.

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[Michael "Mike" Andrew Guerin]

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Michael knew absolutely nothing about Richmond Virginia. The only thing he really knew was that it was the Capital of Virginia, thanks to what little attention he paid to in school. Not that Michael was a moron by any stretch of the imagination he just didn't see the point about learning world history, since it wasn't really his world anyways, and until he made his way back to his friends, it would remain not his world. Math, why did he need to know a bunch of numbers and stuff? He knew how to apply math to money and every day life, and that was more then enough for him.

Science was probably the only subject, other then when he became obsessed with drawing the dome in art class, that he cared for. Mostly because how he came to be had a lot to do with science probably. The waiter came by to take his order. "Chocolate cake and cherry coke." Michael responded to her. He watched as she went to the next table and took an order from a blonde girl. Normally this would not interest Michael, but when he overheard her order the same thing he smiled to himself. At least she won't put hot sauce on it.

Yet there was something he couldn't put his finger on. The voice sounded familiar to him. Which happened to him a lot. He often thought he heard Maria's voice or Liz's voice, or Max'es. It meant he missed them. So he decided to ignore it, until he heard her call out asking the waiter for some hot sauce. This jumped out to him. Sure she tried to cover it up by ordering some fries. But he now knew that voice anywhere and he wasn't imagining it. He stood up grabbing the hot sauce from his table, he guessed she didn't get a table with hot sauce already on it and approached her.

"Smooth move ordering the fries...Isabel." Michael said to her sitting his hot sauce of the table in front of her. "What are you wearing?" Michael asked her looking at her outfit. Of course he was glad to see her, but still, he had to tease her a little bit about her outfit. Michael smiled at her sitting down at her table on the other side from her. Every ounce of him screamed to hug her and tell her how much he missed her, she was like his sister after all, but he refrained. He knew he couldn't act like that, because well, he was Michael. He was the protector of the group.

Michael was suppose to act like he didn't care. It would be out of character if he suddenly acted like he did. But he did. Deep down in side he cared deeply about all his friends, they were really more like family to him at this point. "So that's why I came here." Michael said more to himself, he had been so confused at why he made his way here when he had no way of knowing where he was going at all, yet some how he ended up here, and some how Isabel was here to. "Are the others here too?" Michael asked her, a pang of hope entered his mind that Maria was near by.

Michael didn't believe in much these days let alone fate and such. But it was quite fortunate that he found Isabel here, or did she find him here? Never the less it was an off coincidence. Finally the waiter arrived with their cake, hot sauce, sodas, and Isabel's fries. She noticed Michael moved to sit with Isabel so she brought his food to his new table.

Tags: Isabel Evans, Open
Words: 617
Notes: YAY We have an Isabel!

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[bobthejeep]

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Isabel sat with her back straight, intently focused on examining her calendar. She carefully crossed out the remaining events that had been scheduled months ago for San Francisco. 'Meet Becky @ Starbucks to discuss fundraising, 2pm'. Crossed out. 'Call Childrens' Memorial re charity cakewalk'. Crossed out. 'Interview with Sue Haggerty re Richmond position, 3pm'. Though she enjoyed the feel of the pen across paper, the act of crossing out, the accomplishment that came with marking events as completed, she paused, taking a moment to revel in that Richmond event. The interview was over; she had been offered the job. And Isabel had accepted. She smiled to herself, carefully and deliberately running a line through the last event, finalizing her decision to stay in this town. She sat back, contently pleased with how organized everything was, how neatly things were falling into place. If things worked out, maybe she could build a life here, in Richmond, with Max. If things worked out, maybe she'd be scheduling morning coffees with her brother at this very cafe, just like they used to do at the--

--Crash! Down came a Tabasco bottle, placed on the table directly in front of her. She jumped, every muscle in her body tensing with surprise and fear and--

Michael.

Michael Guerin!

Isabel felt all the breath leave her chest as the world suddenly became larger than before, seeming to expand in all directions with endless possibilities, but, at the same time, her vision narrowed, focusing in only on Michael. Dizzied by the sudden rush, she gripped the table, unable to take her eyes off the boy before her. He was one of the missing members of her family, the friend who was more like a brother, and he was here in front of her, not in the ethereal of a dream but in the flesh and blood.

Isabel grinned--the joy shining from her eyes so apparent, so real. Like Michael, she too had difficulty letting anyone see the vulnerability beneath her facade of perfection. But for the moment, none of that mattered and she was completely genuine, completely open. Michael and Max were the only two people in the world that she could be herself with, totally and completely.

What was he doing here? Was he meeting up with Max, too? And Maria? Was Maria here? Isabel glanced around the cafe quickly, before turning her eyes back to Michael, still unwilling to look away for too long for fear that if she did, he'd disappear. As he continued to speak, though, it became more apparent that he was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. Random chance? Isabel wasn't sure she believed in the random anymore.

She grinned, leaning across the table and hitting him on the chest. Hard. "Michael, Michael," she said, rolling her eyes upward, as she lectured him in that typical haughty tone that he was surely used to by now. "You don't walk up to a girl you haven't seen in years, make a crack about her outfit, and then not even give her a hug." She slipped out from the booth, quickly closing the distance between them. "Just some advice for--" she began, giving him a stern look, as she sat down next to him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face into his chest, squeezing him tightly. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she continued speaking into his ear. "--for whenever you see Maria next." Tightly gripping him one last time, she closed her eyes, letting the realness of the situation settle in before reluctantly letting go of him.

As the waitress came with their orders, she slipped back into her seat on the other side of the table. "Max is in Richmond," she said, as soon as the waitress was a safe distance away. "But I haven't seen him yet and he doesn't--" She paused, grabbing for the hot sauce. "He doesn't know I'm here yet, so don't tell him, okay?" She quickly poured the Tabasco into her soda, nervous about Max's reaction to her breaking the rules to visit him, to live near him.

"I don't know about anyone else," she said, dousing her cake with the hot sauce before pushing the bottle towards Michael. "You? Heard from Maria? I haven't been able to dreamwalk her in months for longer than a few seconds." She must have been too far away. It was hard not being able to talk with her friends everyday, and it didn't seem fair that she couldn't always connect with them in their dreams, but at least she had the power to visit them sometimes, to know that they were alive and safe.

Isabel didn't need to dreamwalk to know that Michael was alive and safe. All she had to do was reach across the table. It was a liberating feeling; and Isabel hadn't felt like this in years.

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[Michael "Mike" Andrew Guerin]

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Michael couldn't help but hug her back as she hugged him, they of course were like brother and sister and even though he wasn't suppose to act like he cared, after 5 years apart he couldn't help it. He grinned shaking his head at her reply. "I will keep that in mind." Michael replied to her. He was never the most romantic person in the world, and even when he did try it always turned out poorly for him. Yet Maria still went out with him on and off for almost two years despite him not having a romantic bone in his body. It was probably when he did show his romantic side that kept her around for that long.

Truth was, Michael didn't know yet how he would greet Maria at first. If this were the movies, he wondered if he would be romantic enough to sweep her off her feet, taking her into his arms and kissing and hugging her. Well, this wasn't a movie and people standing outside of a window holding a boom box was not common any more. Besides, Maria would probably think there was something wrong with Michael, or he was a shape shifter, or he was terminally ill and had less then 6 months to live if he were to try and do something like that, so he knew he couldn't anyways.

"Well, you still haven't answered my question. You turning country on me Isabel?" Michael asked her, his tone a bit more serious. Though Michael could guess why she was dressed like that. Michael had been so shocked to see her, and it was probably why he didn't know it was her till he heard her voice. A lot had changed in the last five years. Michael stayed more or less the same, he took back the more short spiky looking hair he had back when Max first saved Liz. He wore the same style of clothing as he felt comfortable in it, he really didn't try to blend in as he didn't normally stay in one place long enough to care.

"Max is here as well?" Michael questioned her. He wondered why they all came here for. Richmond and Virginia were plain enough places, so for Max to choose to be here, for Isabel to follow, though she probably knew Max was here from dreamwalking and for Michael to somehow be led here. It was all very mysterious. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Michael replied to her, he was feeling much better about everything as he poured the hot sauce on his cake and began eating it. If they were here, maybe others were here as well. His hopes were dashed by Isabel's next statement.

She must of been reading his mind, not that she normally had that power, but Isabel guessed that Michael was thinking about Maria. "No word from Liz and Kyle either?" Michael asked, that was their group, so not having all of them in one spot was what Michael hated most in this world right now. Again stupid FBI for driving them apart! "No, I have no clue, I just sort of came here, I didn't even know why I came here." Michael replied to her, the lack of contact between him and his friends over the last five years kept Michael in the dark mostly. The odd phone call and Isabel dreamwalking were the only times he heard from any of them.

Her next line almost scared him, well it didn't scare him so much as it pissed him off. He wondered if Maria was alright cause Isabel wasn't able to get in contact with her. "Is she alright? They don't have her do they?" Michael asked, his boyfriend mode and protector mode kicking in. Michael would storm the FBI to rescue any one of his friends, and that went 10 times more for Maria. "Why couldn't they just leave us alone?" Michael asked though it was more of a complaint on his part. They being the FBI of course. Sure they were... different, but they should of had the right to live to.

It wasn't like they were planning on destroying the world or anything, if anything, they wanted to protect it. Earth was their home now and they had no way of ever getting back to their real home world, and even if they could, they would probably be taken prisoner by Kivar, if he is still alive anyways.

Tags: Isabel Evans, Open
Words: 748
Notes: None

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[bobthejeep]

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"I'm sure she's fine," Isabel said. There was a definite confidence in her tone, as if she was certain of Maria's safety. And, for the most part, Isabel was pretty sure that Maria was okay. She had tried to dreamwalk her just the previous week, but she'd only been able to enter the dream for a few seconds before she'd lost the connection. Isabel didn't find that particularly alarming. After all, she'd been in San Francisco, the most Western part of the country, and Maria could have been anywhere in-between there and the 3000 miles stretching out to the Atlantic Ocean. It wasn't like she and Maria shared the same kind of bond--either genetically or emotionally--that Isabel shared with Max and Michael. And, besides, Isabel hadn't felt any fear from Maria when they'd briefly connected, so she was probably ok. Probably.

Regardless, it was best to let Michael believe she was certain. There was no point in filling his head with terrible thoughts. Especially Michael. If he suddenly got it into his head that Maria was in danger (even with no proof whatsoever), he might do something crazy, something that could put them all in real danger. No need to panic until there was something to panic about.

Isabel stirred the straw in her coke, swirling the Tabasco sauce around, the ice clanking against the sides of the cup. "You and Max worry too much," she said, glancing at Michael for a second before turning her eyes back to the drink. 'Why couldn't they just leave us alone?'. It was a poignant question, one which required no response. All six of them had surely asked that question over and over again in the last five years. Max, Michael, Liz, Maria, Kyle… It wasn't fair. They had never done anything to anyone. They had just wanted to belong somewhere. And Isabel, more than Max and certainly more than Michael, had just wanted to live a normal life. A normal human life.

She took a sip of her drink, settling back comfortably in the booth. There was no point dwelling on the past. Thinking about it was too painful, anyway. It brought up too many issues that Isabel still hadn't really dealt with. She preferred to push it all away; and so she sat poised and confident, perfectly put together, somewhat cold in her demeanor but also filled with bold tenacity. Michael might be able to see through it, to see the unresolved wounds beneath her outer mask, but she knew he wouldn't call her on it. Just as she wasn't going to call him out on how obvious it was that he was obsessing over Maria.

It wasn't surprising, of course. Michael had given up going to their home planet--something that he'd been waiting his entire life for--just so that he could be with Maria. He had found something special in her, just as Max had found in Liz. Isabel had thought she'd found that in Jesse, but… now there was this lie between them. She had lied to him from the start--and it had been selfish. Liz and Maria had known exactly what they were getting into. Jesse hadn't.

Isabel jammed her fork into the cake. She didn't want to think about Jesse. "Thank God you cut your hair," she said quickly, wanting to change the direction of her thoughts--and fashion was always an easy distraction. Besides, she'd always hated Michael's long hair, the unwashed laziness that it implied. It had been, in Isabel's opinion, a fashion nightmare. How Maria had been able to stand it, she would never know.

Isabel took a bite of her cake. "I've accepted a job here," Isabel said, needing to share the news with someone, as this was something that she'd been wrestling with for a few weeks now. "In Richmond, I mean." She hesitated, thinking about the implications of the change. Thinking about Max. What would he do? From what she'd been able to gather, he was also planning on settling here, or somewhere near here. And that's why she'd come. He probably didn't think it was safe. He probably didn't think it'd been long enough. But--it had been five years! They couldn't run forever.

"I've been thinking--" Isabel began, then paused. Maybe if she could get Michael on her side, if they could both convince Max together. "I know we still need to keep our heads down, but maybe it's not so crazy to try and … settle somewhere. Here." She looked at Michael, wondering what he thought, worried about what he might say, fearing he might echo Max's concerns.

"It's been five years."

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[Michael "Mike" Andrew Guerin]

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Michael breathed a sigh of relieve when Isabel said that Maria was ok. No one ever accused Michael of being the perfect boyfriend, that was certain, but if there was one thing he was in that department, was caring. Michael may of hid it so well for everyone else, but if Maria was hurt, or worse, Michael would never be able to forgive himself. Maria would not be in this position if not for aliens, and if they never got into a relationship, she might have been able to stay in Roswell. So if she got hurt cause of him, it would destroy him.

"Like you don't worry?" Michael question Isabel. Michael probably did worry to much, especially when it came to Maria. He would probably do something reckless if Maria was in trouble. Michael did a lot for things that meant less to him then Maria did, so he would probably risk life itself to rescue her. Thankfully Isabel was able to reassure him that Maria was alright. That is what mattered most. Michael wondered if Maria missed him as much as he missed her. it would be nice to know that after 5 years she still cared for him as much as he her.

"Max worries about rather or not his socks match." Michael said, a little offended that Isabel thought Michael worried as much as Max did. Michael didn't think he worried as much as Max did, but there was always the chance that he did. It must of been really lonely for Isabel the last 5 years, she was the only one that was married back then and he wondered if she still thought about Jesse. Michael never really liked Jesse, but he made Isabel happy, and that is what mattered. Finally Isabel changed the subject, causing Michael to grin.

"Really... and what was so wrong with my long hair?" Michael asked her though he was sure of the answer. It probably seemed like Michael didn't care about his hair back then when he let it grow out. But at least he wasn't dropping a lot of his weekly paycheck on hair gel anymore. "You are one to talk, Cowgirl." Michael said finally pointing out that she looked like a cowgirl. Michael was just in texas around 3 months ago and even their fashion down there reminded Michael of how Isabel was dressed now. He shrugged, he did feel better with it shorter and had a feeling Maria preferred it short.

She told him that she accepted a job here. Michael really didn't know how to respond to that. Michael didn't have a steady job since leaving Roswell. He once considered joining the military, but knew if he got hurt or killed in battle that they would figure out what he was. There was also the physical thing that they would probably put him through. Sure he could use a fake identity and fake his way through the blood tests and such, but it would of been more trouble then it was worth. Michael preferred taking jobs he can get paid for under the table.

"That's good right?" Michael finally asked her in regards to her new job. Michael didn't want to assume it was good news so he asked Isabel. "What is it?" He asked her wondering exactly what the job was and hoping that it wasn't to dangerous. For all he knew, going by the way she dressed, she was a bull rider in a rodeo or something. Michael smirked at the thought but then Isabel changed the subject. Michael stayed quietly, sipping his coke and taking a bite of his cake for a few moments, not knowing how to answer it.

He wanted to say it was a great idea, and that they should be together, but another part of him screamed that it could go horribly wrong. He nodded. "Max always said we were stronger together then apart." Michael said suddenly. Though if you read between the lines you would know it meant 'Yes, I am tired of being apart from everyone.'. "I'm not the one you have to worry about convincing." He said to Isabel suddenly. It was true, Michael was easy to win over on this topic, Max on the other hand, would say no right away.

Tags: Isabel Evans
Words: 718
Notes: None

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[bobthejeep]

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Isabel pulled in a deep breath, poking her fork into the cake again with little interest. "I know," she said, unable to help the irritation in her voice. She knew that Max would need convincing. She knew that there was no chance of everyone getting back together without his approval. He was the leader. As much as he tried to deny it, as much as he tried to pretend that he wasn't, it was the truth. Even before they had learned about their destinies, Max had always had that control. After that kitchen grease fire raised their mother's suspicions, Isabel had wanted to tell her the truth about their origins so badly. She had begged Max to let their mother in, to let her see Isabel and Max for who they really were. But Isabel had always known that it would be Max's decision in the end.

Sometimes she hated him for it, for the power that he seemed to hold over her. And then, of course, she would immediately feel guilty. Maybe because she had already betrayed her brother in one life as Vilandra. Or maybe because, underneath all of Max's commands, she knew that he cared more deeply than anyone else. Despite how trapped she sometimes felt, she knew that Max's need for control was rooted in love.

Still, they couldn't keep living the way they were. They were stronger together than apart. Stronger not necessarily in power, but in what really mattered: companionship, friendship, love. And Isabel needed Max to understand that.

She looked at Michael, a soft smile on her lips. She was grateful for his support, grateful that he didn't need convincing. She knew that it was hard for him, too, to be alone, to be away from Maria and Max and everyone. He'd grown up with nothing--had made himself a stone wall--and just when he'd started to open himself up for real, they'd been forced to run. Isabel didn't know what was worse. The fact that she had had a life, been involved in the community, enrolled in college, surrounded with friends, parents, a …husband. Or the fact that Michael had finally gotten close to everything that he'd been waiting his entire life for, only to have it taken away.

Isabel turned her eyes from Michael, not wanting him to see the thoughts on her face. He was right. She worried just as much as he and Max did. But, she reminded herself, she didn't need to worry about him now. At least, not at this particular second. They hadn't been in the same room with each other for years and Isabel wasn't going to let the past interfere with her happiness right now in the present.

"And just so you know," Isabel said, looking down at her outfit defensively. "This is not 'cowgirl'." She pursed her lips, raising her chin as she explained. "It's a subtle charm. Girlie, yet rugged." She grinned. "Your long hair was just rugged without any of the subtle." Of course, Michael had never quite grasped the idea of subtle, if giving his girl a paper bag filled with economy-sized shampoo wasn't enough of a testament.

Isabel laughed softly, remembering. And the truth was, she did feel pretty good right now. She'd been happy enough in San Francisco the past year, despite her loneliness. She'd thrown herself into charity work, organizing, planning. And now she was going to put those skills to work here in Richmond. "I'll be the Events Director at the hospital," Isabel said, shrugging one shoulder, as she reached for the Tabasco sauce again. "Organizing donor banquets, planning outings for the childrens' ward." She glanced at the waitress who was busy behind the counter before pouring more hot sauce onto her cake. "I think it'll be good," she said. "I think the official title is something like," she caught Michael's eye, "The Planning Nazi."

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[Michael "Mike" Andrew Guerin]

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Michael had actually grown quite tired of Max'es controlling ways back in Roswell. Just cause some lady in a holographic video told them that he was suppose to be the leader and with Tess and he actually went with it. That kind of pissed Michael off, cause of the stuff Max did with Tess, getting her pregnant and betraying Liz. Michael never took the words spoken seriously, about him supposedly suppose to be with Isabel. The thought kind of made him sick in his stomach. Not that Isabel wasn't attractive, but it would of been like dating your sister.

When Max finally stated that he wasn't the leader. It was right before they had to run, right before graduation, and Max finally admitted to it. A lot of good it did Michael, as he has been on his own for the last 5 years now. Even before Max found out he was the leader he always seemingly had the final say on the matter, even though Michael often disobeyed his wishes back then. Michael knew Max had the best intentions, but often Michael didn't agree with the stuff Max said to do. Michael felt a little bad about it cause Max was often right more then he was wrong.

Max always said back then that they were strongest together, yet then they split up. That was the most confusion thing for Michael, as he didn't understand why Max would not want them to get back together. Michael sipped his soda quietly, feeling like him and Isabel should be talking more after 5 years apart. They were barely saying anything. The last 5 years have been really rough on Michael and it felt like all the emotional progress he made with the group back then was slowly but surely reverting. He felt more alone then ever now, which was saying something.

Michael was glad that Isabel wasn't looking at his face right at this moment, as he surely had a look somewhere between pain and anger on his face. He finished his cake and looked at her finally. Subtle? No one ever accused Michael of being subtle before. So her words rung true. He just shrugged. "I was trying to save money back then so I could take Maria on nicer dates." Michael said, kind of wanted to yell at Isabel that not everyone had rich parents back then. But Michael didn't, he knew it was not something he should bring up, as they were all orphans now.

A sly smile crossed Michael's lips. "Really, sounds like the perfect job for Isabel Evans." Michael said finishing his soda and stealing one of Isabel's fries, which she barely touched so he knew she probably wouldn't mind. "I wonder if the Planning Nazi is related to the Christmas Nazi." Michael said as more of a tease then a question. Michael remembered christmas'es with Isabel and she was such a... well she was a Nazi. Everything had to be perfect, everything had to go right. It was one of the few things that annoyed Michael about her back then.

But truth be told, he was missing an Isabel Nazi Christmas right about now. "So what do you think we should do now, Miss Organizer?" Michael asked her, should they just go to Max now and tell him that they are tired of running? Or should they wait a while, maybe wait for something very good to happen to Max, like getting back together with Liz? Michael always had a plan, and most of the time his plan ended up turning into disaster, so him and Isabel working together right now would give them the best chance to convince Max to stop running and stick together.

Tags: Isabel Evans
Words: 621
Notes: None

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[bobthejeep]

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Isabel took a long sip of her soda, letting the spicy-sweet carbonation tickle her throat as she considered Michael's question. Did she have a plan? Well, maybe. If you call suddenly ditching the makeshift life she'd made in San Francisco and deciding to move to Richmond a plan. Basically, she just intended to force herself back into Max's life. Once she was here, what could he really do about it? Be all broody? No surprises there. He could move again, Isabel reminded herself. And the thought sent a fresh wave of anger through her.

"I shouldn't need a plan," Isabel said, the years of suppressed frustration fighting its way into her voice, spilling itself over onto the innocent friend across the table from her. She wasn't mad at Michael, but he just happened to be the lucky recipient of her sudden emotion. She didn't mean to let any of it spill out. She liked to keep her emotions in check, hidden behind an icy front of beautiful untouchable perfection. But being with Michael again, being with someone who knew her so well… it was like a long-overdue floodgate had been opened.

"I mean, honestly," she said, lowering her voice. "I shouldn't need permission to be with my own family, my own brother." Isabel paused, looking at Michael. "You and Max--" she said, then paused again. "You and Max are all that I have left." It was true. More true than Isabel wanted to admit. Michael and Max were the only two people in the world that Isabel wanted to be with. They were the only two people that she would allow herself to be with. She had pushed Jesse away for a reason: because he wasn't safe. He wasn't a part of this and he still had a chance to live his own life, to be human, to be the lawyer that he was meant to be. Her parents weren't a part of this. They had been in the dark about Isabel and Max for so long that they still had the chance to live their own lives, to be human, to be the married couple that they were meant to be. But the others? The others that Isabel had foolishly let in? Grant? Alex? They were both dead. She had killed them. They had gotten in too deep and they had died because of it, because of her. She had killed them.

The only two people she had left were Michael and Max. Because no matter what happened, she didn't have to worry about dragging them into danger because all three of them were the danger.

Isabel could feel herself filling up with all the pain that she'd been hiding from for the last few years. It was bad enough that their real parents, their alien parents, had abandoned them on this planet with nothing but a cryptic message telling them that they needed to be the saviors of their race. It wasn't right that now their family--the three of them--should be split up. They needed each other; they were nothing without each other.

She was so happy that Michael was here now, across from her. It was like a piece of herself had finally been returned after a lifetime of being buried. Tears were starting to build behind her eyes, but Isabel kept them back. She wasn't going to let Michael go again. No matter what Max thought or said. She wasn't going to let either of them be away from her. She couldn't.

Maybe that was foolish. Maybe that was naive. But Isabel had a history of living in denial. She had been in denial when she thought she could make up for in one night what Michael had never had in a lifetime, after Hank had hit him back in high school. She had been in denial when she thought she could just forget her alien half and live a normal life with Jesse. She had been in denial when she thought she could just take off for her honeymoon without Kivar following her after he'd shown up at the wedding. And maybe she was in denial now, if she thought she could just insert herself back into Max's life without any kind of plan.

"You know what?" Isabel said, dabbing gently at the corner of her eye, as if she merely had an eyelash to remove rather than a tear to wipe away. "I don't want to talk about Max," she said. She smiled at Michael, leaning forward as she took a bite of her cake. Intentionally fixing her loose jacket, she ensured she was still perfectly put together before continuing. "I want to know about you. Five years. You must have some good stories." She leaned back, crossing a leg beneath the table. "And if you start outlining a life of crime, it better be more interesting than the 'great Snapple caper'.

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[Michael "Mike" Andrew Guerin]

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Michael could understand how she was feeling. No one ever accused Michael of being the most thoughtful of people. Isabel had a point. Why should she have to have a plan to see Max for? Why did they have to be apart in the first place? Michael was feeling the same way Isabel was feeling and he didn't want to admit it out loud. Michael could tell that Isabel was quite upset about it, and he didn't blame her for going off on him, though it did in turn make him upset to. It shouldn't be like this in the first place. They should be together and that is that.

Michael knew she probably needed a hug or something, but again he was never the most sensitive of people so he didn't get up to give her one. Michael knew she probably wouldn't expect him to anyways. Maybe he should, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. "You are right." Michael decided that he would finally let her know his true opinion on the subject instead and it would have to be an acceptable subsitute for a hug. Michael himself felt like his friends were all that he had left too. And being away from them for five years really wore on him.

"I'm sick and tired of it too." He said out loud to Isabel. "I'm sick of this life that has been thrown at us just because we are different." Michael said, lowering his voice but slamming his fist on the table to emphasis his point. He wasn't mad at Isabel either, she just happened to be there when he decided to let it out, like he was when she decided to let it out. "Do you know the last thing I said to Maria before the FBI forced us apart?" Michael asked her, remembering his whispered conversation to Maria. It was one of the few times he ever said it.

"I told her that I love her, and that I will miss her." Michael said to Isabel. He was never really this honest about his feelings before, but 5 years apart from the ones he loved weighed heavily on him and no one can blame him for this outburst. Through all the ups and downs of his relationship with Maria, there was ever only one constant in their relationship and that was that they cared about each other. They didn't always show it, but you knew it was true in Michael's case when he began exploding stuff with his mind when he became jealous of that guy.

"So you are right, why should we have to have a plan. He isn't the leader anyways." Michael said, becoming much more like himself, pretending like he didn't say that stuff was easier for him and he didn't want Isabel to call him on it. Max even said that he wasn't the leader, and maybe Isabel and Michael were being selfish right now by wanting to be together, to get with the rest of their friends and loved ones. If it were selfish to not want to be alone, then so be it. They will face whatever was coming at them together from now on. No more hiding, no more running.

"We will just have to tell him how its gonna be. If he doesn't like it then that's his problem." Michael said finally, his voice making it seem like that was gonna be his final word of the subject to Isabel. Michael was always the defiant one, and if Isabel wanted to defy Max'es orders to keep apart from each other, then Isabel came to the right guy, or did he come to her. Sure Michael and Max didn't always see eye to eye, but they were like brothers none the less. Michael would just have to make Max see it their way, and he hoped that he would.

Michael was glad when Isabel changed the subject. He really didn't want to talk about it any more himself, but he wanted her to know how he felt about it. Michael didn't share his feelings very often, and when he did, it was usually because he was pissed or complaining about something. He just grinned at her, he remembered that night, good times, good times. He still drank Snapple whenever he could. "You would be surprised." Michael told Isabel. Michael didn't mean to steal from people, but he only stole from people who could spare it.

He had to survive and sometimes finding a job that paid under the table wasn't easy. So he did what he had to, and he knew no one would judge him for it. "I just stayed pretty low key for the most part. I know, shocking right." Michael told her with a scoff. They were not use to Michael using any form of stealth, but that is what he did. It was to important to keep a low profile. To many lives, including his Maria's was on the line. So he did what he had to. He wished that he did have some huge interesting story to tell Isabel, but that wasn't the case. "What about you?" He asked her.

Tags: Isabel Evans
Words: 867
Notes: None

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[bobthejeep]

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Michael may not be the most sensitive guy in the world. He may not be willing to reach out and touch someone when they might need it. But he'd managed to say the one thing that Isabel needed from him: 'You are right.' It was exactly what she had needed to hear and it was easily the most comforting thing he could have possibly said.

So often when they had been in Roswell, it had been Max and Michael against her. Max and Michael pairing up to forbid her from seeing Grant. Max and Michael telling her that she couldn't move away to college. Max and Michael teaming up to tell her how much they disapproved of her seeing Jesse. At least Michael had finally taken her side on that last one--but it wasn't until she'd come to him in tears that he'd finally congratulated her on their engagement. So, yes, it was nice to have him so readily be on her side now, for once. It was nice to have him immediately understand, immediately tell her that she was right.

Isabel smiled into her cake, keeping the tears behind her eyes, blinking back against the pressure. She focused on taking a sip from her soda, momentarily distracting herself with the sweet-spicy taste so that her emotions didn't overtake her. Breaking down in the middle of a cafe was so not her. One, it would make Michael--Mr-Can't-Show-Any-Emotion--super uncomfortable. And two, it would completely mess up her mascara.

Isabel slowly twirled the straw in her coke, listening to Michael as he lowered his voice to tell her about Maria. It was heartbreaking to hear the raw emotion in Michael's voice, the clear sadness in his words. After months of uncertainty between them, after Maria's weird fling with Billy and Michael's struggle with their future, they had finally come together. Michael (and Maria, for that matter) had finally made the choice to choose love, had finally been ready and then---

And then the Air Force and the FBI had forced them all apart.

At least Michael and Max had the love of their lives waiting for them. Maria and Liz were both a part of this alien mess and nothing would ever change that. They were in too deep and there was no escaping it. At least they had each other to look forward to in the future. Michael had told Maria that he loved her. Isabel had told Jesse that it was over.

Forcing her thoughts away, Isabel focused again on her cake, taking another bite. She listened as Michael shared about the last five years in typical Michael fashion: hardly saying anything. She smiled, rolling her eyes slightly. Some things never changed.

"I've been in San Francisco for about a year," Isabel answered, glancing at Michael briefly. "Mostly volunteering to keep myself from going crazy." She noticed a drop of Tabasco sauce on the table and immediately reached for a napkin, wiping up the table as she talked. "Before that, I don't know," she said, shrugging slightly. "I was in New York, Miami, living a normal life." The word normal was clearly spoken with bitter sarcasm, indicating that her life had been the exact opposite of what she really wanted in every regard. It was clear that what mattered most about being 'normal' had been lacking.

She sighed deeply, pulling in a long breath and shoving her half-eaten pie away from her. "Normal, except I've been having really intense dreams," she admitted. "Maybe because I've been dreamwalking so much lately, but sometimes it seems like--" She paused, catching Michael's eye with a slight blush, remembering him shirtless with his arms around hers as they lay in the desert. "--like those dreams we had." She bobbed her head back and forth, looking at him with a teasing sincerity. "You know, those dreams."

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[Michael "Mike" Andrew Guerin]

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Michael wasn't use to such emotional outbursts. The few times he did show emotion was mostly around Maria, and rarely Liz, as he was always to embarrassed to get emotional in front of anyone else. Those were the two people he felt most comfortable around opening up to. Maria cause well, she was his girlfriend, and Liz cause she was always so understanding. He still remembers accidentally blowing up the sugar jars at the Crashdown when he talked to Liz about Maria's relationship with Billy. Of course that was a mix of anger and pain.

But if there was one emotion Michael didn't mind showing was anger, as it made people think he was pissed off at the world, which he was. Michael had always been pissed off at the world. It started when he was first born, or hatched, whatever you want to call it. Max and Isabel got adopted by the greatest parents in the world, and Michael got stuck with Hank. So life treated him pretty bad right from the word go. Michael was done being jealous over this, it seemed like such a distant bad memory and it didn't matter any more. He learned that Max and Isabel were his real family, not stupid ol' Hank.

Michael could tell that Isabel was unhappy with his answer to her question, but it didn't matter to him. Michael never shared the details of his life with anyone really but Maria. And even he didn't tell Maria everything, though he knew, at least back then, she was always there for him. It became evident that when Michael was crying, and it was raining, she allowed him to enter her bedroom, lay down with her and she wrapped her arms around him. It was really the first time ever that Michael allowed someone else to be the protector and he was the one that needed protecting. Though emotional not physical.

"Typical Isabel." Michael mused more to himself then to her, though he knew she would probably ask what he meant, though Isabel knew what Michael meant by this statement. Only Isabel would devote all her free time to volunteer work. Michael tried not to give her a hard time about it as he knew it was important to Isabel. Its just, other then Maria, Michael never really had anything that was important to him personally. He had the alien stuff, but that was important to all of them as a group. Maria was the only thing he had that no one else had, and that was taken from him a long time ago. First by Billy, and then by the FBI all cause they wanted to torture them and turn them into a science experiment while ignoring the real troubles of the world.

Michael could tell that Isabel was not 100% happy with her life, even if she was doing her volunteer work, she still felt like something was missing. From their conversation thus far Michael could guess what it was, and it was pretty much the same thing that made him happy. But at least Isabel had her work to keep her going. All Michael had was a vague, hopeless hope, that he would someday find Maria and they would just melt into each others arms like nothing ever happened. Michael knew Isabel missed Jesse and all her friends as well.

"Don't remind me." Michael said at the mention of those dreams. They were only planted in each others heads cause of stupid Tess. Tess mindwarped them in or something. Michael never knew the real reason why they had them, but it made things really awkward for both of them, Isabel with Alex and Michael with Maria. "Please tell me you are not dreaming of me again." Michael said to her, he really didn't want to hear that from basically his sister. But from the tone of her voice he could tell the dreams weren't about him, they just made her think of the dreams that were about him. "So what are they about?" Michael dared to ask Isabel.

Tags: Isabel Evans
Words: 680
Notes: None

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[bobthejeep]

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"The day I dream about you again," Isabel said, giving him one of her haughty looks, "Is the day the world ends." She grins, kicking him under the table playfully, letting him know that she was only kidding. Leaning an elbow on the countertop, Isabel pulled her drink closer and took another sip, letting the spicy hot sauce burn her lips, the sweet sugar envelop her tongue. She pretended for a moment that she hadn't quite heard his question, wanting to avoid the subject altogether.

She shouldn't have brought it up. The second the words had left her mouth, she had immediately regretted it. She had spent so long--five years--with nobody to talk to, with nobody to share her life with. And now, all of a sudden, she was here with Michael, one of the few people who would ever understand her, and it was like she couldn't help what she said. She was brimming with millions of things to say, stories about her life in the past five years, questions about what he'd been up to, thoughts about what their future might hold--and in that excitement, she had let slip something that she wasn't planning on sharing with anyone.

Certainly not Max. He would flip out if he knew what she was dreaming about. If he knew how intense her dreams had been the last few weeks. Isabel was grateful that it was Michael sitting across from her, because she knew that she had to say something. He would never let her alone until she spilled details on what she had meant. She couldn't just bring up those dreams of the two of them in the desert, hot and heavy, a kid, and not explain why.

"We never really knew," Isabel said, lowering her voice as she glanced around the cafe. "Where those dreams came from. Tess said they were to awaken us, but she could have just been messing with us…" Isabel trailed off. "But I felt something inside of me changing back then." Of course she had. Whether it had been a mindwarp or a memory didn't matter. The dreams had been so real that Isabel had thought she was pregnant. She had felt like something had physically changed deep inside of her. Something had been awakened, a part of her that wasn't human.

And she was starting to feel that way again.

"I think I'm having dreams about--" She looked up, pointing with her eyes towards the ceiling, implying what she was refusing to say outloud. "Dreams… or memories?" Isabel shrugged, looking down at her half-eaten cake. "I mean, it happened with Max." She didn't know what to believe. How much of it was real? How much of it wasn't? Part of her was terrified, part of her just wanted it all to stop. She didn't want that alien side of her to be in charge of her life, she didn't want to think about her past, about the parents that had abandoned them on this planet, about Vilandra's betrayal. But another part of her was excited, part of her wanted the dreams to continue, to deepen. She wanted to know. She wanted to remember what it was like on their home world, what it was like with him. Because, though Isabel was not going to admit it, sometimes it felt like she could almost remember Kivar. And part of her wanted to.

"I don't know," Isabel said, carefully pushing back a loose strand of hair and looking at Michael. "Have you ever had any dreams like that since Roswell?"

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[Michael "Mike" Andrew Guerin]

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"Good, I don't want you to have those kinds of dreams about me anyways, and I don't want to think about you that way either, that's gross." Michael said to her with a smirk showing her that he was just playing around with her, though it was a little bit true, he did not want her to think of him that way and he didn't want to think about her that way, as it would really be just like thinking about your sister, and that really was gross. So yeah, it was a joke, but it had an air of truth to it as well. Not that he didn't think Isabel was good looking, it was just gross for him.

Michael was a little impatient. She brought it up and dropped it on him, and now she won't even tell him what her dreams were about. "Come on Isabel, spill." Michael told her taking a sip of his own soda, though it didn't have hot sauce in it like hers did, he poured most of his on his cake which sat completely finished to his right. Michael leaned in when she started telling him about what happened back then. How Tess stated the dreams were one thing, and maybe at the time Michael believed her, but finding out how she really was and hindsight being 20-20, he doubted they were anything but a mindwarp.

"How can I forget? I freaked cause I thought it was mine." Michael told her, thank goodness Isabel really didn't get pregnant back then, though Michael couldn't guess how it would be possible, as him and Isabel, or Isabel and anyone for that matter had not... done it. So how could she get pregnant? So after all that it was a false alarm. Probably a mindwarp that Tess came up with so that they would follow her every word blindly to their certain doom. Michael didn't think he would ever forgive Tess for what happened, even though it didn't hurt him as much as some of the others, it still bugged him to this day.

"What Canada?" Michael asked her clearly not taking it serious. He of course knew that she meant home, their real home, or whatever you want to call it. Though he could tell she was being serious. Michael cleared his throat, knowing his joke probably fell flatter then a 3 week old bottle of soda. "I'm sure they don't mean anything bad." Michael told her hoping she wasn't pissed at him for his poor attempt at humor. "I mean I dream about... Canada all the time too." Michael stated, hoping that Isabel was freaking out over nothing, but knowing their lives, he wouldn't discount that it all meant something.

"All the time, bits and pieces." Michael told her, he was sure her dreams or memories or whatever they were called were probably more vivid then his own, as she had the power to dream walk, so she probably had really vivid dreams as a result. Michael barely got flashes, of war and other memories, memories that weren't his, and he never got a clear picture. Maybe he just blocked it out and could of gotten a clear picture if he wanted to, but he didn't. "We should tell Max." Michael told her, just really thinking it out loud. Though he knew Isabel would not be thrilled at the idea.

Tags: Isabel Evans
Words: 567
Notes: None

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