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something from the archives: stranded - part 3

you guys, i'm really traumatized by the idea that the cw is going to remake roswell. like it's going to be a very different show, but like there are so many things about the original show that i still hold dear to my heart. i'm very skeptical that i'd feel so strongly about the show and the characters that i'd feel compelled to write fan fiction about it.

these days my fiction writing tends to be stuff i come up with on my own. but i enjoy looking at the archives because it shows me how i've improved as a writer over time. and i also enjoy remembering the girl i was back then. i've lived what feels like a lifetime since i wrote these stories. i graduated, i got a job, i fell in love, i got married, i had kids. life is so different now.

maybe that's why the idea that roswell is being remade strikes such a chord. i can't go back to who i was then, nor do i want to. and it's probably why i'm not too interested in a revival of this show, even though it sounds like it will be a very different incarnation of these characters.

anyway, part 3 of stranded follows the jump...





Part 3


Liz was actually quite nervous, she wasn't sure how she managed to open the bottle of wine, pour it into two glasses, and not spill or break anything. She knew that more than anything she needed the wine to rally her courage. Not that she was necessarily sure of the effects of wine on her courage, it just sounded like a good idea.

She sipped a little of the Chardonnay, and decided to rummage through the refrigerator for some cheese and crackers when the sound of running water stopped. Liz gulped down the wine and poured herself another glass.

Michael emerged from the bathroom in a frayed white cotton t-shirt and jeans that had seen better days. Liz was awed by the sheer sexual appeal in his well-build frame and stance, he made his way to the kitchen and took over the stove with a glance at Liz and his glass of wine.

"Um…I found some cheese and crackers if you wanted some."

"Oh, yeah great. Do you mind eating at the kitchen counter?"

"No not at all, I could set the table if you'd like."

"Yeah, that'd be good…the pasta is just about ready and the sauce is done."

Liz quietly began setting two places at the kitchen counter, wordlessly communicating with Michael on the exact position of all the utensils. He seemed to anticipate her every question, and so they worked together in the kitchen seamlessly.

Michael served them both a plate full of fettuccini in an Alfredo sauce and set them down at the table, where they ate in silence until Liz asked, "Did you grow up around here?"

"Nah. I'm originally from Roswell. I just got sick of the whole alien thing, so when my marriage went bust I moved away."

"Really? Wow. I'm from Roswell too. I moved away after high school though, I guess I thought I was destined for more than what Roswell had to offer. My parents run a diner in town called the Crashdown, do you know it?"

"The Crashdown? Hell yeah, I think I spent every afternoon there after school, I must have consumed a million slices of Men-in-Blackberry Pie."

"Wow. Well you must have had me as your waitress there a thousand times, my working there sort of equaled having an allowance. God, how I hated the uniform. Oh my God, wait a sec, I know you! You're Michael Guerin aren't you? I took A.P. English with you in school."

"Parker? As in Liz Parker? No shit. I can't believe I didn't notice sooner. It's a small world isn't it?"

They both stared at each other in wonderment, noting the similarities between the person sitting next to them, and the people they had once been many years ago. Time had changed them both, the knowledge, the suffering, the dreams dashed that they had lived through shadowed their eyes, their youthful exuberance, their intensity had been tempered by a harsher cynicism regarding life. They were older, wiser too, and distracted enough not to have noticed who they were from the very beginning.

"Yeah, who knew the day I was stranded and alone while on the road you'd show up and save me."

"Unbelievable. Why were you driving out alone in this neck of the woods?"

"I'm going back home for Maria Deluca's wedding to Kyle Valenti. You remember them right?"

"Yeah. Kyle's one of my best buddies. We still meet up every once in a while."

"So are you going to the wedding?"

"I kinda have to…I'm the best man. Hey, weren't you with Max Evans?"

"Yeah, all through high school and college and then we've been living together for the past five years. But that's all over now, I caught him in bed with another woman."

"Shit, what a jackass. Liz, I'm sorry for bringing him up."

"Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault. You dated Maria in high school for a while right?"

"Oh God, I dated Maria for like, two seconds. I can't believe you remembered that."

"Well, if I remember correctly those two seconds were very intense."

Michael gave a short bark of laughter. "They were at that, if I recall anything about Maria it would be that everything with her was drama. I should have figured things would go wrong with Isabel, God knows she loved drama."

"Isabel Harding?"

"Yeah, otherwise known as the evil ex. She wanted more than a mechanic could give her, so after two years she figured out who could give it to her, and we went our separate ways."

"God, that sounds atrocious," Liz couldn't help but feel horrified by the awful picture of marriage Michael described.

"Yeah well, she was always very unhappy, the one man she ever really loved married her sister, Tess."

"Alex Whitman?" Liz asked surprised.

"Yeah, him. He was a pretty cool brother-in-law actually. He was very sympathetic when we divorced. But she was the one who had the family to begin with, so she got them in the settlement."

"Are you serious? I just can't get over the fact that she loved Alex, he was crazy about her for a time. But when he got together with Tess, something just clicked. Unfortunately, she was the jealous type so we stopped hanging out soon after."

"Sounds just like her. I think she was even jealous of the time Alex and I spent together, which really wasn't all that much. Kyle, him and I would go out to Don Pepe's for drinks every Friday, the girls would throw some major hissy fits."

"I guess I missed out on all that. I haven't really gone back since I moved away."

"Don't really think you were missing all that much."

"Yeah. I guess so," Liz chewed her last bite of food thoughtfully before saying, "I can't believe I've run into you here of all places."

"What does that mean?"

"What does what mean?"

"Of all places?"

"Nothing bad. It's just, well, I had the biggest crush on you in high school."

"No you didn't. It was always you and Max, come on."

"No I'm serious. Max was safe, sort of boring. It was easy to stay with him for so long because I never really had a reason to break it off. I always liked the dangerous side that you seemed to shove in the world's face, and yet I knew you were exceptionally smart, and that there was something thoughtful and profound in you that you barely shared with anyone, that most people didn't see. It was quite the attractive combination."

"Wow, you saw all that?"

"Yeah, but then you started dating Muriel Walsh, so I never did anything about it. And besides I was already with Max, there just never seemed to be a right time. I was too scared of being hurt."

"It's funny, because I think everyone in school hated Max, well at least every guy, because you were that girl that every guy wanted to be with."

"No way, I was so not that girl, Isabel was the type not me."

"You sell yourself short. Isabel was too self-assured, too knowing, trust me you were it. Many a locker room talk was enlivened by daydreams of you. You were…are very beautiful Liz, I'm surprised you don't see it."

Liz looked into Michael's warm brown eyes as they focused on her face and drew in a labored breath. Under his gaze she almost felt beautiful. She felt as if she was being drawn into something, a place she hadn't dared look into before. She still wasn't sure what devil inspired her to mention her age-old crush on him. And yet, he was still dangerous and profound in the same appealing way, perhaps the only thing different, was that this time she really was single and could explore her feelings in a way she'd never ventured to before.

But Liz wasn't sure if that was what Michael wanted. But has the heat in her body rose along with the glasses of wine she consumed, her tongue loosened, her bravado increased, and all she really wanted to do was thread her tongue with his in a searing kiss. It had been what she had wanted to do ever since he had appeared from beneath the car in his grease stained uniform.

Her thoughts, her hunger must have shown in her face, because after a moment's hesitation, Michael brought his lips to hers. And they kissed, their mouths and tongues melding with the faint taste of Chardonnay, as they both lost their heads and hearts in one moment, in one kiss.

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