Joey stood completely still as the burning dissipated. In its place came an overwhelming exhaustion that drove her to the floor. She barely managed to catch herself with her arms so that her face was saved from direct collision. It wasn’t exactly pain that was rolling through her, just a drain of energy so powerful that it felt painful.

She turned over on her side and closed her eyes. It had been so long since she’d transferred anywhere near this far and she’d forgotten how rough it could be.

The last time this trip had been made, the twelve had made it together, sharing their resources and the weakness that came afterwards. They had arrived on Dagon, completely spent and useless, except for Max.

Her lips curved upward at the memory. From what she’d heard, he single-handedly managed to keep away the twelve royal guards for several hours before he felt they were safe. A small giggle burst out of Joey as she conjured the image of the guards trying to explain to their estranged and very protective king that they were only trying to help. Joey herself remembered only snatches of it and heard the rest from the others. She had been unconscious most of the time.

But even then, had it been this bad? She rolled over and sat up, trying to get her eyes to focus. Where was she? The room was mostly dark, and it was hard to see any details, but it did have a familiar feel to it. It must have worked. She had only been here a few times, but over the last year and a half, she had visited this room many times in her dreams.

Actually, she had even visited his dreams once or twice, when she couldn’t stand to stay away any longer. And they had been nightmares, about him losing the big game, losing his friends, losing her. She had never let him know that she was there, in his dreams. It would have been too cruel, just in case it didn’t work. But it had, she was here. And now...

A thrill ran through her as she gathered her slowly returning energy. With the strain of effort showing on her face, she pushed to her hands and knees. She knew that she could go no higher. But she had to smile as she crawled for the bed, feeling the shifting weight of her small backpack. If the Dagonians could only see their “Millasohnna“ now...

Millasohnna. The name always gave her a small thrill of belonging. As the king’s youngest sister, she had no official title, but the Dagonians had given her a name that incorporated Max’s official title into it. They said it was a tribute to the fact that they were so much alike. She liked to think so. Max was a kind ruler, and never lorded it over his people. She was so proud of him.

Of course, he could also be annoyingly overprotective, like when he almost didn’t let her come back for Kyle. Ridiculous. She’d had to plead and threaten for days to get him to agree to her going alone. Otherwise, they’d have had to wait another few months to get more energy stored up. But finally, he’d finally given in.

And his worried face was the last thing she saw before she transferred. She couldn’t wait to get back and prove that she could handle it on her own. Of course, she didn‘t think she‘d tell him about how she felt right now, crawling on the floor at almost the end of her strength. He’d say that he was right.

Well, maybe he was. How was she ever going to get everything done in the amount of time she had? Her mind quickly ran over her objectives while she was here. The four communicators in her back pack were of primary importance, and seeing Kyle...

Her mouth ran dry at the thought. What if he didn’t want to come back with her? What if he’d found someone else? As she finally reached the bed and pulled herself up, a picture on the bedside table caught her eye. In the darkness, it looked like...

She grabbed it and her legs shook so that she had to sit down. It was! Tears filled her eyes at the image of a younger self and the face she had missed for too long- Kyle. She gently traced the lines of his face.

She had forgotten how blue his eyes were and how devilish his smile was. A small giggle bubbled up inside her. She was in his room! Her million fears of ending up in some stranger’s house only to expose herself again were put to rest. Kyle wasn’t here, but he would be soon.

Now, she could relax and rest until he got back. In her condition, there was no way she could go look for him. And it would be difficult to get the communicators in place if she couldn’t even walk.

She sighed loudly. Okay, okay, she shouldn’t have come alone. But Kyle would help her. He had to. The messages on the communicators were from the married Dagonians, one for each of the families left behind on Earth: the Parkers, the Evans, the Whitmans and the Valentis. Joey smiled as she remembered the flurry of activity yesterday as they recorded them.

Michael had been practically carrying in Maria and dragging two nannies behind them- each carrying one of the twins. They all were exhausted, and Maria was griping about the late-night feedings that Michael couldn’t really help with since he wasn’t “equipped” the right way. She was threatening to “equip” him if he didn’t help more, right up until they started taping.

Alex and Isabel had arrived five minutes early for their appointment and Joey had laughed to see how anal Alex was about Isabel’s comfort. She was handling the final months of her pregnancy well, but he was a basket case worrying over her. Their messages had been so sweet and full of tears. Isabel had promised Mom that she and Max would come home soon, after the baby was born.

Then Max had finally showed, almost unable to tear himself away from the Royal Coalitionists meeting to tape his message with Liz. As always, the love on their faces when they saw each other made Joey feel as though she was intruding on a private moment. Max wore his official Dagonian dress and Liz wore a more demure becta sheath that she’d had designed for her when she was acting in official capacity. It still hugged her curves the way tradition dictated, but definitely showed less skin, which made Max more than happy.

They had faced the camera with peaceful expressions, expressing regrets for the necessity of being away for so long and promising to make a trip home over the next few years. Joey had known they were trying to not go into detail about the challenges they still faced and how painfully difficult it had been to turn an entire planet of people into a peaceful monarchy again. There had been a few dark moments. But things were looking up and hopefully, now that Max had met with all the political factions and made rulings on all outstanding cases against the crown, they could turn their thoughts toward home and family. Liz had been wanting to have “baby Maxes” but had agreed to wait until things settled down for Max. So Joey wasn’t a bit surprised when Liz included in their tape an announcement that she and Max would start trying for a baby as soon as their second official year of ruling was over.

Of course, Max had flushed a deep red color and raucous laughter was heard off camera. Joey was glad they had caught that moment on tape. It proved that no matter what had happened to Max and Liz on Dagon, they were still the same people- he the private but strong-minded leader and she his self-sacrificing but determined other half. They had only grown closer over their time there. Joey hoped the parents could see that as easily as she could. Honestly, as much as she tried not to put Max and Liz up on a pedestal, she couldn’t help but want her own relationship with Kyle to be the same way- loving, intimate and intense.

Could she and Kyle be that way? The depth of her feelings for him scared her sometimes. She knew that if he would do it, if he would be transformed and come home with her, she would love him in a way that no other woman had ever loved a man before. Her lips trembled at the thought. She had so much love stored up to give him. Was he ready for this? How would she be able to tell?

A wave of weariness overtook her thoughts in a rush and she pulled off the soft becta skin backpack. She placed it on the bed and sank down deep in the soft pillow. The room seemed to spin for a moment, as she realized how truly exhausted she was. The picture was still in her hands. She should... should put it back... before Kyle came...

******

Kyle watched the end of the 10:00 news report with disgust on his face. The lead investigative reporter’s very bad toupee didn‘t move as the man spouted his idiocy. “Well, Carrie, thank you for that informative report on the mysterious disappearing alien corpse. This whole Roswellian saga has surely put another nail in the coffin of extraterrestrial believeism.” He stacked the papers on his news desk with firmness. “When the news of a genuine alien sighting in Roswell over a year and a half ago first hit the air, I predicted that the whole thing was a hoax. And after this last batch of conflicting interviews that has been released to the public and the string of disappearing evidence, I think I have been proven correct.”

Kyle shook his head. Idiot.

The young black reporter inclined her head as the camera turned back to her, “Well, Dick, it’s clear that something happened here in Roswell on the night of October 13 almost two years ago. But the investigating parties simply cannot seem to agree on what that was. We’ve had reports of a glowing girl or glowing people, blinded witnesses, a showdown between some number of aliens and an alien corpse who was purported to be the mastermind behind the strange level four viral disaster drill at the hospital during the two days previous. That’s a bit much to just dismiss-”

Dick‘s patronizing voice broke in. “Well, I don’t think so. Why is it that no one has video of the incident, although there were numerous cameras rolling at the time? Why has all the evidence disappeared, including the supposed alien corpse. Sometimes it’s just the squeaky wheels trying to get the grease.“

Kyle laughed out loud. Why the network tolerated this guy was beyond him.

“Well, Dick,“ the other reporter said with added emphasis. “The fact that the alien body was that of Dr. Garrett, Chief of Special Pathogens of the Division of Bacterial Diseases in the federal government has made it impossible for the alien conspirists to dismiss all of this so easily. Was that really Dr. Garrett? Did an alien take over his body? Or has the disappearance of the body confirmed what we suspected-”

Dick interrupted again. “-that those who did the autopsy and ‘proved’ his alien heritage were quacks just trying to make a buck off of the tapes.“

The black reporter laughed lightly as he continued, showing her lack of belief as well. Dick joined in, as if to say that only wackos would believe anything different.

“So, Carrie, are there any other loose ends to be tied up down there?“

“No, Dick, I think we’ve just about beat this horse to death. We’ve seen one conviction for the hospital misdirection and obstruction of justice, and a change in hospital management. We’ve followed the trail of investigation through the parents of the teens who disappeared shortly before and after the events here, which showed us nothing but heartbroken people mourning the loss of their kids. Now, with the disappearance of the main body of evidence in this case, I’m ready to throw in the towel. I’ve been in Roswell reporting now for a very long time and I have yet to see anything that convinces me that all of this was little more than a plot hatched to renew waning interest in this sleepy, little alien tourist trap of a town. I’ll be on my way home tonight. Signing off from Roswell for WKAV, I’m Carrie Hoffstetler.“

“And I‘m Dick Gracey.“ Dick turned to the camera with a smile shining off his bright, white teeth. “And that’s your investigative report for tonight-“

Kyle cut the television off with disgust. As usual, he had to deal with a mix of feelings about the whole situation. The mob and the media had hounded them so much that it was a relief to see an end in sight. But it pissed him off to know how much truth there was out there that these people couldn’t even imagine. He’d love to tell them the truth just once about Joey and how brave she was and how incredible it had been to kiss her when she glowed like that-

“Thank god, it’s finally over.” Kyle blinked and looked over at Amy.

She adjusted the blanket covering her front and smiled at Kyle. “Maybe now we can get back to our normal lives. Thank god for that shapeshifting Madpacker.”

Kyle nodded and looked away. “Matpatha. Yeah, if it hadn’t been for him, I’m sure it would’ve all come down on somebody.”

“Well, if the talking heads are saying it’s over, then it is. You know they milk every last bit out of something before they call off the vultures. And the main public is cattle, anyway, you know? Get a news anchor to say it, and it’s good as gold.”

Kyle stood and tossed the remote to her. “How’s little Jimmy doin’?”

“Eating like a little pig. How was work tonight?”

Kyle nodded. “I quit.“

“Oh, Kyle, I’m sorry.“

“I’m not.“

She looked at him with concern in his eyes. “Things’ll look better in the morning.”

He nodded and stared at the floor. He still wasn’t used to how she wore her emotions on her sleeve like that. Made him feel five years old. He could finally speak again. “Tell little Jimmy I love him and I’ll see him tomorrow.”

She waved him off. “He heard you. He always stops sucking when you talk.”

Kyle screwed up his face and headed out at that one. Amy laughed, of course. After four months of it, he was used to her nursing Jimmy at all hours, but sometimes, she was a little too open about it. He grabbed a soda out of the fridge and headed upstairs to his room. Her encouragement about things looking better in the morning and the ending of the media frenzy had given him momentary hope. Things had to look better in the morning. Kyle’s failed try at collegiate life still haunted him, as did his status as ex-boyfriend to an “alien” and his string of bad jobs. Pizza Bob’s was the third job he’d had in as many months. He just couldn’t get settled anywhere, no matter how hard he tried.

Something was missing. No, make that someone. He couldn’t wait to crawl into bed and just forget about his utter lack of a life for a while. He shut his bedroom door quietly and rubbed at his face. As usual, Joey wasn’t far from his mind. He let his mind relax and she immediately came to the forefront. Just today, when he was shooting hoops with a few of the guys, her long, lithe form came to mind and how graceful she looked doing lay-ups...

He opened his soda, chugging half the can in record time. He burped loudly and walked over to the bed. It didn’t help to think about her. It just made it worse, really.

He didn’t even notice that he was looking for her picture until he noticed that it wasn’t there. Panic struck him. It was the only picture he had of her. He slammed the soda down and looked all over the bedside table frantically. The floor beside the table was too dark to see and Kyle flicked on the light. There it was, on the floor. He bent down to pick it up and froze.

From where he was, he couldn’t see the top of the bed anymore, but he was willing to bet his boys that there had been someone laying on his bed. A particular someone that he would know anywhere. He swallowed hard and grabbed the picture. Then he settled himself on his knees and looked over the top of the bed. His breath left him in a slow leak. Joey.

She looked so beautiful, so peaceful, so impossible lying there- like an angel. Her long, curly black hair spilled over his pillow in a way that seemed intimate to him. He swallowed hard. She was asleep, her lips slightly parted and her long eyelashes curled softly against her cheek.

He wanted to kiss her so badly- No. It was a dream. He reached out an unsteady hand and felt the warmth of her bare arm and her soft skin. His eyes closed. She was real. Somehow, she was here, in his bed. She must have come back- for him. His gaze wandered down her body and her jerked his hand away. What in the hell was she wearing?

His mind instantly threw out the answer: becta skin. He knew the strange words from her explanation of Max’s wedding attire, way back before the departure.

This must be the female version of it... thick straps holding up a short top, baring a whole section of her stomach. And the low-slung skirt rested at least, oh god, two inches below her perfect belly button. His eyes roamed to the slit up the side that revealed a long length of smooth thigh muscle. And it was right then, looking at that, that Kyle Valenti made a desperate decision. He grabbed the sheet and hauled it up over her body. Better. But not enough. He moved off the bed and pulled up a nearby chair. He took a deep breath and just stared at her, only venturing a touch every now and then.

******

Joey woke up only twice over the next two days, and Kyle was startled out of his stupor the first time. It had been in the middle of the second night of her stay that she suddenly sat up and unblinkingly asked for the bathroom. He roused himself from his chair and pointed her in the right direction. She had spent a few minutes in there, then she returned to the bed and fell immediately back asleep.

Kyle had gone to take a cold shower.

The second time, he was more ready. He had time enough to think and had decided that she would be hungry and would probably want to talk to her Mom. So he had a buffet waiting for her, stuff he could fix easily, and a cell phone within reach. He’d managed to keep Joey a secret so far, just in case she needed some time to do secret things, or... hell, he didn’t know, he just didn’t want to have fifteen people staring at her while she was waking up.

Like now.

He blinked. She was sitting up in bed, just as suddenly as she had before. The early morning sun washed her in yellow light. “Kyle?”

“Yeah,” he jumped up and sat on the bed beside her.

She looked over at him and smiled with tears in her eyes. She reached for him and he was pulling her into his arms before he even knew what he was doing, smelling her sweet smell, fitting the long, feminine curves of her body against his, seeking out her lips with his own.

He felt like she was food, air and water, and he was hungrily sucking her down inside of him. Sweet... He’d forgotten how kissing Joey was exciting but somehow just so... sweet. He smiled against her cheek and she pulled back. “What are you smiling about? I haven’t even told you why I’m here.” She looked nervous.

He looked her straight in the eyes. “I don’t care why you’re here, or for how long. Things have been so crappy. I just want to forget and be here with you.”

Her smile trembled and tears filled her eyes. “I came to take you back, Kyle, if you still want to be with me.” He pulled back and stared at her. A thousand thoughts crashed through his mind. Leaving the Earth? Being WITH her? As in WITH? As in Max and Liz WITH?

A troubled look crossed Joey’s face. “It won’t be painful, the transformation, and we can-” She hesitated. “We can be married as soon as we get back. We could do it here, but everyone kinda’ wanted to be there to see it. That is, if you still want to do it.” She lowered her eyes and waited.

Kyle had no words to say how much he wanted to do it. His whole life had been wrapped up in that one impossibility for so long...

That’s why he had flunked out of his first year at UNM. That’s why every job was a crappy one. Because he wanted Joey, whatever else came with her and nothing else would do.

He took a deep breath. “You mean, I can be transformed AND go back to Dagon with you,” he said finally. She nodded, keeping her eyes downcast. His heart ached to show her how much he wanted this. “Joey?”

She finally lifted her beautiful, hazel eyes just a little and looked up at him from under her long, black eyelashes. “Yes,” she whispered.

The words he wanted to say stuck in his throat. Finally, he managed, “Please?”

She watched him with wide eyes. “Please what?”

Kyle nodded and took a deep breath. “I want to go with you. I want to be with you.”

Relief washed over her face and she threw her arms around him. Instant joy flooded his soul. She hadn’t needed the words he couldn‘t say. She understood. He rose on his knees and pulled her body up to meet his.

He saw the blush stain her cheeks before he kissed them with such gentleness it brought tears to his eyes. He had been waiting for this, wanting this for so long...

And she was trying to talk? The words barely registered in his clouded brain- “Kyle, I’m so sorry-”

Kiss.

“What?” He ran his hands through her tangled and much-longer-than-he-remembered hair.

Soft kiss.

“...sorry... for not coming back-”

Kiss.

“-sooner.”

Kiss.

“That’s okay, I understand.” He leaned back in to kiss her and she put a finger on his lips. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? So can we slow down on the kissing?”

She took a deep breath and he could see her composing herself. Why? But he took in a deep breath and nodded. He would try.

She looked at him with wonder in her eyes and reached up to slide a hand through his hair. How could she be so self-controlled? Dammit, he was dying to just-

“I missed you so much. Did you miss me?”

He swallowed hard and sat back on his heels. Guess she does need the words. “Yes. I wrote you letters. I’ve never, EVER, written anyone letters before, especially when they were, like, light years away.”

“I want to read them.”

“Okay.” He suddenly felt unsure of himself. Did she not want him to touch her?

Joey’s stomach growled, bringing Kyle back down to earth. “You must be starving.” He jumped off the bed, suddenly full of spastic energy. “Do you want a bagel, or some pancakes? I have some syrup and some cream cheese, and some milk over here, if you want them. I can get Amy to fix some bacon or sausage- whatever you want.”

Joey had been pulling something out of her backpack when she looked up, disappointment all over her face.

“Amy?”

Kyle hurried back over to the bed. “Oh, no. Amy is my stepmom- Maria’s mother. I guess I used to call her Ms. Deluca, only she finally banged it into my head that she’s not Deluca anymore. So, I call her Amy.”

“Oh, that‘s right.” Joey smiled in embarrassment. Then her face brightened. “I have something for her, and for all the parents. That‘s one reason why I had to wait so long to come back for you. Everyone wanted to send messages and we had to wait for the technology to develop just a little.”

“Okay, you eat, and I‘ll get everyone, alright? And we‘ll take it from there.” Kyle didn’t say his final thoughts aloud. And we’ll get a few kisses in their sometime, then I’ll get transformed and-

“Wait. We don’t have enough time.” Joey’s face was drained of color as she looked up from the small watch in her hand. “We‘ll just have to call and let them know.” She looked sheepish. “I didn’t expect to need to sleep so much.”

Kyle nodded and looked at her tentatively. “So how long do we have?”

“Well, about an hour by my watch.”

“Oh, man.” Leaving Earth in an hour? Kyle felt frozen.

His Dad. He had to say goodbye to his Dad. He looked over to see Joey standing by the bed.

“I’m sorry, Kyle. Sorry I can’t give you more time. That was my fault.” She started to look wobbly and Kyle rushed over to her. She leaned into him heavily.

Her scent washed over him and he was lost again. He couldn’t control himself.

Kiss. He had to kiss her. Her lips were the softest thing he’d ever felt and they slid open as his tongue licked around them lightly. His heart started pounding in his ears. Then he was inside her mouth, tasting every bit of her that he could, reveling in his strong desire and the weak sounds of pleasure she made.

Nothing in his life ever felt this right. What had happened to Kyle Valenti? He finally pulled away in breathless amazement. This girl with the hazel eyes and loving heart held him in the palm of his hand. He would leave Earth and travel light years just to be hers, just to love her as no man had ever loved a woman before.

He reached up to cup her face with one hand. “I love you, Joey Spencer.“ Her eyes lit up and he knew he’d said what she needed to hear. He smiled. He would say it every day of her life. He would say his goodbyes gladly. He would even take his place in Max Evans’ family and bow to the King without complaint. In fact, the thought didn’t even bother him. He’d had a hole in his heart long enough to recognize it being filled.

Joey was his other half.

What was that word Liz had used so much?

Yeah- that’s it. soul mate. Joey was his soul mate.

Damn.

Life was good.