She sighed and held onto the metal bar above her head as the tram began to move. In the old time, someone might have offered her their seat.

But that was the old time.

Everyone here knew what Isabel was. She was a hybrid, the result of one of many experiments. And beyond that, she'd borne a mongrel. A part-alien, part-human child who had odd powers that no one really understood. Even Isabel didn't really understand her daughter. A hybrid was acceptable. A mongrel was not. Everyone knew that.

A few of the riders even glared at her in the dim lights. Isabel sighed. There was a time she could have gone to work without feeling the hatred of everyone around her.

All Isabel had to do to remember the old time was close her eyes.

****

April 26, 2002
Roswell, New Mexico

"Isabel? Can you just pick a dress, already? Prom is tomorrow!"

Isabel could hear the impatient voice of her somewhat flighty friend easily from outside her dressing room. However, she chose to pretend. "What? I can't hear you!"

Maria yanked open the door of the dressing room and looked at Isabel's selection of dresses. "I said, can you just pick one! There are..." She checked her watch. "About twenty-four hours until prom. Even if you do pick one of these dresses, we still have to find shoes!"

Isabel shrugged. "No problem."

Maria sighed in exasperation. "Well, Liz is probably wondering what the hell is going on. She's been waiting since four."

Isabel considered this carefully. "Hmmm, since you put it that way...just a few more hours." Then she shut the door in Maria's face.

She chuckled to herself as she heard Maria's insulted yelp. The truth was, she knew what dress she wanted. She just wanted to admire it a little longer before it went into her shopping bag. Alex was going to get knocked off his feet.

She and Alex had been dating seriously since the start of their senior year. Isabel didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was in love. Despite all her admonitions to Max and Michael about falling for humans, Isabel had finally found someone for herself. And he'd been there all along.

"All right, I'm ready," she called. If she admired the dress any more, she'd probably lose her confidence with it. It was a special dress for a special night. The dress was floor-length, which was a chore on a girl of Isabel's height. It was a shimmery, delicate turquoise that set off her eyes and hair exquisitely. The top, which was separate from the bottom, had a few opalescent sequins sewn in for effect. It played up all her assets beautifully.

"Which one did you pick?" Maria asked. "You better have picked that purple one. That was so gorgeous!" Isabel shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see," she said. Maria had not actually seen her try on the turquoise dress. The last thing she needed was Maria blabbing to Alex, or to Michael who would then blab to Alex.

****

Across town, Alex was being fitted for a tux. "This is sad, man," Michael said. "I mean, I thought that I had waited till the last minute. But you..."

Alex shrugged. "I didn't know my old tux wouldn't fit anymore," he said. Alex had developed in the last few years, and when he tried on the tux he had from his cousin's wedding in his freshman year, he was surprised to find that it wouldn't fit across the chest, and that it was at least three inches too short.

"At least you're not the only one," Michael sighed. "Maria is taking Isabel today."

"Really? Do you know what dress she wants?"

"Ummm...no."

"Hey, don't lie to me, man."

"Really! I don't!" Michael gulped slightly. He had visited one of Maria's dreams a few weeks before and had discovered Isabel had gotten there first, and was trying on dresses with Maria. He hid and watched. Only Isabel would consult someone for advice on prom dresses in a dream. But he had seen the turquoise color of the one she liked and had seen Maria's approval. "How would I know?"

"You guys are...you know. You just have ways."

"Ways?"

"Here you are," the store worker said, handing Alex a tux.

"So," Alex said, holding it up. "How about it?"

Michael shook his head. "I think this is a lost cause."

****

April 27, 2002
Roswell High Senior Prom Maria and Liz arrived at the Evan's house early to do their hair and makeup. They kicked Max out, so he went to Michael's apartment.

They had all dressed completely by six o'clock, though the prom didn't start until eight. Isabel was hiding in the bathroom and refusing to come out.

"Isabel, come on! We have to see the dress eventually!" Liz called.

"No way. You guys can wait just like everyone else." Maria shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Conceited," she muttered.

"I heard that, dammit!"

The doorbell rang. Liz and Maria looked at each other and smiled. It rang again. "Would you guys get that?" Isabel yelled.

"It's not our house. We shouldn't answer the door," Liz pointed out.

Isabel screamed in frustration and flounced out of the bathroom. Before they even had a chance to check out her dress, she had fled downstairs. She yanked open the door and yelled, "What!"

Alex jumped back. "Jeez, I thought you wanted us here by six thirty."

Isabel yelped and tried to shut the door. "Go away, Alex!"

"What? Why?"

"You don't get to see my dress until later!"

"Why not?"

"Just go to Michael's!"

"No way, Isabel. Just let me in."

"Not happening, Alex--" Just then, Maria and Liz yanked her back and opened the door.

"Hi, Alex," Liz said.

"Hi," Alex said, shaking his head. Isabel tried to flee as he came in the door, but Maria held onto her. Alex's jaw dropped when he saw Isabel. Hair tousled, cheeks flushed in anger, and the absolute perfect dress--she was undeniably gorgeous. Alex tried to say something but couldn't seem to get anything out. Finally he managed a "Wow."

Liz and Maria grinned at each other. "We'll just be going now," Maria said.

Isabel crossed her arms and looked away in frustration. "Well?"

"Wow," Alex said again. "Um, um..." He couldn't think of anything to say, so he stepped up to her and kissed her. With the heels she had on, they were the same height. He wrapped his hands around her waist, and felt the silky smoothness of the fabric. She touched the old, worn tuxedo he had found that fit him, and frowned.

"How much did you spend on this?"

"Not much," he admitted.

"But you told me you spent a ton on prom! What'd you buy?"

"Well, uh..." He produced a box from his pocket and pulled a gorgeous wrist-type corsage out of it. It was made entirely of white roses and carnations. "This. I didn't know what color your dress was, so I got white."

It was Isabel's turn to be speechless. She had never seen anything like it. And amazingly, it matched her shoes and the opalescent sequins on her dress. She allowed him to slip it on her wrist, and then she kissed him.

When they came up for air, he whispered, "I, uh, I got a hotel room, too."

Isabel gasped a little, but whispered back, "Good. We'll need it."

**** Early morning, April 28, 2002
A small hotel in Roswell

Isabel opened the door, laughing and kissing Alex. He was laughing too, caught between trying to breathe or trying to kiss her. For the rest of her life she would remember this night as a series of impressions rather than one conscious memory.

Alex kissed his way down her chest as she unzipped her dress and pulled it down. She didn't recall him taking his tux off, but there he was in nondescript boxers, touching her gently through her black bra. Nor did she remember how they went from standing to laying on the luxurious bed, nude and entwined in each other's arms. She remembered the last few moments, where she opened her legs and he plunged between them, kissing her hungrily as he searched for her entrance. He thrust inside her, breaking past her barrier. He stroked her forehead as she waited for the pain to ease, so he could continue. Most vividly of all she remembered flying with him toward climax, barely aware of what was happening as she seemingly fell off a cliff within her own body.

The next morning she woke up smiling. Alex's leg was thrown possessively over hers and his arms were wrapped around her bare chest. We're spooning, she thought with delight, never realizing the accuracy of the name until now. She shifted a little and felt him beginning to stir in more areas than one. She turned around just in time to see him open his eyes.

"Hi," Isabel whispered.

"Hi, yourself," he said sleepily.

"Up and at 'em already, I see," she teased.

He glanced down. "Apparently," he said dryly.

Alex rolled her on top of him and she felt him probing her slightly bruised entrance. He slipped inside and she moaned. She began to move, ignoring the soreness that spread through her thighs.

"You know," she said between breaths, "We're both going to be in a lot of trouble when we get home."

"Not me," Alex said. "My parents are..." he groaned as she shifted to try a new angle.

"Good?" Isabel asked.

"Very good," he agreed. "My parents are away for the week."

"Lucky," Isabel muttered as her breathing began to grow heavier. "My parents probably waited up all night."

"Well," Alex said. "Just tell them that you all got about the same amount of sleep. Ow!"

She released her tight pinch of his leg. "Somehow I don't think that's a good idea," she moaned as he drove her to climax yet again.

****

January 17, 2010
General Request Center
Albuquerque, NM

Isabel could only hope that her boss wouldn't be too mad at her for skipping out of work again. The last time had been to care for her daughter, who had been sick almost constantly for the last few months. Poor Kirsten couldn't even go to school. As a mongrel, she was not permitted among the Master children, and the human children were terrified of the powers that the six-year-old seemed mostly unaware of.

But Kirsten's seventh birthday was coming up--in fact, it was the first day of February. And Isabel had a very, very special present in mind for the little girl this year.