Disclamer: I do not own Roswell, it's concept, or it's characters but I wish I did. Only the story and new characters are mine.

A/N: I will be referring to the dupe Zan as Zander so not to confuse him with Tess' son Zan, as well as to give him an idenity away from Zan on Antar.

Prologue

The small hut was dim; only the sunlight that filtered through the surrounding trees into the singular window cast small specks of lights, giving the room an amber glow. She moved through the small area and came to the cot, her eyes landing on the picture that lay next to the man she'd cared for, for months now. As she stared down, her mind brought her back to the day when the woman in the picture became more than just a photograph.

The old homeless woman walked down the street holding a large shopping bag. As she sees a shiny barrette flashing from the cement, she stops to pick it up.

"This will go nicely with my collection," she speaks aloud to herself and then crosses the street, heading towards a row of abandoned and unused buildings.

She looks up to see a young blonde woman with a tall dark haired man, staring at one of the buildings. She continues to watch, drawn to the mysterious man who reminds her so much of the man who waits at her make shift home for her. After a moment, a young woman with long brown hair emerges and takes the man's hand, leading him to a van that is parked directly in front of the building; leaving the blonde still staring intensely at the worn structure.

"Ava," the brunette called out of the van's window before the petite blonde finally turned away as well and joined them, before the vehicle drove off into the distance.

"Ava," the woman repeated thoughtfully before turning the corner and walking towards a metal fence with a hole in it. She stopped to pick up an abandoned skateboard before climbing through the hole and walking down the dirt hill. She followed the sandy path through the overgrown grass and trees before finally coming to a shack amidst the weeds.

"It's Patty," she proclaimed as she entered the tiny shelter. "I think I saw her today."

It had been three years since she'd seen the young girl enter the van and she was no closer to knowing who she was or how exactly she'd been connected to the man who literally fell into her life five years ago.

Patty walked over to the cot where a man covered in a tan cocoon-like web laid. She picked up the picture beside him and turned it over, reading what she could of the smudge writing.

"Dear Zander," she looked down at him, and then back to the unreadable line, scanning to the clear words. "Always, Ava." She smiled as the man's fingers began to move underneath the web. "It won't be long now," she placed the picture back besides him. "Not long at all."

"They're coming," a voice familiar to hers says.

Tess turns to look at the woman who's speaking and finds its Ava. "Who is?" She blinks as a blinding light flashes and when she opens up her eyes, Ava is laying on the floor bleeding; a gaping hole in her abdomen.

She tries to rush to her duplicate but is stopped by a firm grip on her arm. Tess spins around and screams the moment she sees him. "Kivar!"

"Avaleena," he smirks as he strokes her face. "I've been waiting for you..."

Tess quickly pulls away from him but is soon surrounded only be darkness and the echoing sound of a man laughing wickedly. As she runs into the nothingness, she hears a child crying.

"Zan!" Tess springs out of bed, rushing to her son's room.

She is relived to find him fast asleep in his bed. Tess gives a slight smile, noticing that he's once again kicked off the covers. She pulls the blankets up around him before placing a soft kiss on his forehead and leaving the room.

Tess heads to the bathroom quietly and begins running some cool water to splash across her face. As she grabs the towel to dry off, she stares into her reflection in the mirror, silently telling herself it was only a dream.

But she already knew that. It was the same thing she told herself every year. The nightmares had started shortly after Ava died and although over time they'd decreased, they still came in full force around the anniversary of her dupe's death. Even though some of the imagery changed, one thing remained the same every year; Ava's last words. And every year Tess told herself that no one was coming.

It's over; it's been over for three years now. Still she could not shake her dreams or the voice within that said it would never be over; that they would come again when she least expected it.