"Memory Lane One: Reconciliations"
by Angel H.
[email protected]

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Summary: Peter Maza returns home.........

Disclaimer: They ain't mine. (Well, except for Rick...)

Random ramblings: Okay, we all now about how the Mazas' lives changed after they met the gargoyles. But what about the events that shaped who they are today? The "Memory Lane" series deals with that question. Yeah, I know...another series. For those of you still waiting for "BR3", don't worry, it's coming...I just don't know when! ^_^ Also I'd like to thank all of you who has taken the time out to write to me about my stories, whether you liked them or not. It shows me you care and I really appreciate that. One more thing: this goes out to my sisters at Clan LeFemme, my best buddy Chibi Alex-Chan, and my pals Buffy and Krow. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

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August 25, 1969

The bright sun beat down on the rolling red hills of the Arizona landscape. Large green lizards slithered beneath the rocks in order to stay cool while little road runners skittered across the desert floor in little hops as if their tiny feet were burned by the heated ground. Although it was five o'clock in the evening, the heat made no sign of relinquishing its hold on the valley.

The long dusty road which cut through the landscape guided a maroon- colored car and its three passengers towards their destination. One of them sat in the back, oblivious to the world around her as she slumbered peacefully. Her riding companions were in the front; the heat of the desert was making them fidgety, anxious, and even more uncomfortable than they had been at the beginning of their journey. A young woman sat in the passenger seat, desperately trying to cool herself off by fanning her ebony-brown face with a folded road map. Her husband sat beside her. His sweat glinted off his brow as he gripped the steering wheel. His forehead was wrinkled in anxiety, anticipation.....and fear.

He felt his wife's hand on his own. He turned away from the road and faced his love. "Calm down, Peter. Everything's going to be alright - really," she told him.

Peter looked into his wife's beautiful brown eyes, filled with so much concern. He smiled softly at her, turned back to the road, and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. "I know. It's just..." he began. "I haven't seen him for so long. Not since I ran out." He let a small nervous chuckle escape his lips. "To tell you the truth, Diane, I don't think I'm ready for this."

Diane faced the windshield again and crossed her legs, trying to get comfortable. "Well, I certainly wasn't ready for this heat," she said to her husband. He flashed her a coy half-smirk/half-grin and she sighed. "She needs to know where she comes from, Peter," she said, motioning to the third passenger in the back seat. "She needs to know about her culture, her family...who she is."

Peter nodded. "I know. I know - " He stopped short when he saw a cluster of small buildings straight ahead, near the horizon.

He became tense again.

"We're almost there," he said quietly.

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Carlos Maza sighed as he put aside the newspaper and got up from his favorite chair. Who could be coming by at this time of day? He knew he wasn't expecting anyone. Probably some damn door-to-door salesman. The visitor knocked again. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" he called out. Carlos opened the door and blinked back in surprise. Then a small frown covered his face as he said, "Hello, Peter. So, you've come back?" He moved aside to give his son room to enter the house. "It's been a long time."

Peter stayed in place. "I've come back, but not for the reason you're thinking," he began. Peter closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to gather his words. "I've been out in the real world, Dad, and I've seen and done lots of new things. I've discovered that there is more to life out there than this village could ever offer me."

Carlos groaned inside. He hated where this conversation was leading. He had hoped that his son did not come back just to start another painful argument. 'sigh..' Alas -

"Things have changed, Dad, and I've changed with them," Peter explained. "But there's more...a lot more - my priorities have shifted."

Carlos looked into his son's face in confusion. What was going on?

Carlos heard someone approach the two of them from Peter's side, which was partially hidden by the door. "Dad, I'd like you to meet two of the most important people in my life right now." Peter moved aside and the person stepped closer. "This is my wife, Diane." Diane stepped forward, carrying some sort of bundle wrapped in a small, thin blanket. She stood up straight and said, "How do you do, Mr. Maza?"

Carlos couldn't believe his eyes! His Peter? Married? With...her? But how could....? Why would he...?

Carlos noticed the woman straightening herself even taller under his gaze. She held her head high, and she locked her eyes with his own. She had confidence, spirit....qualities that any man worth his salt would admire. She also had a certain exotic beauty to her. Carlos noticed Peter moving closer to his new wife and it made him relax. They were obviously in love, and all that mattered to him was seeing his son happy. And if he found his happiness with a woman of another race, then so be it. He would not ruin this moment by being close-minded.

Carlos offered a small smile and was about to greet Diane when he heard a little sound come from the bundle she was holding. The object beneath the blanket began to wiggle and squirm and Carlos stepped back in surprise. Diane shifted the bundle on her hip, as Carlos slowly reached out his hand and pulled away a small corner of the blanket near her shoulder. His son's words came back to him, 'I'd like you meet the *two* most important people in my life right now.' Beneath the blanket was a small being with a little round head topped with kitten-soft curls of raven-black hair. When the tiny creature opened her eyes, Carlos saw the deepest, darkest, most beautiful brown eyes that he had ever seen. The baby yawned, stretched and tried to sit up while she curiously explored the new environment around her.

Carlos looked up at his son. He didn't even have to ask.

"Dad," Peter said, "this our daughter, Elisa."

Carlos' smile grew wider as he touched the soft skin of the infant's cheek. Elisa turned to him and watched him curiously. Then she reached out to him with a tiny hand and grinned.

Carlos turned to Diane. "May I hold her?" he asked.

Diane smiled at him and then to Peter. "Of course you can," she said, as she handed her child to him.

Carlos held his granddaughter close as he softly tickled her tummy. Elisa cooed and grabbed his finger. Carlos laughed as he felt tears of joy threaten to escape from the corners of his eyes. He turned to the girls' parents. Diane was watching them with a smile on her face, and Peter seemed more at ease. "She's beautiful," he told them. Then he turned to Diane and then back to Peter. "They both are."

A large grin spread across Diane's face as she affectionately wrapped her arms around her husband's, and Peter let the corners of his lips form into a smile as well.

He began to wonder why he had been so worried in the first place.

Suddenly, Carlos looked up at his son. "Peter," he said, "don't just stand there! Come in! Come in! Or the coyotes'll eat ya!" he said, grinning at Diane.

Diane laughed at the warning Carlos used to give Peter when he was a child about staying out late. Peter rolled his eyes in amusement and followed the three inside.

When they were all indoors, Carlos stopped in the foyer, "Where is your luggage?" he asked.

"Well, since we came at the last minute, we were going to stay in a motel room," Peter told him.

"What? You think that I'm going to let this little gem," he began, indicating the baby in his arms, "stay in some old hotel?" Elisa looked up at her parents as she held three of her fingers in her mouth.

"But we were going to find a place that has a basinet we could rent for Elisa," Diane explained.

Carlos turned to Peter. "Come now, Peter. You didn't really think that I would throw away your old crib, did you?" Carlos Maza instructed, "Peter go get the luggage. You and Diane will be sleeping in the guest room, and this little princess will get to sleep in her daddy's old room!" He lifted the baby girl high over his head and "flew" her into the living room while Peter and Diane went back to the car to get their belongings.

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Later that evening...

"So after I graduated from the tech school, I got a job at a car dealership as a mechanic," Peter told his father. "It pays pretty well."

Carlos resisted the urge to tell him that good-paying jobs were always in the area.

They had just finished eating dinner, and they were all sitting around the table, which was nestled in a little area away from the living room right in front of the kitchen. The young couple and the older man had already cleared the plates and were now trying to catch up with the past few years. Diane had let Elisa play on the floor, and the baby was happily crawling around, discovering all the things there were to see... and touch.

She had crept over by the bookshelf and was looking around the shelves in awe. There were, of course, plenty of books. Volumes and volumes adorned all the shelves. Some were old and a little dusty; the bindings were somewhat torn around the edges. There were also a few small figurines that were carefully lined up in front of the old tomes, and although they were all carefully crafted, only one of them really managed to catch Elisa's attention. It was a small statue of a young woman sitting on a rock with a coyote kneeling by her side. The two figures seemed to be looking into the sky and an imaginary wind was blowing the woman's raven hair around her shoulders. A long, pale pink dress flowed around her ankles as she affectionally scratched the wild dog behind his ears.

Elisa crept closer to bookshelf and reached for the figurine, which was one shelf above her. Unable to reach it, she grabbed onto the edge of one of the shelves within her reach and tried to lift herself up..with no success. 'How did the big people do it so easily?' She continued to reach for the small statue, and her tiny hand was almost able to grasp it... until her chubby fingers accidently pushed it further back. She began to whine and fuss in frustration as she continued to reach for the figurine.

Peter turned in his chair and caught his duaghter trying to get at the statue. He jumped out of his chair and snatched Elisa off the ground. "No, Elisa! Don't touch!" he said, lightly smacking her wrist his hand. Elisa began to cry..She'd just wanted to play with the toy on the shelf! What had she done wrong?

"Peter, don't make her cry like that," Carlos said.

"She was about to break Mom's statue," Peter replied as he sat back at the table with his weeping daughter in his lap.

Carlos chuckled lightly. "This little one will be getting into lots of trouble when she's a little older... Trouble that's a lot worse than breaking a little statue," he said, casting a meaningful glance at his young granddaughter, who was still crying softly and trying wriggle out of her father's lap to get at the object.

"That was your mother's favorite figurine?" Diane asked her husband.

Peter smiled at her. "You could say that - she made it herself."

"She did?" Diane looked back at the bookshlef. "It's beautiful!"

"Why don't you go and get it? Let the little one know her grandmother," Carlos said. Diane looked up at Peter and he nodded slightly. She got up from the table, picked up the statue, and examined it herself, lightly tracing her fingers over the figurine's delicate curves. Then she returned to her chair and pulled it closer to her husband and daughter and held the small statue in front of Elisa. Elisa immediately reached out to touch the smooth ceramic surface. She put both of her hands on the figurine and explored the work of art, giggling with pleasure. She looked at her parents with a grin on her face and then back at her grandfather, who was enjoying every minute. He had a feeling that she know who created the object she held and that she could feel her spirit within it.

"You know, Peter," Carlos said. "She reminds me of your mother.... lovely, full of spirit - " Diane attempted to pry the miniature statue out of Elisa's hands. " - and fiesty!" Carlos said, laughing as Elisa began to cry again after Diane put away the figurine.

Diane sighed. "I'll go get her pacifier," she said as she went into the back room.

Carlos got up from his chair as well. "Why don't you let Grandpa dry your eyes, huh?" he said, taking Elisa from her father's lap and carrying her into the kitchen.

When Peter was sitting alone at the table, listening to the water run in the kitchen sink, there was suddenly a knock at the door. Seeing that his father was preoccupied, he got up to open it and see who was there.

"Hey, Pop! Sorry for dropping by so late, but I - " The visitor's breath was caught in his throat as he realized who had answered the door. The visitor was a well-built man with short brown hair and brown eyes; he was a few inches taller than Peter. "Well, well, well..." he said. "If isn't the prodigal son descending from on high."

Peter sighed. "Nice to you again, too, Rick," he said.

"So," Rick began, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "when did you roll in?"

"A few hours ago," Peter replied. "Couldn't make it out there or something?" Rick asked. "Decided to come crawling back to beg at your old man's feet, huh?"

"I've never *begged* for anything in my life," Peter told him, "and I'm not about to start now. Also, I've made it just fine."

"Hey, don't get mad at me! *I'm* not the one who abandoned his father *and* his tribe."

"Don't start with me tonight, okay? It's been a long day, and I'm tired as hell. Now, if you would just tell me what you came for, you can just get the hell out - "

"Peter!" Diane called from the hallway. "I think I left Elisa's favorite pacifier out in the car." When Diane entered the foyer, she stopped in her tracks with surprise. "Oh! Hello," she said to the stranger. "Peter, who's this?"

Peter stepped aside, and Rick took step into the house, his eyes wide in shock and confusion. "Diane, this is my cousin, Rick," Peter told her. "Rick, this is my wife, Diane."

"Your wife?!" Rick exclaimed in disbelief. He turned back to Peter. "What? *We're* not good engouh for you now?"

"That's enough!!" Peter shouted, stabbing his finger at his cousin's chest.

"What's going on here?" Everyone turned around and saw Carlos standing behind them with Elisa in his arms. "Is there something you wanted, Rick?"

"Yeah, I was looking for the wrench I left here earlier when I was fixing your sink," he said distractedly, his eyes focused on the baby girl. "Who..? I mean, what..?" he stuttered, pointing to the child.

"This my granddaughter, Elisa," Carlos replied, grinning proudly. "Doesn't she look like her grandmother?" Although her grandfather spoke highly of her, she turned away from the man by the door, who made her feel uneasy beneath his hard glare.

Rick snorted. "Hardly," he replied. Then he muttered something under his breath, and Peter was certain he heard the words "little mutt". Anger fueled his body as he lifted up his fist and crashed it against Rick's jaw. Rick stumbled back as Diane cried out in shock. Rick was about to retaliate, but before he could get in a hit, Carlos rushed forward and stood between the two. "I think you should leave now....You'll have your wrench in the morning; it's late."

Rick regained his composure and looked around the room. Diane stood in the entryway to the living room, watching him carefully. Peter stood behind his father, sending him a cold glare. His Uncle Carlos stood before him with no readable expression on his features, but with a glint of anger in his eyes. He looked at the child he was holding and narrowed his eyes. She snuggled deeper into her grandfather's embrace as she watched him warily. With one last glance back at Peter, he turned on his heel and walked out the door.

As soon as the door was closed, Peter winced in pain and held his right knuckle in his left hand. "I always said that guy was hard-headed."

"Here, let's go get some ice," Diane said, as she led her husband into the kitchen.

As Carlos watched the young couple's forms disappear around the corridor, he glanced down at the baby in his arms and was somewhat surprised to see her looking back at him in confusion. Carlos smiled and shook his head. "Yep, you'll get into lots more trouble when you get older," he said quietly. "A whole mess of trouble."

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August 26, 1969
Around midnight...

An eerie green light filled the room where the baby was sleeping peacefully in the old wooden crib. A gust of wind seemingly out of nowhere swept across the room as the green light shifted until it formed a human shape. It was a young man with dark hair, denim jeans, and a black leather jacket. He looked down at the sleeping child and grinned. "Well, well," he said. "Little Petey's finally grown up."

The baby girl stirred and opened her dark brown eyes. She sat up on her hands and looked up at the visitor. "Hey there," the man said. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

The child grinned and let out a small giggle, but the man held a finger to his lips. "Shh," he said quietly. "You don't want to wake up the others, do you?" The baby remained silent but continued to watch her strange visitor in awe. "I just came by to say hi and that I'll always be there to look out for you, even though you may not see me." He reached down into the crib and pet her soft curls. "You're very important to us, you know. You've got big things ahead of you, and we'll always be there, no matter what." The man looked up slowly as he heard the door open. Carlos stood at the doorawy, smiling knowingly.

The man smiled at him, and then kissed the baby on her head. Then, with one final nod at the older man, Coyote disappeared into the night.

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Okay...this is only the first chapter of this series. More stuff'll happen and we'll get to see Elisa, Derek, and Beth grow up! ^_^ Anyway, questions, comments, or criticism is always welcome at the above address. Thanky much!