Never Meant To Be? - AU M/L TEEN Pts 1-22 [COMPLETE]

[LilyFrancesca]

Hi all! This is the universe most of my stories live in and my very first Rowsell fic. I'm going to try and get the whole thing up in the next two days and I hope you like.]

Title: Never Meant To Be?
Author: Krys
Rating: YTEEN for language
Disclaimer: Don’t own them. Wish I did. No infringement intended.
Cat.: AU~CC
Summary: Max doesn’t heal Liz that day at the Crashdown. She winds up in a coma and dreams all of seasons one and two. Then one day, she wakes up......





"Liz, Liz honey, can you hear me?"

Liz slowly came out of the darkness. She thought she heard her mother calling her name. "Mo...Mom is that you?" she croaked. Licking her lips she tried again, "Mom, are you there?"

Nancy Parker jumped up from her chair. "Liz, oh Liz, your finally awake!" Taking her daughters hand, she rested it against her cheek.

The door opened then and Jeff Parker came into the room. Seeing his wife crying over their daughter, he feared the worst. "Nanc is she, is she," he stuttered.

"Jeff! Go get the doctor. She’s awake, she’s awake!"

A few minutes later, the doctor took Liz’s parents aside. "She seems to be coming around nicely. She does keep asking about someone named Max and if he’s been to see her."

The Parkers looked at each other and shrugged. The only people to visit Liz were her boyfriend Kyle and her two best friends Maria and Alex. They didn’t think Liz knew anyone named Max.

"Well," the doctor said thoughtfully. "There have been instances where coma patients have awoke and told about dreams they would have sworn were real. This is where Max could be coming from. Let’s give here some time to get use to the idea that she was in a coma for the last six weeks."

###

Maria poked her head around the door to Liz’s room to see if she was awake. She saw her best friend gazing out the window twirling a piece of her hair. Knocking lightly, she walked all the way into the room

"Liz?" she asked as she approached the bed. Maria wasn’t sure what to expect from her. The day before she had come by after school, like she had been doing since Liz went into the hospital and saw the Parkers talking to the doctor. Mrs. Parker had been crying and Maria had felt her heart sink.

Walking over to them, Nancy suddenly turned and saw Maria. "She’s awake, Maria!" she exclaimed.

Maria ran into Nancy’s outstretched arms and gave her a big hug. Mrs. Parker explained that Liz was a bit confused right now, but she should make a complete recovery.

Maria had been so relived. After watching over her friend for the last six weeks, she was starting to give up hope. Now it seamed a miracle that Liz was conscious and no serious damage had been done.

Liz turned and looked at her best friend. The first thought thru her mind was, Why did Maria cut her hair so short again? She couldn't wait for it to grow back.

"Hi Maria, she replied, "Are you here by yourself?"

‘Yeah, Alex had to do something after school but he wanted me to tell you that he would be by as soon as he could."

Liz’s mind never made it past the name Alex. She stared at Maria in disbelief. Why would Maria say that Alex would be coming to see her when he had been dead for months?



###

 

 

Liz could believe what she was hearing "What about Max?" she asked. "Why hasn’t he come to see me yet?"

Maria gave Liz a puzzled glance. Since she woke up yesterday, Liz kept asking for someone named Max. Mrs. Parked had asked Maria who this ‘Max’ was but she didn’t have a clue.

"Liz, did they tell about what happened?" she asked warily.

Liz rolled her eyes in disgust. She replied, "Yeah, they told me that I was shot and that I’ve been in a coma for the last six weeks." Sitting up she demanded, "Now I want you to tell me what really happened."

Pulling up a chair, Maria sat slowly. Mrs. Parked had told her about the doctor’s theory and how Liz didn’t believe what she had been told. "What do you think happened, Liz?"

"Maria, come on, you were there. I was shot by some maniac and would have died, if Max hadn’t healed me. He saved my life!"

"Max who?"

"Max Evans. You know, tall, dark, not of this world."

Maria sat back with a sigh. She knew who Max Evans was. He was at the Crashdown the day of the shooting, him and his neanderthal friend Michael Gurien. If she remembered right, Max and Michael beat feet as soon as the coast was clear.

"Liz, Max was there but as soon as those jerks left, he and his friend ran out. He never came near you." Maria thought for a second and asked, "What do you mean he healed you?"

Luckily, Liz didn’t have to answer. Her door opened and in walked Alex. Tears welled up in Liz’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Alex came over to her and gave Maria a quick glance. Seeing her shrug, he bent and gave Liz a tight hug.

If this is a dream, don’t ever let me wake up, she thought. She couldn’t believe that he was really here. Pulling back, she looked into his beloved face and couldn’t help but smile at his perplexed expression.

Giving him one more quick squeeze, she finally let him go. "I’m so glad to see you feeling better, " he said

Liz gazed up at him in wonder. She hadn’t realized how much she missed his voice and his honest face. "I’m fine Alex, really. But if your here then maybe it was dream."

###

 

Later that night, Liz was again looking out her window at the night sky. She was trying to make sense of everything that happened. She was thrilled to have Alex back, but she knew that her had died.

What about Max? How was she suppose to live without him? He was the first thing she thought about in the morning and the last before she fell asleep at night. Her whole world revolved around him. How could she go back to a time when he wasn’t a part of her life.

 

Kyle was another problem. He had showed up a few minutes after Alex with a bouquet of flowers and a loving smile on his face. She remembered the way he kept trying to get Alex off the bed so he could be closer to her. Every time Alex went to get up, Liz grabbed his hand and made him stay.

Eventually her mom sent them home so Liz could get some rest. Well she wasn’t tired and she was sick of being in bed. She knew that it would take a few days to get her body up to speed so she could go home, but for now she was restless.

She wanted to see Max and hold him in her arms. She wanted to feel his lips crush hers and have his hands run thru her hair. Just knowing that he was hers, and hers alone, used to make her feel safe. Now she felt like she was adrift in her own life.

Liz repressed the urge to call him, then thought, If I know his number, maybe it wasn’t a dream! Picking up the receiver, she dialed the number she new by heart.

"Hello?" said the husky voice on the on the end. "Hello, is anyone there?"

Slamming down the phone, Liz tried to catch her breathe. Hearing his voice was enough to send her heart racing. It’s the same number! How is it possible that I know it? Maybe there’s hope, yet!

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 2



Two days later, Liz was allowed to go home. When she walked into her room, she stopped dead. All the mementos of her time with Max were gone. In the frame next to her bed was a picture of her and Kyle, not the one of her and Max.

Slumping onto the bed, Liz hung her head in defeat. No matter how much she hoped coming home would make her feel better, it didn’t. Her room is exactly like it was the day of the shooting.

Abruptly, she remembered her journal. After it went missing, began hiding it and never told anyone where..... Getting up, she moved her makeup table away from the wall. When her grandmother gave it to her she told Liz about the secret drawer that could only be opened by pushing on three knots at the same time.

Putting her fingers on the correct spots, she pushed lightly and was rewarded by a small click when the catch let loose. Taking a deep breath, she slid the drawer all the way open and saw that the drawer was empty. Getting up, she went to her night stand and opened the draw . Her journal was laying on top of some papers. Picking it up, she flipped to the last blank page............

 

###

 

"Maria, do you think Liz is okay?" asked Kyle. They were sitting at the counter of the Crashdown sharing plate of fries. "I mean, I know she is physically okay, but what about...?"

"Mentally?" supplied Maria. She picked up a fry and examined it. "To tell you the truth, I don’t know. Some of the stuff she was saying at the hospital was a bit weird,"

"Yeah. Why did she think Alex was dead? And why didn’t she want me to get close to her. I’m not sure if she didn’t want me near her or she didn’t want to let Alex out of her sight."

"Did her mom tell you about what the doctor said?’ at his nod she went on, "That could be what’s happening to Liz."

"Maybe, but I’m not so sure. I was hoping to see her today, but she was sleeping when I went up ." he said glumly. He was getting the distinct feeling that Liz wasn’t interested in him anymore.

"We should give her some more time to get adjust to being home."

Your probably right," he said standing up. "Well I off to add more fame to the Valenti name."

"Don’t get yourself killed, " she laughed. "I saw some of you competition, and well lets just say that I’ve seen more compassion in a pit bull."


###
 

Maria finished up her shift and went up to see how Liz was doing. She quietly opened the door and looked to see if she was sleeping. The bed was rumpled, but empty. She saw Liz sitting outside, so she climbed out the window and sat down across from her.

Liz looked up and Maria saw she had been crying. Looking back down at her lap, Liz handed her the journal.

Maria took and looked at the opened page. It was empty. Flipping back one page, she noted the date, the day of the shooting.

"Liz.." she began.

"No! Don’t say anything. I have to face the truth. Me and Max, you and Michael, Alex and Isabel, we were all a dream," she cried.

"Ah Liz, I’m so sorry.... Wait, did you say me and Michael? Not that brute Michael Gurien?"

At Liz’s nod, Maria burst out laughing. When she finally caught her breath she apologized, "Sorry, sorry, I’m better now. Michael Gurien, huh? Well it sounds more like a nightmare than a dream. And Alex with the original Ice Queen? Whoa! Maybe in his dreams."

"Maria, it was so real. I can’t even begin to tell you how real it felt. Six weeks might have passed here, but there it was close to two years."

"Wow, two years?" looking up she tapped her chin with her finger, " Do you have the answers to next weeks English test?"

"Maria! I’m serious. After Max saved me, our lives weren’t the same."

"You never did tell me how Max saved you, Liz"

"Well, " Liz replied smiling. She remembered the way Maria reacted the last time she told her and decided to be vague. "All he did was place his hand over the gunshot wound and slowed down the bleeding until the paramedics came.’

"That’s exactly what that customer did for you. He said that we had to put pressure on it to stem the flow of blood. What we didn’t know is that the bullet had passed thru you and you were bleeding out your back."

Realizing Maria was reliving that day in her mind, Liz hurriedly said, "Yeah, that’s probably where I got the idea. You did say that Max was at the Crashdown that day. Maybe I substituted him for the other guy.’

But Liz new the truth. The bullet has lodged next to her liver and she would had died if Max hadn’t dissolved it and repaired her damaged flesh.

###


Maria was busting a table a few days later when Liz entered the restaurant, She was wearing her uniform and had just place her antenna on her head.

"What do you think your doing, missy?" Maria asked raising on eyebrow

"Getting ready for my shift," Liz replied with a smirk

I thought you were suppose to be resting."

"I was, but if I stayed in my room for one more minute, my head would have imploded. Dad finally agreed to let me come down and help for a while. If I get tired, I’ll go back up and rest, I promise," she said raising her right hand.

Maria was skeptical, but she understood how Liz felt. If she had her mother hovering over her every minute, she would lose it, too.

Going behind the counter, Liz began refilling sugar jars. The bells on the front door rang and she looked up. In walked Isabel Evens in all her frozen glory. Liz had to stop herself from calling out to her. If things were back to they way they were before, Isabel didn’t know she even existed.

Grabbing a pad, Liz walked over to where Isabel had sat. "Hi, can I get you something, " she asked.

Brushing her long blond hair over her left shoulder, Isabel looked up at Liz. Every time she saw those stupid uniforms, she wanted to vomit. "No, I’m just meeting someone here."

"Oh, okay, " Liz replied. "I’ll just leave a few menus for when your friend gets here."

By the time Liz had finished speaking, Isabel had dismissed her from her mind, She was pissed that Max had asked her to meet him here, of all places. She hated having to look at all the absurd alien crap surrounding her.

Liz went back behind the counter and proceeded to make a cherry coke. "Did she actually order something?’ Maria asked coming out of the kitchen.

"What? Uh, no, " Liz said looking down at the soda in her hand. "But I know she likes cherry coke."

Maria gave Liz a strange look. How did she know what Isabel Evans liked to drink? She never came in there with her friends, only with her brother and Michael Gurien.

Before she could remark on it, the front door opened again. Liz turned around and froze. Max had just walked in. Liz couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was exactly like she remembered, tall strong and unbelievably handsome. Here was here only reason for living.

Blinking, Liz noticed who’s hand Max was holding. "Tess," she hissed and the glass she was holding smashed to the floor.

Turning around at the sound of braking glass, Max took in the scene behind him. A waitress had ducked down behind the counter to pick up the mess, while Maria DeLuca looked at her strangely.

Dismissing the incident, he slid into the booth across from his sister. He let go of Tess’ hand at Isabel’s stare, still wondering why she had taken it in the first place.

"Hi Is, thanks for meeting us," he said with a grin.

"Why in the world did you pick here to meet? This place gives me the creeps, " she asked with a shutter.

Max just chuckled, he knew how Isabel disliked coming in here. He turned to Tess and replied, "I wasn’t the one who wanted to talk."

###



"Oh my God, " exclaimed Liz. She bent over and started to pick up the pieces of broken glass. "I didn’t expect to see Tess so soon."

Squatting down next to her, Maria sopped up the soda with a towel. "Are you okay, Babe?" she asked

"Maria, when did Tess come to town?"

"You mean that girl with Max Evans?"

"Yeah, Tess Harding. Did she move to Roswell while I was in the hospital?"

"She transferred about a month ago. How’d you know her name?"

Looking directly into her friends eyes she whispered, "There is a lot I know about Tess. The worst of it is that she is pure evil."

 

"I wanted to talk to you about leaving," began Tess. "I think we should get out of here before the sheriff starts asking questions again."

"How many times do I have to tell you, were not leaving. This is the only home we’ve ever known," Max said angrily.

Well, it’s apparently not a safe one," Tess shot back. "I almost didn’t convince the deputy about Frankie."

"Do you think the sheriff suspects anything?’ Isabel asked, looking over her shoulder.

Tess knew about Isabel’s deep running fear of being caught by the government. If this could get the girl on her side, she would play up the danger.

"Is, the sheriff is not watching us," Max said trying alleviate her fears. " Michael was able to convince Deputy Gordon that Frankie attacked Tess without provocation. Luckily, he saw the whole thing." Michael had told him the real story, but Is didn't need to hear it right now. It was still something he wanted to talk to Tess about.

"What we have to do is act like the normal kids we are. He has nothing to question anyone about, we’re safe."

Max gave Tess a warning glance, so she shrugged her shoulders, and let the subject drop. She would go after Michael and get him on her side before trying to convince these two to go along with her plan. There was still plenty of time to win them over.

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 3

"Alex, I think that there might be something to Liz’s dream," Maria said over the phone. "I mean, how do you explain her knowing about that Harding chick?"

Alex took a sip of his coke and replied, "I think your jumping to conclusions, Maria. Maybe we talked about Tess while Liz was in the coma. She could have pick up on her then."

"How did she know it was her when she walked into the cafe? She also knows where Tess lives, explain that. Alex, you weren’t there. The look on her face when she told me that Tess was evil, was chilling, it freaked me out."

"Why don’t we take her out tomorrow," he suggested. "We could help her get things straight in her head and I bet she needs to get away from her parents for awhile."

"Good idea, I call her." she agreed. "Do you think we should ask Kyle to come? Liz has been blowing him off since she got home."

"Do your really want to spend the night with Kyle?" he asked sarcastically. At Maria’s snort, he laughed, "I didn’t think so. He’s a big boy, he’ll get over it."

 

###

The three friends were walking down the street the next night, when Liz pointed to a nearby bench. After taking a seat, she turned to them and said, "Guys, I appreciate what your trying to do and I love you for it, but it won’t change the way I feel.

"A month and a half may have passed for you, but over eighteen months has passed for me. I’m not the same person I was before I got shot."

"Liz, Maria and I aren’t the same either. Knowing that we almost lost you, made us look at life differently," Alex replied with a lopsided grin.

"God, seeing you lying there, not moving was, terrifying," exclaimed Maria.

"Believe it or not, all I could think about was myself."

"Big surprise there," mumbled Alex.

Maria reached around Liz and smacked him. "Shut up, computer boy," she teased. "What I meant was, I kept thinking ‘how was I to go on without you?’ You’ve been my best friend since kindergarten. We have so much more to do in out lives before we can call it quits. I was even mad at you for just lying there and not fighting to come out of the coma."

"It wasn’t that I wanted to be there and not here," Liz tried to explain, " it was that I didn’t know there wasn’t here. My life and yours too, went on. I had Max and you guys had Michael and Isabel. I won’t say that everything was total bliss, but to be loved the way Max loved me, made everything worthwhile."

"Isabel? Isabel Evans?!’ Alex exclaimed . "Me with the original Ice Queen?"

"Yeah, and Maria was with Michael Gurien," laughed Liz. She knew how much it grossed Maria out when she said that.

"Ugh! Liz how many times have I asked you not to say that. I really would like to keep my dinner where it is, thank you very much," Maria replied putting a hand over her stomach.

"Liz, what happened to make you wake up," Alex asked, getting serious again. This was the one question that kept bothering him.

Should I tell them the whole truth? Liz thought. They think that I’m crazy now, what will they think when I go talking about aliens?

Looking up at the starlit sky she decided that they were her friends and they deserved the truth. "Can you come over tomorrow night?" With their agreement, she continued, "I want to tell you everything from the beginning, but it will take a while and this isn’t the place to do it."

###

On the way back to the Crashdown, Alex and Liz were talking when Alex saw Michael and Tess sitting at a coffee shop down the way. Before Liz saw them, he pointed out a new bass in a window across the street. Pulling her toward it, he avoided what might have been a touchy situation.

"So what do you want?" Michael ask gruffly to the girl sitting across from him. He was pissed that she had come to the trailer he shared with his foster father. Thank God Hank hadn’t been home at the time.

"I wanted to know what you were still doing in this crappie town?" she asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

"What do you care? You come strolling into town and act like we’ve been buddies for years. How do I know your even on the right side?" he demanded.

"What side should I be on?" she asked. "I’m just as scared of the government finding out who I am, like the rest of you."

"Really? Then why did you go broadcasting your powers for everyone to see? Good thing for you, I recognized what was going on and was able to come up with a story for the cops."

"I panicked. I didn’t think Frankie would take things so far. I was the one who thought of hitting him with the board. I would be surprised if her remembers his own name."

"Even so, you need to be more careful. Since the crash, the people in this town will try to connect any thing weird with aliens. We don’t need the FBI sniffing around.

Your not the only one who has something to lose."

Bastard, she thought but said, "That’s why I wanted to talk to you." She had steered this conversation perfectly. She knew that of the three, Michael was the most eager to leave. All he needed was a push in the right direction.

"I think we need to get Max and Isabel and get out of here. That way, if anyone does come sniffing around, there won’t be anything or anyone to find."

She could see Michael debating with himself. He was torn between getting away from a horrible home life and the fear of the unknown. He wouldn’t leave without Max and Isabel, though, he relied on them more than he knew.

Getting up she said, "I think we should go and try to find some answers. Sitting around here hasn’t brought you any so far."

Michael watched her leave. She was right about finding the answers they needed, but for some reason he knew that leaving Roswell right now wouldn’t supply them.

 

###

 

Maria and Alex were waiting for Liz out on the balcony. They knew that she felt very strongly about what happened to her and they had decided to listen to the whole story before coming to any conclusions. They owed her that much, anyway.

Liz climbed thru the window and put the tray she was carrying down on the table between the chairs. She knew that her story would take a while and she wanted to bring up refreshment now so she wouldn’t be interrupted later.

Sitting down she let out a sigh. She had been going over this in her mind since last night and she had decided to tell them as much and as little as she could. If they asked her questions outright, she wouldn’t lie to them, but she was going to condense as much as she could.

"I know you think I’ve lost my mind," She began. Holding up her hand to stall their denials, "If I was in your place, I might react the same way. What I’m about to say might make you think I really have gone over the deep end, but here me out.

With their agreement, she told them what had happened after she got shot. She told them how Max had healed her and how he asked her not to tell anyone what had happened. She explained, with a red face, why Max had risked exposing himself to save her and of his long held love for her.

She went on to tell them what Max, Isabel and Michael were and where they had come from. She briefly told about some of the experiences and danger they all faced by knowing what they were, but in the end it didn’t matter, they shared a bond with these other worldly people and their love was returned.

Maria asked how Tess came into the picture and Liz reluctantly told them that she was also an alien, part of the Royal four sent to earth from Antar, and was Max’s wife in their past life. Explaining how she betrayed them was difficult. She told how Tess tricked Max into sleeping with her and how she got pregnant as part of a plan to bring them back into the hand s of their enemies. It failed and she went off without the rest, to face Kivar, carrying Max’s son.

With those word, Liz had to take a brake. She still felt Max’s betrayal and every time he had mentioned finding his son, the knife in her heart would twist deeper and deeper.

After a few moments, she answered the question Alex had put to her last night, what happened to make her wake up? Facing the whole issue that Max had a child with someone else, she remembers wishing that things could go back to the way things were before he came into her life. Apparently, she got her wish.

Liz sat back when she was finished, waiting for the questions she new would come.

Okaaaaaay," drawled Maria. "So your telling us that these people are...Aliens?"

At Liz’s nod she continued, "And we all become involved with them? Why? Do we just go around and play house with these, with these.....?"

"You couldn’t say alien in my dream either," Liz laughed. "You wanted us to call them Czechoslovakians."

"Czechoslovakians?" asked Alex. Turning to Maria he asked, "Didn’t we study for a test in History while at the hospital? We were talking about the breakup of the Soviet Union."

"Yeah, I flunked it with flying colors, " she replied glumly.

"See Liz, you were taking things you heard in the real world and placing them in your dream," he explained, glad to have something finally make sense.

"Well, that doesn’t explain how she new about that Harding, chick," defend Maria.

"I take it you don’t like Tess very much, Maria?" Liz asked innocently

"You got it, babe. She’s been falling over any guy that has given her a second look and when one of them decided to take her up on her offer, she bashed him over the head.

Don’t get me wrong, Frankie probably pushed her too hard, but he is still in the hospital with a concussion."

"Okay, you know things about Tess, but what else?" Alex asked, deciding to be the skeptic is this little Q & A session. "What, if anything, will lead us to believe any of this could be true."

"I can only tell you things to look out for." Liz replied. She could see Alex’s mind trying to work things out rationally. "Like Tobasco Sauce."

"What about Tobasco?" Maria asked.

"The four of them have this need to put it on everything. I’ve seen them pour it in soda and onto ice cream."

"Gross!" shuttered Maria. "It must be soo nasty to kiss them."

Alex rolled his eyes. Leave it to Maria to think of that! "You said that they have special powers, what kind and for what use?"

"Max, well he can heal almost anything if caught in time," she said and told them about him healing those kids with cancer in Phoenix. "Michael tends to blow things up, mostly. He was a warrior in his past life and Max’s second in command. Isabel can connect with people through dreams. All she has to do is focus on a picture of the person she is trying to observe, and then she can enter their dreams. Finally, Tess’ claim to fame is mind warping, I guess you could call it. She can make you see or do things without you knowing it. She is the reason you died, Alex."

"What did the little wench do?" demanded Maria.

She described how they had found out that Tess had been using Alex to decrypt a book for her and in turn she blew out his mind with her powers. To cover it up, she made his death look a suicide and had put a huge gash in the relationship of the six of them, but at the end, when the truth was revealed, it kept Max, Michael and Isabel here on Earth. Liz still hated Tess for doing that to her friend, even with him sitting in front of her.

They sat in silence for a few minutes until Alex asked, "Is there anything else we can look out for?"

"They try to keep things low key. Max broke a long held promise, by saving my life. Isabel and Michael were pretty mad at him for braking it, but I thank God that he did. Having Max love me, changed my life for the better." Well, almost.

Alex left shortly after she had finished . He said he needed some time to think things through and he would see them at school tomorrow. When he was gone Liz turned to Maria and asked, "Do you think I’ve lost it?’

"No sweetie, you haven’t lost it, you never had it to begin with," teased Maria. She ducked the pillow Liz threw at her and went on to say, "I believe you. What your telling me, is a little out there, though.

"Don’t get me wrong, we do live in Roswell, New Mexico, alien capital of the world, so it’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s just, I’m not sure what to believe. If all you say is true and it happened, there where does that leave us? Do we really exist or are we some figments of someone’s imagination?"

"Good questions, I wish I new the answers, I’m just as confused as you are."

Standing up, Maria bent and gave Liz a hug. "I’m going to take Alex’s advice and think things over . I just hope I don’t run into the Royal Four, as you call them, on the way home, I might freak or something."

"I know what you mean, look how I reacted when I saw Max on Friday. I start back to school tomorrow and he is in some of my classes. I don’t know how to behave around him, we shared so much in my dream."

"You’ll be fine," Maria assured her. "Just act like he has the plague, or something."

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 4


How am I suppose to ignore Max Evens when everywhere I turn, he’s there.Liz thought dejectedly. It was only third period and she must have seen Max five times already. If she didn’t know better, she would think he was watching her. She was also getting tired of people asking how she was feeling. The next person to ask is going to get a slap!

"Liz, are you okay?" Kyle whispered in her ear. She jumped, and in doing so, smacked him in the forehead with the back of hers. "Ow, what ya do that for, " he yelped.

Turning around she apologized, "Oh Kyle, I’m so sorry. You scared me!"

"Well , if you returned some of my phone calls, you would have remembered what my voice sounded like," he grumbled, rubbing his head.

"I uhm, well that is," Liz stuttered. "It’s just that I need to get things straight in my head and all. I wasn’t doing it to hurt you or anything."

"I know that. I’m glad your feeling better," he said and put his arms around her.

Liz stood stiffly in his embrace. Looking over Kyle’s shoulder see saw Max watching them from the end of the hall. She felt her face redden and she push Kyle away.

Kyle stepped back and held up his hands. "Okay, okay, we’ll take it slow for a while. I think we need to get re-aquatinted before moving on."

"Kyle, about us, " she began but was cut off when the bell rang.

Quickly kissing her cheek, he said backing away from her, "I got to get to class. Coach said if I was late for another one, he’d bench me for this week’s game. I’ll call you after practice," and off he ran.

Sighing, Liz took out what she need for the next few classes, from her locker, and headed in the opposite direction. Bio was next and she was dreading it. This was the first of three class she shared with Max and she wasn’t sure how she was going to make it through them intact.

Last night she had the most erotic dream about him and with every glance she had of him today, brought it to mind. The only way she was able to get back to sleep last night was to take a cold shower.

Walking into the Bio lab she took a seat a one of the lab stations. While she was recovering, she had been able to catch up on most of her school work. The lab experiments were the only thing she was behind on and she planned to do as many as she could today. Luckily, there was a substitute , so the class was scheduled as a free study.

Taking out her notes and opening her book Liz tried to immerse herself in the work. It only lasted a few minutes, when suddenly she felt him walk in the room and her concentration was shattered. There was no need to see if he was there, the connection was that strong. Maybe Max has been feeling this too. It would explain why he’s been following me around all morning.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to get control of her feelings. Tucking her hair back behind her ears, she refocused on the experiment before her. She was just finishing up her last diagram when she heard, "Hi Liz."

Spinning around she sucked in her breath. Standing behind her was Max, tall, beautiful Max. He was wearing that small smile he only gave her and her legs turned to jelly. Putting her hand on the table, she stabilized herself. She looked up into his deep brown eyes and felt her self drift away. Across her mind, she saw every kiss they shared and felt every caress. I took every ounce of will, not to throw herself into his arms. Her fingers itched to run thru his sable colored hair and feel his body press against hers. She had seen him many times today , but being this close, almost stopped her heart.

Max looked down at Liz Parker with amazement. He had been there the day she was shot and had tried to go to her, but Michael held him back. In his moment of hesitation, that other guy got to her first and started first aid.

If it hadn’t been for his friend, he might have exposed their secret to the world, right then and there. His ears were still ringing from the lecture Is had given him, when Michael told her what happened. She had asked him why he would put them at risk, and all he could do was say, it was Liz Parker. She demanded to know what the hell that meant and all he did was smile. He was lucky she didn’t punch him too hard or his arm would still be black and blue.

Fortunately, Liz survived the gun shot, with a little help. What no one knew was that he had snuck into the hospital after hours, when her parents had gone to get some coffee, and helped with the blood loss and some of the tissue damage. He couldn’t risk healing her fully, but he did enough to get her out of danger. The coma wasn’t something he had counted on and he was unable to sneak back in, without help, and he already knew how the others felt about him trying to help in the first place.

"Uh, hi Max." Liz replied when she could get her brain functioning again. She could feel the blush rising on her cheeks so she quickly turned back to her work.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked softly. "We had a few labs while you were out."

Not looking up she stammered, "No, no that’s okay, Max."

"Well, if you get stuck, I be over by the window."

Nodding, she didn’t trust herself to speak. When he had moved away, she released the breath she didn’t know she held. Blinking her eyes, she held back the tears. Oh Max, how am I going to pretend I don’t love you. Every time I see you , I want you to pull me into your arms and crush your mouth to mine. This is going to be the longest day of my life.

Sighing, she gave herself a shake and turned her thoughts back to her experiments.

 

###



"Is it me, or had today been dragging?" Maria asked. The three of them were having lunch at there usual table in the quad. Alex was working on some music and grunted his response.

Liz was resting her chin in her hands. Somehow, she made it thru Bio and English and was happy that she only had one more class with Max in it, today. "I’m with you. I thought the days were dragging when I was stuck at home."

Maria was about to reply, when Michael, Max and Isabel walk outside. She gave Liz a nudge and pointed with her eyes, in their direction. Liz sat up and tried not to stare. Even thought she knew she need to stay away from Max, she couldn’t help looking at him. Her heart ached to call him over and sit with them.

Sensing she was near, Max looked around for Liz. He saw her sitting with her friends across the way and their eyes locked. Today had been agonizing for him. When he saw Kyle hugging Liz, earlier, he almost lost it. He knew, thru the connection he had made when he healed her, that things were not serious between her and Kyle. Liz liked going out with the star of the football team, but it was beginning to get old. Why she was letting him paw her in public, he didn’t know.

"Max? Yo Max?" Michael called. Waving a hand in front of his friend’s face, he finally got Max’s attention.

"What? Oh, you were saying, Michael." Max replied, refocusing on the conversation they were having.

"I think we should try dialing Tess back a bit. She had the nerve to come to my house this weekend, and kept harping about leaving."

"Yeah, she talked to us about it too." Isabel said sitting down at an empty table. She looked over her shoulder to where Max had been staring and saw Liz. I should have guessed. Max didn’t know it, but she was aware of his crush on Liz. Why he would go for some brainy girl , was beyond her, but oh well. They had other things to worry about.

"You know, maybe she is right. Staying here hasn’t gotten us any answers to where we come from," Michael continued. He grabbed one of Max’s Twinkes and poured some Tobasco sauce on it. Taking a bite, he grinned in satisfaction.

"Michael, you know that now is not the time to leave. We need to finish school, then we can set out to find answers. Don’t you think our families would come looking for us?" Max reasoned. He wasn’t sure if he believed it or was just making excuses because he didn’t want to know where they came from.

"Speak for your self. The only reason Hank keeps me around is for the monthly check."

Isabel gave Michael a sympathizing look. She knew how much he hated living with Hank and he was stuck there until he turned eighteen. She tried to have him talk to her father about getting away from him, but Michael told her to keep her nose in her own business. "I think Tess is trying to get away from her father. She told me that he is cold and bosses her around all the time," she put in. She wasn’t overly fond of Tess, but she did feel a little sorry for her.

"Isn’t that too bad," Michael spat. "We all have our crosses to bear. "

"Okay, okay I’ll have a talk with her." Max said, tired of talking about Tess. He still wasn’t sue he could trust her. It was just a little to convenient , they way she showed up and made Michael aware of her powers. Something didn’t sit right with him about the whole situation.

"Breathe Liz, breathe," Maria said shaking her friend.

Liz let go of Max’s gaze and looked at her friend. "I’m fine, Maria. "

Maria looked skeptical and said, "Thank God there isn’t anything flammable in the quad, or we might have been in some serious trouble. The heat between you two could scald a cat."

"It was really weird, I couldn’t look away. God, what am I going to do?"

"You could transfer to Alaska," Alex piped in. The looks that the girls gave him, made him bury his nose back in his song book.

"Great, look who’s coming this way,’ Maria said with a groan. "Sorry to bail on you kid, but I think if I have to hear another football story, I might have to haul off and slap him. See ya."

Alex also saw Kyle approaching and gathered up his things. "I have to agree, it was a long six weeks."

"Scared them off, huh?" Kyle asked sitting down next to Liz. "This worked out great. I had been trying to get you alone for a while now."

"Hi Kyle. I didn’t think I would see you until after school." Liz said not knowing what to say. She didn’t have the same feelings for Kyle as she did before she was hurt and she knew she had to tell him, but she didn’t want to hurt him.

"Well, I should be with the team, but I, uh, need to talk to you."

"Kyle, I need to talk to you too. The reason I haven’t call you back is..." She began when he abruptly cut her off.

"Liz, I know you have been avoiding me and I understand why," he said running his hand thru his hair. He hated that he had to do this to her so soon after getting out of the hospital, but he couldn’t change the way he felt. "I know that I haven’t been the greatest boyfriend, and I know that your parents must have told you that I wasn’t at the hospital everyday. The thing is, I knew things weren’t going to work with us before you got hurt. I just didn’t know how to tell you and then you got shot and things got scary."

"Kyle, wait a minute, slow down," she said placing her hand on his arm. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. Is he trying to break up with me? she thought in jubilation.

"Are you telling me that you want to break up?"

"Liz, I’m so sorry to throw this at you, with you just coming back to school and everything, but I need to focus on football and well, your kind of a distraction I don’t need right now."

Liz tried to hold back her giggle, but it slipped from her mouth. Seeing Kyle’s confused expression, she burst out laughing. She had been so worried about hurting him, she never thought that he might want to break up with her. She was so relived, she hugged him.

"Liz, I don’t think there is anything to be laughing about," he said over her shoulder. He had figured that if he told Liz that he didn’t want to date her, out here in the open, she might not cause a scene and now she was laughing at him!

"Kyle, I’m not laughing at that," she said pulling back from him. "It’s that, I knew we weren’t right for each other and I didn’t know how to tell you. With everything that has happened, I wasn’t sure how you were going to take it."

"You want to break up with me? " he said, astonished. That had never crossed his mind.

"Now that we understand each other, it will be okay, don’t you think?"

"If you say so." Getting up, he asked, "So your really okay about this?"

"I’ll be fine. You go win some more glory for West Roswell High."

Shaking his head in wonder, he walked away from her. Across the quad, Max had watched the whole exchange with a sinking heart. Seeing Liz laughing and hugging Kyle, he thought he had read her wrong. Maybe she liked being the star athlete’s girlfriend and that she really loved Kyle. If that was so, what the hell was he going to do.

 

###



"So he wanted to break up with you?" Maria laughed after Liz told her what happened after she left this afternoon.

"Yup, he tried to let me down easy and I laughed in his face. Poor Kyle, he thought he was doing right by me and I go and crack up on him." The girls were sitting in Maria’s room. Liz was painting her toe nails a bright pick while Maria was looking thru some CDs.

"Oooo now I wished I had stayed. I would have love to see his face."

"Well, I’m glad that it is finally over. I now can try and figure out if what I believe about Max and the others is true."

"Is that something you really want to know? If it is such a big secret, don’t you think they might try and stop anyone from finding out?"

"I have to know, Maria. If it isn’t well, I haven’t hurt anyone, but if it’s true, Max must be having a hard time dealing with it. I know that it was a heavy burden for him, to be in charge and all."

"He was the king, huh? God, I can’t even begin to imagine what I would do if I had some special powers. I know a few people I would like to zap, given the chance."

"It bothered him, knowing that he was responsible for three other people. He took it seriously and it got to him sometimes."

"Do you hear yourself. You talk like these things have already happened. Liz, were not sure they are what you say they are. Let’s find out if your right before getting all weepy eyed, okay?"

Liz stuck her tongue out at her. She knew that Max needed her, now she had to convince him of that.

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 5



"Maria, where are we going?" asked Liz. After school let out, Maria had told her to be ready to go out a seven, she would be picking her up.

"It’s a surprise, " Maria replied with a grin. She looked over at her friend and laughed. "Liz, if you keep scowling like that , your going to get wrinkles before your time."

"You could stop that from happening if you would just tell me where we are going!"

"Okay, okay!" she said giving in. "You know how my mother is into the New Age thing? Well, she found out about this lady who claims she can reset a person’s life tract. You know, put them back on the right path."

"Come on, Maria! You really don’t believe in that stuff, do you?"

"Not too much, but hey, you never know and I thought you could use a little distraction."

She’s right, I have been a little out of focus, lately, Liz thought. I need to take my mind of the whole Max situation. "Sure, why not!" she exclaimed getting into a new frame of mind.

"That’s the spirit. Madame Vivian here we come!"

They drove for few minutes when a motorcycle came up behind them. "Check out the easy rider," Maria said looking in the rearview mirror. "He’s right on my ass."

Looking out the back window, Liz could see that this guy wanted to get by in a hurry. "Let him go by, before he does something stupid."

Maria stuck her arm out the window and waved him by. After he had passed, a coyote darts out of the scrub right in front of him. Swerving sharply, the bike and it’s rider crash to their side and slide across the pavement into a ditch.

Maria slams on the brakes and the Jetta comes to a halt. "O my God, Liz did you see that!" she screams

Liz was already on her way down the hill and didn’t answer. When she got to the bottom, she stopped dead. Lying at her feet was Michael Gurien and he was moaning in pain. She knelt next to him and asked, "Michael, Michael can you hear me?"

Maria came skidding down the incline and exclaimed, "O M G did you see his leg?"

Liz looked to where Maria was pointing and grimaced. Michael’s leg was bent the wrong way and there was a shiny , blood covered bone sticking thru his jeans.

"We have to call and ambulance and get him some help."

Liz agreed until she thought, But what if he is really an alien? But what if he’s not and we wait to long to get him help? she debated with herself. If we don’t get him any kind of help, he’s going bleed to death.

Not wanting to take the chance that she was right, she said to Maria, "You have to go get Max. He’s the only one who can help Michael."

"Liz are you crazy? He needs to get to the hospital, like right now."

"Maria," she said standing and pulling her a few steps back, "you have to trust me on this. We need Max right now!"

"Max, get Max," Michael whispered. The girls turned and saw Michael pleading with them thru pain filled eyes.

"Maria please," begged Liz. Michael just proved what she thought was true. "you need to get him."

"And where am I suppose to find him?" She asked getting really freaked.

Liz thought for a second and remembered that he now would be working at the UFO Museum. "He’s at work, the UFO Center."

Looking back at Michael, she made up her mind, "I hope your right about this, God I hope your right" she said and hurried up the hill to her car.

Liz turned back to Michael, knowing that once Maria set her mind on something, nothing was going to change it. She knelt back down and said, "Don’t worry Michael, she’ll bring him back and you’ll be okay. Max will take care of everything."

Michael looked up at Liz in distrust. Even through the pain he knew that it was impossible for Liz to know about him or Max, but somehow she did. Before he could ponder it fully, the pain intensified and he blacked out.

Maria didn’t remember much of the drive back to Roswell. All she could think of was getting to Max in time and hoping Liz was right. She screeched to a halt in front of the UFO Center and threw open her door. Jumping out, she ran into the museum and called out, "Max! Max are you here?!"

Max was dusting the alien autopsy display, when he heard his named being shouted from the front entrance. "Max where the hell are you!" he heard and turned cold.

Running to the stairs he looked up and saw Maria DeLuca standing there. Something has happened to Liz, was his first thought but then he wondered, If that was true, why would Maria come looking for him. Oh no, it’s got to be Isabel or Michael!

Maria spied Max coming toward her and she exclaimed in relief, "Thank God your here! You got to come with me, Max. Michael’s had an accident."

"Michael? Where?" he yelped, dashing up the stair.

Grabbing his arm, she explained while pulling him out the door. "He dumped his bike trying to miss a coyote out on route 252 and bust up his leg pretty bad. Liz sent me to get you. She said you were the only one who could help him."

"How would Liz know...."

"Listen," she screamed, "we don’t have time for this, get in the dam car!"

Max had just got his door closed when Maria took off. Not wanting to distract her while she drove, he kept silent. He still didn’t know how Liz new to send Maria for him, but if Michael was as bad as they said, it was a good thing she did.


 

Liz looked at her watch for the hundredth time. She knew that it would take about ten minutes for Maria to get back to town. She prayed that Max was working and Maria didn’t have to search for him. If he was there, it should be another five to ten minutes before they could make it back here.

Since Michael passed out, she tried to make him more comfortable. She had taken her coat off and laid it over him. She knew that if she tried to move him, she might do more damage than good. He had begun to shake and she knew that he was going into shock. Looking at her watch she prayed harder.

"How did you know to get Max?" a voice said, starling her. She looked down and saw that Michael was staring up at her .

"It’s a long story and I think we should wait until you feeling better before I tell you," she said evasively. She knew how pissed Michael was when he found out that Max had told her their secret and she knew he wouldn’t take it better this time ‘round. He had more things to worry about at the moment.

"Who do you work for?" he asked trying to sit up.

"No! don’t move. You don’t know if you hurt you back when you were thrown from the motorcycle. You need to stay still until Max gets here."

"You didn’t answer my question. How did you know to get Max?"

"Listen, your in no position to be asking questions. Just lie still and wait for Max."

"She might not be able to find him in time, and you know it. I want some answers and I want them now," he demanded but then started to cough. Liz saw blood run from the corner of his mouth and gasped. He must have punctured a lung. That could mean he has broken ribs to go along with his leg. Oh Max where are you!

 



"Are you sure you know where they are?" Max asked watching the sun slip behind the mountains.

"Yeah, it was near mile marker number 69. We should be almost there," Maria replied angrily. She was getting scarred that she might have driven right passed the ditch and not realized it.

"There!" Max said pointing to the skid marks on the road. Maria pulled over and cut the engine. Max got out and called Michael’s name.

"We’re down here," Liz called starting to cry. She had been so afraid that they wouldn’t get here in time.

Max came running down the hill towards them. He could see that Michael was not doing to good. Kneeling next to him he asked, "How ya doing, Michael?"

"What do you think? It hurts like hell!" he snapped. He was never so glad to see Max in his whole life.

"Take it easy, I fix you up in no time," He replied. He was about to place his hand on Michael’s chest, when Michael grabbed his hand.

"Not in front of them." he whispered.

"Michael, I don’t think we have a choice. When your up and walking around tomorrow, they are going to wonder what happened. I think Liz might already know, how I’m not sure, but she did send Maria to come get me. If they had called an ambulance, we would be in serious trouble."

"I know, but make them go back to the car. The less they know the better."

Okay," turning his head he said, "I’ll take it from here, why don’t you to go and wait by the car?"

"Max, do you need me to help or something?" Liz asked taking step toward them.

"No, just go wait by the car, I’ll be fine."

Liz locked her gaze with Max’s and saw him pleading with her to do as he asked. She grabbed Maria’s hand and dragged her up the hill behind her. For once, Maria had nothing to say and followed like a lost lamb.

When the girls were out of sight, Max opened Michael’s coat and placed his hand on his chest. Taking a deep breath, he dove into Michael’s energy flow and looked around. He knew that Michael’s normal aura was a brick red, so he looked for drastic changes in color, to tell him where the problems were. He followed the flow to his lungs and saw that one of his ribs had punctured it. Focusing on making it whole he watched as the bone backed out of the hole it made and saw the lung repairing itself. He next focused on repairing the shattered rib. When that was done, he followed the flow to his leg and repaired the damage. Taking one last look around, he saw that luckily, nothing else was hurt. Grabbing onto his own energy flow, he jumped back into his body.

"Do you hurt anywhere else?" he asked releasing the breath he had taken.

Sitting up, Michael rubbed the back of his head. "Naw, I think you got everything."

"It was a good thing the girls saw you take that spill. If it wasn’t for them, you might be dead right now."

"I guess your right, but that doesn’t explain how Liz knew to get you and not an ambulance."

"I know. What are we going to tell them?"

"You got me. Is there any way we can erase this from their memories?" Michael asked hopefully. He new the answer, but you never knew what Max might come up with in a pinch.

"You know we can’t do that. Maybe Tess could, but she’s not here. I think we need to tell them the truth. Liz knows part of it anyway."

"Isabel isn’t going to like this. She’ll understand why we had to do it, but she’s still going to freak."

"That’s the understatement of the year," mumbled Max.

###


Liz was leaning against the car trying to catch her breath while Maria sat on the hood in a daze Neither girl was sure they really wanted to know what was going on behind them in the ditch.

Suddenly Maria slid down and said, "Let’s go! Let’s get out here now, before they come back."

"Maria, we can’t abandon them miles from town," Liz replied, understanding how she felt.

"I don’t care, I can’t take this. I thought I could handle it, when you told us about your dream, but now that it’s real, I can’t, Liz. I want to get away from them NOW."

Walking over to her friend, Liz grabbed her by the shoulders. "Maria, it’s okay. They won’t hurt us, trust me."

"How--how do you know? Your relying on a dream you had while in a coma. You don’t know anything about these....these I can’t even bring myself to say the word."

"You are going to have to trust me. They are just as scared of having us know what they are as we are of knowing. Please," she implored, "you know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you." God, tell me I’m right about this!

Liz heard Maria gasp and knew that they were no longer alone. She slowly turned and saw Max helping Michael up onto the road, and felt a calmness settle over her. Never taking her eyes off Max, she asked, "Michael, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I’ll be fine," he replied. He still wished none of this had happened, but it did and he now needed to do a little damage control. "You two are going to keep your mouths shut about this, right?"

"Who the hell would believe us if we did?" barked Maria. Here they were risking their lives to save his, and he talks to them like this!

"Good we understand each other."

"So much for gratitude. If it wasn’t for us, you would be still down in that ditch. You should be thanking us for helping, you ungrateful idiot."

Max put his hand on Michael’s arm to stop his reply. Things were getting out of control and he need some answers before they could move on. "Leave it alone, Michael."

he said softly. He knew how Maria got when she was riled up. Now was not the time for a shouting match.

Liz was watching the exchange with a slight smile. She was use to listening to the two of them fight and this was mild compared to what she had seen. Some things never change. she thought. There I go again, thinking in the past tense. Here they don’t even like each other, never mind being in love.

Max saw the smile on Liz’s face and couldn’t help the matching one on his. Michael had definitely found a match in Maria and he knew it. No wonder he so defensive. "Liz, can I talk to you a second?" he asked.

With a nod, she walked to the back of the Jetta where the air wasn’t so electrified and leaned against the trunk. Max joined her, but his mouth suddenly went dry. For years he had dreamed how he would tell Liz about who and what he was and now he had the chance and his mind was a total blank.

Liz could feel Max’s fear and she readily understood it. For the last ten years he and Isabel and Michael had lived in fear that someone would find out their secret and expose them. Now out of no where, some one knew and he was unsure of their reaction. "Max, you don’t have to worry about Maria and me, we won’t say a word to anyone." she said trying to reassure him.

"I didn’t think I would," he said his voice husky.

Liz felt a shiver go up her spine. Could this be really happening, again? "I bet your wondering how I know about ," she waved her hand, "all this."

"The thought did cross my mind."

"I know your not going to believe this, but I had a dream about it."

Max was caught of guard by that. He had thought maybe one of them had slipped and Liz saw something she shouldn’t have. "A dream?"

"While I was in the coma. In my dream, you healed the gunshot wound and saved my life. After that, you and I got..... close."

"So, when you saw that it was Michael who was hurt, you took a chance that your dream might be true?"

"I, um, ah," she stuttered, not knowing what to say. How could she explain that her heart knew it was the right thing to do.

"No, that’s okay. You did the right thing. If he went to the hospital, we would have been unveiled. You saved all of our lives, thank you"

Liz looked into his eyes and felt herself falling into them. Even without touching, she could feel his fear of exposure and his uncertainty of her reaction to what he was. She knew that he was scared she would reject him because of what he was and for the threats he could place in her life.

Placing her hand tentatively on his arm, she willed him to know how she felt when she said, "Max, I don’t care what you are. I knew that you would never intentionally hurt me or my friends. I believe that a person should be judged by their actions and not what they think they are."

Max looked at Liz in shock. In his wildest dreams, he never expected Liz Parker would not only except what he was, but she knew that he wouldn’t hurt her. He couldn’t believe it!

"Max? Max are you okay?" she asked with some trepidation. Her heart knew how he felt, but her head had some doubts.

"Yeah, I’m great." he replied giving her that smile. Liz’s heart started beating faster and a blush rose to her cheeks.

"Liz," Maria called braking the spell, "can we get out of here?"

Max looked over his left shoulder at Maria and saw that her and Michael were still staring daggers at each other. Turning back to Liz he said, "We better break them up before they start up again."

Liz agreed, but before Max could turn away she said, "I know you still have questions and if you want, you could call me or come over and we can discuss it."

"Okay. I’ll call you after I get Michael home."

She smiled and went over to Maria. "Ready?" she asked.

"Its about time," she whispered back. "He kept staring at me, it gave me the creeps."

"Do you guys need a ride?" Liz asked looking toward Michael’s bike. He walked over to it and waved his hand above it. "No, we’re all set."

Getting into the car, Liz looked back at Max and smiled. She new she had some explaining to do, but she was looking forward to it. Any time spent with Max was defiantly worth it.

"So much for Madame Vivian" Maria sighed.

"Look at the bright side, I’m not losing my mind." answered Liz.

"Maybe not, but I’m not too sure about me." and they drove away.

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 6




"So your telling me, she had a dream?" Isabel asked in disbelief. When Max had called her and told her to meet him and Michael at home, she had been frightened. After hearing what took place out on the highway, she was blown away.

"I don’t know all the details, but yeah, she did." Max replied a bit sheepishly.

"What are you not telling me, Max?" Is always knew when he was holding something back.

Running his hand thru his hair, he confessed, "It might be true. I know you didn’t want me to help her but, later on that night, I went to the hospital. I didn’t do anything big, but I gave her recovery a slight push."

"A push? Max what the hell were you thinking? We had a deal, tell no one" Isabel’s voice rose higher and higher with each word.

" I never said a word too her, I just laid my hands on her wound." he said defensively.

"That could be the reason she dreamed about us." Michael put in.

"See, even Michael agrees with me. Max, you have put us in danger. Liz is bad enough, but now that Maria DeLuca knows and what about Alex Whitman. The three of them are joined at the hip. Your desire to help Liz Parker has jeopardized our freedom."

"Is, calm down." he said placing his hand on her arm. He knew she was scared, but he knew things would be okay. "Liz and the others won’t say anything. Like Maria said, ‘who would believe us if we did’, and she’s right. They know what would happen to them if they started talking about aliens. They wouldn’t risk becoming outcasts."

Throwing her hands in the air she said in exasperation, "You better hope so. You got us into this, Max and you damn well better make sure it doesn’t get out of control."

"I have a thought," Michael inserted. "Why not have Tess mind warp them or what ever you call that thing she does. Then we won’t have anything to worry about." . He had been thinking about this, since the accident.

"No!" shouted Max. "You will not even suggest it to Tess. I still don’t trust her and I don’t want her screwing with peoples minds."

"It is a good idea," Isabel said thoughtfully. "It would solve all our problems."

"Is, would you want someone to mess around with your brain?"

"I guess not, but this is important . It could be life or death for us."

"Let me talk to Liz and find out how much she knows before we do anything rash. After that, we can decide what our options are."

Isabel gave her brother a doubtful look, but nodded her head. In the mean time, she would take a walk through the three humans dreams and see what she could see.



###


Lying down on her bed, Isabel place her hand on the yearbook photo of Liz . Looking at the time, she figured that little miss perfect would be tucked away for the night. Letting her mind drift, Isabel watched as she flew over Roswell, to the apartment above the Crashdown Cafe`.

Liz was wandering thru a house of mirrors, looking for Max. She knew that he was in danger and she had to find him. Suddenly, she saw him thru a glass wall. She placed her hand on it and he did the same. Behind him, two men in dark suits came up and grabbed him. Screaming, Liz tried to brake the glass with her bare hands.

"Leave him alone!" she screamed. "He’s not who you want. Tess, Tess the one you want!"

At the sound of her name, Tess appeared. "You have know idea the kind of danger you’ve placed him in. If it wasn’t for you, he would love me!"

"He could never love you the way he loves me," she spat back. "You only want him so you can kill him. I will never let you have him."

Tess reached out to slap Liz, when a green glow surrounded her. Laughing at the stunned expression on her face, Liz asked, "Is there a problem, Tess? Apparently, your not the only one with powers, now. Take your sorry ass back to Kivar, where you belong."

"He might not love me, you bitch, but I am the one carrying his child! That’s something you can never take away from me."

"Nooooooooooooooooo!"

Isabel watched, enthralled. She never thought that Liz could act this way. In all the time she knew her, Liz was the peacemaker, not this she cat, in front of her.

Tess disappeared as quickly as she had come, and Liz was now laying on her bed, crying. In her hand was a picture of Alex, and she knew that no matter what she did, he was never coming back. "Oh Alex! If it wasn’t for me, you would still be alive. I wish Max never saved me. If I knew that knowing him would lead to your death, I would have never, never have loved him. I think the only one who misses you more than me, is Isabel, but she won’t talk to me about it."

Looking up, Liz saw Isabel there. "What are you doing here?"

Not knowing what to do, Isabel began backing out of the room. She had never had anyone recognize her during one of her walks. She turned to go when she heard Liz pleading with her.

"Isabel, please don’t go. You have to understand, I never asked to fall in love with your brother. We had no control over it, it was meant to be, I know that now. Please, don’t go too hard on him, this time. He would never do anything to put you or Michael in harms way."

Turning to look at Liz, Isabel felt close to tears. She could feel the regret radiating from Liz. All her doubts about her, vanished. Isabel had been in many dreams and this was the first time she knew what she was seeing, was not the wish of the dreamed, but the truth. Smiling, she nodded her head and brought herself back to her room.

Opening her eyes, she let out a sigh. Liz wasn’t the threat she had thought. In fact, she loved her brother more that he secretly loved her, if that was possible. She could only hope that this wasn’t the beginning of the end. What was that thing with Alex? she thought. He was not someone she was friends with, so why would she morn him more than one of his best friends? Maybe a quick visit, to see what was going on behind the silly mask that he showed the world, would reveal some surprises.


###


Liz was sitting on her bed with the phone in her lap. It’s ringing, brought her out of the dream. "Hello?" she asked groggily.

"Liz, it’s Max."

"Max?"

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"No, I mean, yes, I’m fine," she replied rubbing her eyes. She remembered Isabel and asked, "Did you tell your sister about what happened?"

"Yeah. She was upset, but she is happy that Michael is okay," he said, understating her reaction.

"What you mean is, that she is pissed and blames everything on me."

"How....?"

"Let’s just say, I remember how she took it the last time."

"About that, how did you know to get me, today? I know you said it was a dream, but..." he trailed off.

Before I answer, could you tell me something, first?" She had a thought on the way back home and she wanted to know if her hunch was right.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I know you didn’t come near me at the Crashdown, but did you come see me in the hospital?"

"I, uh, ya I did. I snuck in later that night while your parents were getting something to eat. How’d you know?"

"I knew it!" she exclaimed. "That would explain the connection we share. When you healed me, my subconscious had to come up with a way to explain it, hence my dream. I’m not crazy."

"Liz, some of your dream is true," he said hesitantly. He hated to burst her bubble.

Smiling, Liz could hear the fear in his voice. He was waiting for her to reject him because what he was. "If you think for one instant, that I am repelled by what you are, your sadly mistaken. I spent 18 months with you and there is nothing you could tell me that would make me turn from you." So there, she thought. Talk yourself out of that!

Max was taken aback. Liz had just told him that she would never be frightened by who and what he was and he didn’t know what to say. He had lived in fear for so many years and now having some one beside Michael and Isabel to confide in, was glorious.

Before he could respond, she asked, "Max, could you come over? My parents are gone to visit my Grandmother and won’t be back until tomorrow. There is so much I want to tell you and I want to see your face when I do."

Looking at his watch, he saw that it was a few minutes before ten. "Okay. I’ll be over in a few."

"Great. Come around back and climb up the ladder. I’ll be waiting for you," she said and hung up the phone. Jumping off the bed, she rushed to the mirror and tried to fix her rumpled hair. Letting out a laugh, she thought, It doesn’t matter. He’s seen me in a hospital gown, for goodness sake.

 

###


Max grabbed his coat and walked downstairs. His parents weren’t home from the office yet, so he grabbed his keys and went out to the jeep. Jumping in, he started it up and drove away. A few seconds later, a small silver car pulled out behind him.

It took a few minutes to get to the Crashdown. He parked in the ally and walked over to the ladder. Taking a deep breath, he climbed to the top. She was waiting for him, with a warm smile and a calming presence. He jumped down from the wall and walked toward her.

Liz couldn’t help herself, and threw herself into his arms. He was surprised, but somehow, it felt right. She was the perfect height for him to rest his chin in the crown of her head and her cheek felt warm against his chest.

They stood like that for a few minutes before coming apart. She led him over to one of the chairs and they sat.

Unknowingly, they were being watched by a pair of raged filled eyes. Tess had followed Max , wondering where he would be going, this time of night. When he pulled behind the cafe, she knew he was going to meet her.

She had climbed silently up behind him and had seen the tramp throw herself into his arms. Why he let her get away with it, she couldn’t fathom. When she had taken his hand last week, he thought she was too forward, and now this slut was hanging all over him. Afraid she would do something rash, she climbed back down and went to the car.

Tess looked up at the sky and realized, that if she didn’t hurry, she would be late.

Getting in, she vowed to get even with that bitch on the balcony, on way or the other.

###


Max stared into Liz’s eyes for what felt like years. The love that shone there, was overwhelming. He reached out and placed his hand on her cheek.

Liz leaned into his caress and smiled. Suddenly, flashed pasted through her mind:

Max watching her at work and at school. She could feel his terror when she was shot and his relief when he had healed her. What surprised her the most was the rage he had when he saw her and Kyle together.

She moved his hand and broke contact. Placing his hand in hers, she sent her love back along their bond. She smiled slightly at the surprised expression that came to his face. She knew how he felt, the first time she had the flashed, she had been blown away. She squeezed his hand in reassurance.

Max was unprepared for the blunt emotion that came to him from Liz. He was relieved to know that he had been correct about Liz’ feelings for Kyle, in fact, they had broken up! he saw a glimpse of what she had gone thru during her dream and came to understand how she could accept him for what he was. They had shared so much and had been the sole support for each other, they were like one spirit with two bodies.

"Soul mates, my Grandmother would call us," she said braking the silence.

"How could that be possible?" he asked, unbelieving. "We aren’t even the same species."

"Since when had the universe made sense?" she laughed. "In theory, humans shouldn’t even exist, the dinosaurs should be ruling the earth. I believe that things happen for a reason and we have to make the most of what we are given."

"If that’s true, than it’s destiny that we are together," he said with a grin.

"Please!" she exclaimed, "don’t use that word. Some of the most miserable times of my life came from hearing that word. I said that we need to make use of what we have, not sit back and let some all knowing, all seeing entity decide my life."

Max could see the spark of defiance in her eyes and believed her. She wasn’t the type of person to sit back and let others direct her future. She was going to grab on with both hands and decide where she was going in life.

"Okay, not destiny, but very good luck," he laughed.

She joined him and replied, "I can live with luck. I have to say, having you in my life has been nothing but lucky."

He sobered and asked, "Liz, tell me what happened to you in the coma. I have a feeling you might know more about us, than we do."

"A lot of my story might be just that, a story, something my subconscious made up, " she said , regretfully. All she knew for certain was that Max and the others weren’t local and he could heal with a touch.

"Let me be the judge of that," he said reassuringly. "Start at the beginning."

So Liz repeated her tale. She gave him a more detailed version than the one she gave Alex and Maria. He stopped her a few time to clarify one thing or another, then let her continue. She was totally exhausted by the time she was finished.

"Do you think you could remember where the pd chamber is located?" he asked after a few minutes. If the place really existed, it would prove to him that some of her story could be true.

"Yeah, I don’t think I could ever forget. It was the place where I first lost you and where in the end I got you back," she replied, with a tired smile.

He returned it. She had left nothing out, and his and Tess’ betrayal was still a deep wound on her soul. he never thought of having a child, but it warmed his heart to know that it was at least possible.

"Do you think Tess could be plotting against you?" she asked, sitting up suddenly. She would not give Tess a chance to get her hooks into him, this time.

"I’m not sure. Ever since she came into town, I felt that she had some kind of agenda," he said, looking down at hi hands. "We never let anyone in before, and she is kind of forcing the issue of her relationship with us. Also, she keeps saying we need to leave, so we can find out where we come from."

"Well, if Nesadeo is here with her, she know already. She might have been brought up with the full knowledge of her heritage and he could have been teaching her how to use her powers to their full strength. Be careful around her."

"You could be right. Isabel had been to her house, but hasn’t met her family. I’ll tell her to be more careful."

"What are you going to tell the others?" she asked softly. Before, they had been forced to work together, to protect them from the sheriff, and had become friends. Now she wasn’t sure how they were suppose to react around one another

"I have to tell them the truth. It’s their lives, too," he said adamantly. "Michael has been searching for answers his whole life and now I might have some, hopefully, to give him. Knowing him, he will come here and demand that you take him there."

"That’s what I’m afraid of. It took him a long time to trust me and things were very uncomfortable for a while," she replied shaking her head. She didn’t look forward to going thru that again. "And Maria. She was the best thing to ever happen to him. She was the reason he was staying here when he had a chance of returning home. Will that never happen, now?"

"I’m not sure. Thing have changed. I didn’t heal you publicly, so there are no unanswered questions for the sheriff to ask. That means no Agent To..Top"

"Topolsky," she supplied.

"Thank you. NO Agent Topolsky and no FBI."

"Your right! Alex won’t be killed and Tess won’t get pregnant," She exclaimed, then put her hand over her mouth. Maybe Max would develop feelings for her now, know what she was in their past life. Liz hadn’t spent time with him, like before, and he may have the same sort of attraction to her.

"Liz," he said, taking her hand, "we have a chance to do things differently. We are going to have to take things a step at a time. The possibilities are endless. The only thing that is consistent with your dream is the way we feel about each other. Only this time, I don’t have to steal you away from Kyle."

Liz placed her hand over his and said," Your right, again. Everything is different, and we are safe. Besides, the beginning is always the best part."

He gazed deeply into her eyes and had to agree. The beginning was always the best part.

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 7



"If I have to hear one more thing about Max, I’m going to strangle something," Maria said helplessly to Alex.

"She can’t be that bad," he replied, but at her look, he grimaced . "Okay, maybe your right, it is getting a little thick."

They were sitting in a booth at the back of the cafe. It was close to closing and Liz was taking care of the last table. She delivered their meals and came back to sit with them.

"I haven’t had a chance to talk to the both of you, together, for days," she said taking off her headband and placing it on the table.

"Sorry," Alex said, "the band has been working on some new music."

"That’s okay, at least you have a life," Maria said grumpily. "Unlike some people at this table."

"That’s not rue," Liz retorted. "You have a life."

"I wasn’t talking about me," she laughed and threw a crumpled up napkin at her. "Lately, the only extra curricular activity you’ve had is Max, Max, Max."

"I guess I’ve been a little preoccupied lately, but he is so....."

"Stop! Not another word," Maria cried, placing her hands over her ears. "I will not let you spew on and on about....Hi Max."

Liz turned and he was there. "Hi Max," she said wistfully.

"Give me a break," Maria mumbled to her self, getting up. The front door opened and Michael walked in. "Great, another one."

Michael could feel Maria’s resentment from the doorway. To drive her crazy, he called, "Hi Maria! Could you get me and my buddy Max, two cherry cokes?"

Maria went behind the counter and started banging things in frustration.

Michael slid in next to Alex and said, "Hey."

"Hey, yourself," he answered, grimacing as Maria threw something large into the sink with a crash. "I would ease up on her if I were you."

Liz looked away from Max and agreed, "You haven’t seen her get really mad, yet. If she does, run for cover."

"Her?" he asked in disbelief. "What could she do to me?"

"Liz is right," Alex said. "Maria can get down right nasty, when she wants to."

"I’ll believe it when I see it," he said confidently. What could the little blonde do to him?

Walking back to the table, Maria set a glass in front of Max and said, "Here you go, Max." Placing the other one, oh so carefully, in front of Michael, she said sweetly, "And one for you, sir. Enjoy."

Looking at the glass skeptically, he reach over and grabbed the Tobasco sauce. Giving it a quick shake, he poured a healthy dollop into the soda. When he was done, he handed it to Max, who did the same.

Alex watched the exchange in fascination. After seeing Michael stir the mixture, he got slightly green and had to suppress a shutter.

Michael waited for Max to take a sip, before starting in on his. With the first mouthful, he knew something was very wrong. Spitting it back into the glass, he saw the suds that had come to the surface. Turning to Maria, he growled.

"Is there something the wrong with the your drink, sir?" she asked innocently.

Not saying a word, he stood and slowly walked toward her. Seeing what he intended, she yelped and ran into the kitchen.

He went to follow her, when she stuck her head out of the pass-thru and said, "Stay right there. You can’t come back here, employees only."

Ignoring her, he put his hand on the door. "She’s right. Insurance reasons, and everything," Liz called.

Michael glared at her, then turned back to the girl hiding in the kitchen. "You have to come out of there sometime, and when you do, I’ll be waiting," he said , then stormed out of the restaurant.

Alex watched the whole episode with a grin, Turning to Max, he said, "You can’t say we didn’t warn him, and this is only the beginning. If he keeps it up, he is in for a rude awakening."

###

 

Wishing Max a goodnight, Liz closed and locked the front doors. "Okay, Maria," she called, "It’s safe to come out now."

Maria came out of the kitchen and took a quick look around. Laughing she said, "Did you get a look at his face? It was classic."

"It was pretty funny, but I don’t think it helped my cause of winning him over."

"Who needs him! We have gotten along fine this long without him," she said self-righteously.

"I know, but it is better to have him with you, than against you, take my word on it."

Peeking thru the blinds Maria asked, "Do you think he could really be waiting out there for me to go home?"

"I asked Alex and Max to keep a look out when they left. They said they would call if they see any sign of him," reassured Liz. Maria wouldn’t admit it out loud, but she was worried about him. "If he is, you can stay over. We have the morning shift tomorrow, anyway."

"About that," she said, turning to look at her, "you know that I don’t begin to function before eleven on a weekend."

"Sorry, I promised Max that I would show him and the others where the pod chamber was. Do you want to come along?"

"Not on your life, sister. Knowing what they are, is one thing, but rubbing elbows with them on a regular basis, is another. I know quite enough about them already, thank you very much." She looked outside one more time and decided not to take any chances. She would stay the night, that way it would give Michael a chance to cool his heels.

 

 

###

Liz finished up her shift and ran upstairs to change. Max said that he would be there at eleven thirty and she wanted to freshen up before he arrived.

Maria went onto the Ladies room and changed. She was going to hang around until she was certain that Michael had left with the others, before venturing home. There was no reason to take unnecessary chances.

As she walked back into the restaurant, she was unaware that Isabel and Michael had come in and were sitting in the same booth as last night. "I don’t understand why your insisting on dragging her along," complained Michael. He was tried and cranky after staking out Maria’s car for most of the night, with no results. She had spent the night and it occurred to him around two that she might be frightened of him after all. That made him quite happy.

"You told me that you wanted to keep an eye on her, and if she is with us, you can keep both of them all over her," Isabel replied. She had a feeling that Maria would help center Michael on the here and now and not always looking toward the future. Life was short and you had to make use of every minute, not waste it waiting for your real life to begin.

Max has relayed Liz’s story to them and Isabel was intrigued by the whole thing. After sharing her dream, she knew that Liz believed everything she had seen, and Isabel was inclined to agree. How it was possible that she knew things, she wasn’t sure, but if any of it was true, it was more than they had found out in the last ten years.

At first, she had been terrified to have the humans know their secret, but now she was beginning to like the idea that she could be herself around someone other than her brother and Michael. Trying to be the perfect human was a never ending job and just the thought of being able to be plain old Isabel was appealing.

"She’s not going to like it," he said breaking into her thoughts. "Look, there she is," he said pointing to the girl cautiously peering out the front window.

"She doesn’t know were here," he said, gleefully.

"All the better, let’s go," Isabel replied and stood.

The two walked up behind Maria and each grabbed one of her arms. "Hi Maria," Isabel said cheerfully. "I’m so glad to have run into you. Can we talk outside? Great!"

Maria had been startled when she felt someone grab her arms and seeing who it was, she was stunned. When Isabel started chatting with her like a long lost friend, she got worried. Feeling herself being escorted outside, she got scared, really scared.

Michael and Isabel practically dragged her to the waiting jeep and planted her in the back seat with themselves to either side. Looking first a Michael, she decided to pose her question to someone with a brain, she turned to Isabel and demanded, "What the hell do you think your doing?"

"We thought you could come on this little expedition with us," she explained.

With her eyes wide, she asked, "Who are we, Louis and Clark? No way, Chicky. I’ve had enough of you people to last me a life time. I’m out of here."

She tried to stand, but two pairs of hands pushed her back into the seat. "If you don’t get your hands off me, I’m going to scream bloody murder," she said coldly.

Michael’s bad feeling about this the whole situation went from bad to worse . He should have never let Isabel talk him into this, "Fine, go....."

"Maria," Liz called walking up to the car. "I thought you didn’t want to come with us?’

Not giving her a chance to speak, Isabel replied, "She had a change of heart. She really wants to see where we came from."

Liz realized what Isabel was up to and smiled. Maybe they would become friends after all. She climbed into the front seat and said, "Okay Max, it looks like were ready to go."

Max got in and looked at his sister in the mirror. ‘Let’s get out of here,’ she mouthed at him. She had explained what she was going to do, to him this morning, but he was unsure it was a good idea. He had hoped that Maria would be gone by the time they arrived, but he hoped in vain.

Sensing that Liz was okay with it, he started the Jeep and drove off. Maria was resigned to the fact she did not have a choice, so she sat there in silence, glaring at the back of Liz’s head. She could have made them let her go, but she didn’t. When they got to where they were going, Liz was going to get apiece of her mind.

The rest of them were quiet also. They knew that they were heading toward something that would change their lives forever. Liz told Max where he needed to go and he turned and after about a half hour of driving in the desert they came upon a small range of hills. Pointing to and outcropping, he drove as close as he could and stopped the car.

Looking up, he felt his hands get sweaty and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the truth. Liz placed her hand on his thigh and he turned to look at her.

"It’s okay, Max. We need to know one way or the other."

He smiled and nodded. With her by his side, he could face anything.

They all got out and Maria broke free from her body guards and went up to Liz. "If I find out you had anything to do with this," she warned.

"I was just as surprised as you," she admitted

"You could have made them let me go."

"I know, but I thought I might need you, in case, in case."

"Okay. I got your back."

"Which way?" Michael asked, getting impatient.

Liz grabbed Maria’s hand for support and said," This way."

She walked up to a ledge and pointed to a flat spot on the surface. "You have to place your hand there and it opens the door."

Taking a deep breath, Max did as she said. Nothing happened. Then a glowing silver hand print appeared and with it a deep rumbling sound.

Slowly a piece of the rock face slid to one side, revealing the opening to a tunnel. Sucking his head, Max walked thru the opening into the darkness. he took a few steps and waited for the others. Isabel and Michael came up beside him and the three of them walked in together.

Rounding a curve, they came into the main chamber. Before them were four small pods with dried membranes hanging form the sides. Michael walked over to one of them and reached out to touch it.

"I think I remember this palace," Isabel said softly. She went over to what she knew was her pd and stared at it, then spun suddenly. "I remember wanting , no having to break out of there. I wasn’t sure where I had to go, but I knew I couldn’t stay in here anymore."

Me too," said Max. "It was like something was telling me to get out, somehow." Turning to look at his sister, he smiled. "That’s when I saw you and I knew that I would never be alone again."

"I remember being scared, even though I didn’t know the word at the time," Michael said. "I couldn’t see anything but the starlight, so I went toward it."

Maria could picture the frightened little boy Michael had been and without thinking, she went over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

He was startled and he was going to shrug it off, but if felt so good, he left it there.

"We saw Michael outside, but he wouldn’t let us come near him," Isabel continued. "I knew that you were following us, and I prayed, for him to catch up with us."

"That’s when the Evans found us and took us in," Max finished. He had wanted to tell those nice people to go and get the one that was hiding, but he had no idea how and they had left him behind. Michael was found the next day and put in foster care.

Coming back to himself, Michael stepped away from Maria and said, "Ancient history." He looked at Liz and asked, "Where is this great machine you talked about?"

Liz knelt and pushed her way thru one of the pods. She stood on the other side and looked up at the Granalith. Max came behind her and when he stood he placed his arm around her waist and asked, "Is this it?"

"Yes, this is the Granalith. Using a crystal rod and the book, you all can go home."

The group stood for a few minutes lost in their own thoughts. Liz was thrilled to have found this out for them, but it also meant that Max could leave her at any time. She removed his hand and went back outside.

He went to go after her, but Maria stopped him saying, "I’ll go. She needs a few minutes to deal. I’ll make sure she’s okay."

"Maxwell, do you know what this mean," exclaimed Michael. He walked around the room, trailing his fingers along the wall. "We can go home."

"Home to what?" cried Isabel. "To a planet wracked by war and ruled by some maniac who has killed us once, already."

"You don’t know that. It is out home, where we really belong."

"We belong here. Here where they sent us. Here where we have a life and families."

"Enough," Max said softly. "We don’t have to make any decisions right now."

"Max is right," agreed his sister. "We have to take things slowly."

Michael was going to object, but realized now was not the time for a fight. "Okay. Let’s try and find out if any more of Liz’s story is true."

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 8


Liz was sitting on the edge of a crevice staring out into the desert, when Maria found her. She had her arms wrapped around herself and had been crying. Sitting next to her, Maria put her arms around her and asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

Liz wrapped her arms around her friend and placed her head on her shoulder. "Can you turn back the hands of time?"

"Sorry, I may be adored by millions, but that is one thing even I can’t do," she said, hoping to make her smile.

It did, but it was a bitter one. "I knew what this could mean, but I.... I guess I was hoping that, oh what does it matter?" she cried, frustrated. " I know Max and if he is nothing else, he is responsible. He will think that he needs to save his home world, no matter what."

"Liz. We don’t know if that part of your story is even true. He could be here because his planet was dying and his parents were trying to save his life. God, there could be a hundred reasons for them to be on Earth. You can’t give up hope, not now. You have found the other half of your soul."

Liz pulled away and looked at her in surprise. "Why did you say that?"

"A blind man could see the way you are together. I know I was teasing you about it, but it was only because I have never seen anything like what is between you two. It’s scary to know that two people could be so in love, in such a short time."

"I love him so much, but I can’t stand in his way. I know that he is the King and I know that he will go and have to leave me behind."

"Why would I leave you behind?"

"You wouldn’t have a choice," she replied not turning to look at him. "I might not be able to survive on your planet,"

Maria got up and walked over to where the others were standing. She gave Michael a glance, but he wouldn’t look at her. Isabel surprised her by grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.

"We’ll figure something out. Now that I’ve found you, I will not let you go," he declared, squatting down next to her.

"Max. Please don’t make promises you might not be able to keep. Have you forgotten about Tess?"

"What about her? She has nothing to do with us."

Standing, she stated, "She had everything to do with us. She is not the harmless girl you think she is. I don’t know what she plotting, but you can bet, we will not come out of it intact. I should have stayed away from you. I knew what would happen, but I let my heart have it’s way. I can’t go thru this again. I’m stopping it before we go any farther."

She walked passed him and down toward the truck. Maria caught up with her and they walked the rest of the way holding each others hand.

Max walked up to Michael and his sister and said, "Let’s go. I don’t think we’ll find out any more today."

Maria and Liz were sitting in the back seat when the others came up. Isabel got into the back with them, while Max and Michael got in front. With one last look at Liz in the mirror, he started up the Jeep and head back to town.

###

Liz heard a knock on her window, and looked up. Seeing Alex, she got up and opened the window for him. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Climbing thru, he took a seat on the bench. "Maria told me what happened today and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I’m fine," she lied. Her heart was raw and bleeding, but she knew raging about it, would do no good.

"Liar. I have known you far too long for you to start lying to me. Now, tell Uncle Alex your problems and I will try to make them disappear." he said, using his sad puppy face.

"Your crazy, you know that." she laughed.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," he said batting his eyelashes. "Let me help you. Even if it’s for a shoulder to cry on. I don’t mind getting wet."

She smiled and patted the bed next to her. He joined her there and she said, "I don’t know what I would do without you," and she hugged him.

 

"I guess Maria told you how I turned away from Max?" He nodded and she went on, "I know that things between us won’t work. He had another life and he has responsibilities to keep, pertaining to it. I will only keep him from his duty."

"Did you ever thing that the only way he could fulfill his obligations, was with you by his side? Maybe he needs you to give him a different perspective to help him solve the problems he will face."

"How could that be? We’re not even the same species."

"He’s half human," he reminded her.

"But."

"But nothing. His people went to an awful lot of trouble to engineer him to look and act like us. Don’t you think they might have wanted him to make alliances with us? That he needed us to face his future?"

She thought about his questions and said, "You’ve thought a lot about this, haven’t you?"

"I kept wondering why they would go thru all this trouble if they didn’t have to," he said biting the inside of his cheek. "All they had to do was clone their old bodies and send them here, where they could shape shift into any likeness they wanted. There has to be a reason why they are the way they are."

"I don’t know, I guess you could be right. But that doesn’t help me. I am willing to help Max and the others, to do what they must, but I can’t let him love me."

"You can’t stop him from loving you. He’s loved you from the first moment he saw you, you told me so. Your rejection might force him to do something that might jeopardize them all."

"Why me?" she wailed. "Why must I make the decisions? I never asked him to love me. I never asked for anything. Why should this be laid at my feet? I’m just a sixteen year old girl from a small town. I shouldn’t be forced to make choices that could effect the fate of a another world."

"He’s not asking you to do anything, but to love him. And you do. Remember what you told me, about how his betrayal with Tess ripped your heart out and you felt dead inside. You have what many people would kill to get, a second chance to make things right. I can’t tell you that you’ll wind up happily ever after, but if you don’t try, you’ll never know. Don’t deprive yourself because of what might happen. It’s not fair to either of you."

"How come some girl hasn’t sweep you away, yet?"

"I guess, she hasn’t come to realize that I’m here for the taking."

"I hope she finds you quick. All this wisdom is a shame to waste."
"Me too. It’s so lonely at the top!"

###

 

"Did you want me to talk to her?" Isabel asked her brother. They were sitting at the kitchen table having breakfast. She could tell the he had been up all night, by the bags under his eyes.

"Would it do any good?" he asked, defeated. He knew how Liz felt, and if he did have to return home and leave her behind, it would be better if she wasn’t involved with him.

"You tell me. You’re the one who loves her. Is she worth fighting for?"

"Yes, but I don’t want to hurt her. I care too much for her to do that."

Isabel didn’t understand her brother. He had found what she had been dreaming for her whole life, someone to accept him and love him despite what he was, and he was going to let it slip thru his fingers.

Seeing that she would get nowhere with him in this mood, she stood and put her dishes in the sink. If he wouldn’t do anything, she would. Grabbing the keys, she took one more look at him and shook her head. Love can really stink sometimes.

###

Maria was surprised to see Isabel on her front porch. "Can I come in," she asked. Stepping back, she let her in and pointed to one of the chairs in the living room.

"What are you doing here?" Maria asked still a little freaked about yesterday.

"First I wanted to apologize about abducting you, yesterday."

"Okay."

"I also wanted to talk to you about Liz."

"If you came here to tell me she needs to stay away from Max, your talking to the wrong person," she said going on the defensive.

"Wait!" she said putting up her hand. "I wanted to ask you how we could get them back together. Max is miserable and I think Liz is too. Anyone with a brain could see they need to be together."

Maria was relieved. She had been wracking her brain on how to get the two of them to at least talk. Here was her answer. "What do you have in mind?"

 

###

 

"You want me to do what?" shouted Michael. "You’ve had some crazy plans in the past, but this is going to far."

Isabel looked at the others gathered at the cafe and smiled. She knew that they would all have to work together to get Max and Liz reunited. "It is only for a little while."

"Am I that disgusting to you, that you couldn’t stand to around me for a few days?" Maria asked, insulted. She would do anything for Liz, but even she had her limits.

"I wouldn’t answer that," Alex whispered to Michael. He on the other hand was looking forward to spending time with Isabel. The more the better.

"Liz said that we all became friends and we helped Max make the decisions he need to make, and I think we need to do that here," Isabel stated. "It should only take a few days at the most."

"I think we should find out if Liz is right about the whole king and his royal court thing, before we try to play matchmaker. If she’s not, then they don’t need to be together," Michael demanded.

"How do we go about that, spaceboy?" Maria asked sarcastically. She had just about enough of his holier-than-thou attitude.

"Leave that to me." he replied and left. Isabel watched him get on his bike and roar down the street. She knew Michael would hate this, but what else could they do?

###

Michael drove to the park and wasn’t surprised to see Tess walking down by the pond. He pulled up and said, "Get on, we need to talk."

Tess smiled and took the helmet he held out to her. Slipping it over her head, she got on the bike and placed her hands around his waist. Now here is a body I could grow to appreciate, she thought, feeling the rock hard stomach thru his shirt. This could be more fun than I imagined.

Michael drove them to the old rock quarry outside of town. He stopped the motorcycle and put down the kick stand. Tess slipped off the back and took off her helmet. Shaking out her hair, she waited for him to speak first.

"I want to know what you know about where we come from," he said bluntly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Cut the crap. You know more than your telling, and your going to tell me all of it, now."

Tess looked up at him and tried to decide if she should do ask he asked. It would be better to have an accomplice to help with her plan, but she wasn’t sure she could trust him. Well, if he gives me any trouble, I’ll fry his brain.

"What do you want to know?"

I knew it! he thought. "Who sent us here and why?"

"My father told me that we were part of the ruling family on Antar. That’s the name of the planet we’re from, by the way. We were killed by an usurper to the throne, and loyal followers had our essences mixed with human DNA and sent us here to hide us from him."

"How did they get the material they needed?"

"Oh, we have been abducting people from this planet for years, to use as slaves. They thought that this would be the last place for Kivar to find us, so here we are," she said smugly. She still thought that these humans were only good to be slaves.

"Your father told you this? How did he know?"

"He wasn’t my real father. He was a guardian sent to watch out for us until we could return. Unfortunately, he was detained after the crash and by the time he got to the chamber, I was the only one left inside. He did try to locate the rest of you, but he had to stay hidden, and when he couldn’t find you, he took me and left."

Michael was taken aback. Liz was right. Now he had to figure out if she was right about Tess also. "So where is your father now"

"He was killed trying to protect me from a renegade branch of our people. Somehow, they found out that we are here and they are trying to locate us and destroy us," she said, smiling inside. He wasn’t any smarter in this life, than he was in the past. If he believed this, he was hers.

"Do you know where the pod chamber is?" he asked, hoping she didn’t. He didn’t want her to go there and find out that they knew more than she thought.

"No," she said regretfully. "I got, that is, he died before he had the chance to show me where it was. But he did tell me where to find the book."

"The book?"

Damn, she thought. Me and my big mouth. "Uh, yeah. He told me about this book he had hidden, that could help me get home if something happened to him. I’ve been waiting to retrieve it, until you all agreed to get out of this flea bitten town"

That’s must be the book we need to work the Granalith, he thought ecstatically. Now, to get her to tell him where to find it. "Well, maybe we could go get it and find out where this chamber is located," he cajoled, steeping closer to her. He reached out and brushed away a stray lock of her hair.

Gotcha! "Why don’t you get the others and we can get it together," she suggested.

"Max is moping over Liz and Isabel is being Isabel. If we could show them what we found, they would have to go along with us."

Liz! I knew that witch would rear her ugly head. Maybe this jerk is right. If we could give Max proof, and he would follow me like the fool he is. "Let me think about it, okay?" she asked sweetly. Putting her arms around his neck, she went up on her toes and kissed the side of his mouth.

Smiling, he kissed her full on the mouth. Boy, is she in for a surprise, he thought, deepening the kiss.

Tess held back her revulsion and let him paw her. In the end, he’ll be on the ground at her feet, begging forgiveness at treating her like a piece of meat. She was going to enjoy killing him, slowly.

###

After dropping Tess off, Michael raced over to Max’s house. He knocked at the front door, for once and was greeted by Mrs. Evans. "Michael! Thanks for using the front door for a change," she said with a smile. She had a soft spot for this young man and wanted to help him, but her children told her that he would resent anything he considered pity.

"Uh, yeah, no problem. Is Max home?" he asked, embarrassed.

"Yes, he’s up in his room. Do you know what’s bothering him? He’s been moodier than usual, today," she asked with concern

"I think it has something to do with a girl," he said hoping to get away from her. He knew she meant well, but she could be smothering at time.

"Oh, is that all? Well boys will be boys."

"Sure. See ya, Mz. Evans," he replied and walked past her and up the stairs.

Without knocking, he walked into Max’s room and saw him staring out the window. Sitting on his bed, Michael reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Maxwell."

Max jumped and turned his head. "Hi, I didn’t hear you come in," he said when he saw who it was. He wasn’t in the mood for Michael right now. "What do you want?"

"Is that the way to treat a guy who had good news?"

"What news?" he asked halfheartedly. He had tried to get Liz out of his mind all morning, but it wasn’t working. Maybe Michael could distract him for a time.

"I talked to Tess and she confirmed Liz’s story about us being from Antar and part of the royal family." he beamed.

"What!?"

"Liz was right, we were sent here to hide from our enemies. She was right about that Nesadeo guy and about the book, too."

"Wait a minute. You talked to Tess? Did you tell her anything?"

"What, do you think I’m stupid?" he asked, getting mad. Max wasn’t the only one who could come up with a plan.

"No, never that. What did she say?," he asked, hoping Michael had done the right thing.

"When she approached me two weeks ago, about leaving, I thought she knew more than she was telling, so when we decided to find out about Liz’s story, I confronted her. She told me basically what Liz said and she knows where to find the book."

"Liz said she was the one who took me to where Nesadeo had hidden it," he said thoughtfully. "Did she tell you where to find it?"

"No, she wanted to think about it, but I have her eating out the palm of my hand. She’s got the hots for me."

Max smiled. Liz would like to hear that. Let’s hope Tess isn’t trying to set us up.

"What do you plan to do?"

Michael was glad that Max finally believe that he could do something on his own, without taking it to committee. "I told her to get a hold of me, when she was ready. If she leads us to the book, we might have a chance to go home."

Home, Max sighed, but to what?

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 9



Maria was waiting to ambush Michael the next day at school. She was leaning against the wall watching the doors, sniffing cedar oil, wanting to remain calm before she confronted him. When he didn’t answer her yesterday, she kept wondering what he truly thought about her. Not that his opinion matters, she thought flippantly. It’s only Michael, after all.

Michael pushed thru the door without a care in the world. He was pleased that he had been able to get some information without help from the others. He was getting sick of having the humans hanging around him so much. It definitely was better when it was just the three of them.

He walked past Maria without seeing her and that was all it took to ignite her anger. She came up behind him and pushed him into an unoccupied classroom. Slamming the door, she glared at him.

"Perfect," he groaned, seeing who it was, "what do you want?"

Taking another long look at him, she took three steps forward, so she was face to face with him. Well, face to chest, anyway. Licking her lips, she was about to blast into him when he impulsively bent his head and kissed her. Her hands went to push him away, but they ended up wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.

After a long, wet kiss, Michael wrenched out of her grasp and backed away, to lean on a desk. "What’d you do that for?" he asked, bewildered.

"Me? Your the one who started it!" she squawked.

"You pushed me in here."

"So, your the one who kissed me."

He wiped his face with his hand and looked up at the ceiling. He was the one who kissed her, but why? She was a silly little human and should be beneath him. Somehow the thought of having Maria beneath him, made him breath harder. "Fine. What do ya want"

He whole rehearsed speech went flying out the window. She could see that the kiss effected him just as much as it did her. "I think we need to talk about what just happened. Apparently, things between us just changed."

"What do you mean? It was only a kiss."


"Only a kiss? It happens to be the best......" she trailed off. What am I saying! she thought. A slow smile blossomed on his face, and she knew she made a big mistake, he was never going to let her live it down. "You know what, your right. It was only a kiss, and a mediocre one at that. Just forget it, okay?"

"If you say so," he replied smugly.

"Oh you!" she spun on her heel and stormed out of the room. Things had not turned out as she had planned, and now he thought she liked the way he kissed. Why do things like this always happen to me?

Michael watched her leave and couldn’t help laughing to himself. Maybe having this particular human around, wouldn’t be so bad.

 

###

"You kissed him?" Liz asked amused. She had hoped something like this would happen between them, but not this fast.

"No, he kissed me," she reiterated. "He was the one who started it. I just wanted to talk."

"If I know you," Alex said grinning, "you pushed him in there to give him a piece of your mind."

"Why?" Liz asked, not knowing what Michael did to get her dander up.

"He didn’t answer a question I asked him and I was upset," she tried to explain.

"What question?"

"It doesn’t matter," she said exasperated. How was she to explain the reason for the four of them meeting yesterday. Alex came to he rescue.

"We ran into him at the mall and you know how the two of them get, within ten feet of each other," he said laughing.

Liz knew they were evading her question, so she let it drop. She was glad that the attraction between Maria and Michael existed here. They were good for each other, whether they liked it or not. "Did you like it?"

"It was okay, I guess," Maria replied, her face getting red.

"It looks to me, you liked it more than that," teased Alex. Maria didn’t get flustered very often, and he was going to take advantage of the situation.

"I wouldn’t talk," she snapped. "I saw the way you were hanging on every word Isabel was saying."

"Isabel? Wait, I’m confused," Liz said, looking back and forth between the two of them. "When did you see Isabel?"

Alex looked at Maria and realized it was pointless to lie to Liz. She always had a way of finding out. "Isabel, Maria, Michael and I meet yesterday for coffee."

"Oh really? What for?" Liz asked intrigued. There’s a story here.

"Isabel came to my house and wanted to know if I knew of a way to get you and Max talking again," blurted Maria. She hoped that Isabel would forgive her.

"She was worried about him and she asked Michael and I, to act like the four of us were becoming closer," Alex put in. He didn’t want Liz to only be mad at Maria. "So you and Max would have to spend time together."

"I appreciate what you guys are doing, but remember, I’ve been thru this before. It didn’t work then, it won’t work now."

"You and Max were together at the end," Maria prodded.

"After a lot of pain and suffering. I refuse to do it again." she argued.

"Things will be different this time. For-warned is for-armed," Alex said matter-of-factly, echoing their earlier conversation.

"Liz, I can’t stand seeing you like this. You have the chance for happiness, don’t blow it," Maria snapped.

"Can we please stop talking about this? I’ve made up my mind and that’s final. You can tell Isabel that the jig is up and to leave it alone." she said and got up from her seat. "I’m going upstairs and taking a long hot shower and climbing into bed. Goodnight."

Maria watched her leave and asked, "What are we suppose to do now?"

 

###

Liz tossed and turned in bed for more than an hour before giving up on sleep. Her mind wouldn’t stop thinking about Max and the kind of future she would face without him in it. It was something she couldn’t visualize. Rolling out of bed, she went out onto the balcony. Readjusting her telescope, she tried to imagine what life on another planet would be like.

"It truly is beautiful, isn’t it?" asked a voice behind her.

"She turned and smiled at her father. It had been he, who first got her interested in the night sky. "It never ceases to amaze me," she answered.

He climbed out and came to stand next to her. "Can’t sleep?"

"Nope. My mind wouldn’t stop running in circles long enough to rest."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," she apologized.

He knew how much she cherished her privacy, so he didn’t push her. All he said was, "Well, if there is anything I can do, let me know."

"I will Dad, thanks." She gave him a hug and rested her head against his arm.

"Dad, do you believe that there could be life on another planet?"

"I’m not sure. To quote someone, ‘If not, it would be an awful waste of space’, and I agree. All I know, it keep the people coming here, and that’s good for business," he grinned.

"Forever the businessman," she laughed.

"Hey, it pays the bills." Giving her one last squeeze, he said, "Don’t stay out here all night, you’ve got school tomorrow."

"Yes, Warden. I’ll just be a few more minutes." She watched him go back in and close her door behind him.

Taking one more look thru her telescope, she let out a sigh. She knew the answer to her question, and the knowledge was a heavy burden to bear.

###

"Have you talked to Max?" Maria asked Liz, as they walked out of school.

"Is there a reason I should." Liz said, tiredly. She had been avoiding him all day, and was exhausted.

"I thought he might have wanted to be the one to tell you.’

"Tell me what?"

Maria looked at her with concern. She had never seen Liz so down. "Isabel told Alex that Michael confirmed that they were from Antar and that they really are royalty."

"How did Michael find out?"

"Tess."

"Tess?" she asked, astonished.

"Apparently, she had approached Michael about leaving town, and he had a feeling that she knew more than she was saying, so he went and confronted her."

"By himself? Is he crazy? I told Max that she was dangerous."

"Well, you know how Michael is," Maria said, shaking her head. She wasn’t sure what her feeling were for him, but she didn’t want him to get hurt. "He is suppose to meet with her tonight, to find out if she will show him where the book is."

"No, we can’t let him, she has to be up to something." Liz exclaimed, passionately. " I have to talk to Max and have him convince Michael to stay away from her," She was not going to let Tess hurt her friends a second time.

Maria and Liz ran across the parking lot and caught the bus just as the doors were closing, They hadn’t seen the person walking behind them, listening to their conversation. Tess watched the two girls get on the bus with a sneer. So, Liz has warned them about me, has she, the girl thought, amused. She looked at her watch and smiled. Only a few hours before I meet that ignoramus, Michael, and he will be mine. Let’s see what they make of that!

###

Liz walked into the UFO Center and went down the stairs. Max’s mom had told her, when she called looking for him, that he was at work. She only had a few minutes before her shift started, so she came over to warn him again, about Tess.

At the bottom of the stairs, she looked around briefly at the displays. Unexpectedly, she had a flashback of Max being held at gun point by Brody and then of him healing a dying Kyle. Shaking her head, she looked up and he was standing across from her.

Max was thrilled to see Liz. She had rebuffed every attempt he had made to talk to her today, and he understood the reason for it. Something important must have happened for her to seek him out. "Liz, is something wrong?" he asked coming closer.

"No, nothing immediate," she replied. Her brain might believe that being apart from him, was the right thing to do, but her heart begged to differ.

He smiled, "That’s good."

"I, uhm, wanted to ask you to have Michael be careful, when he meets with Tess. She can’t be trusted."

"I agree."

She continued on, not hearing him, "She might be different here, but she did hold back what she knew about your origins."

"I know."

"Don’t turn your back on her, she is dangerous....."

"Liz!"

She stopped and focused her attention back on him, "What?"

"I said, I agree with you and I’ve told Michael all of these things," he said softly.

"Oh, I guess I wanted to make sure you heard me out. I never thought you would agree with me."

"I know you don’t trust Tess, but she might have some of the answers we need," he said diplomatically. "He knows what she is capable of and he told me that he would be careful, so you don’t have to worry."

Wanna bet? she thought cynically. "Okay, well that’s all I wanted to say," she told him, turning to go back up the stairs. "I have to get to work. Bye, Max."

He restrained himself from saying more than, "Thanks, Liz."

She turned, smiled and left. As the door closed behind her, he felt despair flow back into him. Would there ever be a time when the two of them could be what he had always hoped for?

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 10


Michael took a last look around before he entered the park. He wasn’t pleased that Max had insisted the rest of them hide out and wait for Tess to bring him to where the book was hidden. He knew he could handle anything she could throw at him, and Max was being too cautious.

He walked thru the archway and saw that she was already waiting for him on the bench by the pond. He walked over to her and sat. Isabel had tried to give him some pointers on how to act around her, so to make her more pliable to his suggestions, but he had laughed. He told her that the girl was putty in his hands and she would do what ever he told her.

Tess smiled when he sat next to her. She had feared that he might not meet her after hearing Liz talk about warning Max, but here he was. Turning to look at him, she asked, "So your going to finally trust me?"

"I wouldn’t say that," he replied. "I’m going to wait until you shown me what you promised. Then we can go and tell the others about everything."

"You didn’t tell them about what I told you?"

"I figured they are on a need to know basis," he bragged.

She knew he was lying, but didn’t comment. If he wanted to pretend he had the upper hand, she would let him. His cockiness would work for her. "If you say so," she said demurely. Getting up, she held out her hand to him.

Taking it, he rose and they walked out the way he had come. It was hard for him not to look where the others had strategically placed themselves, to watch every entrance to the park.

They walked passed the car Alex was hiding in, slumped in the shadows, and he had to try to keep a straight face. He was starting to like the guy, and found they shared the same strange sense of humor. That Maria girl was growing on him too. He had liked the way she came and tried to comfort him back in the chamber, it was a new feeling, not pity, but concern.

After the two walked by his hiding spot, Alex called Isabel. "Did you see them?" he whispered. "They are walking south down Dune."

"I saw them. It looks like they are heading for the library. I’ll get Max to follow more closely," she replied. Alex had delighted her when he volunteered to help tonight. "See you soon."

"Okay, bye."

Isabel ended the call and punched in Max’s number. "They are heading toward the library," she said when he answered. "Can you see them yet?"

"Yes," he replied. "I’m on it."

Tess allowed Michael to hold onto her arm as they walked down the street. She looked over her shoulder and thought she saw someone dart down an alley, but Michael drew her attention back to him.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"It’s not much farther," she responded. She couldn’t wait till they were inside, so she could take control of him. His brutish ways were wearing on her nerves.

Max held his breath, after jumping in between two buildings. Peeking around the corner, he saw that Tess was facing forward once more. Telling his heart to slow down, he came out onto the sidewalk and tried to keep to the shadows. The pair turned the corner and he ran up and peered around it to keep them in sight.

Isabel had been right, they were heading for the library. He waited for them to go around back, then ran across the quad. He leaned up against the wall and looked into the window above him. As luck would have it, he saw Tess climb up on a stool and take something from the wall. He returned to the corner and waited for them to emerge.

"So, what is in this?" Michael asked, holding up the book she had handed him. The symbols on the cover seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place where he had seen them before.

"According to Nesadeo, it’s the instructions to run the machine that can send us back home." she explained. Taking a quick glance around, she grabbed onto his arms and turned him to face her. He looked bewildered, but she shut her eyes and concentrated. She willed him to defer to her judgment in all things and not to question her, even if he didn’t understand her instructions. With a smile, she opened her eyes and looked at him.

Michael was surprised when she pulled him around to face her, and was about to demand what she was up to, when he saw her close her eyes. A warning bell went of in his head, and Liz’s description of how she used her powers, came to mind. He felt a slight pressure behind his eyes and he tried to fight it off. He could hear her command clearly, but he was able to keep his true self curled into a tight ball in the back of his mind. When she was finished, he saw her smile and open her eyes.

He knew what she expected and he gave it to her, hoping she would believe she had succeeded. "What do you want me to do?"

Drop dead, she thought wickedly. "Go home and wait for me to contact you with our next move. I’ll let you know when I want you to tell the others about this," she said, taking the book from his hand. There was no way she was going to let this fall into the wrong hands.

"If that’s what you want," he said, trying to sound calm. He didn’t want to relinquish the book.

"Run along, I’ll see you tomorrow."

Trying not to growl in frustration, he walked away. She watched him long enough to be sure that he was doing as he was told, then went to where she had parked the car. She glanced up at the night sky and saw , if she didn’t hurry, she was going to be late. Staring the engine, she drove out of town, heading for the desert.

###

Max waited for Michael in the alley. When he walked by, alone, he came up behind him. "What happened?" he asked softly.

Michael jumped and spun around. "Maxwell, a little warning next time," he exclaimed. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"I’ll take my chances. Did you find anything out?"

Michael started walking again and replied, "She got the book, but took it back. She tried to mind warp me, Max. If it wasn’t for Liz’s heads up, I would have fallen under her spell."

Max gaped at his friend in shock. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it was weird. I could hear her in my mind, but I was able to, resist somehow. Good thing, too, she wanted me to do what ever she told me to do. I had the book in my hand, but she took it back and if I wanted her to think she was in control, I had to let her have it."

"That’s all right. As long as your fine."

They came up on Isabel, Maria and Alex sitting in his car, waiting for them. Getting in the back with Maria, Alex drove off down the street. Michael filled them in on what happened and Maria shuttered in fear. Seeing her reaction, he put his arm around her and pulled her to him. She laid her head on his chest and relaxed.

"Where to now?" Alex asked.

"Home. We need some time to think this through." Max said, taking charge. He fell into the role of leader easily and realized that he had been doing it for most of his life anyway, so it shouldn’t have come as such a shock. He hoped that he wouldn’t lead them to their deaths.

 

###

Alex dropped off Maria first, then the guys at Max’s jeep. He looked to see if Isabel was going to go with them, but she stayed in the car. Max looked in her window and gave her a wink. He would see her at home, later.

"Did you want to go straight home," he asked shyly. Now that he was alone with her, he was staring to loose his nerve.

"Can we drive around for a while?" she asked.

"What ever M’lady would like," he replied and put the car in drive. Unsure where to go, he headed out into the desert. There was a place he liked to go, to get away and think. He thought she might like to see it.

Isabel stole a glance at the guy next to her and actually had to hide her blush. He was the first boy she had ever felt flustered around. Normally, she was calm, cool and collected with guys, but Alex was different. He had her heart beating fast and her palms sweaty. If she didn’t watch out, she could loose her heart to him.

Alex drove for a while, then pulled into a rest stop overlooking a dry lake bed. He turned to her and said, "The view is better if we get out."

She nodded and they went and sat on the hood. After

getting comfortable, Isabel gazed out at the landscape. Her in-drawn breath made him smile; he had the same reaction the first time he was brought here. The night sky seemed to go on forever before reaching the horizon and you could see thousands upon thousands of stars.

"God Alex, it’s beautiful," she whispered.

"Yes, but it doesn’t compare to you," he said, taking her hand in his.

Looking down at their entwined fingers, she felt her eyes well up with tears. One slipped down her cheek and landed on the back of his hand.

Peering into her moonlit face, he asked sweetly, "Isabel, what’s wrong? If I’m moving too fast....."

"No, that’s not it," she said quickly. "Glaciers move faster than you do."

"Then, what is it?"

"I.....I’ve never shown anyone my true self before, except to my brother and Michael, and I’m not sure how to behave. I’ve been playing a part for so long, it’s hard for me to know the difference, anymore."

He could tell there was something she was holding back and asked, "And?’

"And," she echoed, "I’m not sure your going to like the real me. I’m not the girl you see every day. I’m scared and unconfident, and so afraid that you’ll hate me."

"Hate you?" he asked appalled. There would never come a day when he could feel anything but love for this remarkable being. "Isabel, I didn’t fall in love with the Ice Queen. I fell in love with the woman hiding behind the masquerade. The one who gives up her time to help those in need. The person who spends the weekend at the local retirement home just talking to the folks who have no one else in their lives. She is the one I love. Everything is just icing on the cake."

Isabel couldn’t help but believe what she saw revealed on his face. He was the only person she had ever met to love her, and not what he could get from being with her. Leaning forward, she gently placed her mouth against his, and was pleased when he put his free hand into her hair and held her while he deepened the kiss.

Below them, on the lake bed, a car was speeding along into the night. If they had bothered to look, they might have recognized the car as belonging to Tess, but they were pleasantly preoccupied at the moment.

###

Tess was filled with trepidation. Racing across the sand, she hoped to make it to the coordinates a few minutes before the scheduled meeting. The crystals would only function during the new moon, when there was the least amount of interference, and she wanted to get her report in order before confronting Kivar.

Slowing down, she looked up and saw the flying ‘V’ directly above her. Stopping the car, she got out and popped the latch for the trunk. She folded back the rug and pulled the pouch out from under underneath the spare.

Walking around to the front of the car, she took out what looked to be an ordinary compact. Flipping it open, she charged the crystals with the headlights and tapped out the required code. Placing it on the hood, she stood back and tried to get her thoughts in order.

Sooner than she expected, a figure appeared hovering over the device. "What do you have to report?" asked a gruff voice in the cool night air.

"Bad news, I’m afraid," she replied.

"What do you mean?’

"Everything has gone to hell. Things have not turned out as you promised."

"Explain."

"To begin with, the two jerks you sent to kill the Parker girl, failed. She was only wounded. Fortunately, your secondary plant, reached her before Zan was able to heal her."

"So?"

"So, I have found out that he made contact with her while she was in the hospital. Because of that, she dreamed what you told me was the most likely future path they would take.

"She knows who and what we are and where we came from. She has gotten the three fools believing that I am not to be trusted and in doing so, they are pulling away from me.

"You said that you would pave the way for me to entrap them and return home. Everything is ruined and it is all because of her!"

"The Farseers told me that Liz Parker was the catalyst for our downfall, but I didn’t take them seriously. My mistake."

Tess stared at the glowing figure in astonishment. When Kivar’s minions had approached her 10 months ago, she wasn’t even aware of this set of royals. Her and Nesadeo were well informed about the rejects in New York, but the three in New Mexico came as a surprise to her.

Nesadeo had led her to believe that she was the only survivor of this set, but now she knew differently. He really did arrive to late to collect all of them, so had to settle with just her.

His lies were his downfall. She had no reservations what so ever about killing him, when she was instructed that he was no longer needed. He had been a shitty father, anyway.

Kivar had sent the crystals to her and told her all about the life she had led as the queen. She came to realize that this planet was nothing more than a breeding farm for slaves and she wanted her former life back, no matter what the cost.

He told her of his plan, but it required having the king and his family returned, before he could bring peace to their world. Since the reincarnates had been sent to Earth, many things had taken place.

Kivar had crushed a rebellion and had conquered one of the out lying planets. Much to his delight, he had found a race of people who claimed to be able to see into the future.

These Farseers had told him that his reign was contingent on him bringing back the Royal Four and using them as figureheads for the planet. Only he would know that they were nothing but puppets, while he ruled behind the scenes.

Of course, there was a problem. The future in not definite and there are different paths that it can take. The ‘Seers explained to him what they believed would come to pass, if nothing changed.

They predicted that the king would return with a human mate, and together, they would unite the Antarians with the human slaves and retake the planet, killing him during the process.

To prevent that, he must remove the object of the king’s affection, ensuring that the king would accept his former queen. With her removed, the way would be clear for Tess to make Max fall in love with her and return him along with his sister and his second in command to Antar.

So Tess had returned to Roswell and found out who this earthling was and reported it back to Kivar. He was to get rid of her and Tess was to fill the void in Max’s life. It didn’t go as planned.

"You said, she knew about their origins? How is that possible?" he demanded, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"She said she had a dream about us. From everything I have found out, it has all been true. What are we going to do?"

"Isn’t it obvious." he asked sarcastically. "You must kill her."

"The damage had already been done. Killing her is useless."

"Why do you think you were chosen for this mission? You are the only one who has the power to make them forget. When you are ready, contact me and I will make the preparations for your return." He was about to break contact, when a thought occurred to him. "If this human is to be believed, she might have the location of the Granalith. Pry it out of her, before her death. We need to have the machine back."

With those final word, the figure winked out. Closing the case, Tess slipped it back into the bag and replaced it in it’s hiding spot. Slamming the trunk, she began plotting how she would rip the information from Liz’s mind, before killing her. With Michael in her power, she would have no trouble getting what she needed and getting off this hellhole, the sooner the better.