Four Aliens and A Baby…….

“Has anyone seen them yet?” Kyle asked Max and Liz as they walked down the hall of the school.

“Nope.” Max was holding Liz’s hand. They had just picked up their senior yearbooks. “Not for the last thirty-six hours. Neither of them is answering their phone, and I went by the apartment. The Jetta is still parked in front.” The three found a table. Liz started to look through the yearbook. It was their senior year yearbook, the last one they’d ever get from West Roswell High. She quickly went to check out their senior class pictures, frowning at the class President and Valedictorian, neither were her. Once upon a time, she would have been a cinch for both those honors, but her grade point took some serious hits over the last year, and definitely over the last three years between missed classes, missed assignments, and tests she had no time to study for.

“Hey! Michael’s picture made this yearbook.”

Max glanced over. “Yeah, Maria dragged him to have it taken, and she turned it in herself. That makes two years straight. Shocking. Michael is officially a high school student.”

Kyle turned the page so he could look at it. “He still looks pissed.”

Liz smiled, chuckling under her breath. She, like the others, wondered about Michael and Maria, but since neither was answering the phone, she had to wait too. Max glanced over at Liz when she gave a gasping sound in her throat.

“What?” He asked concerned. Liz shook her head. “Liz?”

Liz made a small laughing sound. “It’s nothing. I just hadn’t realized … that’s all.”

Max glanced over at what Liz was looking at, and saw a picture of Michael and Maria in the yearbook. They were in the class nominated pages. The two of them had been voted as graduating class “True Love Forever Couple,” a real love match. It showed pictures of Michael and Maria together over the past few years caught unaware. It was strange to see pictures of them together when they were so much younger. Maria touching Michael, laughing up at him as he bent his head to her. They looked so close and intimate.

“Wow. Did you know they were nominated?” Max asked.

Liz shook her head. They had missed the voting, especially since it happened around the time she went to Vermont .

“I’m sure you and Max would’ve gotten nominated if you had been here at the time,” Kyle said.

“Maria and Michael had gone to New York City ,” Liz pointed out.

“Together.”

Liz shrugged at Kyle. Yeah, together. That was true. Always together. It was hard to realize that other people looked at all of them so differently than they looked at themselves. Max and Liz considered themselves ‘soulmates’. Liz stared at the picture of her two friends. Obviously to the rest of the world, or at the very least, to West Roswell High, Michael and Maria was the real thing, and had been for a long time.

Kyle saw Liz’s discomfort. “Look, we all spent three years thinking they were together, lovers. They go everywhere together. Eat together. Work together. They practically grew up together. People who don’t know them, just see them from afar … well, they look like something more than they were. That’s all. And now … it’s true.”

Liz nodded. Of course they did. All the school saw was her with Kyle, and then Max, then apart, Max with Tess, them getting into trouble together, then her leaving Roswell . To outsiders, they hardly looked like a true love match destined to last, or in the least bit romantic.

~~~

“Is it okay to come in?” Max asked relieved that Michael had finally answered the phone and said he could come by.

“No,” Michael sighed, and moved aside letting Max into the apartment. “Maria went home to take care of things. She’s coming back.”

“Is that your way to tell me to get lost?”

“Yeah.” Michael went to sit at the breakfast bar. “Sorry, Maxwell, but if I had to choose between having Maria here, or you….”

“I lose.”

“There you go.” Michael looked at the time. It was late afternoon. They had skipped two entire days of school, and Maria was picking up food on her way back. Michael was waiting, eating sunflower seeds while staring at the alien artifact he had picked up at the Air Base. He hadn’t had much time to really look at it since he was otherwise occupied with Maria, and in truth, it was the first chance he had.

Max was wandering around the place looking for clean clothes. He had spent the night before sleeping in his car, and he wasn’t going to be spending the night at Michael’s anytime in the near future. Michael had made that perfectly clear. He wanted to be alone with Maria.

“What is that exactly? You been staring at that thing since I got here.”

“It's part of a crashed alien ship.” Michael said. “I took it from the Base.”

“It’s a black cone. It does nothing. I don't think it makes it any more interesting to watch.”

“It could be from our home planet.”

Max shrugged. Great. Antar. On his list of the top ten places he could care less about. “Or not.”

“Why aren't you taking this thing more seriously? A UFO lands …”

“Crashed. And I am taking it seriously. I'm just not obsessing over it like you.”

“Obsession isn't always a bad thing.” Hell, he just spent almost three years obsessing over Maria, and that turned out really good. Anything risking that was worth obsessing over. “Maybe there are enemy aliens on that ship.”

Max smelt a shirt. His? It looked too small to be Michael’s. “All the more reason to stay away.”

Michael looked at Max in wonder. How could he risk anything coming near them, threatening to ruin their peace, what they had? “Have you been body snatched or something?”

“We have no reason to believe the ship was occupied.” Max said ready to leave. He was meeting Liz, and it was already late. “Even if it was, the occupant probably died in the crash.”

“We didn't die in our crash,” Michael pointed out as he exchanged a pointed look with Max, before Max turned to leave. “What should I do with this thing?”

Max started to open the door, but it opened under his hand as Maria came in. “Keep watching. Make sure it doesn't hatch and release an army of enemy aliens.”

Michael made a face at Max. “I liked you better when you were brooding and paranoid.”

Max returned a pained smile before leaving. He nodded to Maria on his way out, noticing she was carrying takeout from Senior Chows. Maybe Liz wanted to go out?

Maria shut the door. “So you let Max into the apartment.”

“Yeah, to get some of his junk,” Michael said as he kept studying the black cone.

“Hmm, so I take it he wasn’t interested in the newest piece of the alien artifact collection?”

“Nope. He’s in his usual ‘Don’t tell, because I don’t want to know unless it ruins my life’ mode.”

“Well, that’s very … um, human of him.” Maria crossed over to him, dropping the takeout bags. She started to look for plates. “I talked to Liz for a few moments. She said yearbooks were handed out today.” Michael made a noncommittal sound in his throat. “Which I am sure excites you to no end.” She looked at him, smiling slightly. Stealing his sunflower seeds, she slid a plate of food close to him.

“Thanks.” Michael said. Catching himself, he realized that he was ignoring her. “Sorry. I guess this is the first time I really gave this thing much thought.”

Maria kissed the top of his head. “That’s okay. I didn’t expect the honeymoon to last forever, just longer than forty-eight hours.”

Michael wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her closer. “Oh, it’s not over. Once I eat, I’ll make it up to you.”

“Really? I thought you had to work at the Crashdown tonight.”

Michael smirked. “Called in sick.” Michael lifted a brow. “You could put on a nurse’s uniform and take care of me.” Michael visualized a leather nurse’s uniform.

Maria took a bite of her food, chewing thoughtfully. “I could.” Her eyes took on a brilliant green gleam, “Are you going to wear your security guard uniform?”

~~~

At the Air Force base, there was a buzz of activity as several personnel in safe suits were working in the hangar-like area like Michael had entered. Inside, part of the area was curtained off with plastic sheeting from ceiling to floor. The crashed alien ship was inside. A senior officer entered the curtained area.

An Officer stood at attention when his immediate superior entered. “Sir.”

“Any sign of a door or cockpit?”

“No, sir. Nothing yet.” The man watched as his superior looked through the recovered pieces of ship, slowly moving closer to the craft. “Watch your step, sir.” They both looked up at the announcement of a systems analysis beginning to record.

“Commencing systems analysis. We are recording. One … One … Two …”

The senior Officer looked at his staff member. “What about a propulsion system?”

“Nothing definitive. I don't know how this thing ever flew …”

“Well, it had one, didn't it?”

“We just haven't found it yet.” Of course it had one. It flew, or at least long enough to encounter and crash into an Air Force Fighter. “Believe me, we're working as fast as we can without damaging it further …” The Officer stopped talking as sparks suddenly flew out from some equipment being used on the hull.

“Hey, careful!” The Senior Officer warned. “We still want to reverse-engineer this thing.” He approached the hull carefully touching it. At his touch, there was a loud noise. “What the hell was that?”

“… 'don't know …” The Officer looked at the other scientist working on the project. They moved closer as a hole opened in the rough, rock-like material that covered the ship. It revealed a smooth area emblazoned with the alien whirl symbol. A portal opened to reveal a human-looking baby bathed in blue light.

The Senior Officer took a step forward. “Oh, my God …” He began to reach in for the baby when chaos broke loose. The scientist and support staff were screaming and running; blood was splattering; machinery was sparking, exploding, and going dead. Then, just as suddenly, everything was eerily quiet. In a gush of fast air, the baby was whisked away by an unseen force.

~~~

Both Max and Isabel were called to summit meeting type dinner at their parents. Isabel and Jesse, caught in dissention, fought on the way there as Max made arrangements to meet Liz somewhere else away from her father when they were finished.

“Michael’s. Meet me at Michael’s.”

“I thought Michael told you to scram.” Liz lifted a brow. “If I remember correctly, he told you to get lost, that he and Maria were busy.”

Max made a face. “Just meet me there. We’ll make arrangements after we meet up, okay?”

“Sure. I’m sure Michael and Maria won’t mind the intrusion, after all, it’s not like it’s just Michael’s place …” Liz stopped for affect. “Oh, I forgot! It is just Michael’s place.”

Max shook his head at her. “Just meet me. I’ll take care of Michael.”

“Yeah, right...”

~~~

At the Air Force base, several personnel were investigating the destruction surrounding the alien ship. A general was speaking first to another officer, and then to Major Pete Carlson. Carlson still hadn’t explained how the Colonel and his daughter had disappeared, or how an unknown independent contractor was somehow replaced in the Colonel’s holding cell, dying of a tragic accident with a bullet to the head.

General Thompson nodded to the technician. “Play it again.” The group watched as a tape was rewound and then played. It was the taping session that had occurred just before the incident. It had recorded loud crashing noises and screams as the staff was killed. “That's enough.” He spoke to the Major Carlson. “So we lost all sixteen?”

“Yes Sir. All eye witnesses are dead. An automated security camera snapped this as it was leaving the building.” He handed the general a picture.

“I want this thing contained.” He gave the picture back to the Major. “I want Roswell locked down and searched until this thing is found and destroyed. You understand me?”

“Yes, Sir.”

~~~

Jim and Kyle were returning to their house with groceries. Jim flipped on the light to find the kitchen ransacked. There was a smear of blood on the refrigerator door.

Jim retrieved a gun from a wooden rack on the wall. “Stay behind me. Stay behind me …” He walked cautiously into the room, then on into the house with Kyle at his back.

“Holy … is that blood?” Kyle asked.

“Yeah, I think so.” Jim cautiously entered the dark living room as they heard the door to Kyle’s room suddenly shut. Moving towards it, Jim slowly opened the door, holding his gun ready. Just as he was looking in, there was a blinding flash of light and an explosive sound with glass shattering. They entered the room to find a huge hole has been blasted through the window. Jim and Kyle rushed to the hole, looking out into the night as helicopters flew through the night sky.

~~~

Michael moaned as Maria pushed on his back with added pressure of her weight. She was giving him a back rub, like many others she had given him in the past. This one felt different, sexual, the way her hands moved over his body, smoothed his skin. He smirked to himself. Actually, her back rubs were rarely relaxing in that he usually ended up aroused by them, but at least now he could do something about it.

“You’re not relaxing,” Maria accused.

“Sure I am. I’ll let you relax me other ways too.”

“Perv.” Maria slapped him on the back, leaning down, and her mouth along the side of his neck. “I’ve created a monster.”

Michael lifted a brow, more than a little happy and self-satisfied. “I’m not feeling much pain.” He glanced up at her over his shoulder, “Thanks to you.”

Maria smiled, leaning into him, hugging him from behind. “I don’t want this to change us,” she whispered.

“It won’t,” he promised.

Maria kissed the back of his neck. “We kept the world out for almost two days. When are you going to let Max back in?”

Michael bit back the need to say ‘never’, and instead rolled over, lifting her a little to sit down on him. “Soon I guess.” His hand came up to push her hair off her face. He used to do that all the time, but now it seemed so much more intimate. Maybe that was the point, what they had done together for years was intimate, and this step, albeit it a large one, just felt like another natural step in their relationship. They forgot to feel unsure or shy around each other.

Picking her up, he rolled out of bed and carried a laughing Maria into the living room. Plopping down on the sofa with her in his lap, he turned on the television, their favorite pastime. “What do you want to watch tonight?” he asked hoarsely as she moved her mouth up his neck, nipping the sensitive cords.

“You choose...” Maria whispered, her arms going around his neck as she kissed the side of his mouth. His turn to pick. She was busy. Michael surfed through the channels as Maria tossed his shirt aside, and his eyes darkened as he unbuttoned his shirt she was wearing.

They were on the sofa sort of watching television, or watching as much as they could with Michael lounging back on the sofa with Maria in his arms, them kissing. She was wearing nothing but one of his shirts, and he was nude except for a pair of old sweats that hung off his hips. Maria’s arm was tight around his neck as they kissed, his hand moving up her body under the open shirt and her hand stroking his skin up his chest.

The front door of the apartment flew open as Max entered, accompanied by Tess with a baby in her arms. Michael took a second to register the interruption, jumping to his feet, incredulously when he saw Tess. He raised his hand to blast her simultaneously pushing Maria behind him in protection.

“Tess, you are not here!”

Max rushed forward to get between Tess and Michael his face slightly red from the scene he had just interrupted. “Michael, no!”

“Maxwell, get out of the way.” Michael kept his one hand behind him on Maria so he knew where she was.

“Not until you calm down.”

“Whatever she told you, she's lying,” Michael snarled as Maria moved into his back. He could feel her trembling, and it wasn’t fear.

“Do it, Michael,” hissed Maria. “Blast her between her murderous beady little eyes.”

“She has my son.” Max said, his hand held up to warn Michael off.

Michael noticed the child. “Well, get the baby out of the freakin’ way!”

“No, he needs her. If you kill her, my son will die.”

Michael hesitated and he heard Maria cough ‘Bullshit’ into his back, but he backed off anyway. “Max, what the hell's she doin' here?” He reached around to gather Maria closer, pushing her towards his bedroom door. “What are you doing bringing her into my home?! Near Maria?!”

“It's a long story. But we need to get them out of Roswell .”

“Yeah. My heart bleeds.” Maria was holding onto him refusing to leave him in the room alone with Tess.

“Nice to see you, too, Michael,” Tess said resignedly. She noticed Maria who looked at her with darkened eyes and an angry glare. “Maria, sorry about the interruption. Guess you know all about alien sex now, huh?”

Max warned Tess, “Hey, don't start.” He reached over to take the baby from her, glancing at Maria pleadingly. She purposely ignored him going into Michael’s bedroom to get dressed in something more than Michael’s shirt.

Michael seemed relieved when Maria went into the other room. “What the hell is she doing here anyway?” He held up a hand, answering his own question, “Never mind. The crash. That was you?”

“Yes.”

“That was over three days ago. Why are you showing up now? Couldn’t find any of your murderous alien buddies?”

“Michael...” Max warned.

“Do not warn me off! I’m still alive, as are you, and it has nothing to do with this treacherous little bitch!” Michael’s anger was a tangible thing. “We survived despite her!”

“I was inside the ship, unconscious. I just woke up when they found Zan.”

“Zan?” Michael looked at the baby. “So that wasn’t a lie?”

“It’s my son, Michael.” Max said. “It is my son, and he’s human. Khivar didn’t want him, and Tess brought him back to Earth to protect him.”

“Uh-huh.” Michael looked at the alien girl. “Thought he couldn’t survive on Earth.”

“It was a mindwarp to get Max to activate the Granilith.” Tess told him. She frowned at him. “I don’t know why you’re so angry. You wanted to go home. Once you found the translation and the key, you were ready to go. It took the baby to force Max and Isabel.”

“I didn’t go. I chose to stay here.”

Tess looked over at Michael’s bedroom room as Maria came back into the room. “Yes, you did. You chose to stay.” Tess said quietly, the envy she felt for the human girl was evident in her eyes. Max had to be emotionally blackmailed to leave Earth, and even his great love, Liz lost out when he chose his son over her, leaving without looking back. Michael gave up a lifetime dream for the human girl, a girl he wasn’t even involved with romantically.

“How did she find you?” Michael asked Max.

“My parents. They called both Isabel and me to dinner tonight.” Max breathed out deeply. He might as well get it over with. “They had videotaped Isabel using her powers, and then Tess showed up with the baby. The military was tracking her, and I needed to get her and the baby out of there, so we told my parents the truth.”

“You what?” Maria moved up to place a hand Michael’s back as his voice rose in anger. “Tell me you’re making this all up!” Michael couldn’t believe Max. The bastard. More people in on the secret were just more possible exposures.

Max shook his head. Michael couldn’t believe it. He turned to look at Maria, his anger settling harsh lines on his face when the door to the apartment opened again.

Liz arrived. She had been outside preening, smiling as she came through the door, eagerly anticipating her evening with Max. Michael swore under his breath. Did no one understand the concept of privacy, or even knocking?

Suddenly Tess was blasted through the air. She landed hard in the adjoining room and the others in the room were in shock. They looked back towards the door.

“Get up, bitch!” Liz said in anger. Her outstretched hand crackled with green sparks. Without waiting, she blasted Tess again, knocking her back into the wall as a stunned Max, Maria and Michael watched for a moment in disbelief.

“I'll kill you!” Liz screamed at the alien girl.

 “Liz- -No…” Max quickly handed the baby to Michael as he lunged to grab Liz by her middle, putting himself between her and Tess.

“You're a murderer!” Liz screeched at Tess, Max barely holding her back. “I'll kill you!”

“Liz!” Max restrained Liz pulling her outside onto the patio.

Michael hugged Maria close to his side while holding the baby somewhat gingerly. Smirking at Tess still in a heap on the floor, he twisted the knife even deeper, “Welcome back.”

Outside, Liz was still agitated, pushing away as Max relinquished his grip.

“What??” She screeched at him, her insides quacking. “What?? So you trust her now?”

“No, Liz, far from it.” Max held out a calming hand. “But Tess and my son are linked. Killing her would kill him.”

Liz made a scoffing noise. “Yeah, that’s convenient.”

“Liz, I have no other choice. I have to believe her!” Max pleaded.

Liz looked away from him. “This is insane. She betrayed all of us!” She turned back to stare him down again. “She killed Alex!”

“I know.”

“No, she has to pay for it!” Liz tried to take a calming breath. Tess. Tess in her life again, and once again with an upper hand! She shook her head, unable to take in the concept. “Max, promise me … when this is all over, Tess will pay for what she did.”

“I promise …” Max said solemnly.

Liz looked at him, her lack of trust evident in her face. Tess would win again. She always did. With Max, she always did. “Let me know when it's over.” She turned abruptly, walking off and leaving him standing. Maria started to go after her, but the girl walked through the apartment, not bothering to stop or look back. She walked out just as Kyle was coming in.

“Gee, Liz. Is everything okay?” Liz blew past him without speaking. Kyle made a comment to himself, “ …'guess not.” He stood in the doorway watching Liz disappear.

“Kyle!” Tess said, seeing Kyle. “Thank God you're here!”

Kyle stared at her in disbelief. Coming into the room, he paced back and forth in front of Tess, frowning. “Don't come near me.”

“Kyle, at least give me a chance to explain!” Tess pleaded, her only possible friend cold and distant.

Kyle ignored her, looking to Michael who stood with Maria and the baby. “Why haven't you killed her yet?” Maria made a sound of disgust, her eyes on the baby she wanted to hate, but couldn’t. He was a baby.

“Max wouldn't let me.”  Michael answered as Tess walked over and took her baby back from Michael and Maria, unable to meet Maria’s eyes.

Max reentered the room taking the baby away from Tess. He didn’t want his son used as a human shield for a person who had no respect for human life, even if the person was his son’s mother.

“Come on, Zan,” Max said to the baby, “I don't want you to see this.” Max went into Michael’s bedroom with the child, not wanting the baby to be exposed to any more violence and anger.

“Be careful with him, Max.” Tess called after Max, her hands suddenly empty with nothing to do.

“So, what are you doing here?” Kyle asked, not letting the presence of a baby sway him from his hatred of Tess.

“Ask one of them, I'm sick of explaining.” Tess said, unhappy with the loss of friendship with Kyle, her feelings strangely hurt.

“Okay, why don't you explain what the hell you were doing at our house earlier?”

“I thought you'd help me.”

Kyle made a face. “Then why'd you run away in such a hurry?”

“I was protecting my son.”

Kyle shook his head. “He wasn't in danger.”

“Your father had a gun!” Tess reminded Kyle. “Instincts took over. You're lucky I didn't kill you!”

Kyle laughed ironically. “Oh, I guess I owe you one.” He stopped laughing, his face deadly serious. “Oh, actually … no.”

“Kyle …”

“We took you into our home, Tess. We protected you. And how did you repay us?” Kyle asked in anger. “You brainwashed me into carrying Alex's dead body!”

“I never meant to hurt …”

“Well, too late!” Kyle screamed at the girl. Maria bit her lip, her eyes filling with tears as she looked away, burying her head against Michael.

“You've never even heard my side of the story.”

“You have a side?” Kyle asked in disbelief. He looked at Michael and Maria gesturing to Tess. “The murderess has a side!”

“I was raised by a killer, Kyle … a sick and twisted man!”

“Don't play the victim here, Tess.” Kyle told her, the hurt like a sickness in his eyes. “You know, of all the aliens I've met … you're the only one who has no soul.” He tossed up his hands walking away from her, leaving her stung and frowning.

~~~

Michael pulled Maria aside. “I need you to leave.”

“Michael …”

Michael glanced at the others quickly. Putting his hands under Maria’s hair he forced her to listen to him. “The government is looking for her. They’ll track her here, and I don’t want you here for that. I don’t want you anywhere near her.” He gestured towards Tess. “Look at her. She has no remorse. No care about what she’s done. Just excuses. I can’t risk you near her. Kyle’s right, and I can’t risk you near something with no conscious, no soul.”

Maria breathed in deep searching his face. She nodded. “I’ll check on Liz, but then I’m coming back.” She kissed him on the lips softly. “You think I want to risk you either? You stay … I stay.”

Michael took what he could get. Kissing her, he mated his forehead to hers. “You were always a pain in my ass.”

“Yeah, but you like that.”

~~~

At the Evans home, Diane, Philip, Jesse, and Isabel sat at the kitchen table talking quietly while the military continued to search the house.

Diane looked at her daughter nervously. “This doesn't make any sense, Isabel. You don't look any different.”

“I'm half human.” Isabel told her. Half human? Or all human with some alien mixed in? It was hard to explain or even know.

“And the other half?”

“Mom, please!” Isabel looked around nervously. “Not now …”

“How long have you known?” Philip asked Jesse.

“About a month.” Jesse said. And what a hard month it had been.

“And you're okay with it?” Philip looked at the man married to his daughter, waiting for an answer.

“I'm trying …” Jesse took Isabel’s hand, glancing at her. “She's still the woman I fell in love with. She's still Isabel.” Jesse gave Isabel a warm look which she returned with a smile. Philip looked pleased with the answer, but Diane was still shaking her head. While they talked, one of the soldiers found the tape of Isabel using her powers, and it was confiscated.

~~~

Maria stood staring at Liz, who was lying on her bed. She had been crying. Maria sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Liz to acknowledge her. Suddenly, Liz was up and in her arms, and the two girls hugged, both crying. In all the time that passed, they had never mourned Alex together. At first, Liz was too driven with the idea it was an alien who killed Alex and not an accident, and Maria had been too devastated to care about anything except that Alex was gone.

A year later, the wedge between them created at Alex’s death had remained a constant and unspoken barrier. They superficially went on, but always there was Alex. Hugging, the two girls wept and for the first time in a year, the circle finally closed.

“You’ve been angry with me.” Liz said sniffing.

“Yes.” Maria wiped away tears off her cheek, then off Liz’s immediately going back into Liz’s arms. “I hated you.”

“Maria!” Liz sobbed pushing her hair off her face.

“It’s okay.” Maria breathed in deeply. “It’s okay.”

“I … never meant …” Liz sat back devastated. “I never wanted to lose you.”

“I know.” Maria laughed a short sound that became a sob. “I … it’s me. God, there was this anger, this sadness, and I couldn’t talk to you. I couldn’t even reach it inside myself.” Maria closed her eyes. “They killed him. All of them killed him. Even Michael. Every time their lives dominated, took over ours, became more important, it was a step towards killing Alex.”

“Maria …”

“No. It’s been a disease, Liz. How could we ever be anything but second in importance? How? We’re dealing with people who spent their lives in fear, hiding, and where discovery meant death. Here we were, little humans from Nowhere, New Mexico . Our concerns were so unimportant when weighed against theirs. It was easy for them to overlook us, to miss anything important about us.”

“They notice us, Maria. Michael notices you and Max …” Liz left that hanging.

“I don’t mean that way, Liz. Alex was slowly being murdered, and you and I, did we notice? Nope. He was gone supposedly to Sweden , and we hardly missed him. You didn’t bother to notice until he was dead, and I was a basketcase barely able to get out of bed.” Maria laughed harshly. “Even your obsessive need to prove he was murdered wasn’t really about him. You had no proof. Maybe a feeling, but I really think it was fueled by this anger, bitterness of being cheated out of a life with Max … that he was with Tess.”

Liz didn’t speak. She couldn’t. Today, at that moment, she couldn’t deny that Maria could be more right than she knew. She had felt a wrongness to Alex’s death, but more than that, she felt a wrongness to having no life with Max, not even a friendship.

“I hate Future Max. What an asshole!” Maria ranted, not needing an answer from Liz. “Who asks the true love of their life to give them up, to arrange it, telling them everything so they could spend a lifetime in regret? Cruel! It was cruel and unnecessary. He should’ve gone to Michael.”

“Maria …”

“He should’ve gone to Michael. And he didn’t. So you knew what you lost. What could’ve been. And everyday you watched him with her, knowing she was in your place. Alex’s death became this fight between you and Max. You needing to prove him wrong, to push his alienness in his face … that his alienness murdered Alex. It stopped being about Alex, even in death, and then a few months later you’re forgiving Max, laughing off his involvement with Tess, Alex’s killer.”

Liz was silent. It was true. They had been happy when Alex came home, but when he was out of sight, they barely spared him a thought. Their best friend, and he couldn’t break into or beyond the alien needy zone. Maria was right. It had become a fight between her and Max … once again, all about them as Alex lay dead and forgotten.

Maria cried, unable to stop the tears. “We spent so long being blinded by their bigger lives, more important needs that we forgot to pay attention to each other. We lost Alex because we forgot he was there when he was alive and it let that bitch in. Max let her in, and you spent all your time obsessing over the lost life with Max you could never have. I spent all my time hiding from the hurt of losing one of my best friends to an obsessive love.”

“You didn’t lose me, Maria.”

“Yes I did. One day I woke up, and you weren’t there, Liz. You weren’t there.” Maria shook her head. “They took everything from me. Alex is gone, and no matter how long I live, he’s like this pain in my heart I can’t remove. My mother … she’s lost too. Since Tess mindwarped her over Larek, she’s too terrified to be anywhere near Roswell . And you … I lost you so long ago, I can’t remember when I woke up and realize that we no longer had sleepovers, no longer talked about boys or anything that didn’t revolve around Max and the entire alien thing.”

“Maria, we talked about our lives when you went to New York and I went to Vermont .”

“We were both running away.” Maria scrubbed her face hard with the heels of her hands. “The only thing the alien thing ever gave me was you … your life and Michael. But what came back wasn’t my Liz. Not anymore.” Maria looked at Liz sadly. “I can honestly say, the only real thing I got was Michael. He was the most unexpected gift of a lifetime. I look at him, and I know I’ll never love anything more. He wasn’t the goal, but he is the extreme. Extreme friendship. Extreme fun. Extreme happiness. Extreme sex. He makes it all worth the sacrifices. In a thousand lifetimes, I could’ve never imagined him, and he doesn’t take away from Alex … but makes it bearable to remember.”

“I feel that way about Max.”

“I know you do.” Maria looked at her crying friend, both of them letting the tears fall unhindered. It was about fucking time. A year, and all the anger, bitterness and loss were finally washing away. “I hated you at times for losing yourself in something that you could never have, remaking who you were. Becoming alien is so important to you, because it finally makes you belong. It feels like denial. Why can’t you be important enough by just being Liz? I spent my entire life defining myself as ‘Liz’s wacky friend Maria’, ‘Alex’s gal-pal Maria’, and as my mother’s daughter. They stole that from me. Alex is gone. My mother all but gone. And you … at times, I didn’t even recognize you. You were never this needy, this much of a doormat, but time and again, you would just yield. I hated that more than anything.”

“You were never just my wacky friend, Maria.” Liz told her quietly. “I used you as a mirror of my own ego, my own sense of worth. I loved the envy and adoration in your eyes, the belief that I was better. I hated it more when you stopped looking at me like that, and instead looked at Michael. No one ever could find worth or even believe it to exist in Michael Guerin, not like you did. It was all there. Trust. Belief. An honest belief that he was too good to be true. He went from being this nasty mean bitter alien, to being someone to trust, someone to believe in and go to in time of need. He became that person because he had you.”

Maria looked up at Liz, and the love in her eyes was astounding. “I love you still, Liz. I love you with so much of my heart, as much as I loved Alex.”

“You love Michael more.”

Maria laughed. “As you love Max, but it’s not that. I do love Michael more in so many other ways, but it doesn’t lessen how I feel for you. It’s just different.”

Liz and Maria hugged, both of them afraid to let go, afraid it was too fragile and wouldn’t last … this peace. Maria wanted to tell Liz things, and she couldn’t. Not with Tess back … Tess who slept with Max first, who had intimate knowledge of Liz’s true love. Talking about Michael and their relationship felt like a slap on Liz.

“I hate her, Maria. I hate her.” Liz sat back. “I never thought I could hate anyone before … except Michael.”

“Michael?”

“He took you. Like a thief, he walked in and took you and it was skillfully done; it took me a while to realize what he had done. Possession is nine-tenths of the law, so he owns you.”

Maria laughed, her eyes sparkling. “Oh, sweetie, you got that wrong. I own that man!” She pushed Liz’s hair off her face lovingly. “He didn’t steal me, Liz. He found me discarded on the roadside waiting for Trash Day.”

“I know. Why do you think I hated him? He picked up what I carelessly threw away, and I was supposed to be the smart one.”

Maria sat up laughing. “Did you just call Michael smart?” She rushed to Liz’s desk. “Where’s your tape recorder?! I want to give that to Michael on his birthday.”

Laughing, Liz pulled Maria away. “C’mon, let’s go find something sweet with caffeine.” They went downstairs. Sitting at booth they watched all the activity around them, as soldiers and others moved around town into the Crashdown.

“I blasted Tess and she went flying.” Liz mused as she drank her soft drink. Maria was playing with her straw across from her in the booth, her hand paused.

“I saw. I thought your little power flare-ups were over with.”

“Yeah, me too. But, I saw her and all of this energy just came out of me.” Liz made a face. “I mean, all of this - like - anger and hatred. Oh … I-I just thought that part of my life was dead and buried.”

“Wait a minute. No.” Maria stared at Liz in shock. She couldn’t have been that unaware or in that much denial. “That part of your life was never dead and buried. I mean, you've never truly gotten over that …”

“I forgave Max, Maria.”

“Forgiving Max isn’t forgiving Tess, and that is still not true. You gave up everything to help him find his son, swallowed all the pain he caused when he almost left on spaceships or didn’t call. You didn’t trust him enough to put you first, so you gave up things … said it was okay. But it never was okay, Liz. It never was.”

“Okay, but … I just want Tess out of my life.”

“Well, it's easy enough. Just walk over to one of those men over there and tell them where she's hiding.” Maria said pointedly looking at the soldiers at the door.

Liz looked over and saw the soldiers standing outside the Crashdown doors, questioning people. Maria had been watching them for a while.

“No, I - I can’t do that.”

Maria rolled her eyes. Sure, she couldn’t. Max wouldn’t like that. “Fine. I'll do it.” Maria started to get up.

“No! Sit down!” Liz whispered, her voice nervous. Maria sat down shaking her head. Liz frowned, worried she just lost the ground she had regained with Maria. “What?”

“I’m …” Maria rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache pounding. “I am so sick of seeing one of my best friends like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like, a victim!” Maria’s stomach hurt. All those years ago, when Liz was shot and almost died, she was powerless to save her, to help her, but that wasn’t true anymore. She could save her now. “I mean, you don't have to be a victim …” Maria scooted forward taking Liz’s hand. “Forgive Max, or get him out of your life. It's one or the other. You have to make a decision. It's your decision. It's your life.”

Liz looked at Maria unhappy and thoughtful. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. None of it. It was supposed to be a fairytale, with happily ever after, but with Alex dead and Tess back, all those feelings were back too. The betrayal. The slap in the face to her perfect idyllic love. Like Alex, she hid away the mourning, the anger, and sailed along pretending it was dealt with, but it wasn’t. It was still choking her in the throat. Maria was right. Whoever she became since Max saved her, it wasn’t Liz Parker. It wasn’t her, and she needed to remember who that girl was.

~~~

At Michael's apartment, Michael, Max, Kyle and Tess sat around trying to decide what had to happen. Maria walked in the door, and stared at them all sitting on the sofa watching the news reports. Outside, the lights and sounds of the search were everywhere through the town, with helicopters and soldiers on active search. Maria quickly shut the door as Michael nodded to her. Going to join him, Maria was surprised when he pulled her down to sit on his lap.

“Liz okay?” he asked.

“She’ll get there.” Maria moved her arm around his neck to sit against him more comfortably. They watched the television, as Michael’s hand tightened on her waist.

“An Air Force truck filled with three tons of explosives was stolen earlier this evening … The military has set up checkpoints on every road leading out of Roswell …”

“Nice cover story.” Tess remarked. Maria glared at her. Obviously it hadn’t hit the murderous bitch that sixteen people were dead thanks to her. Now it was the government’s fault to see the aliens as a threat. Rolling her eyes, Maria put her head down on Michael’s shoulder. Tess had brought this danger here, and she didn’t seem to care.

“We're screwed.” Kyle watched the newscast as if it was a death sentence.

“No, we're not.” Max told them.

Michael glanced at Max, raising brow. News to him. It looked pretty bad from where he was sitting. “What've you got?”

Max made a face, so he had no plan, but there had to be something. “I don't know … yet.” The entire group jumped as search lights glared through the apartment, all of them frozen on the sofa.

“Maxwell, we're screwed.” Michael said, his arms holding Maria tight.

The phone rang and Max picked it up.

“Hello.” He listened for a few moments. “What?” Hanging up he faced the others. “That was Isabel. The Air Force found the baby's blankets. The dog picked up the scent. They'll be here in no time.”

Tess was on her feet. “We'd better go. Now. I'm getting Zan.” She ran to the bedroom to get the baby.

Michael called after her. “Hey, you're not the one calling the shots around here!” Michael blew out his breath looking at Max. “But, Maxwell, she's right. We've gotta get the hell out of here.”

Max asked Tess as she came back with the baby. “Do you have enough energy to mindwarp?”

“I think so.”

Max grabbed his car keys. “Okay, great. I'll get the car.” Max was out the door.

“Michael, do you have any milk?” Tess asked.

“Ah …” Michael glanced at Maria who shook her head no. They hadn’t actually made it out of the apartment over the last two days. “… just Snapple.”

“Great.” Tess looked at Zan with worry. A bottle would keep him quiet, make him go to sleep.

Kyle made a sour look at Tess. “Can’t you breast feed?”

“Stop it, Kyle. There’s no time.” Maria looked at Michael. “You going?”

“You want me to?”

Maria wanted to say no, but she could imagine Liz’s reaction if Max drove off in his car with Tess and their baby, alone. “You better.” She looked around the place. “They’ll know she was here, that the baby was here. They’ll look at you … wonder why you were harboring a monster.” Maria didn’t bother to notice the flinch from Tess at her description of her.

Michael looked at his apartment, at Maria. “What’s your plan?” Maria always had a plan. Maria looked at the baby and Tess. “Give me the baby’s blanket.”

“I need it! I already lost one at the Evans.”

“Michael, go find another blanket for her. I need one that smells like the baby.” Maria held out her hand. “Give it to me.”

Tess handed the blanket to Maria noticing how Maria was careful not to touch her.

“I … Maria, I know we were never friends, but …”

“Shut up! You don’t get to talk to me.” Maria shook her head. How could she ever forgive Alex? Her mother? Liz? And especially, Michael? “Just go!” Maria urged when Max came back into the apartment.

Michael stopped on his way out the door. “Whatever happens, I’ll be back.” He kissed her quickly before rushing out of the apartment.

Kyle watched as the door shut. “Maria, we need to go too.”

“No. You need to go strip the entire bed, anywhere the baby laid. Take the bedding downstairs and shove it all in the wash machine. Lots of soap, hot water.”

“What are you going to do?”

Maria went to cabinet under the kitchen sink pulling out a bucket and a bottle of pine cleaner. “Washing that nasty creature’s scent from this apartment.” Maria looked at the door nervously. “Hurry!”

When Kyle came back into the apartment, it was surprisingly neat and smelt of pine cleaner. Maria had remade the bed and cleaned the bathroom as well. She went outside and tossed the baby’s blanket on the ground, making sure there was enough dirt and grime on it before coming back inside and placing over the edge of the sofa with her jacket across it.

“Can you run to the corner convenience store, buy some groceries, anything? Make sure you get a few bags.”

Kyle nodded. “I’ll be quick.” He paused at the door. “Milk?”

“Yeah. And a bottle of whiskey!” God, she needed a stiff drink. Kyle smiled and was out the door as Maria collapsed exhausted on the sofa. Hurry. Kyle, hurry! The groceries weren’t that important, but they helped set the scene.

Kyle barely made it back into the apartment with two bags of groceries when there was a banging on the front door. Placing the bags on the counter, Maria quickly took a few items out moving them over the countertop.

“Kyle, go. Back away. They already saw you tonight, and it’s too much of a coincidence.”

Kyle stopped and kissed Maria on the cheek before he took his jacket and left as she walked to the front door, a carton of milk in her hand.

Maria waited a moment as the forceful banging came again. Taking a deep breath, she chanted under her breath wishing she had her cedar oil.

“Yes?” Maria said her eyes opening in fright at the soldiers before her. Putting her hand over her mouth, she stepped back. “Um … can I help you?”

Maria stood back as the soldiers came into the room followed by dogs.

“Hey!” Maria turned around in anger as the apartment was invaded with a flurry of activity and men in uniform. “Do you have a search warrant? You wait until my boyfriend gets home! I’ll …” Maria went quiet when a soldier held up the baby blanket.

“You want to explain this?” A major asked her.

“The blanket?” Maria blanked out her face, with a confused dumbfound look moving over it. “I found it on my way inside from getting groceries. I’m sure it must be one of the neighbor’s in the building.” Maria’s face suddenly fused with color. “Hey! I didn’t steal it!” Her eyes narrowed. “I found it, I swear. The county district judge will personally vouch for me! Now I know there was that one incident with my neighbor’s car, but that was terribly skewed, and I explained it all to the judge ….”

The soldier looked at the others sighing as the young woman went off on a tirade. In between her rant, she looked at a few of the soldiers, smiling pleasantly as a dimple graced her cheek. “Um, do any of you boys want a Snapple?”

~~~

Michael, Max and Tess arrived at the checkpoint in Max's convertible, Tess and the baby were in the back seat while Max drove and Michael sat in the passenger’s seat.

Max looked back at Tess. “Here they come. Get ready.” Tess closed her eyes and concentrated as a soldier came up to the convertible shining a flashlight over the car. His light moves over Tess as she makes him only see an empty back seat.

The soldier showed Max and Michael the picture of Tess. “Have either of you seen this woman?”

Both Max and Michael shook their heads no,  Max licking his lips nervously. “Uh uh. I haven't seen her …”

Michael rolled his eyes. Max was a pathetic liar. “Hey, is she the one that stole the explosives?” Michael seemed to be peering at the picture carefully. “Looks too small to even lift a small bag, let alone tons of explosives!” Max looked at Michael in horror.

Search dogs came up and were barking interested in the car, but the soldier saw no one in the back seat. He talked to Max.

“Can I have you open your trunk, sir?”

“Sure.” Max opened the trunk before getting back into the driver's seat when the soldier found nothing.

“All right.” The soldier gestures to Max. “You guys are cleared to go through.”

The soldier was walking off, but Tess suddenly lost her strength to hold the mind warp, and Zan cried faintly. Max turned to the back seat.

“Shhh …”

The soldier stopped walking away. Zan’s cries were becoming distinct, and the soldier shone his flashlight into the car. Tess could no longer hold the illusion, and the soldier saw her holding the baby in the back seat. She tried to cover Zan with a blanket.

“Hold it. Hold it right there.” He leveled his rifle at them. “Get out of the car. Now!”

Tess looked at Max shaking her head. “I'm sorry … I couldn't hold it …”

Michael jumped up suddenly turning his powers towards the soldiers … disabling their cars. “Maxwell, go, go, go, go!”

Max turned the car around and floored it as they screech off under a hail of bullet. Max glanced in the back at Tess and the baby.

“Get down!” Max maneuvered the car as Zan continued to cry loudly. Looking back again in concern, Max stared at his son. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah,” Tess said rocking the child, her mouth kissing his head. “Just get out of here!”

Michael swore. He took the cell phone and called Maria. Talking to her for a moment, he disconnected.

“My place is a no go. The soldiers were there. They found the blanket and Maria told them a story about finding it on her way home, but it’s not safe. They might be watching it.”

Max closed his eyes for a moment. “Isabel. Her and Jesse’s place. She’s at my parents. Have Kyle call. He needs to use a pay phone. They’re probably tracking phone numbers coming to my parent’s house.”

~~~

At the Evans' residence, Jesse, Isabel, Diane, and Philip were straightening up after the soldiers' search. The phone rang and Isabel answered it.

“Hello?”

“They didn't make it.” Kyle told her.

“What happened?” Isabel asked as Jesse straightened from his task of replacing the sofa cushions.

“They got turned back. We need to meet back at your apartment. It's the only safe place left.”

“Okay, I'll be there.” Isabel said as her parents and Jesse came to join her.

“Are Max and the baby okay?” Philip asked, concerned from the look on Isabel’s face.

“For now.” Isabel looked at Jesse. “We've gotta go.”

Diane held her hands together in a pleading gesture. “Isabel. Honey, please … be careful.” Isabel nodded and kissed her mom before leaving with Jesse.

Diane turned to put her face into her husband's chest. “Philip …” Philip Evans held his wife in comfort, his mind somewhere else. So this was what Max and Isabel had lived with all their lives, and he helped in the last year to make it worse.

~~~

At Isabel and Jesse's apartment, Max gently laid Zan down on the bed. He watched him for a moment, awed and amazed. He smiled as Zan played with his fingers, staying with him until he went to sleep as Maria and Liz arrived joining the others in the living room.

Michael immediately went to reclaim Maria. “The apartment?”

“They searched everything. I think I convinced them that I found the blanket, but we still want to stay clear. She can’t come back there.”

“Zan's asleep.” Max told the group as he came into the room.

“We're runnin' out of time, Max.” Jim pointed out. It was only a matter of time before they tracked them to the apartment.

Kyle agreed. “We need a Plan B.”

Sitting on the couch, Tess decided to speak, resigned. “Go.” She told Max. “Go without me. Just get Zan to safety.” The group all stared at her with restrained anger.

“You said he couldn't survive without you.” Max voice was choked with anger. “Another lie?” Tess didn’t bother to answer.

“I knew it.” Michael said in disgust looking at Max. “Remind me to have you look up the definition of gullible.”

“You were going to kill me! I was just trying to stay alive. To keep our son safe.” Tess said excusing herself again. “Now the only way to keep him safe is to let him go.”

Max needed clarification before he took action. “So the baby's not linked to you … at all?”

“No. Zan is completely human.”

Isabel’s mouth opened. “What?”

“That's why they rejected him on Antar. That's why I had to come back.”

“How is that possible?” Max asked. He assumed that a child between him and Tess would be alien.

“It's genetics, Max. She's half human, you're half human. You both have the DNA.” Liz said. “It makes sense …”

Maria made a face. “No it doesn’t! Two halves do not make a whole! I have a friend that is half Native American married to another half Native American. Their children aren’t whole Native American … they are half! You are wrong. They aren’t half human. They are human with some alien. Pierce said Max was completely human with a few cellular exceptions.” Maria shook her head. What the hell was wrong with them all? Didn’t they ever pay attention to anything?

Michael calmed his girlfriend, his eyes staring at Tess. “Wait, let me get this straight. If the baby doesn't need you to survive, then we can kill you.” Maria hugged Michael. Her man. He always got right down to the most important part of the subject at hand.

“Michael …” Max begged, exasperated with Michael’s single-minded view.

“We could.” Isabel agreed ignoring Max. “But the Air Force would still be looking for an alien. Looking for us.”

Michael shrugged. “If the Air Force wants an alien, then why don't we just give them one?”

“Turn her in?” Isabel asked, her eyes turning to look Tess over.

“Yeah,” Maria said getting into this plan, “then they won't be looking for an alien, and they'll leave us alone.”

Kyle nodded. “I'm sensing a Plan B …”

“No.” Max told them. “They would throw her in a White Room and study her like a lab rat for the rest of her life. I've been there. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.”

Maria turned an angry face on Max. “Maybe that’s justice! Do you think Alex wanted to be experimented on by your alien harpy as she turned his brains to mush … tortured him! Took from him and his family by having him branded a teenage suicide?”

“Maria.” Michael said, pulling her close to him, his hands calming her.

Isabel face fused with color as she looked at the alien girl, her anger apparent as Maria’s words reminded them all what had happened to Alex. “Max, this isn't a decision that you get to make. It affects all three of us.”

Maria pushed out of Michael’s arms. “Oh, no, no, no.” Maria shook her head. “Not this time! This is not an alien decision only. She killed Alex. She killed my best friend.” Behind Maria, Liz smiled proudly and smugly. Go, Maria. “I think that we should all get to vote.”

Max looked at Maria and Liz, both of them standing firm. He cut them out during Alex’s death, when Liz confronted them all suspicious of an alien murderer, and he had turned against the human, making it a division of humans versus aliens. He had been wrong. “All right. Fair enough. Let's put it to a vote. 'Yes', we turn her in. 'No', we try to help her.”

“I say 'yes'!” Maria said, voicing her vote loud and firmly. “Turn her in!” Maria turned her back, contemptuously on Tess, unwilling to let anything about the alien girl appeal to her.

Jim shook his head, staring at the young girl he once sheltered. This was vigilante justice. It was an eye for an eye. “We shouldn't be doing this! I vote 'no'.”

“I trusted you.” Isabel told Tess, her hatred of the other alien girl apparent on her face. “And Alex … I vote 'yes'.”

“I vote 'no'.” Max said, avoiding Liz’s eyes. “… Michael.”

“Do it.” Michael said. “Turn her in.” He moved into Maria’s back, holding her from behind. Why was it even a question? Tess killed more people than Alex. She killed soldiers, scientists... She would’ve killed them by turning them over to their enemies. In a court of law, she would’ve been seen as a serial killer, and given the death penalty.

Max looked around the room. “Jesse, what do you say?”

“I never met her or Alex. I shouldn't get a vote.” Jesse held Isabel’s hand, trying to give her his strength.

“Fair enough.” Max looked at Kyle. “Kyle?”

“I don't know …” Kyle hesitated. He hated her. Hated what she did, to him and to Alex, but she was still … Tess. Finally looking back at his father, Kyle shook his head. “No, I can’t do it.”

Maria couldn’t believe it. Did they all just forget what happened? “All right, Liz. Cast your vote, break the tie.”

Liz hesitated a long moment, staring at Tess. Sighing, she closed her eyes for a moment. “I vote no.”

“What?!” Maria stared at her friend in disbelief. This was the girl who wanted to kill Michael like a dog when he was out of control. The same girl that blasted Tess across the room threatening to kill her.  “Are you crazy?”

Liz couldn’t meet the disbelief she knew that would be in Maria’s eyes. “I made my vote.” She walked off into the kitchen with Maria following her.

Max watched the two girls go into the kitchen before turning back to the others. “So what are we gonna do?”

“Wait …” Jim said. “Pray they don't find us.” Tess watched them decide her fate and in a sense their own fate. Left alone with her grim thoughts, Tess looked at her own small hands.

~~~

“Maria, please can we not …”

“No!” Maria brushed an angry tear away. “You said Max promised you that Tess would pay for what she did to Alex! You wanted that! How can all of us risking our lives for that bitch be her paying for anything?”

“Maria … please!”

“Max votes no, and so do you? I guess that says it all!”

“It wasn’t that!” Liz pulled Maria to her. “It wasn’t that, Maria. I swear.”

“God, then explain it to me! Explain to me why one of our best friends was brutalized, tortured, and murdered, and his murderess goes free with our help.”

Liz looked sick. She leaned on the counter with her head resting on her arm. “You think that I don’t want to see her in a White Room, her skin stripped from her body in the most painfully slow torture? Helpless to her tormentors as they slowly dissect her?” Liz looked at Maria in horror. “I want that so bad! I want it enough to taste it, and when I taste it, I dream it. And when I dream, I see it … and it’s not enough! God, help me, Maria … it’s not enough … not for Alex! Never!” Liz sunk to the kitchen floor her hands shaking with a crying Maria collapsing next to her. Liz sunk her head into her hands. Isabel with Jesse and Michael stood at the door to the kitchen, listening to them. Their eyes met, and they couldn’t move or leave as Jesse held Isabel close, and Michael leaned his head back against the wall.

“Then why, Liz? Why?” Maria cried, sobbing. “Why?”

“Because you were right.” Liz breathed in deeply. “You were right. I changed. Liz Parker, your Liz Parker from three years ago, the young innocent girl who should’ve died in the Crashdown that day … she didn’t believe in capital punishment. She didn’t believe in it, no matter what.” Liz looked at her friend. “How did I get from that girl to where I am today? How? If I had the power … I prayed to reach out and crush her to dust with my bare hands … that is how much I hate her! I wanted Michael to save me by doing what should be done, no matter what it does to his soul, and I am ashamed!”

“You were always against the death penalty,” said Maria softly. She glanced at her friend. “Maybe things change.”

“Maybe. And maybe … they shouldn’t. I did. You were right about that.” Liz shook her head, resting it back against the kitchen cabinet. “I looked in her eyes, and I saw me. I saw what I’ve allowed myself to become, what she made me. Her. A murderer. I saw it, and I hated it.”

“So what …” Maria asked sniffing away her tears. “Does that make Michael, Isabel and me murderers?”

“No.” Liz shook her head. “You never wavered, Maria. None of you did. You always believed that she should die, that she should pay, and if the law had their say … that is what would happen. It is justice. Not wrong or right … justice. My problem is with me. I don’t believe in that, or at least I never did.”

“Circumstances change, Liz. How could you know how you would feel about the death penalty until it affected you personally?”

“That is the problem, Maria.” Liz shook her head. “It is the circumstance. Why was it okay for me to protest, oppose a policy of law when it affected other victim’s families, other people … and me, on some liberal white horse felt it my right to tell them what they could feel or not feel. Like telling you, Michael or Isabel that wanting her to pay is wrong. I can’t be that mealy mouthed. I don’t believe in capital punishment. Even still … and yet, I would happily vote Tess to her death. What does that make me?”

“Human.”

Liz laughed. “Maybe. But it’s the circumstance. I hate her with everything inside of me. I do now. I will forever. Is it justice for me, or revenge for what she did to me, to my life, and the trust I had in Max … the trust I had in our love? Is it about Alex … those other people, or is it about me?” Liz looked at Maria again. “I want to be Liz Parker again. The one who was your best friend, the one my parents would recognize and trust, the one who Alex Charles Whitman loved, and … she doesn’t believe in capital punishment. As long as I can’t tell what I am voting for … justice or revenge, then I have to follow what I believed in once upon a time.”

Maria took Liz’s hand in hers and leaned into her shoulder. “Welcome back, Liz. Wish you waited another day to decide to reclaim yourself.”

“I know. I understand.” Liz looked at Maria, smiling sadly. “I couldn’t be wrong forever.”

Maria shook her head. “You weren’t wrong, Liz. Love is never wrong. Sometimes it’s blind … but rarely is it wrong. Love is love. Your heart is your heart, and what else could there be?” Isabel felt a tear run down her cheek as she heard Maria’s words. Your heart is your heart. Alex. Turning, she stepped into Jesse’s arms crying softly on his chest. Michael and Jesse shared a look, and together, they stood guard over the crying women, the two who were sitting on the kitchen floor, and Isabel.

There was never any relief for the victims and those that loved them. There was pain, and then there was time that slowly allowed them to abide and go on.

~~~

Late that night, Maria, Michael, and Kyle slept close to each other on the floor, while Liz was sleeping on the couch. Tess knelt by the arm of the couch, and whispered to Liz, wanting to wake her, but no one else.

“Liz. Wake up.”

Startled, Liz gasped when she saw Tess. and propped herself up on her elbow. “What?”

“Why didn't you vote against me?”

“Because I'm not a killer, Tess,” Liz answered plainly. God help her, she could be. It would be so simple.

“I need a favor. I need you to drive me somewhere.” Liz looked at her with deep distrust. “Please? I know you have no reason to trust me, or not worry that this isn’t another trick to hurt you.” Tess glanced at the three sleeping on the floor. Maria was sleeping on Michael, and in sleep, he looked so young … so peaceful. Kyle did too. She had stolen his peace. “Help me for them. I can do something to make them safe. Maria safe.”

Staring at the others as they slept, Liz glanced at Tess again. Nodding, she quietly got up.

~~~

They drove to a hill overlooking Roswell and Rogers Air Force Base compound. Liz stared at the compound lit up despite the late hour. In the darkness of the night they looked out over a plane of lights. As they sat in the car Tess tried to share some things with Liz.

“Max loves you. Every time we were together. Every time we kissed, he was thinking of you.” Tess glanced at Liz, tentative how she would take the discussion. “He had these flashes … that I saw … and … they were always of you.”

Liz stared straight ahead. She already knew that Max’s involvement with Tess was never a mindwarp, that it really happened, and Max had actually had feelings for Tess. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I know how much it must've hurt you.” Liz turned to glance at Tess, and they stared at each other for a moment as Liz studied the other girl. She saw it in Tess’s eyes. Liz shook her head and Tess nodded. She pointedly looked out at the Air Force Base.

“So you're really gonna go do this, huh?”

“At least I can do one good thing with my life.” She turned to get out of the car, but turned back when Liz made a comment.

“You just did.” Liz didn’t know what motivated Tess the most, Zan or Max, but she doubted it was for the others. Tess started to get out of the car. “Hey, Tess. You're not gonna let them throw you in the White Room, are you?”

“No.”  Tess started to leave but hesitated a moment. “By the way … they were right, and you were wrong. You should’ve voted ‘yes’ because for me … there is only survival whether it is for me or my child, and there is no remorse in that.” Liz frowned as Tess exited the car marching down towards a chain linked fence. She melted a hole in the fence walking through into the compound.

Liz waited in Max’s car. Tess wasn’t going to let them put her in a White Room. Shaking her head, she watched the other girl until she couldn’t see her any longer. Tess was taking them … the rest of them and the baby out of the equation.  Suddenly the base came alive with sound as sirens blared, loudspeakers roared, and helicopters moved quickly towards the area. Suddenly there was a tremendous flash of light that split the night … a blast and explosion down on the base.

Liz’s hand went to her mouth as the base exploded and she could hear the screams of those soldiers working there. “Oh, god!” She knew that Tess wouldn’t let them take her, but not this.

Back at the apartment, a glass of water vibrated from the distant explosion, the windows rattled, and a baby cried, disturbed out of his sleep as his mother perished.

~~~

Maria waited as long as she could, and finally she made the trip. It was two weeks after Tess blew the Air Force Base. Max had moved back into his parents’ house with Zan, and Michael had his apartment to himself again.

“Mom.”

Amy DeLuca came out from the back storage area shocked at seeing her daughter. “Maria! Honey, what are you doing here?” She glanced at the clock. “It’s ten in the morning and a school day.”

“I know.” Maria came into her mother’s new store looking around. “I like what you’ve done with the store. It’s nice.”

“I like it too.” Amy said proudly. “So, why are you in Las Cruces ?”

“I had to see you … is that okay?”

Amy went over hugging her daughter, a little guilty that she had bailed on her, left her in Roswell all these months alone. “Always. I miss you.”

Maria stepped back. “Look, a couple of weeks ago something happened, and I really need to tell you about it.” Maria paused when Sean came in from the back area.

“Aunt Amy, I’ve got the order unloaded. I’m going to take off and do the deliveries.” Sean paused when he saw Maria. “M! I wondered when you’d get sick of Roswell and make it down here. Just a few more weeks until graduation, huh?”

“Yeah. Three.” Maria smiled at her cousin. “How are you, Seanie?”

“Good! Did you stop by the house? You’ve gotta see it! I know you said it looked like a wreck, but I replaced a lot of the problems. The roof is next, and …” Maria listened politely at her cousin’s enthusiasm over renovating her mother’s new house in Las Cruces . “You room is still a shambles, but I should have it done in the next few weeks.”

“No rush.” Maria assured him. Amy watched her daughter closely and finally sighed once Sean left to finish up the deliveries.

“You and Michael are sleeping together.” Amy said. “And I don’t mean sharing a bed. You’re actually sleeping together.”

Maria nodded. “I didn’t want to not tell you. So …”

“So you made the trip,” Amy finished.

“Right.” Maria cleared her throat. “I’m in love with him.”

Amy smiled slightly. Yeah, she knew that. She knew it, everyone in Roswell knew it, the world knew it, and apparently, now so did Michael and Maria. “Come on, let’s make some coffee.”

~~~

Amy was quiet and thoughtful for the rest of the day. Every free moment she had, she thought of her daughter. Roswell . She was running away, and she needed to stop doing that. It was costing her the last few precious moments she had with her daughter, and maybe it was already too late.

“Aunt Amy?” Sean said from the door. He had plastered the back room, and was cleaning up for the night.

“Sean, can you run the shop for a couple of weeks alone?”

“Sure. Not a problem. What’s up?” Sean searched his aunt’s face when she glanced at him. He laughed in mirth, more at himself. Of course. “Maria. She’s leaving.”

“I don’t know about that, but she … she’s … she and Michael …” Amy shook her head. “I need to go back to Roswell and see her graduate. I don’t want to miss that.”

“Okay.”

~~~

“Hi.” Michael said hesitantly.

Amy looked up from what she was doing. “Michael.” The young man stood in the doorway taking in the mess. “Inventory. I’m finalizing the sale of the shop, and I needed to check final inventory.”

“Um, Maria told me you were back in town.”

“Figured she would.” Amy looked at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

Michael shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I couldn’t make up all the missed work, so I’m not graduating anyway.”

“So what’s another missed day?”

Michael smiled slightly at the soft censure in Amy’s voice. “No. I know it’s important, but seeing you was more important.”

“Oh?” Amy put down what she was doing. “You want to talk?”

“I …” Michael scratched his eyebrow. “Yeah, we need to talk.”

“About Maria?”

Michael nodded. “Maria.”

Amy cleared her throat. “Do I need to ask you your intentions?”

Michael’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “We are … um, how did you know?”

“Mothers know these things. Hard to miss when your child becomes sexually active.” Amy was intrigued by the slight blush moving up Michael’s neck. No. She suspected that this wasn’t the easiest subject for a young man to have with his girlfriend’s mother.

“I … look, it’s just that you’ve been real decent to me, and I appreciate that at times I made you wonder. I just wanted you to know that this wasn’t something that happened out of the blue, or something we were trying to hide from you.” Michael couldn’t believe how hard this was. “I … you were good to me, and I didn’t want to lie, so …” Michael laughed very uncomfortable. “I … we were heading towards it so fast, and I had to slow it down. I couldn’t … not until she was eighteen, and now …”

“So you came to tell me the truth. You’re sleeping with my daughter sexually.”

“No... Yes... No... I mean, I came to tell you that I’m careful with Maria. I will always be careful with her. She means everything to me. I care more about her safety thousands of times more than my own, and that isn’t going to ever change.”

“I know it’s not.” Amy handed Michael the inventory. “I’ve always known.”

Michael’s warm golden brown eyes met the rich dark brown of Amy’s, in that moment, they understood each other perfectly.

~~~

“Hey,” Maria said when a pair of hands came to hold her close. She looked behind to smile up at Michael. “You missed breakfast this morning.”

“I had to do something.” Michael told her.

“Hmm. You going to tell me what?”

“Nope.” Michael laughed at the expression on her face ignoring the other students around them, those heading to class and those just gawking. What the hell was people’s problem? “I ran into Max this morning, him and Liz. They were taking the morning off. Max’s parents took Zan away today, to his new home, and new adopted parents.”

Maria shut the locker door leaning back against it. “Is Max okay?”

Michael shrugged. “He appears to be. It was his decision to give Zan up for adoption, to allow him a normal life, free of all this stuff.”

“He’s human.”

“He’s also alien.” Michael pointed out. “In him there is a part of alien essence. What if it comes out in later years? Who will understand or know how to …”

“Michael,” Maria said taking his hands. “He’ll be okay.”

“I …” Michael rubbed his neck. “I guess I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give away a baby, my son. I’m too selfish. I would want to know he was okay, that he had everything he needed and was safe. I wouldn’t want to miss a day.”

“I know.” Maria leaned her head into his body rubbing against him. “You want to get out of here?”

“Yeah. Come chase the sun.”

On Michael’s  powerful machine they raced across the New Mexico scenery, chasing their cares away.