Harvest……

Maria was tired. Her head hurt. She needed sleep. She and Michael had stayed up all night outside Courtney’s apartment waiting for the stalker Skingirl to return home to the scene of the crime. Maria was rousted out of her walking sleep by the appearance of her friend Liz.

“You ok?” Damn, Liz looked bad. Really bad. She actually had a gray sheen under her skin.

“Oh, I didn't get much sleep last night.”

“You look like you got your heart stomped on. No, wait … that will be me once I find the man destined to grind me into the ground. Well, if it's possible, you look worse.” Maria took a breath to rant about her prospects of a life full of misery when Liz interrupted her basic neuronal process.

“Have you seen Max today?”

Maria stopped, staring at her friend, the pallor and unhappiness. “He did this to you?”

“No, uh … well, yeah. I just … I can't even explain it.”

“You can't explain?” Maria grabbed Liz by both shoulders giving her a good shake. “This is me you're talking to here.”

“I just want to make sure that he's ok. But, if you see him, just don't tell him I asked.” Liz quickly sped off before she saw Max, or didn’t see him. Oh damn. Either or. It didn’t matter. Nothing did.

Michael walked up to Maria. He frowning at Liz’s retreating back. She was looking dumpier than usual today, in his opinion.

“Hey.”

“Whatever, dude. I am not spending another night freezing my tush off outside that shank’s place.” Maria waved at Michael dramatically. “Do you not see the bags under my eyes? Here, any moment ‘the man’ is coming into my life, and look at me!”

“You look like a dreamgirl,” Michael assured her. More like a nightmare, but he wasn’t going to actually say that. His alien mom didn’t shake and bake no fool. “I just wanted to ask when do you think we should break the invasion news to the others.”

“God. Like life isn’t a nice stinking sinkwell already? Hey, let’s have a party and share the misery!”

Michael smiled walking Maria to her first class. “That’s my girl!”

Maria snorted. “That is not a compliment. From where I’m standing, you aren’t too discriminating over who’s your girl. Anything a fly would land and lay maggots on sounds like your speed. Nice and mulching.”

“Are you gonna let this go?”

Maria made a huffing noise. “Remember last term when Dennis Matthews backed me up against the wall and kissed me? You laughed! And you kept harping on it forever.”

“Hey, I lost ten bucks. I swore you would knee the guy, but no … you had to do a right cross to the chops.”

“I hurt my hand, and don’t think I don’t know who came up with the idea to egg Dennis Matthews on to kiss me in the first place!”

“Did I not put ice on your hand?” Michael asked innocently, reminding her that he was on her side. “If you had sunk your knee into his crotch like I taught you, I would have made ten bucks and ol’ Dennis would’ve had surgery to retract his balls from his throat.”

“Pig,” Maria muttered under her breath. “All men are pigs. Even the alien version… still a pig.”

~~~

It wasn’t a happy meeting. The aliens and Maria were there, and Maria was half paying attention as she made a list of possible men, not boys who could be her mystery man.

“I knew there was something wrong about her, even before I found her picture in Whitaker's office.” Michael was telling the others.

“Where's Courtney now?” Max asked, his voice quiet as Tess seemed to be hovering near him.

“I don't know. She went out the window. I tried chasing her …”

“But it was hard to run with his pants around his ankles,” Maria added as she scratched two men off the list as highly unfeasible. They were obviously gay.

“You were there! My pants weren’t around my damn ankles!”

Maria shrugged. “What do I know?” Maria pointedly looked at the exceptionally quite Max and the lurking alien girl, who was not Liz. “Maybe it’s in your alien nature to feel attraction for the enemy?” Maria didn’t notice Isabel’s apparent flinch.

“Settle the personal crap on your own time,” Tess retorted. “If Courtney's a Skin, it means she was working with Whitaker.”

“You're right,” Isabel said agreeing with Tess. “There's no way two Skins would just happen to be in Roswell at the same time. They were working together, which means Courtney knows everything about us.”

Michael had his eye on their fearless leader who seemed to be in a funk. “Maxwell, are we disturbing you?”

“Leave him alone. He's had a rough night.”

“Really?” Michael was seeing what had set Maria off. Tess was acting like a pit bull around the quiet Max and the ‘Personal Property’ sign was literally being stamped on Max’s ass as the moments ticked down. “Something you wanna share with the class?”

“No,” Max said irritably, finally getting into the conversation. “Look, if Courtney is a Skin and she was working with Whitaker, the first question is, does she know that Whitaker's dead?”

“If she didn't before, she does now.” Maria walked over to the television turning the sound up.

“We have this story just in. A controversial New Mexico congresswoman is dead. We'll have that story in just a minute.”

The group was speechless except for Michael who sat back on a table, his arms crossed in front of him. “Well, we’re in a shit storm now.” Maria came to stand beside him, her hand unconsciously finding his as the news report came back on.

“Widowed just six months before her husband John Whitaker's upcoming election, she took his place on the ballot and won the election by a higher margin than any Democrat in fifteen years. But all that ended yesterday, just outside her hometown of Copper Summit , Arizona , where a tragic single-car accident cut short a life of public service.”

“A car crash?” Tess looked at the others in confusion.

“In other national news, the Department of Transportation took …” Maria reached over and turned off the television.

“She died two weeks ago. I was there.” Isabel wasn’t likely to forget it. She killed Vanessa Whitaker.

Max squeezed Isabel’s hand. “We were all there.”

“How could she be in a car accident if she's dust?” Michael rubbed his forehead, frowning at an uncharacteristic headache slowly worked its way to a harsh pounding.

Tess paced a little. “So who's conveniently covering up her death for us?”

“Nasedo said the Skins were among us.” Isabel reminded them. Michael rolled his eyes. Yeah, he had sort of mentioned that before, but did anyone notice? Nope, when he said it they all acted like he was paranoid. “Skins. Plural. Maybe other Skins created a fake car accident to keep the Feds from looking too closely into Whitaker's background.”

“Max …” Tess asked trying to get his attention, “what do we do?”

Michael made a sound of disgust watching the quiet Max hardly register the conversation. “Uh, let me guess. Nothing.”

“Liz.” Max told the others.

~~~

Michael stopped to talk to Maria alone while the others called around to locate Liz. Something was up not only with Max, but with Maria.

“Hey, how long are you going to bust my chops over Courtney?”

Maria looked him over critically. “I don’t know. The rest of the day, maybe longer.”

“You sent me there.”

“Michael, I really don’t want to talk about it. I know I am being unfair, and I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t know it would bother me. Maybe I’m jealous or something? Or maybe I’m just disappointed that you weren’t the one that Madam Vivian was talking about.”

“You wanted me to be that person?”

Maria shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe. Maybe not. I mean I know you’re leaving someday, so maybe it’s best that you aren’t ‘him’. I just know that I love you, and it wouldn’t take much to make me be ‘in love’ with you. Or it wouldn’t have. But thinking of you kissing Courtney? I dunno. It makes me think that I really don’t know you that well.”

Michael felt it again. The feeling that he had lessened himself in her eyes, that he had somehow cheated on something they were, even if it was unspoken. But still, there it was. “Maria...”

“It’s all right. I’m being irrational. I know.” Maria put her hand on her stomach. “It’s just upsetting my stomach, the thought that out there somewhere might be my Mr. Right, and I am so not ready for him. I’m afraid that when I find him, I’ll be so scared to do anything about it, that he’ll pass me by.”

“You just need to calm down. Ignore Madam Vivian. She’s a quack. Remember this summer when she told me that I already found my home, and I would never venture further than a hand’s link away?” Michael reminded Maria. “Now how wrong was she?”

“You’re probably right.” Maria took a calming breath. Reaching up, she kissed him on his lips, both of them unconsciously opening their mouths. Quickly stepping away, Maria could feel the rising heat on her face. “I guess after I talked to her, I decided that if I was going to finally fall in love I wanted it to be you. Then I got slapped in the face with you kissing Courtney, and it felt … I don’t know. Like you somehow belonged to me, and …” Maria laughed ruefully unwilling to finish that thought. “I’ve got to go to work. Let me know how it goes.”

Michael nodded as she walked away, his eyes serious and intense. Strange as it was, he had felt the same way. If she was to finally fall in love, he’d rather she fell for him.

~~~

Liz looked at the alien invasion as she fielded the flood of phone calls since the announcement of Whitaker’s death. Avoiding Max’s eyes, she couldn’t quell the rising nausea of seeing him with Tess, and Tess so close.

“Yeah, we …” Liz said in the phone, “we're in total shock. No, we haven't set a date for the memorial service yet. Yes, I will let you know as soon as we do. Of course. Ok.” Liz hung up the phone. “The phone's been ringing off the hook for the past hour.”

“Somebody covered up Whitaker's death,” Max told Liz.

“Why?”

Max shrugged, his body almost too tired to stand, let alone answer probing questions. “Has anybody been asking questions over the past few days?”

“People have been calling. I just have been saying that she's on vacation, just like we said.”

“Well, somehow the Skins know that she's dead.” Max pointed out to Liz. “None of us has said anything … unless it came from here.”

“You mean, from me?” Liz asked sharply, upset at the unfairness of the accusation.

Tess had been looking through the mail. “Look at this. The postmark says Copper Summit. It's from something called the Universal Friendship League.”

Liz took the envelope. “Whitaker never mentioned it.”

Isabel peered over Liz’s shoulder. “What the hell is the Universal Friendship League? Could it sound any creepier?”

“Marked "Personal".” Tess observed.

Max took the envelope and opened it. “Dear Member: Your failure to report as scheduled violates protocol. We must receive word by the 25th of this month or terminate your membership, effective that date.”

“The 25th was yesterday.” Isabel mumbled reading the letter again.

Tess walked over to stand next to Max again. “That's when they say she died.”

“Sincerely, T. Greer, senior coordinator, Vilandra project.” Max finished.

Isabel suddenly was alert. “Vilandra?”

Max glanced at his sister and her reaction. “Does that mean something to you?”

“No,” Isabel denied. “We should call.”

Liz shrugged picking up the phone. Dialing, she waited for it to be answered as a man on the other end answered.

“Yes?” The man’s voice was unfriendly and cold.

“Hi, um, is this the …” Liz read the name from the envelope. “The Universal Friendship League?”

“Who is this?”

“I … I'm calling from Congresswoman Vanessa Whitaker's office. We just, um, opened this letter this morning and … I wanted to call and apologize for not responding sooner.” Liz made a face at her long explanation. Maria would’ve shot back a quick response.

“Yes?” The person on the other end didn’t give much encouragement for chattiness.

“We just wanted to let you know that, unfortunately, Congresswoman has passed away.”

“Thank you for calling.” The person at the other end abruptly disconnected.

Liz glanced at the others. “They just hung up.”

“We're going to Arizona .” Max told the others.

“Hey,” Michael protested, “I'm not going anywhere until I find …”

“Courtney.” Max finished. “That's right, you're staying.”

“So we agree.”

“Yeah.”

“There's a first.” Michael snorted.

Max ignored him turning to Liz. “But we do need you to come with us, Liz. You're the only one of us who has a legitimate connection to Whitaker.”

~~~

Max, Isabel, Tess, and Liz were in the jeep on their way to Arizona . Max was driving, with Isabel next to him in the passenger seat and Liz and Tess were in the backseat trying to stay as far away from each other as possible. Isabel stared out the window remembering what Whitaker had told her about Vilandra, about who she once had been.

“Your name … was Vilandra. And you were beautiful … even more beautiful than you are now. You had a great love, and for him, for us, you betrayed your brother, your race. You sacrificed him. You sacrificed everyone, even yourself. And history, my dear … always repeats itself.”

Isabel rested her head against the glass unable to find order to her thoughts. Vilandra. Betrayer. Her great love, Khivar. It made no sense. How could Khivar be her great love if she had been engaged to Michael in a past life and destined to be with him? She sacrificed herself and all the others for Khivar, so it sounded like it was a current love affair at the time of her death. Isabel rubbed the area between her eyes as a headache hit her hard. Maybe that explained the lack of attraction between her and Michael, the fact that most the time they were on opposite sides. Destiny? Isabel shook her head. It made no sense. Vilandra made no sense. If history could repeat itself, then was she destined to betray the others, betray Max?

“Max, could we stop for a refuel? I’m feeling a little sick.”

Max glanced at his sister in concern. “Yeah, next one is up in a mile.”

After the stop, Isabel and Tess had fallen asleep. Max and Liz had switched places, and Max was in the back with the sleeping Tess. Liz was driving, but it was difficult to concentrate on the road with Max staring at her from the backseat.

“I'm … I'm ok up here … if you want to get some sleep.” Liz told Max’s reflection.

“I haven't slept since I saw you with Kyle.” Max confessed. “Liz, I know you, and I don't believe that you would do that to me. It doesn't make sense. Tell me what happened.”

Liz stared at his reflection for a moment and though she was tempted to confess about Future Max, but she held her silence.

~~~

Maria bumped into Michael’s back as he unlocked the door into Courtney’s apartment. Reaching behind him, he scooped Maria forward into the dark room. quickly glancing around to make sure no one saw them breaking and entering the low rent apartment.

Maria turned on the new flashlight Michael bought her. It was slim and formfitting to her hand, so easy to hold unlike the older version that weighed on her arm and made her complain if she had to hold it still. Lifting it up by her head, she moved it around the room. “Michael! I feel like we're Scully and Mulder or something.”

“Shhh!” Michael shut the door turning on his matching flashlight. “Would you shut up?”

“Ok.” Maria whispered back in a whisper so loud it was hardly worth pretending. Mumbling under her breath about cranky aliens who were sexually frustrated because they tried to bang their mortal enemy, she quickly stopped that too when Michael sent her a glare having heard everything she mumbled.

“Nobody's home,” Michael said trying to get them back to their familiar ground of easy camaraderie.

Maria picked up some CDs flipping through them her face taking on a combination of horror and repulsion. “Oh, god! You felt attracted to someone that listens to Culture Club? Wham? The Backstreet Boys?” She cleared her throat with a gagging noise. “God, she really is an alien, this one.”

“A little help here?” Michael asked not so pleasantly, not wanting to know if the alien owned a Partridge Family Album, more afraid the answer was yes.

“Fine,” Maria looked around the small one room apartment. “What are we looking for?”

“Clues? You know … an address book or a calendar somewhere. You know the drill.”

“Of course. Like she's gonna write her hideout in an address book, oh ho!” Maria made a face. “You superior beings are so sneaky!”

“Hey, are you just gonna rag on me or are you gonna help?”

Maria leaned down seeing something. Picking it up, she held a piece of shed skin. “Michael … What is this?”

Michael glanced at the shedding. “That's why they call 'em Skins. She's shedding.”

“Eww, it's so gross! Eww!” Maria tossed it on the floor as it disintegrated, rubbing her hands on clothing. “And you pulled a piece off her?”

“Yeah. It just peeled off without much effort.”

“Just her back? So what? Her shirt was already off?”

“You saw her go out my window fully clothed, Maria. Did you see her discarded top? When are you gonna get off this?”

“Not for a very, very long time, Mikey G. How long did you rag me about Andy Carson?”

“That was different. You don’t date, remember? And I find you at the movies with him!”

“I told you, he was there to see the movie when I picked up my ticket … which I wouldn’t have had to do if you had gone with me. We were both alone so we saw the movie together and went to discuss it over coffee. So not a date!” Maria emphasized the point. Was it her fault Michael changed his mind at the last moment and came to find her? If he had gotten there on time, she wouldn’t have had to pay for the ticket, and she would’ve never agreed to sit with Andy. “It was more a chance meeting between two people appreciating a special genre of film.”

“Chick flick. He’s gay, has to be.” Michael quickly picked up on Maria’s explanation. “There's nothing going on between me and Courtney. There was never a date. I dropped her off at her apartment, and she found her own way to mine. I definitely did not ask her to meet me anywhere.”

Maria sniffed, not appreciating having to give up the teasing. Michael had cruelly teased her for over a week until she dumped his dinner in his lap.

Maria and Michael resumed their search. As Michael searched for a hiding Courtney in her trashcan, Maria opened a storage cabinet, her mouth opening in an involuntary scream.

“Ohh! Ohh!”

Michael rushed to her side, his arm immediately circling her waist to pull her back from harm. They both stood there staring in disbelief at what appeared to be a Michael shrine in the closet. There were numerous pictures of him, as well as some of his belongings tacked to the walls.

“That's the shirt I lost at work.” Michael picked up his shirt. “What the hell is this?”

“It's Graceland … and you're Elvis.”

“Wow,” Michael murmured in wonder at the full display of his life capitalized in an obsessive display.

“Wow? Is that all you can say right now, is ‘wow’?” Maria shook her head at the oozing sickness, apparent by the display. “She's obsessed with you. She's, like, an alien stalker. She's been spying on you for weeks. She's been dreaming about you, fantasizing about you …”

“You don’t know she’s been fantasizing about me.” Michael couldn’t help but be a little flattered by the attention.

Maria peered closer. There were pictures of her too. A picture of her and Michael laughing at a party they had gone to a few weeks back. A picture of them walking down the street and Michael was pulling her along by her hand while she was eating an ice cream cone. The picture that disturbed her the most was a picture of them sleeping together. “She was in the apartment while we were sleeping!”

“Hey, shut up for a second.” Michael said frowning at the pictures of Maria’s home and the fact that Courtney had marked out Maria’s face on the pictures she was in. He quickly assessed the greater majority. “Take a look at the pictures. Almost all were shot from the apartment across the street from my building.”

“So?” Maria was too distracted by the picture of her sleeping with Michael in his bed. It took a moment for what he was saying to sink in. “Oh! That's where she goes to spy on you.”

“Yep,” Michael lifted a brow, a slow smile moving over his face.

“Ohh!” Maria reached out and took the picture of them sleeping together, the only one where her face hadn’t been mutilated. She put it in her pocket as Michael dragged her through the door.

~~~

Max and company arrived at Copper Summit. They stopped at the Stagecoach Museum and asked one of the locals where the Universal Friendship League was.

“Actually, we're looking for the Universal Friendship League.” Max told the local man.

“Here for the harvest, then?”

Isabel leaned forward to look at the man. “Harvest?”

“Uh, Friendship League's a members-only outfit. Very hush-hush. They don't like outsiders, especially with all the press around here these days.”

“Actually, we've been invited.” Isabel informed the man.

“That right?”

Isabel smiled charmingly. “Yeah.”

“It ain't hard to find. Big old building.”

“Stay on this street?” Max asked.

“Well, I did say this was the main drag, didn't I?”

“Thank you.” Max pulled the jeep away heading further into town. The man watched the jeep for a moment before going inside the museum to make a call.

“Four on the way.” He said in the phone. “Non-members.”

~~~

Max parked near the UFL, which was literally across the street and up a block from the museum. Strange town. The man had been right. It wasn’t very big and almost appeared deserted.

“I'll go.” Isabel said unfastening her seatbelt.

“Wait.” Max looked at Isabel and the other two in the backseat. “We all have to watch our step. From this point on, trust only each other. Be aware, be careful, and don't go anywhere alone. All right?” They all nodded, and Tess and Liz stayed in the jeep while Max and Isabel went inside.

Tess glanced at Liz clearing her throat. “So … you and Kyle?”

“Yeah,” Liz didn’t really want to talk about it, and definitely not in detail. “Oh, Kyle … he told me that you two were, uh, getting involved.”

“Oh, it's ok, don't worry about it.”

“I'm sorry.” Liz said more than a little sorry. She hadn’t meant her messed up life to mess up both Kyle’s and Tess’s as well.

“About what? All you did was sleep with him.” Curiosity moved over Tess’s face. “How was he, anyway?”

“Oh, I, um … I … we …” Liz could feel the heat moving up her neck and face. She was too stunned to find an answer, but then again she really owed Kyle. “He was great.”

“Noted,” Tess lifted her brow looking at the front of the building housing the UFL.

Max and Isabel had walked up to the Universal Friendship League and knocked on the door. Mr. Greer opened the door to address them.

“I'm sorry, we didn't mean to bother you.” Isabel said. “We're looking for a Mr. Greer, the senior coordinator?”

“Yeah, that's me. T. Greer.” The man greeted them. “Welcome to Copper Summit . All kidding aside, it's a wild ride."”

“Could we come in for just a minute and talk to …” Isabel suggested.

“Uh … we're a private organization. Members only.”

“What exactly is the Universal Friendship League?  Max asked, his voice suspicious.

“The friendship league is a private organization, and we ask all our valued visitors to avail themselves of all the tourist opportunities here in Copper Summit and to grant us our privacy.”

Max glanced at Isabel who shrugged. “Coming through town, it seemed like all the tourist attractions were closed.”

“Then maybe the best thing to do is just head on down the highway.” Greer said suddenly not so friendly. “Try Tombstone . I ought to be going.”

“What's the Vilandra project?” Isabel interjected before the man could shut the door on them.

“I wouldn't know.”

“We were friends of Congresswoman Whitaker's.” Max told the man frowning slightly at Isabel and her questioning about Vilandra. “Before we leave town, we'd like to pay our respects to the family.”

“That'll be the Crawfords.” Greer said. “Two blocks down, turn left, red mailbox.”

“Appreciate it.” Max thanked the man taking Isabel’s arm to lead her away. The man wasn’t going to talk to them. Greer closed the doors to the UFL.

~~~

Max, Tess, Isabel, and Liz made their way to the Crawford's residence. They found a mailman leaving the house while a woman was at the door looking through her mail.

“Excuse me,” Max said to the mailman, “is this the Crawford's?” The mailman nodded gesturing to the house.

“Thanks.” Max said pleasantly to the mailman before turning to Liz. “You're on.”

Liz slowly approached the house and woman. “Ms. Crawford?” The woman nodded frowning at the four teenage strangers on her doorstep. “Hi, I'm Liz Parker. Vanessa's assistant. We talked on the phone?”

“Oh, sure. Liz Parker.”

“I'm really sorry to hear what happened to your daughter. It's so terrible.”

“Oh, thank you, dear.” She glanced at the small group of teens. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, um, I just wanted to drop off some of your daughter's personal effects.”

“Oh, honey, that is so sweet. Well, you didn't have to come clear up here. My gosh, it must be 400 miles!” The woman seemed genuinely touched, she called into the house. “Walt! Visitors!” Smiling at the teens, she looked them over. “Did you kids work for Vanessa?”

“No, not exactly.” Isabel said.

Liz quickly did introductions. “Oh, um, this is Max, Isabel, and, uh, and Tess.”

“Walt …” Ida Crawford called to a man in the house. A large man appeared staring at the group of teens.

“Hmm?”

“These young people drove all the way up here to bring home some of Vanessa's things.”

Walt scratched his stomach. “Why didn't they just send them?”

“What a thing to say!” Ida said covering Walt’s lack of gratitude. “After they went to all that trouble. You must be so tired and hungry after that long drive. Come on in the house. I want to make you something to eat.”

Liz, Tess, and Isabel entered the house following Ida. Walt commented to Max as he was entering.

“I guess you're the man in charge.” Max frowned at the man uncertain how to respond. Was the man probing him as the leader, the King, or was he making an offhanded remark about his harem of women he was traveling with? It was hard to say. Copper Summit was proving to be a strange place.

Inside the house the four teens sat on a sofa facing Ida and Walt with Ida offering them refreshments.

“Did you take the 70?” Walt asked Max.

“No, the...uh...the 10.”

Walt nodded his face suddenly serious. “Ah, you don't wanna do that.”

“I don't?”

“You wanna go over to Lordsburg, hook onto the 70, stay on that ‘til you see the model reservoir sign, and that'll shoot you right on to Artesia.” Walt seemed pleased to find something to talk about, something that was a comfort to him. Directions. A man’s topic.

“Walt, did you hear that?” Ida asked Walt who was busy talking to Max to pay attention to Ida and the girls. He didn’t do well talking to girls.

“Hmmm.”

“They came all this way for her service.”

“Huh.” Walt’s face took on a blank look as if he had no concept of what service they were talking about.

Liz felt the uncomfortable conversation and the silence on their part so she quickly stammered through an explanation. “Well, we felt like … like we should come. You know, the congresswoman, she was very …” Liz licked her lips trying to find a word that worked, “she was special … to all of us.”

“Like a mother.” Isabel added.

Ida sat up at that. “Really?”

Isabel nodded, but her eyes moved to the doorway where a young boy was peeking in at them. Isabel smiles at the seemingly shy boy. “Hi.”

Ida turned to see the young boy and waved him into the room. “Nicholas, there you are! Come on in here. Come on, say hello.”

“No, ma'am.” The young boy took off before anyone could demand he enter the room and socialize.

“Nicholas!” Walt called after him.

“He took it real hard.” Ida explained to the teens. “He and his sister were very close.”

Max started to stand. “Maybe we'd better just find a hotel.”

“There ain't but one.” Walt informed Max.

“All four of you? At that old Motor Inn?” Ida said shaking her head. “I won't hear of it! You're all gonna spend the night here, and then tomorrow we can go to the memorial service together.”

Liz seemed uncertain. “Are you sure?”

“If Vanessa was like your mother, we're like your grandparents. We'll treat you just the way Vanessa would have wanted.” Ida said giving the impression that the matter was settled. “Well, ok, let's eat up, there!”

Walt nodded to the plate on the coffee table. “Get you one of those crispy treats there.”

“Yeah, and I made all those gherkins myself.” Ida informed them with pride. “The crispy treats and the …” Trapped in the house of the Crawfords, they were at a loss as to how to untangle themselves from the invitation without appearing suspicious.

~~~

Michael and Maria were back at Michael’s place staking out the building across the street from Michael's apartment. Occasionally they had a little spat over the binoculars, but otherwise it was uneventful.

“This isn't gonna work. She's not just gonna stroll up to her hideout while we're sitting here watching her.”

“This was your idea.” Michael reminded her.

“That's not the way I remember it.”

Michael shrugged. He was resigned to put up with a pissy Maria for at least another six days. “Ok, so now it's my fault.”

“Yes. You know what? Just to make things simpler, from now on you should consider everything to be your fault, k?” Maria smiled happily. “K.”

“Well, I know one way to make the time go faster,” Michael suggested lifting a brow.

“Oh, funny.” She was used to his flirting, but at this moment in time? Uh-huh. “Like I would kiss lips that touched Courtney? You know my gag reflex is very sensitive.”

“I know.” Yeah, he could take some evil pleasure in seeing her toss her stomach. Maybe it would remove all her ill will. “You realize all this started because you went to Madam Vivian’s.”

“What did we just agree on?” Maria asked. “Your fault. That is not attributable to you, so we ignore it.” She sighed. So she had a small reprieve from her anxiety over a possible future and he went and ruined it. “You want me to feel better?”

Michael nodded. Hell yeah. Maria in a snit was intolerable, actually fun to watch, but essentially intolerable. Her good cheer was what fueled his days. He liked it when she stayed over his place. It made his apartment feel like a home.

“Okay. Good. Promise me that if you see me allowing some total loser into my life, or obsessing over a freak … stop me. I don’t care what you have to do. Just stop me!”

“What’s really bothering you, Maria?” Michael stopped watching the other building. “You must have imagined that one day you’d fall in love or find someone to be with. Why is the thought totally making you neurotic?”

What to say, and how to say it delicately? Maria felt a need to cry, and that was so not good. “Truth?”

“Please. I know this isn’t about me kissing Courtney since you practically ordered me to lay my body down and get the goods on her. So what is this?”

“If I was to fall I wanted it to be you.” Maria said simply. “I needed it to be you.”

“You know I’m off this planet if I can get a ride.”

“I know. That is a problem, but when weighed against the alternative?” Maria sniffed. “Do you even know the type of men my mother has dragged home? The type of man my own father was?”

Michael shared a look with her. He knew. He had had flashes from her. They usually were strongest when her mother ended or started a new relationship, then he got a full barrage of her past. There were some very scary choices along the way. It hadn’t always been very good for Maria. Her young life was a story of being ignored, found a bother, and abused, not sexually, but verbally, plus one disturbing incident with a cigarette. She still had the scar. Her mother had been quick to get rid of the worst of them, but not without leaving scars behind.

“What if I’m like her? What if I’m attracted to the same type of men as my father, or the ones that seem to always appeal to my mom? I love my mom, and she always tries her best, but when it comes to men … she sucks. What if I suck?”

“You won’t. I know you. You would never love a total jerk.”

Maria closed her eyes for a moment. Laughing, she shook her head. “I wanted it to be you, because you I know. You I trust. And no matter what, I know that you would never let anything hurt me … not even you, especially not you.” Maria stared out the window. “The unknown has me paralyzed in fear.”

Michael couldn’t take his eyes off her. He never … no one ever trusted him so completely, without question … unconditionally. “Maria …” His voice caught in his throat.

“But if we can talk reality here for a second, I think she booked.” Maria said trying to change the subject. “Out of town.”

Michael respected the move away from a subject that was hard for Maria. It was only fair. She respected his ‘keep off’ signs in regard to Hank and his past life in foster care. He had told her things, and he suspected she knew more than she admitted to, but never did she cross the line into what made him uncomfortable.

“No dice. She wouldn't do that. She's obsessed with me.”

Maria lifted a sleek groomed brow at his smug tune. “Well, I guess that makes two of you, then, doesn't it? Is this a ‘I got a fan’ thing?”

“Bite me.” Michael pinched Maria’s side. “She'll show up sooner or later.”

“How 'bout sooner?” Courtney said from the door, unhappy to see Maria there.

Michael and Maria turned at her voice. Michael’s hand immediately went into his energy blast pose ready to turn Courtney into flakes.

“Whoa!” Courtney held up her hands. “Hey, truce.”

“Don't move.” Michael warned putting Maria behind him.

“Don't worry. I won't.” Courtney noticed the binoculars and that they were watching out the window. “You're watching the building. You figured out where I'd be from the pictures.” Courtney’s voice held admiration. “That's very good, Mikey G. You're everything I thought you'd be and more.”

Maria made a gagging noise. “Oh, please! Do your lips not get chapped from all the ass-kissing?”

“Sit down.” Michael told Courtney, pushing Maria back behind him.

“Anything you say.” Maria rolled her eyes, yeah, good luck to Courtney on him giving her an order she wanted. That ship had sailed.

“So you're a Skin, like Whitaker.” Michael stated. So why did Whitaker have Courtney’s picture in a file if she was a confederate?

Courtney looked impressed. “How'd you get onto Whitaker?”

Maria put a restraining hand on Michael’s back before he confessed their involvement in Whitaker’s death. “We're asking the questions here, ok? Now, why are you in Roswell ? Where's the rest of your evil army? And most of all, why are you obsessed with my good-looking, if badly groomed boyfriend?”

Michael didn’t even flinch at Maria calling him her boyfriend. Technically, it was true. Not in the romantic sense, but true in the practical.

“I'm not obsessed with him, ok?” Maria shook her head. Yeah right. So what was Michael-land about? “I follow him in the … political sense.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Our leader?”

“We're not with the other Skins.” Courtney explained to Michael ignoring Maria, though answering her questions. “We're renegades who believe that if you were in charge instead of Max in the first place, that none of this would have ever happened.”

“What are you talking about?” Michael asked in confusion. None of what would’ve happened? “In charge of what?”

“Our planet, Michael.” Courtney said, her eyes suddenly understanding something that eluded her before. “You don't remember any of this, do you?”

“Suppose you tell me.”

“Yeah, the short version, please.” Maria suggested not up to a long history of a world that sent skin shedding aliens to hers.

“The short version … is that our planet was on the brink of a golden age, and then it all fell apart. You were the one who could have united our planet, pulled together the warring factions, brought peace. But you weren't on the throne.

“Max.” Michael said bitterly to Maria.

“You wouldn't betray him. That loyalty cost your lives and those of everyone you loved.” Maria waited for it, but Michael didn’t ask. He didn’t ask who was it he loved, who his parents were, or anything. Frowning Maria listened as Courtney continued. “Please, just don't let history repeat itself. You're the one we need. You're our leader, our salvation.”

Maria grabbed Michael, screaming in his ear, giving his body a little shake to wake him up. “Michael, if you can hear me now over the sound of your rapidly inflating ego, could you please tell me that you do not believe what this …” Maria was loss for any new words to describe Courtney, “this Michael-worshipper here has to say?”

“No …” Michael visibly shook himself awake, “no ... no way. No, this is just part of your plan to divide and conquer.”

“I knew you weren't ready to hear this.” Courtney said under her breath.

“And you knew that how?” Maria asked. “Until a few moments ago, you implied you hadn’t realized he had no memories of his past life.” Courtney made a face at Maria, her eyes narrowing as the two women faced off. Michael ignored them.

“What's in Copper Summit , Arizona ?”

“Copper Summit 's just some old tourist trap.” Maria shook her head turning away from the lying, skin-shedding bottle blonde bimbo. Some Michael worshipper she was, lying through her teeth.

“What's there?” Michael demanded, on the same wave length with Maria. Courtney wasn’t saying, and that implied something they needed to know.

“I'd stay away from there.”

“Why?” Michael asked, his interest piqued since Max and the others had gone there. Maria was practically hanging off him, her body still confrontational.

“Yeah, why?”

“Power it down a bit, Scooby-Do,” Michael said to her softly. Maria usually approached things with offers of honey, but obviously the other girl made her put her teeth on edge … she was pure vinegar.

“Let's just say there aren't any Michael-worshippers in Copper Summit.” Courtney told them.

Michael and Maria shared a look. “We’re going,” they said in unison.

Maria went off to do the mandatory phone calling and excuse making for a roadtrip while Michael looked at his not so honest or forthcoming follower. “And so are you.”

Courtney signed shaking her head. Those two wouldn’t be happy until they were all dead.

~~~

Tess was looking at an old picture of Vanessa Whitaker. She closed her eyes and tried to use her powers to glean some information, when Mrs. Crawford surprised her. Tess quickly covered by asking questions about Vanessa, and Ida Crawford was more than happy to share information. Tess settled down to a long winding reminiscing. Sighing, she smiled pleasantly wondering where the others were.

Outside, Liz was walking down the street unable to stay still much longer. Max called out to her and then ran up to her.

“Liz! Liz, what are you doing? We agreed none of us would go anywhere alone.”

“Fine.” Sighing, Liz turned back towards the house. She had needed a breather from Max, and especially from Max and Tess. She wasn’t going to make it. There was no way she could live in the same town and watch them become close. At a loss for what to do, she felt her life weighing on her like a heavy load, drowning her in memories of what might have been, and what was she knew was lost.

“Wait.”

“Max, look. There's just … there's nothing left to say.”

“Except the truth.” Liz closed her eyes at the look on his face. Of course he couldn’t believe it of her. He had put her on some pedestal, and in his mind she was perfect … beyond reproach. That was a hard place to live, and it wasn’t a place she wanted to be in any circumstance. She had flaws, made mistakes, wrong choices, and it was so much easier to handle when everyone around her didn’t expect her to never take a misstep.

“We’ve already been through this!”

“So far, all I know is what I saw, and what I saw can't be true, because it means everything I felt in my heart for the last year is a lie!” Max’s voiced raised in anger and hurt, so confused by what his eyes physically told him and what his heart knew had to be true. “Now, you owe me an explanation, and I want it right now!”

“Please quit shouting, Max.” Liz said, needing him to step back from her, give her space. “You're scaring me.”

“That's a lie, too! You're not scared. You're hiding something.”

“I'm not.”

Max knew better. Liz Parker was the world’s worst liar. “What the hell is going on with you, Liz? We never lied to each other, never kept a secret from each other.”

“You know, you’ve got me up on this pedestal, Max, and … I'm not this perfect person. I made a mistake.” God, Liz knew that was wrong. It was as if she was asking for his forgiveness, admitting it was a mistake, and she and Max were not a mistake. The whole damn world ended, how could they not be the mistake? “Look, Kyle and I made love. The end. I'm sorry.”

“You bitch.” Max shook his head, the betrayal and pain deep grooves etched on his face as he backed up and then walked away without a word.

Devastated, Liz watched him walk away leaving her in the deserted road as a tear ran down her face. Oh god, she couldn’t … wouldn’t survive this.

~~~

Isabel was in a room organizing her stuff when Nicholas stopped by peeking in. He told her that the room had once been his sister’s, Vanessa’s.

“I'm so sorry about your sister.” Isabel truly was sorry for the part she played in the young boy’s pain.

“I was gonna visit her in Washington next year. We were gonna spend three days just at the Air and Space Museum .”

Isabel smiled, unable to imagine a Skin as someone with family, someone that did normal everyday ordinary things. “Did you get a lot of time with her, growing up?”

“When she'd visit, she'd make time. She always told me there's this whole wide world out there. She didn't want me stuck in Copper Summit for the rest of my life.” The young boy lacked any real inflection in his tone, but he seemed enthusiastic about his sister. “She used to tell me stories about this planet in another galaxy, how there was this war going on, like a revolution.”

“True stories?” Isabel asked without thought. News of a revolution was something that peaked her interest.

“How could they be true?”

Isabel quickly distracted him with another topic important to her. “Did she ever mention Vilandra?”

“How do you know about Vilandra?” Nicholas asked as he entered the room finally instead of hovering at the door.

“Vanessa told me some stories, too.” Isabel said hoping to inspire the young boy to have him retell stories his sister told him except before he could Tess walked in ending the conversation.

“Hey.” Tess noticed the end of the conversation. “Oh, sorry.”

“I have to go.” Nicholas was gone before Isabel could stop him.

“I've been looking all over the house for you.” Tess told Isabel. “I was worried. I just found out that Whitaker was adopted. Ida told me.”

“That means that Ida, Walt, and Nicholas could be human.”

“Exactly. And the Universal Friendship League. It's supposed to be a civic organization, like the Elks. Ida says they've been handling all the arrangements for the funeral.” Tess came in eager to impart the information she found intriguing. “She and Walt haven't even seen the body.”

“Because there is no body.”

“Right, but as long as the League handles everything, nobody has to know that.” Tess nodded towards the empty door. “What about the kid?”

“I don't know. You came crashing in before I had a chance to start a real conversation.” Isabel stared at the door wishing she had time to ask Nicholas a lot more about Vilandra.

~~~

Michael and Maria were on their way to Copper Summit. Normally they would’ve taken Michael’s bike, but they were forced to take Courtney with them. It didn’t take long for both of them to regret taking the Skin with them. She never shut up.

“This is a huge mistake.” Courtney told Michael from the backseat, for the umpteenth time. “You're gonna get yourself killed.”

“Yeah, well, that's my problem.”

“I didn't spend fifty years finding you so that you could throw your life away out of misplaced loyalty.”

“Fifty years?” Maria repeated, suddenly curious as she glanced back at the Michael-bum-sucking Skin.

“Yeah, we came here in 1950. Do the math.”

“So, what? That would make you sixty-five, seventy? You're old enough to be Michael's grandmother.” Maria laughed seeing the look on Michael’s face. “I just … I love that. I do.”

“Hey, husks don't age.”

“Husks?”

“Yeah, me.” Courtney told Maria. “My skin … this thing that I'm wearing. It never ages.”

“What is your point?”

“The point is, I've been a babe for fifty years. What are you gonna look like in fifty years from now?”

“I won’t be mulching like a beady-eyed snake.” Maria gave the girl a look over. “Babe? Think a little highly of yourself, don’t you? I saw your music selection, so it’s not like I expect you to actually have any real concept of taste. Backstreet Boys?” Maria gave a rueful laugh. “Tell me, did they give you a chance to pick that moldy old skin you’re wearing, or did someone just dump you into it? Are you even female? Or are you unisex? Bet on your planet you were Michael’s parents’ age. You realize he’s only seventeen, so an old dinosaur like you searching for boytoy material is just obscene.” Maria was warming up, her mind racing with questions.

“Would you two let it go? You're giving me a headache!” Michael complained, about ready to toss them out of the car. To change and redirect the conversation, he looked in the rearview mirror at Courtney. “Yeah, what the hell is a husk?”

“It's basically a shell. It protects us from the environment.” Courtney said, happy to talk to Michael and not Maria.

“Like a space suit.”

“Yeah. This planet's atmosphere is hostile to our race. The husks are a lifeform technology that we can genetically manipulate to resemble human bodies. Our relationship to it is essentially parasitic.”

“So you’re saying your skin is alive?” Maria asked. “Because, news flash, my skin is alive too. It’s actually an organ, part of what is called the integumentary system. So you’re saying that yours is actually like another organism?”

“Like the trees are alive.”

“Great so you’re like a mistletoe clinging to this tree for life, and yet you claim your outer husk is you … the babe?” Maria gave Michael a look. “So which one did you kiss? The inner alien, small and gray with big black eyes, or the walking hull?” Michael made a face at Maria, but didn’t comment. News to him. He had no clue, but the thought was … disturbing. Maria scoffed. “Take it off. Dazzle us with your real beauty.” Courtney’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Uh-huh, thought so. Bet you look better as a human even with the peeling skin than you do as your real self.”

Michael seemed to be thinking about what they were talking about. “So, what's with the peeling? Is that a flaw in the husk’s design or does this parasite do that naturally?”

“Husks are good for maybe fifty years. But the husks are dying.”

“Oh, then I can answer the question you asked before,” Maria said. “How will I look in fifty years? Alive, thank you. Feel free to die anytime.”

“Maria, stop it. Play nice.” Michael told Maria before looking at Courtney again. “Well, if all the Skins in Copper Summit are about to die, then all we have to do is wait them out. If the husks die, we're home free, right?”

Courtney was quiet. Maria stared into the backseat. “Ok, what are you not telling us?”

“The harvest.”

Michael and Maria looked at each other, “The harvest?”