Undone (M/L A/I M/M K/T Teen-Mature) A.N. 11/23/06 [WIP]

[Jennifer24]

Title: Undone
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.
Pairings: CC all, Liz/Max, Isabel/Alex, Kyle/Tess, Maria/Michael There will be some UC in the beginning, but this is still going to be a CC story, the UC won’t last.
Rating: Not sure, Mostly Teen to Mature, probably a little Mature in the beginning
Summary: This is going to take place two weeks after prom. I’m going to take the story from there! Read and find out!

A.N. Everything up to Heart of Mine happened as it did in the show. The only thing I’m changing from HoM is any reference from Kyle to liking Tess only as a sister. The kiss between Max and Tess still happened and M/T are going to continue to get closer. They do sleep together in the observatory and Tess is pregnant.

A.N. 2 Alex never went to Tess again so she didn’t try and warp him more so we are going to assume he is safe as long as he stays away from her.

Disclaimer: Some of the content in this chapter was paraphrased/taken from the episode Baby its You. I don’t own this material, I am only borrowing it. No infringement is intended.


Chapter 1

I found out today that Tess is pregnant.
She is pregnant with Max’s child.
Max is going to have a baby.
Max is going to have a baby with Tess.

I can write it down and I can say it aloud, but no matter how many times I do it still doesn’t sound right.

Those words rip through my heart and tear down my soul.

I can’t believe Max slept with Tess, I won’t believe it.

Something is wrong here, it doesn’t seem right.

I can see them, I can see Max standing by her side and holding her hand. God he should be holding my hand. I can see her growing belly and her self satisfied face,, but it still doesn’t feel right. Something is off.

Max can’t be having a baby with Tess.

God maybe I’m just in denial. Maybe I’m willing to create some elaborate scheme in my head to keep myself from facing the truth.

That Max Evans doesn’t love me anymore, that he is in love with someone else and they are having a baby together.

No, no, it isn’t right. God if only I could figure out what it is, besides the obvious, that bugs me about this. It is like a tingling in my head, I can’t quite get there yet. I won’t give up until I know what is really going on.

Liz snapped her journal shut and then stood to put it away. She stretched and then heard a noise out in the hall.

She immediately heard Maria’s voice, “Liz, where are you? We brought ice cream!”

Liz felt a pang that had the potential of being happiness. But she couldn’t be happy, not right now. Maybe she could get her mind off this for a little while.
.
“And chocolate,” that was Isabel.

“And chick flicks,” added Alex. The knob turned and the three walked in.

“Thought you might like some company,” Said Alex as he walked up to her and gave her a tight hug.

“After you found out the news today, we knew you were probably going to have a hard time dealing with this.” Said Maria.

“If you want it to be just you three, I could leave. I just wanted to show I care about you. Although I love my brother, I think he did something really stupid, and hurt you in the process.’ Said Isabel.

“No, I would like for you to stay. Thank you guys for coming, lets go put a movie in.”

Liz was going to find out what was going on, but for now she just wanted to relax and enjoy the company of her friends.

“Do we have to watch a chick flick? I don’t want to be reminded of love and romance and junk.” Said Liz.

“Hm, good point, I didn’t think of that. Okay, I have an idea,” Alex walked over to her families collection of movies, and pulled one out, it was Pulp Fiction.

“How about this?” he asked as he waved it so they could see it, “hit men, violence, comedy and a killer dance scene.”

“Perfect,” said Liz.

“Um, how violent is it? I don’t do well with blood.” Said Maria.

“Grow up Maria, its only fake.” Said Isabel as she plopped down on the couch.

Liz sat down too and Maria went to the kitchen to get bowls and spoons for their ice cream. Alex put the movie in and sat down next to Isabel and took her hand, just then Maria came back and handed out the bowls of ice cream.

They sat down and watched the movie. Liz had never seen it before, and even though it was really violent it was also funny.

After the movie they just sat around Liz’s living room and talked for a bit. Of course the conversation turned towards Max and his impending father hood. Liz tried to bite her tongue about her suspicions but she couldn’t do it.

“ I can’t help it. Something isn’t right about it! I can’t put my finger on it.” Liz blurted out
.
“Liz, chica, I know its hard, but the facts are the facts.” Said Maria.

“Yes I can see what is in front of me , but something about it doesn’t seem right.” Retorted Liz.

“Almost like its forced,” said Isabel quietly.

“What you too?” asked Maria, turning her head to look at Isabel, she saw that Alex was also nodding.

“Maria, you have to admit, it is really weird. Max isn’t one to just throw himself at Tess and sleep with her.” Said Alex.

Maria softened up a bit. “I know, I’m just saying that we can all see her stomach getting bigger. But your right, it doesn’t quite fit.”

“After the prom he told me he kissed her,” said Isabel, “but then he said that it hadn’t felt right. That he just didn’t have feelings like that for Tess and he was going to try and fix things with you Liz.”

Liz’s heart soared for a moment at her words, but then she realized that obviously something had gone wrong, he was with Tess.

“Well I guess he changed his mind,” said Liz.

“I’m not to sure, it seems he is with Tess now out of duty more than anything. He doesn’t look at her the way he still looks at you Liz.” Said Alex.

“Ugh, that is what makes this so frustrating! Something is off, and I’m going to find out what it is!”

“We’ll help you.” Said Isabel. Alex and Maria nodded their heads in agreement.

“Thanks you guys. But where do we start?” asked Liz.

“Well as detrimental as I’m sure it’s going to be, I’ll try and get details from my brother.” Said Isabel.

“Details? What kind of details?” asked Maria. She was given a look from Alex, Isabel, and Liz.

“Ohhh, those kinds of details. Gotcha.”

“Well its getting a little late, and we have school tomorrow, so I suggest we all get to bed.” Said Alex.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max looked over at Tess as she picked up the remote and flipped off the TV. He wished she wouldn’t do that, he didn’t know what to say to her. At least with the TV turned on he could pretend he was watching it and avoid her a little.

Tess looked over at him and smiled, then placed her hand on her stomach.

“Do you want to feel? I could let you connect with our baby.”

“You uh, you can do that?” He asked. He turned to look at her and the obvious bulge on her belly.

“Yeah, I want you to see how precious our child is.” Max took his hand and grimaced a little when he came in contact with Tess’s bare skin. It still didn’t feel right to him.

He wished he could remember that night they slept together, all he could recall was waking up next. He got some flashes in his memory of having sex with Tess, but he still couldn’t remember what instigated it.

He felt the baby in her stomach move, and then reach out to him. He immediately saw the half developed child resting in her belly. He was overwhelmed with the emotions. Sure he was terrified of being a father, but he would do anything to protect his child. He would do anything to give his child a good life.

He pulled his hand away and looked at Tess’s face and smiled. That means he has to be with Tess. There was no way for him to go back now.

No way to go back to Liz. He felt a horrible pain in his chest when he thought about Liz. God this must be killing her right now. He should go and try to talk to her. “It’s getting late Tess, I think I’m going to head home.”

“Okay, let me walk you to the door.” She stood up and held her hand out to him. He reluctantly took it as they walked to the door.

He kept his eyes fixated ahead of him. He quickly glanced at Tess. For just a moment he thought her stomach appeared flat, but he blinked and saw it wasn’t. It must just be wishful thinking.

They reached the door and she smiled up at him, he knew what she was waiting for. He leaned down and gave her a kiss, he couldn’t help but think about how we would much rather be kissing Liz.

His Liz, and her amazingly soft lips, he could remember her lips, and he could remember the way she tasted. He was going to see her and explain things to her.

He pulled back and saw a frown on Tess’s face. Oh no, he must have been projecting images of Liz. He could kick himself, he wasn’t being fair to her. He realized that Tess seemed to be sweating a little. He was about to open his mouth to see if she was okay when her legs gave way underneath her and she started to fall. He reached out and caught her and then sunk to the floor with her.

“Awwwww MAX! Oh it hurts!” She cried out. He placed his hand on her stomach and formed a connection. She saw his child who had been resting peacefully a moment ago was now convulsing in pain.

The child let out an inhuman cry. Max pulled his hand off her stomach, he couldn’t stop the shaking.

“Whats wrong?” asked Valenti, he must have rushed in when he heard Tess cry out.

Kyle poked his head out Tess’s bedroom, she was letting him study in there while Max was over. When he saw Tess on the ground he ran over and picked up her hand.

“It’s the baby, I think this atmosphere is hurting him.”

They helped Tess to the bedroom and arranged her on the bed. Max pulled a chair in the room and decided to sleep there in case anything happened with the baby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tess smiled when Max left the room to pull in a chair. She felt satisfied with herself. Not only had she planted the seed for getting off the planet, but she also kept Max from going to see Liz. She immediately began to frown when she thought of Liz.
It would take some work but he could make her forget about Liz.

Why would I want to do that?

She shook her head, she didn’t know where that thought had come from. Why wouldn’t I want to keep them separated, Max is mine always has been.

He isn’t a possession, he isn’t something to be had. He’s a person and should be able to chose who he wants.

Tess put her hand to her head and let out a frustrated sigh. He shouldn’t be able to choose; obviously he isn’t capable of making the right decision so I have to make it for him.

But you don’t really want Max.

Tess let out a frustrated scream. Max and Kyle rushed into the bedroom to check on her. For some reason Tess felt a pang when she looked at Kyle, but she decided to ignore it.

[Jennifer24]

Chapter Two


It was three on Saturday and the café was just starting to calm down a little. Liz let out a sigh as she plopped herself into one of the back booths. She had been working since eight in the morning but wasn’t able to take a break so her dad let her get off an hour early.

From the crowds they had in there today you would think this was the only place in Roswell to eat. It didn’t help that Liz’s mind was elsewhere today either. She didn’t want to count her tips, but she was sure she didn’t do as well as she could have. She knew her dad had heard a few complaints. Luckily he knew that she was good server and just having an off day so he didn’t lecture her about it.

Maria still had three tables left to take care of so she couldn’t sit with her, but she did put in an order for Liz. Liz’s mind started to wander towards Max, and his baby, and Tess. God the sound of Tess’ name made her want to wretch. She couldn’t stand that little…

“God this sucks,” said Kyle, as he plopped down next to Liz, which startled her out of her thoughts. She jumped and knocked over the glass of water onto the table.

“Geez Parker, if I need a shower all you have to do is tell me,” Kyle quipped as he helped her wipe up the mess.

Maria was by with a towel and a new glass and the rest of it was cleaned up in a few minutes. Liz sighed and looked at Kyle sitting next to her.

“Yeah, this does suck.”

“You know, I was really starting to hope that Tess and I would have a chance together.” Liz looked at him and realized he was probably the only other person who halfway understood how she was feeling.

“I mean, prom was great. We had a great time, and we have gotten closer since them too. I thought it was a real turning point for us.” Kyle looked at his hands in dismay, and Liz let out a snort. He looked over at her with questioning eyes.

“Max and Tess kissed at prom. Why do you think I bailed like only after an hour.”

“What? Damn that Evans.” Fumed Kyle as he looked up at the ceiling in frustration.

“It was partly my fault,” sighed Liz with a sad look on her face.

“What did you accidentally push him into her lips?” Said Kyle, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“No, I gave Max this stupid speech. God, me and my dumb speeches. I was a little annoyed with him, I had seen him and Tess doing the memory retrieval thing and I confronted him. My emotions were running high and I told him that we should stop pretending, but I didn’t mean it. I wanted him to tell me that what we had was worth fighting for, but no, it took him about five minutes to get over me and move on with Tess.”

Liz’s voice started to shake a little and she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. She felt Kyle’s strong arm wrap around her and she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.

“We’re pretty pathetic, huh?” asked Kyle, Liz looked at him and saw he had a small smile on his face.

“I guess this is what happens when us lowly humans try and be with an alien.” Grumbled Liz.

“Hey now Parker, don’t get down like that. We just have to bounce back! Lets go on a date tonight!” Liz looked up and gave him a sharp look.

“Your kidding right?”

“Not at all. We can go out to dinner and then to a movie. Completely platonic of course.” Said Kyle.

“That actually sounds like a lot of fun.” Liz smiled and let out a sigh and rested her head back on his shoulder.

She felt her smile fade away when she looked out the front windows and saw Max standing there. Staring at her. Liz thought he looked sad, well fine, let him be sad. She stared right back at him and didn’t flinch. God he had nice eyes though, she could see the amber flecks even this far away.

Maria came to the table and set her salad down in front of her, then sat down in the booth across from Liz and Kyle. Liz looked out the window and saw that Max was gone. She wouldn’t let it bother her, she turned her attention to Maria and Kyle.

“Liz and I are going on a date tonight, wanna come?” he asked. “It’s going to be full of angst, fatty foods, and then we are going to go to a movie. Maybe a love story, and we can sit there and boo at the screen for two hours.” Liz giggled at the thought and looked over at Maria.

“Sorry, but Michael and I are going to spend time together.”

“That’s okay, tonight is a date for the scorned. Maria isn’t scorned . I’m uninviting you.” Said Liz, smiling at Maria.


“Well fine then,” she replied and picked up a crouton and threw it at Liz, but instead it hit Kyle.

“Hey, that was uncalled for, I’m infuriated!” They continued to joke around with each other for another half an hour when they parted ways.

“I’ll pick you up at seven, Liz.” Kyle called out as he walked out the door. Liz took off upstairs to shower and relax for a little bit before Kyle picked her up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max sat in the living room and idly flipped through the different TV channels. He knew he should be with Tess, because of the problem with the baby, but he needed to clear his head first.

He had tried to talk to Isabel about it, but it was a little too weird. She tried to seem interested and asked him where it happened and what happened before hand. He could tell her where, but he felt stupid when he couldn’t tell her how. He could tell she didn’t know how to act around him, and instead asked questions that weren’t really relevant.

He almost felt bad for putting her in that awkward position. The fact remained that he felt an urge to talk to someone about… God it was sissy, but he wanted to talk about his feelings.

He couldn’t talk to his parents for the obvious reasons. Maybe he would call Maria, she was usually good at listening to his problems. But he knew the one person he really wanted to talk to was Liz.

He wanted to run to her and pull her into his arms and have her tell him everything was going to be okay. That they would be able to work through their problems, and that they would figure out what was wrong with the baby and fix it. He couldn’t go see Liz though.

He had slept with Tess, and gotten her pregnant. It still didn’t sound right to him, it probably never would. He just wished he could remember what he was thinking when he made that decision. No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t come to him. All he knew for sure that sex with Tess was the final nail in the coffin for him and Liz. The hurt would run too deep for both of them.

Max flicked off the TV and stood up and stretched. He grabbed his keys and headed to his jeep. He instinctively started to drive towards the Crash. He had to see her, maybe she would listen, maybe she would talk with him.

He pulled into a spot and walked towards the restaurant. He paused at the window and looked in, he wanted to see if she was working. He looked for her but couldn’t spot her and was about to give up when he saw her sitting in the back booth.

He felt his stomach drop to his feet. She wasn’t alone, she was sitting with Kyle, and he had his arm around her. He was immediately assaulted with flashes of seeing them in bed together earlier this year.

He felt the jealously rage in him, how could Liz be mad at him for sleeping with Tess. She slept with Kyle. But she and Kyle had sense enough not to get pregnant. He shook off that little voice in his head, he wasn’t going to let reason cloud his anger.

She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, but he saw her smile melt off her face when she noticed him. He felt the pain rip through him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He stared at her, almost getting lost in her eyes despite everything that stood between them.

He shook it off when Maria blocked his line of vision; he shook his head and walked off.

Apparently he wouldn’t be talking to Liz today. It hadn’t taken her long to get over him. She immediately fell back into Kyle’s arms the second she knew she was rid of him. It wasn’t fair, this wasn’t how it is supposed to be. He knew he had loved Liz, and despite everything telling him he shouldn’t, he was still in love with her.

He walked over to the UFO center; he figured he may as well pick up his paycheck while he was over this way. He wasn’t scheduled to work until tomorrow.

The banks were closed already, but he could leave a deposit in the drop off box they had. Max had to start saving money, he had a child on the way.

Max walked in and looked for Brody, he spotted him walking into his office. He hurried to catch up with him; he wanted to talk about taking on more hours or even a possible raise.

“Brody, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Max, hi, what are you doing here? You don’t need to be here until tomorrow.” Said Brody, as he sat down in his desk chair.

“Yeah, I just came to pick up my pay check.”

“Oh yeah, Alice has them, but I guess you know that, you’ve worked here longer than me.” He joked. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Well I was actually wondering if I couldn’t pick up more hours.”

“Well, I was actually going to fire Rob tomorrow. He isn’t very reliable. I could give you some of his hours, how many are you wanting to work?”

“Forty.” Said Max.

“Wow, that’s an awful lot. I don’t want it to interfere with your school work.”

“I know, but it’s almost summer and I really need this.” Max pleaded with him.

“Is something wrong Max?” asked Brody, with a look of concern on his face.

Max and Brody had become pretty good friends, and Max felt he could tell him.

“I got my girlfriend pregnant.” Max mumbled.

“Oh Max, I’m so sorry. How is Liz taking it?” asked Brody. Max felt the blood rise into his cheeks.

“Actually, Tess, not Liz is my girlfriend now.”

“Oh,” was all Brody replied. “Well I’ll tell you what. You can have forty hours a week, but not until school is out in two weeks. And I will give you a seven dollar an hour raise.”

Max looked at Brody in surprise. “I couldn’t accept that!”

“Yes you can, I have more money than I know what to do with. Plus I really respect that you are stepping up and willing to support the child and his mother. And you will have more responsibilities too, its not a hand out.. I want to spend more time with Sydney, so I want you to help me manage this place. It is more work, but also a lot more pay.”

Max stood with a smile on his face. “Thank you Brody, I really appreciate this.”

Max shook his hand and Brody clapped him on the back, “Well I would like to think that we are friends Max. And friends help each other when they need it.”

“We are friends Brody, and if you ever need help, you know you can count on me.”

The two men continued to chatter for a few minutes and then Max left the office.

He stopped by the small office next to Brody’s on his way out and picked up his paycheck from Alice, the accountant. He left the UFO center in a much better mood than he had entered it.

His good mood faded when Kyle opened the door to the crash down and yelled back at Liz that he would pick her up at seven.

Max felt the urge to punch Kyle for moving in on Liz, but he knew he had no right to do so. He was with Tess now, and as much as he hated it, Liz was with Kyle.

He got into his jeep and turned it on. He pulled out and turned his car in the direction of the Valenti’s. He didn’t want to see Kyle but he should check on Tess and tell her about his promotion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tess had been lying in bed tossing and turning all day. She had to pretend to be sick, but it was boring. She wanted to go for a walk, get some fresh air. But she had to be in her bed, especially if Max were to show up.

Speaking of Max, where was he. He left this morning and told her he needed to take a shower, but he should have been back by now. Their baby was in trouble, he shouldn’t leave her side. True, there wasn’t actually a baby, but he didn’t know that.

Oh well, this down time could give her more time to formulate her plan. She needed him to activate the granilith. She knew how to do it, she had the translation to the destiny book, thanks to Alex.

That is another reason for her to hurry, she wasn’t sure if the mind warp she did on Alex would hold. Actually it wasn’t a question of whether or not it would hold, but when it would break. He would probably die when it did, and she didn’t need to be around for that.

Well, it was well known that she still had memories from Antar, even though she was making that up. And she had been showing Max how to retrieve those memories, so maybe she could scan the translation into her brain and then pretend she remembered how to read the language.

Then she could mind warp Max into believing that he had unlocked the method to reading it too. She smiled, she had a plan. She would be back on Antar in no time, and she would deliver herself and the rest of the hybrids to Kivar.

Wait, did you just say deliver yourself.

No, deliver them, not her. That isn’t part of the plan.

Yeah right, or maybe your not seeing the truth. Maybe you are being mind warped.

Tess put her hands to her forehead, trying to push the thoughts back inside her brain. Of course she wasn’t being controlled. She was destined to be queen, to sit on the throne.

That was her mission, her only purpose in life.

Your pathetic. You should want more from life than a title.

Tess was starting to get annoyed when she heard Kyle come home. He mumbled a hello to her as he headed to the bathroom. He seemed a little distant from her today.

He had comforted her last night when she ‘collapsed’ but now he was back to acting sullen. He had been acting that way since he found out about her and Max.

She didn’t care though.

Yes you do.

No, of course I don’t. He is just a human. Nasedo taught me that humans are lower than us, that they are stupid and not worth our time. They just get in the way. Like that stupid Liz Parker.

She’s not stupid and you know it.

God I must be going crazy, I’m arguing with myself. She didn’t have time to dwell on it because she heard a knock on her bedroom door and Max walked in. She put her game face on.

“Hey, sorry I’m late, I went to get my paycheck.”

“That’s nice. I’ve just been lying here in pain all day.” She felt satisfied when she saw him wince.

“Sorry I needed to talk to Brody.”

Tess raised an eyebrow, “and?”

“I got a promotion, and a seven dollar an hour raise.” Said Max, with a satisfied grin on his face. He looked like a cave man presenting a dead bear to his mate.

“That’s great Max, but in case you hadn’t noticed, we can’t stay here.” Said Tess.

“I know, but there is a chance that we can figure out what is wrong with the baby. We need to make sure we are financially stable.”

“No, we need to put our energies into finding a way home before our child dies Max.” Tess bit out.

His face fell and he sat down next to her. They sat in silence for what seemed like forever. Tess knew she had to stop being rude, or it would put him off, make him more distant from her.

“I’m sorry Max, I’m just not feeling like myself.” She put on an innocent smile.

“It’s okay,” Max hesitantly picked up her hand and pressed it to his lips. “We’ll make it work Tess, I won’t let our baby die.”

“I know you won’t. Help me up, I have been lying here all day. Let’s go watch a movie.”

He held out his hand and she took it, pulling herself off the bed. She made sure to put on a display show of winces and even swayed on her feet for effect.

To her satisfaction he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the couch. He helped her arrange herself and then sat down at the end of the couch.

They turned on a movie and a few minutes later Kyle came in, fresh from a shower and sat down in the recliner. They didn’t really say anything as they watched the movie.

When the end credits rolled on Tess spoke up. “I’m feeling hungry, how about we all order a pizza?” Max nodded in agreement and looked over at Kyle.

“I can’t, I have a date to get ready for.” Kyle looked strait at Max as he said so. Tess saw a look cross his face. She felt a pang, but brushed it off.

“That’s nice, with who?”

“Liz.” Kyle stood up and smiled and then left the room.

Tess felt something tear through her, but shrugged it off. She felt angry when she saw the dark look on Max’s face.

She didn’t care though; Kyle could go out with whoever he wants. He was actually doing her a favor, getting Liz off her back.

But you do care, it tears you up that he is going on a date period. Let alone on a date with Liz. Seems like all the boys have a thing for her.

Tess shook her head and looked up at Max.

"So how about that pizza?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I gotta tell you Kyle, this is the most romantic place I have ever been taken too.” Said Liz as they walked into the florescent lit McDonald’s.

“Screw romance. This is an anti-romantic date Liz. We need greasy food and milkshakes.”

Liz giggled, “sounds good to me!”

They ordered their food and settled into a booth and started eating.

Liz was munching on a French fry when she looked at Kyle thoughtfully. “Kyle, do you get the feeling that something is off.”

“Like what?” he asked with a mouth full of cheeseburger.

“Like with the Max and Tess thing.” He sighed and set down his sandwich. “Do we have to talk about that?”

“Well you said an anti-romantic date. You can’t get any more anti-romantic than discussing an old flame.” She said, with a twinkle in her eye.

Kyle rolled his eyes, “True. And yes, I do feel that something is off, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Me either. God, maybe we are just jealous and in denial.” Said Liz.

“Well, we are both of those things, but that isn’t what is off, Liz. It’s something else.”

“Yeah I know. Maria, Alex and Iz already said they would help me find out what it is. Do you want in to?”

“Hell yes I do.” Said Kyle.

After that their conversation turned to the lighter side. Kyle pulled out all the stops when he burped the ABC’s to Liz, to show her how much he had improved since they used to date.

They walked to the movie and were running a few minutes late, but they didn’t care. They bought tickets to a sappy love movie and then made their way to the concessions.

“Two super-mega popcorns and a coke.” Said Kyle.

“Geez Kyle, is that enough popcorn?” asked Liz.

“You know, a mans gotta eat!” he said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

They walked into the dark theater and the movie had already started, but they didn’t really care.

Liz searched for seats up high and saw that there weren’t that many people in the theater, she started to head up when Kyle stopped her.

He directed her to the front row, and she sat down, a little confused. They never sat in the front, in fact Kyle hated it.

Kyle didn’t offer an explanation but began to munch on one of the tubs of popcorn. Liz still wasn’t convinced he could eat it all.

She knew what his real plans were when the couple on the screen had a romantic talk.

He covered his mouth with his hand and let out a loud. “BOOOOOOOOO!”

Liz screeched and punched him on the arm. “Kyle,” she hissed, but didn’t have time to say anything because the couple started to kiss. When that happened Kyle took a big handful of popcorn and threw it at the screen.

Liz was embarrassed but Kyle leaned to her and whispered, “Try it, it will make you feel better.”

At first Liz was mortified at the thought, but then, what the hell, why not?

The next time the couple started to kiss she placed her hands around her mouth and let out a loud, “BOOOOO!” And threw a fistful of popcorn at the screen. She giggled when she saw it hit and she had to admit it was fun.

She turned to Kyle and started laughing and he joined in. They got away with booing the next couple of scenes and they threw a whole tub of popcorn on the screen before they were stopped.

The manager walked in and asked if they would leave.

Kyle stood up and turned around and said “I’m sorry, but this movie sucks,” to the crowd before he followed Liz out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isabel had her opportunity to talk to Max when he approached her last night. She felt ridiculous asking him for details, which he reluctantly.

It must have put him off because he didn’t press the issue any further. She felt bad because she had a feeling that he had wanted to talk about it, but didn’t think he could with her.

Oh well, she wanted to figure out if there was something wrong more, that would help him out more in the long run anyway.

She had spent the day with Alex. They had lounged around his living room, he played the guitar for her and they watched TV. It was really relaxing.

He took her to dinner at Senor Chows and then they went to see a movie. He was too sweet, when they went up to the ticket counter he bought tickets to the love story instead of the action flick.

He was always putting her first. She vowed that next time they would see the action movie, it was only fair.

They settled into their seats just in time for the previews. That theater wasn’t too crowded and she was looking forward to snuggling with Alex, and maybe even a little old fashioned making out.

The movie started and right when it was about to get good she was startled by a loud “BOOOOOOOOO.” She was still trying to figure out where in the movie it had come from when she saw a bunch of popcorn splatter on the screen.

“Oh god. It must be junior high kids or something. I hate going to movies where there are pre-teens looking for attention.” Isabel whispered to Alex and he nodded his head in agreement.

A moment later she heard another person yell boo and another handful of popcorn erupted onto the screen.

She was starting to get annoyed. She wished she could send death rays with her eyes. It went on for another fifteen minutes before someone walked up to the kids.

She was glad, too bad they can’t go to jail for disturbing the peace. She looked down as they stood up and then one of them turned towards the crowd.

“Is that…? Began Alex.

Then the man started an un-heartfelt apology.

“Kyle.” Finished Isabel.

She picked up her purse and stood, Alex followed her. They made their way out of the theater to see Liz and Kyle being scolded by the manager.

“If you ever do anything like that again, I will ban you from this establishment.” Isabel heard them each say they were sorry as they looked at the floor.

When they looked up Isabel could see that Liz’s face was an unnatural shade of red.

Isabel walked up to them and smacked Kyle on the back of the head.

“Idiot, what the hell are you doing? I was really trying to enjoy that movie.” He rubbed it and looked over at them and smiled, “Sorry.” Liz smiled and her face color started to return to normal.

“What are you guys doing anyway?” asked Alex.

“Wallowing.” They said in unison, then looked at each other and broke into a laugh.

“What are you doing?” asked Kyle.

“We’re on a date, what else would be we doing at the movie theater together?” asked Isabel.

“Oh, we’re on a date too,” retorted Kyle.

“Yes an anti-romantic, we are the scorned rejects of Max and Tess date.” Piped in Liz.

“Ah gotcha.” Said Isabel, that explained the popcorn and booing thing. She couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it.

“Oh Liz, I talked to Max,” said Isabel as they walked through the lobby towards the exit.
.
“Did you find out anything?” Liz looked at her, she could tell she was clicking into scientific mode.

“Yes, and for the record I must say I felt like a pervert asking him for details. But I found out that it went down at the observatory. The weird thing was that Max didn’t remember how it happened or any of the actual event.” Said Isabel looking at Liz.

“That’s part of the mystery, isn’t it.” Added Liz.

“Yeah, if I were going to sleep with Tess, I’m sure I would remember every detail.” Said Kyle.

“Pig,” replied Liz, playfully punching him on the arm.

“What do you say we go check out the observatory?” asked Liz.

“What are you sick? Do you really want to go there?” Gasped Isabel.

“Not particularly, but there might be clues there.”

“Well I can’t think of anymore un-romantic place to go on for our date Liz, so you know I’m in!” Said Kyle.

“Me too,” said Alex.

“Okay then, lets go.” Said Isabel as they headed towards Kyle’s mustang.










A.N. I had fun writing this part, I hoped you enjoyed it! I would love any feedback anyone has to offer! Thanks for taking the time to read! Also I don’t have a beta or anything so if there are grammatical errors don’t hesitate to let me know!

[Jennifer24]

Thank you:
RhondaAnn
Timelord31
Tequathisy
For the feedback! I really appreciate it!

A.N. I had a little trouble with the first section, I don’t know why but I’m still not entirely satisfied with it! Oh well, I wanted to get this part out and I wanted that part in, so it is what it is! Anyway: I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three:

Maria was supposed to arrive for date night at eight, it was currently eight thirty.

He had ordered a pizza and it should be there any minute. God, all Maria had to do was rent a movie. She would probably show up, looking all gorgeous, just to drive him nuts.

He looked down at himself; he was wearing a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt. He shrugged, it would have to do.

He heard a knock on the door and knew it was either Maria or the pizza. He opened it, and sure enough, there was Maria. She was wearing a black skirt and a red halter top. Her hair was perfect and she looked beautiful. He gave her a kiss and motioned for her to come in.

“Did you get the movie?” She nodded and pulled Steel Magnolias out of her purse. Michael had never seen it before, but he knew it was some sappy chick movie.

He gave her a blank look and was about to tell her he was going to go to the movie store to rent a different movie when she pulled out Braveheart.

“Relax spaceboy, I just like to see you squirm”

He smiled and pulled her into a kiss. God, she knew him so well. The kiss was starting to get more serious when there was another knock at the door.

Bad timing, whoever it was, they had very bad timing.

He was about to ignore it and keep kissing her when he remembered the pizza.

“Oh yeah, food!” He pulled away from her and rushed to the door. He paid for the pizza and they settled down on his couch to watch the movie.

He glanced over at Maria, “Life is good.”

“Why do you say that?” She asked, while giving him a hundred watt smile.

“I have everything I need: Pizza, a violent movie and a hot chick sitting next to me.”

Maria snorted, “You got the order a little wrong, but okay. Your such a guy Michael.” She leaned in and pecked him on the cheek.

Michael was glad that she had learned to accept the way he was. Sure she got a little pushy sometimes, but she probably understood him better than anyone. He felt lucky to have her.

He turned his attention back to the TV when the movie started up. He loved this movie.
After they finished eating they got more comfortable on the couch. Maria rested her head on his shoulder. Michael was content watching the movie, but Maria started to fidget around.

She sighed loudly, obviously trying to get his attention, but he chose to ignore it. He kept his eyes fixated on the TV. She sighed again then shifted her position to look at him. He didn’t look back, he was determined to watch the movie.

One of his favorite battle scenes was starting. He barely heard Maria start to talk. “This whole thing with Max and Tess is really sad, you know? I always thought it was going to be Max and Liz.”

“Hmm, yeah sad.” Said Michael, still keeping his eyes glued to the screen.

“Michael! Could you focus please?”

“What? I am focused. I’m focused on the movie you brought over.”

Just then the TV clicked off.

“Maria, what the hell?”

He looked at her and her jaw was set, Michael knew that the storm was coming. Maria was ready for a fight and so was he. He was about to open his mouth and say something when the phone started to ring.

“Hello?” Snapped Michael, never taking his glare away from Maria, who stared right back at him.

Isabel’s voice rushed out of the phone. “God Michael, good your there. Look we’re on our way over. We found something you have to see. We’re on our way over.”

“Wait slow down Isabel,” Said Michael finally taking his eyes off Maria. “Who’s we?”

“Alex, Liz, Kyle and I went to the observatory?”

Suddenly Michael got a little annoyed, “So you went stargazing? Big deal?”

“Michael are you going to interrupt me or are you going to let me talk?”

“Yeah go ahead.” Michael sighed and looked up at the ceiling, waiting for her to explain herself.

“Ugh, never mind. Look I’ll explain everything in a minute, we’re almost there.”

He heard the line click, signaling that Isabel and hung up.

He replaced the phone in the cradle and looked over at Maria. She had taken her hands off her hips and was standing in a less defensive pose.

“What was that all about?”

“I’m not sure, but we’re going to find out in a minute.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One hour earlier:

Liz felt gripped with the reality of the situation as they approached the observatory. She had been having fun bantering back and forth with Kyle, but the enjoyment she felt soon melted away. It was replaced with the sick feeling she got in the pit of her stomach whenever she thought about Max and Tess.

Why was she coming here? She knew she needed answers, to find some reason why Max would fall into bed with Tess, but this might be too hard.

They got out of the car and Kyle offered Liz his arm, “Shall our date continue?” He joked. She took his arm and felt comforted by his closeness; he must have sensed her discomfort because he placed his free hand on top of hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

He leaned close to her ear, “I don’t want to be here either, but at least we don’t have to go through it alone.”

Isabel and Alex led the way into the circular room.

“Well, at least they have found happiness, that’s something right?” Said Liz, motioning to their intertwined hands.

“Yeah, I guess there is hope out there for us.” Said Kyle.

They walked into the room and Liz was once again asking herself why they came here. She walked to the large telescope and placed her hand on it.

Isabel and Alex continued to look around the room and Kyle sat down on the edge of the bed that was sitting in the corner.

Liz looked at the ceiling, at the edge of sky she could see through the ceiling. Maybe Max and Tess have really connected. What better place for two aliens to bond. They could take a gaze at the home world and then do it. She was startled out of her thoughts by Isabel’s voice.

“Um Kyle, you do realize your sitting on a bed right?” Isabel’s point dawned on Liz, but apparently Kyle was still clueless.

“Yeah, so?” He replied giving her a funny look.

“Well, let’s think about this? We are here to investigate Max’s little tryst, which happened here, in this room…” She trailed off, waiting for Kyle to catch on, she decided to be blunt.

“Your sitting on the only bed I see in this room, what do you think they would use the floor?” Asked Isabel with a raised eyebrow. Alex was barely able to contain his laughter.

“Ew! Gross!” Said Kyle bolting up from the bed. “God, I hope I didn’t catch something.” He said while giving the bed a disgusted look, as if the whole situation was its fault.

Alex and Isabel were doubled over laughing, but Liz wasn’t.

She felt a pull, she slowly walked over towards the bed. She reached out her hand and touched it. She was immediately greeted by a set of flashes. They were of Max and Tess kissing passionately. He caressed her arm softly and held her hands lovingly. He kissed the palms of her hands and looked into her eyes, just the way he used to do with her. Liz felt sick.

“What are you doing Liz?” Isabel’s voice pulled her out of it. She looked up and knew that tears were threatening to spill over.

“I um, I got a vision.” She said bluntly. “Well, apparently. Max and Tess made love, not just had sex.” She had been hoping that the whole thing was just physical. Teenage hormones and what not, but apparently Max really loves Tess. Max loves Tess. Max loves Tess. It became a mantra to her, but she still couldn’t believe it. She felt Kyle’s arm come around her.

“Let’s get out of here, I don’t think we are going to find anything.” Said Isabel and Kyle started to lead the way out of the room.

They were almost to the door when she heard Alex speak up.


“What is that?” She turned and saw that he was pointing to the ceiling in the corner. At first she didn’t see anything, but as she stepped closer she say light flash off something for a second.

“Is that…” started Kyle.

“A surveillance camera.” Finished Alex.

Liz took a step closer and saw that it was.

“Well as sick as it is, I say we find the tape and watch it.” Said Kyle.

“You would.” Said Isabel rolling her eyes, and Liz nodded in agreement.

“Actually, I agree with him.” Said Alex.

“What? You too? Are all men sick?” Fumed Isabel.

“No, nothing like that. There might be some clue. You said Max didn’t remember how the whole thing started… well now we can find out.” Explained Alex.

“Oh, okay.” Said Isabel.

“Well if they are recording it, then they must have some place that they review the recordings.” Offered Liz.

There was only one door in the observatory besides the exit so they went and tried it. It was locked, but that wasn’t a problem for Isabel. She opened the door and it led to a large lab area. There were a lot of computers and such. Luckily the place was deserted, and Liz thought that was odd. Then she remembered it was cloudy out.

Alex checked over the different lab stations and Isabel was checking doors.

“There isn’t anything here.” Said Alex. Isabel had tried two of the three doors in the room. One was a storage closet and the other was a bathroom.

She opened the third door and said, “I found it!” It was a small room and the four crammed in.

There were four monitors. Three were displaying the current feed. One from the observatory and two from the lab. One was blank and hooked up to a VCR.

“Wait, if they record these, then haven’t they already been watched?” asked Liz.

“Not necessarily. They wouldn’t go through all the material everyday. They probably only review them if it appears that something has been tampered with.” Alex explained.

“That makes sense.” Said Kyle.

“Well we should look for the tape, Max said it happened on May first.”

They all started skimming the labels until Kyle said, “Bingo.”

Alex put the tape in and it started to fast forward it. He stopped with the familiar blond head popped onto the screen.

They all immediately noticed something odd. Tess was usually calm, collected and confident. Alex turned the volume all the way up and they stared at the images on the TV.

Tess was pacing back and forth, continually running her hands through her hair. She was mumbling quietly to herself and shaking her head every so often.. Soon the door opened and Max walked in.

He wasn’t really looking at his Tess, but his shoes seemed to be the most interesting thing in the world to him.

“Hey Tess. I was hoping you would be here. Look, I really need to talk to you.” Tess nodded her head and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I think that kiss was a mistake. The fact is I was upset that Liz had given me this speech, and you were there supporting me. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you like that. The truth is that I’m in love with Liz. I think there is still a chance that we could work things out between us.”

Liz felt her heard skip a beat, and for a moment she felt almost happy. Then she remembered that shortly after he told Tess this they slept together. She kept her mouth shut and kept watching.

Max looked over at Tess for the first time and saw her state of disarray.

“God Tess, are you okay?” He asked as he sat down beside her.

The seductress. She is probably going to say something to make him fall in love with her, and then she will have her way with him.

“Actually Max, I am okay. God I don’t love you!” she gushed. She smiled at him and he seemed surprised.

Reverse psychology, this one is smart.

“It was just fed to me for so long, but I feel like I’m finally starting to see the real picture. It is almost as if I am waking up from a long sleep. I’m not in love with you… actually, I’m in love with Kyle! I really am. I love Kyle!”

Tess was smiling happily and she jumped up and started to pace around the room again. Shaking her head a little as she went.

Okay… and this leads to sex how? Liz felt Kyle’s hand tighten on her arm a little and she knew he was getting excited.

“This clarity Max, its odd. Things have been coming to me for the past couple of days, almost like the Tess you know isn’t the real me.” She continued to smile, but that smile abruptly left her face and she stood rigid.

“Oh God, what have I done? We have to go. I just remembered something, we have to go to Alex, now Max! You have to heal him!” She rushed towards him and started to pull on his hand.

Everyone in the room tensed up and looked at Alex. What could be wrong with Alex?

Suddenly the figures on the tape paused. “Maybe we should keep watching Alex, there might be more explanation.” Said Isabel.

“I didn’t pause it. See the time stamp is still moving… they are paused!”

They turned their attention to the tape and Liz caught a glimpse of something in the back ground.

A man seemed to melt out from the shadows. He was dressed in all black, he had no distinct features, almost as if he was a shadow himself. He walked to Tess and pulled a small device out of his pocket. He held it close to her head and pushed a few buttons then he melted away again.

As suddenly as they had froze they unfroze. Only now Tess had her cool, confident look back. Max had started to rush up when she closed her eyes and crinkled her forehead in concentration.

Max’s face went blank and he sat back on the bed. A few moments later he looked around the room, and he didn’t even acknowledge Tess.

Suddenly he looked towards the door and stood up. There was nothing there. Then he said, “Liz! What are you doing here?” His gaze followed nothing until it settled on Tess, then he looked at her intently as if he was listening.

Then he reached out and pulled Tess close to him.

“Liz, I love you too. I have never stopped loving you, you have always been in my heart.” He leaned down and kissed Tess passionately on the lips.

Liz gasped, it was the same kiss she had seen in her flash!

“Jesus, he thinks its you Liz!” Exclaimed Kyle.

Liz felt the sting of tears down her cheeks and she ran out of the room. She didn’t stop running until she reached the parking lot and she let out a loud scream and then fell to her knees sobbing. She was so angry! Her whole life had been screwed with, and moments stolen from her! Precious moments that she could never truly get back.

The worst part was that she didn’t have anyone to direct the anger to. She had always directed it at Tess, but not it seemed like she was the biggest victim of all! Liz felt strong arms wrap around her and she rested her head into Kyle’s chest.

“Shh, Liz, its all right.” Kyle cooed.

“No it isn’t! So many lives have been ruined!”

“Yeah, but Max loves you, that has to count for something!” Exclaimed Kyle.

“It does, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?” Asked Kyle, he pulled away from her and looked into her eyes.

“Because, she is pregnant! Max wouldn’t leave her, he will be with her for the child.”

“You don’t know that Liz, besides plenty of people have raised children and not been together. Besides I have to hold onto the hope that we can fix whatever is happening with Tess, and that we can be together.”

Liz was about to say something with Isabel and Alex stormed out of the observatory carrying several tapes.

“We need to go, and Liz, Tess isn’t pregnant!” Said Isabel running towards the car.

“What, how?” asked Liz.

“I’ll explain on the way.” Said Isabel.

“Where are we going?” asked Kyle.

“Michael’s.” With that they all piled back into the car and sped off.

[Jennifer24]

Thank you:
Sprayadhesive: I’m glad this story makes you feel happy!
L-J-L 76: So many questions, so little time! LOL. Most of your questions should be answered in the upcoming chapters!
RhondaAnn
Mt Gazer: Okay, so I feel stupid. I have watched those episodes probably a dozen times and for some reason I always thought there was a bed there! I wondered the same thing if that helps any! Anyways, I took a close look at the screen scapes and saw that it was just a blanket on the floor, so . For my purposes let’s just say that there is a mysterious bed there!
Belleoftheball
rie482
Timelord31
For the feed back! I appreciate it!

A.N. Here’s the next part. I hate to be a beggar but if there is anyone interested in being a beta for me could they PM me? Or is there some place I could place a request. I’ve doing all my stories myself and I would kind of like someone to read over them before I post, to catch any stupid mistakes I’m sure to make…. Anyways, let me know! I hope you enjoy this part.


Chapter Four:

There was a knock on Michael’s door, he was about to answer when the door open and Isabel, Alex, Liz and Kyle rushed in.

“Rude much?” asked Michael as a greeting.

“Shut up Michael, something important happened.” Said Isabel, he looked over and saw that Alex had several cassette tapes in his hand.

“What did you guys rent movies or something?”

“No their surveillance from the observatory.” Answered Alex.

“Okay, what the hell is going on? Why do you have those?” Asked Michael, something was off, he could feel it.

“Here, put it in, this is the tape from when Max and Tess, who know…” Said Alex.

Michael just stared at him as if he had grown a second head. If he thought that Michael was going to watch it then he was crazy.

“And you want me to watch it because…? That isn’t exactly a visual I care to have.”

Maria walked up to Alex, letting out an annoyed sigh and snatched the tape.

“Trust us Michael, it isn’t what it seems. We think Alex is in danger.” Said Liz.

Michael threw her a sharp look. He couldn’t fathom how they had come to that conclusion, but this must be one hell of a tape.

He looked at Maria, who had stiffened up when they mentioned Alex could be in danger. He put his arm around her and pulled her down on the couch as the video began.

Alex sat next to her and put his head in his hands. They watched the video in silence and Maria gripped onto Alex when Tess was talking about urgent need to heal him.

The video had ended and they sat their in silence, digesting all the new information.

The part Liz and Kyle hadn’t seen was when Max broke out of the warp. Tess had to force it again and it caused him to loose consciousness. Wait so that meant that they never really slept together, which meant that Tess wasn’t really pregnant.

Why would she fake a month long pregnancy, she must have an ulterior motive, and Michael didn’t want to know what it was. But then, it may not be the real Tess that was doing all this, that deepened the mystery. She was being controlled, but by whom? Nasedo? They thought he had died, but they could be wrong, what if it was faked or a mind warp.

Michael suddenly felt sick to his stomach when he considered how much of their lives could potentially be fake. He stood up and began pacing, idly scratching his eyebrow as he went.

“Okay, we can all agree that our top priority is to get Max over here and fix whatever is wrong with Alex.” Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

“He’s with Tess though,” Said Kyle. “I left them there earlier this evening.”

“That poses a problem, she is obviously unstable and we don’t want to alarm her.” Replied Michael.

“To hell with alarming her!” Yelled Isabel, “Something is seriously wrong with Alex and it has to be fixed now! We can deal with the fall out later.”

Her face was red and she began to pace, until Alex stood and took her in is arms. That was Alex for you, his life was in danger, but he was more worried about Isabel.

“Its okay, I feel fine right now, we will get Max over here and everything will be okay.”

He smoothed her hair and continued to whisper calming words into her ear. Michael went and picked up the phone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max and Tess had spent the evening watching another movie and eating pizza. Max was surprised by her hearty appetite, he thought that someone as sick as her wouldn’t be able to eat much. Just as quickly as the thought came, Max was kicking himself for it. This wasn’t Tess’s fault, she shouldn’t be thinking bad thoughts about her right now.

Max was still trying to come to grips with the fact that Liz was on a date with Kyle. She had sure moved on quickly, or not so much moved on as moved back. Back to Kyle. Maybe he was wrong to get in the way of their relationship in the first place. They kept finding their way back to each other. In fact, Kyle had slept with Liz. His Liz. The image still made him sick to his stomach.

Max looked over at Tess’s belly, she had her hand resting comfortably across it. She seemed to be lost in her mind, he wondered what was going on in there.

Max had to suppress a sigh, he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. All of this was too weird. He was sitting here pretending to watch a movie to avoid talking to Tess. He never had to do that with Liz. They could talk for hours and never run out of things to say to each other.

He longed for her company. He wanted to sit next to her and tell her all he had been feeling. She was the only one who truly understood how he felt, she knew him better than anyone. He wanted her small hand in his and he wanted to feel her silky hair beneath his fingers.

But no, she probably had her perfect hand in Kyle’s and he was probably running his hands through her hair. He let out a sigh, and immediately grimaced.

He risked a glance at Tess, but she was shaking her head from side to side, obviously lost in her own thoughts. She had been doing that all day, he was about to open his mouth to ask her if she was okay when his cell phone started to ring. It made them both jump and Tess looked over at him.

He looked at the caller ID and saw it was Michael, he was glad for the distraction as he answered it.

“Hey Max, sorry to bother you but Maria tripped and hit her head on the edge of the coffee table. You know how she can be a klutz sometimes,” Max heard Michael let out am ‘umph’ sound and had to suppress a smile. Head injury or no, Maria probably whacked him for that comment. Tess was looking at him curiously.

“Anyways, its bleeding a little and we were wondering if you could check her for a concussion and maybe heal it for us?”

Max stood up, “Yeah, I’ll be right over.” He hoped he didn’t sound too eager.

He hung up and put the phone in his pocket.

Tess’s face had gone from curious to suspicious.

“What’s going on?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Nothing, Maria hit her head. I guess it’s pretty nasty so I’m going to go and check it out.” She seemed to relax a little, but her face was pressed into a frown.

“Your not her personal doctor, why doesn’t she go to the emergency room?” Max sighed, he knew Tess didn’t like Maria, but she was being a little difficult. He just gave her a pointed look and she didn’t say anything else.

“You’ll come by after?” she asked.

“No, I should go home. I’ll help you to bed, you can call me if you need anything.” She was going to argue, but then shook her head and decided not to.

He picked her up and carried her to Kyle’s old room and laid her on the bed. She already seemed lost in her own mind again.

She barely let out a nod when he said goodbye to her.

He hurried out of the house and hopped into his Jeep. He was glad to be out of there, the tension in that house was too thick. Things were starting to wear thin on him, he could only take so much.

He pulled the Jeep out of the neighborhood and pointed it in the direction of Michael’s apartment complex.

He hadn’t even begun to deal with the fact that he was going to be a father in two weeks. If he thought about it, then it would make it true. He wouldn’t really believe it until he saw the baby and held the baby, and then he would come to terms with it. But that was another problem, the baby was sick, and couldn’t survive here. He had to find a way to cure it or to get it back to their home planet.

The thought of leaving Earth made him want to vomit, he didn’t want to think about that. There had to be another way.

Max sighed as he pulled into Michael’s, maybe he should talk to him about it. Max hopped out of the Jeep and paused to frown at Kyle’s Mustang sitting there.

What was he doing here? Maybe they had called Liz after Maria fell and she was here to check up on her.

Great, he had gotten an escape from Tess just to receive a front row seat to Liz and Kyle’s date.

He almost considered leaving, but he couldn’t do that to Maria.

He walked towards Michael’s and hesitated a moment before knocking on the door. It swung open almost immediately causing him to jump back in surprise.

“Where’s Maria?” He asked after regaining his composure.

He looked to see her sitting on the couch talking with Isabel and Alex. What were they doing here? Plus Maria didn’t look hurt at all, she looked fine.

“What’s going on?” He asked, he glanced over and saw Liz and Kyle leaned against Michael’s kitchen counter.

She was studying her shoes as if they held the cure for cancer. Great, she can’t even look at me, could my life get any better?

“We will explain everything in a moment, we had to get you here without Tess being suspicious. You need to check Alex for injuries.” Said Michael, motioning over to Alex who had stood up and was making his way over.

Max narrowed his eyes, becoming suspicious himself.
“What? Why?” He asked.

“Max we don’t have time for this, you need to get over here and heal Alex, NOW!” Screeched Isabel.

Max raised his arms in defeat and Alex made his way over to him.

He stood there looking uncomfortable, “Where should I look?” He asked.

“His head.” Said Kyle. Max glanced over and saw Liz give him a small smile. He wondered what that was all about.

Max placed a hand on either side of Alex’s head and began to scan for any problems. He pulled his hands back in surprise when he found extensive damage.

He creased his forehead into a frown and concentrated on healing. He sent out a warm wave of energy, focusing mostly on the memory pathways, where most of the damage seemed to be located.

Max had a feeling in the back of his head that this was caused by Tess. He pushed the thought back, he had to put all his effort into taking care of Alex.

He was surprised by how deep and complex his injuries were. Max was shocked that Alex was still functioning, much less alive. The healing was wiping out his energy, this took more out of him than it did to heal Liz and Kyle’s gun shot wounds.

Max’s arms were feeling heavy and his legs were having a hard time supporting his weight.

Max was satisfied he had healed most of the damage, he could go back and finish after he rested.

He pulled away, when he tried to take a step he fell to the floor, he finally let the exhaustion take hold and didn’t try to move. He felt strong arms on either side of him as Kyle and Michael guided him to the couch. He was slightly annoyed that he had to rely on Kyle of all people, but he couldn’t really concentrate on that right now.

A second later he felt a cold cloth and a soft hand touch his face. He would know that touch anywhere. He opened his eyes to gaze into her beautiful brown eyes. He closed his eyes again, he didn’t have a grip on his emotions right now.

He looked at her again and thought to hell with it. He wasn’t going to try and control it, he would deal with the consequences later.

He leaned forward and crushed his lips onto hers. He half expected her to pull away and was shocked when she didn’t. She hesitated for a moment and then returned his kiss with a fierceness that mirrored his own.

He was immediately rewarded with flashes. He was bombarded with images of every kiss he had Liz had shared. Some of the kisses were sweet and full of promise, others were laced with sorrow and regret. He didn’t care though, anytime he kissed her was wonderful, no matter the circumstances that surrounded it.

As quickly as the kiss began, it ended. Max felt the heat rise in his cheeks and saw Liz looking down and blushing.

He heard someone clear their throat and looked back at Michael, “If you are done with the public displays then there is something you really need to see.”

Max nodded his head, still reeling from the passionate kiss to argue. Michael pressed pressed a button on the remote control and VCR kicked to life.

He immediately recognized the observatory and what must be surveillance footage. He then saw Tess and knew what it was, a sick feeling washed over him as he looked over at his sweet Liz. Should she really be watching this. She wasn’t looking at the TV, but at him, probably trying to gauge his reaction.

He turned his attention back to the screen. He didn’t want to watch, but this could answer a lot of questions so he kept his eyes glued.

His emotions changed dramatically throughout the tape. First was disgust, then surprise followed by shock and topped off with anger. Overwhelming anger. He was angry for Liz, and for himself, and surprisingly for Tess also. She was a victim just like the rest of them.
As it started to sink that not only had he not slept with Tess, but that she also wasn’t pregnant. The lies angered him, but he knew it wasn’t really her.

The video ended and he was still trying to process this new information when Alex spoke up.

“When Max healed me I began to remember what really happened. I was being mind warped. I never went to Sweden and there is a way for you guys to go home.”

Six pairs of eyes turned to stare at him.

[Jennifer24]

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Chapter Five:



“Care to clarify?” Michael, deciding to break the silence that had been in place since Alex made his announcement.



Alex walked over to the couch and sat down, placing his hands in his head.



“Sorry, I’m trying to sort through a few months of worth of memories. It is difficult to separate what really happened and what was implanted in my mind.”



Isabel walked over and sat next to him. She put her hand on his back and started to rub it for him. Michael noticed how tired she looked. Tonight must have really done her in. They came really close to losing Alex, and now they had an enemy that could just freeze them whenever he wanted.



“Okay, I’m pretty sure that you can use the granolith to travel home. I’m not sure how, but if you could get me the destiny book, I’m pretty sure I could translate it for you. Don’t ask me how; I think I need more time to sort through everything.” He pulled Isabel closer to him and kissed the top of her head.



“I think we should call it a night.” Suggested Maria, as she stood to yawn.



“No way, we have all this information to go through! We need to plan!” Exclaimed Michael. He couldn’t believe she wanted to stop.



“Michael, there isn’t much more we can do right now. Everyone is tired, and we need to know what Alex knows. He needs to rest and sort through everything, then he can tell us.” Max replied.



Michael calmed a little. Max was right. There was no way Michael would be able to sleep tonight; he just assumed everyone else was as worked up as he was.



“Okay, Kyle you should try to tell your dad what is going on without alerting Tess.” Said Michael. Kyle gave him a nod for a response.



They were all silent for a few more moments before Isabel spoke up. “So the granolith is like a space ship? That’s all?”



“No, I think it is much more than that. You should be careful if your enemies know where it is.” Liz blurted and then immediately put her hands to her mouth.



Michael wanted to know how Liz knew anything about the granolith. He didn’t even think she had ever seen it.



“How do you know that?” He asked as he walked closer to her. He didn’t like secrets being kept from him.

Liz didn’t answer, but just shook her head.



“Liz, maybe you should tell them.” That was Maria. Michael turned to shoot a glare at her.



“I’m sorry, I can’t.” Said Liz before rushing out of the room. Max started to follow her but Kyle beat him to it.



“Max, she has had a lot to deal with tonight. Giver her some space. You made the first move, let her make the next.” Max gave him a nod, but his jaw was clenched. He obviously didn’t want Kyle to be the one to approach her.



“Oh, and thanks for not sleeping with Tess.” He gave Max a pat on the back before leaving.



Michael saw Max tense up, his eyes darkening. Michael knew he was thinking about how Kyle and slept with Liz. He had to hand it to Kyle. The guy had guts. Max took a breath and headed towards the couch.



Michael was about to turn to Maria and question her on what Liz knew, but before he could get a word out she held up a hand, “It is not my business to tell you, let her do it. Besides, it isn’t crucial to our current crisis. Alex, Isabel do you need a ride?”



“Uh yeah, my car is at the theater still if you want to give me a ride there to pick it up.”



“Okay, let’s go. I don’t think I can think straight anymore anyway. Liz and I get off of work at 11 tomorrow morning, so maybe we should all meet at the Crash around noon?”



Everyone agreed. Maria gave Michael a small kiss and then was out the door.



He walked over to Max and plopped down on the couch beside him. He picked up the remote and began to idly flip through channels.



“So Tess isn’t pregnant?” He asked, giving Max a sideways glance.



Max let out a sigh of relief, “Nope.”



“Intense.”



“Yup. Hey is that Braveheart?” Asked Max, indicating to the box.



Michael responded by turning on the DVD player. He could finally watch it with someone who appreciates it.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Kyle walked out to find Liz sitting on the curb with her face in her hands. He could see the sobs that quietly wracked her body. Tonight had been stressful, probably a little too much so for her.



He couldn’t help but wonder if the secret she had to tell involved the reason why she faked sleeping with him in the fall. He went and took a seat next to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.



She looked up and tears were running down her face, but she had a huge grin on. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug and another round of giggles coursed through her body.



“I knew it would happen eventually. All this stuff finally drove you insane.” He quipped, his comment only making her laugh harder. He felt a smile pull at the corner of his lips, which quickly turned into a full on grin.



“What has you so giddy?”



“Everything. Tonight has been so surreal. You have no idea.” She looked up at him, “Oh wait, maybe you do!” They both started laughing and continued to for a few minutes until they heard someone clear their throat behind them.



They both tied to calm down and looked over at a smiling Maria, a scowling Isabel and a tired Alex.



“What’s so funny?” Asked Maria. Liz couldn’t answer, instead she just continued to giggle.



“Great. She’s hysterical.” That was Isabel. Liz started taking deep breaths to try and calm herself.



“Its okay guys, this is how Liz deals when she is under a lot of strain. You should have seen the giggle fit she had freshman year before finals.” Said Alex.



“Oh.” Said Isabel. Liz and Kyle finally got their emotions under control.



Kyle cleared his throat, “So, is there anything we can do for you?”



“Yeah, we are meeting at the Crash tomorrow at noon to try and come up with a plan or something. Liz, do you want a ride home?”



“No thank-you. I really need to talk to Kyle.” Kyle gave her a surprised look and then stood offering her his hand. They all said a quick goodbye and climbed into Kyle’s car.



“Sorry, I know it’s late and tonight has been eventful, but I need to explain something to you before I tell anyone else.” Kyle nodded his head. He started up the car and headed for the park. He figured they could talk there.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Kyle pulled into his driveway, still feeling a little stunned from the events of the night. He decided not to get out of his car just yet, he needed time to sit and think before going inside and facing Tess.



He had dropped Liz off a few moments before after they had talked. She had told him the reason why she faked sleeping with him. To say the least her explanation was unspeakably intense, pretty much the same as the rest of the events that night.



She pretended to sleep with him so that the love of her life would be with her nemesis to save the world and the lives of her friends.



He was taken aback by Liz’s selflessness. She would do the right thing no matter the effect it had on her life. Max had hated her and turned his back on her. Some of her friends had become a little cold towards her, not to mention all the rumors at school. Usually a guy would love getting attention for sleeping with a girl, but getting that type of attention in regards to Liz just felt wrong.



Actually, he probably wouldn’t like to get that type of attention at all. He wasn’t the same person now as he was before all the alien chaos. He had always blamed it for screwing up his life, but it had actually made him a better person.



It brought him Tess.



Thinking of Tess was a whole new issue. She had said on the tape that no one really knew the real her, but Kyle felt he did know the real her. He knew the real her and he loved her for it. When she is around him and they’re alone, her attitude is a complete turn around to what it is when she is with the rest of the group. She isn’t plotting, planning, trying to get Max’s attention or trying to make Liz look bad. She is just Tess.



She has a great sense of humor and shows a kindness to him and his father he never thought they could have. She whirled into their home with all her girly ways. Although he may have complained about it, he actually loved it.



Their house was actually vacuumed on a regular basis now. Before, Kyle or his dad would pull it out maybe once a year and do the living room. That was about it. Now, the whole house gets done at least every two weeks.



Now, they also have clean dishes. Before, they would just eat off paper plates or out of cartons. Tess has made the habit of actually requiring them to eat off the plates that had been stuck in the cabinets for years. And the food they ate off them was real food, not frozen or picked up at a drive thru.



Although, he did have more responsibilities around the house. He had to help with the dishes and help fold clean laundry. It wasn’t too bad considering everything they had gained.



Of course, his love for her went a lot deeper than her house cleaning abilities. She was unspeakably beautiful, with her blond hair and bright blue eyes. He thought she looked just as pretty when she wore one of his over sized jerseys as when she was all made up to go to school.



He knew that beneath all the destiny and hardened alien crap, she had an awesome personality. He could feel in himself that there was goodness in her just waiting to escape.



He looked at the clock in his car and realized it was getting to be really late. He got out of his car and made his way to the front door. He let himself in and started down the hall to the restroom when he noticed that the light was still on in Tess’s room.



He lightly knocked at the door and heard Tess quietly call him in. He opened the door and saw her lying in bed with a magazine in her hand.



“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” He asked as he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. On cue she shifted and yawned then gave him a small smile.



“Probably, but I was waiting up for you. It’s pretty late; I take it your date went well?” Kyle had forgotten that the night had started off with a date between him and Liz.



“Yeah, we ran into Alex and Isabel at the movies and went to get ice cream with them. After that, no one was tired so we went to Alex’s house to watch another movie.” Kyle hoped the lie was convincing. He had run into Alex and Isabel, and they had watched a video, so it was half way true.



She smiled a little and shifted positions, her stomach sticking out of from underneath the covers. He stared at it and was amazed. He reached out a hand to touch it and felt the firm bump under his hand. It felt completely real. He looked at Tess and saw that she was beaming at him. He couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she looked pregnant. He hoped one day she really would be, and that he would be the father and her husband.



He looked back down at his hand on her belly and then he fully realized that she was mind warping him right now. He had to suppress a shudder when he pulled his hand away. It occurred to him that he may want to have Max check him and his father for brain damage. There was no telling how much Puppet Tess had mind warped them while living there.

He stood up and looked down at her, “Goodnight Tess.” She looked back up at him, seemingly a little confused about the abrupt end to their conversation.



“G’night Kyle.” He walked to the door and she turned the bedside lamp off.



He made his way to the bathroom. After that, he sat on the couch for about an hour until he was sure she was asleep. Then, he got up and quietly made his way to his father’s room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




A.N. Sorry it has been so long since an update! I hate to do that but work has taken up a lot of time lately. I'm headed off to Vegas on Tues. morning so I will try to update when I get home next Sunday!

[Jennifer24]

Sorry it took me so long to update, I was on vacation for a week and then I had a lot to get done at home and such. Anyways, here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

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Chapter 6


Liz descended the stairs from the apartment to the break room of the Crashdown. Maria, Michael and Max were downstairs waiting for her.

Maria and Michael were sitting on the couch and Max was leaning against the lockers watching her.

She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eyes, she was feeling a little shy about everything. A lot of information had been revealed to them the night before and she still wasn’t sure how to deal with all of it.

She was beyond relieved that Tess wasn’t pregnant with Max’s child, but the news had done so much more than that. She had also learned that Max thought he was being intimate with her. He had also professed his love for her, thinking about that made her heart soar.

Her and Max had been through obstacle after obstacle this past year, yet he came out of everything still being in love with her. He loved her even though he thought that she had slept with Kyle, that was what amazed her the most.

She had to be careful not to get her hopes up, just because he loved her didn’t mean he would want to magically jump into a relationship with her.




Liz was also confused about what to do about Tess. Future Max had told her that Tess was pivotal to their survival. If she wasn’t there to complete the unit then everyone they know and love could die.

So they had to figure out who is controlling her and then fix her. Liz didn’t doubt that she would still want to pursue their destiny. If she and Max were together then it might push Tess away and then where would they be?

Liz knew that she would have to tell the others about Future Max and what he had revealed to her. She didn’t want to do it, but they had to understand how important Tess is to their survival.

“Hey,” she said as she reached the bottom of the stairs, “Where is everyone else?”

“Isabel and Alex are on their way and Kyle is going to meet us at the quarry.” Said Maria while getting off the couch and smoothing her skirt.

“Let’s go out front and wait for them.” Suggested Max as he made his way to the front of the restaurant.

Liz followed behind, stopping by the kitchen to let her father know she was going out.
She walked to the front and saw that her friends were standing outside the front door talking to Isabel and Alex. She went outside and said hello to them and then the group separated into different vehicles to drive to the Quarry.

Isabel and Alex rode together in his car and Michael and Maria climbed into the back of the Jeep. Liz went around and climbed into the passenger seat of Max’s car as he got behind the wheel.

She settled into the seat and took in the familiar surroundings. Despite everything, she loved to sit in this Jeep. It felt right to ride in the front, wind blowing through her hair with Max at her side.

He gave her a small smile and started the engine then pulled out and headed towards the highway. The drive to the Quarry was a silent one. Everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts. Liz was contemplating about how to explain the whole Future Max incident to the group.

She was sure they wouldn’t take it well, but she was hoping that they would understand her reasons for keeping quiet. Max parked his Jeep next to Kyle’s Mustang, Alex pulled in a few moments later.

They got out of the cars and made their way over to Kyle. Liz leaned against a boulder just outside the Quarry entrance and picked up a small rock from the ground. She began to roll it around in her fingers and she lightly picked at its ridges with a fingernail.

Everyone else was scattered around in a similar fashion. Isabel and Alex were standing close to each other. Liz doubted that Isabel had let Alex out of her sight since she came so close to losing him.

Liz felt a small smile spread on her lips, she was glad that Alex had someone who cared so much about him, he deserved it. Isabel deserved it too, Liz could only imagine what it would have done to her if something had happened to Alex. Liz couldn’t imagine what it would have done to any of them. She shuddered then pushed the thought out of head, there was no use to dwell on it, Alex was fine.

She looked at everyone around her, everyone seemed a little unsure where to start, that was until Kyle opened his mouth.

“Liz had something she needs to tell all of you.” He motioned to her with an arm, to let her know she had the floor.

She shot him a small look and then let out a sigh. She could no longer delay the inevitable, it was time to come clean and she hoped she could find the right words. She looked up and six eyes were turned towards her, waiting.

She cleared her throat, “Okay, so I’m not sure how to tell you this, and I know it is going to sound a little unbelievable so please bear with me.”

She started at the beginning: Before Laurie Dupree, before Christmas, before the Dupes and before the skins.

She took them back to when a desperate traveler arrived on her balcony. She carefully retold the story, careful not to leave anything out. She felt the uncomfortable stir of emotions as she recalled everything she felt during that time.

She had to stop more than once to swallow a sob and to keep tears from spilling out of her eyes. She glanced at Max’s face more than once but couldn’t stare for too long. If she watched the painful emotions play out across his face she would never get through this.

She knew he was remembering every detail of what he had felt during that horrible time. Every bitter word she said to him coming back. She had hoped the knowledge of her not meaning them or wanting to say them would ease the pain, but it looked as if it was just making him angry.

She was kicking herself for not having told him in private. Instead he had to go through this with all his friends watching his reaction.

She shifted her gaze to Michael who was scowling at her. Liz wanted to wince at the expression on his face but she didn’t. Instead she looked out at the horizon.

After she told the part about Michael and Isabel dying she chanced another look at him. His expression had softened and he didn’t look quite so angry with her. Alex had his arm firmly around a slightly pale Isabel as Liz finished her story.

“That’s about it. After I pretended to um, sleep, with Kyle; Future Max and I talked. Then he kind of disappeared. He told me that would happen, that meant that the future had been rewritten.”

She paused to collect herself again and turned her focus towards Max, “I wouldn’t have been able to do it if the lives of the people I love weren’t at stake. I uh, just wanted you to know how important Tess is to our survival before you make any decisions.”

Max’s jaw was clenched and he wouldn’t make eye contact with her. She quietly excused herself and took off for a more secluded spot.

She let the first tears spill over her eyes. She heard Maria telling them to let her go and she silently thanked her. She didn’t want to cry in front of the others. Not that they would mind, but it was still embarrassing.

She also couldn’t take the look on Max’s face. His face looked angry but his eyes were filled with pain. She knew she was being selfish; she had earned his anger and his pain. She should have stayed and endured it, but she couldn’t.

She let out a sob and more tears fell, there were so many things she was sad by it was hard to pinpoint which event her tears were for. Mostly it was for the overwhelming loss she still felt, months later, from the whole incident.

She cried for the sacrifice she made and for the sacrifice she had forced Max to make. She knew in her heart she had done the right thing, but that didn’t erase the pain.

She slowed her crying until the tears stopped. Taking a deep breath she wiped the back of her arm across here eyes. She looked down at the wetness mixed with the black from her mascara. She shuddered to think what she looked like, but that wasn’t something she could dwell on. She smoothed down her hair and straightened her tank top then made her way back to the group.

To her dismay the others were silently waiting for her. She had hoped they would be discussing things, she would have even taken arguing, but the silence as too much.

Luckily it wasn’t long before Kyle said something.

“I know that what Liz said is really important, and that I’m sure you all have questions. But I was concerned about my father and I, we have been living with Tess for months and who knows how many times we have been mind warped.”

He directed his statement towards Max, who gave him a nod in understand. Kyle made his way over and Max laid a hand on either side of his head. His hands glowed briefly and then he pulled away, a little surprised. Liz immediately began to worry, wondering how much damage had been done to Kyle.

“There is actually hardly any damage, it doesn’t look like she warped you all that much at all. I can heal what damage is there, but it isn’t anything threatening.” Kyle just shook his head and took a step back, he seemed satisfied with Max’s diagnosis. Nobody said anything else for another long moment.

“Maybe we should take awhile and meet later on tonight.” Suggested Max, everyone else just gave a nod of their head. They agreed to meet at Michaels at eight and made their way back to their cars.

The trip back to the Crash was silent and Max never lost his frown the entire way there. When they arrived he pulled into a space and put the car into park.

“Out.” Was his one word response, Liz hung her head and dejectedly began to get out when she felt a hand on her arm.

“Not you.” He said and gave her a sharp look.

Michael and Maria climbed out and Maria put a comforting hand on her arm before Max pulled out and drove off.

[Jennifer24]

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Special thanks to Sprayadhesive for being my beta for this fic!

A.N. Sorry I got this part out a little later than I planned, but I sat on it for a few days until I was satisfied. But hey, as a bonus I did use the word 'niggling' in this chapter.



Chapter 7

Max drove to the edge of town, silently grinding his jaw back and forth.
Liz was a little nervous about what he was going to say, but she didn’t regret telling him. She was glad that it was off her chest and in the open.

Max pulled the Jeep into a familiar park just outside of town. He immediately got out and began to walk. Liz reluctantly followed him.

There were a few families scattered about and Max walked over to a picnic table that was secluded from the rest by a small bunch of trees.

Liz leaned against the edge of it and steeled herself for whatever Max was going to say.

Only he didn’t say anything. He just paced back and forth.

Liz sat in the awkward silence, wishing that he would say something so she could gauge his reaction to her news. After what seemed like a lifetime, but was probably only five minutes, Max spoke.

“God Liz!” He exclaimed as he ran his hands through his already disheveled hair.

That didn’t help much, and Liz was kind of wishing to have the silence back.

He fixed her with a steady gaze, “I don’t know who I’m angry at: me or you. I should have tried harder in the Fall to get the truth out of you. I knew something wasn’t right about it. I KNEW IT!”

Liz flinched at the harshness of his voice but didn’t say anything.

“But you were so adamant that what I saw was the truth, I put aside my doubts and just believed you. And you.” He turned around and pointed at her, “You should have come to me, Liz. If not me, you should have gone to someone. Michael or Isabel. But no. You made this huge decision yourself. You changed our fate, Liz, without even consulting me first! I know why you did it, to save Isabel and Michael, and I deeply respect that. God, I want to look up to you for making that sacrifice and dealing with the consequences alone. But another part of me is furious with you for not trusting me to help you, to figure out another way.”

He looked in her eyes and she could see the internal conflict behind his. In about the time it takes to blink he stalked over to her. She felt his hands enclose over her upper arms, pulling her firmly to her feet. His warm lips pressed hard against hers. She was stunned for a moment and didn’t do anything, and then she began to return his kiss. She knew he was mad, but his lips on hers just felt right.

Their mouths fought for dominance and she parted her lips, allowing him to deepen the kiss. She felt his arms wrap around her back crushing her body against his chest. She lifted her arms around the back of his neck and threaded her hands through his hair. It was then that the flashes began.

*Kyle and Liz in her bed with the mussed up blankets all around them. She felt the betrayal and loneliness in his witnessing that act.*

*She saw herself walking down the street in Copper Summit. She felt his confusion and anger when she refused to tell him the truth. Then felt the fear when he thought the skins were going to kill her. It was then that he realized he loved her despite what she had done.*

*She saw New York through his eyes, she could feel him wishing it was her by his side instead of Tess when he experienced the big city for the first time.*

*She saw them in Las Vegas, the night Maria sang when he asked her to dance. She felt how right holding her in his arms was while they danced together.*

*She felt his hope for the future when she asked him to prom. She felt his excitement and the butterflies in his stomach when he saw her before the dance. She then felt as that hope deflated by the speech she gave him about suffocating.*

*She felt his confusion when he woke up next to Tess and when she told him she was pregnant. She felt his disgust when he thought about what he had done with her, and his longing for it to have been Liz instead. She felt his doubt and despair when he thought of the baby, followed by self-loathing for thinking that about his own child.*

*She saw herself through the window of the Crashdown yesterday when the last hope for them had slipped away when he saw her with Kyle.*
*Then she saw as all the hope resurfaced when he saw the surveillance tape and her reaction to it. For the first time he felt like he had a real chance with Liz, that they could mend the problems between them and start again.*

Then something odd happened. She felt herself slipping into Max, into his mind and soul at that very moment. She couldn’t tell where she ended and Max began, it was like they were one.

What he felt amazed her. His love for her was burning brighter than ever. After everything she had done and everything he had done he still saw that his future was with Liz. He couldn’t exist without her there by his side, helping him along.

Every half truth and indecision was completely forgiven. All he wanted was to be with her.

She pulled back a little and was immediately shocked by reality. She was surprised that they were still at the park. She was aware of the wetness on her cheeks and then of Max’s hands gently swiping them away.
She looked up at him and put her own hands on his face, she began to wipe away his tears with her thumbs. He let out a sigh and brought his forehead down to rest against hers. They stayed like that for a moment, just starting into each others eyes.

“That was…” Liz began.

“Amazing, unbelievable, perfect! God Liz, I saw everything you went through, I felt everything you went through. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, it was like I was inside of you, like we were one.”

Liz felt her own excitement build. “I know…” she never got a chance to say anything because his lips came crashing down onto hers again.

He pulled back a moment later, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but you started talking and I just had to kiss you.”

Liz smiled up at him, “It’s okay, you can interrupt me like that anytime you would like.”

“Okay.”

He pulled her back into another kiss. This time it was gentle and sweet. When they broke it off several minutes later their heads were in the clouds, but Liz knew they still had to talk.

Maybe in a minute. She leaned back up to him for another kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tess was fuming.

Where was Max?

She hadn’t seen him since last night. She had tried calling him several times, but he never answered. She knew something was up.

He should be with her right now. She was vulnerable and sick and their baby was in trouble, he should be with her.

Kyle wasn’t even around and Valenti was out for the day with Amy.

Tess was bored.

She needed Max.

*No You Don’t!*

Not again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max pulled back from Liz after another round of kisses. They had to talk. Something had been nagging him about the future Max thing.

He looked down at Liz and she looked back up at him with her big brown eyes. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were really looking like they wanted to be kissed again. He leaned forward but stopped before he reached her sweet lips. He rested his forehead against Liz’s. There was something niggling at the back of his mind.

“We need to talk.” She said.

“Yeah.”

He thought back to what she had told him earlier and what he had gotten from her flashes.

Flashes, if you could call them that.

He had seen and felt every emotion she had. It was overwhelming. It wasn’t even possible for him to be mad at her for what she did after he had felt everything she did in the process. He had almost literally been in her shoes.

She had to push him away, break his heart and then watch as he grew closer and closer to the woman who had rivaled her for his affections. Her own heart broke a little more every time she remembered what they could have had together.

He felt how fiercely she wanted that life with him, but knew she couldn’t sacrifice his brother and sister for it. He loved her even more for doing that for them. She gave up her own happiness to ensure they would live a long life. To her it wasn’t even a decision; she didn’t really have to think about it. She knew their lives were worth more than her happiness, Max knew most people wouldn’t be that selfless.

He wished he could have carried that burden with her, but knew that if they had shared it together it would have pulled them closer.

“Max,” her sweet voice pulled him from his thoughts. He took another look at her, but had to pull himself away before he kissed her again.

He led her by the arm over to the bend and pulled her down onto his lap. He circled his arms around her small body and couldn’t help but sigh when she snuggled down into his embrace.

“Liz, I want to check you for damage.” She turned her head towards his and gave him a questioning look.

“There is something bothering me about the future Max thing, besides the obvious.” He sat back a little so he could look into her eyes “We should assume that Tess was being controlled since before she came to town. Mostly because she was set on the whole destiny thing since she set foot in Roswell.” Liz nodded in agreement. “Well I think It is safe to assume that things happened the same to the point he came. If she were being controlled then, why would she just up and leave town?”

He could see the wheels turning in Liz’s head and knew she was thinking it through.

“Well, maybe she broke out of it and decided to make a life for herself somewhere else. Or worse, maybe they killed her.”

“Yeah Liz, but there is something else also. You said part of what convinced you it was him was because he had previous knowledge about me singing to you and also he knew that I changed the color of the Roses from red to white. But I never did that Liz. They were white the entire time. I wouldn’t risk changing them in mid air with the Mariachi Band standing around me.”

He saw the color drain from her face when the realization hit her. He pulled her close to him once again and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

Liz turned to him, tears running down her cheeks, “Check me for damage Max.”

[Jennifer24]

Thanks for putting up with me and my late posting. I am finally getting more free time and that means more posting! I got a schedule down for school/work that leaves me a lot of time to work on the things I want to, so hopefully *crosses fingers* I will be able to go back to posting bi-weekly!
Here is the latest chapter, enjoy!

Thanks to:
Rie482
Tequathisy
Timelord31
Heavenpancake
Aliensister –Thanks for the *hugs* It isn’t easy, but I’m doing better now. To say the least, we got very, very drunk in his memory and it helped us all lay out all our emotions and begin to heal.
Alien_Friend - Welcome to the fic, I’m glad your enjoying it!
Kitten – Welcome, Welcome! I hope you continue to love it!
Mlover25- Thanks for the bump and the kind words!

And Thanks to any lurkers out there!

Thanks also to sprayadhesive for being my beta for part of this chapt!! I did some changes after I sent it to her, so if there are any mistakes they are most likely my fault!



Chapter 8


Alex drove to his house after leaving the Quarry, they had time to kill and Alex figured Isabel might want someone to talk to about all they had just learned. He looked over at her, she was still silently staring out the window.

Alex cleared his throat to get her attention and she turned her gaze on him.

“If you, uh, want to talk about what happened today, you know I’m here.”

She fixed him with a small smile, “I’m just taking it all in,” she shifted in her seat, turning her body towards him, “I mean, who would have known that Max and Liz sleeping together could ultimately mean that Michael and I would die?”

“Yeah, it seems a little far fetched.” Agreed Alex.

“It also seems a little convenient if you ask me.”

“How do you mean?”

“Think about it. Say you wanted Max. You have a slight success with the destiny news making the girl he loves run away, for the entire summer. This leaves you a great opportunity to try and get him, but he is too busy mooning over her to give you a second glance. Then she comes back, and still resists him, so you see another opportunity. You and Max are able to get a little closer when your protector dies, but still Max doesn’t want you, he still wants her. Then you realize that nothing you do will convince this guy you like to forget about the girl he’s in love with. So you start thinking. What would make lover boy forget about the girl? Luckily for you, you have this neat little power to mind warp. So whabam, you make her see a future version on her love. He tells her that the world will end because she and Max pushed away his supposed mate. They made a complete unit and without it, they couldn’t defeat their enemies. Yet, she is still skeptical about the whole thing and won’t go along with the plan. That is, until he reveals that her lovers brother and sister are killed in the battle. So this makes the girl, who would do anything for those she cares about, reconsider. She decides to go along with the plan, giving up her happiness to try and ensure the lives of two of her friends. So she agrees. The only way to deter Max is to make him lose his trust in the woman he loves. She devises a plan that does just that. Then, you are there to pick up the broken pieces of his heart. You had to destroy two people to do it, but it would seem that you were finally able to get the guy.” Isabel took a deep breath and shifted excitedly in her seat. Alex thought it was cute, but still had to decipher her message.

“Okay, so assuming you don’t think I want Max and mind warped Liz to get him, I’m going to say that you think Tess was responsible for Future Max?” Asked Alex, taking his eyes off the road to look at her.

“I’m not for sure, but it definitely seems to be a possibility. She mind warped you until you almost had nothing left, Alex. Why wouldn’t she do the same to Liz to achieve what she wants?”

“Good point. Do you think we should call Max and tell him what we think?”

“No, if I know my brother, he and Liz are probably having some long conversation right now. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to interrupt. We can talk to them about it tonight at the meeting.”

Alex gave a nod to show his agreement as he pulled into his driveway.

His parents weren’t home and he wanted to enjoy a little alone time with Isabel. He had been working on a song for her, and he wanted to play it for her to see what she thought of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Liz closed her eyes when Max ran his fingers through her hair before settling his hands on either side.

She looked up into his eyes allowing their connection to flare to life.

He sent her encouragement and love through their connection and she savored the feeling for a moment until she felt his warmth.

First it was on the outside of her head and then Max filled her brain completely.

She closed her eyes a moment before the memories began to flash through her mind.

First it was how she remembered it, Future Max at her window and talking with her, him beside her in Whitaker’s office. Then suddenly he began to fade, just how he did when he left her forever.

She began seeing herself having conversations with thin air. Liz was a little glad no one had seen her doing so, she must have looked insane.

Slowly as the memories came to an end she saw herself dancing alone on her balcony, it was then that she was filled with an awful rage and it took her a moment to realize that it wasn’t from herself, but from Max.

She looked him in the eyes while she felt his emotions. It was almost too intense, but Liz held on.

She felt Max’s rage at how her emotions were used against her. She was vulnerable and taken advantage of, Tess even made up the story of their wedding and used that against her.

Max conveyed to her that he wanted to check for anymore damage and Liz was about to argue when he did it anyway.

He furrowed deeper into her mind and she recalled small instances that Tess had used a warp against her. To make her and Max look closer together than they actually were, trying to push her further away from Max.

Liz looked up at Max again and saw the sweat raining down his face and she gently pulled his hands away from her face.

“Liz…”

“No Max, you’ve done enough.” She was glad they were already sitting otherwise he probably wouldn’t be able to stand.

“I’m sorry Liz, so sorry.” She looked up at him and he was resting his head on his hand and looking at her with regret.

“I know Max, and this wasn’t your fault so it isn’t your place to apologize.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get all the damage, I’m sorry you had to go through everything Tess and I did to you this year, I’m also sorry that the whole reason you endured it was just some elaborate façade.”

“Shhh, Max. I know. I’m not going to lie, it is hard for me to come to terms with the fact that Future Max is fake. It was just so real, he was you in every way that counts.” Liz stood up and began pacing around the table, while Max watched her with tired eyes.

“It’s just, God she played on my every emotion, and when I finally gave you the final push, she knew it, and was right there to pick up all the pieces. And the worst part is, that it probably wasn’t the ‘real’ Tess doing these things. I don’t have anyone to direct my anger at except some shadow figure, and let’s not even get started on that! The whole situation is just unbelievable!”

Liz whirled around at the hand on her shoulder but relaxed when she saw it was Max. He pulled her into a hug, and even though he was to stable on his feet he held on her dear life. She felt his lips press to the top of her head.

“I know Liz. But we will figure out who this mystery thing is and what is really going on with Tess. And you know what the best part is?” Max used a finger to tilt her head up so she was looking into his eyes. “We are going to do it together. I don’t know about you, but I’m never letting anything come in between us again.”

Although Max’s words made her heart soar, Liz was about to open her mouth to remind Max that Tess was his destiny. She stopped herself and made a mental note to try and break that habit.

“No Max, I won’t let anything come between us again either.” Liz ran her hands up his back, re-familiarizing herself with his body, she couldn’t help but smile when she felt him shiver under her touch.

She leaned up and gave him a searing kiss and pulled away a few moments later when she heard a child laughing nearby.

“Maybe we should go.” She suggested and smiled up at him, “before we give some child a lesson in Sex-Ed.”

“That’s probably a good idea, I have an idea.” Max took her hand and lead her to the Jeep.

They got on the road and headed out towards the desert. Liz soon realized they were going to the Pod Chamber. At first she was a little apprehensive; the last time she was there she learned that Max and Tess had been married.

At that thought Max reached over and gave her hand a squeeze before threading his fingers through hers. She smiled down at their hands and decided to let it go. Max must have a reason to drag her out there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maria walked into the backroom of the Crashdown and collapsed onto the couch. Michael followed suit and sat down next to her.

“That was a lot to take in.” He said.

“Yeah, that's how I felt when I first found out.”

"I can't believe it didn't cross your mind to tell me.”

"Well, yeah it did, but Liz made me promise not to tell anyone and I am usually good about keeping them."

"Maria..."

"And, I fully believed in what she was telling me. A lot was riding on that information and I didn't want to jeopardize all the work that Liz was trying to do, she had a lot invested in the whole thing and it wasn't up to me to bring it all crashing down on her."

"What was so important? Max and Liz staying apart and Max fulfilling his destiny with Tess?." Michael spat out the word with the obvious disdain he felt for it.

"No Michael," said Maria, raising her voice and turning to look at him, "a lot more was riding on it, your life to be exact and Isabel's. Just like Liz, I wasn't willing to gamble with your life, if I ever lost you..." Maria's voice hitched at the last word and Michael pulled her close to his side. She wrapped her arms around his waste and nestled her head against him.

"Okay, I get it. I'm sorry. You just have to promise me that you won't keep things like that from me any longer. I'm capable of keeping a secret also, and I could have helped Liz to deal with it. I at least wouldn't have been as rude to her as I was."

Maria snorted out a bit of laughter, "Yeah right. You being nice to Liz would have definitely tipped off Max that something was off."

She looked up at Michael and he gave her a wry grin, "yeah I suppose your right. But seriously Maria..."

"Okay, I promise Michael, I won't keep any important information from you like that again."

"Thanks." She felt him lean over and press a kiss to the top of her head before leaning back on the couch.

"Do you want to head to my house and finish watching Braveheart?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liz and Max pulled back onto the highway after leaving the pod chamber.

Liz was on top of the clouds. Her fingers were threaded through Max's, and she enjoyed how strong his fingers felt wrapped protectively around her own hand.

She closed her eyes and relished in the feeling of the wind blowing through her long hair.

She opened her eyes and looked at Max who had a goofy grin on his face, his eyes on the road but his mind obviously somewhere else. Probably still back at the Chamber. Thought Liz, a wry smile gracing her lips.

Their trip out there had begun innocently enough. He had taken her to the chamber and then to the back room that held the Granilith.

Although Liz had heard about it from her mind warps and from what Maria had told her, she had never imagined actually being in it's presence. The odd device hummed with the power held just beneath the surface and Liz couldn't help but be enthralled with it.

Immediately her scientist mind wanted to figure out exactly what it did and maybe even run a few tests on it.

She was lost in those thoughts when she felt Max's hand first on her back and then encircling her waste, pulling her backside against his chest. She closed her eyes and enjoyed feeling his body next to hers with the gentle hum of the Granilith in the background.

She couldn't explain it, but in that moment everything felt right to her. She felt like she was exactly where she needed to be at that moment.

It wasn't until Max pulled aside her hair and began kissing her neck that she opened her eyes and turned to face him.

It was shortly after that when they finally cemented their relationship.

It had been put off because of the mind warps, but it was inevitable just the same. Liz was certain now that nothing would ever come between her and Max again. They had experienced the same connection where they were one together.

Their emotions, thoughts, feelings and senses were joined completely together and it was the most blissful experience of Liz's life.

She knew Max hadn't planned things to happen that way, but just as she did, he had felt the moment was right.

It was already starting to get dark and Liz knew that it was about time to head to Michael's for their meeting.

She couldn't believe how much had changed since their meeting in the morning. Everyone probably thought that they had been fighting the entire time, not committing themselves to each other...completely.

What was funny was that Liz didn't feel at all like they were moving too fast. They had been separated for so long, during which they had only wanted to be with on another. Now that they were finally together they had to make up for lost time.

Liz's happiness was momentarily clouded when she thought again of Tess, and the whole mess of how they were going to take care of it.

Then she turned and looked at Max and his happy expression and she let her worries slip away. Things would turn out alright. They would figure out what was wrong, and they would do it together.





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I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry I didn’t go more in depth to the cementing part, but I’m too reserved to write anything adult!

[Jennifer24]

A/N Unfortunately this is one of those dreaded author's notes.

I have had a lot of bad in my life recently. I broke up with my fiancee of five years four weeks ago and I just recently got my house back from him. Unfortunately it is trashed and my computer is broken. (It was a bit of an ugly split up). On my computer I had saved up chapters for all my fics, now I can't access them at all. I am going to start rewriting them and then going to my parent's house (where I am now) to type and post them. Hopefully I will have a new chapter up soon! I haven't forgotten about this fic! I promise!