Part 21 - Max POV - "Elsewhere"

I love the time and in between,

The calm inside me,

In the space where I can breathe,

I believe there is a distance I have wandered,

To touch upon the years,

Reaching out and reaching in.

Holding out, holding in.

I believe this is heaven

To no one else but me,

And I�ll defend it

Long as I can be left here

To linger in silence.

If I choose to

Would you try to understand?

I know this love is passing time,

Passing through like liquid.

I am drunk in my desire.

But I love the way you smile at me,

I love the your hands reach out

And hold me near.

I believe�

I believe this is heaven

To no one else but me,

And I�ll defend it

Long as I can be left here

To linger in silence.

If I choose to

Would you try to understand?

Oh the quiet child

Awaits the day

When she can break free

The mold that clings like desperation.

Mother can�t you see

I�ve got to live my life

The way I feel is right for me.

Might not be right for you

But it�s right for me.

I believe this is heaven

To no one else but me

And I�ll defend it as long

As I can be left here to linger in silence.

If I choose to

Would you try to understand?

I would like to linger here in silence.

If I choose to

Would you understand?

Sarah McLachlan

"Max, this isn�t working," Maria says after we�ve driven in circles around town for close to two hours. She has called her mother on her cell a couple of times to see if Sean has come back, but it is clear that Mrs. Deluca has no idea what she�s talking about. She doesn�t remember Sean at all, and keeps demanding that Maria come home, until Maria finally hangs up on her, grimacing.

I know Maria�s right - it isn�t working - but I don�t know what else to do. "I know he�s around here somewhere, Maria. I just know it. We need to find him - and soon."

The fact that Maria�s mom doesn�t remember Sean anymore�It is totally freaking me out. It is becoming ever more clear that he has let go of his cover entirely, and is now out in the open. He obviously has no intention of ever going back to the Delucas. Which means that his mission is nearing its end.

And, while I still don�t feel like Liz is in any particular danger right now, I don�t know how soon that is going to change. Because, until I figure out who he is, how he is connected to Tess, and why they both want Liz, we�re never going to be able to defeat him.

I know he�s not Khivar. I know it in my bones. The way he touched me earlier�I could feel his hatred, but there was something else there too. I am only now remembering it as I tried to figure out how I know that he is not my enemy, even though he thinks he is.

He touched me as though he meant to kill me, but also like it was the one thing on Earth he most wanted to do. That he couldn�t quite believe that he was allowed to.

It was very, very weird. Because the fact that his gift seems to run in the vein of the mind-warp, and the fact that he was definitely working with Tess, is making it that I am close to coming to a conclusion about who he is that is almost too disturbing to even contemplate.

It can�t be.

But, in my heart, I know that it is.

Because don�t I know better than anyone, thanks to the visit from that idiotic future version of myself, that it is possible?

I still push the thought aside though. Because, if it is true, it means that we are totally screwed. Because there is no way I am going to be able to kill him. He�ll be completely in control, and I will have no choice but to just watch whatever it is he wants to do.

Because if he is who I think he is�

I reach into the inside pocket of my jacket, pull out the granolith and narrow my eyes at it. How could one little piece of crystal cause so much trouble?

I wonder, if I destroy it right now, will everything somehow fix itself? Will everything go back to the way it�s supposed to be? Because all it has done is cause problems - first on Antar, and now here on Earth.

Getting rid of it would probably be a blessing.

"So Max, do you really think he�s Khivar?" Maria is asking. She sounds afraid again.

I turn my head and look at her, swallowing hard. "Maria, take this," I order, putting the granolith in her lap before she can even answer me.

"Why? What�s wrong?" She is staring down at in fearfully, like she expects it to explode or something.

"I think that�s how he got here," I tell her. "With that. Which makes me really want to break it. And I know that�s not the right thing to do. So just hold onto it please."

"Okay," she replies, still sounding confused. But I watch in satisfaction when she opens her purse and tucks it away.

We continue to drive in silence, both lost in our own thoughts, when a piercing ringing practically makes us both jump out of our skins.

Maria is twisting around, looking for the source of the noise. It is, of course, a cell phone. And it�s not hers.

She finds it under the seat. I frown. We are in my parents� car and they don�t have a cell, my father being something of a Luddite.

"It�s Liz�s," Maria says, holding it up in confusion.

I frown. "She must have dropped it earlier," I guess. When she jumped out of the car like the bats of hell were after her from seeing those flashes of me with Tess. The guilt, which I have managed to suppress during the past few hours during the search for Liz, comes rushing back.

The phone is still ringing. "Answer it!" I tell Maria impatiently. The noise is beginning to seriously grate on my nerves.

"What if it�s her parents?" Maria asks reasonably. "What am I supposed to say?"

"I don�t know. But we�re going to have to tell them something eventually anyway. If we don�t find her," I add when Maria looks like she is about to flip out. "Which we will."

Maria grimaces, but hits the talk key on the phone. "Hello?" she asks tentatively. There is a pause. "No, this is her friend. Liz left her phone with me. Who�s this? Why are you talking so quietly?" she asks, beginning to sound suspicious. "Max? Yeah, he�s here. Just a sec." She holds the phone out. "It�s a girl. She says she needs to talk to either you or Liz."

I frown again. "Why is someone calling me on Liz�s cell?"

"Max, do I look like I know?" Maria demands impatiently. We are seriously beginning to get on each other�s nerves, our worry for Liz taking its toll. "Just talk to her."

I sigh, taking the phone. "Hello?" I keep my eyes pasted to the road.

"Is this Max?" She�s whispering. I can barely hear her.

"Yeah. Who is this?" I demand, beginning to get a little paranoid now.

"It�s Jennifer Coleman." She is still talking in a low voice, like she�s scared someone is going to overhear her.

I start in surprise. "Hi," I reply. "What�s up?" This can�t be good. Not good at all. I was sure after Liz and I left the girl we had all known as Leanna hours before that, in her mind, if she never saw either us again, it would be too soon.

"I�I didn�t know whether I should call you or not," she tells me, sounding scared still. "It took me this long to work up the courage," she adds. "I was thinking I should stay out of this�but then I looked at that picture of me and Ray together and�I just had to do it. I owe him. Because I let those people find him."

By now my heart is in my throat. I can feel that I am not concentrating on the road, and should not be driving. "Hold on one second, Jennifer." I try to keep my voice smooth, soothing. "I�m driving. I just want to pull over so that I can give you my complete attention."

I pull the car to the side of the road. We are on some residential side street now, having continued to cruise the streets of Roswell aimlessly, although why I am not sure. I know by now that Liz is nowhere near here.

"What�s going on?" I ask after I have set the car carefully in park. The last think I need right now is to crash another car, when I am still supposedly grounded for destroying the Jeep. I can feel Maria�s anxious eyes on me, as it has apparently dawned on her who I am talking to.

"That picture that you showed me this afternoon," Jennifer tells me, her breath short. "I didn�t look at it too closely. You know the one with you two in it� and Ray and the girl you wanted me to identify."

The prom picture. "Yeah. I know the one you mean." I try not to sound impatient. "What about it?"

"Liz dropped it on her way out. I just found it."

"Oh. Okay." I sigh. "It�s okay. I think there are other copies�"

"No. That�s not what I mean. I really looked at it again." She is beginning to sound impatient now, like she thinks I am incredibly dense. "At the other people in it, I mean." There is a pause. "I recognized someone else. Someone I once saw with Ray�er, Alex, I mean," she amends, clearly now trying to think of our friend by his real name. Because he, at least, deserves that.

I know who�s in the picture of course, although I don�t remember exactly who is standing where. There were only two other guys in it besides me and Alex. Michael and Kyle. It had to have been one of them. "What does he look like?" I ask, although I can already guess what she�s going to tell me.

"He�s standing behind the blonde girl. The one who came here. He has brownish hair. Not the guy in the apron."

Kyle then. I�m right. So apparently Kyle was mind-warped for a lot longer than any of us ever imagined. Because I am pretty damn sure Kyle doesn�t remember visiting Las Cruces, or seeing Alex there.

This is getting more and more complicated by the minute.

"Max? Max, are you still there?"

"Yeah. Listen I have to go, Jennifer. Thanks for calling."

"Am�Max, do I need to be worried about anything?" she asks, sounding scared again.

"Not if I have anything to say about it. Thank you. You�ve been a really big help," I tell her, meaning it. "I�ll be in touch."

"Well?" Maria is waving her hands in the air impatiently as I hang up. I hand her the phone.

"Call the sheriff," I instruct her. "Tell him to meet us back at his house."

"Why? Max, what�s going on?"

"Kyle�s life is in danger, Maria," I tell her as I pull the car back onto the road. "Just call. Please. I�ll tell you in a minute. Call Izzy and Michael too."

I glance at her. She looks freaked again. "Okay," she agrees, without further argument.

As soon as she has taken care of contacting the others, she pounces on me again. "Tell me. Now."

So I do. She sits there, taking it in, a perplexed expression on her face. "So she used both Alex and Kyle as her minions?" she demands when I am done, sounding outraged. "Okay, I am getting seriously upset that the girl is on another planet, Max. She deserves to pay for what she�s done."

And she does. More with every passing day. She deserves to pay for what she has done to Alex. And I let her go, and now it appears that it wasn�t just Alex that she screwed with.

The thought of anything happening to Kyle, after all that the sheriff has done for us, literally makes me sick to my stomach. Especially because I am the one who asked the sheriff to look after her. All the Valentis ever ded was let her into their home, and their hearts, and she completely betrayed them.

We pull up outside Valenti�s house. It is still dark. I glance at my watch. It is close to three in the morning. We�re going to be out all night again. My parents are going to kill me.

But I can�t worry about that right now. I have the feeling that Kyle is going to be able to provide us with some invaluable information - if he would just get here.

I begin to tap my fingers against the steering wheel impatiently. My chin is propped on my fist on the window-sill. As I stare out the window, my thoughts return to Liz.

God, I hope she�s okay. I reach out with my thoughts, still cannot connect with her at all. It�s like she is completely gone from this world. I close my eyes, trying to shut out the thought of what a world without Liz would be like.

I cannot handle thinking about it right now. I need to focus, need to concentrate on gathering my energy, because I am aware that there is only one way to make sure that Tess has not turned Kyle�s brain to mush like she did Alex�s.

I have to go in there and heal him. And it is going to take all of my concentration and strength. Because this is one healing I cannot afford to screw up.

"Max, what are you doing?" Maria suddenly whispers from beside me. I open my eyes, glancing at her. She is staring at my hand on the steering wheel, like there is something wrong with it.

I realize that my fingers are still tapping.

I consciously try and stop them, because I know that I am freaking her out. Hell, I�m beginning to freak myself out.

Because I cannot make my fingers stop.

Part 22 � Another time, Another life � Section I

Somewhere in Ontario, Canada, December 2001

"Are we almost there?" Maria complained from the back seat. "I really have to pee."

"You�re not the one who�s eight months pregnant," Liz reminded her from the front seat, where she was sitting beside Michael, who was doing his best to completely ignore Maria and Liz.

Liz knew that he was still mad at her, still angry that she had not listened to him and stayed behind in Roswell. But if it was true � that Isabel had really finally found Max and Tess�

There was absolutely no way that she was being left behind, pregnant or not.

"Michael," Maria whined.

"There�s a town coming up in about ten kilometres," Michael snapped. "Just hold your horses. Jeez."

But Liz was aware of the way in which he glanced at her with concern, and felt the car speed up slightly, which was saying something because he was already driving well over the speed limit. It had been easy to let the speedometer creep up on the prairies near Winnipeg, which they finally left about half an hour before. They were well into the rocky, tree-lined Canadian Shield now, but Michael hadn�t slowed down, determined to reach the small town of Wade before dark.

They were meeting up with Isabel in the summer resort town of Kenora, and would then push on to Wade, which was well north and much less civilized, if what Isabel told them on the phone was true.

With every mile, Liz knew they were getting close. She could almost sense Max again, in a way she hadn�t since she was sure that he had left the planet, more than six months before. She could feel every inch of her body beginning to tingle with anticipation, mixed with a heavy dose of fear.

She could also feel her baby becoming restless, as though she knew that she was soon going to be reunited with her father. The baby was not a kicker until very recently � the last twelve hours to be exact. It had worried Liz for a while, but somehow she eventually realized that her daughter�s temperament was just like that � serene and patient, waiting calmly for the time when she would make her grand entrance.

While Liz could almost feel her baby�s excitement, they still didn�t know how Max was going to react when they found him. He had obviously made a very concerted effort not to be found, if the boonies they were driving through were any indication.

Isabel had left Roswell in mid-September, the only one who could feasibly get out of town without creating a large fuss with their parents because she was already finished high school. Not for the first time, her early graduation was proving to be a blessing in disguise. She dropped out of community college, telling the Evanses that she needed a semester off, needed some time to get over the fact that her brother was apparently gone for good.

Michael probably could have gone as well, but he never even contemplated it, telling Liz that it was his responsibility to look after her. It had brought grateful tears to her eyes. In fact, Michael even suggested that she might want to move in with him until she got on her feet after the baby�s birth. He was taking the role of protector so seriously, it was almost amusing. Liz and Maria took great joy in teasing him about it.

Liz tried not to dwell on the fact that Michael was still so furious at Max for staying on Earth, and not telling any of them, it was another reason he didn�t want to play a large role in finding him. Liz thought Michael figured he might actually kill his best friend, so it was best to stay away from him. She preferred to think about how cohesive the group was now, how bonded they were about everything else.

It was only on the subject of Max that they disagreed.

Isabel reacted in exactly the opposite way. She wanted to find Max more than anything, mainly to give him a large piece of her mind, Liz suspected. And, so, using a combination of dreamwalking � there were very rare occasions when Max was apparently not blocking Isabel � and information she had bullied out of Pam Troy, she managed to track him as far as Northwest Ontario by the end of November.

She had rented a hotel room in Kenora since, and had spent her days questioning the locals for any sign of her brother and Tess. It was a small town, much smaller than Roswell, especially in the winter months, and the two newcomers had been noticed, particularly because the young blonde was so obviously pregnant when they arrived.

It was only last week that Isabel managed to actually find them though. Liz, Michael and Maria were on the first plane to Winnipeg, the closest city with an international airport.

Isabel had not confronted the missing pair yet, but she learned that they were living simply, in a cottage

north of Kenora, in the tiny town of Wade. They kept to themselves, but word filtered out that Tess�s baby had been born. Isabel tracked the Native-Canadian mid-wife who had delivered Max�s first-born. It did not surprise any of them that Tess and Max had chosen not to allow the baby to be born in a hospital.

The baby was a boy. Tess was right about that. But, apparently, she had been far from right about the baby being unable to survive on Earth � because from what Isabel heard, he was born healthy, and both mother and baby had come through the ordeal with little problem.

It did surprise Liz at all. Tess had always been good at lying. Her entire plot had been to force Max back to Antar, to throw him into the power of his enemies. In fact, her entire gift centred on deception and deceit, because it was what mind-warping inherently did.

It was almost a relief that the baby was a boy, and born before Liz�s own. Liz now knew for certain, having connected with the baby several times, whether by accident or conscious will, that her unborn child was a girl. Her child was not the heir. She was not the first-born, which would mean that she was safer.

The one thing Liz could not understand was why Max had chosen to remain with Tess after his son�s birth. He must have known that his friends and family wanted him at home, his child too. He could not have truly believed that all of them were better off without him.

Something had clearly gone very wrong. And they would soon find out exactly what.

Michael was pulling the rental car off the highway, the gas station sign flashing the information that food was also available. "Hungry?" he muttered to Liz as he came around to Liz�s side of the car, and literally pulled her to her feet.

"I could eat something," Liz admitted.

While Liz and Maria used the restroom, Michael apparently decided to purchase the entire stock of the small restaurant. Liz exchanged an amused glance with her best friend when they returned to the car, where a miniature mountain of food awaited them. But she didn�t comment, simply ate until she was full and managed, somehow, to fall into a light doze.

It was fully dark when she came back to consciousness.

The car was stopped again. Liz felt a flash of annoyance that no one had woken her up. She could see that they had pulled off the highway again, and were on a small, unpaved road, which seemed to lead nowhere, the headlights streaming off into nothingness.

Michael and Maria were outside the car, arguing about something.

"�don�t think it�s a good idea. She�s going to be devastated!"

"She has a right to know," Maria replied. "If anyone can help him, it�s Liz. And I refuse to allow you and Isabel to go in there alone."

"We�re the only ones they won�t kill," Michael retorted.

"Michael, of course they will! They don�t need you!"

"Izzy�s been safe!"

"Because they don�t know she�s here, you idiot!" Maria almost screeched back.

Liz sighed wearily, wondering where Isabel was. She opened the car door, and managed to hoist herself to her feet. "You might as well tell me," she told Michael and Maria wryly. They were both now scowling in her direction. "I know there�s something now."

"Liz, you�re never going to believe who�s up here." Maria moved towards her, her expression panicky. "They just arrived a few days ago. Lonnie and Rath!"

Liz felt her heart enter her throat. Max had told her all about how Rath and Lonnie had been willing to sell him out. He even suspected, after they tried to kill him in New York, that they were the ones who had taken out Zan.

"Are they hurting him?" Liz asked weakly. And as a secondary question, "Why are they here?"

Just then a familiar form appeared in the light thrown by the headlights. It was Isabel, her hair in tight braids, and a winter hat covering her head. It was only then that Liz realized how cold it was. She pulled her insignificant jacket more tightly around her body. It was only seconds before Michael�s hand was on her back, sending a pulse of warmth through her.

"Thank you." She smiled at him. Moving forward, she hugged Isabel tightly. Isabel moved back, staring down in amazement at Liz�s large belly. She touched it almost reverently.

"She�s so big!"

"It�s almost time, Isabel," Liz replied calmly. "But this baby isn�t going to be born without her father. Where is Max? What�s happening?"

Isabel sighed, rubbing her eyes wearily. For the first time, Liz noticed that her friend looked exhausted. "I�ve managed to get in to see him once by imitating Lonnie. She and Rath leave every day, to get cigarettes I think." She wrinkled her nose. "They�re suffering big-time up here. Anyway, I went in yesterday. I�ve figured out the problem, and why Max hasn�t come home."

"What?" Liz asked breathlessly.

"He thinks he�s Zan." Isabel shook her head. "When they crashed, he was hurt I guess � unconscious for quite a while." Liz felt her body tense at this. Isabel must have noticed because she quickly added, "He�s fine now though � physically at least. Nicholas is here too. I think he and Tess have been tag-teaming him, confusing him, pulling out memories of their life on Antar, feeding him lies about living in New York."

"Why?" Liz demanded. "What do they want?"

Michael jumped in here. "Iz�s figured out that the reason the granolith crashed was because it won�t fly without all four of us. Tess called in Nicholas, who managed to find Rath and Lonnie. They�re all going back."

"Where have they been all this time?" Maria asked, voicing Liz�s own question, although her heart was beating at about a million miles an hour and she couldn�t seem to make her own voice work.

Max had not deserted them. He didn�t even know he was Max.

He had not deserted her.

Her heart suddenly felt about a thousand times lighter. Because, as much as she constantly argued with the others that there had to be a good reason for Max to stay away, she had always had that little doubt, as much as she had tried to suppress it, that little question, that perhaps he had finally chosen Tess over her. She almost wouldn�t have blamed him, the way she had behaved towards him before he left.

But she had nothing to worry about. He was being kept away from them. He was still hers.

And now they had to figure out a way to bring him back to her, to them all, but most especially, to her child.

"I have no idea where they were." Isabel shrugged. "That whole scene with Tess in New York was obviously fake, since she was working with Nicholas all along. I think they wanted us to assume they were dead."

"Does anyone else ever get the impression that maybe Tess and Ava were switched?" Maria asked, out of nowhere. "I mean, they�re all bananas, but she seemed pretty normal to me." She paused. "In spite of all the piercings."

"Who cares?" Michael demanded. "The point is, we need to get Maxwell out, and we need to break the mind-warp. Especially if they�re planning to leave." He looked at Isabel. "I assume they mean to do it soon?"

"I think so," Isabel replied. "I think the first thing we need to do is get rid of Rath and Lonnie. Then Michael and I can take their places�"

"No." Liz stepped forward, putting her hand on Isabel�s arm. "That�ll take too long. And besides they might be stronger than all of you. They�re a complete four-square. Max will work with them, against you, if he thinks he�s Zan."

"What, are you planning to go in there?" Isabel raised an eyebrow at Liz, staring meaningfully at her stomach. "Don�t be ridiculous, Liz. In fact, I don�t even know why Michael let you come." She glared at her friend next.

Michael looked aggrieved. "Hey! Don�t blame me! I tried to leave them both behind. But they just henpecked me. I�m the victim here!"

When Maria elbowed him sharply in the ribs, Liz frowned at both of them. "If you truly think I would have stayed behind, then you�re both as crazy as your dupes," she told them primly. "There�s no point in arguing about it." She smiled slightly. "And I don�t plan to go in there anyway, but I do think that I�m the only one he�ll listen too. I�m going to bring Max to me." She looked pointedly at Isabel. "And you�re going to help me do it."

Part 23 - Another Time, Another Life - Section J

Liz shivered against the tree, staring up at the full moon shining down on the lake.

She glanced at her watch, and saw that over two hours had passed since Michael and Maria left to take up their positions. It had to be almost time! It just had to. She wasn�t going to be able to wait much longer. The baby was clearly getting impatient as well. Liz wondered why she had ever worried about the lack of movement from her daughter. She had more than made up for it in the last twenty-four hours!

"What�s taking so long?" Liz whispered to Isabel, who stood nearby, peering through an opening in the thick foliage.

"They don�t keep any sort of set schedule," Isabel replied in an undertone. "But they do leave every night. Apparently whatever night life that pool hall in Wade offers is better than spending the evening freezing in there with Tess for company." Isabel smirked slightly at her own last comment. Liz rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure Max never goes?"

"Positive. He�s being extremely broody apparently. He thinks he�s Zan, but he�s not very happy with the rest of them right now. He doesn�t want to go back. I got that from what he snarled at me yesterday. I think he�s trying to remember. He seems to know that something is off, but can�t quite get a grip on it. He needs to be pulled back to reality."

"I guess it would be too much to hope that Tess might go with them?" Liz grimaced.

"I don�t think she�ll leave the baby. That kid is her trump card." Isabel glanced back at her, her expression serious. "We have to try to get him to bring the baby too, Liz. He won�t leave without him, even if you do manage to bring Max back."

Liz closed her eyes briefly, but nodded. "I know." She didn�t have time to say anything else though, because she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. Fumbling around the jacket Isabel had lent her, which fit almost perfectly due to her pregnant belly, Liz could feel her heart beginning to beat a mile a minute.

"Maria?" She spoke quietly into the phone.

"It�s me," Maria whispered back. "Rath and Lonnie left over an hour ago. We�re in luck, Liz. Nicholas went with them. The lights have been out for almost as long too. I think they�re asleep."

"Excellent. So it�s just Tess and Max then." She saw Isabel�s eyes light up. "Okay, we�re going to start. I�m going to try and get Max to bring the baby with him. If I can�t do it though, Michael�s going to have to go in for him. We�ll call when it�s done."

"Be careful, Liz. Max is a loose cannon right now. He won�t remember you. He might hurt you."

"He will remember me," Liz replied firmly. "I won�t settle for less. I�ll talk to you soon."

She shut off the phone, placing it back in her pocket. Isabel moved closer. "Ready?" Liz smiled encouragingly up at the taller girl.

"As ready as I�ll ever be." Isabel sighed. "So, I�ll take you into Max�s dream�if he�s asleep. If he isn�t, you�re going to have to do the astral projection. It�s going to be less efficient because he won�t be able to hear you."

"What about Tess?" Liz bit her lip. "She�s not just going to let him walk out with the baby."

"Liz, this is your plan," Isabel snapped. Liz was not offended. She knew her friends was simply terrified. "You�re going to have to think of something. Play it by ear."

"Okay." Liz took a deep breath, taking Isabel�s outstretched hand. The other held a picture of Max that Liz had pulled out of her wallet earlier. "I�m ready."

She closed her eyes, focusing on the connection Isabel had made with her almost instantly. After she was fully connected to Max�s sister, she thrust her thoughts outward.

The same dizziness she had felt come upon her when she had done this to save Max�s life in New York began to settle over her. She knew it was working.

When Liz opened her eyes again, she was standing in the middle of a fire lit room. The flames created dancing shadows on the wall, catching her attention momentarily. It was another instant before she located Max.

He was sitting in a wooden chair near the hearth, his elbows on his knees, his hands clenched together between them as he stared into the flames, a far-away expression on his face.

Liz felt her heart swell just at the sight of him. His hair was longer, brushing against the collar of his flannel shirt, but in every other way he looked exactly like Max. She didn�t know what she had been expecting - tattoos maybe, an earring, a strange hair-do, something to match what she imagined Zan must have looked like if the other dupes were any clue. But, whoever Max thought himself at the moment, he had not truly become Zan.

Liz frowned slightly. He looked absolutely miserable. As she watched, he glanced over his shoulder towards an open doorway. Through it, she could see Tess asleep on a double bed, a small form beside her.

The baby.

Max�s child. Liz felt a slight smile melt across her face. This was the child she had been planning to raise as her own, before Alex died, murdered by the tiny baby�s mother.

It would still happen. He was a part of Max. He was her child�s brother. They would not forsake him.

But first she had to bring Max back to her.

Which meant that she had to somehow get his attention. This was obviously an astral projection, and not a dreamwalk, so she couldn�t communicate with him. At least she hadn�t been able to last time.

So, instead, she walked right over to him and stood in front of him. Her heart was in her throat, awaiting his reaction.

It fell when there was none. He stared right through her, continuing to contemplate the flames as though she wasn�t even there.

Was it not working? Was she not there with him? Was she just watching him somehow?

She frowned in frustration, reaching out desperately. She ran her hand down his face hopelessly. It wasn�t going to work. Nicholas and Tess had somehow severed their connection - at least on Max�s side. They were going to have to come up with another plan�

Max jerked back against the chair, a shocked expression on his face. His hand came up, grabbing hers where it lay against his cheek. "What the hell?" he exclaimed.

Liz stumbled in shock . She tried to pull back, but he had a firm grip on her - which was literally impossible, since she was nothing but a spirit after all.

"Who are you?" he hissed. "I know you�re here."

"Max�" Liz gasped. He was holding her so tightly, it was beginning to hurt.

He jerked again at the name. "Liz?" His eyes widened. Liz watched in amazement as they suddenly seemed to unfreeze right in front of her. Where they had been dull and lifeless only moments ago, now they shone with awareness.

"MAX!" She practically screamed it. He obviously couldn�t see her, but they were somehow connecting. She had reached him, had brought him back - and she hadn�t even really done anything.

It was only then that Liz became aware of the glow pulsing through her, emanating from her belly.

She realized that she had not done it at all.

"Liz, where are you?" Max demanded.

"I�m right outside. In the woods. Come to me. Bring your son and come!"

"Liz, there�s someone else here," Max whispered. "Who is that?"

Liz knew that there were tears streaming down her face, but she couldn�t stop them. She knew he was sensing the baby growing within her and it was almost too much. "Max, just bring your son and come. You�ll understand soon enough."

It was then that Liz was hit with a wave of pain so intense, it severed the connection she had made with Max. It felt like her insides were being torn apart. She screamed, saw one instant of panic cross Max�s face, and then he was gone.

She came back to herself, on her knees in the cold, Isabel�s arm around her in concern. "Liz! What happened?"

Another wave of pain sliced through her. She gasped. "Oh�God! Isabel, help me!" She brought her hands up to her stomach, and had to lean forward to try and lessen the pain. She could feel consciousness slipping away.

"Liz!" Isabel was already fumbling with her cell phone. Liz could hear her speaking into it through a miasma of agony. "Get over here! Something�s wrong with Liz!" There was a brief pause. "What? They can�t be back already! Michael� Michael!"

And suddenly Liz knew with utter certainty what was happening. Her daughter was coming�right now.

"Isabel�The baby," Liz choked out. "She�s coming."

She managed to open her eyes, and saw the expression of panic that was appearing on Max�s sister�s face. "Oh, Liz! She can�t! You have to try and wait!"

Liz started to laugh hysterically. "Wait! Are you insane? She�s tearing me apart! I can�t wait. She�s coming - right now!" This last rose in a screech.

"Liz!" Isabel was laying her back against the hard, cold ground. "Oh, God! Oh my God!"

"Liz!" Maria came stumbling out of the woods, dropping to her knees beside her. "Isabel! Get a grip!"

"Where�s Michael?" Isabel demanded. Liz was trying to focus on what was happening around her, but she could feel the desire to push already beginning to take over. Wasn�t labour supposed to be much longer than this?

"He�s distracting Lonnie and Rath. They�re engaged in a blastathon as we speak!" Maria�s voice was beginning to rise hysterically as well. Liz became aware of what sounded like nuclear explosions from nearby. "What are we going to do?"

"We are going to deliver my baby," Liz ground out through clenched teeth. "Because she�s not waiting."

What had happened to her quiet, serene daughter? This was not what Liz had expected the birth of her baby to be like.

She grasped Isabel�s arm, which was still holding her up. "Isabel! Go help Michael! See if Max�" She grit her jaw. "See if he�s coming."

"Did you reach him?" Isabel�s face momentarily lit up with hope.

"I think so�" She closed her eyes, trying to bite back a scream as another contraction tore through her. "Find him!"

"I�m here. What the hell? Liz, what�" He sounded absolutely flabbergasted.

His voice was like music to Liz�s ears. She managed to open her eyes, gazing up at him in disbelief. "Max!"

He was already on his knees beside her, staring down at her in complete bafflement. The contraction had ended, giving her a moment of respite. "Liz�What�" He was running his hands over her body, sending warmth and comfort winding through her. The pain was completely forgotten for a moment.

She felt tears fill her eyes. "Max�"

"Liz, what have I done to you?" His hand gently moved a stray strand of hair off her face. "I am so sorry."

Liz grabbed his hand urgently. "Don�t you dare apologize. You came back to me. It�s enough. And I don�t have time to deal with your guilt right now - or with explanations. This baby is coming right now!" She gripped him so tightly, a grimace crossed his face.

It was the last thing of which she was aware before the pain took over again.

***

She drifted back to consciousness slowly, so warm and content, she didn�t want to open her eyes.

"Time to wake up, Sweetheart. Liz, you have to open your eyes."

But she didn�t want to. She knew that if she did, he would be gone, and she would be pregnant and alone, sure that she was never going to see him again.

"Max, just carry her. I have the baby."

"It�s been too long, Maria. I�m afraid she�s never going to wake up." And she could hear it - the fear. It laced his words with an urgency that was not unusual for Max - not where she was concerned.

It was only then that the words that had preceded this penetrated her foggy mind.

The baby.

Liz�s eyes snapped open. Max�s beloved face was the first thing she saw, hovering over her with concern. She felt a lump enter her throat. "Max." Reaching up, feeling extraordinarily weak, she brought her hand to his cheek.

His eyes widened, relief evident. "Liz." He cupped her hand with his, brought it to his lips. "I�m sorry, Sweetheart. We�re not out of the woods yet. We have to get you out of here."

Although, apparently they were - out of the woods that was. Looking around, Liz recognized the walls of the cabin she had visited with her mind, what seemed like only moments ago.

"Where is she?" Liz whispered, suddenly fearful. She was becoming aware of the emptiness within her. Her baby was gone. "Max, where is she?" She struggled to sit up.

"She�s right here, chica." Maria appeared from behind Max, holding a small bundle in her arms. "Perfectly safe." She laid the baby in Liz�s waiting arms.

Tears filled her eyes as she gazed down at the most perfect little face she had ever seen. She reached out a tentative, shaking hand, tracing the small nose, the tiny mouth, the perfectly formed little ears. "Hello, little one," she breathed, watching in amazement as the baby�s eyes opened, gazing up at her, perfectly serene, dark and wise beyond their years - just like her father�s. "You certainly decided to surprise me," she whispered, dropping a kiss on the baby�s forehead.

"Liz�" She glanced up at Max, who was watching all of this, his dark eyes shining with unshed tears. "I can�t believe you went through this all alone. I am so sorry." He lowered his head, his shame more than obvious.

"Max, it wasn�t your fault," Liz told him firmly. "And you were here for the most important part. You came back to me."

"You brought me back," Max replied, smiling slightly. "I love you so much." He brought his lips gently against hers. She felt her heart almost take flight out of her chest.

She pulled back, smiling up at him. Shefelt the joy that ran through her veins lighting up every part of her. "I love you too. I am so sorry about�about what happened. After Alex�"

His eyes darkened slightly. "We were both to blame. None of it is important now." He kissed her again, this time on the forehead.

"You know what, guys," Maria cut in, sounding sorry. "I hate to break up this reunion, but we need to get out of here. Now."

Max lifted his head. "You�re right. Liz, you have to give the baby back to Maria. I�m going to have to carry you."

Liz shook her head, clutching the baby more tightly against her. "No."

"Liz, please," Max pleaded. "Michael and Isabel are managing to hold them off, but just barely. They�re coming. We have to leave now. You�re too weak to keep her safe."

Liz swallowed. "Fine." She reluctantly allowed Maria to take the baby away from her. "How did we get in here?" Liz asked him as he gently lifted her into his arms, making sure that the blanket she had been under was wrapped firmly around her.

"Michael drove Lonnie and Rath away from the cottage," Max explained, moving towards the door of the cabin. "Isabel joined him further down the road."

"Where�s Tess?" Liz demanded. "Isn�t she helping them?"

A shadow crossed Max�s face. "She�s gone. She wasn�t here when we brought you in."

Liz felt her heart drop. "Max, your son!"

"He�s gone too." He was trying to hide the concern in his voice, but she could hear it. "When our connection was broken so suddenly, I just reacted. I wasn�t thinking. I came after you, and left him with her. She was still asleep. I never imagined that things could spin so completely out of control so quickly."

"I�m sorry, Max." And she was.

"It�s okay. We�ll find them. She can�t have gone far."

They were standing at the door. Headlights swept across Liz and Max�s faces within seconds. Liz glanced back. Maria stood closely behind Max, the baby clutched firmly in her arms.

"Get in!" Michael bellowed from the vehicle he had rented what seemed like days before. Isabel was in the passenger seat, frantically scanning the woods for a sign of their enemies. "They haven�t fired on us in a few minutes, but they�re still out there." He elaborated as Max gently deposited Liz on the backseat, making sure that Maria was in with the baby, and then climbed in as well.

"We�ll come back," Max decided. "Get us out of here, Michael. We�ll make sure that Liz and the baby are safe, and then we�ll come back and finish this."

"Max." Isabel twisted around in the front seat. "Are you sure you�re okay? They�re not still controlling you?"

Max scowled. "I�m sure. I don�t know how they�ve managed to do it for so long. I remembered all of you, but I couldn�t act on any of it. It was like they had trapped me inside my own mind. Tess is a hell of a lot more powerful than we ever knew. Once Nicholas came aboard, I had no chance at all." He smiled over Maria, at Liz. "Until Liz."

"And Serena," Liz added. She had taken her daughter back from Maria, and was still staring down at her in complete wonder. She didn�t understand why the baby wasn�t crying. She had to be able to sense the almost contagious panic that still existed in the vehicle.

But she just blinked her long-lashed amber eyes calmly, sighed slightly, and then went to sleep.

"Serena?" Max�s voice was low. He and Maria had switched places now. "I like it." He brought his arm around Liz�s shoulder, pulling her tightly against him, and then kissing the top of her head.

Liz knew that she shouldn�t be so completely happy. They were running for their lives after all. They had lost Max�s son.

But Max was back. Her daughter had come, safe and healthy, if not necessarily serenely, and she knew that somehow, everything was finally coming together.

It would work out. It had to.

She was trying to keep her eyes open, but exhaustion was settling over her like a blanket. She allowed her eyes to drift closed, and she fell asleep against Max, hope warming her from the inside.

She could not have known, after all, that things were about to get worse.

Part 24 - "Shelter" - Max POV

They�re crowded into the smallest spaces

While outside all of nature cries.

It�s known to be cruel and unfair

But there is no place to hide.

Oh, I�ve seen a part of people that I never really want to share

Oh, I�ve seen a part of people that I never knew was there.

Shelter, give them shelter from the coming storm.

Shelter, give them shelter from the coming storm.

I can�t sleep haunted by their faces

The sadness in their eyes.

It hurts so much to see them helpless,

It makes me want to cry.

But there is still much left unanswered

For so many innocent lives,

They close the doors and are letting no one in

And only the strong will survive�

Shelter, give them shelter from the coming storm

Shelter, give them shelter from the coming storm.

I�ve seen the anger and I�ve seen all the dreams

And I�ve watched an existence torn apart

And though I may seem helpless

I will do all I can do.

Oh I�ve seen a part of people that I never want to share

Oh I�ve seen a part of people that I never knew was there.

Shelter - give them shelter from the coming storm

Shelter - give them shelter from the coming storm.

Sarah McLachlan

Maria and I are both waiting impatiently on Valenti�s front porch when the sheriff finally arrives. I am pacing, while she sits on the top step, her arms wrapped around her knees, one foot tapping.

I rub a hand across my face in relief. For some reason I was beginning to have visions of Kyle instantly dead because we had realized he was still being mindwarped. But I can see Kyle sitting in the passenger seat beside his dad, a scowl of annoyance on his face. He is out of the car and in my face the minute it rolls to a stop. "What are we doing here, Evans? That maniac is still out there with Liz!"

I�m not sure which maniac he�s referring to, as it could be either Tess or Sean, but I try not to get irritated. After all, Kyle has no idea that he is still being mindwarped - that I have called them all back here because, with every passing minute, the possibility that his brain is about to short circuit becomes more and more possible.

Maria and I spent the minutes waiting for the others trying to figure out exactly what Tess is still hiding from us with her powers. Because there is obviously something, especially if Kyle has been allowed to remember some things and not others.

We haven�t even broached the fact that I am obviously still being controlled as well.

The concept that Michael might be right about the night I spent with Tess - that it never happened at all - is looming large in my mind, making my stomach clench with anticipation for what we will find out when I connect with Kyle.

There is also the possibility that Tess is not doing any of this anymore. The expression on Sean Deluca�s face then he touched me�

I am becoming more and more convinced that I am not insane. He is Tess�s son, back from the future. I am almost positive of it now. And if he is my son, then I did sleep with her, and she mindwarped some other lie, one that I am going to soon remember.

Unless he just thinks he is - my son that is. There was a baby, but maybe it wasn�t mine. Because the possibilities of what the block on Kyle�s mind could be hiding�

The abrupt change in the way that Kyle and Tess acted around each other after the prom does not completely change my budding hypothesis either. The way Kyle suddenly started proclaiming that Tess was like a sister to him - that had been just plain weird. They didn�t behave like siblings before Alex�s death. In fact, they acted entirely like two people with a major attraction to each other. I think Tess might have been falling for him despite herself.

But everything changed again when I started to remember my life with her on Antar.

I shake my head impatiently. There is no point in speculating. If I can manage to break through the barrier on Kyle�s mind, we will know for sure soon.

Just because I want my speculations to be true with all my heart doesn�t mean that they are. And there is still the fact that Liz saw flashes of me with Tess. The baby might not be mine, but there seems to be little doubt that I did sleep with her.

It is just better to wait and find out for sure. And, yet, I can�t control the anticipatory pounding of my heart.

Hope. You feel it or you don�t. And I am beginning to feel it again - for the first time in a long time.

"Kyle, I have some bad news for you," I tell him now, grimacing. I see the Sheriff�s (I can never stop thinking of him as the Sheriff, even though he hasn�t been for months now) face darken. He clearly recognizes the tone of my voice. This is serious.

"Did you find her?" Kyle demands, his eyes suddenly wide with fear. "Is she hurt?" I see him glance at Maria in confusion, as though already knowing that we have not found Liz, because Maria and I are both entirely too calm.

"We heard from Jennifer Coleman again," I explain gently. I can see a scowl beginning to appear on his face again. He absolutely hates whenever I have to tell him something, that there is something I know that he doesn�t, especially if it concerns him.

He hates me. We both know it.

"So?" Kyle replies, sounding more annoyed.

The sheriff steps forward at this point. "Max, just tell us." I can hear the fear in his voice.

And so I do. "Kyle, she recognized you in that picture from the prom. She says that you were in Las Cruces with Alex. She saw you with him."

"What? That�s impossible!" Kyle exclaims. "I would remem�" He cuts himself off abruptly, dawning comprehension crossing his face. "Oh crap." It is a simple statement, but basically sums up my exact feelings on this entire situation. "She�s still doing it, isn�t she?" he whispers, licking his lips nervously.

"I don�t know if it�s her," I tell him, because I don�t. "It could be Sean."

For some reason, I really don�t want it to be Tess. I might hate her guts, but I almost think this will be easier on Kyle if it is Sean controlling him, and not Tess. Because, as much as he wants to, I don�t think Kyle hates Tess. It is just something on his face whenever her name comes up, like he is trying desperately to deny his true feelings where she is concerned.

He doesn�t hate her, and he hates himself because he doesn�t, because he should hate her, because of what she did to Alex.

And because he has to live with himself, he chooses to hate me enough to cover all of it.

Of course, the sheriff understands the implications of all of this almost immediately. "Max, is my son�s life in danger?" he demands. I see Kyle�s eyes widen, as though the thought hadn�t even dawned on him.

"I don�t know," I reply honestly. "But I�m going to do everything in my power to make sure it isn�t." I look the sheriff right in the eye. "Nothing is going to happen to him."

I can see that Valenti understands that, in the end, this has nothing to do with Kyle. Kyle and I will never be friends. We can be allies, but not friends. We do not understand each other at all. But the sheriff and I always have. Ever since that first encounter, at the Crash Festival, we have always understood each other. For good or ill.

I will not let his son die. Not after all he has done for us.

Which means that I am going to have to make Kyle Valenti trust me.

"Kyle, I�m going to have to connect with you," I tell him quietly. "I have to try and break the warp, and fix whatever damage has been done in there."

His eyes narrow. "I don�t particularly want you wandering around in my head, Evans."

"Kyle." The sheriff places a firm hand on his son�s shoulder. "There�s no choice here, son."

Kyle presses his lips together, looking away, down the road, as though not wanting to give in gracefully. I know he will eventually, but he won�t do it right away. As I watch the emotions play across his face, I see hope suddenly appear when his eyes focus on something in the distance.

I follow his gaze, see Kyle�s Mustang approaching at break-neck speed.

"Isabel," he says triumphantly. " She can do it. I�d be okay with her in there."

I look at Maria, who rolls her eyes. I see her mutter "men" under her breath.

"Kyle, Isabel can�t heal you," she tells him impatiently. "Stop being such an idiot and let Max help you."

Kyle turns his frown on her, but sighs in resignation.

But Kyle has actually given me a good idea. Bringing Isabel would probably be really helpful. First of all, she does have more experience with the mind, through her dreamwalks.

Plus it would also help to have some back-up if I discover anything in there. Because I know that I am getting too close to this. I�m not sure I�m going to be able to control my emotions enough to be able to understand what I see when I connect with Kyle. If Izzy is there, she will be able to watch as an impartial bystander.

"What�s going on?" Michael demands when he and Isabel join us moments later. Maria goes immediately into his arms, which makes me swallow as a pang of loneliness for Liz falls over me.

But I can�t worry about her right now. I have to ignore the knawing fear in the pit of my stomach. I know by now that I am not going to be able to find her until I know the entire truth about what happened to Alex.

I am beginning to understand that this is what it�s all about. It�s why Alex visited me in my dreams. He knew that there was something that we all needed to know if we were going to win against our enemies. And it is time to find out what that is.

Kyle Valenti is the key. If he dies, we will never know.

Maria is in the middle of explaining to Michael and Isabel what�s going on. I let my gaze meet my sister�s. I can see that she knows immediately that I plan to heal Kyle�s mind - that I am not going to let what happened to Alex happen to Valenti�s son. I see the acceptance on her face, but I can also see that she understands how dangerous this could potentially be. I have no idea what I am going to find in there. I could just make it worse.

She will come with me though. I have absolutely no doubts about that.

Minutes later, we are all gathered in Valenti�s living room.

Michael is sitting at the dining room table, looking in the opposite direction from where we are going to do the connection. I know that he is almost as scared as Isabel and I are. If something goes wrong, he could lose both of us at once. I don�t think he would be particularly happy to see something happen to Kyle either. They aren�t friends, but I know that Michael trusts him, and also would not want Valenti to lose anyone else close to him.

Dealing with Tess�s betrayal has been difficult enough for our father-figure. Losing his real son�

Unacceptable.

Maria is sitting beside Michael, holding his hand, her head against his shoulder. She is watching me intently, her eyes trusting. She knows that this is the only way to help Liz. She is confident that I will not rest until I find her best friend and this is the first step.

The sheriff is standing near the door, his jaw clenched. His gaze has not left Kyle, who is stretched out on the couch, staring unseeing at the ceiling. Kyle seems resigned, and is still more annoyed by all of this than anything.

I swallow, moving towards him.

We considered doing this in Kyle�s bedroom, but the implications of that had been too heavy. It was where Alex died, killed by the exact same thing that could be presently killing Kyle.

No, we could not try this in there.

The plan is simple. Isabel is going to connect with Kyle first, and is going to try and see what is being hidden behind the mindwarp, and then she is going to bring me in to clean up whatever mess Tess has left behind.

We will know the truth about Alex�s death once and for all after this.

My hope that we will know even more than that�I have to let go of it. Because I don�t know if I�m going to be able to stand the disappointment if I�m wrong about what I think went down between Tess and Kyle.

My gaze meets Kyle�s for one long, charged minute. His eyes narrow, but he has accepted this. We are bonded now, whether he likes it or not.

"Ready, Max?" Isabel asks quietly, glancing at the sheriff in concern.

I nod.

She takes a deep breath, places both of her hands on Kyle�s temples, and stares right into his eyes.

It feels like forever, waiting for my sister to take my hand. The seconds pass like hours, each one ticking away on the grandfather clock in the corner like a death knell.

I can see Isabel�s eyes roll back up in her head, as though whatever information she is receiving is pounding into her mind at such a speed that she is struggling to get a handle on it. She gasps, and begins to breathe shallowly, her forehead crinkling as she concentrates on maintaining control.

Kyle is still staring straight at the ceiling, but an emptiness has appeared on his face, as though there is nothing inside his head anymore.

The sheriff moves forward from his sentry position, about to pull my sister away from his son. Michael jumps to his feet and pushes him back against the wall, gently but firmly. "It�s okay," he mutters soothingly.

Suddenly I don�t see anything - on this plain anyway. Isabel has reached out blindly, grabbing my hand, as though for a lifeline.

Instantly, we are connected.

And I understand what was giving her such problems.

The flashes are so screwed up and dark, I literally stumble to my knees beside the couch.

All I can see are eyes�everywhere. Ice blue, cold, piercing into me like arrows.

Oh hell. Tess has been in here all right. And recently too. But I can feel the presence of someone else as well. Someone even darker than my past life bride, someone whose hatred is so intense, it makes my blood run cold.

I become slowly aware of my sister�s voice as she tries to break through whatever it is that is blocking us from completely connecting with Kyle.

Max! I don� t know if we�re going to be able to do this. It�s like chaos in here!

I don�t answer her immediately. Because I am pushing against whatever it is that is trying to stop me from getting any flashes.

Whoever is doing this is strong - stronger even than Nicholas was when he went into my mind last fall, which until this moment, seemed impossible.

How can Tess be this powerful and we never knew?

It can�t be her still in control here. She isn�t even on the planet anymore. But whoever is doing this is definitely using blocks that she set up. The basis of the mindwarp is hers.

We need to do it together, Iz! I call out to my sister.

I cannot feel Kyle anywhere. It is like he is totally gone - almost as if his mind was booby-trapped, set to implode on itself if anyone tried to interfere with the mindwarp.

But I don�t have time to reflect on this at all. I can feel Isabel�s presence tickling the back of my mind as she struggles to connect more closely with me, so that I can use her energy to fight the warp.

Now! It feels like she is shrieking right next to my ear, which I guess she sort of is. And it certainly makes me react - instantly in fact.

With one gigantic push, I am in. I feel relief spiral through me as the flashes begin.

*Flash

Kyle as a very young boy, playing catch with his father.

*Flash

Kyle sobbing on his bed after his mother left Valenti.

Flash*

Kyle throwing his first touchdown on the JV squad at West Roswell.

Flash*

Kyle pulling Liz into a janitor�s closet and kissing her for the first time.

Flash*

Kyle staring at Liz in sophomore history. She is turned around in her seat, whispering something to me.

Flash*

Liz breaking up with Kyle, on the day her grandmother died.

I can feel his hatred for me in that moment and it almost makes me break the connection, but Isabel�s comforting presence soothes me and I hold on.

Flash*

Kyle waking up in his father�s arms after I healed him.

Flash*

Kyle staring in shock at Tess as she snaps the band of his boxers.

Flash*

"Let me tell you, Buddha-boy� I�ve got a lamp that needs some serious trimming."

Flash*

Kyle and Liz laughing together as they lie under the covers of her bed, waiting for me to appear at her window.

If I ever had any doubt when Liz told me that they hadn�t slept together, I have none now. Kyle�s memories confirm it.

Flash*

Kyle watching Tess with admiration as she places a casserole on the table.

Flash*

Kyle staring at me as he drops the gandarium crystals at my feet in disdain.

Flash*

Kyle and Alex trapped in the cave under Frasier Woods, singing American Pie, discussing whether they would change what they knew about aliens or not. I can feel that Kyle is thinking about Tess when he decides that he is glad he knows.

It is then that the flashes change, become hazy, as though I am watching underwater. They are the memories that have been blocked I realize. We are bringing them back.

Flash*

"I won�t be second best, Tess."

Tess coming towards Kyle, a slight smile on her face, kissing him lightly. "I don�t care about Max. It�s you I want." They are making out on the bed in Kyle�s room.

I can feel that he is in love with her.

Flash*

Kyle watching Alex, who is hunched over a computer, typing furiously. Tess appears at his shoulder, laying her hand on his arm.

Flash*

Kyle, against his will, telling Tess that he considers her to be a sister.

I can feel his confusion as he says it, because he knows that he is not really thinking it.

Flash*

Kyle, Alex�s body over his shoulder, placing it in Tess�s car, his expression completely blank.

Flash*

Kyle watching me kiss Tess goodbye in the doorway of his house, the morning after we conceived our son. His pain is extremely sharp, but just as suddenly muted, when Tess�s eyes focus on him watching us.

The flashes clear as we return to memories that Kyle has already retrieved: remembering the mindwarp that had hidden his part in Alex�s murder, watching the spaceship activated by the granolith take off into the sky, concern about Liz, and fear that he is going to die when he realizes that his mind is still not completely his own.

When the flashes end, I am able to focus beyond them. I can see the tissue of his brain in my mind�s eye. I see the holes that have been created by Tess�s mind-control. I concentrate on healing, on making those parts of his cerebral cortex match the healthy areas.

When I am sure that his brain is whole again, I break the connection quickly, eager to begin dissecting everything that I have seen in there.

I open my eyes to the sight of Kyle already sitting up, a shell-shocked expression on his face.

Our eyes meet. I can see the pain that he must be feeling reflected in his.

"I�m sorry," I tell him softly.

"Max?" Isabel�s hand is on my shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"He�s all right." I look over at the sheriff. The expression on his face says that he doesn�t believe me. I don�t blame him. Kyle looks extremely green at the moment. "At least physically," I amend.

I move to stand, but Kyle�s hand shoots out and grabs me by the arm. I turn to stare at him in surprise. "Evans, I saw some things," he says flatly. I can see that he is struggling to deal with his own memories, which are still filtering back into his consciousness, but he is pushing them aside for the moment.

I don�t reply, just wait for him to say whatever it is he needs to.

"I�" He closes his eyes for a moment. "I know you love Liz. I know that you care about my father." He pauses, opening his eyes and staring right at me, sincerity shining from his face. "I�m sorry I�ve been such a dick to you."

"You had every right." I shrug.

He frowns, then looks away. "Well, I�m still sorry about it," he replies gruffly. He looks beyond me, at Isabel. I turn to see my sister watching us both with a strange expression on her face.

"What did you see, Iz?" I ask, not daring to hope too hard that I was not the only one who had seen one very specific incident occur between Tess and Kyle in those blocked flashes.

Her eyes are wide, unsure if she is allowed to be happy about what she is about to say or not. I think she is just as aware as I am that, while the news is great for me, it isn�t necessarily what Kyle might want to hear.

"Kyle and Tess spent the night together," she admits quietly. "Last fall, when Courtney was around."

I frown at the obscure reference, but I quickly realize that my sister doesn�t know that it was also right around the time that the future version of myself came back to get Liz to change the future. Isabel and Michael still don�t know about that. I have been keeping it to myself, unsure how my sister and best friend are going to react to the fact that Liz basically destroyed her own future - and mine - to save them.

But I know now that I am going to have to tell them soon. It isn�t fair to keep secrets. Not any longer. We all have to know exactly what was going on with each other, all the time. Tess used secrets against us. We can�t let it happen again.

It�s not the time now though. Because if Kyle and Tess did spend the night together, it means that I might not be the father of Tess�s baby at all.

It doesn�t mean that I didn�t sleep with her, of course, but it does mean that Tess�s declarations about the baby dying are probably also false. If it is Kyle�s, it is half human - actually more than half-human if you take into account that Tess is mostly human as well, as much as she doesn�t want that to be the case.

And why would Tess bother to block the memory of her and Kyle having made love if there wasn�t some specific reason? She needed it hidden, so that I would believe the baby was mine.

Kyle is staring at Isabel, his mouth agape. I can see the specific memory to which we are referring beginning to filter through his mind, because his face turns an interesting shade of red.

"Oh Lord." This is the sheriff, the realization of what this means hitting him like a ton of bricks. He has joined Kyle on the couch, his arm firmly around his son�s shoulders in relief that he is okay. Now he closes his eyes in dismay.

"What about Alex?" Maria asks suddenly. "Kyle, were you with him in Las Cruces?"

An expression of grief crosses Kyle�s face as he nods. "I was there. She used me as her bully boy when Sean wasn�t around. I made him do what she wanted."

I can see that this fact is going to haunt Kyle Valenti for the rest of his life.

"Max, what do we do now?" Isabel asks quietly. We move away from the sheriff and Kyle in order to give them a chance to adjust to the way things have changed abruptly. Their stake in the search for Tess�s baby is now much higher, and it is going to take a lot of soul searching on their parts to figure out if they are willing to take on a child if the baby does prove to be Kyle�s, which with every passing moment seems more likely.

After all, it was practically a full-term baby when I connected with it. It makes no sense that it would be mine. We had only slept together a couple of days before. But, if Kyle and Tess had slept together in the autumn of our junior year, then she would have been about seven and a half months pregnant in May.

I am a little ashamed at how much I want the baby to be Kyle�s. I still care about it, but my son is one thing standing between Liz and me. If the baby isn�t mine, maybe - just maybe - she might be able to forgive me.

But reality comes crashing back quickly. Even if the baby isn�t mine, it doesn�t resolve the issue of the flashes. Liz will never be able to deal with that.

"We�re going to find Liz," I tell my sister firmly.

"But, Max, there was nothing in Kyle�s mind to tell us where Tess took her," Isabel reminds me, sounding perplexed.

I know that my sister is right, but I also know that time is running out. We need to find Liz and quickly.

"Where do we even start?" Michael and Maria have joined us. The question is Michael�s, and it has barely left his mouth before a shadow nearby moves.

"I can tell you."

Maria shrieks slightly. My heart starts to pound unevenly in my chest as the intruder steps into the light thrown by the single lamp shining on the side table.

For one, heart-stopping, moment, I think she is Tess - that my past life wife has actually returned to face the music.

Her blonde hair is short, streaked with many colours, quite different from when we first met her in the fall. But her lip is still pierced, and her eyes are still wide and innocent, if a little more knowledgeable than they were then.

Ava.

"What are you doing here?" I ask her quietly. Isabel is clenching my forearm in shock, her nails digging into my skin painfully, but I don�t shake her off.

"I got the answers I went looking for," she says, her eyes shining at me strangely, in a way that doesn�t make me feel entirely comfortable. "I belong with you."

Part 25 - Another Time, Another Life - Section K

June 2002, Roswell, New Mexico

"Michael called from Dallas," Maria said, as Liz shook her keys and inserted the correct one into the door of the small apartment she shared with Max. "He and Isabel are close to tracking down Ava. They think she�s avoiding them though."

Liz sighed, wearily removing the Crashdown antenna from her head as she wandered into the small front hallway, then almost tripped over Serena�s stroller. She frowned, folding it up and shaking her head, concerned at Max�s unusual forgetfulness. But he had other things to think about of course. "I wonder why she�s doing that?"

It was close to a month since Isabel and Michael headed out on their search for Ava. They had waited until Michael graduated from high school, which Max had insisted upon, although Michael wanted to go sooner. They had traced her to an address in Lousiana, through an old post card she had sent Liz, and had quickly managed to follow her to Texas. There had not been leads in a week or so though.

Max insisted that they keep trying. He was taking Liz�s warning about the need for a complete four square seriously, especially since he knew that there was no way Tess was ever going to return to Roswell. She told him as much in the letter she sent him recently, taunting him with the fact that Sean had spoken his first word, that it had been "Daddy," and that he had said it to Rath.

"Michael wonders if she thinks that they�re Lonnie and Rath. He�s felt her trying to connect with him, to find out for sure. She�s staying away until she knows they�re safe," Maria replied.

"I don�t blame her for being careful. Max is sure that Lonnie and Rath will go after her eventually to make sure that we never manage to make up a complete four square. They must have been shocked by how easily Michael and Isabel were able to hold them off in Wade. The fact that they never turned up again, when the three of them went back to the cabin to find Sean, seems to indicate that." Liz shook her head. "But I really hope they find her. It will be one less thing for Max to worry about."

Maria just nodded in agreement, continuing into the living room, but stopped abruptly, causing Liz�s eyes to widen and her heart to thump erratically. But the affection in Maria�s voice when she spoke made Liz realize that nothing was wrong. "He doesn�t look very worried right now, Liz," Maria whispered over her shoulder.

Liz moved up beside her, a slight smile appearing on her face. "He sleeps almost all the time when he�s home, Maria. He feels so bad about it, but the baby could care less. She just wants to be with him."

"I can see that," Maria replied softly, laughing slightly.

Max was sprawled on the couch, on his back, sound asleep. Serena was curled up on his chest, her tiny thumb firmly in her mouth. Her father had his arm wrapped around her, holding her in place. The baby�s eyes were open, but she did not seem the least bit interested in moving, even when she caught sight of Liz and Maria.

"Kitchen," Liz mouthed, moving past Maria and gently placing a pillow against Max to hold Serena in place. She kissed the baby lightly on the top of her dark head, then watched with satisfaction as her daughter closed her dark eyes and seemed to drift off. Liz stroked a hand lovingly down Max�s face before joining her best friend.

"God, Liz, he looks exhausted," Maria commented seriously while Liz put the kettle on the stove. "He�s got to stay home more. He�s burning himself out."

Liz just sighed again. "Maria, he�s not going to stop until he finds Sean."

"He�s not going to be any good to that kid if he runs himself into an early grave," Maria replied.

Liz swallowed, feeling tears fill her eyes. "Don�t you think I know that? But we lost him, Maria! He�s stuck with that murdering witch and Max has to find him."

Maria was at her side in an instant. "I�m sorry, chica. I know this is awful for both of you. I just don�t understand why it�s so hard! Why can�t Max connect with him? Shouldn�t he be able to find him that way? It doesn�t make any sense!"

"He�s tried. But there�s just nothing. It�s almost like Sean doesn�t exist anymore. But we know he does, because of the pictures Tess keeps sending."

Maria scowled. "She is such a bitch. God! I wish we killed her when we had the chance."

"Maria, don�t say that!" Liz reprimanded. "It�s what they would do," she added, referring to Lonnie, and Rath, and Nicholas, and Tess. "We are not going to turn into them."

Maria took a deep breath. "You�re right. I�m sorry. But, Liz, if we don�t kill them someday, they�re never going to stop coming after us. You have to know that."

Liz stared at the professional photograph stuck to the fridge that they had done just last week. It was actually a proof, one of several they had to pick their prints from. Her baby daughter�s innocent face smiled out at her. "I know."

And she did. After they found Sean, they were going to have to deal with their enemies once and for all. Serena would never be safe as long as they were alive.

"Let�s talk about something more cheerful." Maria broke the tense silence that had settled over the kitchen. "Like wedding plans. You and Max are still planning to drive to Vegas next week, aren�t you? At least, that�s what your mom told my mom yesterday."

Liz swallowed, then wiped her eyes. "We were going to, but I think it�s off. Max is going to Los Angeles tomorrow. It�s where the last letter Tess sent was postmarked from."

"Oh, Liz," Maria said, sounding disappointed.

"It�ll happen eventually, Maria," Liz replied impatiently. "We just don�t have time right now. I have to work twelve hour shifts to support the three of us, and I need to start planning for the move in the fall."

"So, you�re still going then?"

"I need an education." Liz shrugged. "Northwestern is the only place that offered a full scholarship. Plus, Chicago is central. It will be easier for Max to go off on his trips from there."

"Liz, you�re not saying that you don�t think you�ll have found Sean by the fall?" Maria sounded shocked. Liz didn�t blame her. It was the first time she had openly admitted that she was beginning to doubt that they would ever find Max�s son.

Liz swallowed, faced the sink and clutched the counter, trying to hide her face from Maria. Because the guilt was about enough to kill her. If she hadn�t gone into labour when she had, Max never would have left the baby with Tess, Tess never would have had a chance to escape, and that innocent little boy wouldn�t currently be in the hands of a madwoman.

But she had to be the strong one. She could not let anyone know that she didn�t think that they were ever going to find Sean. Max needed her encouragement to keep him going because, with every day that passed without his son, with every fruitless trip chasing down shadows, Max was becoming more and more desperate.

And, with desperation, the unthinkable was beginning to appear very probable.

No one but Liz and Max knew that there was only one sure fire way to make Tess give Sean back. She had broached it in the last letter she sent, although Liz knew that the idea had been percolating at the back of Max�s mind for months now anyway. He had admitted it to her after showing her the letter.

If Max was willing to give himself up to Lonnie, Rath and Tess - if he was willing to join with them to create a full complement of the Royal Four - they would let Liz raise Max�s son. It was in that instant that Liz had understood that Sean was in even more danger than either she or Max had ever thought. At least, in her heart, Liz had hoped that Tess loved her son - that she would not hurt him.

But to be so willing to give him up�He was a pawn to her, nothing more. All Tess cared about was getting back to Antar. And she was willing to sacrifice her own son to do it. Because, without Max, the only clone of Zan left, no one was going anywhere. The granolith would not take them home without him.

When Liz had read the compromise in Tess�s spidery handwriting, she had felt the world starting to spin completely out of control. Only Max�s arm around her shoulders had prevented her from falling to the floor in shock.

If they didn�t find Tess soon, Max was going to have no choice. They both knew it. Because neither of them was willing to allow an innocent child to be raised by Tess, or Lonnie, or Rath, especially now that they knew how little any of them really cared about him. They needed some good news, and they needed it soon. If Michael and Isabel could find Ava�Well, things might start going their way. If they could use the power of the four square, particularly Ava�s DNA, which would be linked to Sean�s, they might, just might, be able to find him without resorting to the horrific idea of letting Max go.

"Liz?" Liz shook her head to clear it at Maria�s questioning tone. She turned away from the sink, plastering a confident expression on her face.

"Of course I know we�ll have him by the fall," she replied cheerfully. "Max really thinks that this lead is the one. I was just talking about worst case scenario."

Maria frowned slightly, but finally nodded. "Okay." She did not look entirely convinced however. She picked up her bag, moving towards the door. "I�ll call you guys if I hear anything from Michael, although I�m sure he�ll call here first. The only reason he called me was because there was no answer here earlier. I guess Max was out with Serena?"

Liz smiled, indicating the stroller as she followed Maria towards the door. "They went to see his parents, I think. He likes to walk her over there when he�s home. It�s like double bonus day for them when they get to see both of them at the same time." She reached out and gave Maria a quick hug. "Thanks for the ride. I love you."

"I love you too, babe," Maria replied. "Get some rest." She paused in the doorframe. "Oh, I almost forgot! I�m stopping at the Valentis on the way home. Mom told me that Kyle is sick, or something, so I�m bringing him one of her pies. He says it always makes him feel better. Do want me to say anything to him?"

"Just tell him we�re still on for Friday," Liz replied, a pang of concern running through her at the news that Kyle wasn�t feeling well. He was her rock, particularly when Max was out of town. Liz knew that he still had not forgiven Max for leaving with Tess, and actually basically despised him because of it, but he had been nothing but supportive of Liz, dating from the days before Serena was even born. He knew that Liz loved Max, and said he accepted it, but he didn�t try to hide that it didn�t make him at all happy. They had started to drift apart recently because of it. She could sense his disapproval, and it was just another burden she felt unable to deal with, and so she let their friendship slide recently.

She was looking forward to Friday, when they had agreed to go see the new Star Wars movie together. They had seen the Phantom Menace on their first date in freshman year, and decided then that, no matter what, if they could, they would see the next one together too. Max was amused when she told him about it, and told her in no uncertain terms that he wanted her to go. He knew how Kyle felt about him, but he had absolutely no issues with Kyle himself. Max trusted him and was grateful for how he was there for Liz when Max could not be.

It was one of the many reasons Kyle�s disapproval hurt her. She knew that Max didn�t deserve it - none of what had transpired with Tess was his fault after all. She had tricked him into sleeping with her, and had then basically tried to destroy his life by taking him back to Antar. It was fate that had brought him back to her, and Liz was not going to lose him again, even if one of her best friends could not forgive him.

It was not an easy life, being with Max, but she loved him and he loved her. It was worth it to her. And Kyle was just going to have to accept that.

Liz put her problems with Kyle out of her head after she said goodbye to Maria. She had little enough quality time with Max as it was. She wasn�t going to waste one of the few nights he was home worrying about it. Friday would arrive soon enough.

Crossing the living room, Liz perched on the edge of the couch, then leaned over and spoke softly into Max�s ear. "Wake up, sleepyhead. It�s time to come to bed." He stirred, his long lashes fluttering, and moments later he was gazing up at her sleepily.

"Liz." She saw his arms tighten convulsively around Serena, making sure she was still securely on his chest. "What time is it? I was going to come pick you up."

"It�s okay," Liz whispered, gently disentangling their daughter from his embrace and bringing the baby up against her neck. Serena squawked once, but settled back into sleep almost immediately. "Maria drove me home."

A flash of guilt crossed his face anyway. "But I wanted to." He closed his eyes briefly, as though suddenly everything he wanted to do and couldn�t until he found his son had come crashing down on him.

Liz kissed him lightly on the forehead. "And that�s why I love you. It�s really okay," she repeated. "Just come to bed."

As Liz curled up against a still half-asleep Max minutes later, she knew that she was right to make the sacrifices required to be with him. Being tired, having too much responsibility for someone her age, being alone half the time�It was worth it.

It was worth it because, when she was in his arms, the rest of it went away. Then they were just Max, and Liz, and their little baby girl, and together they could do anything.

They would find Sean. They would find Ava. And then they would defeat Max�s enemies and live the quiet, normal life they both wanted.

It was only a matter of time before they would all -every single person she cared about - achieve their happy ending.

This last thought brought a slight smile to her face as she drifted off to sleep in Max�s arms.

***

Time ran out on Friday.

When Liz left work to meet up with Kyle, she briefly considered stopping by the apartment to check on Serena. Max had spent the entire day with her, as he always did when he was home, but going eight hours without her baby was something Liz never got used to, and she had been feeling antsy about her all day. When Max was out of town, her mom took care of her granddaughter upstairs while Liz worked, and so she could run up for a little baby-time whenever she wanted to.

But Max deserved his time with their daughter too. He barely got to see her as it was. She would see Serena soon enough.

It was her anxiety over leaving her baby for so long that was making her impatient, Liz decided, as she tapped her foot and stared down at her watch for the twelfth time in what felt like as many hours. She had really only been waiting for Kyle for about ten minutes. He�d be there.

He showed up twenty minutes later. Liz was ready to jokingly ream him out - they were missing the previews and he knew that she always felt there was no point in seeing a movie without the previews - until she got a look at his face.

He looked terrible. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he had lost weight as well. Liz frowned. She had only seen him two weeks ago! What had happened to him?

"Kyle, what�s wrong?" Liz demanded immediately, not even bothering with a cursory hello. "You look awful."

"Gee, thanks, Liz," he replied in his usual sarcastic tone, rolling his eyes. It made her feel a bit better to hear him sounding so normal. "I�ve been sick. Migraines. Can�t sleep properly because of them."

Liz softened her tone, hugging him lightly. "I�m sorry. I was just shocked. Have you been to the doctor?"

"They can�t find anything to explain it," Kyle told her shortly. "Listen, I don�t really feel up to a movie. Can we just go somewhere and talk?"

"Of course." Liz linked her arm through his. "Why didn�t you call me? I would have come to see you. You shouldn�t even be out."

"I needed some air." He looked around, as though trying to decide where he wanted to go. "Let�s go to the park."

They walked along in silence, but it was not uncomfortable. Liz was beginning to get the idea that Kyle had something very specific to tell her, and that he was just trying to work out in his own mind how he was going to do it.

They were settled on a bench before he tried. "Liz. I don�t even know how to tell you this," he began quietly "I�ve needed to talk to you about this for a long time, but I didn�t know how to, and I wasn�t sure that it was real."

"Kyle, what is it?" Liz took his hand in hers, pleased that she could be strong for him for once. He had always been there for her.

"I�ve been having weird dreams," he replied, shaking his head wearily. "It�s another reason I haven�t been sleeping well. For a couple of weeks now. They�re about the night that Alex died."

Liz felt her eyes widen. "What about that night?"

"I don�t know. It�s vague. But basically I think that the details of exactly what I did that night are coming back to me," Kyle told her. "You know that I have some memories of the events Tess made me forget, but not all of them. The stuff I�m dreaming about though�it�s weird. Alex is there, and so is Tess, but it feels different somehow." He swallowed. "Liz, I think she may have been mindwarping me long before we thought."

"Kyle, what are you talking about?" Liz whispered, her heart beginning to pound.

"I�ve been getting these headaches, Liz. I wake up with them every morning. And I�ve started to realize that this has happened to me before. I woke up with one the morning after Alex died. But I had them before that too."

"You think that they have something to do with the mindwarps?" Liz asked, furrowing her brow. "It would make sense." And suddenly what he was really saying hit her like a freight train. "Kyle, are you saying that you think that Tess is mindwarping you right now?"

The implications of this were astronomical. It meant that Tess was right here in Roswell, if she was doing it.

"Not right now, Liz," Kyle corrected. "But I think that she has been - recently. I can�t think of any other explanation for the way I�ve been feeling. It�s just so similar."

Liz stood up. "We need to go to Max. He has to know about this."

"Oh, he knows." The voice sent a chill down Liz�s spine. "Or he will as soon as he goes to pick up your little girl. His mommy didn�t turn out to be the best babysitter after all."

She didn�t want to turn around. If she didn�t turn around, this would not be happening.

In the end, she didn�t need to turn at all though. Because Tess Harding moved around the bench and stared down at her, her blue eyes gleaming with malice.

"Hello, Liz. Long time no see. Not long enough, of course, but what can�t be helped has to be accepted." She turned her cold gaze on Kyle. "I see you didn�t stay home like the good little boy I took you for, Kyle." Liz glanced at him. He was clutching Liz�s hand, clearly just as terrified as Liz was. "Your brain must not be quite as muddled from all those years of football as I had hoped. You�re breaking the warp." Liz watched in horror as Tess closed her eyes, scrunching up her face like she always did when she was about to mindwarp someone.

"Oh Jesus." Kyle�s hand squeezed Liz�s convulsively. "I�m remembering." He looked over at Liz, his eyes wide. They were beginning to roll up in his head. "Liz, she�s here for�" He cut himself off abruptly. An expression of complete clarity crossed his face. He opened his eyes, the blue so clear, it made Liz blink. "Liz, Sean is my son." He whispered it, so quietly she had to strain to hear him.

"Kyle?" Liz grabbed him by the open front of his jacket, trying to force him to look at her. "What are you saying? Kyle!"

But he could not hear her. Not any longer. He yelled in agony, releasing her hands and bringing his hands up to his head, as though trying to push Tess out. Liz clutched at him, calling to him, but he stood up, took one step towards Tess, bellowing in fury, and then fell in a heap at her feet.

"Epic." The snort from nearby caused Liz to whirl. "I told ya you should have just done that ages ago."

It was Lonnie and she snapped her gum, grinning at Liz. "Got any last words?" She moved towards Liz threateningly.

"No!" This came from Tess, who came to stand between Lonnie and Liz. She was staring down at Kyle, a strange expression on her face, like she couldn�t quite believe that he was lying there so quietly.

Liz fell to her knees at Kyle�s side, ignoring Isabel�s dupe completely. She brought her hand to Kyle�s throat, feeling for a pulse. She stared up at Tess in shock. "You killed him! Tess, you killed Kyle!"

She thought she saw a spasm of some emotion cross the cool blonde�s face. It might have been regret, but likely not. Whatever it had been, it was gone a moment later as her expression hardened right before Liz�s eyes.

"It�s not my fault," she whined. "He wouldn�t do what I wanted him to, so he brought it on himself. He wouldn�t go get the baby. We had to wait until Max left her alone."

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Liz demanded quietly, shaking with disbelief, the grief at the loss of her friend still too new for it to even have begun to penetrate. She jumped to her feet, shrieking now. "What is wrong with you? How can you come from the same place as Max and Isabel and Michael? You�re evil!" This last bit was screeched as she went for the other girl�s throat. She knew that she was completely losing control, but she just didn�t care anymore. "You killed him! You�ve done nothing but betray the people you�re supposed to love!" she screamed. "I HATE YOU!"

"Whoa, little girl!" Liz felt Lonnie�s arm come around her throat, hauling her off Tess. "None of this is Ava�s fault. It�s all Zan�s. He�s the one who won�t come with us. If he would just leave you, none of this would have had to happen."

"Where is Max?" Liz demanded, wrenching away from Lonnie, and falling to her knees beside Kyle again, tears beginning to fill her eyes. She could barely speak around the lump in her throat.

"Likely following the clues we left him today to little Seanie." Lonnie shrugged, unconcerned. "He won�t find him, of course. But it was enough to make him leave your baby with his mother." She smiled smugly. "Where Rath was waiting for her."

The world began to spin before Liz�s eyes. She stared down at Kyle, still unable to believe that her vital friend was really gone, mindwarped into death by someone he had loved. "Serena." It was like a prayer on the wind as it passed Liz�s lips.

And then she was running, running as fast as she possibly could, in the direction of Max�s parents� house.

She stumbled across Diane Evans�s body first. Liz knew without even touching her that her neck had been snapped. The awkward angle at which her head lay told her as much. But she didn�t have time to mourn Max�s mother.

There was no time.

"Serena!" She screamed it, frantically running through the house in which Max had grown up, calling her daughter�s name, as though that would somehow change the fact that the baby was not there at all.

Max found her standing in the centre of the living room, Serena�s blanket clutched against her chest, staring off into space.

"Liz!" He grabbed her by the shoulders. "What�s going on? Where is my mother?"

Liz just turned her head and stared towards the front door, because Max had obviously come through the back.

"I�ll be right back. Liz, I�ll be right back." When he returned, his expression was half shocked, half grim.

"Max�" Liz stared up at him, unseeing. "How could this have happened? How could they have just come here? It�s the last thing they were supposed to do." She didn�t understand how her voice could be so calm. One of her best friends was lying dead in the park down the road. Her daughter was in the clutches of their worst enemies. Max�s mother had been murdered in her own home.

Max pulled her against him. She could feel him shaking when she buried her face against his chest. "I�ve made my last mistake, Liz," he whispered against her hair. "I have to stop thinking they�re like us. They�re not. They don�t think like we do. They don�t act like we would."

"Why? Why are they here?" Liz pulled away, practically shrieking it. "Where is my baby? Where is she?"

"It�s the end, Liz. They know it," Max replied quietly. "Michael called me earlier. He and Izzy found Ava. They must have known it was only a matter of time. They had one last chance and they took it. They won�t hurt Serena. Not as long as they still want me." He paused. "They know that I will trade myself for her. If they kill her, they lose me. They know it."

"They�ve been here for weeks, Max," Liz told him, his words reassuring her slightly. "Tess has been mindwarping Kyle for at least two. How could we not have known?"

"We didn�t want to know." Max closed his eyes, then pulled her against him again, as though searching for strength. "We didn�t want to believe that it would really come to this. Because we have no choice now."

Liz stared off into the distance, her cheek pressed against his chest, the soft leather familiar and reassuring.

They had no choice.

"We have to kill them." His whisper was soft against her hair. She tightened her arms around him, clutching at the last moments of their innocence.

Because she knew it was true.

Part 26 - Another Time, Another Life - Section L

Liz sat on the couch in the Evans living room, while Max made the call setting up the exchange. His tone was grim as he spoke into the phone, telling Tess that he would meet her at the pod chamber late the next day.

Needless to say, having to make the decision to leave Serena in their enemies� hands overnight was the most difficult they ever made, although Max was still convinced that she was perfectly safe as long as Tess and the dupes believed he would trade himself for her. There was no choice anyway. They needed to wait for Michael and Isabel to return with Ava. They needed the full power of the four square to ensure that they were going to win. Max explained to Tess that they had to tell the sheriff and his father about Kyle and his mother. It seemed enough of an explanation for the witch.

Liz was still amazed that Tess was not suspicious about it though. It only reinforced to her how little Tess cared about her own son, that she could not understand Liz�s panic, her desperation to get her daughter back. Liz could not stop twisting her hands in her lap as Max made the arrangements, desperately trying to control the urge to leap to her feet, grab the phone from him, and demand that Tess return her baby immediately. Only Maria�s comforting arm around her shoulder kept her in place.

Tess�s willingness to wait 24 hours also confirmed to Max and Liz that she could not conceive that they were planning to bring their four enemies down permanently - which meant killing them - or at least they would die trying. Tess thought she knew them. She did not understand that taking their baby was the last straw. If she had wanted to push them to the point where they would really fight, she had succeeded.

Before going for Kyle�s body, they moved Max�s mother to her bedroom. Max�s expression was stony the entire time, as he simply did what had to be done. His father was away for the weekend at a conference, and would not be back until Monday. It was another crime to be laid at Tess�s doorway, that they did not even have time to call him.

They did not have time for anything - not even to grieve. All they could focus on was destroying their enemies once and for all. All they could think about was getting their daughter back.

The waiting was the worst part. Not just the wait for the exchange, but the wait before they could start to mourn their loss.

When they went back to the park for Kyle�s body, it was gone. Liz�s first horrified thought was that it had been found by someone, and that Valenti was going to hear what had happened from the police instead of from them. But when they drove to his house and all was still dark, she knew that Tess had taken Kyle. She just knew it. It made her stomach twist in fury.

Tess had not wanted to kill Kyle. Liz could understand that, even through her hatred. In her own twisted way, Tess had loved him. But she loved herself more. And it only made Liz�s fear for Serena greater. Tess murdered people she loved to get what she wanted. She would have no qualms killing the person she would most despise in the world - Max and Liz�s child.

Telling Valenti was a nightmare. He did not break down, but just stared at them in dumbfounded disbelief as Max quietly told him what had happened. Liz led Kyle�s father to the couch, where he collapsed, a mixture of shock and raw grief etched on his craggy face.

"Should I call my mom?" Maria whispered to Liz. Liz watched Max seat himself beside Valenti, a grim expression on his face. She closed her eyes against the guilt and pain she could see him barely managing to control.

"I don�t know," Liz replied helplessly. "How can she help? We can�t tell her the truth."

It was then that she became aware of the fact that Max and Valenti were speaking quietly to one another.

"When do we go after them?" Valenti�s voice was stiff, brittle, as though if he spoke any differently, he would completely lose it. And Liz understood. He had absolutely no intention of losing it until his son had been avenged.

"Tomorrow night," Max replied evenly, not even trying to argue with Valenti that it was safer without him, that they didn�t want to endanger him. Because if there was one thing Max understood, it was the pain of losing a child. But at least Max�s son still lived. His daughter too. For now. "As soon as Michael and Isabel get back," he continued.

"Fine."

The four of them sat in silence for close to an hour, praying for the time to pass. There was nothing else to say, nothing to do except wait. It was numbing, excruciating. Liz did her best not to think. She sat with her head on Max�s shoulder, simply enduring.

Finally, Max told them all that it was imperative that they get a good night�s sleep, but that he wanted them to all stay together, for safety�s sake. "We�ll go back to my parents�. I can�t leave my mom�" He trailed off, his voice cracking. Liz placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I can�t leave her alone," he finished, scrubbing a hand across his face, shock finally beginning to wear off, as the truth of what had actually happened to the woman who had raised him began to penetrate the shell he had built around his heart.

They made love that night in Max�s old bedroom. It was a storm of passion unlike any Liz had ever experienced before, a desperate attempt to feel anything, a way to convince themselves that they still lived, that they would survive this - that they could go on.

After Max sank into exhausted slumber, Liz lay with her head cradled on his chest, tracing small circles along his bicep, staring off into the darkness. She knew that she would not rest again until her child was back in her arms. There was no point in even trying.

Slightly before dawn, Liz sat up and pulled an old West Roswell T-shirt over her head. She slipped from the bed, then padded to the window. She stared out into the brightening sky, amazed that it was true, that life did go on. But how could it? How could they just keep going after losing Alex, and Kyle, and Mrs. Evans, and Sean�and Serena.

She brought her hands up against her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs. Max needed his sleep, now more than ever.

But, it was too late of course. He never did sleep properly when she wasn�t beside him. She could already hear him stirring.

"Liz?" She turned her head in time to see him push himself up on his elbow. His dark hair was flopping over his eye in the way it tended to now. He had kept it longer since their return from Canada, never finding the time to get it cut because he was always away. He looked young, still half-asleep. "Are you okay?"

Seeing how young Max looked in that moment reminded her that she was truly still only nineteen years old. She felt about a hundred.

She turned back to the window, not answering. He knew she wasn�t okay. He wasn�t either. It was just one of those things people said when someone they cared about was hurting. She sighed, leaning back against him as his arms came around her from behind. He kissed her ear gently, whispering, "I promise that you will see her again."

"I know."

Together, they watched the sun rise.

***

"Whatever happens, Serena and Sean are the most important thing." Max�s voice was stern. "Does everyone understand that? Whoever gets to them, takes them and leaves, no ifs, ands, or buts. Even if it�s one of us." He looked at Michael, Isabel, and Ava in quick succession. "If we can�t take care of the dupes now, we won�t. I want my children safe. We can always go back."

There were sounds of agreement from everyone. Liz glanced at Ava, biting her lip. The other girl looked slightly uncomfortable still, trapped between her past - Lonnie and Rath - and her future - Max, Isabel and Michael. Liz felt awful about it when she was forced to look away from her friend. She just could not stand seeing her face - Tess, the murderer - right in front of her. Not right now. She hoped that once they had Serena back, she would be able to get over it.

None of this was Ava�s fault after all.

But it didn�t help that poor Ava looked more like Tess than she ever had before. She had let her hair grow out, was no longer wearing her lip stud, and was dressed more like a regular teenager than the punk street kid she had been.

It turned out that Ava had not wanted to return to Roswell. She was enjoying a semi-normal life in Texas, and had even enrolled herself in school there, under a pseudonym of course, always aware that Lonnie and Rath would kill her if they found her. She was not their top priority, but they would do away with her if they had the chance. She knew it, knew them. It was the reason that she was so valuable to them. Or so Michael and Isabel had tried to convince her. She had finally given in, her kind heart not allowing her to turn her back on two children in jeopardy.

It was only when they were all together that Ava informed them that she had another reason for coming. "I had to see if it would be different."

Max had looked at her curiously. "If what would be different?"

"You." She smiled sadly, glancing at Liz. Liz frowned, wondering where Ava was going with this. "If maybe you and I were the ones meant to be together. Zan�he was always distant, waiting for someone else. I thought maybe it was her." The way Ava said it, Liz knew she meant Tess. "I thought maybe there was a mix-up or something, that somehow I was put with the wrong people."

Liz stared at her, disbelieving that this could really be happening again. Would the price of Ava�s help be Max? Was that what she was getting at? But she should have known better. Liz had always been a good judge of character, and she had somehow always known that they could trust Ava.

"I know it�s just not meant to be." Ava smiled at Liz. "But being here�" She looked at Michael and Isabel in turn, and then back at Max. "I know it�s where I belong."

"Does everyone know what they�re supposed to do?" Max asked again now, glancing at his watch.

"For the eight hundredth time, Maxwell, yes," Michael ground out. Liz knew he wasn�t really angry though, merely itching to get moving.

Max glanced at him, then sighed. "Okay then, let�s move." He lingered behind the group, pulling Liz against him for one last soft kiss. "I love you. Always remember that."

"I know." She closed her eyes, letting herself rest her forehead against his chest for one final moment, perhaps the last time. Because they both knew that this was a fight to the death, hopefully Tess and Lonnie and Rath�s, but potentially not.

She didn�t know if she would survive it if something happened to him. She knew she would have to, that she would have to go on for the sake of their daughter and Sean. He was trusting her to do it.

But imagining a life without him�The darkness, the emptiness of it - of even just the imagined version - it was suffocating, terrifying.

She remembered what it had felt like when she thought he had gone to Antar. But, at least then, there had been some hope that he still lived. Losing him completely would kill her. Somehow, she just knew it.

She felt so weak. With every new person she came to love, and then had to worry about, she felt her weakness more acutely, her fear, her despair that something might happen to them.

But, as always, Max knew exactly what she was thinking, which only reinforced how much she would miss him if he was gone. "You are the strongest person I know. Don�t ever doubt that about yourself. You make me strong, Liz, trying to be worthy of you." He pulled back from her, his hands on her shoulders, looking right into her eyes as he said it. "You will survive. You always have. And you have to promise me that you�ll be happy."

She looked away, tears on the verge of falling. "Max, I can�t promise that. I could never keep it." She laughed slightly, despite herself, knowing that he somehow, sometimes still believed that she could not love him as much as he loved her. It was ludicrous, after all they had been through, but she knew him. He had just never felt worthy of her love, which was why he made so many mistakes. It was one of her biggest frustrations, but also one of the things she most loved about him. Because it was what made him Max.

He pulled her against him again, stroking her hair, words meaningless now. Despite the feeling of safety that always came over her in Max�s arms, a shiver ran down her spine. Somehow she felt as though a countdown had begun.

***

Liz climbed out of Valenti�s SUV, her heart beating a nervous tattoo against her chest. They had pulled to a stop close to where the pod chamber used to be, but not so close that it was likely they would be noticed. The entire operation depended completely on timing. If any of them were off by even a second, it could bring the whole thing tumbling down around them like a house of cards.

"How long?" Maria whispered next to her. She linked her arm through Liz�s as they both leaned up against the hood of the SUV, waiting. Always waiting.

Liz glanced at her watch. "Ten minutes."

They had determined that it would take Max at least ten minutes to get Tess to reveal where Serena and Sean were hidden. They did not expect that she would bring the children with her, and so they hadn�t asked it, wanting them far away from what could turn into a field of battle. Max told Tess to arrange to leave them somewhere safe, that he would join she, Lonnie and Rath, and before they would leave together, he would call Liz and tell her where to find the babies.

Tess trusted them. Liz knew that this part of the plan would work. Tess thought she knew them too well. It would never even cross her mind that they had every intention of betraying her.

It would be her downfall.

Two days ago they wouldn�t have betrayed her, even after she had murdered Alex. In his heart, Max believed in truth and straight dealing. Ironic that, considering the lengths he had gone to over the years to keep his secret. But, in the end, the only time he and his friends had ever killed was in self-defense. Their natures were such that it was the only way Max knew how to lead.

It had taken the completely merciless murders of Kyle and Mrs. Evans for understanding to finally penetrate past their natural compassion and empathy, for them to grasp that the only way to keep the people they loved safe from Tess and the other dupes was to kill them. Alex�s death had not been an accident, but cold-blooded murder. They were taking a step into the abyss by playing by the dupes� rules Liz knew, but they had no choice. Tess had seen to that.

Michael, Isabel and Ava had taken up their positions near the meeting point half an hour before. The plan was simple. Ava would mindwarp Lonnie, Rath, and Tess so that they were unaware that they were there, particularly her. The success of this hinged on the trio continuing to be unaware of her presence in Roswell. Max would meet the dupes as planned, and would find out where the children were located. He would call Liz, and then she would go with Maria and the sheriff to retrieve them. Max would pretend to leave with the dupes, closely followed by the other three. Liz would call Michael once she had the kids�

And then the four square of Max, Michael, Isabel and Ava would unleash hell.

Of course, none of the humans were really sure what that meant, but Ava seemed to know and Max, Michael ,and Isabel appeared to have some sort of idea. Isabel had blanched when Max said to them, "We�re going to do what Tess did to the Skins. But with all of us, it will be four times as powerful." Liz hadn�t really understood, but Isabel and Michael certainly had.

She didn�t want to know. It was going to be hard enough on Max without him worrying what she was thinking about what he had to do. He could tell her after. She would heal him after. Serena was the only thing that mattered.

Liz clenched her hands together. She felt the nails digging into her palms. It had to go well. It just had to! They were due for some luck.

Her cell phone rang right on time.

Her eyes met Maria�s for a long charged moment until she hit the Talk button. "Hello?" It was barely a whisper. She could not seem to make her voice work.

"Liz, they�re at the Hardings." Max was calm. "You can go get them."

Liz�s entire body was tingling at the sound of his voice. He was safe. Right now, he was still safe.

"Are they alone?" she asked quietly, trying not to let him know how scared she was. But she knew he knew. He always did.

"No. Tess hired a babysitter." He sounded disbelieving. Liz could almost see him shaking his head. "The girl knows you�re coming."

"Okay. Be careful, Max. I love you."

There was a long pause. "Me too." She could almost envision him in her mind, trying to decide what to say that wouldn�t piss Tess off. The ball was still in her court after all - at least until they had Serena and Sean back.

But she wasn�t in control for much longer. The tables were about to turn - permanently.

The drive to the old Harding house was long - close to half an hour. It made Liz uncomfortable, thinking of Max driving out of town with the dupes, every minute putting more distance between them. But if everything was going according to plan, then Michael, Isabel, and Ava were following close behind, mindwarped out of sight by Ava.

They were just waiting for the call to end it once and for all. And the further they were out of town when they did whatever it was they were going to do, the better for all of them. Because Liz had some sort of idea that it wasn�t exactly going to be quiet or unnoticeable. The way Max had pressed his lips together at the idea of the four square combining their powers�she just knew that something major was about to occur. Somehow, inherently, they had some idea of what to do. And it was going to be big.

Valenti finally pulled the SUV to a halt in the driveway of the house where Tess lived with Nasedo in high school. Liz shook her head as they hurried up the front walk. It seemed so long ago now. So much had happened since that evil witch had arrived in town. It still amazed Liz that they had ever trusted her. They should have known what she was, what she had shown them she was, even that far back.

They would never be so trusting again. More than anything, Liz would never forgive Tess for stealing their innocence. Because, in spite of it all, up until she came to Roswell, resulting in Liz�s first doubts in Max, from which all the disasters that followed had snowballed, they had still been kids. Kids with a secret, yes. But kids who were basically safe.

Tess had to take responsibility for that changing. Liz pressed her lips together. And soon she would.

Valenti stood beside her on the porch while Liz rang the bell. Maria hung back near the car, ready to make a break for the others if something went wrong.

This all seemed too easy after all. Liz just knew that Tess had to have something else up her sleeve. Until she had her daughter in her arms, she could not relax.

The door opened moments later. A young girl smiled out at them. "Hi! Are you Liz? Tess told me you�d be here to take the kids for the night."

"I�m Liz," she acknowledged curtly. She could not be friendly. It was just impossible. Liz followed Valenti as he pushed his way into the house. "Where are they?"she demanded over her shoulder.

"Up in the nursery," the girl replied, following close behind and sounding a little upset, as though she couldn�t understand why they were being so rude.

Liz glanced in a couple of doorways before the nursery became obvious. There were two cribs pushed against opposite walls.

She stared for a moment at the small blond boy sitting up in the one nearest the door. It wasn�t until that moment that she truly believed that Tess had left her son behind. It was absolutely incomprehensible to her. The baby was staring at her calmly, not the least bit nervous by the presence of strangers.

And it was then, as she looked into the baby�s familiar blue eyes, that she suddenly remembered Kyle�s last words to her.

Liz, Sean is my son.

Because those eyes were not Tess�s eyes. They were not her icy blue, but Kyle�s warm shade, the colour of the sky at dusk. Liz brought her hands to her mouth in shock. How could she not have remembered this? The chaos that had followed Kyle�s death was no excuse. How on Earth had he known?

But obviously he had been right.

It changed everything.

Tears filled her eyes as she continued to stare at the small boy, the only piece of her friend left.

"Liz, are you all right?" She glanced over at Valenti. He was at the other crib, but had not moved to pick up Serena.

It was only then that Liz saw that the other bed was empty. She could not be shocked. Somehow she had known that Tess would not just return her baby to her.

And, yet, she had left her own behind. Something was extremely wrong here. Liz could feel the world spinning, tried desperately to breathe, tried to focus on Valenti.

She pushed the thought aside for the moment. Her heart was aching for her daughter, but she had to tell Kyle�s father the truth. Now. Somehow she just knew that it was imperative.

"Sheriff," Liz moved to pick up Sean, swallowing. "This is Kyle�s son."

Her arms met only air.

Mind-warp.

The minute it disappeared, she saw the glowing prism sitting in the crib. She recognized it immediately as one of the otherworldly bombs Michael had destroyed in Las Cruces. It was beeping crazily, clearly about to go off.

Valenti was gone. Somehow he had disappeared, having gone back outside, clearly mindwarped into believing that she was with him. She could already hear him calling her name from the open window over the crib she still stood beside as the mindwarp fell.

Liz had just enough time to glance out, to see Kyle�s father on the front lawn, Maria beside him, both staring up at her in the window in horror. The babysitter stood beside them, a half-smile on her face. Something in that smug expression reminded her of someone she had once known.

Nicholas. Disguised, but definitely him.

But there was no time to worry about who it was who had finally managed to separate her permanently from Max. Because all she really cared about was the baby she saw cradled in her best friend�s arms.

It was Serena. Her daughter was safe.

All of this took about ten seconds to cross Liz�s mind.

She had five more seconds to wonder how Max was going to go on with out her.

I love you! She thought it desperately, hoping against hope that he would hear her.

And then the explosion came.

Part 27 - As the End Draws Near - Max POV

Into the valley

The shadow of death

Creeps silently across the darkened sea.

This is it.

We stand alone.

We can see it all from here.

The starless night across the mountainside

No one left to talk to,

There�s nothing left to say.

Into the valleys

The shadow of death

Creeps silently across the darkened sea.

You and me

We stand alone.

We can see it all from here.

Stretched far and wide,

The barren skies,

Fighting the silence

From deep inside.

Into the valleys

The shadow of death

Creeps silently across the darkened sea.

It�s in you and me.

Oh, it�s in you and me.

Oh, it�s in you and me.

Sarah McLachlan

"Oh, God. Not again." This is Maria of course. She collapsed against Michael following Ava�s surprise appearance, but she bounces back quickly, as is always her way. She is suddenly right in front of me, her hands up. "Stay away from him, or I swear to God, I will do to you what Tess has been itching for since she first showed up in Roswell. When will you blonde bimbos get it through your heads that all that destiny stuff is crap?" She looks at Isabel, rolling her eyes. "I mean, it�s crazy! Am I wrong here?"

My sister�s eyes are narrowed. "You�re not wrong." She folds her arms across her chest. "None of us buy it."

Ava looks momentarily taken aback. She blinks her large blue eyes, then bites her lip. "I�I�m sorry�I don�t know what you�re talking about."

"You and your skanky twin," Maria retorts. "That�s what I�m talking about. Max loves Liz. And just because they�re not together right now, it doesn�t mean you can just move in, whatever Tess may have done. You don�t belong together. People belong with people they love." She just shakes her head. "This just doesn�t seem like that alien a concept to me." She pauses. "No pun intended. You were raised on this planet for Pete�s sake."

"Maria," I say quietly, trying to get her to calm down. Because whatever it is that Ava thinks, or doesn�t think, is of little consequence to me right now. She said that she could tell us where to find Liz. That�s all I care about.

Ava continues to stare at her. She then turns to look at me, perplexed. "I think something is getting lost in the translation here. I know that you and Liz love each other. I told her it all changed because you healed her. I meant I belong with all of you." She looks at Michael and Isabel in quick succession, frowning slightly at the unapproachable expressions on both of their faces.

They have both learned the lesson Tess taught well. They will not trust this girl easily. But I know that right now, we have no choice. Liz is all that is important.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"The pods were split up wrong," Ava replies. "I�m really part of your four square."

"Convenient way to get us to trust her," Michael mutters. Maria snorts, disbelieving.

I sigh. This is certainly not the easiest conversation I have ever had. "How do you know this?" I ask, choosing to ignore my friends for the moment.

"I found the other protector." Ava shrugs. "He told me that your protector split us up because he knew that Tess was more likely to betray you. She�s one of them after all. They were programmed to be ruthless." I can hear in her voice that she is still bitter at how things ended between her and Lonnie and Rath. They were her family, and they were willing to completely betray her - not only by killing Zan, but by abandoning her in Roswell.

Her last statement caused everyone to stop muttering to themselves though. I can see that they are all listening now, including Valenti and Kyle.

"Where is the other protector?" I demand. "Why isn�t he here now? Why did he let Nasedo do what he did?"

"He doesn�t care about us," Ava replies, sounding a bit sad. "He likes Earth. He wants to stay here. After he took us to New York, he basically decided to give up on us. He was tired of all the politics on Antar, and didn�t care what Nasedo did to any of us."

"What is wrong with our people, Max?" Isabel demands, interrupting. "Why did they send these completely incompetent protectors with us? This is absolutely ridiculous!"

I don�t disagree with my sister. The more I understand about the species that composes half of my DNA, the less I feel any urge to return to my home planet.

"I think something got screwy with them both, after they escaped from the FBI," Ava tries to explain. "I don�t think either of them was capable of caring about anything after that - anything other than themselves I mean."

"So who is he?" Michael asks again. "Can we at least meet him? Can he give us some information?"

"If we can find him." Ava sighs. "He wasn�t too happy that I found him at all. I�m sure he�s moved on. His name is Cal," she adds. "He was living as a producer in Hollywood and I think he�s rich enough to disappear if he wants to."

I have met my sister�s eyes in disbelief at this news about what happened to the other alien charged with the task of protecting us. It is just too odd to be processed at the moment.

"You said you could help us find Liz." I change the subject abruptly. These history lessons can wait until Liz has been rescued. I can feel myself getting more desperate as the minutes tick by. Somehow I just know that time is running out. I don�t know how I know this, but I do.

"I felt him. I�ve felt him for a long time now, but I ignored it until the other day, when he stopped hiding from me. He�s the one who took her, isn�t he?"

I know who she is talking about. Sean. She can feel him because he is linked to her through Tess�s DNA. They are technically the same person after all. In some ways, Sean is her son too.

"I don�t understand." This is Valenti. "Who are you talking about? Sean Deluca? How can she feel him?" He looks right at me. "Who is he, Max?"

I wonder how he knows that I have figured out the truth about Sean. I haven�t voiced any of my suspicions about it to anyone - the idea that Sean/Lazar is the future version of the child Tess left carrying. Because the explanation is just too long and complicated. It would have to include a complete discourse on that future version of myself, who had screwed everything up, on the granolith, and on how time travel is really possible.

Like I said, too complicated to get into now.

"He�s Tess�s child," I reply quickly. Everyone turns to stare at me. Kyle�s mouth actually falls open. I can understand why he is dumbfounded. Because if Sean is Tess�s baby grown up, then he just might be Kyle�s son too. "Please don�t ask me to explain it now. I know how he�s here, but we can�t waste any time. We need to get to Liz."

"It�s like the Future Max thing! He used the granolith!" Maria exclaims. I whip my head around to stare at her. "You know about that, Max!"

" You know?"

"Of course," she replies primly. "You didn�t think Lizzie would hold out on me did you?"

I narrow my eyes at her. "How long have you known?"

"Months."

I clench my jaw. The fact that Liz broke, that she shared her pain with Maria is upsetting to me. Because it only reinforces to me how hard the whole experience must have been for her - what she went through because an idiotic future me had asked her to.

God, I love her. I have to get the chance to tell her once more. I just have to. Even if she never wants to be with me again, I have to tell her.

"Okay, can someone please tell me what the hell is going on around here?" This is Michael, and he sounds pissed. "Future Max? Have you both gone completely psycho?"

"Never mind." I know I�m going to pay for that later, but Liz is all that matters. I look at Ava. "Take us to her. Please."

She glances around the room once more, as though knowing that by helping us she is severing her final ties to her other life - that she is making a life-altering decision here.

"I will."

***

We drive out into the desert, towards the remnants of the pod chamber. We have already checked out this way of course, but I believe Ava that she knows where she is going. She is sitting in the passenger seat of my parents� car, her blue eyes scanning the road ahead. Isabel is in the back seat behind me. The sheriff and Kyle are bringing up the rear with Michael and Maria.

I feel a little uncomfortable bringing everyone along for this final confrontation with Sean. Somehow I just feel like this whole thing is really between Sean, Tess, Liz and I, but I know that no one would have agreed to stay behind.

It�s the price you pay to have people care about you, I guess. You can�t protect them all the time. I think I�m finally learning this. You have to let the chips fall where they may because, in the end, trying to control everything only makes it worse.

The mess that future version of myself left behind has taught me this.

I think of the granolith still safely stowed in Maria�s purse. I am still seriously considering destroying it when this is all over. Having the power to change the past and control the future - it is just not something anyone should possess. The idea that Khivar might be able to get his hands on it - that he apparently did in the future if Sean being here is any indication�

It can�t be allowed to happen again.

Destroying that crystal will sever our final ties with Antar though. I know this deep in my bones. It is the only way we will ever be able to go home.

In the end, because of this fact, it�s not a decision I can make alone. We are all going to have to agree. But I think I can convince them. Once they know the truth, I think Michael, and Isabel, and Ava will encourage me to do it.

I am feeling oddly at peace with myself when we pull off the highway and bump across the desert landscape. I can see that the sun is beginning to rise in the east, as though this decision has caused the dawning of a new era.

I can see the Jetta. My heart thumps as I actually see the car Tess stole when she kidnapped Liz. They are not right below the pod chamber, as it turns out, which is probably why we didn�t find them when we were out here before. They are actually past it, hidden behind the soaring rocks.

I cannot see anyone near the car, so I pull to a stop as close as I dare go, unsure what Sean might have waiting for us.

As it turns out, Sean is incapable of doing anything at all.

He is the first figure I see. He is on the ground, huddled against the driver�s door. And, I kid you not, he is fading in and out as I watch him.

"What�s happening to him?" Isabel is at my elbow. She sounds horrified.

Ava is already running towards him. "We have to keep him here!" she screams back over her shoulder. "Where�s the granolith?"

Maria has it. I turn, scan the horizon for the sheriff�s truck. I can see it bumping towards us, but it is still a good two or three minutes away.

Two or three minutes Sean does not have it would seem. He is staring at his hand in disbelief as it disappears for a moment.

I have moved closer to him, and cannot help myself from staring down at him in weirded out fascination.

This is potentially my son. And he has done something major to the timeline it would seem, because he is disappearing. His time no longer exists.

"Where�s Liz?" I can see that he is solid again. Clearly, something is still slightly right, or he�d be gone by now. I drop to my knees in front of him. I can�t stop myself from grabbing him by the front of his jacket, forcing him to look at me. "Where is she?" I am almost yelling now.

He stares at me for a long moment, his blue eyes as cold as any I have ever seen. But I can see satisfaction there. He knows that he has won. "She�s dead," he gasps hoarsely. He turns his head.

Night shadows still linger, the sun not yet fully in the sky. It�s why I didn�t see her right away. But as I follow his gaze, suddenly she is all I can see.

Liz. Oh, God.

I release him, bolting to her side.

I gently lift her against me, and push her dark hair away from her face.

She is completely serene in death, her beauty unmarked by any wound that I can see. But I know that she is gone. I can�t feel her at all.

"Liz�" My voice cracks as I pull her against me.

I cannot fix this. I can�t bring the dead back to life.

I have failed her. I didn�t get to her in time.

I am vaguely aware of my sister kneeling beside me. Her hand is on my shoulder. "Oh, God. Max, I�m so sorry."

But I barely hear her. My entire being is focused on the fact that Liz is completely gone. I can feel the grief rising into my throat, choking me.

How can I go on without her? Even if we couldn�t ever be together again, at least knowing that she existed - everything that was perfect about this world that I so wanted to call my own - would have made my life worth living.

But she is just gone.

I can feel that I am slowly losing it. Great gasps are coming from my body as I clutch her to me. I am aware of this, you understand, but I have absolutely no control over myself.

She is so cold. How can Liz ever be this cold? She is always so warm and alive.

It is then that my sister gasps.

I look up with dead eyes, unsure how to focus. I am not crying though. Tears would not be enough.

"Max, look." Isabel is picking up Liz�s arm, which is trailing behind her.

She is holding something clutched in her lifeless hand. I stare at it uncomprehendingly.

It is the granolith. The same granolith that is presently buried in Maria�s purse. Maria, who I can hear sobbing as though from a great distance.

How can a dead person be holding onto something so tightly? It is glowing, alive, and is casting a strange light over Liz�s white hand.

I meet my sister�s eyes. I can see that she knows immediately what I am going to do.

I hear her instant protest. "Max�"

But I ignore it of course. My hand is already closing around the crystal.

Because wherever Liz is, I want to be with her.

Part 28 - "Out of the Shadows" - Liz POV

Crouching down inside a deep ravine,

Those angry cries pass quickly by, he can�t be seen.

So many ways spent hiding in so many undone plans

Forgetting what it�s like to fight when no one understands.

Close call there in the shadows,

There�s a fear in the dark.

There�s no one out there.

All those memories, pain and anger, flood back one by one.

They must be just around the bend, they always come.

At night as I lay sleeping they come to me in herds.

Their lies remain, the dreams the same, it�s only fleeting words.

No one calls there in the shadows,

There�s no end to the dark.

But there�s no one out there, no one but me.

The hours pass so slowly, the life�s slipping out of me.

No way�s the right way.

Is there a way out for me?

My life�s slipping out.

Rising up, the night is done, and now the bright lights come.

Held back in my pitied world where everything�s undone.

A cold wind blows right through me, I�m made a hollow shell.

There�s nothing left, just ash remains, enrich the soil, no soil, no soil.

Close call there in the shadows,

There�s an end to the dark.

Cause there�s someone out there,

Someone like me.

The hours pass so slowly, the life�s slipping out of me.

No way�s the right way, is there a way out for me?

The hours pass so slowly,

The life�s slipping out of me.

Is there a way out for me?

The hours pass so slowly

The life�s slipping out of me

Is there a way out for me?

There must be a way out for me.

Sarah McLachlan

It is shocking to live your own death, and yet strangely peaceful at the same time. I know now that I will never fear it again. But I will always regret it as well - that I died so young in that other timeline; that I left Max all alone to raise our daughter; that I didn�t get to see Serena grow up.

All in all, it was just plain weird and wrong - like maybe this whole experience has been, because what have I really learned anyway? - and I hope to never have to go through any of it again.

Because when I open my eyes, I am most definitely not dead any longer. Although I�m not really sure what I am.

I am back on the plain of stars - inside the granolith if Ava�s past explanation of this place was truthful. I really don�t know what to believe anymore. All I know is that if I hadn�t thought things could get worse than in my own timeline, I was sadly mistaken.

Alex, dead. Kyle, dead. Max�s mother dead.

Me. Dead.

I know you�re all dying to know what happened to everyone after my death in that other timeline, but I can�t tell you. Not yet anyway. I don�t know. But I have a feeling that is about to change.

Because I am not alone.

It has taken me a moment to get my bearings, but the instant I do, I feel my eyes widen. I stare from one to the other, unsure what to make of their presence.

I know both of them, of course, but I don�t know from where. From what timeline I mean. Are you confused yet? Because I sure am, but you will understand when I tell you exactly who has joined me in this alternate dimension, or whatever the heck you want to call being inside the granolith.

One of them is Max, of course. I�m sure this doesn�t surprise you. I barely resist the urge to go throw my arms around him for comfort, although who I would be comforting - him or me - is up for grabs. His expression is so guilty, and tortured, and remorseful, and pained - you can choose your own Max Evans adjective. You�ve seen the expression on his face as often as I have. And the love is there too, shining steadily in the dark eyes I now know he bestowed on our daughter. He may still do so.

Although I don�t know anything for sure anymore. Maybe he won�t. Maybe she won�t ever exist. My heart breaks at the thought, but I can�t deny that it is true.

Because I still don�t know anything that changes the fact that in my timeline, my Max willingly slept with and impregnated Tess. I saw it in those flashes.

And I will never be able to accept it.

I do know that this Max is not my Max. He�s not the Max from my timeline, I mean. He is older, and grayer, and he is even more beaten down then my Max was the last time I really spoke to him - when I told him that I couldn�t ever be with him again because I could not get past the fact that he had slept with Tess. Seeing him at Tess�s house before Ava kidnapped me doesn�t really count, of course. We barely even looked at each other then, the pain of the separation we knew was inevitable still too fresh to deal with head on.

This is Future Max. But which one? Is he the one who came back to save the world by keeping Tess in Roswell, which resulted in the birth of Sean and an even more disastrous future - at least for me and my friends? I am unsure if the world still ended in that place where Alex, and Kyle, and Mrs. Evans, and I died, but the fact that Ava came back at all leads me to believe that it came pretty darn close.

Or is this a new Future Max? Is the grief that lingers around him like a shadow a result of the fact that he had to live on without me - that his soul was literally torn in two when I died? Because I don�t doubt that it was. I know how I would have felt had he up and died on me. And I had let that happen to me. I had abandoned him.

"Hi, Liz."

The other person speaks first, literally bringing tears to my eyes. "Hi, Alex." My voice cracks on his name, a smile trembling onto my lips despite myself.

He is just so beautiful to me. Seeing him like this, it only reinforces how much I miss him.

But this isn�t my Alex either. And the fact that he is older too begins to make me understand that this Max is the Future Max I met so many months ago, the one who asked me to break his own heart, the one I danced with on my balcony, the one I gave up everything for. Because I somehow just know that this is the Alex that lived. The Alex who was there in the desert with Max and I on our wedding night in that other life - the one I still don�t know much about. This is an Alex who lived through the end of the world and somehow came out on the other side.

"Can I hug you?" I ask. It is a ridiculously stupid question, considering how much I still need to know, but I want to so badly, it is almost painful.

He quirks his familiar grin at me, bringing a lump to my throat. "Of course." He opens his arms and I fly into them. I clutch him tightly, eventually become aware that he is speaking to Max. "Don�t be jealous. You�ll get your turn - for a lifetime, if we fix things properly."

"I�m not jealous," Max replies quietly, sounding offended that Alex would even suggest such a thing.

"You�re always jealous," Alex retorts. He pulls back, then smiles down at me. "Are you going to pass out, Lizzie, or can we talk to you now?"

"She won�t pass out." I turn my head to stare at Max. He is watching me, his eyes unreadable, his expression serious. But he sounds utterly convinced, like he knows exactly how much I can take. Like he knows just how strong I am.

How can he know when I don�t even know myself?

"See, Max, I�ve told you," Alex sighs, sounding exasperated, and keeping his arm firmly around my shoulders, "The Liz I know, and the Liz you know, are completely different people. She can�t be strong all the time. She needs others too, you know."

"I know." Max rolls his eyes, like this is an argument they�ve had many times, and he knows that he is right, but that he also knows that he�ll never convince Alex of it.

It is strange to hear them talk to each other like this - like they know each other really well. The Alex and Max I knew were barely friends. Sure they were bonded by the secret that held us all together, but Alex had always been my friend. He and Isabel were close, of course, but he and Max, not really.

"I�m not going to pass out," I intervene impatiently. I continue to eye Max. If this is the Future Max who screwed up my entire life, suddenly comforting him is the last thing I want to do.

In fact, I really want to punch him. Hard. I can see that he knows it too. He sighs heavily. "I�m so sorry, Liz."

"Why did you lie to me?" I demand. I feel Alex�s arm tighten around me. "About Serena, I mean. Why didn�t you tell me who she really is?"

"He had no choice, Lizzie," Alex replies for him. Max just looks sad. "If you knew, you never would have done what needed to be done."

I look up at him. "Alex, you died because of him!" The rage I feel at this fact, the complete anger that I felt at Max in the alternate timeline, when I realized that a future version of him and I had basically killed Alex with our meddling, returns suddenly, making my heart pound unsteadily in my chest. I literally see red spots in front of my eyes. That�s how mad I am.

"Liz, it was meant to be," Alex tells me softly. "It had to be. For Sean to exist, unfortunately, I had to die."

"So there was no Sean in the timeline where you lived?" I scowl. "Who cares? He�s evil. What�s so important about him anyway?" I suddenly remember something. "He�s not even Max�s son!" I continue, knowing that there is a note of triumph in my voice. At least I found out one worthwhile tidbit in my little timeline journey. "Serena existed, and so did you, before he had to screw everything up! There was no Sean." I glare at Max, who is clearly upset, but is just as clearly willing to take it.

Because he agrees with me. He�s Max. Of course he does. He will always feel guilty that what he is resulted in Alex�s death.

"And the world ended," Alex finishes, squeezing me lightly. "You know that, Liz."

Max exchanges a glance with Alex, asking to pick up from where my friend left off. He seems to accept that I hate him. In fact, he appears to like it, because of course he thinks he deserves it. Max and that guilt complex - hand in hand in any incarnation. Of course I don�t really hate him and I force myself to calm down and listen as he speaks, after Alex nods.

"He�s still important, Liz. You�re right that he�s not my son. He is Kyle and Tess�s. But that doesn�t mean that he isn�t meant to play just as significant a role as Serena. It�s another reason that the timeline you just left didn�t work out." He swallows, looking away. "They never found him, you know. Tess raised him, and he turned out like the Sean you know in your life - deceitful, insane with hatred, evil, but with a twist I don�t even think you want to know about." I literally see Max shudder. I frown, wondering what he�s thinking about. "He�s not supposed to be like that," he finishes quietly, not elaborating.

"How do you know what happened after I died there?" I ask. "It wasn�t your timeline."

"No," Max agrees. He looks beyond Alex and me, smiling slightly. I stare at him, confused by the way his face lights up. It�s sort of like how he looks at me, but different too. Not as intense and tortured maybe. This is just plain love, without all the baggage.

And it�s really, really weird. Because there is no doubt that whoever he is looking at, he adores her. And I don�t even feel a twinge of jealousy.

I know it�s a her, even before she speaks. I think I sort of even know who it is, although of course the realization that I do doesn�t hit me until after.

The voice is soft - familiar and, yet, not. "I told them."

I feel Alex allowing me to turn, but he still has a firm grip on me, like if he thought I might pass out before, he�s even more sure of it now.

She is beautiful. It is the first thought that comes to my mind as I lay eyes on her. Of course she is. I don�t know why such a stupid thing is the first I think, but I am clearly in shock. She is taller than I expected, taking after her father. Her hair is long and dark, pulled back off her face in a style I often employ.

But, it is, of course, her eyes that really tell me who she is.

"I thought you said this wasn�t a good idea," Alex is saying, sounding worried. "You said that you were going to stay away from her - that you wanted us to make sure she was okay, to tell her what she needs to know."

"I know," she replies, shrugging slightly. "But it�s her. I had to see her - just once." Her gaze has not left my face. I feel like she is drinking me in, just like I know that I am doing the same to her. Because, after all, she doesn�t remember me. I died when she was only six months old.

Serena.

She smiles at me, like she can hear her name threading its way through my heart. "Mother."

I can�t speak. What can I say to this daughter, to this child that has not even been conceived yet in my own life, to this child who may still never exist?

"You don�t have to say anything," she tells me quietly, reading my thoughts again.

"Liz, are you okay?" Alex whispers to me. "She can go. She�ll listen to Max. I know this is weird."

I don�t move my eyes. I simply nod, then manage to say, "I�m fine." I don�t let the tears that are threatening fall. Instead, I make myself smile at her.

She, at least, deserves that - a smile from the mother I know she has missed all her life. Because I know Max, and I know that he made sure that she knows all about me.

"Tell me. Tell me what happened."

She glances at Max - a Max who is not technically her father, and, yet, still is. It�s all confusing of course, but I am beginning to get a grip on who belongs in what timeline.

"First off," she begins, her hands clutched in front of her in a way that makes me stare at them, because I do that all the time, "You can�t blame him. You can�t blame my father. Any version of him. He�s right when he says that Sean has to exist." She closes her eyes briefly.

I want to comfort her. The pain on her face is excruciating. But Alex holds me firmly in place. "You can�t," he whispers.

"I can�t do any of this without him," she whispers. And when she opens her eyes again, I understand.

It is horrifying, and yet makes perfect sense all at the same time. Because I have seen that expression on my own face in the mirror too many times to count. And every single time was when I was thinking of Max.

She is in love with him.

My daughter is in love with her brother�who isn�t really her brother of course. Yet the Sean I know, the one who was willing to kill me, thought he was. He was still utterly convinced that Max was his father.

And, yet, I remember the way he spoke about her, about how he was so determined to make sure that she never existed.

He was in love with her too - in love with the woman he thought was his sister. She knew the truth, of course, but he didn�t, and it is just so terribly twisted, it could only be Tess�s doing.

But, in the end, not even the witch was capable of this atrocity. It�s worse. Much worse.

I don�t know this yet though. Not yet.

"How? How did this happen?" I demand. "Serena? How?"

"I didn�t know who he was when I met him," she replies, laughing bitterly. "He didn�t know who I was either. But Khivar knew. He wanted to destroy us - both of us, even though Sean loved him like a father - so he made it happen." She smiles sadly at Max again, who is her father, but not. "Dad tried to protect me. They all did. But I was so stupid. I played right into his hands."

She turns away, her arms wrapped around her middle. I can see that she can�t go on. "Alex?" I turn to him helplessly. "Why can�t I go to her?"

Max is the one who replies. I can hear the pain in his voice. Seeing her like this is just as hard for him as it is for me. His Serena went through none of this of course. His Serena ceased to exist at fourteen years of age, after she sent him back in the granolith. His Serena did not grow up motherless, and likely had a happy, if short, life.

But this is still his daughter. He still aches for her, just as I do.

"It�s sort of like why I couldn�t see myself when I visited you in the past," he explains quietly. "We would all cease to exist. We�re part of each other. I can�t touch her either. It�s not quite as extreme as if you ran into your future version�" He blinks as if he has said too much.

I stare at him. "The future version of myself? She�s here?" I look around, my heart beating wildly. "What is this place?" I demand, finally wanting to understand where exactly I am trapped.

"It�s the granolith," Max shrugs. "We�re all here now - any of us who ceased to exist when the timelines shifted that is." He looks right at me. "My Liz is here. She came here after we changed everything. You can�t ever see her, of course, but she�s here." His eyes soften slightly at the thought of her, and it makes my heart skip a beat.

Darn him. Why can�t I just shut my love for him off?

"Is everyone here?" I ask, still unclear as to what he�s getting at, ignoring the fact that I want to kiss him, even though he is not my Max. "Where are Michael, and Isabel, and Maria, and everyone else?"

"Maria�s here too. She�s busy�" He pauses, frowning slightly. "She�s elsewhere. Michael and Isabel died in both timelines." Max looks down. I stare at him in disbelief. "People who die naturally don�t come here. That�s why the Alex from your timeline isn�t here either."

But the Michael and Isabel part is still ringing in my ears. I cannot believe what he is telling me. "So everything we did to save them�it was all for nothing? They still died?"

"I was fourteen," Serena tells me. "After Michael and Aunt Izzy died - they were both killed protecting me in both timelines by the way - I just couldn�t take it anymore. I ran off to save Dad, and Maria, and Ava, and Uncle Jim. I knew he wouldn�t stop coming until he got his hands on me, and I knew he wouldn�t stop killing people I cared about until he did. I was a stupid teenager, but I knew that I was the one destined to destroy him. We all knew it. I had to protect them. So I left." She rubs her temples in a manner that is extremely familiar. I know why too. I see Max do it all the time.

Have I mentioned that this is all very weird? Tragic, and horrible, but weird just the same. I feel like I am stuck in some convoluted nightmare from which I really want to wake up. That timeline Ava helped me to experience was so magical in so many ways and, yet, the way it had all turned out�Even just hearing about it is almost too much.

But if I wake up, Alex will be gone again, and so will my daughter�and Max. I haven�t even touched him, but this Max�

He is still all mine. He has never slept with Tess at all. He was never with her, not even because he thought she was me.

You�d think I�d be over all of that, considering what I now know Max and I are meant to be to each other, but it still burns within me, a horror that I don�t know if I�ll ever be able to get over.

Those flashes�I cannot live through them again. I just can�t.

"So she went after him," Alex continues for her, when it appears that she can�t go on. "She inherited stubbornness from both her parents," he can�t help but add wryly.

"I was on the run for two years before Sean found me. Khivar sent him after me, but Sean didn�t know who I was, or why Khivar wanted me - not right away. I was going by my middle name then." She smiles at Alex. "Alexandra." And then she looks right back at me. "We fell in love. And then we found out the truth."

"And no one ever knew that he wasn�t your brother." I close my eyes at the horror of it. "Kyle and I both died knowing it, but no one else ever did."

There are still unanswered questions of course. Future Ava told me that Max is not Sean�s father, so they must have found out the truth eventually. And why had Max stopped looking for Sean? I know that he never would have; that Max could never willingly leave a child he thought his own in Khivar�s clutches.

"We found out eventually. Khivar admitted it to me right before I killed him." She looks up, her eyes shining with a strange light. I can see that this woman is no innocent, that she was not allowed to live the sheltered life that Max and I would have both wanted for our daughter. I don�t want to know what she did to Khivar to make him tell the truth.

A world where my daughter had to torture and kill�I am glad that it no longer exists. In the end, perhaps Sean returning from the future has been a blessing in disguise. Because the fact that Serena ever had to go to war�It meant that our plan to destroy Tess and the dupes - to end it once and for all - must have gone awry.

"I did kill him," she says, her voice completely emotionless. "But it was too late. Sean was already gone." She shakes her dark head, her expression the very image of someone who wishes they were dead. "Back in time, to try and make sure that I was never born, because my very existence is the worst thing that ever happened to him. First I stole his father, and then I ruthlessly stole his heart too," she finishes bitterly.

"Oh my God." It is all I can say. I have so many questions, but how can I ask her to relive any more of this? It is obviously painful, destructive. And why is she here anyway? Has she ceased to exist in her timeline? Has Sean completely destroyed any chance that she will be born? Did he win? Or is she safely hiding here until I can fix things? Ava mentioned something about the granolith being the only thing keeping Serena going when she had first told me about her.

"You can ask, Mother." I blink, still a little unsettled by the way she can seemingly read my mind. "I relive it all anyway, all the time."

I look at Max. I can tell that this is as hard for him to hear as it is for me. The fact that he went back in time had resulted in this horror unfolding from our daughter�s lips. We were responsible for this.

"Khivar is responsible." Serena�s voice cuts ruthlessly into my thoughts. I can see anger blazing in her eyes. She looks at Alex for confirmation. "They�re not learning, Alex! Won�t they ever learn?"

"It�s a hard lesson, Serena," Alex replies quietly. "It�s just in their natures to feel the way they do. They�re Max and Liz. They always feel responsible. You never knew them like I know them. To you, Max was just super-dad, and Liz was a dream you couldn�t even remember. But the sheer irony of this whole tale is that, considering the otherworldly origins of one of them, they�re only human. They make mistakes."

I stare at Max, who looks befuddled. "Um, Alex?" he says finally. "We�re standing right here." He sounds a little disturbed. I don�t blame him. I feel the same way.

Is this what our guilt had brought us to? Both of us have control issues, I�ll grant you, but had our desire to be in complete control at all times, to protect everyone, resulted in so much death and destruction?

I don�t know what to say, so I finally just sigh. "I�m sorry. Can I ask you what happened to Tess?" It seems to me that she wants me to know, so I�ll let her tell me.

Serena�s eyes are still slightly narrowed. She looks strangely like my mother does when she is yelling at me. "The plan worked, but only to a certain degree. Tess was doing some mindwarping of her own it seems. The four square of my father, Isabel, Michael, and Ava killed Lonnie and Rath, but Tess managed to escape with Sean." Her expression softens again. "When he found out what happened to you, my father destroyed Nicholas. Slowly."

I look at Max again. He doesn�t look at all disturbed, but, rather, satisfied. I am though - disturbed that is. That my death could have driven Max to go against his very nature, to torture another living being - even if it was Nicholas - I don�t like it. It�s not what our love is supposed to be about. But I refrain from allowing the guilt pulsing through my veins to take hold. I can see that Serena is watching me suspiciously, like she knows it�s threatening to.

It was Khivar�s fault. She�s right. None of this was how we were supposed to turn out. His hatred and desire to kill Max had turned the dupes to the dark side, had allowed Nasedo to make the deal that made Tess a traitor, had destroyed everything Max Evans was supposed to be.

Our daughter will never exist because Khivar planted the seeds so completely in that other life, Sean was able to return to see that it all fell apart even more quickly. We are stuck in a never-ending cycle of time travel that just brings on our own destruction more quickly.

And, suddenly, I understand everything that all of this is supposed to teach me.

If I can�t forgive Max, then Khivar wins. He won�t die, because Serena will never be born, and we will never be able to fix the mess Tess created at Khivar�s behest.

It is this truth that tells me the two things I need to know to make everything right again.

The first is that Max and Tess were never together. I know it with every fiber of my being. It is all a trick. It has to be. I just have to prove it.

The second is that we have to destroy the granolith. Because, if we don�t, it will only all happen again. Slightly differently, I�m sure, but it will happen.

But, if the granolith is gone, what does that mean for my daughter and everyone else who still exists within it?

I know the answer of course. They will all completely cease to exist.

Part 29 - "Possession" - Max POV

Listen as the wind blows

From across the great divide.

Voices trapped in yearning

Memories trapped in time.

The night is my companion

And solitude my guide.

Would I spend forever here

And not be satisfied?

And I would be the one

To hold you down,

Kiss you so hard,

I�ll take your breath away.

And after I�d wipe away the tears.

Just close your eyes dear.

Through this world I�ve stumbled,

So many times betrayed,

Trying to find an honest word

To find the truth enslaved.

Oh you speak to me in riddles,

And you speak to me in rhyme.

My body aches to breathe your breath,

Your words keep me alive.

And I would be the one

To hold you down,

Kiss you so hard,

I�ll take your breath away.

And after I�d wipe away the tears

Just close your eyes dear.

Into this night I wander,

It�s morning that I dread.

Another day of knowing of

The path I fear to tread.

Oh, into the sea of waking dreams

I follow without pride.

�Cause nothing stands between us here

And I won�t be denied.

And I would be the one

To hold you down,

Kiss you so hard,

I�ll take your breath away.

And after I�d wipe away the tears,

Just close your eyes dear.

I�ll hold you down,

Kiss you so hard,

I�ll take your breath away.

And after I�d wipe away the tears

Just close your eyes�

Sarah McLachlan

I can still hear my sister screaming my name for what feels like forever, but, in reality, is likely no more than an instant.

The whole process is weird. One minute I am in the desert, holding Liz�s lifeless body in my arms, and the next I�m not. I have absolutely no idea where I am, but one thing I do know for sure.

It�s dark. Very dark.

Is this death? Because, if it is, then it is different than I expected. I am still completely aware. It is merely as though I have pulled aside a curtain. It doesn�t feel like I�ve left anything behind, or that I am going forward either.

All I know is that Liz is nowhere to be found. I feel the disappointment like a stab to the heart. I hadn�t really been thinking when I took hold of the granolith, but instinctively I knew that it should be able to take me to Liz. But she isn�t here. I�ve failed her again.

"She�s here."

I whirl, my heart beating double-time. I notice that the blackness is beginning to lighten, just like the desert sky does when the stars start to come out one by one after dusk.

"Maria! What the�"

She holds up her hands. "Hold it! I�m not who you think!" She smiles slightly, rolling her eyes. "Well, I am, but not really."

"What?" I just stare at her. "What are you talking about?" As I look more closely, I can see that this is Maria, but that she�s right that she�s not the Maria I know. Her hair is very dark - dyed obviously - and she has wrinkles around her eyes that never existed there before. But her expression is all Maria.

"Decided to take a little stroll off a bridge again didja, girlfriend?" She is majorly annoyed at me, although she is doing her best to appear tolerant. "Can I ask you if you even thought before you did what you just did?" she continues, her arms folded.

"Why are you dressed like that?" I ask, unable to stop myself, and completely changing the subject. But she�s dressed in black leather from top to toe. It is extremely distracting, and very un-Maria-like.

She narrows her eyes. "It�s how people dress in the future."

"What? Why?"

"I don�t know! We just do! Stop asking dumb questions!" She peers at me, then sighs, looking a little sympathetic. "I�m sorry. I keep forgetting that this is weird for you. Hell! It�s still weird for me! Plus you�re still really young, aren�t you?" She tilts her head. "I can�t believe how young you are! God, no wonder you screwed up so many times!"

I think I must still be a little shell-shocked, because she�s right that I am asking the stupidest things possible. I can�t even get mad at her unintended insult of me, because she is right again. I have messed up too many times to count.

"So you�re from the future?" There, that�s a little more intelligent.

"I am�.or I should say was. The future I belong to no longer exists."

"So he did change it." I am referring to Sean, assuming that she will know what I am talking about.

"Yes, but the irony is, it�s for the best, Max." She looks sad. I decide to let that go for the moment. I am still too confused by more general things. And I remember Liz telling me something about it being important to not know too much about the future - that it was what Future Me told her when he had come back to ruin both of our lives.

"Where am I?" Straightforward and simple. Good.

"You�re in the granolith. So, you didn�t have any idea what you were doing when you came here?" She shakes her head. "See what I mean about the thinking and the bridges, Max? You�re lucky I caught you here. You would have messed everything up if I hadn�t. Liz isn�t ready to see you yet."

I feel my heart plummet. "She isn�t? But she called to me, Maria! I connected to her through Isabel. Where is she? Why can�t I see her?"

"Because she�s with Future You. If you see him, you�ll cease to exist." She frowns slightly. "Of course, the fact that you�re here at all means that you already have�Ceased to exist, I mean. But you can�t be dead, because if you were dead you wouldn�t be here." Her frown morphs into a scowl. "Dammit! I hate this place! Nothing makes any sense."

That�s the understatement of the millennium.

"Okay. Maybe I�m just visiting?" I am going to take control of this situation if it�s the last thing I ever do. She�s right that I wasn�t exactly thinking when I decided to come here - since I didn�t realize where here was when I grabbed the granolith in Liz�s hand - but that doesn�t mean I can�t try to fix things. She shrugs, looking even more mad. "Never mind. Just tell me what you know. Please."

"First you tell me what you know."

Why do I feel like she�s stalling for some reason? But I decide to cooperate. "Well, I know that Liz was taken by Tess and Sean Deluca, who was definitely not your cousin, and who may, or may not, be my son from the future�"

"Not your son," Maria jumps in, like she�s pleased that she can actually give me some concrete information. She grimaces immediately though, like she�s said too much. "Dammit!" she mutters. "I told Liz not to send me here by myself!"

"Liz! She sent you!"

"Not your Liz. And not my Liz either," Maria sighs. When I frown at her, perplexed, she sighs again. "Please, just never mind."

"Are you sure?" I ask tentatively, deciding to do as she asks. "About Sean, I mean?" It�s what I suspected after healing Kyle of course, but to actually have it confirmed�

It�s a dream come true.

"Very sure," Maria replies. I realize that she has moved closer to me. Her hand is on my arm, and she seems to have accepted that she can�t not tell me now that she�s started. "He�s not yours, Max. Tess lied. He wasn�t dying either."

"He�s Kyle�s?"

"Yes."

I meet her eyes, then swallow. She seems to know exactly what I�m about to ask her. "Did�did I�"

"Sleep with her?" Maria sighs. "In my world, yes. But she messed with your head. You were mindwarped into it. You thought she was Liz."

My heart falls. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

All my hopes of ever being more than friends with Liz are gone then. Because I know that those flashes she got were real. I might not have fathered Tess�s baby, but I did betray Liz. Hell, I betrayed myself. I betrayed absolutely everything I have always tried to be.

You know, deep down, I knew it. I knew that I did it. I knew that I couldn�t be strong without Liz. It�s my greatest failing. I�ve never been strong enough to deserve her.

"Are you okay?" Her voice is kind now, almost motherly. "I�m sorry, Max. I know how much this whole thing haunted you in my timeline."

"You said I didn�t do it on purpose there though?"

"No."

"So what I did in this life was even worse. Because Liz says that I did do it on purpose in this timeline. That I hated her and that I was trying to get back at her." I hear my voice crack. "But, Maria, I know that�s not true!"

I can see that she is frowning slightly. "So that�s what his goal was!" she says. "He wanted to keep you and Liz apart - for good." She grabs me by the hand. "Max! You have to fix this! You have to get past it somehow. He�s going to win if you don�t!"

I blink. "What? Why?"

She grimaces. "I can�t tell you!" She sounds frustrated. "I�ve already said too much! This isn�t your journey, Max. It�s Liz�s. You�re already somewhere you�re not supposed to be. I just�I can�t!" I continue to stare at her as she glances over her shoulder. It�s almost like she�s listening to someone.

"Maria?" She looks back at me, still extremely vexed. "Can you at least tell me about the stuff I already know? Like I know that one of the reasons that other me came back originally was to save Michael and Isabel. Did that at least work?" She seems to think about this for a moment, trying to figure out what she can and can�t tell me. But she doesn�t even need to speak. The way her face whitened at the mention of Michael�I think I already know the answer. "It didn�t, did it?"

"No." Her voice is small. I can hear the pain of it there. "I had to live on for ten years without him." She seems to crumple slightly. "And he�s not here either." She raises her eyes, something shining in them that I don�t quite recognize. "Max?" I think it might be desperation.

"Yeah." I have reached out to comfort her, but I don�t feel entirely right pulling her into my arms. This isn�t my Maria after all. This isn�t the close friend I let slip away from me, because I was so wrapped up in my own problems. I wonder if I had stayed close to her, whether I would have made that mistake with Tess. Because as lonely as I was when I did what I did with Tess, as alone as I had felt, in some ways it was my own fault. I let them all slip away from me - including Maria. Would I have made different choices if I had fought harder for my friends?

"Will you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Will you destroy that thing when you go back?" She is blinking back tears. And in that instant, I see my Maria. She is eighteen again, and she is the girl I know, one of the best friends I will ever have. "Please. I just can�t be here without him."

"Can I? Is it okay to get rid of it?" I ask, thinking about how I have already basically decided that it has to be destroyed. The granolith - it has to go. It�s just not right to be able to mess with the way things are supposed to be.

Sure Liz and that future version of me saved the world with what they did, but from what Maria is not saying, I am getting the impression that they may have only put it off for a while.

If that�s the Earth�s destiny, its fate, who am I to interfere? I just don�t have the right. I will do everything in my power to stop it. I will fight Khivar until my dying breath - because now I know I have to fight - but if it�s not meant to be, maybe I�m just going to have to accept it.

I think Maria is wrong with what she just said. I think I had a journey to take too. And I think it just ended.

I have learned my lesson. I cannot control everything. As much as I want to, as much as I want to protect the people I love, some things just have to be left to fate.

Just like I can�t control Liz and the way she feels. As much as I want to bind her to me for the rest of her days - and I have an inkling suddenly that I might be able to convince her to try again, even with the flashes - I just can�t do that to her. Because she won�t be the Liz I want, a Liz who comes to me of her own free will, by choice, not because of some force I put on her because of the bond that exists between us. The bond that is so strong I am beginning to feel her presence again, even here. It is faint, but it�s like as if, as all this becomes clear to me, I�m allowed to be with her again - at least on the spiritual level.

When I healed her that day in the Crashdown, we connected on a level that is simply beyond my comprehension.

And, finally, I understand. Even if we�re not together, I will always have her. I will always have the magical two years when I was allowed to be in love with her - the two years where she made me human. They will always be mine, and they will make me strong enough to go on without her.

I can let her go. Finally.

The memory of what she made me�I can be that person again. Even without her.

And it is in that instant that I know that she is not dead. I can feel her. The connection that has been shut off for the last twenty-four hours - ever since Tess kidnapped her - wooshes back so abruptly, I stumble against Maria slightly.

I close my eyes, reaching out to Liz, hoping she�ll feel me too, that she�ll know that I�ve come for her.

Supremely ironic that what I told her so many months ago has finally come true. I�ve come for her, but in the end, it will be to set her free.

Because, even if I can�t be with her, at least I can bring her back to the people who love her. She doesn�t belong here. She has to know that I won�t desert her here. But then I will leave her alone to get on with her life without me.

"� you can," Maria is saying, seemingly unaware of the fact that I�m not really listening to her anymore. I force myself to focus. "I think maybe that�s what Liz is supposed to learn. That the granolith has to be destroyed once and for all. Sean has been born now and I still have a feeling�" She trails off, sighing. "I can�t tell you, Max. But I have the feeling that what needs to happen, it just will. You and Liz, you just belong together."

I smile sadly. "I hope so, Maria."

But even if we don�t�what Liz has given to me, it will sustain me through whatever the future is going to bring. And it will be a future with no more interference. As soon as I get Liz out of here, the granolith will be no more.

I feel my friend�s eyes on me. I meet them, feeling my heart skip a beat. "Is it time?"

"Yes." She returns my smile. "Be brave, Max. Make a better world for all of us."

"I�ll do my best. I love you, Maria."

"I love you too."

The blackness flickers and she is gone.

But I am not alone. Not by a long shot.

Our eyes meet. Hers are shining with unshed tears. "Max."

And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I have finally found her.

My Liz.

Part 30 - Home - Liz POV

Child walks to the river,

Looks as far as she can see,

And draws each breath as if it were the last,

And wipes away the tears across her sleeve.

She can see where the river crawls to the sea

Like a baby into a mother�s care.

Somehow the longing is so far away,

The innocence so wasted and aware.

Look at the child with the dream in her eyes,

Holding it deep inside her.

So much anger, so deeply engrained,

Seemed a burden that was hers alone.

She didn�t think that there was anything wrong

In wanting a life that she could call her own.

How could I explain? You would not want to hear.

You wouldn�t listen if I talked anyway

For you were too weighed down by your own fears.

Look at the child with the dream in her eyes,

Holding it deep inside.

Thinking about home, home.

Sarah McLachlan

I look around at all three of them - the Future Max who helped me destroy himself, who made my Max something he wasn�t supposed to be; my best friend Alex - an Alex who lived and yet still ceased to exist after what Future Max and I did; and my daughter, my own flesh and blood, a woman with my face, and Max�s eyes, a woman who may never live now because of the way things have been shaped in my world - and I know that I can do it.

I can destroy the granolith. Because these are not really the people I love. They are not flesh and blood. They are trapped in a netherworld that is neither here, nor there. It is unnatural, and it is wrong.

I know it, and, yet, it will be the most difficult thing I will ever do.

I feel a light touch on my hair, and look up into his eyes. My partner-in-crime. A man I have desired and hated in the same breath. A person that my Max will never be.

My love.

"I am sorry," he whispers. "No matter what they say." He quirks a sad smile towards Alex and Serena, who are both watching quietly. "It�s just how I feel. I can understand how guilt can make things even worse, but I still feel it."

I smile at him. "I know." And I do. Because I can�t just change my nature. But I can do a better job to not let it control me. And then I tell him what I know he most needs to hear. "I don�t regret a thing."

Because, you know what? I don�t. Not really. I have come to accept what I can�t change. I helped this man to change my world, and I am going to have to live with the consequences. The fact that I have felt Max hate me - it is a hard pill to swallow, even though I am still convinced that he didn�t sleep with Tess.

But hate isn�t so very far from love, after all. This man in front of me - I have hated and loved him at the same time. I can understand it now. It doesn�t hurt any less, but I can understand it.

And I can�t blame Max for it anymore. He is only eighteen years old. He is not a man, and he has always been too trusting, in spite of the fact that he, and Isabel, and Michael always knew they couldn�t - that they shouldn�t - be.

He saved my life because of who he is, and he lost himself because of who he is. And who he is is my Max, and I still love him in spite of it all. Some of you may think that is weak, but I actually think it�s strong. I have recognized that people make mistakes, and that either we have to forgive them or forget them.

I can�t forget him. He saved my life. He gave me his heart so completely that, when I seemingly betrayed him, he couldn�t get past it. And I gave mine back - to the point that I knew how hurt him so completely in order to save him. Neither of us recognized it for the gift it truly was. We weren�t careful with each other, we didn�t think before we acted, we�ve hurt each other time and again, when all we really wanted was to be together.

I won�t make the same mistake again.

I will not forget, but now I can forgive.

Future Max tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, then leans down and kisses me gently on the mouth. "Do what you have to do, Liz," he whispers against my lips. "But also trust your heart. You know the truth - deep down."

And then he is gone.

I blink, looking around in confusion. I feel tears fill my eyes. But I�m not sad. I am so full of hope, it is almost overwhelming.

I can see that Alex and Serena are still standing nearby. And when I see the person standing with them, blinking with a confusion equal to my own, I understand why Future Max had to leave.

It is my Max. Instinctively I know it. I can feel his spirit completing me, simply with his presence.

We have found each other again.

"Max," I say quietly, taking a step towards him.

"Liz." He has quickly regained his bearings and is staring at me, his eyes warm and relieved. It sends a shiver down my spine. "Are you all right?"

"I�ve never been better," I tell him, and his face relaxes.

It�s not entirely true, of course. Things aren�t perfect. There is still the matter of the granolith, and the fact that it has to be destroyed, and everyone within it will cease to exist. And we still have to find Sean, because I don�t doubt that this is the one thing we can do that will truly make things right. He can�t be raised by Tess. We just can�t allow it. He will never turn out to be who he needs to be if he is under her power - and consequentially Khivar�s.

But I have never felt more in control of my own destiny, more in control of what I really want.

I want Max. And all I have to do is tell him so.

"We don�t exist now." This is Serena, as though she has read my mind again. "That�s why we�re here. Our time is done. You can do it, Mother. You have to."

Up until now, Max has not taken his eyes of me - I�m pretty sure he hasn�t even noticed Serena or Alex - but his head whips around to stare at our daughter after the word mother.

I can�t help myself. I laugh.

He can�t stop staring at her. From the look on his face, I think he can see himself in her, and it must be strange. I can�t even imagine. I knew about her before I saw her, and could accept her for who she was, but he looks a little frightened, unsure.

I don�t blame him at all. It is a scary enough proposition, being a parent. Bearing and raising the savior of two worlds? It is absolutely terrifying. But it�s also exhilarating. And he did it once. This woman standing with us is the result.

And this time he won�t be alone. She will be an even more amazing person because, this time, we will do it together.

I don�t doubt anymore that she will be born. Maybe not as soon as she is supposed to be, maybe not even for years. Because now I know that teenage pregnancy is not exactly the most attractive alternative, and now that I know what could happen, I will take proper precautions. Max and I need to be ready for her. We need to be the best people we can possibly be when she comes.

But she will come. I know she will.

"Liz?" I can hear the question in his voice. I�m not sure if I should tell him or not. Is it still dangerous to understand what our future will be?

But we still don�t know everything for sure, after all. We know that Serena will be born, but we don�t know when or how. We know that we will save Sean, but we don�t know exactly what that will mean. Things are still uncertain. They will still unfold as a mystery. We know the destination, but not the path to reach it.

And that�s what life is really about, in the end. Because isn�t the destination for all of us completion with someone we love? Serena is a by-product of what I already know will happen, what we always knew would happen, from the first time we connected that time in the Crashdown.

We are meant to be, Max and I.

"She�s our daughter, Max. This is Serena."

"Serena?" He looks at me, astounded. "As in, Serena of the Granolith, Serena?"

"The same one." Alex speaks up here. "But there will be no Serena of the Granolith in your time, will there, Liz?" He asks it quietly, but I can tell what he is doing. He is telling me that it is all right to destroy it - that he doesn�t want my feelings of affection for him, how much I miss him, to affect our decision.

"No."

I see Max�s face fall. He thinks it means that we will never be together, because that�s what I told him of course, and that is why there will be no Serena of the Granolith.

"Because there will be no granolith," I say, smiling slightly as the words reach Max and he starts, disbelieving. "There will be a Serena."

"Which means that I can go." Serena looks directly at me, a sad smile on her face. "I love you." She sweeps her gaze to include Max. "I love you both. Please don�t ever forget that, in the end, that�s the most important thing."

And she disappears into the mist that is beginning to gather around us. I haven�t noticed it before, but it is snaking around my ankles now, and is pretty much unavoidable.

I wonder if the granolith knows that its end is near - that we will destroy it when we get out of here. I can feel the energy circulating in the air, as though it is preparing itself.

I look at Alex, my heart suddenly in my throat. "Alex, can you even understand how much I miss you?"

His dark eyes are unmarked with pain however. "Liz, you don�t have to miss me. I�ll always be with you." He looks at Max. "Isn�t that right, Max?�

Max blinks, then starts to laugh. "That was you?" I have no idea what they�re talking about. Max sees this and reminds me. "My dream, Liz. Remember my dream?"

Right. The dream about Alex that started our whole investigation. The one that told Max that Alex knew much more before he died than we ever dreamed.

And he did. He knew the truth about Sean, and he knew the truth about Tess and Kyle. I realize suddenly that, for more than any other reason, this is why Tess killed him.

It was not an accident. She did it on purpose. I feel the iron enter my soul.

This time we will make her pay for it.

Because I suddenly understand something that it took far too long for the Liz and Max of the timeline I just visited to get. To maintain our innocence, to stay who we really want to be, we are going to have to destroy the one who destroyed us in the first place.

Tess has to die.

Can I do it? Can I actually take another life? I feel my heart starting to beat irregularly at even the thought of it. But I know that I don�t have to make up my mind right away. We still need to find her. And just because I know where to start looking - Canada - it doesn�t mean it�s going to be simple.

But I know that we will find her. And then will be soon enough to decide her ultimate fate.

"Will you still be able to do that?" Max is asking Alex. "If we destroy the granolith, I mean?"

"You guys just don�t get it, do you?" Alex grins. "It�s me! You guys will never forget me, and so, I will never leave you. I promise."

"Just don�t ask me to not miss you," I tell him. Tess forgotten for the moment, I move forward and place my hands on both sides of his face. His skin is warm and alive beneath my touch, and I know this is the last time I will ever truly feel him. Tears of sorrow fill my eyes.

He reads my mind. "You�ll always feel me, Lizzie." He places a gently hand over my heart. "As long as this is still beating, I will be with you."

I throw my arms around him, hugging him tightly. "I love you, Alex."

"I love you too, Lizzie. Don�t ever forget it. I don�t regret dying for you. Not for an instant."

"You do know I would have done the same for you?"

"You almost did," Alex reminds me, making me remember the alien bomb that Michael had barely managed to stop from killing me. "Let it go, Lizzie. Live your life. I will always be with you. I promise." He looks over my head at Max. "You two need to take care of each other. But this time, make sure you both know why. You work so much better as a team. Always remember that."

"We will," Max replies, sounding emotional. "Thanks, Alex." I know that he will always feel guilty, will always feel that what he is was responsible for Alex�s death. I will too. Alex can tell me not to as much as he wants to, but I will always feel it.

We are not perfect after all. But as long as make sure it doesn�t control us any longer, we will be all right. Somehow I just know it.

I hug Alex once more, hard, then turn and meet Max�s eyes.

I move forward, taking his hand in mine. He glances down at where our hands are linked and I feel warmth spread through me because I know what he is thinking about. He is remembering the time that we joined hands to go face our parents together after our night out in the desert when we found the orb. It was the night that ended up bringing Tess into our lives, and now, with this joining of our hands, we will work to get rid of her, once and for all.

I smile up at him, hoping he sees how much I love him, that this is going to work if it�s the last thing I do.

"Let�s go home."

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