Episode 10 - Unforgiveable Sinners

Premieres March 19th, 2002

Written by: Bill, Darkchilde, Heather and Marianne

Exhausted from work, Amy half-heartily threw her keys on a side table by the front door. As she took a few steps in she heard a crumbling sound of paper underneath one of her feet. A small light coming from the other room, probably from some crazy sci-fi show Sean is watching, beamed enough light for her to see it was a note. Amy bent down to pick up the folded piece of paper that scrunched under her left foot and most likely her daughter's heart. The writing gave it away immediately and before she opened it, her pulse had already quickened, which caused her to curse the man that could only bring that kind of pain. Deep down, since that poor excuse for a father walked out of both of their lives years ago, she hoped he'd never come back. Now, ever since he easily walked back into his daughter's life she held on tight to make damn sure he would not leave her to pick up the pieces again. She read quickly over the letter and the opening line made her want to kill him.

Dear, Maria. I am so sorry sweetheart for doing this to you, I never wanted to hurt you again but I have to leave. It's nothing you've done...but you deserve more than me... More than this. I was never completely honest with you. Ask Michael, he knows everything. It was a pleasure getting to know you, I just wish you could know how proud I am of you. I just wish I could make it up to you.

I love you, Dad.

Amy sighed as she internally debated about telling Maria, she would find out eventually but she didn't want to wake her with that. All the lights were out in the house and all Amy could think of is letting her daughter sleep a little longer not know her lying, vainly impulsive father thought only of himself and only had the decency to leave a note.

That coward still can't face his problems and chooses the easy way out again.

Heading into the kitchen Amy wanted to shove that note as far back in the nearest drawer. "I can't believe I let this happen again. I should have slammed the door in his face."

"Are you talking to yourself again, Aunt Amy?" Amy span around to see Sean sitting in the darkness staring at the TV set. "Because you know they say that's the first sign of a crazy person..."

Amy forced a smile as she turned the light on. "Where's Maria?"

Sean turned the TV down a little as he looked at her confused. "She went to bed a while ago. Why?"

Amy sighed as she poured herself a strong cup of coffee. "Good."

Sean looked at her and turned the TV off. "Okay, what's your problem? You never take coffee unless your stressed, so what's up?"

Amy handed Sean the note with all the response needed.

Sean scanned the note and his confused expression quickly turned into outrage. "Is that all he has to say for himself. That selfish…"

"Don't waste your breath. He's came for what he wanted and now he's gone, never coming back. And that's fine as far as I'm concerned."

"What about Maria? Do you really think she deserves this? That asshole needs to tell her face-to-face. We've got to go after him..make him explain to her."

"Maria will get over it, and if we make him stay she'll blame us." Amy tried to sound calm as she looked at the angry young man looking at her.

"His daughter should be worth more to him that a stupid note…I swear...I'll kill him when I get my hands on him." Sean said angrilly as he stood up and walked over to the key rack and grabbed his car keys of it.

"Sean, don't go there." Amy saw the anger heaving from his mouth and nose.

"How can you be so passive about this? He deserves some kind of backlash and I'm rearing to take the first punch."

Amy looked at him and put her hand on his chest to try and calm him down as she spoke sternly. "Sean you don't know what you're talking about. Going after him won't bring him back. For Maria's sake would you really want him to come back?"

"No…no I wouldn't, but he's not leaving without telling her to her face. So he can see the pain he caused first hand." Sean walked towards the front door as Amy followed him out.

"I'll drive, Sean. He could be anywhere so we'll try his hotel first and work back from there..."

Sean nodded his head as he grabbed his jacket and neither of them spoke another word as they quietly walked to the car.

~ ~ ~

Michael groaned loudly as he walked to his front door which was being chapped loudly. Whoever the hell was disturbing him at this time at night better have a damn good reason. "I'm coming, will you just lay off the chapping you idiot?"

He opened the front door to find a masculine figure standing in the shadows.

"Hello, Michael." Michael rolled his eyes as he looked at Brian.

"What are you doing here? Maria's not here."

Brian looked at him and nodded his head. "I know I came here to see you."

"Umm…well it's late and I have an early day tomorrow." Michael said as he tried to brush him off.

Brian looked at him desperately. "I was on my way out of town, but I needed to make one quick stop before I go…"

"Hey man…" Michael went on the defense ready for Brian to try something.

"You were right Michael about me lying to Maria, but as for the painting I promise my reasons are innocent. I need you to let her know..."

Michael looked at him suspiciously. "Why should I believe you? It isn't like you've told the truth about anything since you came here."

"If you let me in and let me explain…" Brian was clearly loosing hope as he tried to persuade Michael to believe him. "Please."

Michael sighed and gave Brian the okay as he took a step back and turned around to turn on a light.

Brian sighed in relief. "Thank you, Michael."

Michael shook his head, he was not in the mood for playing buddies with this piece of scum. "Let's cut through the crap. What do you need Maria to know?"

~ ~ ~

A cry of pain cut the silence of the barren room. The boy sat down next to her, wishing he could take all her pain away. I can't stand to watch her like this. She needs help, help I wish I could give her. I need to find someone to help. If I go to Evans, he'll bring up the subject of the baby and refuse to help. He sighed as he looked at her. His Dad might help. He had considered her a daughter. He might be reasonable. Might being the million dollar question. He shook his head as he stood up. He would have to try and take care of her himself and to do that he would have to get some things.

"Tess, I'm going home to get some stuff to help you feel better. I'll be back soon." He got off the bed and brushed the hair out of her face. "Stay strong. I'll be back before you know it." he told her just before he kissed her forehead.

Kyle drove the Mustang home and quietly went about getting the supplies. In his room, he took out about 4 days worth of clothes and a couple of blankets and packed them into a large duffle bag. Raiding the kitchen, he took 5 cans of soup and some canned pasta for her to eat, to try to keep her strength up. A manual can opener, two bowls and a couple of utensils were added to the kit. Finally, he raided the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Taking a bottle of Tylenol, a bottle of codeine tablets, left over from his knee injury, a bottle of Pepto Bismol, and quite on a whim, a bottle of Tess's Midol.

After packing the last of the kit, he turned to leave. Just as he left his room, Jim went to the kitchen for a drink. Seeing the duffle bag in Kyle's right hand, Jim saw his worst fear: his son leaving forever.

"Kyle, don't leave. I know that I wasn't always there for you. Not the way I should have. I want to have the chance to make it up to you. Running away isn't the answer."

"Dad, I'm …"

"Please, I need you here, son. I want to help you." Jim said as he rushed over and put his hands on either side of his son's shoulders.

"Dad." Kyle said as he looked at his dad who was still talking quickly. This was clearly a speech he'd been practicing for a while...

"I want to help you through this."

Kyle shook his head and looked his dad straight in the eyes. "Dad! I'm not leaving home! I'm not ready to be on my own, plus I'm not stupid. The stuff I have is for a friend who's sick."

Jim breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at Kyle with a smile before he began to talk. "What are you talking about, Kyle? Who's sick?"

Kyle shifted awkwardly as he avoided his dad's gaze. "I really don't want to say."

"You are not leaving until I find out who you're helping." Jim looked at him and shook his head as he stared at him.

Kyle looked at him reluctantly as he spoke. "Dad, I'll tell you if you promise me not to freak out."

Jim folded his arms and smiled relaxed as he nodded his assurances. "I won't."

"Tess. I'm helping Tess, Dad."

"You're what! After she killed Alex, made you help get rid of his body, and made you forget what happened. Are you insane, Kyle?"

Kyle rolled his eyes as he picked up the bag and began walking towards the door. "Dad, I don't have time to explain what happened. She's very sick. She says that she feels like she's been mindwarped. She isn't responsible for her actions. I'm not going to let her die. I care about her too much, and in case you forget, you used to feel the same."

Jim looked at him and took a deep breath as he ran a hand through his hair. "Does Max know?"

Kyle shook his head. "Not yet. I don't plan on telling him unless she takes a turn for the worse. He's almost the last resort. She doesn't need to relive some of her pain."

Jim looked at him as he spoke calmly. "No, he needs to know, but I'll go with you. I want to see her. I want to ask her why."

"Dad, don't interrogate her. She's been through a lot. More than you know. I want her to get better."

"Kyle, I just want to see her. I need to know why we weren't enough for her." The two men loaded up the truck and drove off into the night.

~ ~ ~

Maria walked out her bedroom door, still dressed in her nighshirt and with her hair still unkempt. She walked towards the kitchen determined to get a strong cup of coffee in her before she even though about beginning her day. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat on the chair beside the table. The place was strangely quiet. She looked up at the clock. "Hmm, still early and I'm assuming Sean was watching that crap last night so he should still be crashed out..."

She shook her head as she sat her cup down. It was then she noticed the note sitting on the table. "Hmm, a clue..." She giggled slightly as she turned the sheet of paper round and began to read. Immediately her expression changed to one of abject disappointment and pain.

"That bastard...he just left a note? After everything he said?" She looked at the note and crumpled it up as she let out a scream of pain. She wiped her eyes of the tears that had fell unbidden and she cried angry tears.

She picked up the crumpled paper and ripped it up as she threw it in the bin. She then ran towards her room as she wiped her eyes. She had to see Michael.

~ ~ ~

Brian sat on the sofa as Michael looked at him exasperatedly. Why couldn't he just take the hint and leave already? "Is there anything else you want me to tell Maria?"

Brian looks towards him and is about to answer when there is a knock on the door. Michael groans as he gets up. "Good, we can have a party..." He opened the door to see Amy and Sean standing there. Looking tired and disheveled he stood back from the door to let them in.

Amy smiled gratefully as she stepped inside. "You are not going to believe what that son of a bitch has done, Michael..."

Michael shook his head as he closed his door. "I think I've got a pretty good idea..."

Michael walks over to see Sean fuming at Brian who stood up in a defensive pose as he began to talk. "Well, Bri. Guess I was wrong to believe that you genuinely cared about Maria. You are really spineless..."

Amy stopped Sean from walking any closer to Brian as she walked over to him and looked his square in the eyes. She slapped him hard against the face and his hand came up instinctively to hold his face which was now stinging. "You aren't fit to breath the same air as my daughter. How could you do that to her?"

Brian looked at her. "I can explain. It's just...Michael found out a little about my past and..."

Michael looked at him and sat down. "And I told him that if he intended to keep lying to Maria about himself he should leave because I would rather hurt her than let his lies hurt her."

Brian nodded his head. "It's kinda complicated..."

Amy looked at him expectantly. "I doubt it. Just tell us."

Brian was about to start talking when the door opened again and an agitated Maria walked in. "Michael?"

She stopped as she looked around and saw everyone else standing there along with Brian. "Oh...anyone want to tell me what's going on?"

She walked over to Brian and looked at him angrilly. "Shouldn't you be skulking away to hide under your rock or something?"

"Maria, honey...I can explain...I was just trying to save you..."

She looked at him and began to laugh. "Do not say you were trying to save me. You were trying to make it easier on yourself...like the coward you've always been."

Amy walked over to Maria and stood next to her. "I found the note and Sean and I came to find him..."

Maria looked at her. "And you found him here?" She turned and looked at Michael. "Why did he come here? You hate him?"

Brian looked at her and sighed. "I wanted to tell Michael that I had took his advice..."

Michael sighed loudly and rubbed his face with his hands as Maria spun and looked at him agressively. "Advice? You gave my father advice? What kind of advice could you possibly give him?"

Michael looked at her and shook his head. "Before you over-react like usual you should know that it's not as bad as it sounds..."

Maria took a few steps over towards Michael as she struggled to keep her voice from betraying her emotions. "Explain then."

Brian cleared his throat. "Michael found out about my family..."

Maria smiled slightly as she turned to Brian. "Well, I'd hope he would know a lot about them since he's known us for years..."

Michael sighed and turned around as Brian walked over to Maria. "Not about you...about my family. My...other family."

Maria shook her head in disbelief. Other family? How could he have another family? She turned and looked at Michael. "Um, so...wh...what has this got to do with you?"

Michael looked at her and touched her arm gently. "I did this for you."

"What did you do?" She asked softly as she twisted away from his touch.

"He told me to be honest or leave..." Brian said sadly as Michael closed his eyes as Maria's pained eyes looked at him in shock.

"Thanks, Brian..."

"You...you told him to leave?" She took a deep breath and waited on his reply but as it didn't come she raised her hand and pushed him angrilly in the chest. "You told him to leave! You...you promised me! You...you knew what it meant to me..."

Michael grabbed a hold of her by the shoulders. "I did it for you. Not for me." He walked away from her as Brian walked over.

Maria took a deep breath as she tried desperately to stop herself crying. How could everything fall apart like this? "So...what about this family?"

Brian looked at her. "I have a wife, Jenny and a...a son. Dylan. He's...he's 14..."

Maria looked at him. He had a 14 year old son? But...she was only 18 and her dad hadn't left until she...she was 7...she forced herself to take a deep breath. He'd left them for a new family...a new life...a new child...a more important one. She put her hand up to her mouth to stifle the sob that escaped as she shook her head in disbelief."You...you left me for a new family...you left to watch your son grow up?"

Amy walked over and stood in front of Maria protectively. "You bastard. You no good bastard. How long had you been screwing around before you left us?"

Brian looked at Amy. "I'm not proud of myself, Amy! But I was trying to make things up, that's why I didn't want to tell you all like this."

Maria looked at him. "Why did you even come back? It was for the painting wasn't it? They were right...you were never interested in me..."

Brian shook his head angrilly. "Don't you dare think that! Of course I was interested in you!"

"But you came back for the painting..." Maria said as she stood up confidently. She could do this. She could pretend that she didn't care. Just be as cold as him and Michael are and you'll be fine.

Brian nodded his head. "I came back for the painting. It was my...it was Dylan's favourite when he visited his grandmothers..."

Maria felt as though she had been slapped hard as she felt tears sting at her eyes. He had come to take the painting from her, to give to her...to give to his son. "You...you came to take the painting from me, to give to your real child?"

Brian shook his head, clearly exhasperated. "It wasn't like that!"

Sean looked at them all and walked slowly towards the door. "I'm...I'm going to leave and let you guys work this out. I'll...see you back at the house. Call me if you need anything."

Amy nodded her head as she smiled slightly at Sean as he glared angrilly at Brian as he opened the door.

Michael nodded his head as he walked toards the door as well. "I think I'll go too."

Maria looked at him and shook her head. "You aren't going anywhere. You are involved in this and I want to know how you found all this out?"

Michael sighed and sat down as he looked at her. "I got Brody to check some stuff up on the computer..."

Maria nodded her head as she looked at him in disbelief. "I'm assuming you told him what you wanted the information for?"

Michael looked at her irritably. "Yeah...eventually."

"Eventually?" Maria looked at Michael and took a deep breath. "You used him. And you don't see anything wrong with what you did?"

"Hey, I did this for you. You shouldn't be mad at me...i'm not the one who lied to you..." Michael said as he looked at her before his gaze softened. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Maria shook her head and turned back to Brian. "So, when were you planning on telling me? Were you just going to grab the painting one day and leave a note or would you have invited the family to dinner one day?"

Brian looked at her, "I don't know when I was going to tell you. That's the truth. I had...hoped that you might have taken it a bit better..."

Amy looked at him disbelievingly. "Oh? She should have taken it better? Put yourself in her position you selfish son of a bitch!"

Brian looked at Amy with venom. "Maybe if she didn't have to put up with you keeping her away from my family for the past 11 years she would have known years ago!"

"Maybe it's a good thing that I did keep her away from your family, in case she became as cruel and manipulative as you!" Amy spat angrilly as Maria looked between the two of them.

"I cannot deal with this. Could you two please...please, just leave..."

Amy looked at her daughter and walked over to her, a look of remorese on her face. "Oh, Maria baby...I'm sorry."

Maria shook her head. "There's nothing to apologise for, Mom. I just need to talk to Michael alone. I'll come back home after that, ok?"

Amy nodded her head and kissed Maria on the forehead as she walked toards the door. Maria took a deep breath as Brian looked at her. "I'm not going anywhere until we can talk about this some more...whenever you're ready, 'ria. I'll be waiting..."

Maria shrugged her shoulders as he walked towards the door and out it. She turned around and looked at Michael. The feelings of betrayal and pain washed over her and she found herself struggle to contain the need to cry. She took a deep breath as she looked at him. "Why?"

Michael stood up and looked at her. "I told you..."

She shook her head as she whispered. "That's not good enough. How can I be with you when I can't trust you?"

Michael took a long stride so he stood opposite her. "I love you, Maria."

She looked at him and shook her head as she walked towards the door. "That's not enough anymore either. I'm done, I can't go through it anymore. We're finished. I can't be with you." She turned and looked at him sadly as she reached the door and opened it. "You knew what it meant to me...yet you needed to be right about him? You needed to be proved right to hell with what I felt. You hurt me more than anyone has ever hurt me and the scary thing is that you still think you did the right thing. Goodbye, Michael."

She closed the door behind her and took a deep breath as she walked quickly out the

building.

~ ~ ~

Following Kyle's directions, Jim parked in front of the abandoned building. As they walked into her room, the two of them saw that Tess was awake, but barely. Jim stood looking at her with a look akin to a deer frozen in headlights.

A few seconds later, he recovered. "Tess, why did you come back? Did you honestly think we'd welcome you back with open arms? If you are innocent, why didn't you go to Max?"

Kyle stood toe-to-toe with his father. "Dad, that's enough! I told you not to interrogate her! She has been through enough!"

"No, Kyle. I'll answer him. I owe him that much. Even though I'm not responsible for what happened, I still feel the guilt. I felt my son die inside me. The pain I was in and that I caused was another reason I stayed away. Do you think that there's not a moment I wouldn't trade my life for Alex's? I also blamed Max for everything, especially after talking to Nicholas. I'm not completely sure, but I think he was messing with my mind."

"That's not good enough of a reason for betraying your family."

"I know. It's not. I'm sorry for shattering your trust. I never meant to hurt anyone, especially you and Kyle. Do you know that I see Alex every time I close my eyes? Him begging me not to mindwarp him again and being forced to do it. Seeing the pain in everyone's eyes and knowing I had been forced to cause it. They can't hate me more than I despise myself. I was too fucking weak. I ..."

Tess started to scream and convulse. Kyle climbed onto the mattress and brushed the hair out of her face. "Shh, Tessie. It'll be ok. I'm here. Stay strong. I won't lose you, too."

"Kyle, it hurts so much. I feel like my brain is exploding."

"Close your eyes. Try to save your strength. Get some rest," he told her, smoothing out her sweat-dampened hair.

"Kyle, go get Max. Tess shouldn't be sick. They're not supposed to." Jim said, concern lacing his voice as he looked at her.

"No, Dad. All he's going to care about is the baby. My priority is Tess's wellbeing, not his quest. What makes you so sure he won't kill her?"

Jim looked at him gravely. "He's her only chance. We both know that, Kyle."

Realizing that Max Evans was the only way to save her, Kyle agreed and began walking out the door when Jim stopped him. "Kyle, how did you find her?"

Kyle took a deep breath. How did he explain this one to him? "Dad, I...I guess I'm becoming a bit like them. It's a side affect of being brought back. Tess's dupe, Ava, told Liz. Liz and I are both a bit alien. I kinda 'dreamwalk' people, like Isabel. I think Tess pulled me into her head, like Laurie Dupree did to Isabel. I saw the house and knew she was here. It's still kinda difficult for me to work out how it happened..."

"Kyle, why didn't you mention it to me?" Jim looked at his son with a mixture of shock and recognition. How could he not have noticed his son going through these changes?

"I didn't know now to explain to you what was happening." Kyle ran his hand through his hair as he looked at his dad. "I mean, I didn't really understand it myself. It would have been hard for me to say 'Hey, Dad, guess what? I'm turning a tad bit alien. I don't know what kind of powers I'm going to get, but I hope they're cool.' I was scared. I didn't want to add to your list of worries."

~ ~ ~

Maria walked slowly home, unable to get the revelations out of her head. She paused outside the door. He would be in there. The man that said he was her father...the man she though was her daddy...

Stop it Maria! Just stop it...you will not feel bad because of them. You're stronger than that...

She took a deep breath and threw her head back as she opened the door and walked in. She was not going to let him see her cry again.

"Hey. I was just about to call you...I was a worried you might have killed Michael..."

Maria looked over to the sofa and sighed. It was just Sean. "I wouldn't waste my one shot at a felony charge on killing that sorry excuse for a human being..."

Sean nodded as she walked over and sank down in the sofa. "Where is mom? And... Brian?" She swallowed hard as she focused on her hands and tried to not sound to obvious. "I mean, they did come here...right?"

Sean looked at her and nodded his head. "Yup, that they did. But...Brian left and Aunt Amy's in the bath...she's pretty beat..."

Maria nodded. Of course her Mother would be tired...she had spent the night trying to find Brian. Of course, Brian took the first opportunity to disappear...again.

"Earth to Maria...come in Maria..." Maria snapped around quickly to see Sean looking at her with a mixture of concern and bemusement.

"What is it, Sean?" Maria sighed as she lay back on the sofa and looked at him. He looked pretty tired himself...and his face definitely hadn't seen a razor today. It was kinda hard to be annoyed at him like usual when he was making such an effort to be a good cousin.

"I was just asking if you were okay? You know...with all the shit that you were hit with this morning?"

She looked away from him and sighed. How did she feel? Angry? Sad? In unbelievable pain? Betrayed? "Fine...I feel fine..."

Sean looked away from her and sighed. "That's good... I got to say, that early morning TV sucks...it's all kids shows," He gestured to the TV as he talked. "Which normarally wouldn't be bad...but it's the 'educational hour'..."

Maria looked at him with a forced smile. "You should watch...maybe you'll learn something..."

Sean looked at her with a wounded expression. "Ouch, aren't we catty this morning?" She turned away from him with a slight smile and began chewing on her fingernails as he continued. "So, umm, would you like me to take you to see him? I mean I can take you there and back..."

Maria looked at him with widened eyes. Did she want to see that son of a....that bastard? "No! I never want to see him again! I wouldn't care if he had been hit by a car on his way home...I just hope that he hurts as he dies..."

Sean looked at her and raised his hand. "Maria, I know you're angry but don't say something you'll regret...he's not worth it."

Maria looked at him with a cold expression. "Then don't talk about him again."

Sean nodded his head and stood up as he exhaled slowly. "Understood. So, I haven't eaten, and I know you haven't so would you like some breakfast?"

Maria folded her arms as she pulled her legs up. She wasn't really that hungry. She turned to Sean about to say this when he looked at her with an expectant smile.

"I know you're about to say no....but I should tell you that I now officially make the best pancakes in the house due to extensive practice...I'll even put fruit in yours..."

She sighed as he grinned at her and reluctantly nodded her head. At least he was trying to help. Unlike Michael... "Sure, Sean...pancakes sounds good..."

He nodded his head and walked into the kitchen throwing a concerned glance backwards towards her. "Pancakes it is..."

As Sean disappeared, Maria reached over for her bag to get her mirror. Hopefully she didnt look as pathetic as she felt. "Look on the brightside, Maria. I don't think it's possible for anyone to look that bad..."

She opened her bag and put her hand inside and pulled out her mirror along with some tickets. She looked at the tickets and read over them. "Talent contest. Saturday, 8pm."

She wiped her eyes harshly as she crumplled the tickets up and threw them angrilly away with a sob. He was never going to hear her sing...he never wanted to hear her sing. He never wanted anything to do with her.

"Maria?" She looked up as she wiped her eyes again and looked at Sean as he walked quickly over and put his arm tentatively round her shoulder. "Maria...he's not worth you crying over him..."

She nodded her head as the tears fell down her face. "I...I know, but...it still...hurts...I though he wanted to make it up to me..."

Sean hugged her tightly as she cried, not entirely sure about what the right thing to do was... "You don't need him, you're worth 10 of him...and 10 of Guerin...they are the ones who are missing out. You'll get through this...and we all are going to help you..."

Maria nodded her head but didn't say anything as she allowed her tears to fall.

~ ~ ~

Max looked at the alien memoribilia surrounding him and sighed...what did Brody tell him he wanted done? He rubbed his eyes and looked again, why did all this stuff have to look the same? Because is cheesy and tacky and the tourists love it...

He sighed and picked up a flying saucer with a flashing light and carried it over to the display as he heard a voice call behind him. "Evans?"

Max put the saucer down and turned to Kyle...again, they disturb him at work? "Kyle, I said to Michael now I'm saying to you, you guys can't keep coming into work!"

Kyle looked at him as he began to talk as though he hadn#t heard anything Max had said. "I went to your house but your mom said you were here. We need to talk...in private."

Max looked at him and shook his head. "I get a break around 11am, come back then..."

Kyle looked at him and shook his head. "It can't wait, Evans..."

Max looked at Kyle irritibly. "It'll have to, Brody's still pissed about what Michael did...so sorry, you have to come back."

Max began to walk away as Kyle looked at him. "Tess is back."

Max stopped and turned around slowly to face Kyle. "Excuse me?"

"She's back, in Roswell, but she's really sick and needs your help..."

Max's eyes widened. Kyle had seen her? And wanted him to help her? "Where is she Kyle? Tell me!"

Kyle looked at him and shook his head. "I'm not going to tell you where she is...because you'll want to be judge, jury and executioner before you even listen to what she's got to say..."

Max took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. "Kyle...I know that you probably believe she's different now...but trust me, she will just be using you...now just tell me where she is...so I can deal with her and get my son..."

Max looked at him as Kyle's face showed a mixture of frustration and saddness. "Max...the baby...the baby died when she crashed...I'm sorry."

Max looked at Kyle is disbelief. The baby couldn't be dead...his son would still be alive. Unless she killed him to get back at you...or she's lying...

"She's a liar! She probably killed him...we know that she's not afraid to indulge in a spot of murder when the mood takes her...or have you forgot?"

Kyle looked at him. "You don't know what you're talking about and I don't have the time to set the record straight, I have to go and try and get her some help..."

"Where the hell is she?" Max shouted louder than he intended as Kyle began walking away.

"Forget it, Evans. She won't bother you anyway, so just let it go..." Max watched as Kyle walked out the door. He stood for a second before running after him.

"Brody, I need to go home for a while...I'll be back later..." He didn't wait on Brody's reply as he ran outside and looked for Kyle's car.

"C'mon, c'mon...where is it? Damn...must have left already..." Max growled in frustration and punched the wall hard. So close...he was so close to finding her and making her pay and Valenti had kept it from him.

He winched in pain as he looked at his bleeding knuckles and put his hand over them to heal them before he looked over to the Crashdown. He pulled out his cell-phone and dialed a number. "Hey. No, it's just me...listen, something has happened. Something big. Are you working? No, great...listen, I'm coming right over and I'll fill you in then. I'm still trying to work it out myself. Okay, I'll see you in a minute Liz..."

He hung up the phone and took a deep breath as he walked slowly over to the Crashdown.

~ ~ ~

As Max sat perfectly still, Liz walked out of the Crashdown with two cokes in hand. "Here you go, drink this slowly."

"Thank you. I just...I needed to see you once Kyle told me about Tess…and my…son."

Max could hardly make out those last few words before his emotions got the best of him. Anger, sadness, and revenge all started brewing from deep down in the pit of his stomach. He needed to release that anger in some shape or form, but not in front of Liz. He couldn't help but imagine some horific things about his son and Tess. The more he thought about having to finally come in contact with that same person, made him tense up even more.

"Max…please calm down." Liz placed her glass next to his on the table to move closer to him. With one gentle touch Max's breathing slowed down and he could look at her once again. "Getting this angry won't solve anything. You need to go into this situation with a clear head. So have you talked to Michael and Isabel?"

"Yeah, they're itching to get in close proximity of Tess." Max said slowly, still fighting to keep his own anger under control.

"I know we all have questions, but let's just deal with one thing at a time…for now."

Liz leant forward to grab her cell phone from her back pocket and stood up to gain some distance from Max and his anger, Sean answered the phone. "Hi Sean, can I talk to Maria?"

Liz focused on the pavement in front of her as Sean tried to blow her off. "Liz this isn't a good time…please just call back later."

Before Liz has time to try and get another word in Sean had already hung up the phone.

Liz stood with her back towards Max as she thought about what Sean wouldn't say and what could be wrong with Maria that wouldn't allow her to come to the phone.

"Liz, I'm not going to save Tess…"

Liz turned slowly and stood there perplexed by Max's statement. "What am I suppose to say to that, Max?"

"Nothing, I just wanted you to know that." He said as he looked at her honestly as he began to defend his decision. "How am I suppose to save the one person that brought all this pain to begin with? And to make it worse Kyle is protecting her. What the hell is he thinking?"

Liz couldn't totally blame Max for hating Tess, but was this the right thing to do? She couldn't look at him any more because the conversation they both had fell into wasn't something she want to deal with anymore. As she pushed aside her feelings Liz made herself look at Max one last time with a determined expression. "Don't start directing your problem with Tess onto Kyle. What else was he suppose to do? Have you ever tried to put yourself in his shoes for once?"

She looked at him as her gaze softened slightly. "You know it's not easy living life when things aren't exactly normal. Just don't judge him too harshly..."

Max was stunned by Liz's confident stand and even though it appeared to be directly in reference to the situation at hand, for some odd reason he felt there was a double sided meaning to it.

~ ~ ~

Michael and Isabel had finally arrived and Liz lead the way up to her room as Max watched Michael and Isabel walk pass him. Max followed closely behind them as he climbed the stairs, he knew the pressure was on for him to deliver. The pressure was on and Max was feeling it big time. While Michael looked like hell and Isabel had put on this focused poker face, here he was doubting his self. What a great leader.

Max closed the door behind them and took one look at them with a solemn face before he began to speak. "You know that Tess is back in town, but what you don't know is that she is apparently very sick. I tried to get Kyle to tell me where she was hiding, but he just ran off."

Looking at each one of them Max continued, "We all need to stick together on whatever decision we make."

Michael looked at Liz as he asked. "Where has Maria been in all this?"

Liz shrugged her shoulders. "I tried to call her, but Sean wouldn't let me through to her. Something family related must be going on."

"Guys, I think we need to stay focus. We need to find out where Tess is." Max said, with a sloight hint or irritation in his voice.

Isabel immediately stood up and looked at Liz. "Do you have a picture with Tess in it? Any of you?" She looked around at them.

"Yeah right after I burned them all." Michael shook his head.

"Michael I don't need your damn sarcasm right now." Isabel said angrilly. "I just want a damn photo so I can find the murdering bitch and make her pay."

Liz went over and opened up her bedroom closet to pull out a shoe box of pictures. "I'm pretty sure...somewhere..." She pulled the lid of the box and spread the contents over the floor as she scanned through them. "Here Isabel, here's one."

Isabel nodded gratefully as she took the photo. "Thanks Liz. Now if Tess is as sick as Kyle says she is then I should be able to track her down."

Isabel closed her eyes once before opening them to glare at Michael and Max. "I need some privacy…please."

"Sure Isabel, we'll just go out onto the balcony." Liz ushered the guys outside, as Isabel closed her eyes once and again and fell into the dream.

//flash//

Isabel began to see a flash of a wall with dingy wall paper. Laying limp on a twin bed Isabel noticed Tess curled up and shaking ever so slightly. As Isabel became more and more frustrated she noticed out the window and she realised where she was. Tess is staying at that old house on the outskirts of Roswell. Isabel took one last look at Tess, almost feeling sorry for her but quickly came out of the dream to tell the others where Tess was.

//flash//

Isabel poked her head out of Liz's bedroom window to see Michael lounging in a chair while Max paced in front of Liz who was leaning against one of the balcony walls.

"Tess is staying at that old shack hotel on the outskirts right before you cross Roswell county lines. Come on, we better get going..."

Liz glanced at Max before her eyes returned to the ground as the others all began walking towards the cars . She's far enough away to be out of sight, but not out of our lives.

~ ~ ~

Tess slowly opened her eyes, lifting a hand to her forehead and moaned softly at the throbbing agony in her skull. Her mouth tasted something like she imagined an old sweat sock would, and her stomach rolled over and over like it was stuck on some demented roller coaster. Her vision swan for a minute, before snapping into focus, and her eyes latched onto the chiseled features and bright blue eyes of Jim Valenti.

"Jim?" She croaked hoarsely, drawing his attention away from the spot on the wall that he had been studying rather intently. His blue eyes, eyes that his son had inherited from him, fell on his face, and his lips turned up just a little bit, before returning to the grim set they had been in.

"You alright?" His voice was rough and uneven, like he was feeling an entire range of emotions that he didn't care to.

"I'll live, I think." She admitted, her voice still shaking and it still hurt her throat to talk, but she managed to force the words past her lips. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, as she lost herself in a happy memory, something that she would always hold close to her heart, no matter where she was or what she was doing. "This reminds me of right before we...I...left. When I was so sick.with.with the baby." It hurt to think about her little boy, and she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the physical sickness and the emotional pain that coursed through her body.

"It's a little bit different now, Tess." Jim's voice was still as rough and as uneven as gravel, and the blonde opened her eyes again to look over at the Sheriff.

He met her eyes, and then looked away, his jaw tight as he ran his fingers through his short hair in a gesture she had seen him and his son do many times before. He was almost shaking with barely suppressed emotion, rage and confusion and despair warred over his worn but still handsome features. "That was before I knew that you had killed one of my son's best friends."

Tess turned over on her side, facing away from him, the bitter taste of pain and sadness choking her like bile. Squeezing her eyes shut, she only allowed a single teardrop to escape, rolling unnoticed down her cheek. "I know."

~ ~ ~

Maria swallowed hard, and lifted her hand to knock on the front door. Halfway there, her hand stopped and as hard as she tried, she couldn't make it move. Instead, she ran her fingers through her golden hair, and titled her head back, blowing out a breath of air. Maybe this would be easier if she could get Sean, who was waiting the in the car for her, to come in with her. No, she told herself, she needed to do this by herself. Closing her eyes, she steeled her self for Michael's hurt eyes, and forced herself to knock.

No one answered.

She knocked again, and got the same response. Swallowing, she reached down and opened the door, peering in cautiously. The room was dark, and the curtains were drawn.

He wasn't home.

Sighing, she stepped all the way in, and scanned the room. Crossing her arms over her stomach, she rubbed her arm self consciously as she scanned the room, turning in a full circle, taking in everything around. As her eyes fell on the couch that she and Michael had spent so many nights curled up on, she had to blink away the tears that formed.

She had to do this.

Again, she took inventory of the room, her eyes falling on a few of her CDs she had brought over to balance out Michael's Metallica obsession; one of her shirts that she had left over here when she had to change clothes for work here one time; a few bottles of her smelling oils she took out of her pockets or purse and just never picked back up. And the painting.

Closing her eyes, she exhaled through her nose sharply, and began to mechanically collect her assorted belongs. She was finished in five minutes.

She let a slow, sad smile pull at her lips at the thought. It had taken her the better part of two years to engrain herself the way she was in Michael's life, and it only took about five minutes to rip herself out of it. Figures.

Collecting her belongs and the painting, she headed for the door. She stopped when she reached it, and looked back over her shoulder, taking in everything around her for a long second. Closing her eyes again,she fought the sob at the back of her throat and turned to leave.

As she stepped out into the hallway, she swallowed hard, and shut the door firmly behind her.

"Goodbye, Michael. Have a nice life..."

~ ~ ~

Sean was leaning against the hood of the car when Maria finally made it out of the building. He gave her an encouraging grin, and she managed a weak smile back. She held the painting out to him, and he took it from her, slipped it into the back of the jetta, and then looked over at her.

"You alright?" He asked, as he tilted his head to the right.

"Yeah. I'm fine." At his doubtful look, she forced the smile a little brighter. "Really."

"Alright." Sean let it go, something Maria was very grateful for.

"Listen-I really appreciate, you know, everything. Really. But.could you maybe find your own way home? There's something that I have to do."

Sean held his hands up in a no problem gesture, and smiled. "I'm a big boy, Mars, I can make my own way home."

Despite herself, Maria rolled her eyes at the nickname and climbed into the Jetta. Sean leaned against the driver's side door and peered through the window.

"Oh yeah-Liz called. Wanted you to call her back."

Maria shook her head. "I'll have to do that later-I got something I have to do now. Thanks again, Sean."

"Any time, coz. See ya later." With that, the handsome young man headed off down the street, leaving the pretty blonde on her own. Swallowing hard, she started the car, and headed toward her destination.

~ ~ ~

Maria pulled to a stop outside of a small café just out of town, noting that Brian's car was already in the parking lot. She checked her reflection in the mirror, swallowed hard and stepped out of the car. She opening the rear door, pulled out the painting, and headed towards the front door. She stepped into the café and scanned the scant customers for her father.

She spotted him sitting near the back, and she took a deep breath, wishing that she had decided to bring her cedar oil with her. She walked toward him, careful not to let the painting bump into anyone.

Brain looked up just as she reached his table, and he flashed a dimpled smile at her. "Maria, hey! Sit down!" He gestured toward the opposite chair, and she sat down leaning the painting against the leg of the table as she did so.

"I'll make this brief." Maria said by way of greeting. No sense in dilly dallying around. "I don't think that I can see you anymore, Dad. At least, not right now."

"What? Maria, I don't..." Brian trailed off, and looked down at his hands, and then back up at his daughter. "Maria. I never wanted to hurt you, honey, and I am so sorry."

Maria looked at him sadly as she clenched her fists under the table as she mentally told herself to be strong. "Dad-I really, really trusted you this time. And you blew it. Again. And I...I just don't think that I could handle this again. Not after everything. I can't. I just can't. But, I want you to have the painting."

"Why?" Brian asked, his pain clearly etched in his face as he looked at her.

Maria was silent for a long moment, and before she let a slow sad smile pull at her lips, her eyes suspiciously bright. "I never got a chance to know my Grandma. But.your son did. He should have this-not me."

Brian stared at her, and she managed to smile again, before standing up to leave. "Goodbye, Daddy." She turned to leave.

"Maria, wait!" Her father called after her. She turned around, but didn't make a move back toward the table. "Maria...I...I don't want to be cut out of your life again. I want...I want to be a part of your life, okay? I'll be in touch."

"Sure Dad." She turned around again, sinking her teeth into her lower lip. "But I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen."

~ ~ ~

Isabel had the steeling wheel in a white knuckled grip as she drove towards Tess' hideout. The car was silent, almost stifling so, and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Licking her lips, the beautiful blonde kept her eyes focused intently out the windshield, her foot heavy against the gas pedal.

Tess was back.

Tess, who had stolen Max's child, who had lied to them all, and who...who had killed.

Isabel's eyes started to burn, and she bit down hard on the back of her lip. Oh, God. Alex. She had killed Alex. Her Alex.

How had she done it? Had Alex.suffered? Had he been in pain?

Without warning, a mental image leapt to the forefront of her mind.

Alex, lying on his back bound to a stone alter and gagged, started up at Tess as she slowly advanced on him, a wickedly curved dagger in her hand. She smiled
down at the struggling boy, one eyebrow lifted suggestively.

With a dramatic flourish, the young woman lifted the blade and brought it down quickly, aimed directly at Alex's heart.

"FOR THE GLORY OF KIVAR!" Her scream echoed eerily as her blade hit home, and Alex arched his back in agony, his scream of pain muffled by-

Isabel shook her head, clearing the image out of her mind. Somehow, she doubted that was the way it had happened.

"Tess...please, please don't hurt me anymore!" Alex begged, his face tear streaked and agonized as he pleaded with the cold faced blonde.

"Shut up, you pathetic human, or you just might out live your usefulness!" She hissed, her liquid blue eyes flashing with hatred and disgust for the young man before her.

"Please.I can't do anymore! I'm sorry, I *tried*!" The young man sobbed, barely able to stand up.

"Then your useless. And I don't have any need of useless people." The golden beauty snarled, tilting her head back and smirking at the shivering, sobbing wreck of a man. "Goodbye Alex."

The young man screamed in helpless agony as the blonde alien ripped through his mind, and stole his life.


A tear escape from Isabel's eye and trickled down her face and she put the pedal to the metal. It would have been that quick...that painful.

Soon enough, the car squealed into the parking lot of Tess's little hideout, and the teenagers jumped out, intent on getting to the blonde alien that had betrayed them. All but Max, that was.

"Wait!" He commanded, just as Michael and Isabel were about to go crashing through the door.

"What, Maxwell?" Michael snapped, spinning around on his heel to face his best friend.

"We can't just go charging in there-my son might be in there, no matter what Kyle thinks. His safety is our number one priority. And if we go in there ready to fight, Tess might hurt him or one of us." The amber eyed young man reminded them, his voice tight with worry and barely suppressed rage.

Just then, a loud beeping filled the air, and Liz yanked her cell phone out of her pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?" She asked, really hoping that it wasn't one of her parents.

"Liz, babe, what's happening? Sean said you called?" Maria's voice crackled in her ear, and the petite brunette sighed in relief.

"Maria!" Michael looked up at the sound of the blonde's name, but quickly turned his attention toward Max. "Maria, we found Tess."

"What?!" Maria screeched, and Liz had to hold the phone away from her ear for a moment, or risk serious hearing loss. "Where is the murdering little hussy!?"

"She's here, in Roswell. At the old hotel on Cedar---you know where that is, right?" Liz asked.

"I'm on my way." The phone went dead, and Liz flipped it shut, shoving it back in her pocket.

"She's coming." Liz reported.

"Let's go." Michael snapped, already heading for the door.

Without evening bothering to check to see if the door was opened or not, Michael blew it open with a flick of his wrist, as he and Max charged through the doorway, Liz and Isabel not a step behind him.

Kyle and Jim shot to their feet as soon as they saw the foursome, almost unconsciously placing themselves in front of Tess. The small blonde, for her part, scrambled off the bed, shaking like a leaf as she fought to stay upright. She swayed dangerously on her
feet, pressing her hands into the bed to give her some semblance of balance.

"Tess." Liz spat her name out like it was a curse word, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"You murdering bitch! How DARE you come back here?!" Isabel snarled, her hands clenched into fists.

"Where's my son, Tess?" Max demanded, his ever word dripping with loathing and fury. "Where is he!?"

"I...I...the baby...I..." Tess whimpered, flinching backwards like Max had physically struck her, trembling violently. Then she seemed to steel herself, and drew herself upward, adding steel to her backbone. She tilted her chin up and glared at the foursome, even though her lips were still deathly white.

"Tell me!" Max roared, lunging forward. However, Michael caught his arm, pulling him back.

"Maxwell-chill out! Calm, remember? Calm! We don't want her to hurt the kid, do we?" Michael reminded his friend, hissing the words right near his ear.

"Right. Right." The other boy allowed, though his eyes still blazed with fury.

However, Isabel hadn't appreciated Michael's soothing words. With a flick of her wrist, she sent Jim and Kyle sprawling across the room, and was on Tess before any of them could blink.

She grabbed her by the upper arms roughly and the beautiful blonde shook the littler girl slightly, her lips curved back in a ferocious snarl. The expression would have looked more at home on the face of Lonnie, Isabel's psychotic clone, instead of the more sedate beauty it currently marred the face of.

"Where's the baby, bitch?" Isabel spat out. "You'll tell me, or so help me God..."

"God's the one you'll have to consult on the baby's whereabouts." Tess told her, steel and venom covering the shaking fear in her voice. "He's dead." Max flinched violently, swallowing a cry. Liz felt no such need, her gasp of disbelief and horror plainly audible in the silent room.

"You lie!" The other girl growled, tightening her grip on the girl and concentrating.

"Isabel, stop!" Kyle yelled, as he realized the girl's intention.

"Isabel!" Jim added his voice to his son's protest, but it was too late. Isabel was already in Tess' unwilling mind.

//flash//

The Granolith crashing to Earth.

Tess crawling out covered in blood.

Trying to connect to her child.

Failing, and trying again and again and again.

Realizing that the baby was dead.

Collapsing to the ground as she realized her child was
gone.

//flash//

Tess was barely conscious as her head rolled back and she screamed helpless in agony as her former friend invaded her mind and ripped through it, looking for what she wanted.

Once Isabel had found it, she let go, breaking the connection, and Tess slumped bonelessly to the ground, her head lolling forward as her vision blacked out.

"What the hell did you do to her!?" Kyle snarled, as he and his father raced toward the small blonde's side, shoving Isabel out of the way. Jim gathered the girl against his chest as Kyle reached out to touch her face, tucking a lock of her golden hair behind her ear.

The woman looked over at her brother, pity and sadness etched across her face. "Max...Max, she was telling the truth. The baby...I'm sorry."

Max looked down and away, his shoulders tightening. Liz stepped forward, laying a small hand on his shoulder, and he looked over at her, a small, sad smile trying to pull at his lips.

"Heal her, Evans." Kyle ordered, rising to his feet and glaring at the other boy.

"What? No!" Max refused, his eyes darkening. "She killed my son!"

"And Whitman. And she would have killed all of us." Michael chimed in, his voice a barely audible growl.

"She deserves everything she gets." Liz agreed, stepping forward and closer to Max. "God, she killed Alex! She killed him! How could you defend her, Kyle!?"

"Max, there's something WRONG with her! She's sick! And your psycho of a sister didn't help at all!" Kyle informed the group, but was met with stony silence. "You have to heal her, Max, she could die!"

"Max." Jim asked from the floor, where he was still cradling the unconscious Tess. "Kyle's telling the truth. Tess needs your help."

"Please Evans. Help her!" Kyle was not begging-he did not beg. But he was getting pretty damn close.

"Help who?" Maria Deluca's voice asked from the doorway. They all looked up to see the pretty blonde standing in the doorway.

~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~

Maria's eyes widened as she glared over at Tess. "What the hell is that murderer doing here!" She ran from the door and lunged towards the bed agressively. "I swear to God, I'll kill her!"

Liz grabbed a hold of her and shook her head. "Maria! No. Stop. Just stop, we're trying to work out what to do here."

Maria looked at her like she's lost her mind. What did they have to work out? "Liz. She killed Alex. Our best friend. I don't think there's anything to work out."

"She wasn't responsible!" Kyle called passionately from beside Tess before he turned and looked at Max. "Max, she was not responsible!"

Maria looked at him. "And you know this because she told you? How do we know she hasn't mindwarped you again?"

Kyle gave a growl in frustration as he looked at them desperately. "I. Am. NOT. Mindwarped!"

Tess moaned slightly as Kyle looked at Max. "Would you not rather know her side of the story before you judge her? Doesn't she deserve a chance? What right have you got to let her die?"

Isabel looked at him and shook her head. "What right have you got to defend a murderer?"

Max shook his head and looked at them. "I...I need some air. I'm going outside. No one touches her until I come back. Okay, Isabel?"

Isabel looked at him angrilly but nodded her head as she looked at Tess who sat up slightly and glared at Isabel angrilly.

As Max walked out Michael looked over towards Maria. "You okay?"

Maria didn't look at Michael as she walked over towards Tess. "So, who are you planning on killing next?"

Tess looked at her and shook her head. "I thought I'd start with Principal Delaney before going onto the cafeteria staff and ending with the entire school population. Why? Isn't that what you expect?"

Kyle looked at her and shook his head. "Tess..."

Maria gave her a twisted smile. "That's exactly what I expect."

Tess shook her head and looked at them all. "If you insist on interogatting me, you should get Isabel to do it. At least them it will be as painful as possible. And you all call me the inhuman mind witch..."

Isabel looked at her and smiled. "If the shoe fits. I've never used my powers on an innocent person."

Tess shook her head as Liz walked out the door. "Really? So what do you do when you get bored? You dreamwalk your friends. Invade their most private thoughts. Rip their fantasies apart for your own twisted amusement!"

Isabel stood up and looked at her like she was about to pounce as Michael strode forward. "Shut up! You have no right to judge anyone!"

Tess looked at them both and shook her head sadly. "Neither do you."

Max sat out by the jeep as he tried to work out what was going on. His son was dead, that much he knew. Alex's murderer was back and needed his help. She was also nearly the mother of his child. His baby...the one thing he had wanted more than life...

"Max?"

He span around and looked towards Liz who looked at him with a concerned expression. "I think you should go in because I think Isabel and Maria are going to kill her..."

"That took longer than I expected." Max looked at Liz. "What should I do?"

Liz took a deep breath and walked up to him. "I want her to pay. I want her to suffer. I want her to die. But I need to know why. I need to know why she did it."

Max looked at her and fought the impulse to touch her perfect brown hair. What if Tess did it again? What if she fooled them again? "I could never forgive myself if I saved her for her to do it again."

Liz sighed as she took his hand. "You would never be able to forgive yourself if you let her die and by some miricle she was innocent. There's no guarantees in life, Max. You should know that."

He looked at her and squeezed her hand, gaining strength from the touch of her skin. "I know that..."

She smiled at him and gave his hand a gentle pull. "Come on, we should go in."

He nodded his head as he walked in towards the room where the others were still arguing. He looked at Isabel and took a deep breath as he walked over to the bed. He looked at Kyle. "If she's guilty and I see it, I'll kill her myself."

Kyle looked at Max confidently as he stood up to let Max sit next to Tess. "Then she's nothing to worry about then."

Isabel stormed over towards Max and looked at him. "What are you doing? She should die for the murder she commited!"

Max looked at her and shook his head. There was no way she would understand. "We have to be sure."

Isabel looked at him with disgust as she walked out the room angrilly. "You are saving the life of a murderer. Congratulations!"

Max ignored her as he looked at Tess and touched her face and made the connection.

//flash//

Tess playing as a child as she looked at Nacedo.

Tess coming to Roswell.

Lonnie and Nicholas putting Tess under deep sedation as they sat in the warehouse in New York and reprogramed her mind with a manifesto.

Tess fighting it desperately before being overcome as her mental defences were ripped away slowly.

Tess dancing with Kyle in Vegas.

Tess trying to work out what happened with Alex.

The Granolith crashing and the baby dying as Tess tried to heal it.

Nicholas, Lonnie and Rath finding her.

//flash//

He looked at her and gasped as he took a step back and looked at the others. She was telling the truth. She hadn't lied to them. "She...um...she told the truth. She didn't have any choice..."

~ ~ ~

Max looked at the others as Tess sat up on the bed, clearly tired but already looking much healthier than she had at any point since she got back. Kyle put his hand protectively on her shoulder as Max began to talk. "I know that it's hard to believe..."

Maria looked at him like he had lost his mind. "No kidding? I don't know what's hard to believe about the prospect of a murdering witch telling the truth...I can't believe you're buying this Max..."

"I agree, Maxwell...you are usually a lot smarter than that."

Maria glared at Michael as she responded cooly. "You have no right to talk about anyone being smarter after what you did..."

Michael rolled his eyes. "Funny, I thought this was about Tess, not you..."

"Will both of you shut up and let Max explain?" Kyle said exaspperated as he looked towards Max who nodded at him gratefully as he began to talk.

"Anyway, when we went to New York, just after Liz saved my life..." He smiled at Liz as he continued, "Lonnie and Rath grabbed Tess and ran with her to a warehouse where Nicolas was waiting. When they got there they put her under this kind of deep mind control...to get the 'heir'...my...son, to decode the book, to get the granolith...and to return it to them so they could all get a one way ticket home. In order for that to happen she had to believe certain things...like Nasedo had made the deal and she had been in on it all her life..."

Liz nodded her head as she looked at him. "Well that would make sense, since why would Nasedo have warned you about the skins if he had been working with them...plus they killed him."

Max nodded his head. "Yeah." He turned to Tess and looked at her. "Is that right?"

Tess nodded as she looked at him. "They didn't think that I would buy it if it was something that I just came up with myself...they knew that I had this unwavering faith in destiny and that if they could fit their plan in among that I would believe it..." She smiled sadly. "Guess I proved them right...i always thought I was pretty strong mentally...just not strong enough or I could have saved so muh pain for you all..."

Maria looked at Max and shook her head. "You expect us to buy this?"

Max looked at her and nodded his head. "I know that you might not believe what she said Maria, but believe me she couldn't lie when I healed her..."

"But you might have read the images wrong...I mean, it's not an exact science...you just saw her, Nicholas, Lonnie and Rath having a little chat. For all we know she might have willingly been controlled...if she was controlled at all..." Maria said as she glared at Tess.

Max sighed as he looked at her. "Maria, she was definitely controlled...and I know what I saw...trust me."

She looked at Max. "I do trust you Max...I just think that you are being too forgiving..." Maria turned to Tess and looked at her with venom. "I mean, I don't remember you mention that she had to commit murder when she was given her little manifesto. So tell me, why did you kill Alex?"

Tess looked at her and then to Liz as she began to speak. "I never meant to kill him...he had worked out that I had used him to decode the book and he was really upset..."

Maria looked at Liz. "Can't think why he would be upset..."

Kyle looked over at them both. "Come on guys, at least let her tell it before you rip her to shreds..."

Tess took a deep breath as she continued. "I had just wanted to calm him down...so he wouldn't hurt himself...but he...he just, he wouldn't let me and he was crying and I was trying to think what I could do to help him...I swear I just wanted to calm him down. But when I tried to...he just kept telling me not to mind warp him...but I needed to calm him down..." She looked down at her hands. "I only wanted to use a little mindwarp...it shouldn't have killed him...it shouldn't have damaged him at all..."

Maria wiped her eyes angrilly. "But it did. So, why didn't you call Max? He might have been able to heal him. Why did you crash the car if it was an accident? Why did you let them put 'suicide' down on his record?"

Tess looked up and shook her head. "I don't know...everything after that is kinda blurry. I remember him hitting the floor and I tried to heal him...but you know, I'm not very good at that. Kyle wanted to call Max and we nearly did but then...then I just got a feeling like I wasn't supposed to...so I made Kyle take Alex's body out to the car and I..."

"Crashed the car? Desecrated his body? Made his parents believe their son had voluntarily ended his life?" Liz asked flatly.

Tess nodded her head. "I never meant to kill him..."

"Well, as long as you never meant to kill him I'm sure thats good enough reason to forgive and forget..." Maria said bitterly as she looked at Tess.

"I just don't understand...even after you had mindwarped him...you had the opportunity to maybe save his life yet you didn't...why? If you didn't mean to kill him why didn't you try and save him?" Liz asked desperately.

Tess shook her head. "I don't know...It felt like I was supposed to take him in the car. It didn't feel like I had a choice..."

Maria looked at her and shook her head. "That's an awfully convenient excuse today."

Liz nodded her head. "I agree. A person always has a choice...you could have done the right thing if you wanted to..."

Max looked between the three of them. "Listen, we don't know how far the Lonnie's and Nicholas' mind control went...but I'm willing to bet that as soon as we find one of them we'll find out a lot more about what happened. But until then, you guys have to accept my assurances...she is different. I wouldn't put any of you in danger if I thought she was a murderer..."

Liz looked at Max and nodded before turning to Tess. "Fine, I'll trust your opinion, Max. But she better stay the hell out of my way..."

Maria looked at Tess as well as she spoke. "Same here. You may very well have not had a choice, but I don't care. You are a murderer, who used a guy who never did anything but good. Just stay away from me."

Tess smiled sadly as she nodded her head slowly as she forced her words out. "F..fine. That's fine..."

She looked down and bit her lip as Jim looked at them all. "I think now might be a good time to go home...come on, there's nothing else to talk about tonight."

Maria nods her head as she grabs Liz's arm and heads out with her. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Max looked at Michael who shook his head and alked out as Kyle helped Tess up and they began to walk out. "Thanks, Evans..."

Max looked at Kyle and shrugged his shoulders. "Just proves that I didn't come in ready to be 'judge, jury and executioner'...we'll work something out Tess...just rest and get your strength back up."

She smiled at him as they all walked outside to see Isabel leaning against the jeep looking at them. "What the hell is she doing here? You healed her?"

Max looked at Isabel who's eyes were blazing as she glared firstly at Tess and then at him. He shook his head, this was not going to go down well. "She is going back to Roswell, she was manipulated with Lonnie and Nicholas."

Isabel shook her head as she struggled to contain her anger. "The only people who are being manipulated here are you all. Hell, if I knew I could get away with murder and still be accepted with open arms I would maybe kill some innocent people as well..."

"Isabel...if you gie us a chance to explain you'll understand..." Max said as he walked towards her.

Isabel opened the jeep door and sat at the drivers seat as she looked at Max angrilly. "You can candy coat it all you want, Max. It doesn't change anything." She turned and looked at Tess with venom. "You might be able to fool the others, Tess. But I know that you are a murderer and just because you have fooled Max don't think you have got away with it. Because I swear you will pay for it..."

She slammed the door shut and started the engine as Max looked towards the others. "She's just...pretty upset, she'll come around...she just needs some time..."

"Not if she's got any sense. She sounds like the only one who is handeling this right." Maria whispered to Liz as they walked towards the jetta.

"Yeah, well Evans, if your sister can't keep her powers to herself then maybe it's a good thing she doesn't want to be anywhere near Tess..." Kyle said as he opened the car door and ushered Tess inside.

Michael looked at him and shook his head. "She did what she had to do...like any of us would have done. So get over yourself, Valenti."

Max sighed in frustration. "Okay, that's it. We'll talk about this tomorrow again, now I think we should all just go before this becomes something bigger than it is." He walked around to the side door of the jeep and looked at Liz and smiled at her as she made a 'call me' sign with her fingers. He looked at her longingly for a second. It would be so good if he could just talk to her just now...if he could forget what the others wanted. "Bye, Liz..."

She smiled back at him as she opened the car door and sat inside. Max sighed and sat in the jeep as Isabel avoided looking at him as Michael climbed in the back.

"That was nice, Max. A nice method at diffusing the situation...running away from it..." Isabel said before she pulled away.

"Yeah, well...we can't all have your social skills Isabel." Max said irritibly as he turned to Michael as Isabel ignored him and drove off.

~ ~ ~

Maria and Liz sat in the jetta in a contemplative silence. Liz looked towards Maria. No doubt she was feeling as confused as she was. "That was pretty weird, huh?"

Maria nodded her head as she sighed. "A weird end to a weird day...I just want to get home and pretend that none of it happened..."

"What's going on with you and Michael? I thought you had worked things out?" Liz asked as she looked out the window at the passing landscape. "I mean, it seemed pretty frosty..."

Maria shook her head and laughed bitterly. "I though we had worked things out, but that was before he went looking into my fathers past to prove himself right. And before he blackmailed my father into leaving...and before he lied to Brody to get him to help him. And before my father left..."

Liz's eyes widened as she looked at Maria. "No, he wouldn't have done that. He knew how much Brian being back meant to you, why would he ruin it?"

Maria looked at her and shook her head. "Because he had to be right."

Liz looked at her sadly and put a hand on her shoulder. "Maria...I'm so sorry. I know how much you wanted this...why did he leave?"

Maria looked towards the road. "Because I told him to. He had a whole other family...I have a brother and he left me to be with them. It doesn't matter..."

Liz shook her head. She didn't know what to say. "No, Maria...it does matter..."

Maria looked at her and smiled sadly. "No, it doesn't. I should never have expected more. I mean look at the men in my life: Dad? Dumped me and lied to me twice. Michael? Cheated on me, lied to me, went out his way to hound my dad, plus tonnes more, Kyle? Sided with a murderer. Alex? Well...he died which technically wasn't his fault I know but...what really is ironic is the most reliable guy in my life at the moment is Sean."

Liz smiled sadly as Maria continued. "And that doesn't say much when I spent a year telling everyone what a loser he was..."

Liz looked at her and tried to sound happy. "See, you shouldn't have blown off that guy at the funfair yesterday..."

"Tell me about it."

Liz looked at her. Poor, Maria...come on, there must be a way to cheer her up.

"You want to come back to mine for some chinese food and a movie? We could hire something really anti-men...like Thelma and Louise or something..."

Maria looked at her and shook her head. "I don't think so...I think I'm going to go home and crawl into bed until the day is over so I don't get hit ith anything else. We could maybe do it tomorrow though?"

Liz smiled and nodded her head as she looked out the window. She wondered what Tess would be doing tonight? Congratulating herself on how she duped everyone? Mindwarping Kyle and the Sheriff into killing Max for her? She shook her head. Max trusted her, that was all she needed. He wouldn't endanger them...she looked out the window and bit her nails. No, Max would make sure they were all safe...that she couldn't hurt any of them again.

~ ~ ~

Isabel hadn't took her eyes of the road since she had begun driving but as the conversation raged between Michael and Max her hands clutched tighter to the steering wheel.

"I'm assuming that she'll be moving back in with the Valenti's, but if she isn't do you think you would be able to put her up, Michael?"

She shook her head as she clutched the wheel again. How could they be so concerned about her? Didn't they care what she'd done?

"I guess...what about school?" Michael said with a shrug of his shoulders as he looked at Max.

Max shook his head. "We'll let Valenti deal with that, he is her guardian."

Isabel shook her head in rage and put her foot on the break as she stopped the jeep and turned to them both. "Will you two listen to yourselves? Have you forgotton what happened or have you just stopped caring? You know, life goes on...deal with it?"

Max sighed and looked at her. "Isabel, I've tried to explain already but you won't listen. Tess was..."

Isabel throws her hand down angrilly on the steering wheel and cuts him off. "I don't give a damn what happened! Would you be so damn accepting if she had killed Liz instead of Alex? Would you accept the argument that she didn't have a choice?"

Max looked at her angrilly. "Don't be stupid, Isabel! There's no point in talking like that..."

"It's not stupid, Max. It's true. If she had killed Liz then Tess would be dead just now...but because it was only Alex she get away with it. He was expendable compared to Liz as far as you are concerned..." Isabel said as she glared at him.

"Isabel! That's enough. Max didn't think that Alex was expendable...just...drive okay? Everyone's a little frazzled and we could all do with some time to digest this."

Max looked at Isabel angrilly as she shook her head and gave a mock salute to both Michael and Max. "Fine, you two are in command after all..."

She turned the key and began driving quickly off as Max and Michael shared an exasperated look as she turned the radio on loudly making any conversation impossible.

~ ~ ~

Kyle looked towards the backseat before turning to look at his dad. "So, what happens now...I mean, how do we get her a life again?"

Jim sighed as he looked at the sleeping form in the rearview mirror. "We just need to get her re-integrated again. It should be easy enough...there's hundreds of run-aways that return home everyday. We just need to make sure she doesn't get swamped with questions right away. Give her a chance to adjust...let things get back to normal."

Kyle nodded his head as he looked out the window. It wasn't just her that was going to need time to adjust. How could things possibly go back to normal now? He shook his head and closed his eyes. In the space of a few days he had lost his mother again, found Tess, brought her home and told his father about his weird alien powers. That wasn't his defination of normal...

What else do you really expect Kyle? You have an alien asleep in the backseat of the car. This is as normal as it gets. Deal with it.

~ ~ ~

As the night sky served as a blanket, Liz quietly sat in her favorite chair as her feet rested upon the balcony. Like many times before Liz has caught herself looking up towards the sky, but from this moment on she wanted to close her eyes and not look back. She heard the rustling and grinding sound of someone coming up her ladder and she couldn't help but smile slightly. Max. As Max surfaced Liz didn't take her eyes off of her journal. For the last half an hour, a million things have been swarming around in her head, but nothing was making sense.

Liz tried her hardest to not move a muscle because the moment she spoke she worried that she may not be able to hold anything back. Max, in the meantime had found a spot on the ground beside her to sit facing her.

After a few moments had passed, Liz looked up to find Max with folded arms and his head resting in the center of them.

"Max with everything that has happened to you, I wish what happened to your son wasn't true." She touched his arm gently and tried to ignore the tingle she felt as they touched.

"I never really knew what it was going to feel like the moment I'd find my son, but to realize all that search was for nothing…I have this void that I don't know how to make it go away. I would have been a good father, wouldn't I?" He said sadly.

"Max…" Liz spoke with such pain for Max. No matter what they have gone through and would still go through, Max as a father, she never doubted his sincerity in that category. For a brief moment, Liz remembered dreaming about her, Max and a family and just growing old together.

Unconsciencly and immediately Max broke Liz's dream by bringing Tess into the picture. "About Tess..."

"I don't want to hear about Tess right now." She said cooly as she stood up and walked into her room.

Max stood up and followed her in. "But Liz…"

"Please don't defend her." With a clear act of disgust. "It was easier to deal with her when she was far away, but now that she is back I can't just forgive and forget. I accept that you believe she's changed and that's fine...but I can't just accept her back."

"I know Liz and I'd never ask you to." Max could sense the mixed feelings Liz was struggling with because he too was dealing with the same confusion. No matter how much he told Liz he loved her he wasn't sure how they were going to get back to normal.

"I'm sorry Liz for what I've put you through. If I could do it all over again…"

"Don't Max, we've all done something that we wish we could go back and change." Liz thought more about her statement and her shoulders fell with frustration as honest as it was. Just as Liz began to say more Max's cell phone rang.

"Hello" Max walked to the balcony to get a better reception. "Ok mom, I'll be right home."

Max clicked off his phone and gave Liz a sympathetic look. "Liz I have to go…I'll talk to you later."

Before Max could make it to the latter, Liz reached out for him to stop. "I didn't mean to get defensive about Tess… I'm sorry and you know I'll always be here for you." It was difficult to say that without letting any emotion get in the way, but she did it and she meant it. I love you Max Evans.

All Max could do was take in Liz and her innocent beauty. He had promised that nothing would get between them ever again and he wasn't going to break that promise. Max gave her one last look of hope and Liz accepted his look with a welcomed smile.

Once Liz blinked, Max was gone. She looked down and she sat down in her chair underneath those same stars. As Liz reached for her journal she had dropped by her side while she had talked with Max, she noticed the picture Isabel used to dream walk. How did it end up like this?

Liz's hand glanced lightly over the picture and she suddenely felt herself almost leave her body, almost lost in a memory that hadn't happened.

//flash//

Liz's eyes widened as she looked around this strange unrecognizable place. She found herself in a hospital room with monitors and tubes strung from bags hung from upon drifting down into someone. At first she can't tell but once a blocking figure moves it's as clear as day. ALEX?

She took a deep breath as she looked at him in disbelief. It was Alex. On a hospital bed, surrounded by five or more people in white long coats. Liz squinted and tried to move closer to get a better look. If I could just touch him and get his attention. It's me Liz…ALEX!

//flash//

As soon as she said his name Liz found herself back on her balcony in a cold sweat. Unsure of what just happened, was that a dream or was it real? How could it be real?

Liz's mom had rushed to onto the balcony to find Liz rapped up in a blanket and looking very disoriented. "Honey, sweet heart…it's ok you just had a bad dream."

Liz welcomed her mother's embrace as she realised that she must have been screamed out loud while trying to rationalize what just what to her. Is Alex alive?

~ ~ ~

In the Sheriff's office the phone rang, underneath a lamplight. "Hello, Deputy Hansen. Roswell Sheriff Station..." Hansen listened half awake.

"Nope, I'm sorry the Sheriff isn't in right now, can I take a message?" After the person on the other end of the phone spouted off the message, Hansen responded in disbelief.

"Alex Charles Whitman is in a hospital in Seattle, Washington?"

A voice on the phone answers, "Yes that is what I said. Just have Valenti call me ASAP."

"Yes certainly, thank you." Hansen quickly hung up the phone as he scrambled to call Valenti.

Sleepily Valenti answered the phone, but Hansen speaked loud and clear as he tried to curb his excitement and confusion. "Sheriff, the Whitman boy is alive in Seattle, Washington."

TBC

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