Sirens faded away as the sun set, making the high buildings of the city cast a darker shade on the streets. The street lights provided little light against the darkness.

A stranger walked slowly, but with confidence, through one of the busy streets of New York. In the evening rush the streets were filled with people, who walked in different paces, some faster then others, in directions unknown.

They live their perfect little lives with their perfect little families. What do the know? They know nothing about the real world. She thought to herself as she continued to observe the people rushing by her with a sense of amazement and a sense of longing. She didn't have the luxury of being like them. She would never be like them. She would always be tainted.

She walked a bit further down the street and leaned against a wall. Other thoughts began to invade her mind, maybe, I’m just jealous because they have something I didn’t have growing up with. Like a family, like real friends, the opportunity to shape their own future? What did I get? Nothing. I only had myself...that's all I have now.

After a few blocks she stopped and looked at her reflection in the window. How did it all end up so wrong, like this? What did I do to deserve this?

She was brought out of her thoughts as a homeless man asked, "Do you have any change? Please, I haven’t eaten in days."

She looked at the man and dug into her pockets. She pulled out a handful of change and handed it to him. "Here you go, it’s all I can spare."

"Thank you, so much. You're an angel," The homeless man replied softly as he took the money.

"Hmm.... I don’t know about the angel part," she whispered to herself.

She looked down at her watch. I should get to the bus station. I need a schedule.

She turned and started to increase in speed towards the bus station. As she walked, she started to think about her past, not knowing really what was bad or good... what was real and what wasn't. What she could change and what she couldn't.

Within minutes, she had walked to where the bus schedule was posted. She made an mental note of the time the bus would depart as thoughts started to invade her mind again. This could be the beginning of something new. It would be hard, but maybe things could somehow go back to how they had been. Maybe they would accept me? Maybe they would let me make it up?

Suddenly, it started to rain. She put an arm up try to cover face as she looked up at the schedule once more. Just my luck isn’t it?, that it should start to rain as well. I just hope it's not an omen.

~

Nicholas paused as he saw her standing there. So, that’s what you're up to.

Nicholas slowly started to make his way through the crowd. "So, this is why you left the apartment in a hurry?" He asked as he reached her.

She nodded her head gently as she replied, "I just wanted to know something."

"Are you following up on my suggestion?" Nicholas asked. "You know, see things for yourself? To see if what I said is true? Or are you still living in your little fairy tale?"

"I'm just checking... besides," She turned away from the schedule and looked at Nicholas. "I don't think the time is right yet, and it's not a 'fairy tale'..."

"Off course it’s not, I'm sure they'll welcome you back with open arms. Come on, you and I both know that the time couldn’t be better." Nicholas said with confidence in his voice.

"Umm," was the only sound that came from her lips.

"You do know, that my offer still stands," he replied as he put his right hand on her shoulder.

"I know, but I need time to think about-"

"To think about what?" Nicholas inquired.

"There’re still some ghosts haunting me," she whispered.

"Like what?" Nicholas asked.

"It’s nothing really, just something silly."

"If there is anything I could do?"

"Like I said, it’s nothing." She replied. "I just need time to think."

"Okay," he replied as she turned around and Nicholas smiled. "Tess, come on lets go talk. We can discuss it a little more, then you can decide."

~

"I liked it."

"Me too."

"Yeah…" Max glanced at Liz out of the corner of his eye as they walked out the doors of the movie theatre. He slipped his hand onto the small of her back to turn her in the direction of the Crashdown as they reached the sidewalk.

Liz glanced at him, nervously, and he quickly dropped his hand.

"So, ‘Serendipity’, interesting concept," she said softly.

"It is," Max nodded.

"I love Molly Shannon."

"Me too," Max laughed and looked at her.

"I’m glad you asked me to go with you instead of Michael," Liz grinned at him, "I don’t think that was his kind of movie."

"No, probably not," Max ducked his head, appearing to study his hands.

"You weren’t really going to ask him, were you?" she asked.

"No," Max seemed nervous about his honesty, as he watched her face carefully for a reaction, "I wanted an excuse to spend some time with you."

"Max, you don’t need an excuse."

"I don’t want an excuse."

Liz stopped walking, and Max turned toward her, taking a deep breath as if he was preparing for something awful to happen.

She sighed, "Starting over. It’s not as easy as it sounds."

"I know. I don’t know what’s ok and what isn’t," Max said. "Can I ask you on dates? Can I call you my girlfriend?"

Laughing softly, Liz shook her head, "I don’t know, this is a first for me too."

“Do we start with something simple?” Max asked as he took a step toward her and leaned down, lightly brushing his lips against hers, then moving his mouth close to her ear he asked in a low voice, “Can I do that?”

"Th-that’s fine with me," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder to steady herself as she swayed slightly.

Taking a step back, Max took her hand from his shoulder and gripped it tightly giving her a smile as they started to walk again.

"You’re a much better date than Michael," he said jokingly.

"That’s good to hear," she laughed as they walked in the door of the Crashdown.

Liz’s laughter stopped as her eyes made their way to the only occupied booth in the restaurant. Sean, Maria, and Michael were watching the new arrivals carefully. Max cleared his throat and squeezed her hand before pulling her in their direction.

Sean was the first to speak as the pair approached the table, giving them a half smile, "Hey, Liz," he glanced back at Maria, "See you at home, Mars, I should get going."

Maria started to speak, but Sean had already risen, after meeting Liz’s eyes briefly, and was striding toward the door.

Liz looked at her best friend, giving her an apologetic look before glancing over her shoulder at Sean’s retreating form.

"You guys mind if we join you?" Max asked as he sat down next to Maria.

"Not at all," Michael said carefully, glancing first at Maria, then at Liz.

"Actually, we were just leaving," Maria smiled at Max, and he quickly stood to let her out of the booth. She gave Liz a disapproving look then walked into the back room.

Michael shrugged, and said a quick, "later" as he followed her.

~

"I can't believe they paid two million for that guy!"

"Wait, he's running, he's- damn!" Kyle flung the bowl of chips in his lap to the floor as Number Two fell way beyond the touchline. "Yes! Yes! Yes-" He turned to his Dad and made a loud whooping sound before flopping back onto the couch. "Lets see you guys get back from that!"

Jim glared at him, but didn't say anything.

The New Mexican Game was always an intense time at the Valenti household, ever since Jim had forced a six year old Kyle into watching his first game a few days after his Mom had left. Back then, Kyle had no interest at all in sports, which at that moment seemed impossible, but it was true. He still remembered that night-

//flash//

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"You can't stay upstairs all alone Kyle, you have to come down"

"No!"

Kyle stomped his feet and glared at him with his fiery blue eyes. He hated football, Jim knew that, but he couldn't leave him upstairs alone. What if his wife snuck back into the house and -

He sighed, and just when Kyle had thought he won the argument, hoisted the little boy over a shoulder. There was no way he would leave his son to be kidnapped by his wife, but he had to see this game. It was the UNM Lobos against the NMSU Aggies- the most important game of the season!

//flash//

Thinking about the past, Jim smiled a little before turning back to his son. He was all grown up now, a man almost, and looked the spitting image of himself at that age. He couldn't force him to do anything anymore, even though at times he felt that would be the easiest thing. Especially regarding Kyle's more recent behavior.

"Kyle-"

"Yeah Dad?" Kyle turned to face him and Jim almost winced. He looked and sounded so much like the Kyle he was used to that he would have been able to ignore everything if his eyes weren't so- Jim searched for an adequate word to describe the lack of life he saw reflected in those eyes and couldn't.

"Are you okay?"

There was a brief pause.

"Why?"

"Well, with everything that's been going on lately I thought-"

"I'm fine." Kyle crossed his arms and there was another pause before Jim reached out and switched off the TV.

"Kyle, whatever is going on with you is serious. It's changed your behavior, and you're obviously upset, so talk to me. I only want what's best for you son." Jim spoke softly, not wanted to provoke him.

"I know."

"So tell me what's wrong. Is it something to do with Amy?"

"No." The reply was immediate, and Jim sighed in relief.

"Then?"

There was another pause, and Jim bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself shouting at him. He had tried that before, it didn't work.

"It’s just school. Coach is working us too hard with the championship coming up and everything. I think- I-" Kyle hesitated, and Jim knew he was lying, but let him continue anyway. "I'm just wired Dad. It'll be okay after the season."

He looked him in the eye then, deep blue into light and with a long drawn out sigh, Jim nodded reluctantly before switching on the TV. He didn't want to press him for any more information, Kyle was a big boy now, and he would come to him when he wanted to.

"So, what about Number 15?" Jim asked trying to change the subject.

Kyle dismissed his Dad's comment with a wave of his hand.

"Past it! I'm shocked they still keep him in the game!"

"He has experience!"

"Yeah and a bad back!"

"That's not true, didn't he get treatment for that?"-

~

Maria sat in her mom's Jetta, honked the horn and looked at her watch. Liz was running late. We are never going to make it to school on time. She saw Liz open the front door while trying to shove several schoolbooks into her book bag. After what seemed like an eternity to Maria, Liz finally opened the door and sat down in the passenger's seat.

"I am so completely sorry," Liz pleaded to her best friend.

"It's okay, Liz. Just try to be on time, okay? I hate walking into yearbook and have that twit Margie yell at me for being late. Speaking of lateness, what's the deal with yours? You're usually Miss Punctual."

"Again, completely sorry. But Max and I kind of went to the movies last night."

Maria looked over at Liz and saw the gleam in her eyes that she usually got when she mentioned Max's name. "You're dating again? Okay, lateness is completely forgiven."

Liz looked at her and gave an exasperated reply. "We're not dating, Maria. We just went to the movies as friends."

"What movie did you see?" Maria had this theory that she could tell if a gathering between friends was really a date. It all depended on the genre of the movie. If it was action, horror, or comedy, most likely it was a gathering. If it was a romantic comedy starring Ben Affleck, Tom Cruise, or someone cute like that, it was definitely a date.

"Oh, it was a new movie, ‘Serendipity’."

"Were you two making out during the credits?" Maria asked mischievously with a grin.

Liz gave Maria a sharp look. "Maria, we’re just friends."

"Liz, you've been just friends before! Remember prom? You broke up with Max even though you were just friends!"

Liz laughed a little. Maria was right; that did sound a little odd. But it made sense to her at the time. "Look… I'm pretty sure that nothing is going to happen between me and Max."

"Yeah, and Michael is going to win the award for boyfriend of the century." It wasn't a dig at him from Maria's perspective. Michael was constantly sweet… when he wasn't being a complete bonehead.

"I'm serious, Maria. He and I both agreed that we'd go as friends. Nothing more, nothing less. We are starting over as friends." Liz looked at the time. "Maria! School!"

"Damn!" She put the Jetta into drive and sped out of Liz's driveway. "Okay, you know what?"

"What?"

"I think something is going to happen with you and Max. It usually does."

Liz avoided eye contact with Maria. A part of her did like going to the movies with Max. She hoped that this might rekindle their relationship. But when Max sounded content going as just friends, she understood his point of view.

"Regardless if anything happens between you two, you should talk to Sean. Lay down the line… let him know where he stands, you know? If you don't, you're just going to lead him on and end up hurting him. Which I don't know why I care about that, considering how he's treated me in the past, but whatever…" Maria pushed the Jetta as far as it would go. They were almost at there.

"Right…" Liz hadn't thought about what Sean would think about this. Maybe she would think of something to say to him during school…

~

They sat on the bench in the park in attempt to avoid any unwelcome eavesdroppers. It probably wasn't necessary, but Nicholas hadn't progressed as far on this planet by taking any unnecessary risks.

He looked at Tess and suppressed the desire to smirk, he knew that she would eventually try to go back to Roswell; where the New York hybrids had a devious nature, their New Mexico counter parts were delightfully predictable. Still, it wasn't good for anyone if she was to go back ready to forgive and forget everything. He needed her on his side and that meant that he had to play nice and make sure she went back "home" in the right state of mind.

"You look tired, you should rest a little before you go back." Nicholas said with false sincerity.

It was true, she did look tired. Her blonde curly hair was limp and her blue eyes were sunken after many nights awake crying, in fact she looked worse now than she had when they had left her in the warehouse on her first visit to New York.

Tess continued to look straight ahead, apparently not hearing Nicholas. She was lost in thought and Nicholas' annoyed look went unnoticed until she was brought out of her reverie by the loud cries of a baby. Her head spun immediately around to see where the child was and as she saw the baby now being comforted by it's mother her hand immediately moved slowly to her abdomen. Her eyes filled with tears and Nicholas smirked openly as she caressed her abdomen longingly.

Nicholas looked at her and leaned in closer to her. "It's kinda ironic isn't it?"

Tess turned her head to look at him and quickly wiped her tears as she answered weakly. "What is?"

Nicholas leaned closer and sighed. "That Max could save Liz, but wouldn't save the life of his own child. I mean, in the end it turned out to be her fault that he wasn't there to heal the damage to his own child. I guess he just got his priorities mixed up. Of course, he was probably looking for an excuse to get rid of you..."

He paused for a moment to let his words sink in before continuing to talk quietly. "I mean let's face it, you were excess baggage. They had their little "group", but I'm sure Max thought you were good for some casual sex when Liz wasn't interested, I mean, let's face it... it wasn't love. You were the rebound girl, the tramp ready to comfort him. All he had to do was click his fingers and you would come running. And he used that, he used the fact that you were brought up to believe in destiny. He used it and laughed about it...because that's what he does, he uses people he doesn't love. Like you and your child."

Tess looked at Nicholas and opened her mouth, partly in an attempt to defend Max, but mostly in an attempt to defend herself. The thought that they saw her as Max's plaything, that Max never loved her, that she had lost everything for nothing was crushing and she was about to reply when Nicholas smiled at her and continued.

"But we can't just blame Max, lets face it, Michael wasn't exactly overly warm with you, and Isabel was more interested in you when she thought you were human. As soon as they knew you, they couldn't give a damn. They shoved you in with humans. I mean, it wasn't even like it was humans they cared about. It was another group of expendables, like you. And your baby. They didn't give a damn what happened to you, and they are the reason why you are here. All of them. They killed your child, through months of neglect and apathy, they may as well have stuck a knife in your abdomen, because they certainly stuck it in your back."

Nicholas looked at Tess to see the reaction his speech had had. He suppressed the desire to smile even though it was certainly one of his better speeches. Of course, he was used to getting his own way and he knew how to push the right buttons to get it done and hopefully it may have done the trick here. He narrowed his eyes so he could see Tess clearer. It was obvious she was thinking about things and this was confirmed when she turned to look at him.

"I killed Alex. They had to hate me...I mean, I hate me. I hate what I did..." Tess looked at him and talked in a whisper, terrified that if she raised her voice any higher it would break and she would begin to cry.

Nicholas nodded his head as he replied. "That's true, but your child didn't do anything."

Tess nodded her head sadly. That was true. The baby, her baby was innocent. She took a deep breath and continued determined. "If they had known...what had happened, they would have helped. They cared about me before everything happened. I know they did, they are good people and..."

Nicholas looked at her with a bored expression and cut her off with raising his hand. He was through with playing any games because there was easier ways to get results. "Yeah, sure they did. You know, Tess, I think you've forgotten what they actually did to you. Maybe you need your memory refreshed."

As he finished talking he quickly raised his hand up and touched her face. Tess looked at him in horror and shook her head in an effort to get him to stop but it was too late as he quickly brought memories to the surface.

//flash//

Tess hurled along in the granolith. Her face paled and she looked frightened. She started crying gently as she closed her eyes tightly. There was a sudden jerk and she opened her eyes in horror as she realized what was happening.

She vainly tried to get control of it, but it plunged quickly and she can do nothing but brace herself as she brought both her hands around to cover her abdomen. She whispered quietly through her tears. "It's okay baby, we'll be okay. I'll look after you, I promise. We'll be fine...please God, please help..."

There was a loud bang and the memory faded into darkness.

//flash//

Nicholas looked at Tess expectantly as her eyes filled with tears. He sighed and brought another memory to the surface.

//flash//

Tess climbed out of the wrecked granolith covered in blood. She crawled a few feet and collapsed. She managed to sit up and she touched her abdomen desperately.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad of a crash, we can handle that...we can both handle that. We're strong...please please please please..."

Tess tried to make a connection but couldn't. She looked distraught, but tried again, and again. Tess continued to plead loudly as the blood fell from her wounds.

As it become apparent that the baby was dead she let out a pained cry of anguish before she tried again desperately. As the effort failed, Tess collapsed with exhaustion on to the rocks and she brought her hands up to her face as her tears fell.

//flash//

Tess was crying uncontrollably as the vision faded from her mind and Nicholas had a satisfied smile on his face as he whispered. "That's how we found you, utterly exhausted from trying to heal your dead baby. Not giving a damn about who would find you, just wanting to die. Do you remember enough, or should I go on? Maybe one more..."

Before Nicholas could bring the memory to the surface she pulled away abruptly breaking the connection. She stood and looked at him before she ran off towards the opposite end of the park in tears. Nicholas looked at her as she ran and sighed happily. "Welcome back, Ava..."

~

"Where is it?" she asked in frustration, pulling out the drawers in her dresser.

"Damn it!" she muttered, casting an eye around the room. "Where the hell could it be?" she asked herself.

"Izzy?" her mother's voice asked, a second before she poked her head into the room. She reined in her temper as she faced her mother's questioning look.

"What's wrong, honey?" asked Diane Evans. She waited a beat, and saw her mother's eyes widen at the disarray in her room. The closet doors were ajar and the drawers had been taken out. "What happened here?"

"Uhm, just looking for a book, Mom. I need to loan it to Serena. She's coming here for it and I don't remember where it is."

"Oh. Well, good luck then. You might want to, well, I don't know...look at the shelf?" her mother replied, with a slight teasing smile across her lips.

She knew what her mother was looking at: her old textbooks and pocketbooks were lined up on the shelf, untouched.

"It's not there," she said quickly.

"Well, honey. It won't hurt to try," Diane said encouragingly. "Dinner's at seven, okay? Don't forget to clean up when you find your book," her mom added before shutting her door.

She sighed, and took one last look underneath her bed and in her closet for the book. She rummaged in her desk, and her nightstand another time, before straightening herself.

"Face the music, Isabel," she muttered to herself, and walked to the small shelf beside her computer desk. There was a reason why she was looking at this shelf last, even though it should have been the first place she looked the moment her friend mentioned "Lit. Review". This was her "reference" shelf, in High School she used it to keep her textbooks within easy reach of her computer.  So, her old English books should be there.

But the shelf wasn't just a place for her textbooks, it was also where she kept her own book collection, and her photo albums.

In short, her memories were all there too.

And since That Day, she had been unable to get near it because of the memories, unable to clear it out for fear of forgetting. So now, she crouched down, holding her breath. Her fingers skimmed the spines of the books there, and her breathing hitched a little. Stargazing for Beginners

Her eyes immediately stung with tears. She stood up, rifling through the pages, though her vision was too blurred to see them. It had been one of the few things he had given her, and like those things, she still had difficulty touching or looking at it. The book brought back too many memories, too many regrets.

"No!" she said, raising her voice. She threw the book on the bed. "You're not going through this again," she told herself, and wiped impatiently at her eyes.

Isabel's eyes fell on a framed picture beside the bed. It had been taken in the Crashdown, before they went to the prom. Her mother had taken control of the camera, and finished off a roll of film, snapping several candids. The picture was among the last taken of them as a group, but there was a square hole in the picture that she had cut out. Tess.

"I can't take this!" she said, agitated. She picked up the picture, and hurled it on the bed. Then, angrily, she turned back to the shelf, grabbed her English book, and ran out the door.

~

Ten minutes. She wasn't too late, and besides, he didn't really mind. He just said to come over, and she said she would, after her shift. She checked her watch again, and quickened her step.

Turning the bend, she caught sight of a woman coming out of the Evans' doorway carrying an armful of books and shuffling papers. The woman was a little taller than she was, with long, flowing black hair.

"Oh. Hi," Liz stopped at the driveway, and put her hands on her pockets. "Is, uh, is Max in?"

The woman looked up. She couldn't be more than twenty.

"Hi," she smiled, catching herself, and juggling the books that threatened to spill over her arms. "Whoa!"

"Watch out! Let me help you with that," Liz said, reaching out to grab some of the books in an effort to help.

"Thanks," the woman said gratefully, shifting the remaining load from one arm to the other.

"What's all this?" Liz asked.

"Schoolwork," the woman said wryly. "Thanks."

"Where do you want to put this?"

"My car. I have to head out in a while."

"Oh, okay. Where is it?"

"Over there. Thanks again-"

"Liz. My name's Liz. No problem," she smiled.

"Hi. Liz. I'm Serena. Sorry they're so heavy."

"I'm used to it. How come you have so many books?"

She laughed. "Can't leave schoolwork behind. I just drove here for the day, and I have to go back. But I have a test tomorrow, so--"

"You take what you can so that you can study, right?" Liz asked.

"Yeah," she said, grinning, with the tone of someone who understood.

"I know what you mean," Liz said. "Good luck studying."

Serena chuckled. "Yeah. Thanks. I need all the help I can get."

"I hope you can make it," Liz told her, smiling.

"Same here. Have to go," Serena said, revving up the engine.

"Bye," Liz tells her as she drives off. "Serena," she murmured to herself, and her eyes widened. What if--? No, it can't be.

"Liz? What are you doing there?" Max asked.

She turned to look at him. "Sorry. I just met Serena..." she said as she walked with him. "Tons of books"

"Oh. Yeah. She sort of reminds me of you."

She looked at him quizzically. "In what way?"

"Like, the way she's into schoolwork and stuff. She's one Isabel's classmate in college."

"Ah," Liz said, shaking off the sense of recognition. They walk to the house and Max was about to climb the steps when the phone rang.

He waited a second to see if anyone had answered the phone before giving an annoyed growl as he turned to her. "I better get that, you go ahead and I'll be up in a minute."

She nodded, and climbed the steps toward his room. Upstairs, she heard the sound of closets opening and closing coming from Isabel's room. The door was ajar, and she peeked.

"Isabel?" she asked questioningly.

Isabel had been dumping clothes on her bed; red shirts, red blouses; red dresses; hairpins; scrunchies. Atop the bed were picture frames, books, papers. Off to the side of the bed she saw a dress and a boxed flower: Isabel's prom dress and corsage. Isabel looked behind her to find Liz Parker in the doorway and shrugged.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked, eyes concerned.

"Nothing. Just clearing out my closets."

"Of all your red stuff?"

She shrugged again. "Red is so last season, Liz."

She pulled out a pair of red socks and sneakers and tossed them on the bed. "God, can you believe how much junk I had in here?"

Liz didn't respond but looked at the mounting pile of clothes before turning to look at Isabel with concern. This wasn't like her.

"What?" Isabel asked, noticing Liz looking at her.

"Are you okay, Isabel?"

Isabel sighed exasperatedly. "I'm okay Liz. Geez."

"Alright. If you say so-"

"Yeah, really!" Then, gently, "Yeah, I'm alright. Really. I’m just clearing my closet space."

Liz still looked worried as Isabel continued. "Listen, you have a thing to do with Max, right? Go ahead. He's coming back up."

"All right," the other girl said.

When Liz had walked away, Isabel shut the door, and turned to the bed. On the way to her closet, she picked up a towel and tossed it over her prom dress.

~

Liz looked up as Max entered the room. She quickly rose from where she’d been sitting on his bed and walked over to the window. Max closed his door quietly, giving her a smile as he sat down at his desk.

"Max, I just stopped by Isabel’s room, and she was throwing out some things."

"Yeah?" he asked absently, giving his globe a spin.

"There were some clothes—all red, and her prom dress was part of the pile…and the corsage Alex gave her."

"Hmm…" Max nodded as he flipped through some papers that were sitting next to his keyboard.

"Just ‘Hmm’? Don’t you think it’s a little strange?"

"Isabel’s a little compulsive about cleaning," he looked up at her.

"Max…"

"I really had fun last night," he said, changing the subject.

"So did I," she said, obviously confused by his disinterest in his sister’s activities.

Max licked his lips looked up at her shyly, "So…I was thinking about asking Michael to go to that Drew Barrymore movie with me, but I’m not quite sure if he would," he gave her a sly wink.

Liz laughed and played along, "That’s probably not a Michael movie."

"No, probably not. Guess I’ll have to see it by myself…unless you happen to know someone who would be interested in seeing it with me," he looked up at her again with an innocent smile.

"Maybe this weekend.  How about Saturday?" she smiled down at him.

"It’s a date," he nodded.

"Is it?"

"Isn’t it?"

"I guess it is," she said softly, reaching out to brush a lock of hair off of his forehead.

He closed his eyes as her fingers brushed softly against his skin and whispered, "I’m glad you came over."

"Oh!"

"What?" Max opened his eyes at Liz’s exclamation and almost winced as her fingers left his forehead to dig into the pocket of her jeans.

"I forgot, I wanted to return this," she brandished the medallion from her pocket.

"You had it."

"You dropped it, in the park…"

Clearing his throat, Max stood, walked over to the other window and crossed his arms, "I remember."

Liz’s jaw tightened, she wasn’t going to make excuses for what had happened with Sean, so she ignored his response, "What is it, Max? Obviously it’s alien."

"Riverdog had it," he glanced over at the object she was still holding in her hand. "He knew what it was; I think he was planning to tell me about it. I wish I knew what it was."

"What do Michael and Isabel think?"

"I haven’t actually told them about it yet," he said reluctantly as he walked away from the window, and sat down on his bed. The melancholy that had settled over him at the memory of seeing Liz and Sean in the park seemed to have dissipated somewhat.

"Are you planning to tell them?"

"I was—I mean I am, but there really hasn’t been a good time…"

Liz nodded carefully as she sat down next to him, "I know you’ll do whatever is best."

Max’s sharp intake of breath startled her, and she turned toward him.

"You think I’ll do what’s best?" he seemed uncertain and was watching closely for her answer.

Sighing, Liz reached for his hand, placing the medallion in his palm before enclosing it in both of her own. She hadn’t known how aware he was of the group’s loss of faith in him until this moment. If she’d known the significance of her brief statement of belief in him, she might not have made it.

"You’ll do what’s best," she repeated softly, knowing that he would. Michael and Isabel were his family, and he would do what was best for them.

Max gave her a smile, stood up, walked to his desk and dropped the medallion in his drawer.

"Would it be against the rules for us to go out to dinner together before the movie this weekend?" he asked lightly.

"No, I think that would be fine."

"Ok," he smiled.

Liz smiled back.

~

Jim and Amy sat at the Crashdown's counter. They had just gotten back from what was presumably a date. Much of their relationship was up in the air. They really hadn't declared themselves boyfriend and girlfriend, but neither of them were seeing anyone else, as far as he knew. Jim decided to test the waters with a little flirting: "Amy, if I told you that you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?"

"Oh my God, I can't believe he used that line on her!" Kyle said. He and Maria had been watching the whole exchange from one of the booths.

"My mom won't go for it. She's got too much self respect to fall for that cheesy pick up line." Maria, like Kyle, was shocked when her mom's relationship with Jim started. She could still remember walking into her kitchen and realizing something wasn't right. It was a good thing I said I was home…and I used the kitchen entrance instead of the front!

"Jim, you don't have to tell me my body is beautiful if you want to hold me," Amy replied with the biggest grin Kyle or Maria had ever seen. Amy gave a slight tilt of her head and waited for Jim's response.

"You were saying?" Kyle looked over at Maria. "They know we're watching them. That's the only reasonable explanation for their behavior." Well, Kyle knew of another reason, but he didn't want to think about that quite yet.

"If this is how they are when we're watching, what are they like when we aren't watching?" Maria winced as a variety of mental images cursed through her mind. "Oh, God! We really have to stop this."

"What, you mean interrupt them?" Kyle wasn't sure if he liked that idea. He sometimes didn't like the idea of their parents going out, but if it made his dad happy, then he didn't want to do anything that would ruin that.

"No! I mean, stop thinking about it. It's like they're a couple of teenagers! Michael and I are never this bad. Or obvious."

"I think it's good that they found each other, but they really need to tone it down. Who are they trying to be, Monica and Chandler?" Kyle glanced over at his father and saw that he placed his hand on hers.

"You know, it's a good thing we're not going out. 'Cause if they ever got married, we'd be like brother and sister."

"Step-brother and sister," Kyle corrected, while avoiding Maria's eyes. "We're not blood related."

"It's too bad that we aren't. That might be the only thing that'll get them," Maria emphasized her point by nodding over to their parents, "to stop."

Jim and Amy abruptly left their space at the counter. Maria and Kyle gaped at what they saw. "You don't think they're going to..." Maria cut off her thought. It was too disturbing to finish.

"Oh, I hope not." He shook his head. How sad is it that everyone - including your dad - has someone, except you? "Just to be on the safe side, I think we should avoid going to either of our homes for a few hours."

"Agreed." Maria pondered what they should talk about next. Her eyes lit up as she thought of the perfect conversation topic. "Here's something that'll take a couple of hours to talk about: Max and Liz's relationship."

Kyle gave an annoyed sigh. Maria didn't notice and kept on talking.

"So the other day Max and Liz went out on a date. But she says they're just friends. And I'm like 'you've been just friends before.' And then she says it's different. And then I'm like, 'you should talk to Sean about this because you're totally leading him on.' She always leads him on. Am I the only one that notices this?" Maria took a breath for first time in minutes.

Kyle gave Maria a look that seemed to say, "if you talk about anything involving aliens, I'm going to break something expensive."

Maria noticed the look and decided to change the subject. "So, our parents are really horny, huh?"

~

Max stood outside Isabel's room door and put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the medallion. Liz was right, the others should know about it because it was important that they didn't have any secrets with each other.

He sighed as he put the medallion back in his pocket as a sense of trepidation washed over him. Things had been so strange with Isabel recently that he was worried about telling her. What if she took it badly? He would have taken it badly if the situation had been reversed.

Come on Max, she's your sister. Just explain everything like it happened.

He took a deep breath and knocked her door loudly. "Isabel?"

Isabel's voice came back at him almost immediately. "Come in."

Max took another deep breath as he walked in. He opened his mouth to began his prepared speech when he glanced around the room. His eyes widened as he looked around. Isabel's room was completely different to how it had been a few hours earlier. He looked and saw her closets half empty and bags full of clothes sitting beside it. There was also a box full of books and photos and, he noticed as he looked closely, her corsage from the prom was there.

"Isabel? What is going on? What are you doing with all your stuff?"

He turned to look at her in concern as she walked over to her bed and sat down. She gave him a confidant smile, but not one that inspired any confidence in Max. Because he had saw her use the same smile too many times on people at school to know that it was a cover to hide her real feelings.

"I just felt like a change, just wanting to move with the times. Clear out the old junk..."

Max looked at her intently. "A change isn't throwing away half of your worldly possessions. I mean your prom corsage is there? Do you really want to get rid of stuff like that? You won't have another prom...and you had a good time at the prom, I mean you and A...but you won't have another high school prom."

Max cut himself off before he mentioned who had bought her the corsage but mentally slapped himself for being as stupid when she looked at the box that Max indicated and sighed sadly as she saw the corsage. She forced herself not to look at it and turned quickly and stood up as she gave Max another smile.

"Trust me...I know what I am doing. Everything will be fine now. I just need you to trust me."

Max took a deep breath as he looked at her. "Are you sure everything is all right? Because you know that despite everything you can talk to me? This isn't like you Isabel..."

Isabel walked over towards him and nodded her head.

"I know it's not, but we can't stay the same forever. We have to move on, we can't live in the past...I'm just doing what millions of other people my age are doing. I'm adjusting to my new life. That's all." She looks straight at Max as she hugs him. "I promise you that's all."

Max looked at her and nodded his head. Deep down he wasn't entirely convinced about her excuse but he knew better than to air that opinion at this point. Just now, it was enough that she believed that. "Okay, just promise me that if you have anything on your mind you'll talk to me about it."

Isabel groaned dramatically and sighed as she smiled and pulled away from Max. "Okay, if you insist on playing the protective brother role I'll humor you..."

Max smiled at her. "Just promise me you will stop trying to categorize me into psych terms...if you call me "stereotypical protective brother figure" again I think I'll scream..."

Isabel rolled her eyes as she looked at him. "I would stop doing that, but how do you categorize a teenage alien leader with megalomaniac impulses and annoying brotherly habits? Oh wait, maybe that would be a new category...but until then you are stuck in the "protective brother" group..."

Max made a face at her and she began to laugh gently. "You know? I don't think that would be a good study for one of your thesis...mentioning megalomaniac alien leaders would maybe arouse a little suspicion, don't you think?"

"Spoil sport." Isabel replied as she began to laugh.

Max laughed as he looked at her. It was good to see Isabel happy again, it hadn't happened too often in the past few months.

She looked at him and sighed as she pointed to the door. "Okay, I'm afraid I have to get back to work, so if you will please get out."

Max sighed as he backed towards the door. "Fine, I'll leave you to your reorganizing, but just remember what I said okay?"

Isabel turned away from the door as she called back. "Okay."

Max put his hand in his pocket and touched the medallion. He looked at Isabel who had just thrown a shirt over the corsage and shook his head as he walked out the door back towards his own room.

~

Liz was on the late shift in the Crashdown as usual. She sighed as she served a cup of coffee to a woman and her husband and walked over to the register. She had been trying to avoid thinking about the customer in the booth directly opposite the register but it was hard when the occupant kept looking straight at her. She bit her lip as she looked down, Sean had been there for hours and she had made the other waitresses serve him and every time he had tried to talk to her she had made an excuse why she couldn't stop. She mentally chastised herself for acting like that.

Liz, this is wrong. Just go over there and tell him where he stands. This is wrong.

She looked at him and took a deep breath as she walked over to his booth.

"S..Sean?" She said hesitantly and he looked at her.

"Parker, hello. You finally got a minute?" Sean said with a slight smile as he ushered to the seat opposite him for her to sit down.

Liz took a deep breath and sat down and looked at him. "Thanks. Sean...I think we should maybe talk..."

Before she could finish Sean held his hand up and signaled for her to stop. "Wait. Let me guess...or try to. We kissed, you saw Max, we walked home and that's the last I see of you for a couple of weeks. Next time I see you, you are walking in here laughing and joking with Max...hmm, I'm kinda putting two and two together here and coming up with the kiss meant nothing and you want to be with Max? Am I right? Or close even?"

Liz looked at Sean and seemed taken aback as he looked at her intently. She nodded her head before shaking it quickly and then she looked at him sadly and began to talk.

"You're kinda right, but please, let me explain a little more. I am so sorry I gave you the wrong impression, I have been really horrible to you and I guess I led you on. I definitely shouldn't have kissed you, but...it didn't not mean anything. I mean, it didn't mean anything romantic...what I mean is..." She looked at him, clearly unsure of how to word what she was saying. "What I mean is, I care a lot about you Sean. I really do and I would hate to think that I have blown any chance of a real friendship with you because of my own stupidity. I am so sor..."

Sean sighed and held his hand up again and smiled at her as he looked at her.

"Stop apologizing, Parker. I think I get it, and I want the same thing, I want us to be friends. I mean, apart from the fact that you are a knock-out, you are actually pretty good company when you aren't building me up to knock me down again." She winced slightly as he began to laugh. "Stop feeling guilty, I'm a big boy, I can handle a little rejection. But...Evans better treat you right, or I swear he'll be sorry. And, if you ever need a friendly shoulder, you can call me up and we can go bowling or something..."

She smiled at him happily and reached over and touched his hand. "Thank you, Sean."

Sean shrugged his shoulders and took a bite out of his burger. "Don't mention it, now if it's okay if you serve me for a change I could do with another coke..."

Liz smiled as she stood up and took his glass. "You got it."

She began walking away when she stopped beside him and leant over and kissed his head gently. "Thank you Sean, you are a really great guy."

She walked away and Sean sighed as he looked after her longingly and muttered quietly. "Yeah, sure I am...just not as great as Max..."

~

Tess walked alone in Central park. At least here I can think, before I have to decide what to do.

She looked at a couple who came along the path, where he pushed a baby carriage, and she snuggled up against him. Both of them looked happy and content with their lives. Tess looked on at the couple as they walked on and tried to not think about how close she came to being involved in a family like that. How close she came to having everything she had always wanted.

She took a seat at one of many park benches and tears began to make their way from her eyes over her chin, where they fell to the ground. It was hard for her to stop the memories Nicholas had brought to the surface to stop playing in her head.

She was brought out of her thoughts by an Ice cream seller standing beside her bench. "Hi. You know, it's not nice to see pretty girls cry? Here you better take this and try and make yourself feel better. You know what they say about clouds with silver linings, don't you?”

"Thanks, but I don’t have any money," Tess replied as she wiped her eyes and the man handed her an ice cream cone.

"It’s okay, I think you need it. But, tell you what, gimme a smile and I'll let it slide; that way I can at least pretend that I made you feel better," the seller said with a smile.

Tess smiled involuntarily as she accepted the ice cream. "Thank you, you know not many people are nice to me..."

The seller grinned as he looked at her and shook his head. "I don’t believe that, maybe they didn’t take enough time to get to know you," the seller suggested.

"Maybe you're right," Tess said as she put the ice cream to her mouth and took a taste of it.

"Of course I'm right. Well, I hope everything works out for the best for you, but remember, nothings so bad that it can't be fixed. Even hearts, and I'm only guessing this, but I figure yours might be feeling a little broken about now. But I better go and start selling some of these before they melt. See you pretty girl, and remember, no more tears if your sad because of a silly boy. He's not worth it." The seller winked as he started to walk away from Tess

"Thanks, for the ice cream, and advice," Tess replied as the seller was almost out of reach to hear her.

He just turned his head and nodded with a smile on his face.

Tess sighed as she leant back on the bench. Maybe it is their fault, just like Nicholas told me over the past months. Why haven’t I listened to him?

Tess slowly brought the ice cream back to her mouth and began to eat it as she thought.

It was true that she had never been accepted, only by Kyle. The others never wanted her around. She was the missing link, the one who could teach them about their selves, but also brought the idea of destiny. She was the link to their past lives that they didn't want. She shook her head. They had never wanted her and here she was crying for them? For their 'friendship'? They killed her child, Max could have healed him but wasn't there because of Liz. Kyle hated her because of Liz. Her child was dead because of Liz and Max. She wouldn't cry because of that. They didn't deserve here tears, only her baby deserved them.

She would make them pay for the murder they had committed, then she would move on, and away from them. They would pay for what they had done. No matter what it took.

Nicholas walked through the park, as he looked for Tess. He had gave her enough time to think over things. I wonder if she will see things more clearly now? he thought to himself with a smile as he walked. It really was amazing what a little memory refreshing could accomplish.

Nicholas looked around and finally found the person he was looking for. He smiled, She looked angry, hurt and vulnerable. This will be to easy. Everything I've told her these past months might finally be sinking in. Maybe now she's ready.

Tess was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, that she never heard or saw Nicholas as he had walked up to her.

She noticed him, when he sat down beside her. "Tess."

"Hi," Tess replied.

"So, I'm assuming you've had a chance to think after you ran off so abruptly?"

Tess just looked at a point in the distance.

"I mean, if they hadn’t forced you away like that and had helped you instead, it wouldn’t had been like this," Nicholas continued.

"I know," Tess whispered.

"So what do you plan to do about it?" Nicholas inquired.

Tess turned her head towards Nicholas. "I plan to make them feel like I feel. They ruined my life, maybe it's time they got the same. An eye for an eye..."

As Nicholas heard Tess speak about her revenge, he smiled wider then he possible could. "You're making the right decision. I knew you would see sense eventually. It would never have worked if you had went back, at best they would have killed you the minute you showed up, at worst they would have just treated you the same way all over again."

Tess nodded her head as Nicholas continued.

"I have something for you," Nicholas replied as he took something out from one of the inner pockets of his jacket.

Tess looked at him as he handed her a ticket.

"Here you go," Nicholas said as he handed her the bus ticket. "You can head back as soon as you are packed. Lonnie and Rath will probably have your stuff packed up already, so you should be able to leave tonight if you want to."

"Thanks," Tess replied as she took the ticket and stood up. She looked at him but couldn't force herself to return his smile as he spoke.

"It’s my pleasure, just go home and make them pay for what they have done to you and the baby. Get justice. Get your revenge."

End Episode 5

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