In New York City, four suspiciously familiar figures argued over accepting a Summit meeting. Their leader refused, but the ranks were split, and there was a revolution on the horizon as history repeated itself with the betrayal of a King by his sister and her lieutenant in an accident, created by purpose.

The three remaining figures, Rath, Lonnie, and Ava stole a Trans Am. Their leader, Zan was no longer with them. They needed a replacement.

“Trans Am, baby. Yeah!” Rath yelled as he stole the car easily and gunned it up. “Can't wait to get out of the city! Red line says 120, but I betcha she goes 130.”

“We were family.” Ava told them from the backseat, clearly upset with the loss of Zan. “The four of us.”

“Things change.” Lonnie said pulling down the visor mirror to check her makeup.

“Yo, move outta the way!” Rath screamed out the window while applying ample use of the horn and his accelerator. Lonnie’s boy toy was too oblivious to anything except his driving, and Lonnie had no new orders for him.

“He was your brother, Lonnie.”

“That's right. Zan's my brother. Rath's my lover. But who are you?” Lonnie asked nastily looking at the other girl in the mirror. “Why are you still livin' and breathin' and ridin' in this car? Oh, that's right. You're here 'cause I love you.” Lonnie made a face, her eyes emotionless and deadly. “Ain't that sweet?”

Ava sat back afraid. Without Zan, she was alone and defenseless. Rath was lethal, but it was Lonnie who was the real snake. Rath followed her without a brain except the one he carried in his pants. Roswell, New Mexico was a long ways away, but Antar was further.

~~~

“A black hole … that's what's left after a star dies. And that's exactly what happened last week, my friends,” The science teacher informed the class as he passed out an information sheet. “The spectacular, stellar, implosion of a red giant, unheard of in the history of astronomy … the first time a post-main sequence star burning in its prime suddenly and without warning violently exploded in a supernova of a hundred million degrees and disappeared, a process that typically takes many thousands of years. What could have accounted for this … remarkable loss?”

As the class ended, Liz rushed to catch up with Max in the hallway. “Hey. Kinda weird about that star, huh? Kinda sad. It just doesn't seem that something burning so bright could just … burn out.” she commented, not really talking about the star.

Max picked up her analogy easily. “But it did.” He walked off, leaving an unhappy Liz behind standing in the middle of the hall.

~~~

At the UFO Center, Brody was working on his computer when Max arrived.

“Max. You're here!” Brody turned all excited in his seat. Since he thought Max was an alien abductee such as himself, he had adopted Max as his personal confidant in everything alien. “I've been dying to tell someone about this all day. Look! Activity … on the East coast, somewhere near here.” Brody pointed out the place on a map on the screen.

“New York?” Max leaned in interested by the increased lights.

“Uh-huh. See these blips? They appeared last week.” Brody did some more work on his computer. “Someone or something is trying to make contact. I'll run a few programs, try to see if any of the ratios match anything from the records, see if we can't find …” Brody’s pager went off before he could continue. “Time for dinner.”

Max shrugged. “I'm not hungry.”

Brody looked around the place distractedly. “Well, just … whatever. Take a break.” Glancing at the clock, he all but kicked Max out of the room. “Go!”

“I just got here.” Max said, reluctant to go from the information on the screen.

“Go, go, go, go, go!” Brody shut the door behind Max looking around the room. His face fused with color as he noticed the disarray of the place. Quickly picking up the worst of it, his startling blue eyes kept glancing at the clock.

~~~

Maria was leaning into the order window, talking to Michael and occasionally frowning at her watch. She was late. Damn.

“And don't forget the pepperjack,” Maria reminded Michael. “The guy is nuts about his pepperjack.”

“Yeah. All right.” Michael said distracted by Maria’s order and the thirty other ones he had partially done.

“Oh, Max called. He said that he wants to have a meeting with everybody Saturday night.”

“No. I can't make that.” Michael told her passing over the sandwich for Maria to wrap.

“Really?” Maria lifted a brow.

“Yeah. I got big plans. I can't change 'em.”

Maria smiled big. “That is so sweet.”

“Sweet? It's the dirt bike finals.” Michael told her.

“Hello? I'm singing on Saturday at the new performance space next to the museum!” How could he forget? He promised.

“No! That’s next Saturday.”

“Uh-huh. This Saturday. It has been this Saturday for the past two months. I’ve talked about nothing else.”

“That’s not true. You talked about the concert in Fort Worth. You talked about the evil Madam Vivian and her warped readings. You talked about …”

“Enough! Fine, you don’t want to come. Don’t. I know dirt bikes are much more interesting.” Maria took her order and left mumbling under her breath.

“I heard you sing before,” Michael called to her. Shaking his head, he scratched his brow. Dammit, he lost a Saturday somewhere. Hitting his head … of course, Skins Saturday had him all out of sync.

~~~

Maria fumed her way over to the UFO Center to deliver the sandwich to Brody. It was fine that Michael forgot. Sure it was. He didn’t owe her anything, and he came to most of her things, except when there was an alien crisis, which there always was one, and except for when he had a special hockey game on, which there usually was one, or when there was special sports event that he was salivating over … which there always was one. Dammit, Michael was rancid bologna of the best friend category! Sure, he listened, at times. Sure, he was always there, in body, but dammit …

“Hi.” Brody said knocking Maria out of her own thoughts.

“Galaxy Sub. Hold the mayo.” Maria told the man as she handed over his standard order sandwich.

“Thank you very much.” Brody smiled charmingly at Maria, shifting on his feet as if he was trying to think of something to say, a way to break the ice.

Maria was too busy being pissed at Michael to notice. Her eyes lit on the sandwich bag. “Is there pepperjack in that sandwich?” She asked suspiciously.

“Uh …” Brody was taken aback by her abrupt questions, so he quickly checked the sandwich. “No. Doesn't appear to be.”

“I just …” Maria threw her hands up. Proof the boy was not paying attention to her. None whatsoever. “I can't believe it! I cannot believe it!”

“It's ok, really.” Brody reassured her, not pleased that his sandwich was causing her discomfort.

“No. No, it's not okay.” Maria said dramatically, letting her hurt feelings fuel her reaction. She was on the verge of tears. “You ordered pepperjack. You have the right to expect pepperjack.” Brody was stunned by the obvious tears in her eyes. “This is … this is unacceptable is what it is!” Maria said angrily as she wiped the tears away, angry with herself for caring.

“It is just cheese.” Brody felt helpless in front of the beautiful girl and her tears.

“No, it's not just cheese.” The hell it wasn’t. It … it meant something to her. Sure, so maybe she wasn’t some high end talent, but her music meant something, and she wanted her best friend to be there, giving her support. It wasn’t that easy to stand up there under the lights, put yourself out in front of all those strangers, and feel … alone.

“But it's a very small thing.”

“Yes. It is a very small thing, and that's why a person who can't even get the cheese right does not deserve to live!”

“Wow.” Brody was mesmerized by her passion, the intensity of her fervor. “You take your job very seriously.”

Maria was slightly embarrassed about losing it front of a customer, especially an important one like Brody Davis. It didn’t help that the man was so attractive with a cleft in his chin and incredibly clear blue eyes that seemed to smile. “You know what? Here. Take your money back. It's on the house.”

“Well, then at least let me give you a tip.” Brody handed the money to Maria. “Here.”

“That's unnecessary. But thank you.” Maria left unable to take anymore. She was going on break. A long break. Damn, why didn’t she smoke?

Maria left so quick and silently that when Brody turned back around after putting his sandwich down, he hadn’t realized that she had gone. “So, uh, what do you think of our new President?” Brody frowned at the empty room, sighing at a lost opportunity.

~~~

Max was driving around in the jeep killing time on his break when he spotted Isabel jogging along the road. He pulled in cutting her off. Since the Skins, she had successfully all but avoided him.

“We need to talk.”

“One more mile.”

“What are you running from?” Max asked his sister.

“I'm just getting in shape.”

“Since when?” Max made a face. “Your only exercise used to be the escalator at the mall.”

“Things change.” Isabel went to go around the jeep.

“Fine. I'll see you later … Vilandra.” Max said purposely stressing the Vilandra part. “Are you … Vilandra?” Isabel avoided his eyes. “Isabel, there's always been a special bond … ever since we came out of the pods. We have to be able to be honest with each other.”

Isabel couldn’t talk about the past, about Vilandra. She didn’t know, but everything she had learned and all she felt, it scared her that she might be a monster inside … something she couldn’t live with. “I'm sorry, Max.” She ran off, her feet hitting the pavement hard and fast as she ran from demons chasing her from a previous life.

~~~

The car from New York found the Roswell City limits. It has been a quiet two day ride as Ava remained silent not wanting to cause the others problems, or remind them she was there. They had promised to change Zan’s mind, not murder him. Ava was afraid that the other Zan, the one in Roswell wouldn’t be convinced to attend the Summit anymore than their Zan had been. Rath and Lonnie promised that they would use a better tactic this time, but Ava didn’t trust either of them.

“So how come they weren't invited to the Summit?” Ava asked.

Lonnie looked back at the other girl amazed by her stupidity. “Because we're the only ones that know there's another set of us out there. Besides, they're living out here in the middle of nowhere under a rock.”

Rath sped by a police car, and swore when he saw the lights in his rearview. Pulling over to the side, he was prepared to kill the officer to prevent him from running the tags on the stolen car.

“Damn! 5-0.” Rath said to Lonnie, as he watched the officer coming closer.

“Be cool.” Lonnie warned Rath.

“Don't worry.” The punk assured her, smiling. “He's already toast.”

Sheriff Valenti walked up to the driver’s window as Rath got ready to blast him. “License and registration.” Jim said glancing into the car. “Michael?” Jim laughed hard seeing Michael Guerin all decked out in piercings, tattoos and a Mohawk. “ Lord, have mercy! What's with the hair and the outfits?”

“We were actually on our way to a party.” Lonnie said leaning forward to look up at Jim. “It was kinda like a New York theme.”

“You look like you're from another planet. For once.” Jim told Isabel, or who he thought was Isabel. Lonnie and Rath shared a look when it became obvious that the Sheriff knew about their counterparts being aliens. “So where'd you get this car?”

“We, uh, we borrowed it, Sheriff, um …,” She paused, cracking her gum, as she read Jim’s name tag. “...Valentee.”

Jim couldn’t stop laughing. “Hey, listen, you wanna slow it down a little bit? There's no need to attract any additional attention to yourselves, especially with what we've been through lately.”

“Word!” Rath said smiling big as he put his hand down. “No, you ain't lyin', sir.”

Jim glanced over at Lonnie. “Where's your brother?”

“We were actually on our way to get him, but we were kinda nervous about goin' by the house, 'cause there was like a weird car parked out front.”

“A weird car?” Jim was suddenly concerned.

Rath made a face at Lonnie and her lie. He joined in on the fun. “You know … alien hunter.”

“Yeah. Felt like we were being watched by someone, so, like maybe we could follow you back and you could check it out and make sure it was safe.” Lonnie suggested.

“All right. I'll tell you what. You follow me. If the coast is clear, I'll just wave ya on in.”

“Cool. Thanks, Sheriff. You da freakin' man!” Lonnie told him enthusiastically in her New York accent.

Jim looked at the freak show one more time, once again laughing himself sick.

Lonnie looked at Rath smiling. “Cool, so the local yokels have 5-0 in their pocket. Now that is handy.”

They followed Sheriff Valenti to the Evans home in nice suburbia.

Rath made a face of horror. “It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood.”

Lonnie was equally unimpressed. “Can you imagine actually living here?”

“No!” Rath looked at the long unbroken sidewalks and manicured lawns with lined up trashcans. “I'd kill myself.”

“Let's get in there and see what makes Mr. Max spin.” Lonnie said getting out of the car. “Stay by the car and keep lookout.” She told Ava as the other alien girl sat on the hood to keep watch. Rath and Lonnie found what looked to be a boy’s room and climbed through the window.

“I told ya,” Lonnie said to Rath as she checked out Max’s ultra neat middle class room matching his suburban lifestyle. “Total cornball.”

Rath snickered as he went through Max’s closet. “Check out this gear. Unbelievable. Where does he shop for stuff like this … freakin' Conway's?”

“Yo. Out here, they think that's hip.”

“Mm-hmm!” Rath said holding a sweater up to his chest making a face at Lonnie.

“Oh, my God!” Lonnie laughed in derision. “Check this out. He works in the UFO museum.”

“No!” Rath was at her side snickering. Oh, a pure cheesecake. They were going to roll him easily like a large dickweed.

“Yeah.”

Rath went to look in Max’s drawers finding a picture of Liz with his socks. “Hoo! Look at this.” Rath flashed the pretty girl’s picture at Lonnie.

“Ah. This must be his bitch. Where'd you find this?”

“In his sock drawer.” Yeah, that would be the first place he’d pick to store this picture too.

Lonnie read in a sappy voice. “To Max. I'll always love you. Liz.”

“Liz.” Rath said in a singsong voice, nodding as he looked at the picture. He’d remember that.

“She ain't got nothin' goin' on.” Lonnie said.

“Yeah, well, I'd do her.”

Lonnie laughed sarcastically, knowing Rath. Yeah, well he’d do about anything, so that was hardly a surprise. That was what made the boy worth keeping … he was easy to lead around. “Fine. Do her, but don't kill her. What we're doin' here is important. Don't screw it up.”

Rath laughed, not in the least upset that Lonnie was never jealous of him doing other girls. Then again, he never cared if she wandered either, just as long as she was around when he wanted to get off. Rath looked at the picture again before putting it back. King’s bitch. She wasn’t his usual type, nothing on Lonnie, but then again it was only about sex and screwing with someone’s head, so what the hell did it matter?

There came a knock on the door, and Rath quickly dived to the floor behind the bed. Lonnie was caught in the middle of the room as Mr. Evans looked in searching for Max.

“Max?” Philip paused in the doorway in shock when he saw his daughter and her attire. “Izzie?”

“Hey … Dad.” Lonnie said dropping into a chair.

“What happened to you? You look like some … rapper on TV. Like that, uh, Queen Latisha.”

“Queen Latifah.”

Philip noticed the tattoo of the 4 Squares on Lonnie’s arm. “Tell me that's not a tattoo.”

“Chill, Dad. It's henna. It'll wash off.” Lonnie saw the look on the old man’s face. She had to laugh when Rath’s head popped up to make a face at her. He gestured with his hand asking her if he should waste the tight and whitey. “Okay. No, no … you know what? I'll tell you the truth. I ain't really Isabel.”

“You're not?” Philip asked wondering where the hell he put the number to the psychologist. He might need to increase both Isabel and Max’s sessions.

“No. I'm … Juliet. See, school's doing this kinda rock 'n' roll version of Romeo and Juliet, and, well …”

“And my daughter's playing Juliet?” Philip said extremely relieved and utterly proud of his girl. “That's great, honey! The smell of the grease paint... The roar of the crowd... I took theater, too. I was Puck my senior year.” He chuckled at the memory.

“Totally epic, Dad.”

“Ha! You certainly got that jive down.” Philip told her admiring her effort at a New York accent in the vein of Guys and Dolls or Grease. “No, but I'm glad that you've … taken an interest in something, honey. But, I wish your brother would.”

“Max? Yeah, he seems so, uh …” Lonnie struggled with a word that would describe someone she never met.

“Tense. Now, I'm worried about him. Even the therapy's not helping him … though obviously it's helping you.”

“Yeah, a shrink.” Lonnie swallowed her laughter about her dupe and the Max dude. They were nutcases, easy to crack. This was going to be too easy to mess with them. “But he’s … helping me … to find myself.” Rath was leaning on the bed chuckling in his hand as he tried not to make any noise. Epic.

“I was thinking … perhaps you and Max could have a joint session to work out whatever's come between you.” Philip suggested noticing the distance between the siblings over the past few weeks.

Lonnie’s eyes narrowed as the information came as a nice bonus. So the King and his Princess sister were at odds. How utterly … yesterday. So history had a way of repeating itself, over and over again. “I didn't think you'd noticed.”

“The doors slamming, the silence at the dinner table? Oh … I've never seen you fight like this.”

“Well, I'd really like to work it out.” Lonnie said pleasantly, or as pleasantly as she imagined that a princess raised in this pea-less environment could be.

“Promise me you'll consider it? The joint session?” Lonnie nodded her agreement as her father looked over her attire and couldn’t help laughing. “Heh.” He waved one last time on his way out as Rath came out of his hiding place.

“Yeah, okay.” Lonnie said to Rath. “Heh. A shrink? How whacked is that, yo?”

“So … Max is a headcase.” Rath smiled. Oh, he bet the old King Dick … a veritable Humpty Dumpty was ready to crack with a little push, like someone getting into his bitch’s drawers? “We can use that. "Loooove, Liiiiiiz". Mmmm,” Rath made a face at Lonnie. Hell, even if she resisted, it would put a nice wedge between the King and his counterpart.

~~~

Michael looked around for Maria. Okay, so he screwed up the dates. It was totally understandable with the Skins wrecking an entire weekend of his life. He could always tape the bike finals and catch them later.

Michael stopped the new waitress who was replacing Courtney. Her name escaped him. “Where’s Maria?”

“She left. She said something about having to see this guy. Her boyfriend?” The waitress guessed.

Michael frowned. “Not likely.”

~~~

Maria went back to the UFO Center. She didn’t even pause or prevaricate. Going straight into Brody’s office without knocking she startled him.

“What is this?” Maria asked.

Brody frowned at the bill Maria had in her hand. “A tip.”

“A hundred dollar tip?” Maria’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. She was her mother’s daughter, hardly born yesterday. “Why?”

“Honestly?” Brody asked seeing his opportunity. She was talking to him. Giving him a chance for a conversation. Charming. He needed to be charming. Amusing. Cute. Hell, maybe she would think he was handsome? Nope, Brody remembered his hair. Maybe not. Cute. Sexy. Sexy would be good. His accent, maybe it would be a bonus. “It's Ben Franklin. I can't stand lookin' at the bloke. Now, you give me five Andrew Jacksons any day. Look. I mean, there's a head of hair. It's nice and thick. It's got kinda an Elvis thing going on. The sideburns …”

Maria shook her head at the man. “Clearly, you are a man with too much money.” She looked at the hundred dollar bill uncertain if she should be upset or flattered by the size of the tip. “Look, I don't know what you're thinking, Mister, but Maria De Luca, right here …” Maria gestured to herself, heartfelt and honest, “not for sale. I mean, sure …” Maria looked at the money then shook her head. “No. No! Not even for that much money.”

“Then how 'bout lunch?” Brody asked. Maria stopped in her track, stilled like a deer in headlights.

“Did you just ask me out on a date?” Her heart stopped in her chest, somewhere in her throat.

“No!” Brody quickly amended upon seeing her expression. “No, absolutely not.”

“Oh …” Maria said the wind knocked out of her sails a bit, as she was left slightly embarrassed and off kilter.

Brody quickly rushed in before she thought he was rejecting her, or not in the least bit interested, which couldn’t be further from the truth. “But maybe the next time you bring me a sandwich, you could bring one for yourself and not charge me for it even though I have too much money, but pay for it yourself because that would make it officially not a date. And then stay and eat it with me. And keep me company while I'm dateless. What do you think?”

“I, um …” Maria pushed her hair back off her face, floundering a little. Oh damn. “I think you're a little strange.”

“Mm … sometimes, yeah.” Brody agreed thinking that wasn’t so bad. At least she didn’t run screaming in fright. Maybe she liked strange? Brody turned on the charm as his smile became brilliant, damn near blinding Maria as she slowly backed away, not sure whether she should run or curtsey. Oh god, he was cute. And sexy. Oh … damn.

~~~

Rath searched the halls of the high school for his prey. He found her at a locker. Sidling up to her, he leaned on the locker next to hers.

“Whassup? You look tight.”

“Excuse me? Did …” Liz looked around the locker at the offensive person to find a strange version of Michael smirking at her. “Oh, my God, Michael! What is with your hair?”

“I wouldn't mind kickin' it to ya.” Rath suggested making what he considered a very charming and come-hither face, which was in fact, a leer.

“Kickin' it.” Liz nodded a little amused, but mostly confounded. “Yeah.”

“Whaddaya say you give me a little somethin' somethin', huh?” Rath stuck out his tongue at her suggestively.

“Oh, my God!” Liz slammed her locker door backing up from the deranged Michael. “Get away from me! What is going on with you?”

“I just thought since Maxie wasn't around that we could, uh …”

Not in her worst nightmare, and not with him looking like … ew! “Just stop, ok?”

“Ai-ight. You got me. I just … I just wanted to see, you know, if you'd go for it, and you …”

“No. It's not gonna happen … ever.”

“Of course not.” Liz shook her head and turned to leave, but Rath grabbed her and kissed her on the lips, tongue included.

“Uhhh.” Liz pushed him off her visibly shaking in repulsion. “Oh, my God! Eww!” She scurried off to class before the freak show grabbed her again.

“Epic.” Rath said laughing. He wondered how long it would take Brown Eyes to run to old Maxie with complaints about his dupe. Rath had a bounce to his step on the way out of the school ignoring shocked looks directed his way. Too bad the little piece of dry toast didn’t want to party, she seemed like she could use some starch taken out of her undies.

~~~

Late Saturday at the UFO Center, Max was explaining what he had been pondering the past few days while the crew looked extremely bored. Alex hadn’t arrived and Kyle wasn’t interested in anything Max had to say so he didn’t bother to show.

“So I think that the signals Brody tracked could be connected to the dying star somehow, and …”

Michael frowned at Maria who wasn’t making eye contact with him and sitting on the other side of the room, away from him. She had effectively avoided him over the past few days, hadn’t come by, didn’t leave her bedroom window unlocked, and skipped their joint shifts. He hadn’t had breakfast with her in over two days. “You called us all together here for this emergency meeting to talk about a star that croaked?”

“Yeah, some of us have more important things to do.” Maria said not bothering to look at Michael. “Like watch dirt bikes go around in a circle. A study in inertia.”

“I think it could mean something. It's … been haunting me.”

Maria rubbed her forehead in irritation. “I cancelled my performance, Max.” Once again, another alien crisis that had taken over her life. Oh god, Max was being haunted. Damn if it wasn’t dirt bikes it was Max thinking too much.

“I think we should be ready for the next challenge.”

Michael and Maria both groaned in unison. It sounded like Indiana Jones’ father in the Last Crusade. ‘Brody isn’t up to the challenge.’ Maria regretted thinking the name Brody as her face was lost in thought, making Michael frown.

Ava, Rath, and Lonnie were listening in on the discussion from behind a grating. They had spent the last few days watching their Dupes, waiting for the King’s bitch to run home to Daddy in tears. It took a day for them to realize that ‘I'll always love you. Liz,’ and Maxie were a done deal. Guess love was a fleeting thing, here today, gone tomorrow. The effort had been a waste.

“Yo. He's Zan, all right. Look at him.” Rath whispered to the others.

“Zan with an even bigger stick up his ass,” Lonnie agreed. “No wonder his bitch left him.”

“What a buncha scrubs.” Rath’s eyes lit on Maria. Now that one he hadn’t seen. He had staked out his Dupe while Lonnie and Ava took Max and Tess. He hadn’t noticed this nice piece of sugar with legs so long they could wrap around a man twice. Rath almost howled when she turned her tight body around and he got a look at the face. Holy shit, maybe she was the King’s new thing! He could definitely make the time for a little somethin’ there. This one didn’t look like she bothered with panties, or better yet, something thongish. It was the lips. Definitely the lips.

“I don't know why they told all those humans about their secrets. It's like a freaking town meeting down there.” Lonnie observed, not getting all the human involvement. All those years it had only been the four of them, no humans … no one else.

Alex interrupted the Dupes as he walked into the UFO Center late from a band practice.

“Hey, sorry, guys. Sorry I'm late.” The Dupes turned to look at him, and Alex broke out laughing when he saw them in their punked out street clothes. “I don't remember it saying anything about costumes on the invitation. Oh. But it's too late for Halloween, and it's too early for Mardi Gras, so what's goin' on?” he shook his head still laughing. “Are we like goin' on the Ricki Lake show or something?”

There was talking, and Alex glanced down through the grating noticing the real Michael, Tess and Isabel standing next to Max, Maria and Liz in the area below. He got it. Aliens. Not his aliens. Stammering a little, he backed up his hands going up.

“Scratch that question. Uh, who needs a holiday to dress up, right? Anyway …” Alex hurried down the steps to join his friends below, the real versions of his friends.

“Alex. You're late.” Max scolded, his thoughts definitely more important than any other activity of the evening.

“Uh … um … uh.” Alex pointed to the stairs. Rath, Lonnie, and Ava appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Hey,” Rath called down to the stiffs and the babe. “Yo, up here!”

Maria’s mouth dropped open. “Now this is freaky.” Michael immediately moved over to stand next to Maria literally putting her behind him.

“Who are you?” Max asked.

“We're you.” Lonnie said.

“I …” Isabel looked at herself, or the girl who looked like her with bad hair, bad makeup, and a smug smile. “I don't understand …”

“They're shapeshifters.” Michael said softly, his hand coming up in a defensive posture.

“I know you must be buggin' out right now, 'cause I'd be buggin', too.” Lonnie assured them as the group.

“How can this be?” Isabel asked Max in wonder.

Michael knew. It finally came to him. “Eight. Eight. There were eight pods originally.”

Rath looked at his Dupe, impressed. They assumed the others had no idea of their existence. “You know about that?”

“Yeah, I …” Michael quickly amended that to include the others. “We just found out recently, so … I just … didn't know you'd look like us.”

Max picked up the conversation. “All we knew was that there were eight originally. We never knew what happened to the other four.”

“They went to New York.” Lonnie told Max.

“New York?” Max frowned remembering the activity on Brody’s map.

“The Big Apple. Center of the universe. Amazing pizza.” Rath said, helping Max, thinking he didn’t understand the word, New York.

“Um …” Liz turned red when Rath winked at her, she cleared her throat. “But there's only three of you.”

“We had a fourth.” Lonnie told them. “We just lost him.”

Ava couldn’t take her eyes off Max. “His name was … Zan.”

Max felt uncomfortable from Tess’s dupe’s stare. “I'm Max.”

Isabel noticed Ava’s interest as well. “How did you lose your Max?”

“He died in a stupid accident. You know, all his powers, all his abilities, and, you know, he died in a street accident. For nothin'.” Rath held out his hand to Max who shook it. “Yo, I'm Rath.”

“Lonnie.” Lonnie said to her counterpart.

“Isabel.”

Tess and Ava looked at each other. “I'm Ava.”

“Tess.”

Max motioned to the quiet Michael who was still standing partially in front of Maria. “This is Michael, and these are our friends: Alex, Maria, and Liz.”

Liz looked at the punked out version of Michael. “Uh, we met.” Maria looked at Liz sharply, then took another look at Rath.

“Sorry about that. I was, uh … I was just trying to get the lay of the land.” He told Liz, not in the least bit sorry for his behavior. He turned back to Max, to the King. He was the only one that really concerned them. “Something's cookin' … something that's gonna affect all of us. Could we talk in private?” Max nodded leading Rath away as Rath quickly glanced at Lonnie gesturing to his Dupe, Michael. Lonnie had a way with the Rath version of alien. Smirking, Rath went with Max.

~~~

“You look so much like him.”

“Zan?”

“Yeah.” Rath let that go. It wasn’t important. “Anyways … we've been contacted. You know, it seems some of peeps from the hood, they wanna hook up with us and have a sit-down.”

“The … the hood?” Max asked. What? Someplace in New York or further afield? It would help if Rath spoke English.

“Our star system. Home. You … the ruling families of the five planets … they wanna have this Summit meeting.” Rath scratched his brow in a gesture that reminded Max of Michael. “I dunno, duke. I mean, I know it's important and it's got something to do with making the peace, but, you know, Zan was gonna go and represent our family and … that's why we need you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, with Zan dead, you're the only king we got.”

Max looked at the man not sure if he could take everything he said with open trust. A Summit in New York? That could explain the increased activity that Brody had been tracking. “Why did they contact you and not us?”

“We're the ones they found. They don't know that there was two sets.”

“Were you close, you and Zan?” Max asked curiously, wondering if the other version of him had a better friendship with his Michael than he did.

“Oh, yeah, we were closer than brothers, man.” Rath answered, seeing that it meant something to Max, so he gave the man what he thought he wanted to hear. Maybe it would inspire trust. After watching the others for a few days, it was apparent that Max and his Second weren’t too close. There had appeared to an animosity between them. “I mean … you know, all my life, I looked up to him and I wanted to be like him and … and then just one day, just … bam!”

Max remembered a time when Michael had actually looked up to him, respected him and believed in him. That was long ago, before he saved Liz. Since that day, it had changed, and in a slow march, their friendship disintegrated.

Rath continued to push Max into joining them in New York, to go to the Summit in Zan’s place.

“I don't even know what the war's about.”

“We know it's about us … the original Royal Four. Some kind of revolution happened, and they were all killed and sent to earth to be reborn. Ever since then, the hood's been a war zone. And now they want peace. I know you're not Zan, and I know it's kinda screwed to lay all this stuff on you, but this meant a lot to him. He's our peace. He's our chance to do something with this life. This is it.”

“I'm not Zan.” Max reminded the skewed version of Michael.

“Don't worry. I mean, I'll be right there with you.” Rath assured Max, stepping up as Max’s lieutenant, his second. “But without you … there is no Summit and there is no peace.” Rath could see that he wasn’t getting through to the other Zan, he wasn’t even scratching the surface, so he quickly changed his tactics. “Millions of lives hang in the balance, Max. So you … you gotta step up.”

~~~

Lonnie easily culled Michael from the pack as the two human girls went to a back room together. It was easy to get Michael to talk to her since he had questions and this was another opportunity, one he hadn’t had since Courtney died.

“So why are there two sets?”

“Well, they made one batch and didn't get it quite right, so … they made another.” Lonnie said smiling sweetly at him.

“So you guys are, like, defective.”

Lonnie made a face. “Actually, you're the defectives. Too human.” She noticed the way Michael’s eyes narrowed and his face closed off allowing her nothing to read. He definitely wasn’t Rath. “No offense. When they sent us down here, the war was still going on. We were possibly the only chance for survival, so they sent both sets, you know, for insurance.”

“Right.” Michael didn’t believe a word this trashed out version of Isabel was saying. More alien? That wasn’t much of an endorsement. All the aliens they ran into were hardly truthful, and they usually wanted something. The Granilith. Michael shook his head. Yeah, defectives with the Granilith. Right. Michael glanced around for Maria, swearing under his breath. He wasn’t happy that she was wandering around without him, not with unknown aliens near. She had a way of getting into trouble. Hell, not too long ago, she disappeared right before his eyes.

~~~

Isabel wasn’t sure about the other version of her. They sat on the steps, and Isabel got up the nerve to ask her about her name. “So … Lonnie. Is that short for Vilandra?”

“That's right. You know about Vilandra?” Interesting. Lonnie’s interest was piqued.

“I've heard some things.”

“Whadda ya know?” Lonnie asked interested to see how much Isabel would confess.

“What do you know?” Isabel answered the question with a question not willing to tell anyone about the stories told her.

“She betrayed her family … brought down the whole house of cards … got everyone killed. Sound familiar?” Lonnie asked taking a stab in the dark that Isabel hadn’t shared her knowledge with anyone else. “It's been hard keeping it to myself all these years. You have no idea.”

“Yes, I do.”

Bingo. Lonnie almost lost it and smiled. She had a weakness, a place to strike. She needed to confirm it. “You haven't told Max? But you seem so close.”

“I … I wanted to, but … but I didn't even want to believe it myself, and … the thought of telling him …” Isabel couldn’t finish. Max was her brother. She couldn’t lose him. She already lost Michael to some alien destiny that made no sense. Max was all she really had left.

“It's okay. It's okay. It'll be our little secret.” Lonnie told Isabel enjoying the role of co-conspirator.

Alex approached the two Isabel’s, one of his unspoken fantasies sitting alive and large before him. “Ladies, uh … frosty beverage?”

Lonnie looked the boy over and shook her head. “No three ways tonight, Opie. Maybe later.” Alex turned red at the … um, not so subtle version of Isabel and took himself off before he embarrassed himself. Isabel smiled at seeing herself talking to Alex in such an unorthodox way.

~~~

Max discussed what's going on with Isabel, Michael, and Tess.

“Well … here we are.” Max said.

“And there we are.” Isabel said looking over at the Dupes.

“I thought I'd seen everything.” Michael said looking at Rath. He didn’t trust the other version of himself no more than he trusted Lonnie. The other one, Ava, she was quiet.

“They want me to go to New York to a … a Summit meeting.”

“What, just you?” Michael asked, not in the least bit pleased with the division of their four. “We weren't invited?”

Max could see trouble coming so he headed it off immediately. “I already told them no.”

~~~

“Think it's gonna take some work.” Rath told Lonnie as they leaned back against the wall talking in low tones. “He's got that same brick head as Zan.”

“We don't got a lotta time.” Lonnie reminded him, slightly peeved with Rath’s ineffectiveness. She shoulda taken Max.

“Back off.” Rath warned her. “I'm on it.”

“Like you were on Zan?” She criticized. “Do not screw this up, Rath. He goes to the Summit, or we are stuck on this wretched planet for the rest of our lives.”

~~~

“Okay. So duplicate Michael kissed you, and you decided not to tell me this very pertinent fact?”

Liz made a face knowing how bad it looked. “No, I wanted to tell you, I just … I couldn't …” Liz couldn’t tell Maria, not after her reaction to Michael kissing Courtney.

“But you thought … hey, it’s just Michael slipping me the tongue. There's nothing unusual about that.”

“Maria, it's not Michael.”

“But you didn't know that then, Liz!” Maria was beside herself. What the hell was wrong with her? None of her best friends would talk to her! They all avoided telling her things or didn’t even bother. “How could you not know that wasn’t Michael? I mean the boy takes forever with his hair. Did you not see that punked out reject’s hair? Did you not see anything about him highly suspicious? What couldn’t you see? After a Shapeshifter masquerading as Max, taking you hostage … after Skins living in husks …”

“Can't you get over it?” Liz sighed as Maria went on.

“This happened, when? Two days ago? You could’ve prepared us … mentioned it. I mean when ever did Michael Guerin give you any indication that he wanted to play tonsil hockey with you, or that he had this secret desire to crush your smokes? Did this not send off alarms? Or …”

“Maria. Maria! Please, I'm sorry.” Liz stopped her friend’s angry rant. How clueless could her friend be? She couldn’t see her reactions to Michael as not only possessive and jealous, but face the fact that they were a couple whether they knew it or not. She didn’t have time to educate Maria into the facts of life, especially not while Maria was totally resistant to the thought. “Look, can I just … can I just talk to you for one second?”

Maria nodded. Finally. It was about time someone wanted to talk to her. She needed back on even ground, off the slippery slope she had been traveling since Madam Vivian ruined her peace. Maria put on her “good friend” face, ready to listen and be the firm comforting shoulder.

“Okay. This thing kind of happened with Kyle, but it didn't really happen, and I can't tell Max what I didn't do. But I can't tell you what I didn't do either, so don't ask me to explain it, ok?” Liz paused taking a huge breath of much needed air. “But … the point is, I just feel really stupid being here.”

“Do you realize that what you just said made absolutely no sense?” Maria shook her head. Obviously all the time she spent away from Liz lately, obsessing over her own pathetic life had made her out of practice to Liz speak. “Oh again, once more, this time slower and maybe a foreign language might help, just not the New Yawk version of English … I can barely handle it from the scabs out there.”

They spent the rest of the night talking about what couldn’t be talked about in so many metaphors that Maria lost track of the time. It really didn’t matter. It still didn’t make sense, no matter how many different ways Liz tried to tell her without telling her.

“Hey, how long have I been asleep?” Alex asked waking up, looking around. He turned over and went back to sleep.

~~~

Michael looked over when Rath came to sit next to him. Isabel was still talking to Max and Tess, and Lonnie and Ava seemed to be in some discussion.

“Whassup? Are you like wiggin’”

“Right,” Michael took a deep breath, looking at himself, but not himself. He could take a few tattoos himself, but not the damn 4 Square symbol. If he never saw that one again, it would be too soon. “What do you want?”

“Hey, don’t be that way, G.” Rath actually did have a purpose. “So I wuz doing like this head count. I knows that the brown piece is like Max’s thing. I already searched her out laying a big smack on her.”

“Excuse me?”

“I stuck my tongue down her throat.” Rath shrugged. “It wuz nothin’.”

“Nothing? You kissed Liz Parker with my face, and you think that’s nothing?” Michael rubbed his eyebrow, mentally picturing the whole fiasco. “At least tell me no one saw you.”

“Just the entire school, but who cares about those trolls anyway?” Rath ignored Michael’s moan of disgust. “So anyways, I take it you and your Lonnie aren’t …” Rath made a motion indicating ‘banging’ which made Michael make a face.

“No. What’s your point?”

“Well, the blonde babe with legs to here, eyes green, and a mouth that definitely belongs around my …”

“Maria?” Michael’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Yo! Maria!” Rath practically sang the name, rolling it around his tongue. Oh yeah. He could definitely roll around with more than the name, especially if the bitch would come back out to play.

“Maria belongs to someone.” Michael told Rath, his eyes cold and deadly.

“Ho Ho! So that’s the way. No harm, G. No harm.” Rath couldn’t help but play around a bit. “So maybe we can swap? I take it she’s yours. I can slut you Lonnie for a bite of Maria pie.”

“I can rearrange your fucking face!”

Rath bristled, more than happy to mix it up with Michael, but he saw Lonnie standing up across the room and remembered her instruction not to mess up. He held up his hands instead. “Whoa there, G-man. Just funnin’. I can read the paper. She’s off limits.”

“Way.”

“No problem.” Maria and Liz left the back room to get a cold drink. Rath watched Maria, his eyes not leaving her ass. At least not until the large frame of Michael suddenly obscured his view. Damn, too bad he didn’t know about her sooner. He wouldn’t have minded pretending to be Michael, especially if the other alien’s reaction was any indication, those two were seriously hot and heavy.

“She’s yours.”

“She’s mine.” Michael said with a firm tone, a bit of bite to his voice.

Rath sighed as Maria and Liz went back into the other room giving the new aliens a wide berth. He hated greedy bastards. Glancing at Michael, he frowned. He didn’t understand jealousy, but envy was something he could comprehend.

~~~

Max glanced up the stairs at the sound of someone opening the front door. He quickly glanced at his watch.

“It's 7:30.” He said in shock not realizing that much of the night had passed.

“In the morning?” Tess couldn’t believe it either.

“I-it's just my boss.” Max told the others. “Hide.”

Before any of them could move, Brody entered the UFO Center to find a large group of teenagers inside his place. “What the hell is this?” he demanded.

“Morning,” Max said coming out into plain view so Brody could see him.

“Wha..? Is there a party going on? Funny I wasn't invited, seeing how it's my building.” His eyes fell on Rath who was standing next to Michael. “And who are you?”

“Uh, Brody, this is my, uh, twin brother Bob.”

“I didn't know you had a brother.”

“I live in New York.” Rath explained.

“Well, that explains the hair.” Brody said as he looked at the others, especially his employee who was taking huge advantage of his good nature. “Now who can explain what you're all doing here?”

Maria suddenly came out of the back room, crossing over to Brody. “Hi,” she said to get his attention.

Brody’s body visibly started at the sight of Maria in his place, his face immediately changing and lighting up in a smile. “Hi!”

“Um …” Maria quickly covered to get the others out of trouble. “You know how you asked about lunch?”

“Uh-huh.” Brody said forgetting the others, his eyes only for Maria.

“Well, how do you feel about having a little breakfast?” Maria asked smiling offering him her arm.

Brody didn’t have to be asked twice. He took her arm leading her up the stairs. “Stay as long as you like.” Brody said over his shoulder not bothering to look back at the other teenagers. He leaned in and said something to Maria in his sing-song Irish accent that made her laugh softly.

“I thought she wuz yours.” Rath said to Michael.

“Yeah, so did I.” Michael frowned at the sight of Maria leaving with Brody. Brody Davis? Pepperjack Man?

“You want me to kill him for you?” Rath offered in a friendly gesture.

“I'll get back to you on that.” Michael started to go up the stairs to follow Maria, but Max hand pulled him back.

“She did us a favor. Don’t ruin it.”

~~~

Brody watched Maria eat. She did everything … perfectly. He couldn’t believe she was eating with him. “You believe in God?”

“Isn't it a little early for that conversation?” Maria asked, clearing her throat of her pancakes.

“Yeah, you're right.”

Maria saw his face and smiled waving the dating rule of no serious questions until after the third date. “Okay. Fine. Fine.” She couldn’t take that look on his face. “Um … it's a definite maybe. You?”

Brody shrugged. “I used to.” Looking at her sitting there with him, he amended a little. “Maybe I still do. There are just so many things that make me wonder.”

“Like …?”

“Do you believe in aliens?” Brody asked.

“Why not? I'm sort of dating one.” Maria held up a hand. “I'm kidding. Of course. Heh.” So she wasn’t technically dating Michael, but they spent a lot of time together.

“You see, I'm not.” Brody was serious. “I had an experience once …”

“Oh, right.” Maria nodded, it all coming clear. “Your abduction!”

“How do you know?” Brody frowned, but then realized who she was. “Oh, did Max say something?”

“Oh, no. No. I just …” It was Maria’s turn to blush. “I kinda looked into your background. You know, good-looking … multi-millionaire … buys UFO Center. Kind of stirs my curiosity. So … I did an Internet search and, I …”

“And found out I'm a whacko.” Brody concluded. Then what she said registered. “You think I’m good looking?”

Maria laughed self consciously. How did that slip out? Damn that Madam Vivian, she had left her a neurotic mess.

“I've got a feeling it's about to happen again.”

“Being abducted?” Maria asked as Brody nodded. “Why?”

“Well, just things … missing moments of time, bizarre dreams I can't remember in the morning. It all reminds me of the last time.” Brody was serious, but he didn’t want to scare her. “So, if I … suddenly disappear for a couple of days, it's nothing personal. I've just been abducted.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Brody was lost for words for a moment. Maria nonchalant acceptance of his past was … refreshing. “Just like that? No ‘I'm sure it won't happen again, Brody?’ ‘It's all in your head, Brody?’”

“No, no, it's just that if there's one thing that living in Roswell's taught me is that anything can happen.” Anything. She meant that. Brody had no way to understand how accepting she was of all this. He searched for years for understanding, a truth, and he looked to the stars for an explanations that would explain things so fantastical that nothing in human realm of reason would suffice.

“I …” Lost for words yet again, he just shook his head smiling at her. He’d been looking for her all his life, someone who took him at face value and didn’t try to change what he believed to be true.

~~~

“He'll never change his mind.” Ava told the other two aliens for New York. Max wasn’t Zan, but he was enough like him for her to be sure.

“I don't care.” Lonnie said. “He's coming to New York one way or another.”

Ava went still. “What is that supposed ta mean?” They were supposed to convince Zan too, and it resulted in his death.

Lonnie smiled evilly, amused by how easy it was to scare the other girl, how much power she had over her with fear. “You really wanna know?”

“I don't wanna be a part of this.” Ava shook her head backing away. She turned and walked down the street, horrified in her part in Zan’s death. She couldn’t watch it happen again.

“That chick is turning into a real problem.” Rath said watching Ava leave. They were going to have to kill her. Maybe not today, but soon.

“Don't worry. Max is coming with us. I guarantee it.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“What I do best. Play him like the Dupe he is.”

~~~

Max stepped back when Lonnie entered his room. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you.”

Max glanced done the hallway looking for his parents as he shut the door. “It's dangerous.”

“I had to get something out, something I never got to say to Zan, and now it's too late, and I was thinking about how maybe if I tell you, I can get it outta my head, you know?” Lonnie lied easily almost chuckling at the stupid lie as she tried on her genuine face.

“What is it?”

Lonnie sat down. “I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?”

“For betraying you.” She told him knowing she had his interest. The boy before her had a belief everyone was lying to him, holding back information, and in this instant … he was right. “Max, have you ever been so crazy in love that you'd just do about anything?” She asked him knowing he was broken with his girlfriend. “Well, back on our planet, Vilandra … me … Isabel … this person we used to be … we had it bad for a guy named Khivar.” Lonnie put the knife in pushing the blame for Max’s past life failures on his sister. “We sold you out, man. We're the ones with blood on our hands. We're the ones that got everybody killed. Vilandra was the, uh … the Benedict Arnold.”

Max blinked, but he shook his head. “But you're not Vilandra. And neither is Isabel.”

“Not technically, no.” God spare her new age, touchy feely men! Where was his backbone? Adding a little pressure, Lonnie looked contrite. “But she's like this … demon I carry around inside of me. We both do, Isabel and I. She told me so that night we met.”

“Isabel would never betray me.” Max said more for himself than the alien girl.

“Course not. Just like I would have never shafted Zan.” Lonnie reassured Max a picture of innocence despite the part she had in her own brother’s death. “I'm glad she's come clean with you about this. You're lucky to have a sister you're so tight with, you know?” Lonnie added pushing the knife in further, creating a nice well of bitter anger in Max at Isabel’s silence. “I wish Zan and me had been that tight.”

~~~

“You lied to me about Vilandra.” Max said as he came off a wall where he had been waiting to confront Isabel. They stood in the alley facing each other.

“I don't know what you're …”

“Shut up!” Max yelled at her, angry at her lies … at her silence. “She betrayed me … and Michael and Tess and our mother … our whole planet?”

“Who told you this? Did she tell you this?” Lonnie! Isabel’s body stiffened.

“She cared enough to apologize to me.” Max told Isabel with a touch of righteousness and indignation playing it exactly the way Lonnie wanted. “I had to hear it from a stranger! And yet, my own sister …”

“All right, Max. Fine. Fine.” Isabel told Max feed off his anger. “Now you know. I was sick of keeping it a secret, sick of worrying about disappointing you … the great king.” She sneered in derision. Great king? Great whiner, barely a step above needing to still suck his mother’s breast.

“I trusted you.”

“I didn't do anything! I didn't do anything, and I'm not gonna stand here and be accused of something someone else did in another lifetime, something completely irrelevant!”

“If it's so irrelevant, then why didn't you tell me?”

“Because I have my own life, and I can't live it when I'm busy trying to prove myself to you all the time, trying to prove I won't betray you! It’s exhausting living with that!”

Max shook his head hurt by her accusation. “I never asked you to prove yourself.”

“Yes, you did.” Isabel told him warming up on the subject. “You treat everybody like they're your property. I don't belong to you, Max. I never did.”

“I feel like I don't even know you.” Max said grabbing her arm when she would’ve walked away.

“How could you?” Isabel asked in spite, her angry on her face. “All you care about is yourself. And Liz Parker, of course. Maybe you're finally getting what you deserve … finally looking in the mirror and seeing what you really are, and you are no king!” She told him cruelly. “You are a self-centered, self-indulgent little boy!”

Michael came around a corner seeing the two siblings in a struggle. He quickly intervened, pushing Max’s hands off Isabel. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“I'm going to New York.”

Michael shook his head. “That is an amazingly bad idea, Max.”

“If you think it's bad, Michael, then I know it's the right thing to do.” Max told Michael nastily, still angry over him telling Courtney about the Granilith, putting Maria above helping them.

“Fine. Fine!” Michael said as he stood next to Isabel in an angry united front. “Go be with them!”

“I don't know what happened.” Isabel told Michael as Max left. “He just went crazy on me.”

“Don't worry. It'll be okay.” Michael told her, his hand on her arm.

“I know.” Isabel said smiling as she slowly morphed back into her real form, Lonnie as Michael morphed back into Rath. He smiled at his partner in crime as his hand met hers. “Start spreadin' the news.”

“We're leavin' today.” Lonnie laughed as she and Rath kissed passionately. “Let's get the hell outta these clothes...”

Rath leered at her, “Word.”

~~~

Max stopped to see Liz before taking off for New York. She was unfinished business, and he needed to end it before he left. He didn’t know if he’d be back. Tapping on Liz’s window, he waited until she opened it, no longer willing to just enter her room uninvited. Last time taught him a lesson he didn’t care to repeat.

“Hi.” Liz said uncertain. She had been on her bed staring at pictures of them together, upset that Max hated her.

“You said … you wanted to be friends,” he reminded her, “and I thought about it. And … I realized that … that I can't be friends with you because … I'm still hanging on … to you. To what we had.” Max handed Liz a small box. “So … I decided to make a clean break. Here.”

Liz glanced at the pocket knife she had given Max. “Max, this is yours. I gave it to you last Christmas.”

“I'm giving it back.” Max turned to leave. “I'm … I'm going to New York with Rath and Lonnie and …” Max paused as he look at Liz making a decision he knew she would hate. “and Tess … to the Summit.”

Liz’s hand closed around the knife. So it worked. He was taking Tess with him, and he might never come back. She had to know. “Are you gonna come back?”

“I don't know. I can't think that far ahead.”

Liz couldn’t let him leave like that. “Wait, um, Max … um … when … when you're at the Summit, the Granilith, ok?” Liz rambled making no sense, but it needed to be said. “It's powerful, and it could be really dangerous if the wrong people get their hands on it.”

“What are you talking about?” Max asked confused by her meaning. “How do you know anything about the Granilith?”

“Oh … I can't tell you.” Liz told him. He made a face of disgust as another person refused to tell him the truth. Liz quickly tried to stress the importance before he left. “But I just … I know, and … please, Max. You have to trust me.”

“I guess that's the problem, Liz.” Max said in a parting shot on his way out the window. He didn’t trust her. He didn’t trust any of them … just Tess.

~~~

When Max and Tess arrived to join the others to leave for New York, the aliens from New York were in the middle of a fight. Ava had saw Max, and it made her remember how Zan died. She wanted no part of what was going to happen.

Looking at Max and Ava, she shrugged. “Too tight. Looks like there's no room for me. Just as well.”

“What you trippin' about?” Rath demanded.

“I ain't goin'.” She wasn’t stupid. They didn’t need her. They had Tess. She was expendable like Zan.

“Don't be crazy. What are you gonna do, stay in the desert? Yo … just get in the car. Hey, I said get in, or I'll …”

“Kill me?” Ava said. “What, you gonna kill me?”

Max and Tess who had watched the scene out of earshot, finally moved as Max intervened. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are we doin' here?”

“Wha?” Rath seemed to realize that he had been on the verge of showing his hand, showing Max exactly who he was. He backed down. “Heh. You think I was gonna kill her?” He made a face, turning cold eyes on Ava. “You wanna stay? Then you can stay. It's not a problem.” Opening the car door he nodded to Max. “Let's, uh … let's go to New York.”

Ava walked away as Max and Tess took her place, leaving with Lonnie and Rath to New York.

~~~

“Liz?” Maria came into Liz bedroom frowning at the dark room. She could hear Liz crying on her bed. “Liz, honey?” Maria joined her on the bed hugging her friend who turned into her arms crying. “What is it? You called, and …”

“Max,” said Liz in a gulping cry. “Max is gone.”

“Gone?” Maria rubbed Liz’s back trying to get it all together in her mind. “Gone where? His planet? To the store? Out with Tess? Liz, where did Max go?”

“New York. He took Tess and went to the Summit.”

Maria’s mouth opened. Max? Why? Why would he do that? “Does Michael know?”

~~~

“Good, you’re here!” Maria said shutting Michael’s front door.

“I thought you said you were busy tonight.” Michael said from the sofa. He was watching a game, but his mind was somewhere else. She had been busy? With who? Pepperjack King?

“Yeah. Mom’s home and she wanted to actually touch base.” Maria made a face at Michael. “It’s Thanksgiving again.” She mentioned in case he forgot. “She started cooking tonight, and she made the dressing you like. By the way, she said you are not to be late this year.”

“Then …” Michael said suddenly more reasonable.

“Liz called.” Maria went and shoved his feet off the coffee table so she could walk by. Literally jumping on the sofa next to him she sat up on her knees. “She was upset.”

“I didn’t kiss her!”

“What?” Maria frowned. “You want to?”

“Hell no! That freaked out version of me …”

“Rath.”

“You know his name?” Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Did he touch you?”

“Who?”

“That alien freak …”

“Brody isn’t a freak. He’s an abductee.” Maria waved that off. “I can’t talk about Madam Vivian’s curse on me right now.”

“Curse?” Michael’s face fused with color. “You think Brody is the man?” Maria waved him off. “Jesus, Maria! Don’t make me do an damn intervention.”

“Afraid you’ll have figure out what one is, huh?” Maria asked amused forgetting what made her come find him. “Oh!” Maria hit his arm. “You distracted me! I almost forgot …Michael, do you know where your alien is?”

“Sitting right in front of me. I swear Maria, you’re more an alien than me. If I could for two minutes figure out what the heck you’re yammering about …”

“Max.”

“Max?” Michael’s brow furled. “What about Max?” Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, do not tell me you think he’s the one … the man. Isn’t old Parker mooning over him enough? His hair sucks, and he wears …” He hated to do it, but he was her friend. “Maria, he owns loafers.”

“What?” Maria shook her head. “Would you please concentrate?” Maria grabbed Michael head moving in real close. She spoke firmly and slow so he would get it. “Max went to New York with the other aliens, him and Tess.”

Michael was completely serious. “Are you sure?”

“He said goodbye to Liz.”

Liz, Michael noticed. Not him. Not Isabel. Liz. Shaking his head he sat back to finish watching his game. Maria took away his remote turning off the television.

“Maria.”

“Did you not hear what I said? He left with those vertical hold aliens and we got to go save him from the twilight zone.”

“Busy. Check the yellow pages for someone that cares.”

“What, like Rod Serling? He’s dead.” Maria sat back. “You don’t care?”

“He doesn’t listen to a damn thing I say anyway. Doesn’t tell me a damn thing either. Maybe old Rath will be a nice Second to him.”

“Michael … Rath is not you in punk vision. The boy, he is seriously loco. I’m telling you, he gave me some very disturbing looks. Beneath those narco-punk amused looks, is something deadly and cold. Max is out there. You know him. He’s not up the challenge.”

“He’s the king. He makes his choices.”

“He’s your friend.” Maria bit her lip. “He’s alone.”

“Thought you said he took Tess.”

“Michael …”

“Max seems to be embracing his destiny, and it seems to not include me or Isabel, just him and Tess.” Michael took the remote back. “You want to watch TV?”

“This was a mistake.” Max said to Tess as they rode the elevator up to the Empire State Building.

“You've been looking forward to it all day.”

“I mean this whole thing. Coming here. The city. Rath. Lonnie.” Max glanced at Tess. “It's a mistake.”

“Max …”

“What do I know about war and peace and politics? I'm gonna blow it. I'm gonna sit down at this meeting and I'm gonna meet these people, and they're gonna look at me and they're gonna see this kid from New Mexico who hasn't got a clue …” Max looked around himself in alarm. “Is this car slowing down? Are we slowing down?”

“Relax, relax. We're almost there.” Once the elevator arrived at the top, Max and Tess went to look out over the city. “This is where you belong, Max … up here with the world at your feet. Like a king.”

“I'm the king of the world.” Max muttered dejectedly.

“Yes, you are … just … not of this one.”

~~~

Rath and Lonnie walked through a restaurant on the streets of New York. Rath noticed a sandwich and stopped.

“Ooh! Yo, pastrami.”

“Yo, when he gets here … if he gets here … we're puttin' him in his place, 'cause I'm sick of gettin' attitude from him.” Lonnie said to Rath.

Rath took a bite of the sandwich, staring at it in disgust. “Mayo! Who puts mayo on pastrami?” He looked around at a waiter. “Hey, you! What kinda sick mother puts mayo on pastrami, huh? I oughta bust your head open for …”

“Drop it!” Lonnie ordered him. “He's here.” Rath tossed the sandwich making a threatening gesture at the waiter as he followed Lonnie to the subway entrance. Nicholas walked up the stairs from a subway station. He was holding a map of New York City.

“Took you long enough,” Lonnie said sarcastically to the young boy. “Where the hell have you been?”

Nicholas looked around in disgust. “God, I hate this town.” He studied the two aliens who looked like Michael and Isabel, but weren’t. “So where are they?”

“They're doin’ the tourist thing … Empire State building, Statue of Liberty.” Lonnie sneered.

“You let them wander around this open sewer alone?”

“Yo, even Max Evans can find his way from the Empire State … it's three blocks.” Lonnie answered, irritated by his criticism and bossiness.

“Better hope you're right. Without Max, no one at the Summit's gonna give you two the time of day.”

“We're two of the Royal Four.” Rath reminded the Skin threateningly.

“Royal rejects is more like it.” Nicholas laughed.

“Hey, yo, get this straight. We are the originals. They are the rejects.” Rath’s anger was increasing at the disrespect for his position and authority. Zan was gone. He should be King.

“Ha!” Nicholas laughed. “Uh, gee … they were carefully hidden away in Roswell and got custody of the Granilith. You were dumped in the sewer.” Nicholas made a face at the punk. “Figure that out.”

“Yo,” Lonnie said getting in between Nicholas and Rath before Rath did something stupid. “You ain't getting the Granilith without us, so just remember that.”

“You're not getting home unless I get the Granilith. Remember that.”

“Here they come.” Lonnie told Nicholas spying Max and Tess a block away. “Go.”

Nicholas walked back into the subway station, cursing about New York. “Oh, I hate this stupid, rat-infested, urine-soaked, butt-ugly town!”

Max and Tess were across the street. They waved at Rath and Lonnie.

“Here come the losers!” Lonnie warned Rath as Max and Tess joined them. “Hey. So enough sight-seeing for one day?”

“There's a lot more to see.” Max told her.

“I could use a rest.” Tess suggested.

Lonnie lifted a brow. “Wanna see our crib?”

Max shrugged. “Sure.”

Rath and Lonnie led Max and Tess into a subway station through the tunnels. They lost them, but found them in this huge room, their den. Lonnie was on the sofa and Rath was batting tennis balls around with a hockey stick.

Tess and Max looked around, shocked that their counterparts were raised in the sewers of New York. Their pods were still on the wall. As they talked Rath was haphazardly shooting balls at them. Max demanded to know about the Summit, but Rath was too busy baiting them. Max and Rath got into a slight disagreement, but Lonnie stopped it before it could be physical. They still needed Max, and him dying wasn’t in the cards yet.

The Summit wouldn’t occur until Max passed a test. He had to meet the Emissary first, pass a test before they would let him sit down. Max and Tess shared a look as the two punk-visions of Michael and Isabel messed around. New York City wasn’t turning out as they had imagined.

~~~

Maria glanced over at Michael and Isabel sitting at a table. They were no doubt talking about Max. Isabel was highly upset. Maria’s eyes met Michael’s and they shared a silent moment of communication.

“Two days, and not a word.” Isabel fretted.

“Your parents asking questions?” Michael asked wondering how Max was going to explain this one. Maria had a safety catch in her life … her mother was often gone for work distributing alien souvenirs around the state.

“They think he's gone camping again.”

“They gotta think he's turned into some kinda tree hugger.” Michael commented shaking his head at the asinine explanation.

“They think he doesn't wanna spend Thanksgiving with his family.” Isabel told Michael still upset with having her mother cry. “He could have at least said goodbye.”

“You know Max. It's got nothing to do with you. It's probably got something to do with, uh …” Michael pointedly looked over at Liz who was saying goodbye to a customer.

Isabel followed his glance towards Liz, upset that once again all Max cared about was the human girl. The smell of the diner was sickening. Isabel couldn’t imagine how she was going to choke down Thanksgiving dinner the next day with all the unhappiness in her home.

“Can we?” Isabel asked, needing to be away from the café, away from the place where her brother made a decision that changed all their lives.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Michael looked around for Maria. “Hey, we're, uh, outta here.” Maria nodded clearing their table. Michael paused for a moment, his hand on her waist while Isabel waited at the door impatiently. “You were right, I was wrong. Now I care. We might need to go for Max.” Michael glanced at Isabel quickly. “Can we go?”

“After Thanksgiving. Mom is expected in Phoenix on Friday. I was going to take her to the airport for an early morning flight.”

“After work?” Michael suggested a time for them to talk.

“Yeah, but you come over to my place. Mom wants you there for the day.”

“What was I supposed to bring?”

“Your appetite.”

Michael smiled, leaning down to kiss her cheek before joining Isabel.

Maria waited until they were gone before walking over to Liz. “Girlfriend, we need to have a talk. You got a serious problem.”

“What?”

“A … very vicious rumor is going around about you in school, and I shouldn't make a bigger deal about it than it is, because I know we can take care of it, but it's just that, like, everybody's talking about it …”

“Maria.” Liz begged stopping the long continuous run-on sentence gracing Maria’s normal speech pattern.

“Okay. The word is that you and Kyle slept together.” Maria held up a hand before Liz could get upset. “I know. It's so humiliating. I know. I just can't imagine who made it up.”

“Um … it's true.” Liz confessed, her face reddening not at the confession, but rather, the bald face lie.

“What?” Maria’s mouthed opened in shock. “No, Liz, the rumor is that you and Kyle Valenti slept together as in, like, sexually!”

Damn, there were tons of rumors about her and Michael, and if half were true, neither of them would ever do anything but … well, that was they would be too tired. Damn. This rumor was different. She and Michael did sleep together, often, but this one was implying something more between Liz and Kyle.

“I know.” Liz told her friend, unhappy with lying. “And … it's true.”

“Huh. Ok, you lost your virginity to Kyle. I mean, that is a revelation, and I don't know what that's about, but why didn't you tell me?” Maria stared at Liz, unable to fathom how such a major event in her friend’s life could be tossed out so casually, so completely forgotten.

“I was embarrassed.” Liz answered, her sentence ending in more a question than a statement.

“That is such a completely unacceptable answer for you to give to me, your best friend in the entire world …”

“I didn't want to talk about it.”

“Why? Why didn't you want to talk about it?” Liz always told her everything, and the only time she lied or didn’t was when it had to do with Max. Max was the spanner in their relationship that put boundaries and a slight drift, one where Michael entered. “Why, did he hurt you or something? Was this like a date rape?” Maria’s voice rose in concern, upset, imaging the worse.

“No!” Liz quickly quelled Maria’s fears. “No, it was nothing like that, ok? I was just upset about Max, and Kyle was there for me, and we were close at one point, and one thing just led to another, and we …”

Maria’s face fell, and she couldn’t stop the hurt that entered her eyes making Liz wince. “And you didn't tell me.” She walked away, too upset to talk any longer. She needed to talk to Michael. Liz watched her, her brown eyes dark pools of misery as she watched her best friend for life walk away, her shoulders slumped. “Max Evans,” Liz thought, “...the things I do for you.”

~~~

Liz finished the shift alone as Maria left early to go home to help her mother get ready for Thanksgiving the next day. Liz knew that it was really because Maria couldn’t talk and it was easier to be somewhere else.

Liz took the garbage out at the end of shift and found Ava there, sleeping in the alley. Sighing, Liz took the alien girl home. Maybe her parents wouldn’t mind, it would be like bringing home a stray.

~~~

Max and Rath entered a large building that appeared empty. It was open with the room opening among columns into a large amphitheater chamber with high ceilings.

“You got it together?” Rath asked as he led Max to the emissary.

Max nodded as he took a seat across from the Emissary and Rath backed off. The man walked behind Max and placed his hand behind Max's head. A light burst forth from the emissary's hand, shooting through Max's head, and projecting an image in front of Max. It was five lights circling around to gradually form the V-shape, which was the Royal Seal of Antar, Max’s home planet. Rath stood back, his mouth opening in wonder. So Max was the King … not Zan!

“Sign here … your Highness.” The Emissary instructed Max with deference before passing him a receipt and leaving.

“So you … you really are the king.”

“It's a … it's a time card. The Emissary works for a … a temp agency?”

“Duke, the Emissary never left his crib.” Rath tried to explain. “The body that walked outta here works for a temp agency.”

“What?”

“It's like a vessel, you know? A puppet.” Rath tried to speak in plain speak, plain enough that Max would understand. “The alien Emissary far away on another planet. Human knobhead here on this planet. Emissary reaches out with his mind, takes control of the human. Human walks around like a puppet doing whatever the Emissary wants him to do.”

“Like he's … like he's possessed.”

“Ha. Yeah, possession. Doin' the Linda Blair, you know?” Rath laughed at Max, a simpleton for King. “Human dude never knows what happened to him. He thinks he's been frickin' abducted. Heh.”

“I still don't understand why …”

“Lonnie will give you the 411 later. Now you should be celebrating.” Rath told Max, since he barely got it himself. Lonnie was the one who understood things.

“I should?”

“You passed, man. You are the frickin' king!” Rath slapped Max hard on the back, leading him from the building. “Which means you earned yourself a slice of the best pizza in New York. And I'm buyin'.”

~~~

Maria’s bedroom door opened, and hands moved her over. “Scoot.”

“You’re supposed to be sleeping on the sofa.” Maria reminded Michael. “Did you not get the gist of lecture number eighty-seven?”

“Lumpy.”

“Use the other sofa. It’s newer and pretty comfy.”

“Too short.” Michael settled into the bed taking up most of the space as he rearranged Maria to suit his frame. “Why are you upset?”

“I didn’t say … I’m not upset.” Maria denied.

“Sure you are. You’re doing that thing.”

“What thing?”

Michael shrugged off Maria’s tell sign. “So tell me.”

Maria snuggled in closer talking into Michael’s chest. “Liz.”

“Right.” He should’ve known. Parker was like a social disease the group was passing around to each other. Who else could it be about? Always Liz. Sure.

Maria quickly told Michael about the rumor.

“So? I heard that the other day. Who cares? There are so many rumors about us, and none of them are true.” Michael reminded Maria.

He didn’t mind the rumors about him and Maria. They had a partial truth to them. He was sleeping in her bed. Maybe not quite the way people thought, but it served its own purpose as well. It kept other girls from bugging him, and more importantly, it made other boys believe that Maria was off limits. It helped her keep up her resolution not to date sweaty high school boys. Michael chalked it up as his public service to a good friend.

“Liz told me tonight it was true.” Maria couldn’t hold the hurt from entering her voice. “One of my best friends takes a huge step in her life, and she forgets to tell me? I …”

“She slept with Kyle? For real?”

“That’s what she told me.”

Michael was thoughtful in the dark room. “No wonder Max is more whacked than usual.”

~~~

Michael made an irritated moan in his throat when the phone rang at three in the morning. Maria sleepily reached over from her position of sleeping on top of him to answer the annoying ring.

“Hello?” Maria said in a husky voice thick with sleep.

“Look, we need to talk in person.” Liz voice chirped over the phone.

Maria glanced at her bedside clock in disbelief. “It's three in the morning.”

“Please, Maria.”

Maria moaned resting her head against Michael for a moment. “Where?”

“The place by the thing that we went that time with what's-her-name.”

“I'm there. Bye.” Maria placed the phone in the cradle.

“Parker?” Michael asked not caring enough to open his eyes.

“Yeah. I’ve gotta go.”

Michael finally glanced at the clock. “What did she have, a damn nightmare? Can’t she inconvenience someone else?” That Parker was exhausting.

“Stop being grumpy. Go back to sleep.”

“Nah. I better go with you. This is Roswell, but it’s not a place a girl should be walking around at 3 am, alone.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m taking the Jetta.” Maria grabbed a pair of pants to pull over the shorts she was sleeping in with one of Michael’s shirts.

“I still better come.”

Maria pushed him back into the bed. “Sleep. You can cover my ass in case my mom figures out I went out.”

“Great plan. She’ll be so busy going ballistic with me being in your bed, she’ll never notice you’re not here.”

“You really are handy to have around at times.”

“My lifetime goal achieved,” Michael mumbled to himself as Maria let herself out her bedroom window. “Hey! Shut the window, it’s cold in here.”

~~~

Maria sat with Liz outside in front of a large fountain. Maria listened as Liz told her about going home from Madam Vivian’s, about the appearance of Future Max.

“I'm sorry.” Liz said as she took a breather. “I know this all sounds really crazy …”

“No, please. Crazy is sleeping with Kyle Valenti, so, please get to that part.”

“Okay. So, um … right, Max … Future Max … tells me that the reason that the world comes to an end is because … get this … he and Tess weren't together when their enemies came to Earth. And the reason they weren't together was because Max and I got married.”

“Oh.” Maria sat back a little, her mind working over the story.

“I know it's really confusing.”

“No, no, no. I'm with you.” Maria waved off the concern. No, she was getting it, and it wasn’t working in Max’s favor. “Keep going.”

“Future Max tells me that I have to find a way to get present day Max to fall out of love with me.”

“So you slept with Kyle.” Maria concluded.

“No, no. Not really. I arranged it so Max saw Kyle and me in bed together, but nothing really happened.”

“So Max thinks that you and Kyle …” Maria nodded her head. Okay, so that made some sense, more than Liz going and losing her virginity without confiding in her best friend.

“I'm sorry I lied to you.”

Maria waved that off. No foul. “No. I'm so sorry that I got so mad. I should have known that it was, you know, an alien thing.” Maria couldn’t help but ask. “Are you still a virgin?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” Liz said glancing at Maria uncertain whether Maria was. She and Michael..., and if Michael hadn’t been there tonight …

“Yeah.” Maria said reading the look on her friend’s face. “So am I!”

“Frigid!” The two girls high five'd each other, laughing. Major events in life were always easier to weather with a friend, a confidant.

“So how did the rumors start?”

“I don’t know.” Liz shrugged. “It’s a small town. I know Kyle wouldn’t be bragging about it since he knows the truth. I can’t imagine Max rushing around telling the world. It was just the three of us, and …” Liz stopped.

“What?”

“Tess knows. When we were in Copper Summit she asked me how Kyle was.”

“Max told Tess!” Maria was about to slam on Max, but Liz stopped her.

“It was cruel and hard, Maria. It hurt. I hurt him. Maybe he needed someone to talk to, someone that would be on his side.”

“He could’ve talked to me.”

“No, he couldn’t.”

Maria sighed. Liz was right. She would’ve been torn between her loyalty to Liz and her friendship to Max. “Well, be that as it may, Tess went and told the entire school. That bitch! After all you did to try to help her.” Maria couldn’t forgive this. It was an act of malicious intent, a need to make Liz look bad to other people. “God, I hate this. At times, I almost like Tess, but then there is this slight … skewing moment, a glance, a thoughtless act, and my hackles go right back up, and I don’t trust her again.”

“It’s okay, Maria. You don’t have to hate her for my sake.”

“It’s not that. I mean, she saved me from a Skin, I’ve had a few decent conversations with her, and she’s like a normal girl. She helps Michael with his powers … you know, she tries hard. Then something like this … and I just don’t know again.”

“It doesn’t matter. Max said it was over. He said goodbye, and I think he really meant it in all ways possible.” Liz bit her lip her eyes suddenly glassy. “He gave me back the pocket knife.”

“The Christmas pocket knife?”

“The same.”

Maria couldn’t believe it. It had taken them forever to find that present. Liz had agonized over it for days. She and Max hadn’t been together so she was at a loss as to how find a present for Max that wasn’t too intimate, but something personal that he could hold on to from her. She finally gave up and asked Maria what she got Michael. A pocket knife. It was the same pocket knife that Michael had dropped at Pierce’s burial site.

“When they return your personal items, gifts, t-shirts, pictures, and other things …”

“It’s over.” Liz confirmed hugging her knees in misery. Liz rubbed her face hard, her eyes a pool of misery. “I’m just having such a hard time having him hate me. Having him think that I would toss away our love so carelessly.” Liz couldn’t stop the tears. “It hurts, Maria. I didn’t know it could ever hurt this much, that I could hurt this much.”

“Liz...”

“I dream. I dream about the wedding he told me about, the life we might have shared, and how can I ever be satisfied with anything else? For the rest of my life, it will be the only thing I ever want … the only thing I can’t have. Ever.”

“I hate Max Evans.” Maria said solemnly.

“Maria! No! It’s not Max’s fault!”

“Yes it is. Ultimately.” Maria told Liz. “I don’t mean our Max … that poor young boy who has just had his teeth kicked out. I mean the man he became … Future Max.”

“He was … don’t hate him, Maria.”

“Too late.” Maria took Liz’s hands. “He said you were the love of his life?” Liz nodded. “Then why did he tell you about your wedding? Why you? How could he hurt you so much, telling you every detail of a life you can never have? Leaving you to live a life mourning a lost love? You can’t miss what you never knew, Liz. He should’ve loved you enough to spare you.”

“He said that I was the only person he trusted enough to listen to … that I was the only one that could make him change.”

“God, he is such a terrible King. Such a terrible friend! What a horrible lover.” Maria shook her head. “What about Michael? What about Isabel? Couldn’t he approach them? Shouldn’t he trust them, believe in them? Michael would’ve done it. He would’ve found a way to make Max understand, to believe in what Future Max was saying. He could tell him about the mariachi band. He was already learning the song. How could Michael know that? The Gomez tickets. He had to buy them in advance.”

“I think he …” Liz paused unable to think of another excuse for the pain she felt today, the pain left by knowledge.

“Or, if he came to you … why tell you how great your life together was? Why not lie? Say you married and it was the biggest mistake. That you and he ended up broken apart, that he later remembered loving Tess in his previous life, but she had left. And when their enemies appeared he needed his Queen, and he was lost without her. That he came to blame you, and you carried the guilt that had he never saved you, that he would’ve ended up with Tess when she came. That it split you up, destroyed your lives, and all the bitterness … blah, blah, blah. You see what I’m saying?”

“That it would’ve been easier for me to think I was correcting a childish choice that ended in my own misery and his, then to be settled with a haunting image of a perfect life full of love?”

“The end of the world would topped it off.”

“I don’t know why he and my future self decided on this course … and it doesn’t really matter now, because I know … I know and it is killing me. I am so weighed down in pain, I can’t remember how to breathe.”

“God, Liz. I know Max. I know how he feels about you, but armed with this knowledge, this cruel intent on his future self’s part … I wonder if Max really even knows what love is. How could anyone do this to someone they love?”

Liz shook her head, her tears running down her face. Maria reached over and hugged her friend tight, angry at the misery she felt shaking Liz’s small frame. Too much. How much did it take to make a body break?

“You need comfort food. Let’s go wake my mom have her make us her famous stuffed French toast.”

“Extra syrup?”

“Extra syrup and whipped cream.”

~~~

“So he gave you back the pocket knife?” Amy asked as she put two more slices of French toast in Liz’s plate.

Liz nodded miserably.

“The cad!”

“Mom, more syrup. My toast is dry.” Amy reached over and took the whipped cream from Maria.

“Don’t eat all that. I need some for pie, and Michael hasn’t had breakfast, yet. That boy can eat all of this by himself.” Amy looked around suddenly remembering not seeing Michael on the sofa. “Speaking of which … where is Michael?”

“Sleeping. My bed.” Maria said helpfully as she shoved more food into her mouth.

“Maria, I told him …”

“I was going out to see Liz. The sofa is really too short for his frame to sleep comfortably, and it’s lumpy. He gets all cranky when his sleep is disturbed. This way he’ll be in a semi-good mood when you make him dig out the Christmas stuff.”

“Oh! You didn’t tell him did you?” Amy asked worried. Last year Michael swore that he wasn’t going to be trapped in the tight upstairs attic again.

“Not a word.”

“Good girl.” Amy beamed at her daughter shoving more food on her plate.

~~~

Maria worked the morning to early afternoon shift at the Crashdown, leaving Michael to be bossed around by her mother as he was forced to help her find all the Christmas decorations and help her cook. Liz was in no shape to work, so Maria took the extra shift. She needed extra ready cash because after she and Michael saw her mother off at the airport the next day, they were planning on jumping the first plane to New York City.

It had been a few days since she talked to Brody, literally not since he bought her breakfast. Maria went to the UFO Center to deliver Brody's usual sandwich, and maybe invite him to Thanksgiving dinner if he had no plans.

“Brody!” Maria called, going into his office without knocking. “You didn't call for your order, so I brought you one anyway. I brought you a Galaxy Sub, hold the mayo, and extra pepperjack!” She stopped when there was no answer. “Oh, Mr. Davis! Hello?” Maria looked at the unusually quiet UFO Center. Stopping by his desk, she stared at his computer screen. It was still on with a cup of coffee next to it. The coffee was cold. The coffee lined showed it had been sitting for at least a day. Circling the room, a frown moved over her face in concern. “Brody!”

In New York City at the exact same moment, Brody alighted from a taxi and entered the door to an office building.

~~~

Max paced around the sewer lair as Lonnie and Rath watched him. “So this is the Royal Seal?” He asked staring at a configuration of stars that Rath was next to.

“You got it. And these are the five worlds of our star system.”

Max pointed to the star at the apex of the V formation. “And that one … that's home? Home.”

“Bingo. That's how the Emissary knew you were the real deal. You got the Royal Seal stenciled on your brain.”

Max nodded thoughtfully at Rath, wanting more information. “And these other four worlds … they'll all be sending a representative to the Summit?”

Rath shrugged. Yes and no. “Well, they'll be doing the possession thing again, you know, like the Emissary.”

Tess frowned, not really understanding the possession thing. “Why don't they … come in person?”

“You see, little girl,” Rath informed her snidely, “space is what we call very, very big. You know, it's not easy to get places. People just don't zip around the galaxy like on Star Trek.”

Lonnie laughed rolling her eyes. “No one's coming back here again in person unless there's a good reason.”

“Like to bring us home.” Rath suggested.

Tess sat up straighter. “We can go home?”

“Yeah, we can.” Rath answered, gesturing towards Max. “If the man here cuts a deal at the Summit.”

“What kind of a deal?” Max asked, his eyes holding a darkness that was impenetrable.

Lonnie didn’t like the look. It was one she couldn’t read. Applying a lot of humanitarian sap to her explanation was the best way she knew to keep Max in line. “A deal to bring peace back to our world.”

“And in our world … blood on the streets, baby.” Rath was getting into the discussion, warming on the action. “That dude Khivar that took your throne … people hate his ass!”

“Our mother sent our pods to earth for safekeeping, hoping we'd come back one day.” Lonnie informed him adding the mother factor to increase Max’s sentimentality to their home world.

“And that day is now.” Rath stressed. “The word is that Khivar's desperate, and he'll do anything to end the fighting.”

“Including let us come back home.” Lonnie finished.

“Home. I never thought … not this soon.” Max paused as a thought occurred to him. “What about Michael and Isabel?”

“And Ava.” Tess added not wanting to exclude her Dupe.

“They're expecting the Royal Four, not the Royal Seven.” Lonnie told them, not at all happy that the other two were such whiny wimps. Who cared about the others?

“I am not leaving Michael and Isabel behind.” Max told her.

“Look, Max …” Lonnie hurried, trying to deflect any real thought on Max’s part. She didn’t want him to remember that she and Rath were not part of the Royal Four, and really had no part in the ride home. “Max, they … they seem so happy … in that cute little town. Chill, chill. It'll all be okay. You'll see. It'll all fall our way … unless they bring up the Granilith again.”

Max entire body stiffened at the mention of the alien device. “The Granilith?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Rath said, talking too fast, almost giving it away. “It's this stupid religious thing.”

“The Protector told us it's like the Holy Grail, some piece of junk people on our planet worship for some reason.” Lonnie added watching Max and Tess. “You ever heard of it?”

“No.” Max said with no hesitation. The Granilith. A holy relic? He knew better. The Skins weren’t searching for a relic. They were searching for power.

“No?” Lonnie questioned again.

Rath saw Lonnie on the verge of giving away how important the Granilith was and he quickly interjected himself into the conversation. “That's too bad.”

Lonnie caught herself. “Yeah. Would have been a nice bargaining chip if you had.”

“I haven't.” Max said insistently as Tess held her tongue.

“No problem.” Lonnie said shrugging like it was hardly important. “Probably won't even bring it up anyway.”

~~~

The Crashdown closed early that day for Thanksgiving, so Liz had allowed Ava to sleep downstairs in the breakroom on the sofa. She was later woken by the other girl’s nightmare. Going to her, Ava confessed to reliving Zan’s death. It didn’t take much talking to realize that the girl had blamed herself for her mate’s death.

Opening up the café part of the diner, Liz made them something hot to drink and listened as Ava talked about her version of Max. Ava asked how Liz found out about Max being an alien, and she was clearly disturbed with the news that Max had brought her back from death, saved her.

Liz frowned at the alien girl’s reaction, and for the first time she worried about what it could mean to be saved by an alien. From Ava’s reaction, it was not a good thing.

~~~

Isabel answered her phone, unhappy at being woken. “Hello?”

“Hey, it's me.”

“Max.” Isabel sat up immediately turning on the bedside light. “Where are you? Are you ok?”

“Yeah. I'm fine. I'm still in New York. I just … I wanted to call and see how everything was going.” There was a pause on Max’s end. “So how … how was Thanksgiving?”

“It was great. Mom cried all the way from the cranberry sauce to the peach cobbler.” Isabel informed him. “So did I.” She added quietly.

Max seemed not to hear or care. “Isabel, how would you feel … about going home?”

Isabel sat up straighter pushing her hair behind her ear. “When you say home …”

“I mean … home.”

“Is that even possible?”

“If it is, do you wanna go or not?” Max asked having to know.

Isabel closed her eyes for a moment. “I don't know. I mean … leaving Mom and Dad and Roswell and … for another planet, it just … it's … it seems crazy. It sounds crazy.”

“Well, it isn't. And I need an answer. From you and Michael both.”

“What? You can't … you can't do this!” Isabel sat on the side of her bed upset. Too fast. Much too fast. She never thought to… “You can't just drop this on me all of a sudden. I mean, God, you just leave with those people without even saying goodbye, without even discussing it with Michael and I, and now you expect me …”

“I guess I'm just being a self-indulgent little boy again.” Max said bitterly.

Isabel made a sound of disbelief. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I don't want to rehash the entire thing, Vilandra.”

Isabel’s heart stopped in her chest, unhappy with the way this was going. “That's not fair.”

“Neither was letting me hear the real story from Lonnie.”

Isabel bit her lip knowing she should’ve told him herself. “I'm sorry, Max.”

“It's a little late for apologies, don't you think? You should have said that the first time I confronted you.”

“The first what?” Isabel’s voice was choked in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“I'll call you when the Summit's over.”

Isabel stared at the receiver in her hand not hearing the dial tone. The first time? Groaning Isabel hung up the receiver to pick it up again calling Michael’s number. It rang for a long time, but there was no answer. Giving up, she called Maria’s cell phone. A sleepy Michael answered, his voice irritated.

“Yeah.”

Isabel cleared her throat when she heard Maria’s voice telling Michael to tell Liz to go back to sleep, they would talk to her in the morning. “Michael, it’s Isabel. I … I need to talk to you … now. It’s Max.”

~~~

Maria and Liz watched as Michael and Isabel confronted Ava about Rath and Lonnie duping Max into going to New York.

“Why did Lonnie impersonate me?”

“I don't know.” Ava glanced at the two aliens that looked like Rath and Lonnie, but lacked the threatening posture.

“Why don't I believe you?” Isabel asked.

“That's your problem.” Ava told her.

Michael stretched out his hand and blew up one of the decorations in the Crashdown. “Don't piss us off.” Michael warned her.

Maria seemed slightly taken aback, making a mumbling sound to herself.

“Maria, what is it?” Liz asked trying to concentrate on the conversation.

Maria fanned herself slightly uncomfortable, her eyes never leaving Michael, a threatening, commanding Michael … he was so volatile. “Is it … um, hot in here?”

“Shhh!” Liz said wanting to hear what Isabel was saying.

“Fine!” Isabel told her. “We'll do this the hard way.”

Liz saw that the two aliens were going to get physical with Ava and she quickly moved in, somehow feeling responsible for Ava’s health. “Ok, ok, wait, wait. It's okay.” She intervened, leading Ava away from Isabel and Michael as Maria joined them.

“Come on, Ava.” Liz sat down at the counter with Ava. “Ok, ok, Ava … you told me that you had a secret that you couldn't tell anyone. But, um … if Max is in danger, you have to tell us. You lost Zan. Please don't let me lose Max. I love him, you know, and I love him just as much as you did Zan. Please, Ava … don't let me lose him. Please.”

Ava glanced at Liz , at the others and then back at Liz again. She nodded reluctantly. “Lonnie and Rath … killed Zan. And they're probably gonna kill Max.” Michael glanced at Maria, and she nodded. New York.

~~~

Michael and Maria saw Amy off on her flight to Phoenix. They waited until the plane had taxied the runway before going to another gate. There they waited for their nine-thirty flight to Dallas with a connection to LaGuardia in New York City.

“Can I have your peanuts?”

“Nope.” Michael said automatically, reading a New York City Lifestyle magazine.

Maria sat back, bored by the plane ride. “Why didn’t I get to sit by the window?”

“Because I don’t have a bladder the size of a pea, and I wasn’t going to keep getting up to let you out.”

“How are we going to find them?”

“We have the location of the pay phone Max used last night to call Isabel thanks to the Bell system and Ava. We’ll follow her instructions to find the hole for our sewer rats, and go from there.”

Maria glanced at her travel companion. “So didn’t Loonie Lonnie make you appreciate Isabel so much more?”

“Didn’t punk freak Rath make you appreciate me more?”

Maria seemed thoughtful. “The tattoos were kind of … stimulating.”

Michael lifted a brow. “You thought he was … sexy?” His expression was saying that if she did, he was reassessing his opinion of her taste.

“I must admit he was interesting to gawk at, much like a train wreck. But, surprisingly, I was much more turned on by the man with authority and a commanding presence.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed as he thought of an angry Brody facing all those aliens, demanding to know why they were in his place. “I don’t think he’s the man.” Michael told her.

“Huh?” Maria was off in her own head thinking about Michael blowing up Christmas decorations in the Crashdown. Wow, who knew he could be so … wow!

“Brody is way too old for you.”

The name Brody caught Maria’s attention. “Oh! Did I not tell you … I went by to invite Brody to Thanksgiving dinner.”

“You what? Why would you do that?”

Maria ignored his question. “He wasn’t there.”

“So he took himself off for the holidays.”

“No. I don’t think so. I think if he was leaving he would call me, leave me a message so I wouldn’t worry.”

“Why would he do that?” Michael suddenly felt his seat was too cramped. Moving uncomfortably in it, he turned to look her over. She seemed … glowing. Damn that meddling Madam Vivian. Hack. Fraud. Charlatan.

“He told me that he felt like he was on the verge of being abducted again. Dreams. Missing time. He told me not to worry if he suddenly disappeared, so I think if he was taking himself off on his own, he would tell me so I wouldn’t worry.”

Michael sat back in the seat. He stared out the window when Maria settled down, finally finding something to read. His thoughts were distant and dark, and despite what Isabel told him about Max asking if she was ready to go home, for once in his life, his mind wasn’t on that. Brody. What kind of name was that anyway?

~~~

On the way to the Summit, Rath and Lonnie continued to coach Max, giving him last minute advice.

“Now, you get in trouble, you look to us, and we'll help you out.” Rath told Max, chafing at the idea of his future resting in the creampuff’s hands.

“I think he'll handle it.” Tess told the other alien boy.

“Hey, is someone talkin' to you, retard?” Rath asked Tess, his attitude offensive and mean.

“All right, that's it.” Max moved Tess behind him putting himself between her and the other two. “Let's get something clear right here, right now. I'm the one who passed the Emissary's test. And that means from now on, I'm the one in charge here.”

“Understood, duke. You're the king.” Lonnie said giving Rath a warning glare. Imbecile. He was going to ruin everything.

“And for your information, her name … is Tess.” Max informed Rath, making Tess smile.

“Rath, take Tess and go inside.” Lonnie told her trained seal. “I wanna talk to Max for a minute.” Her eyes were cold and deadly as she stared Rath down.

“Come on.” Rath led Tess out of the room.

“I'm proud of you, Max. You're everything I loved about Zan and more. You're the brother I never knew.” Max stared at the girl that looked like his sister, but was a world apart. Rath and Tess rejoined them when they were called into the conference room.

Max entered the room where the Summit was taking place with the others behind him. Among the other representatives there was Brody Davis.

“Brody?” Max said in surprise.

“Actually, my name is Larek. Are you Zan?” He looked like Brody. Spoke like Brody, but he wasn’t Brody. Max nodded.

“They tell me that used to be my name. But my name is Max. Max Evans.”

A woman representing one of the other four planets looked at Larek with disbelief. “If he doesn't even know who he is, how can he sit in conference with us?”

“He sits with us because the Emissary certified him.” Larek informed the woman, Kathana. “Kathana, Sero, Hanar, and I will represent each of our worlds. Max will speak for his.”

Nicholas entered the room at both Tess and Max’s surprise. “Actually, Khivar speaks for his world. And I speak for Khivar.” Nicholas took a seat. “Max. Nice to see your genocidal girlfriend again.” Nicholas met Tess’s eyes. “Killed anyone today?”

“Day's not over.” Tess informed him, getting a strange look from Rath as the young girl stood straighter, letting him for the first time see what made her the Queen, what made her the real thing, a Royal Four.

“What a charmer.” Nicholas muttered, his hatred of Tess apparent.

Larek looked at the others. “Can we begin?”

“You know him?” Lonnie asked as if she had no idea who Nicholas was.

Max nodded. “Long story. He was in Roswell.”

“Be careful.” Rath warned, having never trusted the pipsqueak Skin.

“That much I know.”

~~~

Isabel, Liz and Ava were at the Crashdown waiting until Michael and Maria called them once they arrived in the City. “We've got to find a way to warn Max. He's in the middle of the Summit right now.” Isabel said looking at the time.

“Where's the Summit being held?” Liz asked Ava.

“Some building downtown.”

Liz groaned. They were going to be too late. Michael and Maria could look forever for the others at this rate. “You gotta do better than that.”

Ava really didn’t know. Zan refused to go, so she didn’t have a reason to know. “I don't know anything more.”

“Hey, Isabel, um … can't you dreamwalk Max?” Liz asked in a moment of inspiration. “You know, um … put a warning in his mind. You've done it before, you know, when he was in the white room.”

“That was different. He was drugged. I was only a few miles away. He's across the country now.”

Liz covered her eyes in despair. “I think we're out of alternatives. God, I hope Michael and Maria can find them.”

~~~

“I should call them.” Maria told Michael holding onto him tightly as they stepped through the nasty tunnel following Ava’s directions.

“After we check this out.” Michael and Maria entered Lonnie and Rath’s lair. Maria’s mouth opened in shock as she stared at the pods that the other aliens had emerged from. Michael looked around. “Great. Here I thought there was no place worse to grow up than Roswell. I stand corrected.”

“Grass is greener, buddy.” Maria glanced around the place in interest. “Okay, I think there’s something gross on my shoes. You see enough or do we need to stake out this dysentery gene pool? I can feel my reproductive cells altering as we speak. All my future children will probably be mutated freaks.”

“Explains Loonie and Rat.” Michael took Maria’s hand helping her over a pile of something. “Let’s go. We’ll start at the pay phone and call Liz and Isabel. Maybe Ava remembered something.” Michael looked around one last time. “Nice new friends Max made.”

~~~

At the Summit, Larek was the main mediator of the talks.

“We're here in the spirit of reconciliation. We're not here to rehash the past, point fingers, and assign blame.”

The man called Hanar had had enough talking. “Can we get to it? We're here to end fifty years of misery and suffering among our worlds. Kathana attacks Khivar. Khivar attacks Sero. Sero attacks me. The situation is intolerable!”

“Agreed!” said Sero. “We have to find a solution.”

“And Khivar has a solution.” Nicholas informed them. “Khivar will abdicate the throne and allow the Royal Four to return home under the following conditions: 1) Max becomes king only in name. All real power and government remains in Khivar's hands, 2) Max calls upon his followers to lay down their weapons and support the new government, and 3) Most importantly … Max returns the Granilith to us.”

“The Granilith?” Kathana said sharply, apparently the others were equally shocked by the mention of the device.

Nicholas saw their faces and held up a hand forestalling their reaction. “No, it's no longer on our world. Yes, we've known about it for a long time. No, Khivar decided he didn't need to tell you. And, yes, we know where it is.” Nicholas glanced down the long conference table. “It's with Max.”

“Is this true, Max?” Larek asked.

Max looked at the others. “It's here.”

Lonnie couldn’t believe he lied to her. That dweeb from nowhere, New Mexico lied!

“So there you have it. Max comes home with the Granilith. All is forgiven.” Nicholas told the others. He looked at Max. “Do we have a deal?”

“I … need to think about this.” Max told the group.

“I'd be surprised if you didn't.” Larek said to Max. “But be quick about it. Holding onto these bodies isn't easy. In fact, it's chewing up huge amounts of our resources. Twenty minutes, Max … then I need an answer.”

“You'll have it.” Max answered, leaving with Tess. Outside the room, he and Tess went to talk in a quiet corner. “Cut a deal with Nicholas? I don't trust him any more than I can throw him.”

Tess agreed. “You could throw him pretty far.”

“Then there's Lonnie and Rath. It's hard to believe they have the same DNA that Michael and Isabel have.”

Again Tess totally agreed. “For what it's worth … I don't trust them.”

“And then there's this whole thing about the Granilith.”

“Why did you lie to Lonnie and Rath about the Granilith, anyway?”

“There was something Liz said … just before we left.” Max told Tess. “She told me the Granilith could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands.”

“How does she know that?”

Max shrugged. That was still a mystery. “She wouldn't say.”

“But she's never even seen the Granilith.” Tess said. The only human who had was Maria.

“I know. I know.” Max paced for a few moments. “But I just keep thinking about it … the way she said it … she seemed so sure. I just don't know what to do.”

“Whatever you do … it'll be the right choice. I'm sure of it.”

“Why?”

“Because despite whatever Nicholas said about you in there, I know that you were a great man in that other life. A great king. I know it in my bones.”

Max stared at the alien girl, the one that brought so much disruption in his nice planned life. “All you've ever done … is trust me, been there for me whenever I needed you. I've never done anything to deserve that kind of loyalty.”

“I think in that other life … you must have been one great husband.”

~~~

Nicholas was also taking a break from the Summit. “God, I hate this town.” He heard something. Turning, he glanced around. “Hello?”

“Yo.” Lonnie said stepping from the shadows.

“Yo yourself.” Nicholas watched her carefully, not trusting her any more than any other lethal variety of snake.

“Miss me?” Lonnie asked backing Nicholas up against a column.

“Always,” Nicholas’s height, or lack of it, gave him a great display as he stared at her breasts. “Can't wait to see more of you.”

“Well, that'll have to wait until we get home.” Lonnie informed him.

“Let's be clear, Lonnie.” Nicholas said smiling cruelly, not the small boy he appeared and definitely not the brainless retard Lonnie led around by his dick. “You don't get home unless I get the Granilith.”

“Let me be clear, Nicholas. I don't give a damn whether or not you get the Granilith. I'm going home.”

“Big talk for a woman with no cards to play.” He smiled. Yeah. He liked big women.

“I got cards. I just haven't shown them to you yet.” Lonnie played with his shirt. “You know, I'm not like the others. I remember our world. I remember Khivar. And I remember what it was like to be Vilandra. I want that life, and I'll do what I have to to get back. Be on my side, and you'll benefit. Be against me, and … well, it would be a mad, crazy idea to be against me. Don't worry about Max. He's a cornball. He'll go for the deal. He'll go for the deal because millions of lives hang in the balance. Besides, he wants to go home and give mommy a kiss and get fitted for his crown.”

“He won't live long enough to wear it. Khivar wants him dead.”

Lonnie laughed. “Well, I'd have to be a special kind of stupid not to have figured that out.”

“If he takes the deal, there'll be a nice public execution to attend.” Nicholas had business to attend to, loose ends. “If he doesn't take the deal, Khivar still wants him dead.”

“I can arrange that.” Lonnie said. Max was dead the moment she entered Roswell, he was just too stupid to know it. “What's in it for me?”

“Passage home.” Nicholas said, his creepy hands moving up her front. Vilandra was always brainless, but willing to get physical. “But just you. The freak with the Mohawk stays here.”

“Yeah, I can live with that.” If she was going home, the last thing she wanted was to be tied down by Rath. The boy had outlived his usefulness. “See you at the Summit.”

Nicholas watched her walk away. “What a woman.” He said more to himself laughing at the obvious slight. There was nothing womanly about Lonnie, or ladylike. She was pure vitriol.

~~~

Lonnie rejoined the others, her anger at Max barely contained. She had few options and the buckwheat was going to cost her everything. Before they went back inside, he motioned to the others to go without them.

“Can I have a minute with my brother?” Lonnie gestured to Rath to take Tess inside. “You lied to me. I don't like it. But there it is.” Lonnie looked the boy over, seeing Zan, but someone who had no feelings of connection to her despite his looks. “But what's about to go down in there is a helluva lot bigger than you and I, Max.” Lonnie once again tried to appeal to his basically good human nature. “Millions of lives hang in the balance. Millions of people may die if we don't stop this fighting. So this is not about whether you and I go home. We are nothing in the scheme of things. This is about the greater good.” She stood aside gesturing to the door. “After you, Your Highness.”

~~~

“Well, Max, have you made your decision?” Larek asked.

“Yes, I have. And the answer is no.” Max told them. “I will not give up the Granilith to you. Not to you, not to Khivar, not to anyone. It was entrusted to me.”

“You're all witnesses. Khivar tried to be reasonable, tried to extend a hand of peace … and had it slapped away. Our business is at an end here. Our offers are withdrawn.” Nicholas stood to address the Summit.

Kathana and the others stood up to follow him. Kathana stopped to look at Max. “You made a lot of enemies here today.”

“Do you ever wonder why your predecessor was killed?” Nicholas asked Max as he exited the room, “He made bad decisions.”

Larek was the only one to stay behind. Looking at Max, he was strangely quiet, almost sad. “You don't remember any of this, I'm sure, but … our families used to be very close. You and I practically grew up together. I was there at your father's funeral. At your coronation, and your wedding.” Larek stared at Max with Brody’s eyes. “We were friends. And it was so painful to watch you fall, to see you trying so hard to make a better world for your people. And then to watch you have it all taken away by a man like Khivar.” The regret in the other man’s voice was very apparent despite his feelings and thoughts being transmitted through time and space. “I told you that you were trying to do too much too soon, that change takes time. But you wouldn't listen. You just kept …” Larek gave up in disgust. “What's the point? It's all ancient history now. What a shame it is to see history repeat itself.” He walked out without a look back.

~~~

Isabel tried and tried to get a connection to Max. Liz watched while on the phone to Michael and Maria.

“I can’t do it!”

“Iz, Michael said to try again. You have to!”

“I can’t. It’s too far!”

Ava looked at the two girls desperate to save Max. Biting her lip, she volunteered information. “Liz can do it.” They looked at her. “If Max brought you back, then you’re changed.”

“Changed?” Liz asked.

“I can’t explain it. You can do it.”

Liz stared at Ava, but Maria’s voice came over the phone. She listened to Maria for a few moments. “Maria wants to know where your friends’ favorite place to eat is. Where will they go if they have to kill someone and they want it to go unnoticed?”

“Chinatown.”

Liz repeated that to Maria. If they could get in the right locale, they could reach Max faster.

Isabel glanced at Liz. “We have to try, Liz.”

“I don’t know.” Liz shook her head. She and Max were broken, what slim connection that might still exist was torn.

“Liz … take my hand.”

“I don't know why, but I'm really scared to do this.” Liz told Isabel sitting down across from her. “You know, if you can't contact him, what makes you think I can?”

“I know my brother, and I know that if there is one voice he will hear no matter where he is, no matter what he's doing, it's yours.” Isabel reassured Liz needing her to at least try. How many times was Liz going to step back in fear, like she did when Michael was sick? They had no time. “Take my hand, Liz.”

They both concentrated while Ava held the phone with Michael and Maria. Liz began to describe the area. Ava recognized it as the place where Zan died. She quickly told Michael how to get there. Liz could see Max. Looking around, she was in like a dream state, on a street in New York City. Isabel couldn’t participate. She was too busy holding the dream state as Liz moved along the street as Isabel boosted her powers to seek out Max.

“I see him. He’s walking with Lonnie, Rath and Tess. Rath … he just grabbed Tess from behind and Lonnie is …Max!” Liz screamed her voice silent in the dream.

~~~

Max, Tess and Lonnie were walking through the streets of New York with Rath, who was angry at the outcome of the Summit. All his work was for nothing.

“What's up with you, huh?” Rath asked. “You just threw away our only chance of ever getting home!”

“Maybe,” Max conceded, unwilling to think about home. Some compromises weren’t worth the risk.

“Hey, who do you think you are, huh? Makin' big-time life decisions for Lonnie and me?” Rath asked. “You think you're the man … is that it?”

“That's right. I am the man.” Max said finally facing Rath, tired of the reject punk’s attitude.

“Ok, you the man.” Rath said backing off. “Screw Nicholas. Screw 'em all.”

“Screw 'em tight. We'll find another way home.” Lonnie said already having made her deal.

“I'm mad hungry. Let's go get a slice.” Rath suggested once again one of four.

“Sick of pizza.” Lonnie said making eye contact with Rath. “Chinatown.” She suggested. It was where they killed Zan.

“I'm with that.” Rath said smiling.

Max, Tess, Rath, and Lonnie were walking along a street when Rath grabbed Tess and covered her mouth with his hand. Lonnie reached out with her hand as she used her powers to loosen a scaffolding platform above the spot Max stood upon.

Confused Max was staring out into the street. Blinking, he thought he saw Liz. It was like the time that Isabel talked to him in the white room, but it was Liz. She was calling out to him, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying.

Before he could take a step forward or ask the others if they saw what he was seeing, he felt his body hit … hard. Rolling on the ground, he shook his head to clear it as a platform crashed to the ground mere inches from where he once stood.

Max glanced up into the warm golden eyes of Michael. “Michael?”

Michael nodded, wincing as he got off the ground reaching down a hand to Max. His elbow was bleeding where it hit the pavement. “Yeah, Michael.”

“Not Rath?”

“Hardly.” They turned as they heard Maria calling their names. She was running while talking in the phone.

“Michael!” Maria stopped next to them. “Yeah, we got him! No. He’s good. Yeah.”

“Liz?” Max said confused. He looked at the platform that almost took his life, and then at the street where Liz had disappeared. Looking around confused, he found that Tess, Rath, and Lonnie had all disappeared as well. “Tess? Tess!” Max glanced at Michael and Maria. He had no time to question how they got there. “C’mon!”

Max, Michael and Maria ran back to Rath and Lonnie's lair. There they found Tess sitting in the middle of the floor with flakes flying around her.

“Tess! Tess!” Max went on her knees beside her. “Tess, are you all right?”

The girl blinked a few times as if she was waking from a dream. “I don't know.”

“What happened?”

“They tried to get inside my head, find out where the Granilith is.” Tess told Max, not noticing Michael and Maria. “I … I didn't want them to … so I fought back.”

“How?”

“I … I don't know.”

Max looked around at the room that was now empty. All the stuff that had been there before was burned away. “Where are they?”

“I don't know.”

“Tess … Tess, are you all right?” Max asked getting up slowly, reaching down to help Tess up.

“I'm ready to go home now. Home to Roswell.”

“Okay.” Max led Tess to Michael and Maria and they left the subway tunnels.

~~~

In Roswell, everything finally found a way back to normal, or as close as it could come. Max and Tess arrived home first. Michael and Maria gave them their return tickets feeling that the two needed to get home immediately.

Once home, Max and Isabel rebuilt their relationship as Max explained that he couldn’t take the deal. He hadn’t trusted Nicholas, and even if he did … he could never take a deal that meant leaving Michael and Isabel behind. It didn’t matter who Isabel was. Isabel or Vilandra … all that mattered was she was Max’s sister, and he would always love her.

Liz finally said goodbye to Ava, who for once in her life was free of fear. She was alone, but there was a life out there, one she could now find freed from destiny and all the pain of the past. Liz was the first human she ever met, and it was a good experience, even if the human girl was a total cornball.

Finally Max went to see Liz. The idea that saving her life changed her was something neither of them ever considered. Liz searched the mirror, her face, for signs that she was different, no longer Liz Parker, but all she could see was herself. Max thanked her for saving his life, and through the experience, he found that despite everything, he still wanted to know her. Maybe they could never be more than friends, but it was something.

Before Max left her room, he asked to her tell him the truth. Did she sleep with Kyle? Liz, unable to lie vocally nodded, and Max, sadly left the room, resigned. Liz sat on the edge of her bed staring at the empty window wondering if it was metaphor of how empty her life would be. Forever, would she be staring at an empty window wishing he would come back inside?

Taking her phone, she dialed Maria.

~~~

“Maria!” Michael called to her irritated by her ringing phone.

Maria’s hands were full, so she answered the phone holding it to her ear with her shoulder.

“Mom! I told you I would call …huh? Oh! Hi, Liz!” Maria made a face at Michael when he made a rude comment about them needing to go now. “What? I can’t hear you. Just a sec.” Maria shoved as much of her stuff into Michael’s arms letting him force her to walk while talking. Putting her finger in her ear, she tried to concentrate on Liz’s voice. “Try talking now.”

Maria listened as Michael found their seats. Excellent. They were close to the ice.

“Oh, um … no, I think Michael and I won’t be back until Sunday …” Michael shook his head violently. “Um … Monday?” Michael made a cut the phone off gesture. “Definitely Wednesday.” Maria frowned at Michael who kept her peanuts. “No. I … what? Oh, the noise?” Maria looked around her. “It’s a noisy town. Yeah. No, we’re fine. Just waiting for a good ticket price to get home. Max was supposed to wire us the money since he used our tickets. Uh-huh.”

Everyone around Maria stood up cheering and she missed what happened. “Hey, listen, Liz … I gotta go! It’s like crazy here. Yeah. No. We’re fine. Yeah, I’ll call you as soon as we get home. Uh-huh. You bet, chica! So cool! See yah!”

Maria disconnected glaring at Michael when he grabbed the phone turning it off.

“You’re missing the game!” Michael said enthusiastically.

Maria glanced out at the ice of Madison Square Garden as the New York Rangers faced off with the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I thought you didn’t like the Rangers.”

“Live hockey? I could learn to.” Michael passed Maria her drink as two players hit the boards. “You know I could really like living here.”

“Me too. This is a city I was born for. We should move here when we graduate.”

Michael glanced at Maria who suddenly stood up with the crowd when two players started fighting. She accidentally spilt her drink on the guy in front of them who didn’t seem to notice.

Michael smiled at her reaction to the fight. “We should.”

Michael and Max were in the tree lot trying to find a tree for Isabel.

“Come on, Maxwell. Just pick a tree. It's freezing out here.”

“It's not so simple. This tree's got to fall within certain parameters.”

“Parameters?”

Max nodded looking at a piece of paper. “Height, circumference, color, density of foliage.” Max showed Michael the paper Isabel gave him. “Look at this diagram. You know how Isabel gets this time of year.”

“The Christmas Nazi, driving everyone insane while trying to have the perfect Christmas.” Michael made a face. “The worst thing you can do is play into it, Max. You've gotta fight her. You've gotta fight the Christmas Nazi.” Michael frowned at his watch. “Come on. I have to get to the hardware store before it closes. I have to get Maria her present.”

“Why? Are you gonna get her a ratchet set?”

“Never mind.” Michael shook his head. The damn store would be closed by the time they got there. He should never have agreed to go shopping with Max. “I'm under a lot of pressure. Maria is like this little Christmas genie. She seems to just know the perfect present to get everybody. I want my present to wow her, be better than she could’ve imagined for herself.”

“You two have a bet going don’t you?” Michael made a face. Now how did Max figure that out? “Then you might want to steer clear of the hardware store,” Max suggested.

Michael and Max looked up when they heard squealing tires as a car veered sharply on the road as it hit an icy patch. It started heading towards a little girl. Her father saw the car coming and pushed her out of the way as the car hit him. He flew through the air a few feet coming down hard.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Max watched helplessly as the small girl screamed for her father. Michael glanced at Max seeing the struggling emotions on his face.

“Maxwell...” They could hear the other bystanders talking about the man. He wasn’t breathing. “Let’s go.” Michael dragged Max away before he decided to try to heal the man in front of the crowd. It was a tragedy that the man died saving his daughter’s life, but Michael was sure the man would want it that way.

~~~

At the Evans breakfast table Diane Evans was reading the morning paper lamenting over the tragic loss the previous day.

“Oh, this poor, poor family.” Diane said.

“Tragic.” Philip agreed.

“I mean, this man gave his life to save his daughter. Now, that's a true hero.”

Philip looked around and asked his son, “Where's the Christmas Nazi?”

“Last I saw, she was examining our outdoor lights for errant bulbs.” Speaking of the devil, Isabel came into the house, dragging the tree that Max got.

“Max. This is, by far, the most pathetic Christmas tree I have ever seen.” Isabel literally shook the tree at him. “Did you even refer to my diagram?”

“I had to run out this morning. There were only a few left.”

“You know, I give you one tiny, little assignment, and you can't even handle that!”

“Something came up.”

“Well, if you had told me you couldn't go, I would have squeezed in time to get it myself between the hunger drive and Christmas dinner at the nursing home.” Isabel informed him piously as Max rolled his eyes.

“Isabel,” Diane said to her daughter, “did you know that this family lived only four blocks from here?”

“It's so terrible. A few of us are talking about organizing a vigil for his family.”

“Beautiful. A vigil?” Philip smiled at his daughter’s charitable thought. “You know, that's nice. Candles. Yeah.” Philip tried to keep his daughter occupied and away from her usual Christmas obsession.

“You know, I think I saw at least seventeen burnouts on two and five.” Isabel said not easily swayed from her assigned task. “Oh, what do you want to bet there are some flickering ones on three and four, because they always seem to have problems, so check those, too, you know? You should never be careful because once two and three are gone and …”

Max blocked out Isabel as she droned on and on. He looked into the laundry room and saw the image of the man who died saving his daughter. He was sitting on the washing machine. It reminded him of seeing Liz in New York. Max walked over to stand in front of the ghost.

Isabel glanced over at her brother and his strange actions, not seeing the ghost only Max could see. “Max.” She shrugged at her parents. “Great. He's doing laundry now.” Isabel went back to her notes. “Dad, is there a reason you haven't finished hanging the rest of the outdoor Christmas lights?”

“I'm sorry.” Max told the man.

The ghost stared into his eyes intensely, “How could you let me die?”

~~~

Michael rang the order bell to draw his prey near. Oh. Maria. Not any Maria, but a demented Maria in a Christmas Santa hat, hyped up on Christmas cheer.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Spaceboy, you big teddy bear, I talk to you every day. Whassup?”

“We got three days ‘til Christmas, and I'm working every day until then.”

“So am I. And?”

“I was wondering if it was necessary to exchange presents on Christmas Day.”

“Need a little wiggle room?”

“If that would be all right,” Michael was relieved. Shopping for Maria was hard, and Amy was harder. He was strapped for time. “I mean, what's a couple days? You know, I figure we can make a date for the 27th or 28th.”

“Sure. No problem.” Maria shrugged, smiling to herself. “That means I win.”

“No!” Michael held out a hand. “No. If we agree to have Christmas a few days later, then the presents count when they count, and …”

Maria shrugged. “You’re probably right. After all, my mom probably won’t be here or anything. She usually finds someplace to be during Christmas. I might as well spend it alone. No big, right? It’s just a day, another day. Thousands of people spend it all alone every year, so … yeah, I probably should just get used to it. I mean, what is Christmas but some arbitrary day? What is it again? Oh, yes. The birthday of our Lord and Savior. It's no big deal.” Maria walked off, and Michael gave a deep sigh.

“That went better than I expected.” Michael under his breath. Dammit, he couldn’t get her present done in time, and the other one was taking too much effort. He wasn’t going to make it. “Couldn’t Jesus have been born on the 31st or something?”

~~~

Maria entered the UFO Center without stopping or paying at the door. They knew her by now. She brought Brody his usual lunch. Looking around, she was surprised not to find him in his usual place waiting for her.

“Hello? Brody?”

“Maria. Hi.” Brody said distractedly.

“Hi, yourself.” Maria sat the sandwich down. “What’s up? You look more down than I feel.”

“Maria. I'm sorry. This just really isn't a good time.”

“Oh.” Maria looked at the older man. He was slightly pale and his usual smiling eyes were bleak. “Okay.”

“Listen. I'm gonna be away for a couple of days. Uh, you don't need to bring my lunch.”

“Fine.” Maria put a hand on his arm. “Is … is everything all right?” Maria remembered when he came back from New York after being taken over by Larek for the Summit. He had disappeared a few days back then as well.

“Yeah, fine.” His eyes belied his reassurance.

“Yeah.” Maria recognized that he didn’t want to talk about it, so she backed off. “Of course. Merry Christmas.” Maria left the sandwich forgetting to collect the money.

Brody put his hand on the bag. He watched her go. “Yeah. Merry Christmas.”

~~~

When Tess entered the house from shopping she found the two Valenti’s deep into a football game.

She sat down on a foot rest in front of the TV. Sheriff Valenti and Kyle continued to watch the football game by peering around her. Tess was undaunted. Telling them about her horrible shopping experience, how the world of Roswell was infested with holidaymakers full of Christmas cheer, hinting to the two men about Christmas decisively devoid of anything resembling a tree or decorations.

“But, clearly, you guys don't bother with Christmas trees.” Tess remarked.

“We've got ours out in the garage.” Kyle told Tess, still trying to watch the game. “Plastic.”

“Oh. Oh, well, I guess there's … no hurry to bring it into the house then.”

“Well, actually, we haven't brought it in for a few years.” Jim admitted wincing at a fumbled play.

“We like it in the garage.” Kyle added. “I use it to dry my socks.”

“Good. Second down. Second down, here we go. Come on. Come on. Visualize.” Jim muttered as a play was converted, not really listening to Tess.

“Oh, and about Christmas dinner. I hope you guys aren't planning some big …”

Kyle shook his head. “We usually hit the Crashdown for turkey.”

“$7.95 - all you can eat.” Jim added.

“Great.” Tess said severely disappointed. “You know, I don't celebrate Christmas anyway.”

“Great.” Jim said not really hearing or understanding a word the young alien girl said. “Oh, yes!” He said excited as the ball was snapped.

“Yes. Yes!” Kyle joined him both of them standing.

“Yes! Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Whoo!” Kyle high five’d his father over the touchdown. Jim laughed with his son, neither of them noticing Tess quietly leaving.

~~~

“So your problem is that you have a gift in mind, but you don’t think you can get either it done by the 25th, so you need a stand in present?”

“Right.” Michael looked through items on the shelf. He held up an item.

“This is a toothbrush.”

“It's an electric toothbrush.” Michael pointed out. “It's practical.”

“It is practical. Are you gonna give it to Maria as a stocking stuffer?”

“No. The rules say the other person would want or need, but never imagine getting for themselves. There is a price limit too, since Maria knows how limited my funds are.”

“Actually I think Maria would find it in her heart to forgive you for exceeding the price limit, though there would be hell to pay if you gave the girl you love an electric toothbrush for Christmas. You're better off getting her no gift at all.” Isabel looked around the hardware store. “Have you thought of maybe shopping somewhere else?”

“Why? This is my favorite store.” Michael didn’t get Isabel. What, she wanted him to go to the mall? Geez, not during the most commercial holiday of the year! “No. I need something great. I had a thought, and it would work if I had the time. It’s what I really what to give her, but I’m having a hard time with the logistics.” Michael searched the shelves again. Okay, so the toothbrush was out. Maria had a tooth brushing fetish. She would buy a toothbrush for herself.

“Last year what did you get her?”

“Hey, I don't even believe in this, so why should I get sucked into it? So I bought her something unique.” Michael smiled. “Matching tattoos with each other’s name done in Chinese letters.”

“A tattoo? You and Maria have matching tattoos?” Isabel was actually taken aback. That was so … romantic. “Maria didn’t have a problem with the present.”

“No, she thought it was cool So, what should I get her?”

“Okay, look. Go home. Think about all that you and Maria have shared, all that she means to you. Then start coming up with some ideas, okay? A Christmas gift should be personal, thoughtful, and something someone would never get herself. That should stick to your rules … whatever they’re for.” Isabel looked at her watch. “Now I've gotta go, 'cause I've got a rehearsal for the holiday pageant, dinner at the nursing home. I've gotta wrap a ton of presents, and now I've got to get a new tree.”

“Hail the Christmas Nazi.” Michael said under his breath.

“What was that?” Isabel’s eyes glared dangerously.

“Nothing.”

“Bye now.”

Michael watched her go. He looked at all the things on the shelves. Junk. Junk. Junk. None of them compared to what he really wanted to give Maria, but chances of achieving his goal was next to impossible. Michael left the store, and applied the suggestions Isabel gave him to an alternative present. Stopping outside Amy DeLuca’s shop, Michael paused a moment before going inside. He wasn’t giving up. No way in hell was he going to lose this bet.

~~~

Maria was with a Christmas caroling group visiting peoples’ homes with special needs. In a hope to forestall her usual holiday blues, she exerted herself to push away thoughts crowding her brain to concentrate on bringing cheer to those who needed it.

They were caroling to the wife and children of the man who was killed in the car accident earlier. Max watched the house and the carolers as they sung ‘Jingle Bells’ when the ghost of the dead man confronted him.

“What are you doing out here?”

“I just want to make sure they're all right.” Max told the ghost.

“They're not all right.”

“If I had exposed myself last night, there are people I would have put at risk.” Max told the man, excusing himself for not saving the man.

“But it was okay for you to heal Liz Parker.”

Max paused as the remark hit home. “How do you know about that?”

“Because I know everything in your mind, heart, and soul, Max. I know it all.”

“I will look after your children. I swear I will.”

The man looked at his wife and children, lost without him. “For how long, Max?”

“Until they're okay.”

“They will never be okay, Max.” The man told him. “Don't you understand that? They lost their father last night.”

Max stared at the woman and her children for a moment longer. He needed to talk. Isabel was impossible, and Max knew that Maria was unavailable. She and the carolers were heading to a house with a child with cancer. Liz. She had wanted them to remain friends. Leaving, he went to Liz’s rooftop to talk to her.

Liz listened as Max explained what happened, how he didn’t save the man when he could’ve. Liz listened and saw the parallel between her life and that of the dead man’s. Max reached out a hand to save her, but not the other.

“If you healed him, you would have exposed Michael, Isabel, and Tess.” Liz reminded him. He had done it once, and it cost them so much over the past year and a half.

Max glanced over as the ghost appeared reminding him that, though Liz was right, that wasn’t the real reason he hadn’t saved him.

“I wasn't thinking about Michael and Isabel and Tess. I was thinking about myself in the white room and being tortured.” Max glanced at Liz, afraid she wouldn’t understand … or more afraid she would. “I didn't heal that man, because I was protecting myself. Why couldn't I trade my life for his?”

“No, Max, look... You can't do that to yourself.” Liz said Max shaking his head as the ghost wandered around the roof singing ‘Amazing Grace.’ Liz didn’t make the connection. Would he save her today, after the white room … would he trade his life for hers given what he knew about her and Kyle?

“He's haunting me, Liz.”

“What do you mean?”

“He comes to me.” Max explained, the guilt like a craziness in his eyes. “I see him.”

“You mean you literally see him?”

“I have to do something.” The ghost stopped singing and Max watched him as he fell off of the roof. Max rushed over to the edge and reached out to try to grab him.

“Max! Max.” Liz rushed over to Max’s side confused by his actions. “Max, what are you talking about?”

“I don't know.” The ghost re-appeared.

“Can't get rid of me that easily. I got no place to go.” The ghost informed him. “You need to restore the balance, Max.”

“Max.” Liz was becoming more than a little concerned.

“I need to restore the balance.”

~~~

Outside the house of a five-year-old girl with cancer, Maria and the carolers were singing ‘Deck the Halls’ when the door opened and a beautiful child came outside to listen.

“Daddy, come here!” Sydney called to her father. Brody came outside to join his daughter, Sydney. Maria and Brody saw each other. Looking at the small girl with cancer, Maria understood why Brody wasn't in the Christmas mood earlier when she brought him his lunch.

Maria tossed over thoughts of Brody and his daughter, waiting to the next day to return to Brody’s house. She wandered around looking for him wanting to talk to him about his daughter.

“Maria!” Brody called to her, surprised to see her again.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Um, I don't know.” Maria laughed at herself. She was sticking her nose into his private business and she didn’t even know if he wanted that. “I'm just … I'm just here.”

“You're wondering about Sydney.”

“Yeah.”

Brody’s eyes moved over Maria’s beautiful face. “She's my daughter.” Until that moment, he never really thought of how much older he was than Maria just in life experiences.

“She's very beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Brody smiled thinking of his small child, and the young girl standing in front of him. She was equally exquisite. “She's staying with me for a few days, you know, for Christmas.”

“Oh.” Maria cleared her throat. “She has, uh …”

“Cancer.” Helping Maria out, Brody quickly said the hard word. “Yeah. It's in her bone marrow. Inoperable.”

“I'm sorry.”

“I know you and I talk a lot and that I've never mentioned her. I just don't … it's hard, you know, to talk about it.”

“I was worried about you.” Maria confessed. “If there's anything I can do, anything at all …”

“Thank you. You did enough last night. You have a beautiful voice.” Maria and Brody both looked over when Sydney came out of the house.

“Daddy, I can't get my crown to fit right.” The small girl noticed Maria. “Who are you?”

Maria went down to the small girl’s level. “I'm Maria. You must be Sydney.”

“Yeah.” She smiled a big smile showing a missing tooth.

Maria was charmed by the small girl. She plucked the front of the pretty gown the little girl was wearing. “Now, is, um ... is that a Christmas present you're wearing?”

“Sydney's gonna be in the holiday pageant this afternoon, aren't you, sweetheart?” Brody joined them placing the tiara on Sydney’s head. “All right. A bit big, isn't it? There we go. It's lovely, isn't it?”

“You look like a fairytale princess.” Maria told the young child. Brody’s eyes met hers in gratitude.

~~~

When Isabel stopped by Michael’s apartment she stopped to stare at his project. Placing an armful of presents down on a table she gazed at the piece of scrap metal in shock.

“It's a bumper.” Michael explained to her.

“Yes, I see that.”

“For a Jetta.” Michael clarified.

“Hmmm. How did what I said yesterday result in this?”

“It meets all your criteria. It's personal, because I personally know what a bug she has up her ass about how much we’ve screwed up her car. It's thoughtful, because I had to go to the junkyard and get it, and it's something she would never get herself for the obvious reason that her bumper's been hanging from a string for the past half-year.”

“Oooookay, Michael. Lucky for you, I didn’t trust that you could do this alone, so I scratched the Christmas dog show off my schedule and I rectified the situation. I added Maria to my shopping list.” Isabel waved a wrapped present at Michael placing it on the table with the other presents she had left there earlier.

“No. I know what I wanted to give her, but realistically, I don’t think I can pull it off. This is a good backup. Maria will get this for what it is. Trust me. I'm not gonna get obsessed over this present. This is fine. I'm not gonna make everyone else around me miserable.”

“What are you saying?” Isabel demanded. “That I get obsessed and make everyone around me miserable?”

“I didn't say that.”

“You know, is it too much to ask that one day a year, I can be like a normal human being with a normal life and have a merry Christmas?!?”

“No, mein Fuehrer.” Michael said under his breath.

Isabel turned around sharply giving Michael an evil look. “What?”

Michael feigned innocence. “What?”

Isabel started to leave again, but then stopped when she noticed the presents she had put down. “Oh. I’m leaving the present for Maria in case you change your mind and decide to give her a real present. A decent one. Is it all right if I leave some gifts here as well? I have more shopping to do.”

“Leave them on the table.” Michael answered, willing to do anything to get rid of her.

“Bye-bye then.”

Michael gave a sigh of relief when the door shut behind the alien girl.

~~~

At the supermarket Jim, Kyle, and Tess were buying groceries. The Valenti boys were in top form searching for the perfect Christmas dinner.

“Whoo. Meaty Man, in case the game runs late on Sunday, and we don't make it to the Crashdown.” He told the two teenagers showing them the frozen turkey dinners. “Go long, go long, go long.” He told Kyle tossing the TV dinners at him.

Amy DeLuca came around the corner almost running into Jim. “Oh, my God. Jim!”

“Amy De Luca.” Jim actually turned slightly pink. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.” Amy remembered herself looking over at Kyle. “Oh, Merry Christmas, Kyle.”

“Merry Christmas, Mrs. De Luca.”

Amy noticed the petite blonde girl. “Oh, my God. This must be the famous Tess.” Amy smiled at the girl. “My daughter Maria has told me so much about you.” Amy didn’t add that some of it was bad, but Maria at times seemed to genuinely like the girl, and at other times … not so much. It was confusing. Tess was like Maria’s PMS. Twenty-eight days of the month she seemed okay with the girl, then for the rest she was on a tear.

“Oh, I deny everything.” Tess knew that she wasn’t Maria’s favorite person.

“Oh, well, this is a true Christmas story, Jim, making a home for this lovely young girl.”

Jim blushed, liking the admiration he saw in Amy’s eyes. “Oh, it's nothing, really.”

“Oh, no. Come on. This is what Christmas is all about, you know? Opening your heart and creating new family.”

“It's just a temporary thing.” Jim said not wanting to appear immodest.

“Oh, never you mind.” Amy said waving off Jim’s modesty. “Come on. This must be a very special year for all of you. You have a new member of your family.”

“Yep. Very special.”

“Yeah. I bet.” Amy said sighing. “I love this time of year, but it is really hard for my business. I’m literally am run off my feet from Thanksgiving until after the New Year, hardly getting to spend more than a handful of days at home. My delivery schedules are too far apart. Poor Maria, I don’t think we spent a single Christmas Day together in the last … I don’t know.” Amy confessed laughing self consciously. “Not since I started my business. This year I was hoping it would be different. I have a special Santa helper trying to make it happen, but it’s not looking good. God, Maria already volunteered to work at the Crashdown because she doesn’t expect me to be here.”

“It’s hard being a single parent.” Jim observed, respecting how hard Amy had to work to keep her family together.

“Well, it’s all about family, especially around this time of year.” Amy smiled at Jim. “As you know.” Jim laughed self-consciously as Tess watched in interest.

Amy reached over and picked up a few boxes of ornaments. “Well, our tree is overflowing already, but, you know, I always say that you can never have too many Christmas ornaments, right?”

Tess saw an opportunity. She reached over and added some Christmas ornaments to the shopping cart. “Right. You know, that's what we say.” Tess said smiling sweetly at Amy in agreement.

“Right.” Amy was running out of conversation. “Well, remember, Jim, if you ever want to stop by, there'll always be a DeLuca Christmas pie waiting.”

“Thanks, Amy.” Jim said smiling his large beautiful smile for the woman.

Amy blushed, not noticing Tess watching her thoughtfully. “Uh, thank you. Okay. Um, bye.” Amy hurried off before she disgraced herself.

~~~

Maria and Liz sat watching the Pageant that Isabel had organized, the one that Sydney was in. Maria was there to support poor Michael who got trapped by Isabel into helping out. Maria eyes were red rimmed. She had told Liz about Sydney as they waited for the show to start.

“Oh, my God.” Liz said staring at the small child, so innocent and young.

“I've been crying all day.” Maria told her, her eyes filling with more tears as she searched for a tissue.

“Oh, Maria.” Liz held Maria’s hand squeezing.

“Liz, I've made up my mind. I'm gonna be there for Brody and Sydney.”

“Yes, definitely,” Liz agreed keeping Maria’s hand in hers. “You know, we could go put together a care package from the Crashdown. So they don't have to worry about making food.”

“No. No. I mean, I'm gonna be with them.”

Liz glanced at Maria with a dawning fear. “What are you talking about?”

“Brody is such a good man. He really is. And Sydney …” Maria sniffed wiping her eyes. “I mean, we only spoke for a minute, but we had this, like, immediate connection. A girl needs a mother.”

“Oh, no, Maria. Slow down.” Liz’s mouth opened in shock.

“I can't take it anymore, Liz. I know I’m a coward at times, and that Madam Vivian had me running in circles, but she was right … he’s a man, he has a confused past, and he looks to the stars for answers …” Maria took a deep breath. “I’ve been hoping to ignore him and he would go away or wait until I was ready, but it's just so sad. I have to do something.”

Liz had no clue what Maria was talking about, but the part she got was inconceivable. “Maria, you're seventeen. You're in high school. Brody is not.” Liz tightened her hand on Maria’s. “Have you told Michael? Have you talked to him about this?”

“I haven’t had a chance. He’s nowhere to be found lately. I don’t get it. School’s out, and he is like gone … all the time. I was going to talk to him about Brody, but since I planned to ignore it …” Maria stared at Sydney. “My mother was married when she was seventeen. Okay. No. It's not exactly an advertisement for marrying young, no, but …”

“Maria, you can't just step in and become someone's mother … and what? All of a sudden, you're just gonna be with Brody?” Liz could unravel Maria convoluted thinking. “Did Brody say something to you? Did you talk to him about this? I mean, what is making you think this?”

“He said he liked my voice.” Maria confessed. What if he wasn’t the one? What if Madam Vivian was wrong, and she was letting her emotions rule her head, send her into the wrong pair of arms? “Oh, my God. What am I thinking? I'm gonna marry Brody? I mean, I'm crazy.”

“No, you're not crazy. It’s … it's just killing you not to do something about this, because you’re such a good person.” Liz hugged Maria close. “But I think the best thing you could do is just … leave them alone. Their time is precious right now. You should let them have their time together.”

“I mean, it's so wrong.” Maria told Liz, glancing at her as she started to cry again. “It's Christmas. Christmas is supposed to have happy endings and miracles. Family, being together, and nothing should be more important than that. Nothing.”

Liz sat up straighter at Maria’s words as she searched the crowd for Max. He wanted to restore the balance. Isabel was introducing the pageant as Liz searched for Max.

Liz squeezed Maria’s hand, leaving her to sadly watch Sydney. Going over to Max, she whispered to Max telling him about Brody and Sydney. Max glanced sharply at Brody, then to Liz, and finally to Sydney. The ghost stood next to him.

“Looks like we have a plan,” the ghost said, watching the sick child perform.

~~~

The four aliens met at Michael's apartment as Max discussed his plan with Tess, Isabel, and Michael, hoping to get their approval.

“You heal her, and you leave behind a silver handprint, a nice, big fat clue saying there're aliens in Roswell.” Michael pointed out.

“Look. Nasedo destroyed all the records from the Special Unit.” Max reminded Michael. “It's possible no one even knows who we are or what the silver handprint is.”

Michael was hammering away on the bumper. He had a place to be soon, and he was trying to get the bumper done.

“Look, I know what I'm asking here is big. There are a million reasons not to do this and only one reason to do it.” Max appealed to Isabel and Tess. “I need to. I don't know what else to say.”

Michael took out his frustration on the bumper as he continued to bang on it.

Isabel glanced at Michael in irritation trying to concentrate. “What we've been through this past year, it's taken a lot away from us. I think maybe that sort of thing starts to take its toll, you know, on our human side … so if you feel you need to do this, then I'm behind you, Max.”

Isabel knew what finding out about Vilandra took from her. She could understand how Max might need to find some type of redemption. He refused to participate with the peace pact at the Summit and hand over the Granilith, and his decision could result in millions of lives lost as a war raged between five worlds.

“Thank you.”

“Look.” Tess told Max, always first on his side. “If this means so much to you, I'm sure there's a good reason for it, so I'm with you, too.”

Michael banged even harder on the bumper. “I guess that makes me the odd man out.”

“Michael.” Max hated to once again disappoint Michael. It wasn’t about him against Michael.

“Hey, we're here for a reason, Max. So call me a selfish jerk, but I don't think we should risk everything just so you can feel a little bit better about yourself at Christmas.” Not that it mattered. They had a way home, but Max made the decision without them at the Summit, so home was once again something so far away. What did it matter anyway? Max always got things the way he wanted them. “It's three against one. I'm voted down anyway.”

“Michael.”

“You made your decision before you walked through that door. I know you did.” Michael told Max stopping his banging for a moment. He had better things to do … more important ones. “I could hear it in your voice, so why don't you just go do what you're gonna do … and make sure you don't screw up.” Michael went back to banging on the bumper ignoring the rest until they took the hint and left his apartment.

Michael stared at the bumper. It would be so much easier to use his powers to finish it on time. He was pushed. He had to go work on his other project. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm himself. He wanted to do it with his own hand. Maria appreciated that the most. Picking up the hammer, he went back to banging on the metal his mind somewhere else.

~~~

At the Valenti home Tess was finishing up on setting the table. Jim and Kyle were watching yet another show on the TV, their standard source of entertainment.

“Okay. I think we're just about ready.” She told the men. “Oh, Kyle, could you grab two more dining room chairs? I looked in the garage, but I couldn't find any.”

“Oh, that's 'cause there aren't any.” Kyle told her.

“Uh, what do you mean?”

Kyle made a face at her, he thought what he said was pretty apparent. “Uh, we don't have any other chairs.”

“All we have are two chairs? Um, doesn't that seem a little odd to you?” Tess pointed out.

Jim glanced at the alien girl. “Well, we used to have more chairs, but over the years, our collection has dwindled.”

“So it doesn't bother you that there are only two chairs in the entire house?”

“We usually eat in front of the TV.” Jim pointed out.

“He's never gonna pick up this spare.” Kyle commented on the bowling game they were watching. “Come on, look within, you putz.”

“Guy's amazing.” Jim commenting turning his attention back to the TV and Kyle.

Tess couldn’t believe them. “I have been cooking for twenty hours, while you two have been sitting back on the couch like two beached whales, not even noticing or caring that I am living here. Okay? I am here! Hello. Hellooooo?” Tess’s voice rose in anger. “So, since I'm living here, I should have a damn chair to sit in!” She screamed at the two Valenti’s leaving them in stunned silence for at least 30 seconds, which seemed like hours.

“We could bring my desk chair over.” Jim finally suggested in a meek voice.

“Good idea.” Kyle agreed quickly, not wanting to make the powerful alien girl mad at him.

“Oh, and, uh, where's Amy De Luca going to sit?” Tess asked sweetly.

“Amy DeLuca?” Jim sat up at Amy’s name. “Why does Amy DeLuca need a place to sit?”

“Because … I invited her over to dinner.”

Jim was on his feet in horror. “You what?”

“Well, I figured if we had a guest, you two would have to shut off the damn TV and pretend to be civilized!”

Jim looked around the house, the disorder … the train wreck. “When is she coming?” he asked as the doorbell rang at the same moment.

“Uh..., about now, actually.”

“Oh, my God. No, no, no, no. Shh ... ooh, no!” Jim said running around picking up part of the mess he and Kyle made constantly. “Come on, now. Don't do this to me. Come on. Help me out, will you?” He said to Kyle. Jim pointed a finger at Tess. “Don't ever invite somebody over to dinner without telling me first.” The doorbell rang again. “Ah! Jeez Louise. Oh! Jeez.”

Jim quickly cleaned up a bit as best he could. He threw the bag of chips into the kitchen as he tucked in his shirt. Kyle was busy sweeping away the chips on the coffee table. Taking a deep sigh, Jim opened the door to a waiting Amy.

“Amy.”

“Hi, Jim.” Amy smiled at Kyle and Tess. “Hi, everyone. It was so nice of you to think of me, Jim, and I loved your note.”

“My note …” Jim glanced at Tess.

“I miss you, too.”

~~~

Max used his power to unlock the door to Brody’s house and slip inside. The house was empty, except for the ghost standing beside the Christmas tree.

“It's too late, Max. They rushed her to the hospital. Boy, do you have a dilemma.”

Max left the house, rushing over to Michael’s apartment. He got there just as Michael returned in the Jetta. Max frowned at Michael driving Maria’s car, but he didn’t bother to ask. He had other things more pressing.

“She had a relapse. She's in the hospital in Phoenix.”

“And?” Michael asked, already knowing what Max would say.

“I'm going. It may be a little more dangerous now. I just thought you should know.”

Michael made a face. He was never going to get Maria’s gift finished. “I'm going with you. I just want to keep you from getting us all killed.”

~~~

“Are you sure you don't need any help?” Amy asked Tess from where she was sitting at the dining room table with Jim.

“No, I'm fine.” Tess tried to help to get the ball rolling. “So how long have you and the Sheriff known each other?”

“Oh, a long time.” Jim said smiling at Amy.

“A long, long time.” Amy confirmed laughing. “He knew me before I was legal, right, Jim?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Really?” Tess picked up what appeared to be a private joke between the two.

“Well, actually, we always sort of knew each other, but the first time we actually met, he almost ran me over with his dirt bike.”

“Well, what the hell were you and Curt Pressman doing lying out there on that mesa …” Jim started.

Amy quickly intervened before Jim could go into too much detail. “That is neither the point nor proper dinner conversation,” she said smiling at Tess. “Of course, the second time I met him, he arrested me.”

“Really? You arrested her?” Tess was fascinated. She set another dish on the table.

Kyle who had been listening looked at the dish. “Is that three-cheese potato gratin?”

“With bacon on the bottom. Your favorite.” Tess went back into the kitchen and Kyle stared at her a moment. He listened to his dad and Amy reminisce for a moment about the third time Jim rescued her, but then left them to talk following Tess into the kitchen to help.

“Don't exaggerate. You didn't need to be rescued.” Jim told her.

“Of course I did.” Amy batted her eyes at him, flirting outrageously. “The attic was engulfed in flames …”

Kyle laughed at the older couple, asking Tess if she needed help. “So you need me to carve that?” He asked staring at a really nice turkey.

“I got it. Thanks.” Tess passed her hand over the turkey and it was immediately sliced to perfection.

“Well, so this … this is really, uh … this is really great.” Kyle told the girl, genuinely touched by her efforts.

“Well, I saw a break in the NFL schedule between the 22nd and 24th of December, so I figured …”

“Right. Well, this is the best Christmas dinner we've had in a long time.” Kyle admitted shyly. “I mean, two guys living alone. We just never really had the Christmas spirit.”

Jim and Amy were laughing in the other room. “Well, it, uh, looks like he's got the spirit now.” Tess commented picking up the turkey.

“That's a really great gift that you gave him … to both of us, I mean.”

“This is a great gift to me, too.” Tess confessed. Nasedo hadn’t been into human holidays, or even alien ones for that matter. She carried the turkey into the other room as Amy was confessing to Jim how great it was to be home that year for the holidays.

“I mean, normally I would be on the road right now, late, wondering how I was going to meet all the end of the year orders.” Amy told Jim. “This year, I had special help, and if not for that, I wouldn’t be here today. I’m going to actually spend Christmas with my daughter, and that is something I haven’t done in years. I haven’t even told Maria because I’m afraid to jinx myself, or something will happen and I’ll have to disappoint her.”

“Well then we should celebrate your good fortune.”

“We should. I wish Maria could’ve come, but she got talked into a whole slew of Christmas charities by Isabel.” Jim and Amy turned when Tess entered the room triumphantly with the turkey, their mouths rounding in awe its beauty. Kyle watched his father’s and Amy’s reaction, smiling at the scene in the dining room.

~~~

At the Phoenix hospital where Sydney was admitted, Max and Michael walked down the hall dressed in scrubs. They found the children’s oncology ward and headed toward the room that Sydney was in.

“One knock means be on your guard, two means the coast is clear … and three will mean we're screwed.” Michael told Max.

“Right.” Max entered the room as Michael stood guard outside.

Max searched the beds until he found Sydney’s. “Shh...” He told the little girl. “It's okay.”

“Who are you?”

“I'm just a dream.” Max told the little girl. “Go back to sleep.” He placed his hands on Sydney, grunting softly as the power to heal her drained him. Getting up, his eyes gazed upon a boy lying in a bed nearby. He looked up and his eyes met those of the ghost. He went to the little boy and then the other children. Each time he healed, he was flooded with images of the child's memories. Outside, Michael noticed a nurse gazing in his direction in question so he knocked on the door. Max heard the knock, but proceeded to heal the boy. Outside, the nurse grabbed a clipboard and walked toward Michael.

“Excuse me?” The nurse said. “I'm supposed to check this ward.”

“I'll save you the trouble. Someone just checked it.” Michael told the nurse.

Inside the ward Max had gone on to heal another little girl.

“Are you an angel?” The little girl asked.

“Go back to sleep.” Max whispered at her as he started to heal her. The healing made Max’s vision blur as he struggled to the bed of another child. Outside the room, the nurse had returned with a group of security guards and pointed to Michael. Michael knew the game was up and he knocked on the door three times sharply. The guards started heading toward Michael who then opened the door. Going in, he locked the door from the inside with his powers and then turned to see Max stumble and fall to the floor.

“Max!”

The guard banged on the door. “Open this door! Now!”

Michael glanced at the door and then at Max who was barely conscious. “If there's a God, please help us now.” Michael went under Max’s arm. Using his powers, he blew the window in the ward, one that normally would not open. Pushing Max through, Michael looked back one more time at the children as they slowly emerged from their beds feeling better than they ever felt in their young lives.

The guard finally managed to open the door, using a chair to knock it open. They rushed in with the nurses close behind. The adults stopped in the doorway stunned to see a room full of once dying children playing around and singing as the window was wide open allowing the fresh night air into the room blowing away the smell of disease.

~~~

“Spaceboy …” Maria slammed the door to the apartment in her hurry to find Michael.

Michael, who has been polishing the bumper, quickly covered it up with a tarp as she walked towards him. “What's up?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I heard about what you did for Sydney and those children.”

“Thank Max.” Michael told Maria. “I was against it.”

“This whole … thing with Sydney has made me realize how stupid I've been about this Madam Vivian thing. I don't need a fortune teller to tell me when I’m going to fall in love and with whom. I think I’ll let my heart tell me, not only who the man is, but when. I can’t hurry love on some damn timetable just because I feel attracted to a man and sympathy for his troubles.”

“You’re attracted to Brody?”

“Sure. He’s wonderful, but that doesn’t mean I love him. I had one breakfast with him and a handful of conversations. I think I need more time than that.”

“Take all the time you need.” Michael encouraged shocked that he had missed Maria’s growing friendship with the older man.

“Anyway … about the present thing. Take your time. This whole thing made me realize that it’s just not that important. Material things … they don’t mean that much. Family does. I guess I was letting my loneliness at this time of year, my disappointment of not being with my mom make it harder than it needs to be.”

“I actually got you a present. I was just worried that I wouldn’t get it to work, that it wouldn’t be ready so …”

“You did?” Maria smiled, charmed that he worked so hard worrying about her. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Yea, I'm so excited!” Maria was practically jumping out of her skin at the thought of Christmas, the fun of getting something bought just with her in mind, giving a present she spent a lot of thought on, waiting to see his reaction. Maria frowned when suddenly her other senses came on line. “What is that smell?”

Maria looked around noticing what Michael was hiding. Despite his protests, she pulled off the covering to the bumper.

“No,” Michael tried to stop her. “It's not … it's not dry yet.”

“Is that a bumper?” Maria’s mouthed open in wonder. “It … it's a bumper.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Maria looked at Michael laughing softly. “Is that, like, a Jetta bumper?”

“Not yet, but it's gonna be.” Michael said uncertain how she would take the present. It wasn’t exactly what he had planned, and after last night in Phoenix, he had her other present on the way, but this …this was good too.

“Michael …” Maria reached out to touch it, but stopped herself because it wasn’t dry. “That is so thoughtful.”

“That's what I keep saying.” Michael told her, smug that he was right. Maria got it, she always did.

“I mean, my bumper has been hanging …”

“From a string,” Michael finished pleased with himself. “I know.”

“And I … I would have never, you know …”

“Got one for yourself,” Michael finished again. “Exactly. So … Merry Christmas.”

“Thank you, Michael.” Maria hugged him hard, laughing at how he always seemed to come up with something so off the wall, so … Michael. “Thank you. You really didn’t have to do that. Sydney, saving Sydney was better than any present, so much better than any trinket wrapped in paper with bows. I wished I got you a better present.”

“Maria …” Michael stared at the girl. He wanted her to have something for Christmas, something like other people, wrapped in paper and bows. A man like Brody, he could afford to buy her lots of presents, all of them wrapped beautifully, expensive and thoughtful. He could treat her the way she deserved, be that dream that replaced her father, a man in a limo taking her away, to some place better than Roswell. “I’ve got something else for you.”

“What? No. You didn’t have to …” Maria looked at the stack of wrapped presents. “One of those is for me?”

“Turn around.” Michael walked over to the pile of presents and rummaged through them until he found the one with Maria’s name on it. “Merry Christmas.”

Maria stared at the present. He gave her presents, not always formal ones, but this … “It’s wrapped.”

“I know.”

“You never wrap things. I mean a paper bag or maybe rolled up in the Sunday funnies.” Maria looked at the present. “Isabel. She did this for you?”

“Yeah. I asked for her help. I wanted you to have something you would really like, and the hardware store was short on real possibilities.”

“Michael … you didn’t have to do that.” Maria stared at the present. “You already won the bet, hands down. Sydney … the bumper, you outdid yourself.”

“Just open it.”

“Okay.” Maria slowly opened it preserving the paper. Michael watched her quietly. He really couldn’t afford to give her things, but he didn’t want to lose her to someone just because they could. Maria’s mouth opened when she saw what was in the gift. “Michael … these are real pearls.”

“What?!?” Michael stared at the present. “Wow! Of...of course.”

“My God, this must have cost a fortune.” Maria shook her head. “You … you can’t afford these. I love them, but … no, they’re way out of your price range.”

Michael watched her face. “No they aren’t. I want you to keep them.”

Maria put a hand to her mouth, uncertain at what to do. Christmas had always been a miserable time of year for her, and every year she struggled with an invading depression covering it up with holiday cheer. Michael, his simplistic view on the holidays and the effort he put into little things, did a lot to make her holiday a lot more tolerable. “These are the most beautiful earrings I've ever seen, but I don't need this gift.” Maria told him, sitting on his lap hugging him. “This year my gift is you.”

“Christmas isn’t over yet.” He told her, hoping his real present would pan out.

“More?” Maria sat back shaking her head. “Did you get a visit from three ghosts last night?”

“So where is my present?” Michael asked.

“Later. At night, and don’t hold your breath … you definitely put me to shame this year.” Michael let out a huge sigh of relief. He won. Thank god. He got to pick their vacation spot, and Maria’s desire to make him take salsa lessons with her was spoiled.

Maybe there was a God.

~~~

Max knocked on Liz's window. She opened it staring at him. She leaned in the window to talk to him.

“So I hear you went to Phoenix.”

“Yeah. Thank you … for telling me about Sydney.”

Liz shrugged. He really should thank Maria and her large soft heart who felt the pain so severely that she told Liz about the situation. “Are you still haunted?”

“I don't think so.”

“Healing all of those kids … why did you do it?”

“After I healed Sydney, I … I looked at the face of the boy lying next to her, and I just thought … how can I not … how can I not use my gift?”

“As beautiful as that is, Max … you can't keep doing it.” Liz told him. God, she was changed according to Ava, and they didn’t even know what that meant. There was Kyle, and now all those children. “I know it seems like there's no reason for those kids to have cancer or for a father to get killed saving his child or for any of it … but maybe there is.” Liz paused thinking of herself, and how if she had never been saved, there would’ve been no her and Max, no need for Future Max to return. “Maybe there is someone or something out there that's planning all of this, and maybe you have to respect it. You're not God, Max.” He told her that once when she wanted him to save her grandmother Claudia. “You're the one that told me that.” Max was quiet, not sure what to say, to think of it as a mistake or a gift. “Will you come to midnight service?”

“I'd like to … but I don't believe in God.” Max went to climb down. “Merry Christmas, Liz.”

Liz closed the window. “Merry Christmas, Max.”

~~~

Max walked toward the house of the man who was killed. The ghost was with him looking at his home and his family.

“They'll be okay.” He told Max. “My wife? She's, uh … she's pretty remarkable. If anybody can get through this …”

“I want you to know that if they ever need me … I will be there for them.”

“I know you will, Max.” The man smiled at the young man. “Get outta here.”

“I don't know where to go.”

“It's Christmas. You should be with your loved ones.” The man looked at his family. “That's where I'll be. That's where I'll always be.” The ghost walked to the front door and appeared on the other side. He turned around, smiled at Max, and then disappeared.

~~~

After helping Amy for a couple of hours, Michael got dressed to go pick up Maria for the midnight service. Stopping at the Evans, he went to check on Max.

“You're going to midnight service?” Max asked in disbelief. “You don't believe in anything.”

“Gotta hedge your bets, Maxwell. I've had my prayers answered twice in the past two days.” Max lifted a brow in inquiry. “Don't ask. You okay?”

“Better. Thanks.”

“Your powers?”

Max looked at his hands. He had severely burned his powers out. “Yeah, they're starting to come back to me.”

“Good.” Michael scratched his brow. “I just wanted to say that I'm really pissed about what happened last night.”

“Michael … I couldn't stop myself.” Max apologized for how close they had come to being caught.

“No, no, no.” Michael waved that off. “I'm pissed that I don't have the ability to help the kids in the hospital that you couldn't get to.” The look in Maria’s eyes, the complete admiration and joy of what they had done, it brought home a lot of understanding about Christmas … that and family.

“Michael …”

“Enough said.” Michael gestured for Max to follow him. “I got a Christmas present for you. Come on.”

Max and Michael drove over to Brody's house. They looked in watching Brody speaking softly to Sydney who was sleeping in his arms. Michael patted Max on the shoulders. Maybe it was worth the risk.

~~~

After the service, Michael gave Maria a lift to his place to pick up the Jetta. She stilled owed him a Christmas present. She had left it in the Jetta at his place, safe where he couldn’t peek.

“C’mon.” Michael said pulling her hand.

Maria held back. “Wait, I’ve got to get your present from the Jetta.”

“In a minute.” Michael stopped at his front door. “Remember I said that my original present … that it was taking too much time, and I didn’t think it would work out?”

“I thought you meant the bumper.”

“No. The bumper was a replacement present … that and the earrings.” Michael gestured to the door of his apartment. “This is why I’ve been missing lately, what was taking up my time. Go ahead. Open the door.”

Maria glanced at him unsure, slowly pushing the door open, walking into Michael’s apartment, her mouth opened in shock. It was decorated. Everywhere was Christmas decoration and lights, and a large tree lit up with Amy standing next to it waiting.

“Merry Christmas, honey.”

“Mom?” Maria went and hugged her mother. She couldn’t remember the last time her mother had been home on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. “But … how?”

“Michael did my deliveries over the past ten days. He did the last one last night in Phoenix. Otherwise, I don’t think I would’ve made it.”

Maria glanced at Michael her eyes bright with tears. He really knew how to give the best presents.

A few hours later, Amy started to leave while Maria was outside getting Michael’s present from the Jetta. They had a late, late dinner and it had been nice to hear her daughter laugh as she joked around with Michael.

“Michael,” Amy told him before she left. “Make sure both of you make it to the house for Christmas morning.” Amy stopped and kissed him on the cheek her hand cupping his cheek for a moment. “Thank you, Michael. You can’t know how much it means to Maria, to both of us to have you with us around the holidays.”

“Mom?” Maria said coming through the door with a large package. “Where are you going?”

“Home. It’s late and I have an early morning breakfast to make before we can open presents, so since I know what you got Michael, I won’t tell you not to stay up too late.” Amy plucked the Jetta keys out of Maria’s hand. Michael would bring her home.

Maria looked at Michael. “Are you ready? Now I have to warn you that it’s not as good as the presents you got me, but …”

Michael took the box and opened it. He stared at it for a moment. A telescope.

“Here. That’s actually more of an accessory.” Maria handed him a large envelope. Michael opened it reading the papers, he frowned.

“You named a star for me?”

“No. Not just any star.” Maria started to open the telescope. “Here. Help me. We might be able to find it.”

They sat up the telescope outside Michael’s apartment, and followed the directions to locate the correct coordinates of the star that Maria had registered to Michael.

“There. It’s there.” Maria stood back to let Michael look.

“What did you call it?” He asked her while he was staring at his star. “Michael?”

“Mikey G?” Maria said softly. Michael looked at her sharply knowing she was kidding. “No, I didn’t name it after you … exactly. It’s Antar.”

“Antar?”

“Your home planet. Courtney told me where it was, it’s location, and I wrote the national registry to see if someone had already named it some weird name. Surprisingly, it was unnamed, so I gave it its real one. That way, no matter who looks at it, it will always be Antar, and it will always be your home. Out there … waiting. Now you can look at it any time you want.”

Michael was speechless. “Come here.”

Maria went to stand beside him. He pulled her into his arms and together they looked through the telescope. He gave her back her mom for Christmas, and she gave him a home. Oh hell, he was not going to learn to salsa!