Secrets and Lies……

Joey Ferrini and his girlfriend, Bunny sat in his car on a mountain above the city. They argued over her smoking, and while she took a walk to smoke another stem, she turned to find something impossible. There was a bright flash of light, and a glowing man walking away. Bunny ran back to the car, and saw Joey's burned body on the front seat.

“So, how's a guy burn to death in his car without leaving behind so much as a scorch mark?” A cop on the scene asked another. “A female witness said she saw an otherworldly figure.”

“Any evidence of this guy?” the other investigating officer asked.

“No footprints. No tire tracks. Nothin',” the cop reported. “So what do you think it was … Lightning strike or spontaneous human combustion?”

“The registration has the guy as Joseph Ferrini, Jr.

“Anything else?”

The investigator looked through the glove compartment. “Got some repair bills-the tire gauge … this might be something... Looks like a license plate number. N.M. New Mexico?”

“Let's run it.”

~~~

Max and Michael were eating breakfast when the knock came on the door. Michael kept eating, not interested in who it was. He was tired, and he was going to sleep before trying to make his classes. Max went to answer the door.

There was a Roswell deputy on the doorstep. “Max Evans?”

“Is something wrong?” Max asked as Michael stopped eating for a moment.

“Deputy Brown, Roswell Sheriff's Department. I need to ask you a few questions about a homicide investigation.” Max let the deputy into the apartment. “You recognize this man?”

Max glanced at the picture of Joey Ferrini. Michael leaned over and looked at the picture as well. He frowned. “No.” Max said shaking his head.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” Max handed the picture back. “Who is he?”

“His name is Joey Ferrini, and his death is being investigated as a possible homicide. Your license plate number turned up in his glove compartment in Los Angeles.” The deputy’s eyes were suspicious. “You want to tell me why?”

Max shrugged. “I don't know. I mean, I've only had the car for a couple of months. Maybe this has something to do with the previous owner.”

“Yeah. Maybe. Since this isn't officially a homicide case yet, I can’t take you in.” Michael lifted a brow. Take Max in? For some reason that actually made him want to laugh. Ludicrous. “Of course the fact that you were arrested for armed robbery in Utah a few weeks ago does tempt me.”

“Those charges were dropped,” Max reminded the deputy his jaw clenching from the obvious shakedown.

“Yeah, I know.” The deputy laughed sarcastically. “Must be nice having a daddy who's a lawyer, huh?” Michael made a face. The man was a doofus. “Just wanted you to know that I know. And I'll be watching you.” The deputies left, but not before giving both Max and Michael a penetrating stare.

“Great.” Max shut the door. “This is all I need.”

Michael remembered the man. “Max, I know the dead guy.”

“What?”

The door to the apartment opened and Maria entered. She tossed her school bag on the sofa and took off her jacket. “There was a deputy who almost knocked me over. Was he here?”

“Just left,” Michael told her frowning at her face. She was pale, and there were dark rings under her eyes.

“Okay, so what did you do? And why did you do it without me?”

“Me?” Michael made a face at her assumption that it had been him the deputy visited. “Max.”

“Max?” Maria looked at the other boy. “Really! Max, I’m proud of you. I knew Michael’s better qualities would finally rub off on you.”

“Brat,” Michael said still concerned by her lack of color. “Thought we were meeting for lunch at school.”

“Yeah, well I can’t go. I need sleep.” Maria pushed a paper in his hand. “Could you drop this off for me? I can’t make it.”

Michael caught her around the waist searching her face. “Are you sick?”

“I don’t know. I just woke up tired and my throat hurt, and once you add in the fact I feel I’ve been tossed in a carpet roller, and I really, really need to go lie down.” Maria kissed his cheek. “You taking a nap?”

“Plan to.” Maria nodded and went into his bedroom. She hit the mattress face down and then didn’t move.

Michael pushed his bowl away. “I need to go see what’s up with Maria. You going to school?”

“Yeah.”

“Take her report, will you? Tell the office she’s sick.”

“Sure.” Max picked up the paper. “Michael, you said you knew that guy in the picture. Who was he?”

“The guy in Utah who shot at me when Maria and I went to retrieve the diamond. He told me to tell you to stop looking … remember?”

“Right,” Max seemed to be deep in thought. “He died by a freak lightning strike. That’s the way Nasedo killed, Michael. What if he worked for the other Shapeshifter?”

Michael stood stretching his back. He was tired. Tired of betrayal among the aliens, tired of murderous Shapeshifters … just tired.

“There were two Shapeshifters on our ship.” Michael rubbed his tired neck. “We know Nasedo is dead, if this is a Shapeshifter, then he must be the other one.”

“I was getting close in Utah … close to finding our ship. The Shapeshifter must have hired this actor to play a tough guy and warn us off.”

“Then he killed him?” Michael was skeptical.

“Sure. Nasedo killed anyone who learned the truth. Perhaps this Ferrini guy during his employment learned too much about the Shapeshifter, about us, aliens, and spaceships.”

Michael didn’t like the look in Max’s eyes. It looked too familiar, and last time he saw anything that resembled it, he had had to go to Utah. “Max? What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that I am still having visions from my son. He is reaching out for my help, and I’m helpless to get to him. I need that ship. The Shapeshifter apparently knew it was in Utah, and if he knew it was there, then he probably knows where they took it.”

“Max …” Michael hated this. When the hell did he become the voice of reason? “How do you know he won’t kill you?”

“I don’t, but I don’t have any other leads or even a clue as to how to contact my son. Maybe this Shapeshifter does.”

Michael shook his head. He had no time for this. He had jobs, school, and a sick Maria in the next room. “Where are you going to start?”

“L.A.” Max looked at Maria’s paper. “I better go turn this in and talk to Liz. I can’t afford to keep her out of the loop, not after last year.”

“She’ll want to go.”

“She can’t. If she takes off to L.A. she’ll break the final thread with her dad, and at the very least end up in a private girls’ school in Vermont.”

“Good luck on talking her out of it.”

“Right,” Max grabbed his jacket and backpack. He waved to Michael on his way out the door.

Great. Michael didn’t even want to tell Maria after her reaction to Max and Liz’s convenience store robbery. Speaking of Maria, he went into the bedroom and frowned at the sleeping girl taking up all the space on the bed. Pushing her over, he joined her on the bed spooning up behind her. Sleep came quickly.

~~~

Michael groaned at the knock on his door that woke him from a sound sleep. He rubbed his face trying to remove the sleep. The room was hot. It took a moment for him to realize it wasn’t the room, but rather, the sleeping girl next to him. Touching her forehead, he worried. Maria had a fever. The knock interrupted him again.

“Yeah.” Michael opened the door to Liz and Kyle.

“We wake you?” Kyle asked.

“Apparently. What’s up?” Michael reluctantly let the two of them in.

“We got assigned a class project together,” Kyle explained. “We have to take our cameras out into the world this week and report the ‘truth’, so you want to be our real alien truth? You can speak into the camera, tell the world how you come in peace, and would they please not put you in a White Room.”

Michael made a face at Kyle. Liz quickly jumped in before Michael made a comment. “Stop it, Kyle. You’re not funny.”

Michael chose to ignore Kyle. “So why are you and Chuckles here exactly?”

“Max turned in Maria’s paper, and I informed the school that she was sick.”

“Thanks.” Michael hadn’t thought to call the school, and looking at the time, he swore. Missed his class too. “So that’s all? Where is Max?”

“L.A.”

“Hmm,” Michael was impressed. Max had shaken off the Parker paperweight. “So he went to L.A. alone and you came here for...?”

Liz handed Michael a handful of books and papers. “I picked up Maria’s assignments. I organized them and everything. Kyle and I were just on the way to visit his grandfather in the rest home. Sheriff Valenti asked us to go. So I thought I’d drop these off first.”

“Yeah,” Michael tossed the homework on the counter. “Thanks. I’m sure Maria will appreciate it once she wakes up.”

“Wakes up?” Kyle glanced at the dark bedroom door and the fact that Michael had been sleeping too. So the rumors were true. Wow. “So is she okay? I mean you two are skipping school to …”

“Look, Bedpan Boy, don’t finish that statement. Why don’t you go to the rest home? Sounds like a brilliant exposé.” Michael opened the door, but then remembered something as they started to walk away. “Hey, um … Liz, how do you tell if someone has a fever?”

“Take their temperature?” Liz said confused by the simple question.

“Right,” said Michael as he shut the door. He knew that. He quickly opened the door. “How?” The hallway was empty. Shutting the door, he paced the room for a moment wondering what to do, until finally he picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hi, this is Michael.”

“Michael! I’m sorry, Steve is sleeping can I have him call you back when he wakes up?”

“No. Actually Cheryl, I was thinking you could help me.” Michael scratched his brow, taking a seat on the arm of the sofa. “Maria, she feels hot. I think she has a fever, and she is sleeping pretty deeply. How do I check her temperature?”

“With a thermometer. Do you have one?”

“Um, … actually, no. Where do I get one?”

“Drug store.”

“Okay. I can do that. Thanks.”

“Michael?” Cheryl stopped him from hanging up. “Do you want me to come over and check on Maria? I can bring a thermometer.”

“I … I don’t want to interrupt anything, and I know you have kids, so …”

“The kids are at my mom’s for the day. She’s taking them through the weekend. Listen, when Steve gets up, we’ll come over and bring a late lunch. Maybe Maria will be awake. It’s probably just a cold.”

“Right.”

“Okay, we’ll see you in about an hour.”

~~~

Michael was pacing his floor, occasionally picking up the phone to hear the dial tone, just in case his phone had been disconnected. Sure, he had paid his bill, or Maria had, but why the heck didn’t someone call? He tried waking Maria a few times, but she just told him to stop bugging her and rolled over to go back to sleep.

The knock on the door was a welcomed intrusion. Finally! Steve and Cheryl. They took long enough to get there. Pulling the door open, he stopped when he saw Isabel.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Thanks, Michael. I’m glad to see you too.” Isabel came into the apartment. “You need to clean. The place is a mess.”

“Is this a home inspection? What? You now a case worker or something?”

“Cute. Where’s my brother?”

“Max?”

“Helloooo! Am I interrupting your sleep? Yes, Max! Where is he?”

“L.A.”

“What?”

“He’s tracking down the second Shapeshifter from our ship, in hopes to call home and talk to his son. Otherwise, things are peachy.” Michael made a face. “Did I mention the Shapeshifter is a killer like Nasedo and just toasted a scary old man who was the actor that threatened me in Utah?”

“Oh, this is getting good! Don’t stop on my account. Why don’t you tell me everything?”

“Sorry,” said Michael not in the least bit contrite. “I don’t have time. I’m expecting company.”

“Maria?”

“No. She’s asleep in our room. No,” Michael missed the slip, but Isabel caught it. Their room? “Listen, I think this is a bad idea, but Max isn’t going to listen to reason, so he’s in L.A.”

“Why didn’t you go with him? I can’t believe you let him go alone.”

“I’m not his keeper. Talk to Parker. She seems to want the job. I’ve got work, school, and Maria’s sick.” Michael glanced at the time. Where were they? “Listen is there something I can help you with?”

Isabel thought of her lunch with Jesse, and the engagement ring he gave her. She promised to tell her mother the truth tonight, but she needed Max’s help to decide how to do that. Isabel shook her head. She wasn’t ready to share her engagement with Michael, or for that matter, even Max. This was a mistake. Luckily Max being gone saved her from being impulsive.

“No. I’m fine.”

“Good.” Michael opened the door to invite her to leave. Isabel seemed shocked by his abrupt manners, but she quickly left since Steve and Cheryl were walking to the door. “Hey,” Michael called to his friends. Isabel glanced back pausing. It was strange to see Michael socializing with other people not them.

“Who was that?” Steve asked.

“No one. Social worker.” Michael let Steve and Cheryl into the apartment. “Sorry about the mess. I’ve been told I should clean.”

Cheryl waved it off as Steve put lunch on the kitchen bar. “Where is Maria? Is she awake?”

“Not yet. I tried to wake her, but she told me to stop it.” Steve laughed under his breath. “She’s in the bedroom.”

“I’ll go see her and take her temperature.” Cheryl told Michael kindly making a face at her husband. She told him to stop teasing the sensitive youth. It was hard to find yourself in love for the first time. She held up a thermometer. “Thermometer. You place it under the tongue until it beeps.”

“Right.”

Steve waited until his wife went into the bedroom. “You don’t know what a thermometer is?”

“Sure. I just didn’t own one. Never needed one.”

“You never been sick?”

“Nope.” Michael remembered the Balance. “Well, just once. I went to this Indian steam thing on the Reservation and I got sick from that. Otherwise, no.”

“Man, you’re lucky. I catch the flu almost every year, even when I take the flu shot. My doctor said it was my late nights, and work schedule. I get a little rundown, don’t sleep enough, and next thing I know … bam! I’m one sick pup. Cheryl hates it. She said it’s like having an extra kid to take care of.”

“You are.” Cheryl smiled at her husband coming back from the bedroom. “She’s definitely sick.”

“Is she awake?”

“She went right back to sleep.” Cheryl showed Michael the temperature.

“101.8. Is that bad?”

“Normal is 98.6. It is definitely a fever, and a high one. I don’t think you have to worry until it hits over 103, then you might want to take her to the doctor after you lower the temperature.”

“Lower the temperature?”

Cheryl shook her head. “You know? Tylenol, two tabs every four to six hours, plenty of fluids … water, juice,” she gave him a stern look, “no Snapple!”

“Right!” Michael grabbed a piece of paper and took notes. “Water or juice, rest, Tylenol. Anything else?”

“If she can eat … food. There’s a saying about feeding a fever, starving a cold.”

“Right.” Michael copied that down too. Michael scratched his brow. There was so much to know. “They don’t have this in a book or something?”

Cheryl gave him a confused look, but Steve quickly explained. “He’s never been sick.”

“Oh. No, you’ll do fine.” Cheryl went to find plates. “Well, let’s eat.”

“Should I leave her alone tonight? Max is bunking here, which explains the mess in my apartment, but he is out of town.” Michael was more than happy to blame his crappy housekeeping skills on Max. “We’ve got work, and …”

“She’ll probably be okay. It’s more than likely a cold, and she’ll sleep it off.”

Michael wasn’t so convinced, but he trusted Cheryl. She was a smart woman.

“Hey, Mike,” said Steve. “What will you do if she stays sick?”

“Take her to the doctor and call her mom in Las Cruces.”

“Hmm.” Cheryl said between bites grabbing another piece of chicken before the boys ate it all. “I think before you call her mom, you better clean your place. You don’t want your future mother-in-law to see her sick child in a place that looks to be incubating typhoid.”

Michael glanced around the place. Cheryl had a point. He looked around and all he could see was germs. Germs and a sick Maria didn’t go together. If he started now, covered the bathroom in a highly toxic industrial cleaner like they used at his work place, he might have it sterilized in a day or two.

~~~

Liz and Kyle arrived at the nursing home, and did as Jim requested. Jim hadn’t been to the nursing home to see his father in over a year. Liz looked around, and she remembered Michael’s comment about them finding a story for their project there. All those stories trapped in the minds of these forgotten people. It could be heartwarming.

Valenti, Sr. was a mess. It was horrible to see him so old and confused searching for his son. Liz felt sorry for Kyle for having to do what his father could not. They cleaned up the mess, and Kyle looked around. Maybe Liz was right. Michael might have a point. They could do an exposé on the rising cost of health care for the elderly, the decline in social services, and the abuse of the rest home system.

Liz sat next to Valenti, Sr. to read to him while Kyle cleaned and snooped. Kyle’s grandfather grabbed her arm and screamed, “They are among us! They are among us!”

~~~

Michael came in the apartment door. He had to go shopping. Stopping at the grocery store, he picked up juice and foods that were more nutritional for someone sick including soup. The drug store took longer. There were too many aisles of cold remedies and Tylenol brands for fevers. How the heck did anyone decide what to buy? Giving up, he finally explained his plight to the pharmacist assistant, and let them lead him to the right junk to shove down Maria. He didn’t like her sick. She was too quiet.

The phone was ringing when Michael came through the door. Swearing, he juggled the bags and answered the phone. “Yeah!”

“Michael?”

“Maxwell, look can you hold on just a second?” Michael didn’t wait. He dropped the phone wincing at it hit the floor, but his groceries were slipping. Putting them on the counter, he picked up the phone. “Sorry. What?”

“Hey, just checking in.”

“So you’re really in L.A.?”

“Yeah.” Max swerved while driving receiving a few helpful gestures from other motorist. “I went to the funeral of this Joey Ferrini guy.”

“And that is going to help, how?”

“I don’t know, but you know on the detective shows that supposedly the killer always goes to the funeral to see their handiwork. Liz has this theory that the Shapeshifter has a particular shape that they will always return to, like, they can’t hold other shapes too long.”

“You mean being a slight short balding old man was Nasedo’s shape of choice?” Michael asked as he began to put away the groceries reading the back of the cold medicine.

“Yeah, the Ed Harding form.”

“Maxwell, I’m getting worried. The more I know about aliens, the more convinced I am that they have no taste.”

“Well, it might work to my advantage. Someone I saw at the funeral might be the Shapeshifter. I did meet Joey’s agent, and he offered to represent me. I think I will start with him and see if I can get more information on my ‘cousin’ Joey. If I met the Shapeshifter in his real form, I might later be able to identify them.”

“Right. Sure, or maybe the Shapeshifter will be there and just volunteer to introduce himself, or I don’t know … kill your ass with a lightening bolt from Antar?”

Max was quiet for a moment. “Look, I know you think I’m being stupid …”

“No. Impulsive and dangerous. Stupid would’ve been if you had taken Liz with you. Mr. Parker would hunt you down like a dog and have you neutered.”

“That’s a lovely picture you paint, Michael,” said Max dryly.

“Yeah, well I am your second in command. It’s sort of my job.” Michael smiled cruelly at the phone. “By the way, Isabel stopped by and she knows.”

“Damn. Traitor.”

“Hey! You took off, and the Parker party of two showed up on my doorstep. Neither Liz nor Kyle happened to mention that it was a secret. I’d happily lie to Isabel for you, but you really have to ask so I know.”

“Liz was with Kyle?” Max asked, his voice suddenly low.

“Yeah, something about something. You know I don’t really listen to Parker.”

“Oh.”

Michael ignored Max’s reaction to Liz being with Kyle. “Listen, um … do you know that on the back of cold medicine when it says a teaspoon, does that mean like one of the ones I use to eat cereal, or is it some special measurement?”

~~~

Kyle and Liz were working with the camera at Kyle's house preparing a shattering exposé on senior citizen rest home abuse.

Kyle was holding a stack of papers. “You're supposed to say action.”

Liz stopped looking through the camera. “Kyle, just start.” Kyle sighed, and waited. “Fine!” Liz shook her head in exasperation. “Action.”

“In my hand, I hold a billing statement for the Sunrise Retirement Facility, my grandfather's nursing home. The exorbitant cost, over $1,200 a month …” Kyle shook the bills for effect. “Outrageous, considering the sub-standard care he's receiving …”

Jim wandered into the room in the camera’s view. “Hey, guys. Filming something?”

“Cut!” Kyle yelled. “Dad, you just ruined the shot. You ruined the shot.”

Jim opened the refrigerator and took out a cold one. “Just grabbin' a beer.”

“How was your gig?” Kyle asked his mind momentarily off his school project and on their crippled finances, especially with the $1,200 a month bill for grandpa.

“It was great. Kit Shickers are really comin' together.” Jim seemed to remember something, and he casually asked, “Hey, um … Listen, did you take care of that little thing we talked about?”

“Yeah.” He went to see his grandfather, as requested.

“Good.” Jim left the room. Liz came up to Kyle.

“That's it? Ask him about what your grandfather said.”

“He's not gonna talk about it.”

“Well, let's find out.” Liz went around Kyle and followed Jim into the living room.

“Liz …” Kyle rushed after her.

Liz walked into the living room, and began filming Jim. Kyle hot on her tail remembered how annoying Liz Parker could be when she was investigating anything. She was obviously born to be a nosy pushy journalist with a list of people wanting her dead.

Jim noticed the camera. “Hey. Am I supposed to smile or wave or something?”

“Uh, well, actually, it's for a school project.” Liz explained. “Our assignment's to get the truth about something.”

“Hey, if you want, you can come down and film the band. We're musicians.” Jim suggested liking the idea of exposure and a special on him and his band. “Musicians are always searching for the truth.”

“Well, actually, I was a little bit more interested in you and your father.”

Jim’s face closed down. “Well … that's not really a subject that, uh …”

Kyle dived in wanting answers from his father more than Liz. “How come you haven't gone to see him for over a year?”

“It hasn't been that long.” Jim defended himself.

“Oh, yes, it has. September 24, 2000.” Kyle stated staring into the camera for effect and proof of neglect. “Grandpa has it marked on his calendar.”

“Turn that thing off.” Jim said standing. He turned and ordered Liz again. “Turn that off. Who the hell did that? It wasn't him-- someone at the nursing home interfering in our …”

“I marked it down, ok?”

Jim shook his head at his son unable to conceive what was going on with him. “Why?”

“Because it makes him happy.”

Jim rubbed his forehead, tired and sick from grief. “Kyle, I don't think he even knows who we are anymore.”

“He said something to me today,” said Liz.

That shocked Jim. “He spoke to you?”

“Actually, he grabbed me, and then he said something.”

“What?”

“They are among us.” Liz moved closer. “Do you have any idea what that would …”

Jim sighed disappointed. He had hoped it was something more coherent. “They Are Among Us,” he repeated. “They Are Among Us is a "B" movie that was shot here in Roswell back in the fifties. It's just a painful memory rattling around in an old man's brain.”

“Why is that a painful memory?”

Jim shrugged not really interested in the past. “The leading lady in the film was killed during the production. My father was the sheriff at the time, so he headed up the investigation.” Jim glanced at his son. “I told you about all this.”

“No.” Kyle said, shaking his head. “You never talk about grandpa.”

Jim ignored that criticism. “Anyway, my father was convinced that she was killed by an alien. But she wasn't. She died of a … a freak lightning strike.”

~~~

Max returned to his car and found a note that said, “Go Home Max!” Max took the threatening note and got into the car. He was driving when his cell phone rang,

“Max, it's me.” Isabel said. She was upset. She tried to tell her mother about the engagement, she promised Jesse, but when she started to do it, her mother quizzed her over Max, his living arrangements, his money, and health. She couldn’t find a way to slip in the important information about her life.

“Hey.” Damn Michael for telling. Max resigned himself to a lecture.

“Hey, when are you coming home? You're ripping out your mother's heart.”

“I don't know yet.”

“For the record, Michael and I disapprove of you wandering around L.A. Looking for Shapeshifters.” Isabel had no problem adding Michael’s voice to her dissension. He deserved it after all but tossing her out of his apartment earlier. “You know, you could expose us or even get yourself killed. Have you thought of that?”

Max tried to concentrate on driving. “You know how important this is to me.”

“I know. I know, finding your son. I understand that.” Isabel paused, too worried to be upset over her failure to tell her mother about the engagement. She really hadn’t wanted to do it anyway. “But … Do you even have a plan, Max?”

“Yes, I have a plan. Well, sort of a plan.” Max took a deep breath. “I'm getting an agent.”

“What?”

~~~

Michael woke Maria again and took her temperature. It was over 102. “C’mon, Maria. You have to take these.” He handed her two tablets of Tylenol. Glancing at the bedside clock, he made a face. It was late. He needed to go to work soon. “Look, I cleaned the bathroom and the apartment. I’m going to move you to the sofa for a few minutes so I can change the sheets, okay?”

Maria nodded. Her arms went around his neck, and he lifted her easily. She seemed to weigh nothing, and he could feel the heat through his uniform. Laying her on the sofa, he quickly covered her. “I should stay home. Call a doctor, or your mother.”

“Don’t,” she said softly, her hand touching his face moving his hair off it. “It’s just a cold. A little more sleep, and I’ll be better.”

“I don’t know. Maria, I know nothing about being sick, and your fever is over 102.”

“The Tylenol will take it down.” Michael wasn’t so sure, but she knew more about being ill than he did.

“Okay, give me a few moments to straighten the bedroom, and then I think you need a bath.”

“Am I stinky?”

“No. You’re hot. You’ve been sleeping in your clothes.” Michael needed to find her something else to sleep in. “As much as I hate to sacrifice another one of my t-shirts, since they all seem to get confiscated by you, I think you’ll rest more comfortably.”

“’K”

Michael went to clean up, and Maria looked around the apartment. It looked clean. It smelt … clean. Michael was quick and while changing the bed, he went to run a bath, not too hot, and not too cold.

“C’mon.” When they got into the bathroom, he had a problem. He needed to strip her, but he doubted that she could do it herself. She was awful weak. “Um, … maybe you can just leave your bra and panties on?”

Maria shook her head. She reached down and dropped her panties with a simple gestured followed by her skirt. All she had on was a blouse that just barely covered her. Michael averted his eyes, and quickly dumped her into the bath. Maria grabbed the bottom of the blouse and kept it from getting wet as she sat down and Michael leaned over and unbuttoned it. He took the blouse as Maria gestured for him to turn around. Her bra hit the floor as she slid into the water, which was opaque and milky from a bath foam she liked to use. She reached up and twisted her hair.

“Michael can I have a …” He handed her a hair fastener off the side of the sink. “Thanks.” Maria leaned back with her neck against the cool porcelain tub, sighing at the nice cooling feel of the porcelain and the water.

“Don’t fall all the way in and drown.” Michael ordered her as he went out of the bathroom shutting the door partially to keep her from a draft. Breathing deeply he rubbed his face with both hands wondering if his state of arousal was an alien thing or did all men have this problem? Finishing up in the bedroom, he took some cold water into the bathroom. “Here … Maria? Hey. Don’t go to sleep. Drink this.”

Maria took the iced water and sipped it. It felt good … tasted better. “Don’t you have to work?”

“In an hour.” Michael knelt down beside her. “I should call your mom or take you to the doctor. You do have a doctor?”

“Yes. My medical card to the clinic is in my bag.” Maria watched him over the rim of her glass. “Go to work. I’ll sleep, and tomorrow I’ll be better.”

Michael looked her over. Her face had an ashen pallor, her mouth was unnaturally red despite the lack of makeup, and the rings under her eyes were disturbing. “I should call your mom.”

“Michael … for a cold?” Her hand rested on his cheek. “I’m fine. Go to work. I’ll be asleep the entire time, hardly notice you’re gone. You can look me over in the morning.”

~~~

“What’s wrong, Mike?” Steve asked.

“Maria’s not answering the phone.”

“Dude, it’s like almost five in the morning. She’s asleep wondering why her psycho boyfriend keeps waking her up when she’s sick.” Fly guessed.

George agreed. “You already called her twice. She probably turned off the ringer.”

“She wouldn’t do that. I left her cell right next to her, so all she has to do it answer it. She doesn’t have to get up or anything.”

“Mike,” Steve said. “Go home. I’ll clock you out as sick. Just go.” Michael didn’t need to be asked twice. He had his bag and was gone.

Monk watched Michael on the monitor as he went outside and his bike left the grounds. “So he and Maria are making progress, huh?”

“She was sleeping in his bed.” Steve said. “They seem pretty tight.”

“Maria is really tight,” observed Fly.

George hit him upside his head. “Chico, you need to stop that crap. Mike is going to smash you if you keep drooling on his girl.”

Fly made a face. Yeah, he was risking his life, but damn, he’d love to have Maria just smile his way, even for a moment. “Maybe I should ask him for relationship advice?”

The others just moaned.

~~~

When Michael got home, Maria was asleep holding her phone next to her under the covers. Touching her skin, she was hot and dry. Her temperature was just over 103.

“Maria?” He woke her.

“Stop calling! Let me sleep.” She closed her eyes.

“Maria! I’m not calling. C’mon on, honey. Wake up.” Michael pulled her up making her drink water. “Maria, when did you take Tylenol last? Maria?”

“When you told me. Go away. You … I want to sleep.”

Desperate, Michael took the phone and called for help. “Yeah, hey Cheryl. Sorry to wake you …” Michael could hear a crying kid, “and the kids. Listen, Maria’s fever is higher and she had medicine for it under two hours ago.” Michael quickly told Cheryl everything. Following her instructions, he ran a tepid bath. Picking Maria up, he stepped into the bath with her, both of them clothed.

“Michael!” Maria protested.

“Shhh. It’s okay.” He pushed her wet hair to the side off her face. “It’s okay.”

He stayed in the bath until both of them were shaking. Getting her out, he wrapped her in a towel and took her to the bedroom. Leaving her sleeping, he changed. He watched her sleep, and at eight, he rechecked her temperature.

It was still high. Too high. Getting up from where he was watching her, he quickly wrapped her in the bedding and picked her up. Taking her outside, he put her in the passenger seat, and went back into his apartment to find her bag. Ten minutes later, Michael walked into the clinic with Maria.

“Mr. Guerin?”

Michael stood when the doctor called his name. Tossing the magazine about motor racing, he went to join the man. “Maria?”

“She’s fine. You can come back. The nurse is giving her a run of IV fluids. She was dehydrated from the fever.” The man led the way. “I’ve ordered an antibiotic for her. We’re going to give it to her intravenously, then send her home on a regiment for ten days.”

Michael swallowed hard. “She’s really sick? I mean …” Michael shook his head. Idiot. Of course she was sick. “I mean, should I call her mother? I can …”

“No. She is going to perk up in the next twenty-four hours. I promise you.”

“What about the body aches? She was complaining of pain everywhere, and …”

“That was the fever. It makes your entire body hurt. She’ll still feel weak, but the actual aching sensation will go with the fever.” The doctor took out his prescription pad. “It’s Michael Guerin, correct?”

“Yes.” Michael was confused.

“I’m writing you a prescription for the same antibiotic that I’m sending Maria home on. She had a really severe case of strep throat. It is highly responsive to antibiotics, but also highly contagious. We usually treat an entire household since the rest will usually catch it. Maria said you were the only one taking care of her. So you take the antibiotic, and you won’t get sick.”

Michael took the prescription and nodded. “Thanks.”

“Do you need a school excuse?” The doctor asked.

“It would be nice.”

The doctor took a special pad and wrote a note on it. One for Michael and one for Maria, handing them both over to Michael. “This excuses you for yesterday, today, and two more school days. She is going to remain contagious for the next twenty-four hours, but after that the strep will pretty much be gone, and you’ll see a marked improvement. I’ve given her an extra day beyond that since she was dehydrated. She might have a bit of weakness and a headache, but otherwise she’ll be back to normal.”

“Good.” Michael scratched his brow. “Can I take her home or …?”

“Yeah, as soon as the IV fluids finish. The nurse will discharge you and give you everything for Maria.” The man nodded as he opened the door where Maria was in a bed, and Michael noted the nurse in there handing a bag of fluid. Michael smiled at the man.

“Thanks, doctor.” Michael went into the room and Maria looked up.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Michael took a chair next to her that was on the other side of the nurse so he wouldn’t be in the way.

The nurse smiled at Michael. “Would you like something to drink? Like coffee?”

“Yeah that would be great.”

“Okay, I’ll bring you some, and Maria some juice. This is going to run in over an hour. I already put in the antibiotic. The saline is cold, so it will immediately help to reduce the temperature.” The nurse told the teens. “I’ll be back.”

Michael cleared his throat as he picked up Maria hand and held it. She tightened it in his. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Just being there. Taking care of me … worrying.”

“Yeah,” Michael cleared his throat. “You know that thing you do when you get sick?” Maria shook her head unsure what he meant. “You know. When your nose runs, you sneeze, and you piss and moan nonstop while taking all those crazy herbals and things like Echinacea?”

“Oh, that.”

“Yeah.” Michael was serious. “I prefer that to this. You scared me.”

“I know.” Maria put a hand around his neck and pulled him closer. She kissed him softly, her fever still high and her mouth dry. Michael could feel the heat, and it reminded him of when he was sick, and how afraid she had been for him. How helpless she had felt.

Maria pulled back when she got the flash. The dream plane. The desert sun. Michael in the center, and her walking towards him … them kissing … then the scene changed and they were kissing, and it was … She blinked.

“What?” Michael saw the look she gave him.

Maria smiled sighing tiredly. “Nothing. I’m good.”

~~~

Michael answered his door. It was Liz. He barred her way. “You can’t come in.”

“Michael, let me in. You called me, remember.”

“Contagious. Maria is contagious until tomorrow.”

“Contagious?” Liz squeaked. “What? Alien herpes?”

“Strep,” Michael was going to pass things to Liz, but Maria’s voice stopped him.

“Michael, let Liz in.”

“The doctor said …”

Liz pushed past him. “I’ll take my chances.”

Michael gave up. “Fine, but you get sick, do not show up on my doorstep. Someone else will have to take care of you.”

Liz looked around in amazement. “Hey, the place is clean.”

“I don’t have to listen to this. Since you’re here, I’m going to go fill the prescription for Maria, get some more juice and stuff.” Michael looked at the school excuse and smiled. “And I think I’ll stop at school and take this into the office. I’ve never been excused from school before!” Michael said in wonder. Maria laughed softly as he kissed her quickly. Michael straightened frowning at her as he looked around.

“Where is that thermometer?”

“Michael, no! Just go, be free!” Michael gave Liz a glare, as if he was sizing up her ability to be able to take care of Maria, and found her lacking. “Michael, can you bring back food? I’m actually getting hungry.” Maria begged quickly distracting him before he took her temperature again or started quizzing Liz on her ability to provide care. That worked.

“What do you feel like?”

“Crashdown cheeseburger and fries.”

“Done.” He kissed her forehead again and gave Liz a stern look before he left.

“It’s official. He is unhinged.” Liz sat beside Maria on the sofa looking at her sick friend. “You okay?”

“Yeah, the doctor said I would feel my old self tomorrow, enough of my old self to cause Michael grief. So I got this week off from school. Michael already called in sick at work tonight.”

“He’s going to stay home and take care of you.”

“He said until my fever is down. I think I scared him.” Maria looked at the door. “ I got this …” Maria started to mention the flash, but then stopped. Maybe she wasn’t ready to tell anyone about that. “Nevermind, I’m woozy in the head. Tell me what you’re doing. We have an hour until my mom calls and check in on me again. Michael called her when we got home from the clinic. She’s threatening to come home.”

“And that is bad?”

“No. Just unnecessary. Not this weekend, but the next, Michael and I were going to Las Cruces for the weekend. So she doesn’t have to come. I’m fine. I can see her then.”

“It’s been hard having her gone.”

“Yeah, it has. But in truth?” Liz nodded for Maria to go on. “I talk to her more now than I did before. I guess I hadn’t realized how much the past two years I spent with this alien thing, rushing around, investigating, hiding things, and I avoided my mom just so I would have to lie to her. Now I talk to her every day, sometimes more than that. It’s strange.”

“Like moving away to go to college?”

“Yeah. Like that. I thought it would be harder.” Maria lay back, resting on the sofa peacefully. “I think I can handle it when Michael and I move away after graduation.”

“That’s still a plan?”

“Oh definitely. Now there’s no Granilith to hold them trapped in the Roswell quadrangle, we can go anywhere. Michael started a folder of possible places. If he starts making pie charts, I’ll blame you and Max for infecting him.”

Liz was taken aback by the thought of graduation. She hadn’t even given it much thought or even applied to different schools. The deadlines had almost passed, and she never thought of leaving Rowell, since Max could not.

“Maria, do you think the future is changed? I mean I wasn’t supposed to be with Max, but if the Granilith is gone, and …”

“Tess is gone.” Maria gave it some thought. “Liz, whatever was going to happen, we don’t know. That possibility is over, just like the whole marrying Max, wedding in Vegas thing. You need to let it go. This is your life now. Our life. Without Alex. Tess is gone. Max is a father with a missing child. All of this is now our lives, and we have to go on. You can’t come between Max and Tess now, because there is no Tess. She’s the one that destroyed that. Not you.

“What are you saying?”

Maria looked at her friend. “Time to take back the life you want. Time to get your head straight on about Max.”

Liz smiled and squeezed Maria’s hand. She was still hot. Liz frowned and looked for the thermometer. Maria caught the look.

“Oh no! You are not sticking that in my mouth! Michael has gone plumb loco with the thermometer. It’s like this new toy or something. Every time I open my mouth, the damn thing mysteriously appears in my mouth and he hawks over me expecting me to combust or something.”

Liz laughed. “Speaking of combustion. I think Kyle and I found another murder by the Shapeshifter here in Roswell.”

“Huh? Okay, Lizzie bean, I am out of this loop, so you’re going to have to clue me in.”

“While Max is in L.A., Kyle and I had this school project …”

Maria sat up her mouth opening. “Whoa Nelly! Back up. Max is in L.A.?”

“Wow, you are out of the loop!”

“Okay, sick girl here. Start at the beginning, and could you be an angel and get me a Snapple?”

~~~

Max was having lunch with the agent he met at the funeral trying to get more information about Joey Ferrini discretely.

“Hit man, thug, convict, tough guy. Joey Ferrini could play 'em all.”

“So Ferrini wasn't really a hit man?” Max asked stupidly asking a question a cousin should know.

“Oh, well-- not recently.” The agent wasn’t the brightest light in the pack, so he missed that he was being interrogated.

“So what was Joey in prison for?” Max asked frowning at his food. L.A. was a strange place, and the socially acceptable restaurant they were eating at was a place to be seen. It couldn’t be for the food. Max picked through the sprouts and avocado and tried to place the small black beans.

“You know, you really don't know very much about your cousin.”

Max caught his mistake and quickly covered. “He was my second cousin. Twice removed.”

“Assault.” The agent explained munching on his Atkin’s approved watercress salad with mung beans. “He was big on assault. Loved assaulting people. Which was why he's so convincing on screen.”

“Uh, Joey called me a couple of weeks ago from Utah.”

“Yeah?”

Max pushed half the unidentifiable stuff of his salad. “Do you know what he was doing there?”

“You know, I didn't book that job. I gotta be straight with you, and I don't mean to disrespect the dead, but your cousin Joey was not a great actor.” The agent smiled at Max in a huge insincere grin that was designed to create trust. “Now, you, on the other hand, you, my friend, you are on a completely different path. Let's talk Tom Cruise. Let's talk Keanu Reeves.”

“I'm not an actor.” Max said truthfully.

Joey’s agent made a face. “What, and Keanu Reeves is?” The man made a face … as if. “All you need is exposure.”

“That's the last thing I need.” Max commenting meaning it in a different way, but it was still true.

“Oh, ho! Look, look!” The agent pointed out a man and his entourage entering the restaurant. “Look, look, look!”

Max was clueless. “Who's that?”

“Who's that?” The agent demanded shaking his head at his newest client. “What, are you from Kansas?” Max blank face made him laugh. “Of course. That's why I love you!” The man was spilling over with enthusiasm, and it was daunting, or at the very least … scary. “That is Kal Langley. He is just the biggest, the most powerful producer in this whole town. Now you watch as I plant your name in his brain.” The agent rushed off to do his thing, to network and pimp Max to the producer. Max looked around quickly before taking the agents PDA and looking up Joey's address.

~~~

When Michael got back, Liz was still telling Maria the story. Michael took the food to the counter and got a plate for Maria. Dumping her cheeseburger and fries on it, he added the ketchup and sour cream Maria liked to eat with her fries, before joining the girls.

“Sorry, Liz. I didn’t get you anything.”

“That’s okay. I already ate.” Liz went into the kitchen and grabbed another Snapple. “So anyway, Kyle’s grandfather was screaming about this “B” movie shot here in Roswell in the 1959 called They Are Among Us, which was some sci-fi flick. Seems this starlet in the movie was mysteriously killed by a freak lightning strike.”

Michael sat up in the chair that he was lounging in. “Freak? Coincidence? I think not. They don’t happen in Roswell. So this other Shapeshifter was here, and he killed just like Nasedo.” Michael sat back giving it some thought. “Great. So all this time I could’ve been tracking two Shapeshifters.”

“You could’ve. I am sure that Nasedo was responsible for Atherton’s death, and he was the one that River Dog healed in the cave, but there was another one in the Roswell area too.”

“What if it was Nasedo in the movie?” Maria suggested.

“It could’ve been, but we’ll never know unless we track down the clues.”

“And you’re going to do that how?” Michael asked.

Liz shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

Maria pushed the plate away, hardly having eaten anything. She drank her Snapple thoughtfully. “The internet.”

“What?” Liz took the plate off Maria’s lap and ate a few of the fries.

“Look the movie up in the Internet Movie Database. It’ll list the full crew. If they shot here in Roswell, that means they must have gotten their extras from around here. Chances are you might find someone who was on the crew that is still alive and living her. I am sure they would love to tell about their glory days when they were in a real Hollywood production! And if there was a mysterious murder connected, then that’s a bonus. People do not forget the sexy stuff.” Maria pushed her hair off her face. It was disgusting since she had been sweating from the fever. She needed a bath. “Or … or you could just watch the movie. I bet every video store in town has a copy since it was shot here, and they probably could tell you who rents it the most. If I was in a movie, and it was my only movie, my big shot, I would watch it all the time.”

“Right! I can get Kyle started on that.” Liz looked at her watch. “I’ve gotta go. I have a shift.

Michael reached over to take Maria’s uneaten cheeseburger. “You going to call Max?”

“Yeah. First I’m going to get Kyle to run the names. He still has friends at the PD, and they might help him. Then I’ll call Max.”

Michael finished Maria’s lunch. He looked at her. She still had a fever, but it was down and she was still pale. “What do you want to do? Watch TV?”

“A nap.” Maria felt exhausted. She had been up too long. “What I really want is to bathe and wash my hair, but I can’t sit up any longer. Let’s take a nap.”

Michael carried her into the bedroom, more than happy to nap too. He hadn’t slept last night, too busy keeping an eye on her.

“I can walk.”

“Yeah. Shut up and take your medicine.”

Maria chuckled sighing in relief as she hit the bed. Her bones were still aching, but she definitely was feeling better. Michael closed the drapes and took off his shoes. Moving her over, he joined her on the bed. His hand went to her face to check how hot she felt. Maybe she should take more Tylenol before they went to sleep. His eyes moved over her face and stopped on her lips. He could resist the temptation.

Leaning down, his mouth touched her softly, nuzzling her lips apart as she breathed his name into his mouth. Joining their mouths, Michael deepened the kiss moaning in her mouth as his body heated up, moving into her mouth, tasting her as his tongue explored her, his breath catching in his throat as their tongues mated, and she called his name.

“Michael?”

“Michael?” Michael blinked as Maria stared at him with confused eyes. “Hey, where did you go?”

Michael cleared his throat as he shook off the fantasy. “I’m here. I was just checking to see if you have a fever.”

“Hmm? Am I hot?”

Michael’s eyes never left hers. “Definitely. You are very hot.” Michael said honestly.

He had seemed off somewhere in his brain. “You in L.A. worrying about Max out there alone, tracking a serial killer Shapeshifter?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Groaning, Michael tucked her close. “Let’s get some sleep.”

~~~

Max broke into Joey’s apartment to search it. His cell phone rang. He listened as Liz told him what she told Michael and Maria, and that she would call him once she had more information. Hanging up, Max found a tape of Joey shot by his girlfriend. It was of Joey practicing his part for Utah. He practiced his lines he said to Michael about telling Max to leave it alone, and then the gun shot. Max watched, and despite his agent’s claims that Joey wasn’t a good actor, the man was convincing.

“It was all an act.” Max said to himself as he ejected the tape. Suddenly Joey’s computer began to talk.

“You've got mail. You've got mail … Max.” Shocked, Max walked over to the computer and the screen was a message for him. “I warned you Max, stay away.” Before Max could react, Joey’s girlfriend, Bunny walked in with a gun drawn on Max.

“What the hell are you doin' here? You've got about three seconds to tell me what's going on!”

“Just relax. Take it easy.” Max held up his hands to calm the woman and appear non-threatening.

Bunny waved the gun at him. “Talk!”

“I'm trying to figure out who killed Joey Ferrini.”

“The cops said he was hit by lightning.”

“Well, the cops are wrong. He was murdered.” Max saw the woman’s face change. “You know I’m right, don't you?”

Bunny put the gun down. “I tried telling them but they wouldn't believe me. They thought I was crazy.”

“You're not crazy.”

“I know Joey was no angel, but I cared about him. Someone was out there that night. The cops said there were no footprints, but I saw someone.”

“You were there when it happened? Can you show me?”

~~~

Michael answered the phone wincing at the time. They had slept for six hours. “Yeah,” he said clearing his throat. Looking down at his chest, Maria was still asleep. His free hand moved in her hair, absentmindedly moving through the strands.

“It’s me.”

“Maxwell, so you still live. Did Parker call you?”

“About the serial killer Shapeshifter? Yeah. Twice.” Max was eating a burger. “I got another threatening note to leave or else, was held at gun point by Joey Ferrini’s girlfriend, Bunny, who by the way propositioned me.”

“Yeah. So you with her now?”

“No. I was with her when Liz called though. She was highly suspicious.”

“Yeah, well you know what they say … once a cheater always a cheater.” Michael yawned.

“We were on a break!” Michael snickered. “You’re not being helpful, Michael. You want to hear or should I hang up?”

Michael’s hand threaded through Maria’s hair. “Sure, I’m listening. So you and Bunny did what?”

“Went up to Lookout point that overlooked the city.”

“Nice. A parking place. Did you tell Parker that?”

“No, and you won’t either. Shut up and listen.” Max ordered Michael. “So she told me about the night Joey died. She had a fight with him about her smoking, took a walk to light up, and when she turned back there was a blinding light. She saw a man … and he was glowing.”

“Did she get a good look at him? Could she give a description other than ‘glowing’?”

“No.” Max searched for another packet of ketchup. “She just pointed to the direction he disappeared.”

“Any idea how Joey got the gig for Utah?”

“No.” Max shoved three fries into his mouth munching away. Lunch was crap. The Hollywood crowd’s idea of food sucked. “She just said that when he got back from Utah he started acting really crazy. Talking about aliens and spaceships. She told him he was talking crazy, and he shut up on her. All he would say was that he got the goods on someone ... Someone big, and that it was gonna make him a rich man.”

“Damn! He was blackmailing a serial killer Shapeshifter. Not a smart move.”

“Obviously. He’s dead.”

“I’m saying. What fools these mortals be,” Michael glanced down when Maria mumbled in irritation and turned into his body more. “Not you, darling,” he said to her sleeping form.

“Did you call me darling?”

“Is that all, Maxwell?”

“Nope. I dropped off Bunny, told her to be careful, and refused her kind offer to spend the night.”

“Spend the night? And you said no? What did she look like?”

“Trouble if Liz finds out, so cut the horndog crap.”

Michael laughed softly. “Okay, so Parker called twice. Once about the serial, and …”

“She and Kyle got a copy of the movie. It was bad … really bad. About eighty-seven minutes too long.”

“So how long was the movie?”

“Eighty-seven minutes.” Michael laughed again. “Anyway, they found an extra from the movie that was still living in Roswell, a Mrs. Covendale. I guess they took Maria’s suggestion and found her name off a film history website or something.”

“Yeah, Maria is full of good suggestions even when she’s sick.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Maria,” Michael looked down at the slight form sleeping in his arms. “She’s almost back into form, driving me slowly out of my mind.”

“Same-old, same-old, huh?”

“Yeah, it is nice to have things back to normal.” Michael said his mouth brushing the top of Maria’s head. “So this Mrs. Covendale...”

“Right. She did hair and makeup on They Are Among Us.” Max paused taking a drink of soda, frowning, and pausing to put more Tabasco in it. Better. “So anyway, I guess this 1959 hottie was in a love triangle with the lead of the show and clapper loader.”

“Clapper loader?” Michael wasn’t sure. Did Max say ‘clapper loader’ or ‘crapper loader’? Both sounded … well stupid.

“According to Bunny …”

“She who shall not be named. Just tell me, was she hot?”

“Michael.” Max shook his head. Poor Michael was eternally horny with his Maria issues, sex was all that was on his brain. “The clapper loader is the guy who bangs the thing and goes, ‘Take one, take two,’ or something like that. Do they even do that today?”

“You’re asking me? I’m not the one with an agent. So does this story have an end?”

“Hold your damn horses. So … oh yeah, so, anyway according to Liz, Mrs. Covendale told her that Sheriff Valenti, being Kyle’s grandfather Sheriff Valenti and not his dad, Sheriff Valenti …”

“Maxwell, I’m going to hang up on you.”

“Right. So anyway, Sheriff Valenti’s suspect was the clapper loader.”

“So what does he look like? If you find out, then you probably know what the Shapeshifter looks like.”

“That’s the plan.”

“So how do you find out what this guy looked like?”

“I have to look at the dailies.”

“What are dailies?”

“According to Bun … um, … dailies are all the footage they shoot in one day. You know, like outtakes, bloopers, alternate angles. That stuff.”

“And that stuff is just hanging around after fifty years, right?”

“Well Liz did some research, and …” Michael snickered. Max ignored him. “She found that the rights to They Are Among Us was eventually sold to Paramount Pictures, so all of their dailies should be in their film vaults.”

“So you need to be on the Paramount lot to get to their film vault.”

“That is the plan.”

~~~

After an encouraging talk with Jesse, Isabel felt prepared to finally tell her parents about the engagement. She had talked to Max and he had an audition the next day for the series Enterprise on UPN. He was auditioning to be an alien, which made Isabel roll her eyes. It would help if her parents didn’t ask too many questions about Max, since she didn’t want to lie, and she really needed them to concentrate on her.

“Oh, I used to love Halloween when you were a little girl.” Diane told Isabel.

Isabel smiled politely not believing it was already late October. “Remember the year you dressed up as Madonna?” her dad reminded her.

“Oh, and Max was Adam Ant.” Diane reminisced. “Remember he dragged you all over town looking for that one perfect shirt he had to have.”

Philip smiled. “Yeah. Yeah.”

“And the next year was the Freddy Krueger glove that he just had to have.”

It was obvious that the Evans missed their son. Philip glanced at his daughter. “Have you heard from …”

“Philip.” Diane shook her head. They agreed not to put Isabel in a spot between them and Max.

Isabel put down her fork and took a deep breath. “Ok, look. There's something I need to tell you both …”

“About Max?” Diane said expectantly.

“No. Not about Max. It's about me.” Isabel laughed nervously trying to strike an upbeat mood. “It's something I’ve been trying to say for days, but there's just been this weight over everything, and I thought maybe it wasn't the right time, you know, but then I thought, "it is the right time," because it is really good news.” She was rambling, and she knew it. “It's really, really … really good news, and if there's anything that this family needs at this moment in time, it's a little joy, right? A little happiness. So, um …”

Diane didn’t look so sure. Isabel’s uncharacteristic nervousness was making her apprehensive. “This doesn't sound like really good news.”

“Really it's … It’s …” Go for it. She promised Jesse, and there was no easy way to tell them. “Mom. Dad. I'm getting married to Jesse from your office, you know?” They sat there stunned. Isabel put a hand to her chest, taking a deep breath in relief that it was out. Smiling big, she said, “Ok, wow!” Isabel laughed a bit giddy. “I feel better. So …What should we eat?” Her two stunned parents simply sat there in shock.

~~~

Liz and Kyle were finishing up their project at the Valenti house. They ended up doing the revealing of a cold case murder in the Roswell area in 1959 with filmed accounts from a real life eyewitness. “So your grandfather was right. The actress was killed by an alien.”

“Yep.” Kyle was cleaning up their report.

“That's it?” Liz shook her head. The Valenti men were impossible. “Tell him what we found out!” Kyle remained silent. “Kyle, your grandfather was right. You have to tell your father.”

“I don't think so.”

“Kyle, your family is a damn nightmare. Somebody has to break the cycle of silence.”

Kyle had to agree. It was way past time. “Yeah, someone should.”

“Yeah, someone should.” Liz looked pointedly at Kyle.

“Me? Why me?” Kyle squirmed uncomfortably. “Why should I break the silence?”

“Who cares who breaks it?” Liz said looking into the living room where Jim was watching TV. “Just do it!”

“Let me think about it.”

“No, no thinking. Just doing.” Liz barged into the living room. “Mr. Valenti? Mr. Valenti, could you come in here please?”

Kyle tried to stop Liz from interfering in a dysfunctional system that had served his family well for at least three generations. “Liz, you have no right to intrude on my dysfunctional …” Kyle stopped in mid sentence when Jim walked into the room. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hi, Mr. Valenti.” Liz pushed Kyle forward. “Kyle here has something he'd like to talk to you about.”

“Oh, yeah? What's that?”

“I have to go.” Liz said rushing to get out of there, leaving Kyle to his fate. “Have a really nice talk.”

Jim waited until Liz shut the door to quiz his son. “Kyle?”

“It's nothin', nothin'.”

Jim shrugged and went to return to his show. “'K.”

Kyle made a face. “Dad?”

“Hmm?”

“I'd really hate for what's going on between you and grandpa to happen to us.” Kyle told his father before walking out of the kitchen to his bedroom quietly shutting the door.

~~~

Jim finally took the time to go visit his father. He sat with him and forgot why it was so hard to be there. His father was holding a box of old pictures and keepsakes. Jim glanced at a picture of his father, younger and aware.

“Good lookin' son of a gun, weren't ya? I guess it runs in the family.” Jim sighed, his eyes a study of sadness as he viewed his father. “Hey, uh … Dad, I gotta take off, all right? I got some stuff to do at home, so I’ll see ya in a few days or something, and I'll … I'll see ya.”

Valenti, Sr. stood up, and pointed to the date on the calendar. “Hey. Come here. Come here. All right.” Jim suddenly understood what his father wanted. “Come on. Come on. I got ya. I got ya.” He took the marker that his father was trying to use. “Come on. Here we go. I know. It's all right. Listen, I'll get a pen, all right?” Jim showed him the pen. “And we'll, uh … And we'll mark today on your calendar … All right? then when I come back tomorrow, we can mark … We can mark that day, too.” Jim marked his visit and his father watched happy to see his son.

~~~

Michael looked over his card at Maria, frowning at all the clothing she was wearing. “Are you cold?”

“A little. Now the fever is down, I seem to be a little chilled.” Maria bit her lip thoughtfully before putting two cards down on the table. “Give me two.”

Michael dealt her two cards off the top. “Want me to turn up the heat?”

“Nah, I’m fine.”

Michael looked at her skeptically as he took in the shirt, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, a pair of sweats, two pairs of socks, and fuzzy slippers. He tossed one card and took one from the top.

“Call,” Maria said.

Michael laid down a pair of Jacks over eights.”

“Sorry, Spanky, I’ve got you beat. Three of a kind.” Maria spread out her sevens. She leered at him cruelly. “Strip.”

Michael paused in picking up the card. “Excuse me?”

“You lost! Lose an article of clothing.”

Michael’s mouth flew open as he took in her attire and his which was nothing more than sweatpants, nothing underneath and a tank. There was a knock on the door. He stripped off his tank dropping it on her head on his way to answer the door. Pointing a finger at her, he said, “You are going down!”

Maria laughed gathering up the cards and pocketing two aces.

“Liz. Sorry, we gave at the office.”

“Move it, Michael. I come bearing gifts.”

“Michael! Is that Liz? Move your alien tush, she has my extra thick vanilla milkshake.”

Liz elbowed Michael out of the way as she entered and his phone rang. “I see she’s better.”

“Better than what?” Michael asked curtly.

Maria made a phishing noise. “Don’t mind him, he’s just upset that he is losing at strip poker. You want to play?”

Liz seemed startled as she took in Michael in only a pair of sweats, and Maria dressed as Quinn the Eskimo. She cleared her throat nervously while Maria checked out the nice expanse of Michael’s naked back. Sucking on her vanilla shake, she recognized the sensation of feeling hungry. Her stomach had a fluttery feeling. Maybe she was really sick.

Michael walked over while talking on the phone. “No, Liz is here. Yeah. Just a second.”

“It’s Max.” Michael handed over the phone and stole the milkshake from Maria to take a drink while sitting on the arm of her car. His back arched when her hand ran up the smooth skin of his back, and he met her eyes in a quick glance. He gave her back her milkshake.

“Need Tabasco?” she guessed. “Not spicy enough.”

“Oh, it’s spicy enough for me,” he told her not talking about the damn shake. Maria’s eyes dilated and darkened, and Liz’s voice interrupted them.

“You met Jonathan Frakes. Did he remember you?” Liz leaned against the wall. “Uh-huh. So they didn’t think you could play an alien, huh?” Liz glanced at Michael and Maria in amusement.

Michael and Maria paid attention eavesdropping on Liz conversation.

“Max, he's threatened you twice already. The Shapeshifter obviously knows you're there and wants you out of L.A.”

“Liz, I’m close. I'm in the vault now.”

Liz put her hand over the receiver. “He’s in the Paramount film vault,” she told Michael and Maria before going back to Max. “Max this is making me nervous. He's been tracking you.” Liz frowned when Max didn’t respond. “Max?”

“I found it.”

“Ok, well--hurry. Try to get a look at him and get out of there.” Liz bit her lip, nervous that he was there alone with no backup. “It doesn't matter where you look. You should be able to see him at the start of any shot.”

“It's tough to make anything out.” Max fast forward the film. “Hang on.”

“Max. Max?” Liz’s voice held a high squeak telling Maria she was getting agitated.

“Oh, my god.”

“Max, what do you see?”

“He's a movie producer.” Max stared at the face of Kal Langley on the film. “Liz, I know this guy. I saw him in a restaurant.”

The phone line went dead.

~~~

Max stared at the phone a moment. “Liz? Liz?”

“Congratulations, Max. You found me,”  said a voice from the door.

Max turned to see Kal Langley. “You're the Shapeshifter. Why'd you kill Ferrini?”

“Well … He figured out what I am …” The man smiled charmingly. “And that didn't work for me.” Kal raised his hand and Max flew across the room hitting a wall hard.

“I told you to stop lookin' for me.” The Shapeshifter lifted his hand over the dailies of the film and they ignited into flames destroying evidence of his face.

Control……

Max woke to the smell and sound of a fire crackling. Sitting up with a hand to his head, he saw the film burning. “Mmhhh!” He could feel a large bump on the back of his head.

Kal came to stand over him. “Why are you here?”

“I'm looking for our ship from the '47 crash.”

“Who are you working with?”

“No one.”

“Don't lie to me. I will kill you.” Kal warned Max.

“Like you killed Ferrini?” Max got to his feet.

“How did you get to Los Angeles?”

“I-10 west, then straight north.” Max said flippantly.

Kal held up a hand. “Don't get cute with me, you prick.”

“Do you murder everyone who discovers you're an alien, or do they get a warning first?” Kal used his powers on Max, who fell to the floor again in pain. “Unnhh!”

“Why do you think I know where this ship is?”

“You knew it was in Utah,” Max reasoned in pain.

“Who else knows?”

Coughing, Max struggled against the Shapeshifter’s powers. “Please, the …”

“Answer me!” Breathing hard and coughing as he tried to get free of the power holding him, Max struggled as Kal stood over him. “So, this is the mighty king of Antar, a low-rent Tom Cruise with a $10 haircut? Buddy boy, you have no idea what you're gettin' yourself into.”

“I came all this way to find you.” Max told Kal. “I need your help. You're our protector.”

Kal shook his head in disgust. “Don't call me that,” he ordered in anger. “Yeah, I was put on that ship to protect you. But that was 50 years ago.” Max continued coughing as the pressure held him almost choking him to death.

“Boys!” Kal called to a few large men. “You're leaving.” Kal told Max, “Or you're dead.” He nodded to the two large men. “Take Mr. Evans to my airplane.”

~~~

“Max!” Liz screamed into the phone. “Max!”

Michael stood up from where he had been sitting on Maria’s chair to take the phone from Liz. He listened for a moment. “It’s disconnected. Max was disconnected.”

“Oh, my God! He was in the vault and he saw the Shapeshifter, the form he used.” A near hysterical Liz grabbed Michael’s arm. “He said it was a producer he met at a restaurant.”

“Did he tell you the name?” Liz shook her head, Michael made a face dropping Liz’s arm. “You have to toss a stick in L.A. and hit a producer.”

“I’m going to L.A.” Liz said gathering her things to leave.

“No! Liz, that is crazy!”

“Crazy is Max out there alone! He’s out there with a murderous Shapeshifter and  …”

“You can’t go!” Maria insisted. Oh, God. Liz in L.A. with a deranged killer looking for an equally deranged Max.

“I have to.” Liz argued with Maria.

“Michael! Stop her. Reason. Restrain. I don’t care, just stop her before she does something stupid,” Maria ordered.

Michael shook his head. “You can’t go.”

“You are not the boss of me, and …”

“You go, Liz, and you can kiss your relationship to your father goodbye.” Michael was deadly serious. “So far you have lied, broken rules, defied his orders to continue seeing Max... You go to L.A. and your father sends you to Vermont, gets a restraining order against Max, or has him arrested for taking his underage daughter across state lines again. So you end up in a boarding school, and Max goes to jail.”

“I don’t care. He’s out there alone!” Liz was damn near hysterical. “He could be dead.”

Michael sighed rubbing the back of his neck. Rolling his eyes, he nodded. “I’ll go.”

“I’m going with you.” Liz told him.

“No. No you’re not.” Michael was pretty emphatic. “First, I have a few days off since I was excused from school during Maria’s illness. Two, I am not taking you, so you can forget it. You’re father is my employer, and he finds me transporting his rebellious daughter over state lines to her forbidden boyfriend, I’m toast. You are not trouble I want. And third, forget it. No.”

Liz’s face took on a stubborn look, one that they recognized from when she was investigating Alex’s death. Maria groaned. “Michael’s right,” Maria told Liz gently. “We need you here.”

“Maria, I’m going.”

“No. I am. I’m going with Michael because he’s my partner and I have the same excuse.” Maria informed Liz. “You get to stay here and contact us when Max contacts you.”

“My cell works here or on the way to L.A.”

“Once you leave Roswell, your cell will be off so your father can’t contact you, and then how will Max call back if your cell is off to avoid your father?”

Michael didn’t like this either way. “Maria, you’re sick. Barely over it, and you want to go to L.A.? I think you need to stay in bed a few more days, and …”

Maria got up. “I better go pack us a few days’ worth of clothes. We’ll stop at my place on the way. You can call the airlines and find us a flight.”

Maria got up as Michael stopped her. “Maria,” he said, but then she turned, and her hand went to the naked expanse of his chest. Their eyes met, and they stared while Liz watched. Liz frowned at them, the way they seemed to be trapped in a look, talking without words, and she drew in her breath sharply when Maria’s hand went up Michael’s front, her hand slow and caressing, too intimate to be a touch of just a friend, or even a close one.

“Go get packed,” Michael said thickly. “I’ll call for tickets.”

Maria went into the bedroom.

~~~

They landed at LAX, and found a taxi to the hotel that Maria had booked. Michael lifted a brow. Nice room. “Um, how are we affording this?”

“Vegas money. I dipped into the savings.”

“I thought we used it all this summer on Daytona and Hawaii.” Michael tossed his bag on the bed.

“Nope. We ate a big chunk of it, but I was saving at least half to use when we graduate for relocation.” Maria made a face. “That and reconnecting your electricity.”

“We need to hit Vegas again sometime for restock the coffers. Michael grabbed the remote to check the TV.”

“Later.” Maria took out her phone and called Liz. Michael watched her for a moment before digging into his bag. He took out her medicine. Going for ice while Maria talked to Liz, he came back with sodas from the machine and ice. He handed her a drink and her antibiotics with two Tylenols. “Listen, Liz, Spaceboy is medicating me again. Give me a second.” She put her hand over the receiver. “I don’t need Tylenol. I don’t think I have fever.”

Michael felt her head. “Take them anyway. You’re slightly warm.”

Maria gave up and took the pills. Michael took the phone from her. “Liz, did Max call?”

Michael listened as Liz said no. He quickly wrote down all the information about where Max had been so they could track him. They were going to Ferrini’s agent, and Max’s first, then they would find Ferrini’s girlfriend. They were hoping the agent would remember what producer Max saw at the restaurant, so Bunny would be unnecessary. Michael wasn’t too excited about Maria meeting Bunny, so she could give Liz a detailed description. Max had enough trouble. “Okay, I’ll give you back to Maria. Call us if Max calls, or better yet, tell him to call us.”

Michael gave Maria the phone back going off to take a shower. He grabbed fresh clothes. Jet lag was catching up to him. He needed a nap before he could think straight. A nap and food would be a good start.

“L.A. is huge!” Maria told Liz. “I could live here! I found us a mid-range hotel, centrally located. I figured if this Shapeshifter is a Hollywood producer that we needed to be close to that area.” Maria had her own list. “I think Michael and I are going to need to check out Rodeo Drive and some important shopping areas. I need a new pair of shoes, you know comfortable ones that won’t hurt my feet when we go to Disneyland.” Maria stopped to listen to Liz. “No. Of course I know this isn’t vacation. I’m just saying that once we find Max, and everything, we might have a few days to … look around.” Maria frowned at her list. “Liz, do you think surfing in California is like Hawaii? I was sort of getting the hang of paddling out on the board, but …”

When Michael came back into the room he was wiping moisture off his bare shoulders, wearing on a pair of jeans. Searching for a clean shirt, he watched as Maria connected a laptop to the hotel computer line. “What are you doing?”

“Searching for this Joey Ferrini in the movie database. If he has a sheet, it should list his agent.” Maria found the information on the man. “Is this him?”

Michael came to sit next to her, to look at the screen. “That’s the man.” Maria found a link for agent and manager information. Michael grabbed a piece of paper and wrote the information down as Maria sat back getting up.

“Did you mess up the bathroom?”

“No more than usual. I decided to get in there before all your girly junk took all the counter space.”

“Moisturizing is essential to good skin health. You going to look through the computer a bit?”

“Yeah. I want to see what kinds of parts the guy pulled.”

“Look at his face. It is evidently not Brad Pitt roles. He was born to be a gangster.”

Michael nodded his eyes on the screen as Maria hit the bathroom with her huge bathroom bag of essentials. “Does your mom know you took the laptop?”

“Why are you trying to ruin my first L.A. experience? She’s in Las Cruces. How was I going to ask?” Maria made a face. “It’s not like she’s home to use it. She has a desk computer in Las Cruces, so the laptop was just gathering dust. Now it has a purpose.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Michael smirked. Amy would find out. She always did. The only secret Maria ever managed to keep from Amy was the alien one.

~~~

Michael reached for the phone, irritated. “Yeah?” he growled in the phone squinting at the time. Three in the frickin’ morning! “This better be good.”

“Michael?”

Michael sat up. “Maxwell? So you live.”

“Apparently. I just called Liz, she told me that you and Maria came to L.A.”

“Well to find you or recover your body before the FBI does, one or the other.” Michael glanced at the sleeping Maria. She was dead to the world. Still recovering, the travel left her more exhausted than she expected. They had gone out and messed around, checking out the area, but when they got back she crashed. “Where are you?”

“Just outside of L.A.” Max admitted. “I got forcibly escorted onto the Shifter’s plane. I ended up in Salt Lake City. I hitched a ride back with a trucker.”

“Okay, where’s the Cheville?”

“Parked at the motel I rented.” Max admitted. “I’ve got the room for another three days, so it should be okay there.”

“Can you get to our hotel room?”

“I’m out of money.”

Michael reached over to dig through Maria’s bag. “We’ve got money. Take a taxi to our hotel. I’ll be out front to pay off the taxi.”

“That’ll be expensive.”

“Okay then walk.”

“I’ll take the taxi.”

~~~

Michael had to wait over an hour for the taxi to arrive with Max. Leaning in, he passed the money and waited for Max to get out. They walked back into the hotel, and Michael nodded to the breakfast room that was just setting up for early breakfast at six.

“Nothing’s open, but we can sit in here for the next forty minutes until something is open.”

“What are you doing here, Michael?”

Michael scoffed. “What do you think? You find the Shapeshifter, and then the phone goes dead. Liz was hysterical, ready to come herself.”

“Did you tell Isabel you were coming?”

“Is she here?”

Michael had a point. If Isabel knew she would’ve insisted on coming. “Thanks for not telling her.” Max rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. “You shouldn’t have come, especially with Maria. This guy is serious. He’ll kill anyone that knows, remove any exposure.”

“I have no intention of exposing Maria to him.” Michael couldn’t let Max keep him so far out of the loop. “What’s the Shifter’s name?”

“Kal Langley. He’s pretty big here I guess.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Go back.”

“He’ll kill you.” Michael pointed out.

“I can’t not go back. My son, he’s out there, and he needs me.”

“Okay, Maria and I will stay, to watch your back from afar, but he makes any move on you, and we take him out. No hesitation, Max.”

Max nodded. “No hesitation.”

~~~

Isabel and her mother were meeting with the wedding planner discussing Isabel’s wedding themes. The wedding planner and Isabel were more into it than Mrs. Evans who listened with increasing ill ease as Isabel created these huge plans for a wedding that was ill advised.

The wedding planner was impressed by all the ideas that Isabel had and mentioned that Isabel and her mother must have been brainstorming.

“Oh, not me. I, um …” Diane Evans could hardly wrap her mind around the idea of her daughter marrying at eighteen. “...Can hardly get used to the fact that I’m here.”

“Mom, you said you'd be supportive.” Isabel reminded her mother.

“I didn't exactly have a choice.”

The wedding planner smiled sympathetically at Diane. “It's always a surprise when your little girl takes this step.”

“Mmm,” Diane said appreciating the sentiment, but it hardly eased her trepidation.

The wedding planner got distracted and went to handle other things while Isabel sighed at her mother.

“Why are you being so negative?”

“Isabel, I am in shock. I mean, I've barely gotten used to the idea of you graduating high school.”

“Mom,” Isabel didn’t bother to take the exasperation out of her voice, “we have been discussing this for forty-eight hours straight. I mean, you were the one who hired the annoying wedding planner.”

“Well, I mean, if you're actually gonna go through with this, you need to have a realistic plan.” Diane pointed out.

“If?”

Diane didn’t get to comment as the wedding planner returned her attentions to Isabel and Diane. “Sorry.” She smiled perkily. “So, where were we?”

Isabel put her mother’s protest aside and went back to her dream wedding. “Well, I was thinking that I’d like to have the wedding in a freshly mown field. Maybe next to a pond, and then have the reception in an old barn.”

“Oh, that's a lovely notion.” The wedding planner was a professional, she was use to off the wall romantic ideas, but hardly realistic. “Really, it is, Isabel, but when you go country, you open the door to a host of logistical nightmares. Plus, the insect population-- very hard to control.” The woman flipped through her planning book of previous weddings that worked wonderfully. “You want to know a wonderful venue? The lobby of the Springfield Inn. I have done so many weddings there.”

“But I don't want someone else's wedding.” Isabel said shaking her head as Jesse came up behind her chair. He stood over her and commented to the three women.

“Maybe we could light the barn with torches. Not …” Jesse offered helpfully hating to see Isabel already getting irritated by the arrangements. “Not like tiki torches. I mean … maybe torch is the wrong word. More like candles. Oh, there's nothing more flammable than an old barn.”

“Yes, well, that's why we need the pond.” Isabel pointed out to her fiancée who was obviously not seeing the beauty and grandeur of her idea wedding. “Wendy, this is my fiancée Jesse.”

“So, when do we want to have the big day?” The woman asked the happy couple.

“This spring,” Isabel told her smiling pleasantly.

Diane Evans sat up straighter. “What?” Shock was clear on her face.

“Yeah.” Isabel told her mother seeing the reaction. “We figured … why wait?”

“This is not a race.” Diane looked at her daughter and then at Jesse. “I mean, the two of you just got engaged. Let's …”

“Mom …” Isabel reasoned, ignoring everyone else, but her mother. “It's what we want. Can’t you just be happy? We're planning my wedding. I mean, it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be great.” Isabel reassured her taking Jesse’s hand in hers.

“Oh … so cute, so in love.” The wedding planner breathed. Diane Evans rolled her eyes wondering if she could get a damn whiskey neat.

~~~

Michael grumbled as he and Maria walked the streets of a pretty brisk shopping district. She was definitely feeling better, and it was mean of him, but he missed her being sick, dependent on him.

“Why do we need to shop? This is insane, and a waste of money.”

“If we’re going to crash a Hollywood producer’s party, we need to at least blend. If we stand out as Roswell fugitives people will notice … the Shapeshifter will notice.”

Maria stopped in front of a store, her hand grabbing Michael’s arm tightly as she was mesmerized by the sight. “Michael,” she said hoarsely and passionately. Her eyes were trapped on the display. “Those shoes!”

Michael swore. He could give up a left testicle to have her say his name that way again, but for a totally different reason … for him. Shoes? She’s going to get all excited over shoes? “Maria,” he said as he peered at the overpriced tooled leather, too skimpy for that damn price. “They’re expensive!”

“They are perfect!”

“Maria, you want to waste more of our relocation money on a pair of shoes?” Michael shook his head, but then his eyes found something so unexpected he could hardly breathe. “What is that?”

“What?” Maria followed his glance. “The boots?”

Michael stared at the most incredible black bike boots he ever saw. “We need to go into this store!”

“Finally,” Maria motioned between the two of them, “we are totally in sync.” Michael didn’t care about that right now. Someone might buy his boots.

~~~

Michael, Maria and Max crashed a party at Kal's mansion. Max took the direct approach, but Maria and Michael mixed into the glamorous crowd, blending in while keeping near enough to watch over Max.

“So, uh, what happened with Tiffany? Did she walk?” an unknown man asked Kal.

Maria stared over her colored glasses, her lip gloss shiny and ultra pink, she whispered to Michael, “That’s him! God, he’s so … normal looking. Is Max sure?”

Michael made a noise in his throat glaring at a man who came by and put his hand on Maria’s butt. Letting Maria get a new outfit was obviously a mistake. She wasn’t blending, but rather drawing a lot of attention compared to Michael’s full black outfit and shades. A man bumped into him and handed him a card.

“Call me.” The man gave him a smile and kept on walking. Maria took the card and saw the name checking out the man as he walked away.

“He’s gay.”

“What?”

“I’m sure. He just gave you his number.” Maria explained. Michael made a face, turning to find Max in the crowd.

“How do you know?”

“He walked by and didn’t even look at my breasts.”

“Maria, you don’t have breasts.”

“In this number, that hardly matters.” Michael glanced at the tight short dress with a top that did something to her front. It made her look … stacked.

“Your point is noted. He’s gay.” Michael looked at the guy standing next to him talking to a group of women. “Hey, dude. That guy,” Michael pointed the man out, “wanted you to have this.”

The man looked at the card and the person Michael pointed out and he lost his color as he exclaimed to his ‘friends’ over the number. Obviously, the man was ‘somebody’, who, Michael wasn’t sure.

“What, are you kidding?” Kal was telling the people hovering around him. “She's an actress. I bumped up her per diem. I put her in a bigger trailer. I got Brian to rewrite the part.”

“That was my finest hour.” Brian told everyone. “Now the hooker's a part-time yoga instructor.”

“You'll open 30 million easy.” Max said coming up to the group smiling at Kal. He was dressed in the same ensemble that Michael was. “Sorry I'm late. I …” Max took a drink from a passing tray. “Was on the phone with Variety.”

Kal was obviously unhappy at seeing Max back in his world. “I thought you were on an airplane.”

“Nah. I wanted to keep talkin' about our project.”

“Project?” Kal huffed, laughing charmingly for his guests. “You're killin' me, pal.”

“Max Evans.” Max said to Brian. “Antar films.”

Maria lifted a brow. She hit Michael in the stomach. “Hey, he’s not too bad when he tries! We might have to let him hang with us a little more.”

“Nah. Smoke and mirrors.” Michael said. “He’ll get back in the Parker zone, and revert to type. He’ll suck again.”

Maria made a face at Michael. “Eat dirt.”

~~~

Liz was in the kitchen at the Crashdown baking cookies while talking to Maria who was giving her a blow by blow account of the party. Maria called her every half hour with an update. Liz listened as she took the cookies out of the oven.

“So I am making a special cookie for Max. M&M Tabasco swirl cookies. I came up with the recipe all by myself.”

“Is this like a care package?” Maria asked listening to Liz’s ‘Uh-huh’ as she made a face at a woman who walked by with multicolored hair. “Max is so spoiled, man.”

“No, he is not.” Liz told her while transferring the cookies to a rack to dry.

“Liz, he hasn't been gone more than a week.” Maria pointed out seeing a star she knew. She whispered excitedly in the phone, and Liz begged her to get an autograph if possible. “Autograph? I’m going to make Michael take our picture!”

“Oh, I bet he’ll love that.” Liz said. “Is Max still there with you? He’s supposed to be calling in less than an hour.”

“Yeah, he’s here still smoozing with Kal. I’m sure he will be on the phone a.s.a.p. just to tell you how unreal this place is. Michael keeps getting propositioned, and three agents offered to handle me! Unreal. I’m not even wearing my good lip gloss!” Maria caught Michael’s eye as he gave her a look pleading for her to rescue him from this group of people that caught him, thinking he was someone.

Maria waved at him all sassy leaving him to his social doom. It would build character. “So this phone call from Max? Are you guys gonna talk, or are you just gonna breathe heavy into the phone? Are you gonna repeat each other's name back and forth and back and forth?”

“Stop it!” Liz laughed. She looked over to the door and saw Isabel. “Oh! Hey!”

“Who is it? Your dad? God, don’t tell him that Michael and I are in L.A.!”

“Hi.” Isabel said looking around. “Have you seen Maria?” Liz waved the phone at her. “You’re talking to her?” Liz nodded. Isabel straightened her shoulders. “Can you tell her that I am … um, … I'm getting married to Jesse Ramirez.”

“What?!” Liz said at the same time that Maria on the other end said, “What?!”

“Yeah, and you know weddings are full of all kinds of stupid traditions, like the garter toss and that--that chicken dance and, well … bridesmaids, and since you guys are the closest thing I have to girlfriends, I was wondering if you would be mine?” Isabel took the phone from Liz. “Maria, did you catch that?”

“Ok.” Maria said stunned, and not sure what else to say as a guy walked by and literally flashed her, and even that seemed more normal than Isabel’s future nuptials.

Isabel gave Liz a look with a tip of her head. Liz agreed, “Yeah, sure.”

“Great!” Isabel smiled and mentally clicked off that task. “Good. Ok. That's done. Ok.” She looked at the tray of cookies. “Is that for Max?”

Maria, who was still listening in interest, knew immediately Isabel was talking about the special M&M Tabasco swirled cookies answered, “Uh-huh.”

“Yeah. Sure is.” Liz said.

Isabel made a face. “He's so spoiled.” Isabel still had the phone to her ear still needing to talk to Maria.

“Mm-hmm.” Maria mumbled. Max Evans was definitely spoiled.

“You know what?” Isabel told Maria on the phone while staring at Liz so she was killing two birds with one stone. “Max doesn't know about the engagement yet, so let's just … keep it that way. And, Maria,” Isabel said directly in the phone, “I'm gonna need you to tell Michael for me.” Isabel handed the phone back to Liz who was speechless. “Ok. See ya.”

Liz held the phone loosely in her hand staring at the empty door with Maria’s voice on the phone. “Did that just happen? Um, Liz? Liz, are you there? Um, Liz? Liz, snap out of it and check your damn cookies!”

~~~

Michael frowned at Maria who moved over to a quiet corner and was talking to Liz on the phone. He needed to go over her investigative priorities a little better. She obviously was having a hard time keeping her attentions from being distracted. Michael gave her a bit of some slack due to the Parker suck zone. He was sipping a cola standing with his back to the Shapeshifter listening to Max talk to the group about his project with Kal.

“An alien stranded on earth,” said Max as he ate the olive out of the martini he couldn’t drink, “tries to find his way back home.”

“Like E.T.,” said a woman with large hair and toxic hairspray, as Michael tried not to breathe in the fumes.

“Yes. But …” Max stared at Kal remembering his reference to him as a bad Tom Cruise with a ten dollar haircut. “Think Tom Cruise.”

“Sounds more like Starman,” commented the man next to Brian.

“Exactly,” Max smiled charmingly his eyes continually falling on Michael’s back as the other alien boy’s reaction were expressively demonstrated by the movement of his shoulders under his shirt.

“That picture didn't open.” Kal informed Max making a subtle threat.

“Oh, it gets better, Kal. See, our guy hunts down another alien, also stranded on earth.”

“He's the only person who can help him on his quest.” Kal guessed, rolling his eyes at the originality.

“How?” Ask the man next to Brian, who Max remembered to be Scott.

“I'm glad you asked, Scott. There's a ship.” Kal laughed, but the amusement wasn’t in his eyes. Max ignored it and continued. “And this other alien might know where it is, or at least have the resources to find it. You see, this other alien is a big …”

Kal chuckled and made a huge sarcastic guess. “Hollywood producer.” Everyone laughed joining Kal at the humor of the pitch. “Ah … that I like.” He told his audience suggesting the producer could be fashioned after him as a nice ego trip. “Except I-- I don't like these feel-good science fiction flicks. I don't think they're interesting unless …” Kal’s eyes went cold and serious and his glance met Max’s. “Somebody dies.” The group all laughed.

Michael swore under his breath as Maria came to join him. There was dancing where couples just seemed to move to the music while standing around talking in groups. Michael quickly nabbed Maria and whispered in her ear what was happening while she looked over his shoulder, her eyes meeting Max’s.

They stayed close, never more than a few people away until it was evident that the crowds were thinning. Michael took Maria’s hand and they ducked into a quiet alcove, where Maria wrapped herself suggestively around Michael in case someone happened upon them.

“Can you still hear them talking?” she whispered in Michael’s ear. He didn’t respond as he moved her closer against him, pinning her to the wall his head moving to her shoulder. “Michael?”

“Hmmm?”

“Can you hear Max and Kal still talking?”

Michael tried to concentrate, but his natural instincts were reacting nicely to Maria’s body and the position they were in. Shaking his head a little, he cocked it to the side to listen carefully. The final stragglers were leaving, wanting to get as much of the producer’s attention as possible.

“Mmm.” A man called to the Shapeshifter. “Call me tomorrow? Do lunch?”

Kal smiled, his hand on Max’s shoulder keeping him in place. “Max. That picture of yours, stick around. I got somethin' I'd like to throw at ya.”

Brian, who was following the other man out, stopped not sure he should leave, afraid Max was going to get a jump on him. “You sure you don't want me to stay?”

Kal smiled pleasantly. “Good night, Brian.”

Brian smiled, not in the least bit happy, but unable to find a reason to stay. “Ok.” As soon as Brian was gone Kal raised his hand and Max flew across the room.

“You come to my home. You taunt me in front of my friends. You threaten to expose me!”

“I have a son.” Max explained.

“You mated with another alien hybrid?” Kal shouted in disbelief. He made a face. Oh, this got even better.

“My child is back on Antar. He's in trouble. That's why I need the ship … and one of its pilots.”

“The Air Force reassembled that ship. But it will never fly.”

“If anyone can get it up and running, it would be you.”

“I told you …” Kal warned Max as he asserted force on Max’s throat with a thought. “I told you I would kill you.”

Choking, Max gasped against the threat to his esophagus. “You're gonna have to. Uhh!”

Langley breathed rapidly and shallowly. He raised his hand again towards Max, but suddenly was off his feet flying across the room as he hit the wall. Langley shook his head and looked over to see Michael standing across the room with his hand extended and Maria at his side.

Kal shook his head in disgust. “The Commander! Why am I surprised? Of course you couldn’t do this alone.” The Shapeshifter said to Max. Kal stood to his feet and advanced towards Michael and Maria, stopping in front of Max.

Max slowly found his feet. “You can’t kill me, can you? You've had so many chances. Utah. Yesterday in the film vault, but you can’t … because you're my protector.” Kal gave Max a look of revulsion. “Get as mad as you want, but get one thing straight-- I am not going anywhere until you help me.”

Kal stared at Max for a moment, then at Michael. “Pod people,” he said in disgust as he went to get something to drink. They were not only disrupting his life, but giving him a damn ulcer.

Back at the hotel, Max and Michael argued while Maria ignored them and went to bathe. She felt a little out of sorts from meeting the Shapeshifter. The man had probing eyes, and his kept going back to Maria. It was enough to make Michael uncomfortable. It was obvious the man wasn’t going to take much more, so they left.

“You need to go home, Michael.”

“Not without you. He has spent the evening threatening you, and …”

“He’s not going to hurt me. I think I nailed that one tonight.” Max glanced over at Maria as she came back into the room from her shower. “But, I think he could hurt Maria. He seemed inordinately interested in her, and you saw what he did to Ferrini. He doesn’t like humans knowing his secret.”

“Do not use Maria to control me.”

Max grabbed his jacket. “Not that I’m not grateful. I am.” He stared at Maria. “I can’t be responsible for anyone else dying because of me. Alex was more of a stain on my soul than I could afford, and Maria would be impossible.” Max saw his remark hit home. Maria might have thought he forgot Alex, but he had not. It was something he carried inside him every day. It was the one wound … and endless pain that would never heal, and for his life he would bleed his own duplicity, his unknowing part in Alex’s death. That was his burden. He didn’t want Maria to be Michael’s. “Go home. I can handle this.”

Michael and Maria were silent as the door shut behind Max. Moving into the room, she went to stand beside Michael. “What now?”

“We go home.” Michael said. Max was right. This was no place for Maria, and given his position on protecting Max or protecting Maria … Maria just won.

“Home? Tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” Michael glanced at her. “Let’s take an evening flight so we can spend the day at Disneyland.”

Maria made a happy sound as she tossed herself in Michael’s arms hugging him.

~~~

The next day while Michael and Maria were making themselves sick on rides at Disneyland, Max showed up at Kal's Mansion.

Kal sighed when he saw the pain in his ass. “That'll be all, Giselle. Thank you.”

“Why would someone who can’t feel get a massage?” Max asked out of curiosity.

“Excuse me?” Kal got up from the table and went to the wet bar.

“You had your finger in a lit candle last night, and you didn't even flinch. See, I don't think you can smell or taste, either. You must have a thousand lemons in your fridge.”

“I like tea.”

“See, I don't remember much when I first came out of the pods, but I do remember this-- the first few months, I couldn't smell or taste anything except for strong flavors, sugar, lemon … Tabasco. Eventually, our senses matured.”

Kal was not only disgusted with the boy, but envious. “You don't know how lucky you are to have even a fraction of human DNA inside you?”

“You have human envy?”

“There's not a sensual pleasure on this planet I can’t afford, but I can’t experience it, not like they can.”

“If your life is so limited, then how can you stand living here?”

Kal shrugged. “I've learned to diminish my alienness.”

“How?” Max was curious about what the Shifter was trying to protect.

“I don't shapeshift. I haven't done it in years. Gives the body organs a chance to function.”

“That seems impossible.”

“Well, first thirty years, it was.” Kal admitted. “Then, in 1978, I smelled chlorine in the pool. Soon after that, lemons. Last twenty years was a bust, but don't you feel sorry for me. I love my life. Can you say the same?”

“I need to find my son. He's in danger. You can help.”

“No, Max.” Kal wasn’t going to do it. “This is my home- Hollywood, California, U.S.A., Planet Earth.” Kal’s phone rang and he cleared his throat before answering the phone.  “Hello! Nicki, baby. No. No, no. No. I want your client on my set in two days. That's not true. I'll e-mail you a copy of the contract. I only yell because I love. Later.” Kal stared at Max for a moment then smiled. “Hey, kid …” He pushed a button on his phone. “This'll cheer you up. C.E.O. Of Nokia? He gave me this. I got his granddaughter to meet Brad Pitt. Only other guy who's got it is Dick Cheney. George W. is still pissed.”

“Oh, yeah?” Max said impressed. “Let me see it.”

“Huh?”

“The phone.” Max explained. “If it's that amazing, hand it over.”

Kal tossed it to Max. “It's yours.”

“What? I mean …”

“You just--you said …” Kal seemed to suddenly realize what he was giving away, so he quickly covered. “Hey, you said yourself I should be more giving. Stick around. Have a sandwich. Take a swim. See you later, Max.”

~~~

After school the following day, Maria went to find Liz. She and Michael had gotten home real late the previous night, so they both missed yet another day of school. On the flight home, Maria remembered Isabel’s news, and that she was supposed to tell Michael. It made the flight a nice memory to store in her mind for future nightmares.

“I still can’t believe Isabel's getting married. This is, like, a disaster of epic proportions. If you think Michael freaked when he found out, Max is gonna go ballistic.” Maria told Liz as she leaned against the table talking to the working Liz. Maria was still off work since her sickness, and she wasn’t looking forward to the shift the next day or all the catch up homework she had to do.

“Did he really freak?”

“Oh, boy, did he! A total rant about exposure, who was this person, and what the hell was she thinking adding another potential victim to their ever growing list.” Maria sighed. “And who is Jesse Ramirez?”

Diane Evans didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she heard the end of Maria’s comments, and decided to draw attention to herself. “Hi, girls.”

Maria was startled, then embarrassed. “Oh, hi, Mrs. Evans. You're here!” Mortified by her outburst Maria rushed to cover. “I--I mean … How are-- how are you? Good?”

Mrs. Evans smiled, charmed by the embarrassed Maria. “So … what's new?”

“Uh, nothing. You know Roswell.” Maria was babbling. She couldn’t help it. Maria chuckled uncomfortably.

“Hmm. Well … actually, I, um … I was looking for Michael.”

Liz jumped in to answer before Maria went off again. “Oh, I'm sorry, but he's not working today.”

“Oh. Well, Maria, would you kindly remind him that he still has my 9-by-13 casserole dish?” Mrs. Evans asked. “Isabel took something over weeks ago for Max, and I'd like it back.”

Maria knew the dish well. “I--well, I'll remind him. Definitely.”

Diane thanked her and turned to Liz, nonchalantly. “So, Liz, how is Max?”

“Um, he's fine.”

“I was wondering if you happen to have his new cell phone number. Apparently, he, um, he changed it when he moved out. I've left a couple of messages at Michael’s, but I'm not even sure he's living there anymore. I just want to talk to my son. I want to know that he's safe. I'm sure you can understand that, can’t you?”

“I'm sorry, but I can’t help you.” Liz told the older woman, unable to give out the number without Max’s permission.

“Well …” Diane was upset, but she hid it well. “I'll let you girls get back to work. Ok. Bye.”

Maria waited until she was gone to look at Liz in shock. “Open defiance of a parental unit. Whoo! This is just so twisted and … romantic.” Maria made a dramatic gesture. “You and Max are totally Romeo and Juliet against the world. I will be hiding that hemlock.”

“Well, actually, Romeo never called last night.”

Maria stopped. “No? I mean, he called the previous one right?”

“No.”

“What?” Maria’s face cleared. “He was at the party late the previous night.”

“That doesn’t excuse last night.”

“What? Last night too?”

“Yeah.” Liz went back to work with Maria following her. Liz took a man’s plate before he finished.

“Hey! I'm not done!” Liz didn’t seem to hear as she walked away. The man in anger walked out without paying his bill, but Liz was oblivious.

Maria made a grimace at the unhappy customer, as she hurried after her friend. “He'd better be in a ditch somewhere.”

“Maria, do not say that.” Liz begged her, unable to take any more anxiety over Max’s health or possible death.

“I'm just saying blowing off a phone date is unacceptable, that's all.”

“Look, I am just trying to convince myself that he's not hurt or worse, that he is just busy.”

“Call his alien butt.” Maria suggested crossing her arms. The boy had been alright over twenty-four hours ago, and from her view, his damn speed dial finger looked fine.

“No. No, I am not gonna become the codependent girlfriend, not when he’s on this whole quest.”

“Ok, I respect that.” Maria said seeing it from that view. “But, I mean, how long is this thing gonna take? He may never find his son.”

“Thanks for the pep talk, Maria.” Liz dumped a bunch of dirty dishes into the sink slumping depressed on the side of a table in the back of the diner.

“No. Ok, there's no doubt in my mind that he is madly in love with you, but, I mean, you're half of this couple. You know, you can’t forget that.”

~~~

Michael didn’t bother to knock when he went to visit Isabel. Too angry to care, he just entered the house and went straight back to her bedroom hulking in her doorway.

“Why is it you feel you're above doorbells?” Isabel asked when she startled at his sudden appearance.

“Got your message,” Michael said coldly. “Is it a joke?”

“No. I'm getting married.”

“We agreed not to bring anyone else into this.”

“Michael, I don't want to put my life on hold. This is my one chance to be happy … to love someone and have him love me back without all of this garbage that has made us miserable our whole lives getting in the way.” Isabel tried hard to plead to his humanity, to the side of him that had everything she wanted … a relationship. “I've put a lot of thought into it, and I don't see any reason why Jesse has to know the truth.”

“Well, knowing what I know about alien sex, he's gonna have major questions after the honeymoon.” Michael rolled his eyes. Jesse looked old enough to have had other sexual experiences, and a one hour orgasm was going to be something different.

Isabel couldn’t take this. Not now. Not from him. Not from anyone. She had only so many nerves about keeping Jesse outside the truth, and Michael was making an argument that was one she didn’t want to consider. “Ok, Michael, get out of my room.”

Michael ignored her. “What did Max say?”

Isabel sighed heavily. “I'm gonna tell him when he gets back.” She needed someone on her side, someone that would believe in her. “Come on, Michael. Just congratulate me.”

“On what?” Michael asked coldly. He didn’t bother to say goodbye.

~~~

“Okay, so you’re angry. I’ve got that.”

“I do not want to talk about this.” Michael told her. He was not looking at her. He was in a foul mood, and if he glanced over at her in her new Mickey Mouse ears with the name Maria on the damn pink cap, he would lose it.

“Sure you don’t.” Maria continued to eat out of the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream container waving a spoon at Michael. “So is it the whole … ‘Isabel is my destiny, she can’t do another man’ thing or what?”

Michael sighed. Oh, that would be so much easier if it was. Nope. He was stuck here in relationship hell with a girl that climbed all over his body platonically, wore a pink Mickey Mouse cap, and spent too much time seductively eating ice cream a mere foot from him. He was slowly going insane. Michael couldn’t even remember the last time he wasn’t aroused, and the fantasies and sexual dreams were increasing. Sure, he’d love to have a damn cold, passionless destiny with Isabel … that way, he could actually get some sleep.

“This is the whole respect thing.” Michael told Maria. “Respect enough to actually frickin’ tell me herself, and not send my faithful sidekick.”

“Faithful sidekick? Now why does that sound like a puppy to me? Man’s best friend?” Maria’s face infused with color and she shook her hand dropping dollops of ice cream on the floor. “What is this? Maria, alien’s best friend, does stupid Maria tricks?”

“I don’t think of you as a pet.”

“Well good! I am not Liz or Isabel.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Michael asked his voice biting.

“It means …” Maria went over and climbed on him, straddling his legs as she faced him holding her ice cream still shaking her spoon at him. “I do not take orders from you and Max, and I would never let you order me about like some second class citizen waiting to be given permission to love.”

Michael’s eyes moved over her and he took her weight, her body wrecking havoc on his. He shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help it. He said huskily, “Feed me.”

Maria’s eyes darkened, and she put the spoon in her mouth upside down holding the curve against her soft palate. Her hands slowly unbuttoned Michael’s shirt as her fingers trailed along the skin. Taking her hands, she moved up his skin to his mouth were he pulled her fingers into his mouth as he sucked on the digits his one hand removing the spoon from her mouth. Maria moaned and moved in his lap brushing up against his erection hard, her mouth moving forward to replace her fingers as Michael pulled her tongue hotly into his mouth.

“Excuse me? Did you say, feed me?” Maria asked for clarification as Michael’s darkened eyes seemed to focus on her again. She frowned when he seemed to mentally shake his head.

Michael quickly lifted Maria off his lap and stood up to get some distance from her. “Yeah. I’m hungry.” He took Maria’s spoon and ate some ice cream, his mind very conscious of the fact he had something that had been in her mouth, now in his. Ever since the night she had been drunk and kissed him, he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop fantasizing about having her do it again.

“C’mon, I’ll buy you dinner.” Michael suggested ignoring the face that Maria had just eaten ice cream and a half a bag of chips. “Get your shoes.”

“Right.” Maria said following his instructions. “I mean, you and me, we have this equality thing going, and I wouldn’t want to change that.”

“Hmm.” Michael glanced around. “Is that warm enough? You should change.”

“Right you are.” Maria went into his bedroom to find something else to wear. “Michael? This?”

“No. The one with the matching sweater,” he said.

“Okay.” Maria came out and held onto his arm. “I mean, I love you, Spaceboy, but I’m not going to let you order me around.”

“Gotcha,” Michael said taking her arm. “You know, I think you should stay away from spicy food until your stomach is a little more settled. I don’t want you sick again.”

Maria kissed his cheek. “Whatever you want. You always are so thoughtful.”

~~~

Diane Evans almost felt guilty. She had taken Max’s number from Isabel’s planner, and as she waited for Max to answer, she straightened her shoulders. She was his mother. She shouldn’t have to beg to hear from her son.

“Hello?”

“Max. It's Mom.”

Max voice was guarded. “Hi.”

“How are you?”

“Good. I'm good.”

“Where are you, honey?”

“I'm in California, mom.” Max admitted not wanting to lie when it really wasn’t necessary. He didn’t live under his parent’s roof any longer, and like Michael and to some extent, Maria, he no longer had anyone to answer to.

“California?” Diane repeated in shock. “Why?”

“Just … because …”

“What is happening to our family?” Diane questioned herself more than Max. “Do you know about your sister?”

Max stood still, his interest piqued. “What about her?”

“She and Jesse Ramirez got engaged.”

“Wait. W-what?” Max stared to pace, not in the least bit able to comprehend what she just said. “And you're ok with this?”

“Oh, doesn't much matter what I think.” Diane grieved. Now would Max expect them to be able to control Isabel any better than they could control him? “But, Max, Isabel values your opinion. Will you talk to her?”

“Ok.” He could do that. He would do that.

Diane was afraid to ask, but could resist. “Do you need anything?”

“No, Mom.”

“I just wanted to hear your voice.” Her boy. He was so far away in more than just location. “I love you so much, Max.”

“Me, too. Bye.” Max disconnected. Diane looked at the phone no more relieved or reassured. All she knew was her family was breaking up, and her children were so far away.

“How's Mommy?” Kal asked having listened in to the conversation.

Max didn’t bother to answer that. “Why did you give me your phone?”

Kal shrugged. “I'm huge. I can get another one.”

“Langley, stop. Look at me.” Max ordered. “Do you like ice cream?”

“I'm on the zone.”

“Would you like to get me some?” Max asked.

“No.”

“Langley, get me some ice cream.” Max ordered and he followed Kal as he complied. “You see, I’ve been thinking about this. You didn't give me the phone because you felt sorry for me. You did it because I told you to. When I give a direct order you have to follow it, don't you?”

“Yes.” Kal admitted reluctantly.

“I wish I had known these rules a little sooner, Kal. We could've saved some time.” Max said taking the ice cream Kal handed him. “You and I are gonna find that ship.”

~~~

Michael was working and Maria was talking to him about what they missed at school when Isabel came up interrupting them. Michael saw her face, and he shook his head.

“Is,” he said. “We’re not doing this here.”

Maria looked from one to the other, and quickly excused herself to go check on a customer, or maybe go stand outside and beg a passerby to please come in and be her customer. She didn’t want to be there.

“Yes, we are! You spend every waking, dreaming moment trying to get together with Maria, and nobody stands in your way, as if they could. And Max?” Isabel made a scoffing noise. “He can clearly do whatever the hell he wants. I am the only one who seems to have to follow the rules.”

“I'm not changing my opinion. This marriage is wrong.” Michael turned to go back to work, he headed for the kitchen.

“Wrong for whom?” Isabel demanded. “Ok, maybe this doesn't seem rational to you but it doesn't have to. I am crazy about this guy. God, Michael, all I am asking for is a normal life.”

Michael stopped his back towards her. “And why doesn't Jesse deserve the same thing? Everybody that we come into contact with is at risk. Only in his case, if and when the trouble starts, he won't even know what's coming. That kind of sucks.”

He couldn’t save Maria anymore from the pain of knowing him. That ship had sailed so long ago. Hell, even if he knew all pain and fear she suffered from knowing his secrets, he still couldn’t say if he would still not want her to know. He would still want her. Still selfishly need her in his life, but then again, that wasn’t something that could happen since she did know. Jesse was free, and Isabel was mixing him into a situation without him able to decide on his own.

The wedding planner, Wendy saw Isabel when she entered the Crashdown and immediately rushed to her side. “Isabel! Oh, I'm so glad to run into you.”

“One second …” Isabel said to the woman, not willing to end this discussion with Michael.

“If you really loved him, you wouldn't be this selfish.” He was that selfish himself, but then even the choice to tell Maria hadn’t been his. He couldn’t take back what she knew, and her involvement was already done. Jesse still had a choice, a life of being free of this on going nightmare of fear. Michael had nothing more to say, or that he wanted to hear, so he just walked away.

“Look at this.” Wendy said shoving a glossy in front of Isabel. “I just discovered a new horse-drawn carriage company. How about the fantastic gold tassels on his harness?”

“Horses, um … I am actually the only girl who never liked them. We're gonna be taking a car to and from the reception.”

“Honey, do me a favor, just take this home and show it to your mom. You know, the more I think about it, the happier I am you turned down that April date at Emden pond.”

Isabel’s mouth opened in shock. “What?” She ignored Wendy for a moment as this new information took over her thoughts.

“Yeah, your mother was right, it's just too nippy that time of year.”

“You talked to my mother?” Isabel asked her voice going cold and hard with anger.

“When the date opened up, I called her right away.”

Isabel didn’t get a chance to say a thing about her plans being cancelled by her mother as her phone rang. Sighing, she answered. “Excuse me.” Isabel told Wendy. “Hello?”

“So you think you're getting married?” Max’s voice said over the phone.

“H-how did you-- how did you find that out?” Isabel asked her entire world crashing.

“Mom tracked me down. Isabel, you've only known this guy for a month.”

“Four months, and don't call him this guy.” Four months? Max had hardly said two words to Liz Parker when he decided to save her life and propel their lives spinning out of control, but that was okay.

“Either way, I don't see the urgency.”

“I’m not gonna have this conversation with you on the phone.”

“Look, just don't make any more plans until I get back.” Max told her.

“Stop it.” Isabel demanded. “I am not a child.”

“Yeah, well, you're acting like one.”

Isabel’s mouth opened at the hypocritical remark by one of the most spoiled and childish boy known to the earth. “Yeah, well, you, too.” Isabel screamed in the phone.

“Uh, well, uh, you …” Wendy wasn’t the brightest bulb in the pack, but she was finally cluing in that this wasn’t a good time. “Have a good one, ok?”

Isabel sat back exhausted with the phone in her hand, the wedding planner fleeing, and Michael talking to Maria in their usual little group of two. She could see Maria talking low and soothingly to Michael, who looked up and saw her stare. He didn’t even bother to try. He walked out without giving her another glance.

~~~

“Isabel? You okay?” Maria asked concerned, not only for Michael, but for Isabel who looked beaten.

“No. Not really.” Isabel closed her eyes. “They don’t want me to get married.”

“I know.”

“I know you do, and I also know that you know more about it than I do.” Isabel stood up squaring her shoulders. “Do you even know how unfair it is that they never ask or tell me anything? All they ever do is order.”

Maria stopped Isabel from walking away. “Welcome to Michael’s shoes. He walked in them for his entire life, and until recently, he was never on the side with another person, just him standing there alone while it was always you and Max against him. He understands, but he can’t change how he feels.”

“I knew you would be on his side.”

“Yes, I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t see and understand your side as well.”

“That doesn’t help me right now, Maria.”

“I know.” Maria said as Isabel walked away. “But it will later once I talk some sense in to a certain alien boy.”

~~~

Isabel’s life went from bad to worse. She confronted her mother about canceling her wedding plans, and about contacting Max. Once she found out that her mother went through her planner to find Max’s number, the betrayal was numbing. It came down to her mother thinking she was moving too fast, not thinking clearly, rebounding to Jesse from Alex’s death, and that sooner or later, she would find that she made a mistake, that Jesse wasn’t right for her, and find herself a divorcee. The lack of support was crushing, and for maybe the first time in her life, she wasn’t getting everything the exact way she wanted it.

~~~

“Maria, please don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Maria asked innocently.

“Stop it. I don’t want to be reasonable, not about this.”

Maria leaned her head against his back her arms snaking around his waist. He didn’t pull away, but seemed to rest back against her. “I’m sorry you’re not happy.”

“This isn’t about being happy or unhappy. It’s about Alex. It was about us swearing to never let that happen again.” Michael sighed, and untangled himself from Maria. He  sat down on the sofa, sitting her across from him in the coffee table.

“Alex?”

“Him. All of you. All the humans whose lives have been altered, destroyed or directly harmed by knowing us. Alex, Grant, Topolsky, Valenti, his father, Kyle, Liz, you, Pierce, your mother, Sean, indirectly though Liz’s meddling and the list goes on.” Michael rubbed his face. “I am the last person to suggest telling anyone, but not telling them, taking over their free choice as if it were your right to play God with their lives …”

“You regret me knowing?”

“Yes.” Michael admitted. He winced at the pain he saw in her eyes from his admission. He quickly took her hands. “I regret that the choice was never yours, that it touched your life in so many ways which have hurt you and the people you love, and mostly I regret that regardless, I never can imagine my life a day without you knowing.”

Maria understood what he was saying. Knowing what he did, he would’ve told her. He would’ve told her, he would’ve given her a choice, and he was struggling between the right and wrong of it, and the pure hypocrisy of not giving Isabel the same right.

“Alex’s blood stains my hands, Maria, and every day I struggle with the nightmare of how it could’ve been you.” Michael glanced at her, their eyes meeting, and it was the fear of knowing that it might have been Maria and not Alex.

~~~

Liz called Maria for support, and Michael left her to talk to Maria as he went off on his way to go return the casserole dish to the Evans. How it was his responsibility and not Isabel’s who brought it over, or Max who ate the damn casserole, he didn’t know, but there it was.

Liz was depressed and she sat with Maria on the sofa in the DeLuca house. She had a box of Max's stuff.

“I brought your CD back.”

“Good.”

“Sure. There you go.” Liz said dejectedly. She looked around the apartment seeing so much of Michael in Maria’s home, the slap at how accepting Amy DeLuca was of Michael presence in Maria’s life. They weren’t even together, and they were more together than she and Max. “How about these peanut butter pretzels? I know that you really like those. Here. Just take them.” Liz reached into the box. “The past three Simpsons on tape.” Liz shoved it into Maria’s hands. “Really funny episodes. And why don't you take these stupid cookies that I made.” Maria lifted a brow at the M&M swirled Tabasco cookies. “And this really ugly, stupid picture of myself.” Liz tossed it in the pile too. “Why don't you just take it all, Maria?”

“Are we breaking up?” Maria asked gently, her hand taking Liz’s. “No call?”

“Nothing. And I was totally panicked until I talked to Isabel on the phone and she told me that Max called her this afternoon.”  Liz admitted, devastated by Max’s neglect.

“Come here. I feel your pain, girlfriend. And you know what? Whenever this happens to me, there's only one thing I can do, and that is take it out on Michael.” Maria said trying to cheer up her friend. “Let's go to his apartment right now.”

Liz laughed a little hugging close to Maria. “You know that I’ve been with him through all of this. All of it. Any time that he needs anything, I'm there. Right? And he can’t even pick up the phone.”

“Well, this phone that you speak of, it's a revolutionary concept, yes,” Maria said meeting Liz’s eyes, “but it does work both ways.”

“I know.”

~~~

Max and Kal went to the Air Force base to see a general that Kal used on his productions as a consultant. After much negotiation, the general still refused to allow Kal and his intern, Max to see the ship. But Kal knew where it was, and Max ordered him to take him to it 

“It's in there.” Kal told Max.

“You can see through metal?” Max asked staring at the large building.

“No. It's the only building big enough to hold the ship.” Kal answered amazed by the denseness of the regenerated Antarian King. Max ignored his disdain as the entered through the doors to find the ship mysteriously unguarded.

“Well, you got what you wanted. I'm leaving.” Kal told Max. He had enough of this boy. Enough of Antar, and more than enough of everything. “Oh, I forgot to mention … You'll need the key.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention - I have it.” Max held up the diamond he and Liz stole and that Michael and Maria had retrieved. “You can’t leave. You're my pilot.”

“I'll have to shapeshift to operate the controls.” Kal told him. Max knew what shapeshifting meant to him, what it cost him. He would lose all the ground he gained in feeling, in being even partially human.

“My son needs me.” Max told the man, not able to let Kal’s concerns outweigh his own.

“You're asking me to throw away everything I’ve ever worked for.”

“You'll never be human, Langley.” Max told him.

Kal couldn’t believe he could hate someone so much. He could feel hate fine, and when and if he shifted, it would be the one emotion he would retain. “You don't want to go back there. This is such a better place.”

“I'm gonna find my son and then we're coming back.” Max told the shifter.

How naive could one boy be? “It won't be that easy.”

“How do we get this ship out of here?” Kal was quiet, refusing to willingly help in any way. “Tell me how we do this!”

“First, you have to open up the hangar door, but not until I get the ship airborne. Too soon, the alarm will go off and all hell will break loose.”

“And then what?”

“I lower the entry beam and you step in and we're out of here.” Kal felt his life slipping away, lost to this impulsive act that couldn’t possibly work or end in any way but their deaths. “Please. Listen to your human side. I don't want to go.”

Max ordered Kal, “Shapeshift. Fly the ship.”

Kal obeyed and he shifted into his native form before entering the shift. Max watched as the ship began to rise. His cell phone rang, and Max quickly glanced at it seeing Liz’s name show up on the caller ID. Max turned off the phone and put it back in his pocket. The ship hovered for a moment before crashing to the ground as alarms went off. Max rushed to Langley as he appeared on the ground. The Shapeshifter was weak.

“Langley.”

Kal shook his head weakly. “There was too much damage from the initial crash. The generators overloaded.” Max quickly helped Langley to his feet and out of there before they were caught. So Isabel had been right back in Utah … their ship was a lemon, it had crashed, and all these many months and the pain he caused Langley, his parents, and Liz was for nothing. He had no way to reach his son.

~~~

“Hey, you.” Diane said glancing up at her daughter when she entered the kitchen. “There's leftover chicken in the fridge, honey.”

“I didn't come to eat.” Isabel informed her mother. “I, um … I came because a spot opened up at the wedding pavilion at Summerhaven Park.”

Diane didn’t want to talk about the wedding or get into a fight with Isabel again. “When will your father ever learn to load this thing right?”

Isabel refused to not be heard. “Jesse and I are getting married there in two weeks.”

“You're what?” That got Diane’s attention.

“Getting married in two weeks,” Isabel repeated.

“Because you're mad at me.”

“No.”

“Yes, you are, Isabel.” Diane couldn’t take much more. Years of struggling to keep a peaceful relationship with her daughter, which usually meant giving her everything her way, and a son that no matter how hard she tried to reach to him, remained aloof. “You're trying to put me in my place, aren't you? You and I have been playing this game for years.”

“No. This isn't about you.” How could it be? It was never about her mother, and it was her wedding day. “I came because I love you and I would very much like it if you would be a part of what is going to be the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life.”

“I'm sorry, but I can’t do that.” There was a knock at the door, and Diane thankful of the interruption answered it. “Michael.”

“Mrs. Evans.”

Diane quickly invited him in to diffuse the tension in the room. “Come on in.”

“Yeah, Maria said that you wanted this back, so I …” Michael stopped noticing the tension between Isabel and her mother. “Oh, is this a bad time?”

“No. No, not at all,” Diane lied. “Isabel, why don't you see if Michael would like something to drink?”

“No, I'm fine. Thanks.” Michael quickly refused not realizing that dropping off a casserole dish was going to trap him into a social situation. God, when things like this happened, he usually found Maria and took it out on her to feel better.

“Isabel?” Diane said to her daughter, trying to get her to socialize.

“Excuse me.” Isabel walked out leaving a quiet Michael staring at Diane Evans.

~~~~

Max helped Kal out of the car. “Langley.”

Kal had enough. “I destroyed my life for you tonight, all for nothing. Because of you, everything I’ve worked for is gone.”

“Kal.”

“It's how you've always been, Your Majesty: Selfish and ungrateful.” Langley informed Max, telling him the exact same thing that numerous other aliens had told him. He had been a bad person, a bad king, and even a bad friend in his previous life. “Being your protector might be encoded in my genes, but after tonight … I'll never stop hating you.”

“Kal. You were right. I slept with the enemy, then sent my own child back with her. It was the biggest mistake of my life, and I have to live with it every single day. It's my fault. I shouldn't have dragged you into this. But I didn't have anything to-- I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry.”

“Think of all the loved ones you almost left behind. Your sister … girlfriend … your mother, who feels like she's already lost you.”

“How do you know about them?” Max asked confused not only how Kal could know about them, but how they felt.

“It's my job.”

“Why didn’t you mention Michael?”

Kal laughed. “You can’t be that blind. Michael doesn’t belong to you! He never has, and he never will. He is strong enough to usurp you, and had he a little less humanity, he would. That beautiful piece of girl he keeps close holds enough human feeling to keep him for a lifetime. I could feel it across the room.” Kal laughed at how dense Max was. “I didn’t mention him because he’s already too far gone from you. Go home, Max. Don't come back. Word of advice … the more you embrace our alien side … the more you're gonna lose.”

Max stared at Kal remembering his dark time with Tess, the darkness that pushed him beyond what he thought he could ever do. It had never been a mindwarp or Tess controlling him, but rather the rise of his innate alien self exerting control over all he surveyed. Max closed his eyes for a moment. Maria had been right. He had been at fault. He allowed his alien side to dominate, and it cost them everything. His son. Alex. And so much more. Perhaps his own sanity.

~~~

Michael let himself back into the DeLuca home. He was surprised to see Maria sitting alone. “Liz leave?”

“Yeah,” Maria frowned. “She called Max and he didn’t answer. I think she needs time alone.”

“I walked into something weird at the Evans.”

“What?”

Michael shrugged. “Not sure. They were fighting.”

Maria patted the sofa next to her. Michael sat down stretching his legs out in front of him. “Liz said that Max called Isabel this afternoon, but he didn’t call Liz.”

“He probably found out about Isabel’s wedding.” Michael guessed.

“I think so. But how?”

“Don’t look at me. I didn’t tell, and personally, I want nothing to do with it.”

Maria took Michael’s hand and held it in hers. “Are you sure? None of you are leaving this planet. This is your home. Since you decided to stay, everything you’ve done has been about catching up, preparing to live here forever.” Maria bit her lip, her hand tightening on his. “Do you honestly think you will never find love? Never find that one person you want to tell everything about yourself to? Are you planning to be alone forever?” It hurt to say that to him, to think of him one day in love with another woman, one that would replace her in importance. Her stomach hurt.

“No.” Michael glanced at her hand. He planned to be with her. Forever. She knew, she understood, and she made his blood race out of control through his body.

“If you forbid Isabel this chance at a life … at happiness, then when it is your turn, how do you plan to do the very thing you refuse to let her do?”

“It’s different.”

“How?” Maria asked, not seeing how it could be.

It was different because he was already in love. The woman he wanted, needed, and planned to be with already knew. She knew him better than anyone could. He didn’t let people in, and she somehow found the way to break inside by herself. No one would ever be able to do that again, he was already full … full of Maria.

“It just is.”

“Well, then it shouldn’t be.” Maria glanced at him. “You’ve been all alone all your life, out there struggling for someone to just be on your side, just once. Now she’s out there too. I know destiny changed things between you and Isabel, but if she’s still your sister, in your heart you should want this for her. Right or wrong. You would want her to have love.”

Michael picked up Maria’s hand kissing the back of it. “I haven’t been alone in a long time.” He glanced at her, and she smiled, her hand coming up to stroke his cheek. For a moment, he saw it. The shift. A change in her sight as her eyes seemed to move over him, changing, darkening, and he knew that for that instant, she was really seeing him not as a friend, but as a lover.

Kiss her. It was screaming in his head. He started to lean down, to kiss her with the lights on, in the daylight where could be no confusion, no doubts when the phone rang. The moment was gone.

“Yeah,” Michael said his eyes not leaving hers. “It’s Max. He’s coming home.”

~~~

Isabel was walking in the park, using her powers to knock out street lights when Michael found her. Michael came up on his bike.

“That's city property.” Isabel shrugged blowing another light. “What's going on with your mom?”

“I'm getting married in two weeks and she told me she wanted nothing to do with the wedding.” Isabel was on the verge of tears. “I'm all alone in this, Michael. Do you have any idea how that feels?” Michael didn’t say anything because of course he knew how that felt. It was the story of his life, but she wouldn’t want to hear that so he just listened. “Max found out the other day. You can imagine what his reaction was. That's why I wanted-- I just--I needed you to congratulate me the other night.” Isabel sniffed. “You know, can you be on my side just this once?”

Michael shook his head at her. Unreal. He loved Isabel like a sister, but in truth, she wasn’t easy to love. At times, she was impossible. He asked her a thousand times to be on his side, and it never made a dent in her views. He could count on one hand the number of times she sided with him against Max. Remembering what Maria said, their talk, he swallowed the bitter pill and spoke to her truthfully. “Isabel, you don't care what I think.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because if you did, then you wouldn't have had Maria break the news.”

Isabel hung her head. He was right. She showed a lack of respect or connection to him by having him told by another, while she insisted on waiting until Max came home to tell him personally. It was a slap, an inconsiderate move on her part. “I'm sorry. That was stupid. I just--I was afraid that you would freak out and I didn't think that I could handle it, so ... I'm sorry.” She saw something in Michael’s eyes, something she didn’t expect to see. Worry. It wasn’t just about her, it was for Jesse. “I know that you're worried about Jesse, but I'm gonna keep him safe.”

Michael nodded feeling the emotions behind his eyes. He couldn’t live through another Alex, another loss to the cause. It was getting too hard to justify their lives over others. “I hope you can.”

“Michael, your opinion means as much to me as Max's. You're like a brother to me, too.” Michael smirked at that. Yeah, a pain in the ass brother, he got that. “The point is to just kind of …”

Michael interrupted her. “So in two weeks …”

“Less than, actually.”

“Congratulations, Isabel.”

Isabel smiled breathing deeply. “Thank you.”

~~~

Liz was sweeping the floor to the Crashdown when Max knocked. She looked around for her father, and motioned for him to come in.

“Hi.” Liz said subdued.

“Hi.”

“When did you get back?”

“Just now.”

Liz looked at him with dark eyes holding a world of hurt. “You didn't call.”

“I was driving all night.” Max admitted. “I-- I just had to get back to see you. I-- I'm sorry.”

Liz remembered what Maria said. She was part of the couple too, and it hadn’t felt that way for a long time. “You can’t do this, Max. I love you, but you know, lately, I just haven't been feeling it back.”

“I didn't mean to …”

“But you did.”

“Liz, I know you've been here, alone, waiting for me, and …and I've … it was wrong. I …” Max lost control. He lost his son. He couldn’t lose Liz too. Not after all they had done to come back from where they had been.

“No!” Liz saw the tears in his eyes. “Max. What, Max? What happened?” Liz begged expecting the worst. His son was dead.

“I failed. And my son … he's up there somewhere. I've just messed everything up. Langley's life. Yours. I'm so sorry, Liz. I'm so sorry.”

Liz hugged him as he cried against her. “It's ok. It's ok.”

“I'll never leave you, Liz.” Max promised.

To Have and to Hold……

Three days before the wedding, Isabel was outside the Crashdown waiting for it to open. She paced back and forth, frowning when Maria finally opened the doors.

“Good morning.” Maria said pleasantly.

Isabel pushed inside, her phone in hand, highly agitated. “Don't you open at 6:30? It's 6:42. I'm gonna need a poppy-seed bagel, cream cheese, Tabasco, and a lot of coffee.” Isabel took a seat. “Oh, my god, where is that phone number?” Isabel connected as Maria put down a coffee cup and filled it along with a bottle of Tabasco. Isabel barely noticed. “Yeah, hi. Is this Zippy Print in Dallas? My name is Isabel Evans. I ordered 150 wedding place cards last week. Right. Well, they were supposed to be overnighted to me yesterday. So where are they?” Isabel listened for a moment, and then sighed. “Look, buddy, your labor problems are not my labor problems. What's your name?” The poor man actually answered her. “All right, Ed, I'd like to speak to your manager.”

Maria walked away, but kept turning back just to keep an eye on Isabel as she set up her marriage headquarters in the Crashdown, wheeling and dealing, threatening and screaming into her cell phone for the entire day.

“Is she okay?” Liz asked in alarm.

“You want to go over there?” Maria asked.

“Um, no. I have to work here … pressed into servitude. You … you, my dad pays well. You take her.”

Maria glanced at her watch. “Well, he gets me only for a couple more hours, and then I need to get to my ten a.m. class. I’ll be back after school.”

Liz sighed dramatically. “Three of my classes were cancelled for end of the quarter project reviews and reading days. Why me?”

“Just born lucky?” Maria smiled. “Talking about lucky, my mom is on her way home today! She’s taking a four day holiday to be here over the wedding, and soon as the bouquet is tossed, and she makes sure I don’t catch it, she’s off to Texas on a special buying tour for her new shop. This is Sean’s first time running the new shop alone.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Good. He’s dating three girls at once. Mom says their customers love him, and just come back endlessly. The clients love him. It’s that charisma thing.”

Liz had to agree. “He really is very charming.” She was quiet for a moment thinking about her history with Sean. “He is your cousin,” she pointed out.

“That he is, but we’re not supposed to talk about that.” Liz laughed as Maria made a face. “Yeah, my mom said she’d be down for the wedding, but I think she’s feeling the need to kick some manager’s butt in the store here. She has it up for sale.”

“Really? I thought she was going to run one, and eventually Sean was coming here to take over this one.”

“Santa Fe.”

“Santa Fe? What’s there?”

“The new store Mom and Sean are looking at. She wants out of the alien business, and the artist gallery and shop is going so well, now she’s looking at Santa Fe.”

Liz looked over as Michael came through the door in his guard uniform. He was yawning, and didn’t seem to notice Isabel, though Isabel was on the phone and hardly gave him a glance.

“Are Isabel and Michael still fighting?”

Maria turned at Michael’s name, and smiled at him. “No. They’re good. Spaceboy was a good boy, and he decided to put away his feelings and let this be about Isabel.”

“Wish Max would do the same. He hasn’t spoken to Isabel since he got back from L.A.”

“Hmm. Want me to have Michael take him down?”

Liz laughed. “How about just talk to him.”

“Hmm. Right.” Maria took a menu and coffee and went to intercept Michael. “Morning!”

“Thank god! Coffee.” Michael kissed Maria’s cheek and then sat back to watch as the black liquid poured into his cup wishing the cup was bigger.

“Tiring night?”

“Long.”

Maria rubbed the top on his shoulder as his one arm went around her waist. “I told you we didn’t have to go to the movies and out to eat. You could’ve taken the time to sleep before work.” Michael shrugged. Between his evening shifts at the Crashdown, school and Meta-Chem, he only had from ten in the evening to two in the morning to practice on dating Maria. He couldn’t afford to sleep away his time.

“I’ll survive. Quick breakfast, and if I hurry I might get almost two hours of sleep before you wake me up for our ten o’clock class.”

“You’re going?”

“Yeah. Better. I dumped three of the classes lately.” Michael rubbed the back of his neck. “What’s due?”

“Test.”

“Oh damn! Over what?”

“I’ll get you the notes. You can scan them as light reading before you crash.” Maria glanced at the door as the other members of Michael’s grave shift crew walked in. ‘Maria!’ they all called in unison. “Boys are here. I’ll go have the cook slaughter a pig.” Maria kissed the top of Michael’s head, but then suddenly leaned down and kissed him softly on the mouth. “And I need you to take care of the Max talking to Isabel situation.”

“Maria, I need sleep.”

The guys all scooted into their usual places. “I know. Look we have a break from eleven to two. You take care of that, and I’ll take care of you. Nap at lunch time, and I’ll even give you a back rub.”

Michael was so damn tired, he’d agree to anything as long as his reward was a damn bed. “Okay. That and a few slices of pizza.”

“Agreed,” Maria turned to the others. “I already set up your coffee cups, guys. I’ll bring more coffee over in a minute, plus your orange juice and waters. Did anyone want anything different, or is it the usual?” Maria took a minute to make note of changes in menu and quickly went to put the order up. The sooner Michael ate, the sooner he could get home to sleep.

Steve lifted an inquisitive eyebrow at Michael. “She’s going to take care of you? A nap and a backrub?” Steve smiled. “That sounds promising.”

“Is she going to leave the uniform on while she does it?” Fly asked, his brain working on the picture. Monk elbowed him hard. Luckily Michael was too tired to comment.

Steve ignored Fly too. “It looks encouraging, Mike. You ask her to be your date to the wedding yet?”

“No. She assumes we’re going together, and she’s right.”

“Cheryl said that it doesn’t matter. You still need to formally ask her. Even if she thinks it’s the same, if you ask … it’s not. It starts her thinking about you differently.”

Michael groaned. “I’ll add it to my growing list. Talk to Max. Ask Maria formally to be my date to the wedding. Sleep...” Michael put his head down on the table to rest, and when Maria came back, she passed out things to the others, her one hand coming to rest on the back on Michael’s head, her fingers stroking his neck. They all beamed at her.

~~~

Michael closed his apartment door and almost ran into Max leaving the bathroom. “Hey.”

“How was work?”

“Breakfast was better because work is over, and now I can sleep.”

“I’m through in the bathroom if you need it. I think there’s still hot water.”

Michael nodded. Good idea. Hot shower, and then he was going collapse on the bed. “Thanks.” Michael went to go into the bathroom, but stopped. “Hey, Maxwell …”

Max turned and waited.

“About Isabel …”

“I’m not talking about this.”

Michael shrugged. “Yeah, that’s fine. I really don’t want to talk about it either. That would cut into my precious little rest time. So you can just listen.” Michael rubbed the back of his neck, and sighed too tired to do this. “You miss your sister’s wedding; you’ll never come back from that.”

Michael shut the bathroom door. Turning on the shower, he sighed. There he did his duty. God, his life was so much easier before he became this talky, talky touchy feely guy.

~~~

Michael groaned as he felt the tension leave his back. Maria was quietly talking to him, his stomach was full of almost an entire pizza, and he almost had three hours of time in which to sleep.

“You need to do something about your work schedule.” Maria told him.

“I know. I’m trying to save money for our move. Graduation is just over six months away, Maria.”

“I know.” Maria’s hands moved over his skin as she stared at his back. He had a wonderful back. It was firm, his skin was clear, and it felt good beneath her fingertips. “I also think that you can’t keep running on nothing. We’ll talk again when you’re not falling asleep under my hands.”

“I love your hands,” he said not really hearing what he was saying as his mind shut down. “I love you.”

Maria laughed at his sleepy voice already gone as he slipped into sleep. “I love you too.” Slowly getting off him, she pulled a cover up over him, and her hand moved slowly down his back, stroking his skin. Staring at his sleeping face, she was always caught by how young and innocent he looked when he was asleep. Her eyes stared at the long lashes on his cheek. Reaching down, she nuzzled his skin breathing in his smell before kissing his lax mouth softly. She left him to sleep.

For once, Michael was too tired to dream, which was a pity since he was working on a nice series of fantasy dreams of Maria as Jeannie, and him as Major Nelson.

~~~

“How long as she been here?” Michael asked Maria as he put another finished order up in the window. Maria took it on her side and finished the order.

“According to Liz … all day.” Maria glanced over at Isabel. “It’s not going well, and now she only has two days.”

“What’s wrong?”

“From what I can gather. Everything. The printers, the floral arrangements, the dress, the entire reception … basically, anything that could be wrong, is wrong.”

Michael glanced over at Isabel and shook his head. He didn’t have the power to help her, and this was totally out of his area of expertise. The better part of valor was to retreat to safety. “I need to get some sleep before my next shift tonight. You mind if I cancel on you after work?”

“No. That is fine. I’d rather you slept anyway. You need it.”

“I do. This is my last shift until after the wedding, so I can do some catch up then. Is Mom home?”

“Yep. Called as soon as she hit Roswell. She went to the store, and hasn’t reappeared. All I get when I talk to her is lots of rants over her manager.”

Michael breathed easier. At least something was normal.

Maria started to move away, but Michael remembered something on his list. “Whoa, don’t go.”

“My order is getting cold.”

“Okay, go drop it and come around. I need to ask you something.”

Maria smiled at him cheekily as she picked up her orders. “The answer is yes!”

Did she read his mind? “What?”

“You know … am I the most beautiful woman you know … the answer is definitely yes!”

Michael smirked when she went off. Going back to the grill, he punished the burgers taking out his anxiety over asking Maria to the wedding.

When Maria walked into the kitchen, she was sucking on a vanilla shake. Michael quickly wiped his hands and pushed her out of the kitchen. He was not going to ask her out over a grease pit. Taking her shake, he took a drink to fortify himself.

“So whassup?”

“Go to the wedding as my date.” Michael said quickly making it more a command than a request.

Maria frowned. “I’m sorry. Maybe it was a bit presumptuous of me, but I thought we were going together.”

“It was, and we are.” Michael took a calming breath, needing to do this right. “I just wanted to ask you formally, you know since I screwed up the Prom last year, and I wanted to get you something to match your dress. That sort of thing.”

“Oh.” Maria was taken aback. She searched his face, and for some reason she felt … shy. Laughing at herself, she shook her head in mirth at her own reaction. “I’d love to go with you.”

~~~

The Crashdown was closing, and Maria already sent Michael home to sleep. Liz and Maria were doing the final end of night breakdown and clearing as Isabel still sat at a booth on the phone.

“Good night.” Maria said to the last customer as she closed and locked the door.

“Well, I ordered the floral arrangements three days ago. I still need them here by Friday.” Isabel made a face at the phone obviously not liking the response she was getting. “No, I don't want a refund, I want them here on time or else. Trust me, you don't want to know what that means. Flowers. Friday. Or else.” She disconnected. Groaning, she sunk her tired head in her hands.

“More pie?” Liz asked gently.

Isabel peered at Liz and Maria through her fingers. “No. Liz, thank you. I'm sorry for being such a bitch today.”

“No, just don't even worry about it. I don't even know what I would be like three days before my wedding.” Liz confessed, almost positive that Isabel was much more composed.

Maria made a snorting noise. “How 'bout me? The thought of marriage or even dating make me break out in hives.”

Liz laughed at Maria’s quip, then sighed, actually thinking the entire wedding, Isabel’s parents disagreement, and the trouble Isabel had with the boys was … well, it was romantic. “Well, I mean, are you? Are you nervous at all? Not about the wedding, but about, you know, getting married? It's for the rest of your life.”

“Honestly, no.” Isabel smiled. That was the only thing that was going right. How she felt. Isabel sighed wishing it could be easier though.

Maria heard the sigh. “You're that sure?”

“I guess I am.” Isabel sat back resting as Maria and Liz piled into the booth on the other side. Her bridesmaids, and the closest thing she had to girlfriends. It was nice that they were going to take the time to talk to her. No one else was.

“Hmm. I really respect that.” Maria admitted. She couldn’t imagine herself ever being that sure.

Isabel laughed at the look on Maria’s face. “Thanks.”

Isabel searched Maria’s face. She knew that Liz and Max considered themselves in love, and she couldn’t imagine marriage not being a goal in their relationship. Then there was Michael and Maria. Everyone … everyone except Maria seemed to realize how Michael felt. Or maybe it was easy for her and Max to know since they watched Michael give up his dream of going home for Maria. There was little doubt how Michael felt after that. Isabel felt the need to test the waters.

“Maria, say hypothetically you were to marry … say Michael, how do you see that day? I mean would you be nervous?”

“Hypothetically?” Maria pondered. Her face clouded as she imagined Michael as married, and trying to put another woman there, she couldn’t. She couldn’t image a life without Michael. It wasn’t just marriage, it was everything. Children. Maria smiled slightly imagining little Michaels all about the place, the look on their faces as they slept so much like their father’s, the sweep of their lashes on their cheeks, and …Maria shook her head to clear it. The other two girls watched her, enchanted by the soft loving expression that moved over her face. “I think it would be …” Maria couldn’t find words. She could never imagine being unsure of Michael in anything.

Liz quickly came to Maria’s rescue. “Oh, god, I know. Could you imagine? What if I had to marry Max?”

Grateful for the save, Maria was happy to ponder a Max and Liz marriage. Isabel listened as Liz and Maria's voices faded away. Isabel saw herself standing near giant windows with curtains billowing in the wind. A man walked up to her, and they kissed. She startled awake suddenly.

Liz and Maria saw Isabel reaction, and frowning Liz asked, “Are you ok?”

Isabel quickly smiled shaking off the strange dream. “Yeah, I'm ...Fine. I'm fine.”

~~~

Maria went to find her mom. Amy hadn’t come home, and she suspected that the shop was the culprit. “Mom?”

“Back here, honey!”

Maria walked through the shop to find her mother in the back among tons of unopened boxes. “Maria, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I haven’t been home in months, and look at me!”

“What’s going on?”

“That idiot manager, he over-ordered everything. I’ve got a ton of money tied up in these boxes, and I need an internal audit to inventory if I want to put up the shop for sale.”

Maria sat down on a work table. “You sure you’re ready for that, Mom?”

Amy put her clipboard down. “I don’t know. I think so.” She came to sit next to Maria. “It’s strange, huh?”

“Kinda.” Maria looked around. “This place has supported us for so long, and I don’t know how I feel about it being gone.”

“It won’t happen until after you graduate. There are a lot of things to get done. Even finding a buyer might take some time.” Amy looked at her daughter, worried by how she was playing with her fingers. “What is it? You can tell me.”

Maria laughed. “Things are changing so fast, and it’s like once I have a handle on one thing, something else alters.” Maria thought about Michael actually asking her to be his date. “I guess I am either fighting the increasing tide, or trying to wade through it to get to the safety of the other side. I really hate being a coward.”

Amy hugged her daughter. “You aren’t, Maria. You are very brave in so many things. So your heart is a little tender, and you guard it. That is not being a coward. I don’t want to see you hurt, so you take all the time you need.”

“Isabel asked me a question tonight, a hypothetical one about Michael.” Maria took a deep breath. “She asked how I would feel if I was marrying Michael.”

Amy held her breath, and in a husky whisper, she had to know, “What did you say?”

Maria laughed at herself, shaking her head. “I got out of it. Liz saved me.” She turned to look at her mom, “The thing is … truthfully, is that I didn’t feel nervous or unsure. I could never be unsure of Michael. What bothered me wasn’t thinking of him married, but thinking of him as a father. I could almost see his boys, and the thing is … they felt like they belonged to me too.”

Amy took Maria’s hand in hers. Yes. She saw Michael’s future children too. They always had a lot of their mom in them … a lot of Maria. Amy’s hand tightened on her daughter’s and she wondered if she was ready for this next step. It was coming. The first seeds were there, planted by a thought. Maria might not be ready to acknowledge what was so apparent, but unconsciously, she was already there.

~~~

Kyle was working on a tour bus at the garage with a tour manager at his elbow harassing him.

“Well? Well? Well? Come on, I need an answer.” The man insisted into his phone.

“I'm still looking!” Kyle told the man for the umpteenth time.

“Not talking to you.” The manager told Kyle rudely before returning to his call. “Hello? I I'm talking to you, Phil. Make sure the same time slots are gonna be open for us Saturday. Yeah, well, you'll find out.” The man put the phone against his body and turned his attentions to Kyle. “Ok, so what's the deal? Ok? Hello, I'm talking to you now, Gomer. What's wrong with the bus?”

Kyle put down his too. “Well, Mr. Karter …”

“No, no, no. No mister, no last name, no first name, just Karter with a "k".”

“Ok, look, I don't know what the problem is yet, so why don't you and the band go get a little cup of coffee and come back in an hour or two?”

Karter returned to talking on the phone. “Great, we're stuck for two hours in some rat hole called Ruston, New Mexico.”

“Roswell, Kyle corrected.

“Not talking to you.” Karter said rudely. “Let KZAB know we have to re-book the interview. Yeah--wait, who am I talking to?”

Isabel walked into the garage to find Kyle. She stared at the manager for a moment, utterly unimpressed by him. “Hey, you got a minute?” she asked Kyle.

Kyle looked at the bus and then at the rude manager. He tossed his tool. “I got all the time you need.”

Kyle took Isabel off for coffee as she told him about her erotic dream while awake in the Crashdown. Kyle, who had a love of the erotic, was the perfect person to talk to.

“I don't know. It was just the strangest dream, right. It was like it was me, but it wasn't me.” Isabel continued as Kyle handed her the cup of coffee. “Ooh, thanks. Like I was saying and doing things I had no control over, like it wasn't me, but … It was me.”

“Yeah, you know, they say you should write down your dreams as soon as you wake up.”

“I don't know. The whole thing just felt really, um … dangerous. But I was thrilled by it, by this man, this familiar man. It was pretty erotic. I mean … don't tell anyone … But when I woke up in the Crashdown, I was so disappointed, I literally had to take a cold shower.”

Kyle’s interest piqued. “That's quite a visual.”

“Shut up.”

“Look, don't let it get you, don't--I mean, don't you really think this is a case of the pre-wedding jitters infecting your dream life?”

“Jitters?” Isabel made a face. “Surely you jest.”

“No, and don't call me Shirley.”

“Shirley.” Isabel repeated laughing as her phone rang. “We are spending way too much time together.” She told Kyle as she answered the phone. “Come on. Hello? What?! Are you out of your mind?” Isabel’s face clouded as her voice rose in anger.

“No jitters there.” Kyle said watching her.

Isabel waved him off. “Oh, thanks, Kyle.” Isabel started to leave the garage talking as she went. “No, no, that's not gonna work. No, I'm not changing the date, it's not an option.”

Kyle shook his head. “God, I hate cell phones.”

“I don't understand. How do you run a business this way? You take an order, you take my payment …” Isabel was so angry and so distracted she didn’t notice her parents as she was walking down the street.

“Isabel.” Diane said to get her attention.

Isabel finally noticed them. “Hi.”

“How--ahem.” Philip was not sure how to ask. “How are you?”

“Fine,” Isabel started to walk away.

“Honey, wait.” Diane hated this, and she couldn’t just let Isabel walk away. “I know that you're hurt and you're angry, and we understand, but …”

“… but you need to understand the reason we're not coming isn't because we don't love you.” Philip finished.

“Of course not …” Diane tightened her hand on her husband’s. “But we can’t support this. It's …”

Isabel turned her back on her parents and walked off. She went back to her conversation on the phone. “You listen to me. This is my wedding and no one will screw it up! No one!”

~~~

Isabel met Max at the park. She had been surprised to get the call from him. They were walking and talking as they went to a table, and sat down.

“So how was Los Angeles?”

“Not quite what I expected.” Max glanced at Isabel, noticing the dark rings under her eyes, how tired she look, and generally how unhappy. “How's, uh … How are you?”

“Under a lot of pressure. Two days and counting, you know.”

“Yeah.”

Isabel sighed. “Just say it, Max. You don't want me to marry Jesse.” Isabel waved it off as commonplace. “It's ok. Believe me, people aren't exactly jumping for joy when they hear the news.”

“Everyone's just a little concerned. It's not that we don't like Jesse.”

Isabel nodded having heard it all. “It's that you don't know Jesse, it's how sudden this is,” Isabel recited, “it's that you don't want me to make a mistake I will regret for the rest of my life.” Isabel shook her head tired of it all. “I know. I have heard it all.”

“Don't you think there's a reason that everyone keeps telling you the same thing? Like maybe we're right?”

Isabel wouldn’t even consider that possibility. “Or maybe you could trust me. I would like to believe that my family would find a way to be there for me.”

“You know we will.”

“No, I don't. Mom and Dad aren't coming to my wedding.” Isabel’s voice dropped and went husky. “My parents aren't coming to my wedding. I can say it, but I can’t quite make myself believe it.”

Max’s eyes softened. Thank god Michael had talked to him in his own special way, because he hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten for Isabel. “I'm sorry, I didn't know.”

“It doesn't matter, ok? All that matters is that I know that Jesse is the one.”

Isabel looked over to see her intended walking towards them. She hadn’t realized it was so late, and that Jesse was on a break. She had asked him to meet them in the park during his lunch hour.

“Hey!” Jesse said to the brother and sister, kissing Isabel on her temple.

Max glanced between Isabel and Jesse. “What's this?”

“Oh, this is a set-up.” Isabel informed her brother.

“Hello, Max.” Jesse shook Max’s hand.

“Hey.”

Jesse looked at Isabel with a question in his eye. She had something planned, but what he wasn’t sure. “Hi. What's up?”

“Well, I thought I'd let you ask, dear. Tradition,” Isabel informed her bridegroom.

“Right.” Jesse smiled knowing they talked about it, but he hadn’t known it was a go. “Ahem. I, uh, I know we don't know each other too well yet, but since we're going to be family, I thought that … actually, Isabel and I thought that maybe we could start things off on the right foot by asking you if you, um, you'd consider being my best man.”

“Your …” Max wasn’t sure he heard right. “Best man?”

“Yeah, well, what do you say, Max?” Isabel asked hopefully needing someone in her family to be in the wedding party.

Max couldn’t miss how important this was to Isabel, so he nodded. “Ok. Yeah, yeah, I'd--I'd be honored.”

“Ohh, great!”

~~~

Max got back to the apartment, he woke a half dead Michael to plan an alien strategy meeting. Michael and Max were talking while Michael made food. He glanced at the clock. He had a few hours of free time, and his last shift at work wasn’t until two in the morning. Staring at into his refrigerator, he frowned at the amount of food missing. “Max, man you need to contribute towards groceries, or at least replace what you eat. Maria is currently buying all the groceries in this house, and she’s not even here as much.”

Max didn’t seem to hear. “First we need a sample of his blood, make sure he's not an alien.”

Michael took out the milk. “Oh, yeah, that'll be easy.” He dug around for cereal.

“Then we check into his background, talk to his family, his friends, try and find out everything we can about this guy.” Max stopped making notes on the paper outlining his plan of attack. “We can’t let Isabel know. She already feels abandoned by most of her family. If she knows that I'm not into this …”

“Max, you're not into this,” Michael pointed out with his mouth half full of cereal and milk.

“I know. I know, but …” Max waved that off as unimportant. “Now that I stupidly agreed to be best man, I can’t let her know that. Not until I have something solid on Jesse.”

“So he must be some kind of loser if he needs you to be his best man.” Max gave Michael an insulted look. “I’m just saying, isn’t that usually a position held by his very best friend? So what? He has no friends?”

“Good point. We’ll ask about his friends. If no one is close enough to be his best man, then maybe those few that actually might know him can shed some light on why he’s a loser.”

“Right. I mean I have you, Kyle, Maria, and the guys. Who only has like one best friend?”

Max seemed to think about that. What disturbed him was that in truth all he had was Michael. Hmm...

~~~

The next morning, Maria opened the Crashdown standing aside so as not to be trampled by Isabel. “Good morning.” she called cheerfully. Then she frowned when there was no Isabel. Sticking her head out cautiously, she looked around. No whacked out alien girl. Maria bit a finger nail as she looked up and down the sidewalk in worry.

The dreams she was having were disturbing. Isabel couldn’t shake it. The image of her talking to a dangerous man that didn’t approve of her marriage. Maybe it was her unconscious mind reflecting all the opposition, or maybe it was more. Isabel was sitting on her bed looking at drawings she had made, when Maria knocked.

“Hi.” Isabel said surprised to see Maria.

“Hi.” Maria was hugging her jacket close. She had pulled it over her waitress uniform and rushed over to the Evans house. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, fine.”

“Uh, Liz and I were a little worried when you didn't show up, so when I got a break, I thought I'd just pop on over and see how the wedding's going.”

“Oh, my god, what time is it? What day is this?” Isabel startled, shocked that her mind had forgotten everything but the dream.

“It's Saturday, 11:30.”

Isabel’s eyes went big, and she couldn’t breath. “God, oh, my god, Maria, I'm really late. Um, I was supposed to be at the pavilion an hour ago to, um, to meet with a florist, and--and I've gotta pick up your bridesmaid dresses right now. Right now I have to do that. I was supposed to do that a really long time ago. Actually, if I had had more time, and I actually have to, um,” Isabel’s voice went loud as the enormity of the day overwhelmed her, “drop off the check at the lodge … or they're gonna give my space away to someone else. Jeez!” Isabel covered her face with her hands as she slowly lost control of everything.

Maria quickly sat on the bed her voice dropping into a soothing modulation, one she used on Michael to get him to do things for her. “No, no, it's ok.”

“Oh, my god, I'm gonna …” Isabel was off the bed, damn near hysterical.

Maria pulled her back down, “… sit down, sit down, and don’t worry about it. Just--just don't worry, there's no problem. Everything's gonna be fine, I promise you. I promise you, I'm gonna help you, ok?”

Isabel stared at Maria in wonder. “You're gonna help me?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Thank you. Thank you, Maria.” Isabel hugged Maria, almost in tears, relieved to have someone on her side, someone to help. “Ok, ok … you can start with, um … um … you know what, you just start with everything.” Isabel pushed everything onto Isabel.

Maria looked at it in shock. The amount was staggering. “Um, Isabel, you could take care of so much of this if you used your powers. I mean the placards, the flowers, the …”

“I know. I don’t want that. I’m not telling Jesse about what I am, and I don’t want to cheat. I want to do this the human way … normal.”

Maria laughed shaking her hand. “That’s so Bewitched.”

Isabel looked around the room. “I gotta go.”

“Wait, you're gonna go?”

Isabel frantically gathered clothes. Maria reached over and grabbed a sweater shaking her head. Uh-uh. Not that! “Yeah, I gotta run.” She stopped long enough to hug Maria tight. “Um, thank you so much, so much, Maria.”

~~~

Maria walked into the apartment. She found Michael and Max, and Max took one look on Maria’s face and quickly excused himself. “I’ll go get some groceries. Back in just a little bit.”

“Michael … I’ve been mugged by an alien.”

“What?!” Michael rushed to her, his hands on her, checking her out.

“Isabel mugged me. I … she was helpless, and I … it was there. I just opened my mouth, and it flew out before I could stop it! Then she … she tossed it all in my lap, and …” Maria grabbed Michael hard. “She ran away!”

“Ran away?” Maria nodded. Michael took a deep breath realizing that she hadn’t been really mugged. “Maria, you’re babbling. What happened?”

“Isabel. I told her I’d help her with the wedding and she dumped it all on me.” Michael bit back a smile. “This is not funny, because if I have to help, then so do you!”

“No! No, Maria. Absolutely not!” Michael frantically searched for a plan, any plan to get him out of this. “Maria, this is girl stuff. I am already booked into the guy crap.”

“What?”

“Max …” Michael thought of something. Anything. “Max, just got roped into being the best man … yesterday. He has no tux. We have to go with Jesse to his fitting, get wedding crap for ourselves, and Maria …” Michael’s voice lowered in a quiet hush. “Max hasn’t even planned the bachelor party.”

“Skip it!” Maria told him. What? A lap dancer jumping out of a cake was more important than her sanity? She didn’t think so. “Who has your name tattooed on their inner thigh? Me or Max?”

Max walked in. “Whose name is tattooed where?”

“None of your business!” Maria glared at Max. “Have you or have you not planned the bachelor party?”

Max turned pale. “I have to do that?”

Maria groaned. She punched Michael hard in the stomach. “Okay, you’re with him. Fitting. I’ll start working on the bachelor party, but you and Max will need to find out everything you can about Jesse! We have to invite his friends, tell them where to go.” Maria put a hand over her eyes, not seeing the look Max and Michael shared. Oh yeah, they would find out everything. “I’m desperate. I need to call in extra help.” Maria took out her phone and dialed a number. She walked away from the two to talk on the phone.

“Did you tell her that we were going to investigate Jesse?”

“Don’t be crazy. She’ll make us stop.”

“Sheriff Valenti … Jim. Listen I have a desperate emergency. Uh-huh. I need a bachelor party on the hoof, pronto, a.s.a.p., and I need you to get with Michael and Max at,” she glanced at Isabel’s notes as to where the fitting for tux’s was being done quickly telling him the place. “No. Really, I’m begging you! You’re a man, and Michael and Max,” Maria glanced at the two alien boys who barely functioned on the planet earth, “are not. They’ve never been to one, so unless you want a version equal to National Lampoon’s movie, they need serious guidance.” Maria smiled. “Bless you!”

“She’s good!” Max approved in admiration.

Michael stared at his sassy mate. “Absolutely!”

“Maybe we should include her in our plans.” Max suggested.

Michael shook his head. “She’ll still make us stop.”

~~~

Liz and Maria sat in the Crashdown staring at the piles of papers, as they tried to work on the wedding plans.

Liz could believe how disorganized it all was. “This is so not like Isabel. Something's gotta be wrong.”

“No argument, but you know what? The wedding is tomorrow, and what I've been able to gather by just glancing at everything is that there's like a million things that should've been done yesterday, so here's what I'm thinking. We should just jump into this right now with both feet and take control of the situation …”

“… or we could sit back and let it all fall apart.” Liz added.

“Exactly.” They weren’t going to do that. Isabel was a friend, and she was in need.

“So what's the most pressing emergency?”

Maria’s stomach soured. “Uh, my dress, your dress, and her dress in that order.”

“My dress and your dress?” Liz saw Maria’s face, and what she saw made her blood run cold.

“Let me just show you what she picked out for us.” Maria cruelly held up the picture. Liz gasped in fright as a look of shock graced her face.

“Maria!”

Maria rubbed her head. “I know. We’re screwed.” Maria sat back. “We’re only lieutenants, Liz. Worker bees. We need a general. A queen.” Maria clicked her nail on her teeth. “But where? Where?” Suddenly her face brightened, and she sat up. “I’m so stupid! Of course!” She grabbed Liz’s hand and dragged her out of the Crashdown with her. “C’mon!”

“Maria!”

~~~

Amy DeLuca cleared her throat. “Girls, this is a mess.”

“Wedding is tomorrow, Mom.” Maria said pleading for the only person she knew who could change water into wine. Her mother was a businesswoman who got things done. “Mom …”

“Maria, be still. I didn’t say no.” Amy paced for a moment. “Okay, time to activate the wedding plan!”

Maria clapped her hands excitedly. Liz leaned over. “The wedding plan?”

Maria whispered back as her mother took out her phone, and started to move earth and realign planets, “When I was born, my mother started planning the perfect wedding for me. She has this huge repertoire of assets, favors, and friends ready to bend to her persuasion. She didn’t want to be caught lacking on my most important day!”

“She’s so incredible.” Liz said in awe as she stared at Amy DeLuca.

“I know!”

“Walter, do not tell me that the room can’t be ready. It will be ready by this evening because I have a special decorating crew coming in after midnight tonight! You have the room cleaned and set up so my decorators can get it ready.” Amy listened for a moment. “That is hardly my problem, but it will be yours if Martha Hendricks finds out about that lottery ticket you were supposed to split with her, but didn’t. I think you see what I’m saying.”

Maria and Liz smiled as Amy DeLuca ran over half of the merchants in Roswell acquiring raw materials for decorating, floral arrangements, and ribbons.

“Honey, you and your friends will have to decorate the pavilion and the reception hall tonight late. How many can you get?”

Maria gave it some thought. Isabel might not want to use alien powers, but she had no problem with it to make everything perfect. “Liz, Max, Kyle, Michael and I can do it after the bachelor party.”

“I’ll get the keys and make the arrangements. Everything will be waiting. You find Michael, send him to me. I need him to run a few errands.” Amy read her new list, so much more organized than Isabel’s. “Liz, you’re to order the cake, including the bridegroom’s cake, and arrange the catering though the Crashdown. Can your family business handle dinner for a hundred?”

“We have a chef that has classical training and he would love to make something wonderful.”

“Good. Tell him no burgers, three main courses, and no dry chicken.” Amy clicked off the item. “I’ll be by shortly to go over the menu and main ingredients.”

“Yes, Mrs. DeLuca.”

“Maria, you take care of the music and keep an eye on the bachelor party. I’m afraid you can’t find the time to give Isabel a party with all that needs to be done, but I think she’ll take this as a present.”

Amy made a sound of distress staring at the bridesmaids’ dresses. “This is too horrific for words.” Liz and Maria both nodded, totally agreeing. “I saw the perfect dress for you, honey, just last week in Las Cruces. It would totally work. If I order two colors for you and Liz …” Amy took out her phone to call. She could have Sean pick up the dresses and drive them over. Amy kissed her daughter’s cheek. “Don’t worry, honey. I’m not going to let my precious child wear anything ugly.”

Maria hugged her mother hard. “Thanks, Mom!”

~~~

Max and Jesse were trying on tuxedos, and Michael was hanging around checking out something to wear on his first official date with Maria. He wanted to look nice, but not a freak in a penguin suit. Seeing a nice Gucci black silk shirt with black ivory buttons, he paused. Okay, that he could wear. It had an Emperor collar. Nice. Expensive. Michael discretely changed the cost to make it more in his budget.

Jesse looked in the mirror and shook his head. “No, I don't think I can do this shawl collar. Let's try the double-breasted.”

“Hey, Jesse,” Michael said holding the shirt up to him. Should he get his hair cut? He better call Steve, or specifically, Cheryl.

“Hey.” Jesse said glancing at Michael.

“Uh, congratulations. All the best. I mean, you're really getting a great girl.” Michael saw a pair of black leather pants. Um … maybe not.

“Thanks, um … Michael. We met in …”

“Utah, right.” Michael frowned at the jackets. He didn’t like them. Maybe something like a waistcoat vest. He wasn’t good at this. He really needed Maria.

“Exactly. I'm bad with names.”

“Oh, no, don't sweat that.” Michael waved it off. It wasn’t like he really had wanted to know the lawyer anyway. “So twenty-four hours and counting. You've gotta be getting nervous.”

Jesse flashed a huge smile. “Oh, you know it.” The man helping Jesse held up another style.

“Oh, that's sharp right there.” Michael told the other man. Damn Maria and her fashion sense. It was rubbing off on him.

“Thanks.” Jesse noticed what Michael was putting together. Nice. The boy didn’t look fashionable, but he was putting together a nice ensemble.

“Um, so Max tells me that you're a local boy.”

“Yeah, born and raised.”

“And then you went to Harvard.”

“Yeah. First I did my undergraduate work at Cornell.”

Max joined them staring down at his tux. It needed altering. “That's in, uh, upstate New York, right? Why so far away?”

Jesse shrugged. “A couple reasons. Scholarship was one. Mostly just wanted to get out of New Mexico.”

“Yeah, I can relate.” Michael said. He spent his whole life dreaming of leaving Roswell. “Family problems, right?”

“No, no, nothing like that. Uh, this restless feeling, you know?” Jesse explained. He loved his family. “Just an overwhelming desire to see something outside my window besides the desert.”

“Yeah, I know that feeling. I'm dying to get out of this place.” He was working his ass to get out of Roswell … with Maria. “Tell me about Cornell. What was it like?”

“Oh, it was beautiful. Sits up on this hill overlooking Lake Cayuga. There are a lot of great hiking trails, the woods are gorgeous.”  Michael and Max continued with the questions as they continued to get everything perfect for tomorrow. Maria walked in once, looked at a tie Michael had in his hand and shook her head. She delivered Jim Valenti on her way out after kissing Michael’s cheek telling him that he looked good.

“Anyway, I didn't make the law review, so I knew I wouldn't be clerking for anyone on the Supreme Court.”

“No, of course not.” Michael said absentmindedly after talking to Jim privately. They had most of the arrangements done for the bachelor party at the Cow Patty.

Max continued asking questions. “Wait, can we go back for a minute? You said you changed apartments between your second and third year at Harvard. Why'd you move?”

Jesse laughed at all the questions. “What, are you guys interrogating me or something?”

“No!” Max said quickly.

Michael made a face. “No, no, no!”

“Just curious,” Max reassured Jesse. “You know, small town boys eager to hear about the outside world.”

“Wow, that's sharp.” Michael said looking at Jesse as he picked up a pin and Jesse’s jacket.

“I mean, you've been a lot of other places that we really haven't, so …” Max continued and Michael made a gestured behind Jesse at Max to cut it out. He was being too obvious.

“Right. No, it's true, I understand.” Jesse told them.

“Roswell is Roswell.” Max continued as Michael put a straight pin in Jesse’s jacket.

“Yeah, you can say that again.” Jesse smiled. He was so ready to be married. He looked at the shirt and reached back to get the jacket. Michael adjusted the pin in the sleeve.

“Here, here. Try this on.” Michael said helping Jesse into the jacket.

“Ouch!” Jesse said as the pin stuck him.

“You ok?” Max asked.

“There's still a pin in there.” Jesse explained.

“Oh, I'm sorry about that.” Michael said making a face at Max.

“Still a pin in the jacket,” Max said in wonder. Smooth.

Michael handed Jesse a handkerchief. Jesse quickly pressed it to the bleeding part of his arm before he got blood on his clothes. Michael took it back with a blood spot on it, and folded it up to pocket it.  Michael gestured to Max. “Oh, Max, we gotta go because we gotta do that thing we gotta do.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry.” Max nodded. Right. Bachelor party. Test Jesse’s blood. It was all in a day’s work.

Michael waved to Jesse. “Yeah, it was nice talking to you.”

“Yeah, you, too.”

“Good luck.” Michael took his new clothes to check out.

“Thanks. All right, Max. Thanks, guys.” Jesse went back to looking at his jacket.

~~~

Michael was looking at the blood under Max’s microscope at his apartment while talking to Max on the phone. “We've got bad news, Maxwell. Jesse Ramirez is … Ta-da! Human. Yeah, nice red blood cells. Not a green one in the bunch.”  He frowned when there came a knock at his door. It wasn’t Maria. She would just walk in. “I gotta go.” He told Max as he hung up. The knocking repeated. “All right, I'm coming, I'm coming!” Michael opened the door to find a nervous Isabel.

“Michael, I'm in trouble. We may all be in trouble. There's an alien out there somewhere and he's after me.”

Michael calmly listened as Isabel told him about the dreams, about the mysterious man. He listened and shook his head. 

“You know, it might just be a dream, Isabel. You're under a lot of pressure, a lot of anxiety.” Michael suggested. Hell, he just bought the clothes to take Maria to the wedding. “And what's so strange about dreaming about an alien?” Hell, he dreamed about Maria all the time, and nothing was more alien than Maria.

“No, this is an alien who--who knows me, who's … intimate with me, I mean--I mean, what if it's--god!”

“Who?”

“Khivar. What if it's Khivar?”

“So what if it is? It's probably still just a dream. Yeah, ok.” Isabel didn’t look too convinced. “Think about it for a second. Who's Khivar? He's a man you had an affair with …”

“No, that wasn't me. That was that other person.” Isabel said. She wasn’t Vilandra. She wasn’t her. Michael wasn’t getting it. Why was she dreaming of Khivar, and not him? Whatever she used to feel, it was obvious that Khivar was the one in her heart, the one she meant to be with. She wasn’t that person anymore, and she didn’t want this to mess up her new life.

“That was you on another planet, ok?” Michael corrected her, not willing to let her pass off her past so easy. Ignoring it never got any of them anywhere. “And how did this illicit affair turn out? It got us all killed.”

“This isn't helping.” She didn’t have time to deal with blame for a past life.

“Because you're not listening.” Michael said emphatically. “Don't see what's going on? It's just a dream, Isabel. Your subconscious mind is screwing with you. I mean, you know guilt? You feel guilty about what you did back then.”

“I don't even know what I did back then for sure. I mean, all I really know is that I betrayed you and Max and my whole family for this-- this Khivar.” Isabel collapsed into her usual overly dramatic hyperbole, as Michael tried to be supportive. “Oh, god, why? What is wrong with me? I mean … who does something like that? What if I betray Jesse the way I betrayed all of you?”

Michael caught her before she melted down. “Hey, no, sit down.” Michael pushed her onto the sofa and sat next to her. “None of us know what happened in that life. All we know for certain is who are in this life.” Michael knew that to be a fact, since his past meant nothing to him. Only this life, this time and reality meant anything to him. “And in this life, you're Isabel, and Isabel isn't the kind of person who's gonna betray her husband.”

“What if they're not just dreams? What if Khivar is really trying to contact me?”

“So what?” Michael made a face. That ship had sailed so long ago. “Khivar isn't here. He's up there somewhere on a different planet. If he's trying to contact you, then we'll deal with it.”

“Ok.” Isabel took a huge calming breath. “Yeah, ok.”

“Good.” Michael was glad that was over. He was late. He had promised to go see Amy, run some errands before the bachelor party.

Isabel finally calmed down, and she noticed the microscope in the coffee table in front of her. “What is this?”

Michael swore under his breath and quickly lied. “Uh, school project.”

“Huh.” Isabel glanced in the view piece for a moment, and then sat back suspicious. “Whose blood is this?” Michael’s face was blank, fused with innocence. Isabel’s mouth flew open in outrage. “Is this Jesse's blood? Are you testing his blood now?”

Michael made a wide gesture and a face. “And he passed!” Michael said dramatically quickly assessing blame where it was due. “Because I knew he would pass. I told Max …”

“Max is in on this?” Isabel said, not believing it. Those two would go so far … behind her back, and …

Maria opened the door and rushed in unaware that she was saving Michael from a full Isabel rant. Michael glanced at Maria, and swearing under his breath again, he quickly covered the microscope before Maria saw it.

“Oh, thank god you're here!” Maria said seeing Isabel in relief. “Oh … okay, um, here's the situation. Uh, there's a slight kink in the plans. Your … your dress is in Florida.”

“What?” Isabel stood up, her face fusing with color. “What?! Oh, God.” She rushed out of the apartment.

“Isabel?” Maria glanced after her. Opening her mouth, and then closing it, she stared at Michael shaking her head. “I think she took it pretty well, don’t you?”

~~~

Max was just leaving the Evans house when his parents entered laughing. They stopped when they saw him noticing the pair of black dress shoes in his hands.

“Hi.” Max said.

Diane was surprised to see her son. “What are you doing here, Max?”

“I, uh, I needed …” Max waved the shoes at them. “For the wedding,” he explained.

“So you're going?” Philip asked. Last he heard, Max didn’t approve either.

“Yeah, it's … it's kind of complicated, but I'm the-- the best man.”

“Really?” That was news to Diane. “I thought you didn't approve.”

“Well, not entirely, but, you know, family.”

“So …” Diane hated to ask, but she really wanted to know. “How is your sister? I mean, she must be getting nervous.”

Philip waved off the thought of Isabel not completely in control of every situation. “Knowing Isabel, I'm sure she's got everything completely wired right down to the number of petals on the roses.”

“Well, actually, she's been having kind of a tough time.”

“Oh?” Then Philip remembered what Jesse told him earlier, before he went to pick up his wife. “Yeah, the, uh, dressmaker lost her wedding dress, so …” Philip made a face, “ha …”

“So you're still not going to the wedding.” Max asked his parents.

“She's making the biggest mistake of her life, Max.” Diane said, “I can’t stand there with a smile on my face and pretend to be happy about it.”

Max remembered how he felt, it being the same, but Michael’s words came back to him. “If you don't, you'll lose her. You and I … we're having problems, and … I don't know what to do about that right now, but I hope that eventually we'll work it out. But you miss your own daughter's wedding, and I don't think you'll ever work that out.”

~~~

Jeff Parker walked into the kitchen of the Crashdown to find Liz and a group of people bustling about. “Liz, what the hell is going on? I just got a call from the bakery about a wedding cake.”

“Uh, yeah, I'm catering Isabel's wedding.”

Jeff went still. “I'm not laughing.”

“I'm not joking.”

Jeff’s face went stern. “First of all, this is not a charity. This is a business.”

“It's being paid for.”

Jeff ignored that. “And second of all, I'm not stupid. I know Max is gonna be in this wedding, and if you think you've found some sort of loophole to be around him, well, it's not gonna work.”

Liz put down her clipboard. “I'm helping out a friend. You see, my parents, they taught me that friends help each other. So unless you plan on having me put away in handcuffs, I'm gonna behave like the person I was raised to be.” Liz walked past him. “Now excuse me.”

Liz walked out as Amy walked in. “Oh, Jeff! Good.” Amy interrupted Jeff’s ability to follow his daughter. “Now I was just talking to Carlos. He tells me that you do not have any fresh almonds in stock.”

“Amy. Welcome home.” Jeff said quickly. “This is a fast food restaurant. We don’t use almonds.”

“Well, that is just not acceptable. I ordered an almandine to the menu, and that will be taking almonds, now won’t it? Now I can’t have the chicken, and I am making due with a nice saddle of beef, even though a nice veal piccata would’ve been better. You will take care of Carlos’s almond problem, won’t you?” Amy started to leave, but noticed Jeff was still standing there as if stunned. “Jeff? What’s wrong? The wedding is tomorrow, and Liz, Maria, and I can’t do this all by ourselves, so you’re going to have to pick up the slack.”

“I guess I could have someone shell some fresh almonds.” Jeff suggested.

“Good man!” Amy marked that off her list. “Oh, and the place settings are all wrong. I’ll have to inspect your flatware.”

“Flatware?” Jeff said helplessly.

~~~

Maria was still talking on the phone, following a list of problems her mother gave her. It was late, and they were fast running out of time. Jim was trying to convince Maria to hire the Kit Shickers for the reception.

“Come on, you're gonna need a band at the reception.”

Marias shook her head no. “Not a country western band.”

“Maria, we need the exposure.”

Maria looked at the man that gave up his day to help pull things together. “You know, you can play the bachelor party, how's that?” 

Kyle walked into the Crashdown and joined them. “Hey, Kyle! Tell her how good we are.”

“I'm not your publicist.” Kyle told his father as Isabel rushed in and joined them. She culled Jim from the group.

“I need to talk to you. Um, I want you to do something for me at the wedding, during the ceremony actually.”

“It's not an usher, is it? I look so bad in those monkey suits. I mean, I'm touched and all but …”

“No, Michael and Kyle are ushering, and Michael is escorting Maria. No, I--I want you to give me away.”

“You mean …”

“Walk me down the aisle.” Isabel explained. “My, um, my parents aren't going, and since I sort of think of you as a father figure I thought …” Isabel held her breath. “What do you say?”

“Yes.” Jim was touched. He had avoided real contact with the aliens since Tess, and the betrayal he felt from her, but Isabel … “Yes, it would be an honor.”

“Thank you.”

~~~

Karter came over to Kyle's booth while Kyle was eating. Kyle gestured to the seat across from him.

“Have a seat.” Kyle offered.

“I get it.”

Kyle made a face. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“I get it, ok?” Karter said taking the seat. “The whole stuck in Mayberry until we're nice to Gomer routine. Sorry I hurt your poor little feelings. Now how much will it take to get you to fix the bus so the band can get back on the road and make the air dates I keep booking …”

Maria looked up from her list. “Wait a minute, you manage a band?”

“No, Alice, I'm the program director of seven, count them, seven radio stations spread across the southwestern United States.”

Maria ignored that hardly impressed. She had her own agenda. “What band?”

“Ivy.”

Maria’s eyes darkened and narrowed in thought. “Ivy? Here?”

“Unfortunately.”

Maria smiled at the man, her look becoming penetrating. The man actually gulped when she concentrated it on him full force. “Let's talk.”

~~~

Michael found Amy DeLuca still in the kitchen of the Crashdown terrorizing the staff to her every whim. “Hey.”

“Michael!” Amy kissed him on the cheek. “I brought back the sweatshirt you left in Las Cruces the other weekend.”

“Thanks.” Michael scratched his eyebrow. “I … um, I finished the errands you want done.”

“Thank you, honey.” Amy glanced at him. “I heard that you asked Maria to be your date at the wedding.”

Michael felt his neck getting a little hot. “Yeah. I mean it was understood, and all, but I thought if I actually made it a formal …”

“Request that it would be like a real date?” Amy guessed.

“Right.”

Amy seemed thoughtful. “That might work.” She reached behind her back, “Here.”

Michael looked at the flowers and then at Amy. “I don’t …”

“They match the dress I got Maria for the wedding.”

Michael smiled looking down at the floor. “Thanks.”

“Well, I thought you could use some help.”

“All I can get.” Michael cleared his throat. “I should’ve told you that she’s alone a lot. I’m working two jobs and between that and school … she doesn’t stay with me as much as she did.”

“I thought you were going to watch over her.” Amy said, her eyes watching him carefully.

“I am. I mean all this … working, the jobs, getting my grades up, they’re all for Maria. I’m trying to make my life better, for her.”

Amy bit back a smile at his brush with honesty, forgetting she was Maria’s mother. “I know you are.”

“It’s just I have so little time, and …” Michael shook his head. “I don’t want to graduate, and move to some big city with Maria as her roommate. I’m afraid if I do, then that will be it … it will be all I’ll ever be.”

“I see.” Amy was in a terrible quandary. Helping the man who would take her daughter away seemed surreal, but then again, of all the people her daughter could fall in love with, Michael was the one she trusted. He didn’t open up to anyone, but Maria. That was something so incredible in itself, it was hard to see it as anything but forever.

“Look, Michael. I know you think you’re going backwards with not being with her all the time. But, you need to look at this differently. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and sometimes, we learn to take for granted what is always there. She is missing you, thinking about you, and now you’re actually asking her on dates …” Amy laughed at her own meddling. “I think you’re on the right track. She was talking about children to me … your children.”

Michael’s heart stopped in his chest for a moment. It was the first real sign he had that Maria was changing. Smiling, Michael picked up the dishes that Amy had been prepared to carry. “Let me get that for you.”

Amy followed Michael watching his back before she dropped her next bomb. “By the way … why is my daughter getting ready for the bachelor party?”

“Maria is not invited to the party. Men only.” Michael said emphatically.

“Hmm. Just tell me that my daughter is not jumping out of some cake in next to nothing and sitting on strange men’s laps.”

Michael’s jaw flexed as his eyes darkened. “Oh, I can promise you that will not be happening.”

~~~

Michael found Maria in the back of the Cow Patty. “What are you wearing?” He looked at her revealing skimpy clothes, his mouth hanging open. “What are you doing here?

“Singing. Not too many. Just a few covers with Jim and his band.” Maria glanced at Michael. “We on to go decorate after the party?”

Michael took her arm. “You realize that this is a bachelor party. It’s traditionally known for bad behavior and debauchery … the behavior is guaranteed to be lewd. You shouldn’t be here.”

“Michael, Max is throwing this shindig. How much debauchery can there be? Plus, Jim said I could dance Coyote Ugly on the bar later!” Maria winked at him patting his cheek on her way out to the main bar.

“Maria, no dancing!”

~~~

Jim and his band were busy singing and Maria was behind the bar working with the bartenders, keeping the wedding party separate from the other paying customers.

“So what happened after the two of you passed the bar exam?” Max asked a friend of Jesse’s.

The man shrugged smiling at a skimpily dressed woman that was one of four that Jim hired to dance and entertain the boys. “We kind of went our separate ways. I didn't really see him again until probably a year ago.”

“What was he doing then?”

The other guy at the table winked at the woman putting a dollar in her outfit. “He was in private practice working for a big-time corporate law firm.” 

Kyle was playing pool with a few of Jesse’s friends watching the girls. Michael was there too, but he wasn’t paying too much attention, moving a girl offering him a lap dance over to Kyle. “You boys don't play much 9-ball out here, do you?” The man chalked Kyle up for a mark.

“Not like you Harvard guys.”

The man sank another ball and smiled at Kyle. “Ooh, it's like a nightmare, isn't it? Just keeps getting worse and worse. And that's the game. That's twenty big ones, my friend.”

The guy that Max was talking to was tired of answering Max’s questions. “Listen, I'd love to sit here and answer your questions all night, but I'm married, this is a bachelor party, and time’s a-wasting.” The man noticed a woman walking by and made a face of appreciation. “Whoa! Excuse me.” He went to follow the woman.

Michael threw himself down into a chair at Max’s table. “Max, it's time to let it go. You're not gonna find anything on that guy because there's nothing to find.”

Kyle came up to Michael. “My alien friend, there's someone I'd like you to meet.”

“Not now, Kyle. I’m keeping an eye on Maria.”

“Man, what are you doing bringing her to a bachelor party? How can you cut loose with her here?”

“Hey, I never said my girlfriend was sane! Plus, technically, she brought herself here.”

“Technically,” Max pointed out, “she’s not your girlfriend.” Michael ignored him. Max saw another friend of Jesse’s that he hadn’t talked to. “Hey, I'm Max Evans, I'm the best man. So tell me, how long have you known Jesse?”

Max tried to appear fascinated as Jesse’s friend talked.

“Yeah, we talked on the phone all the time. Well, I mean, except when he was doing that FBI thing.”

“FBI?” Max suspicion was confirmed. His eyes narrowed. So Jesse was human, he could be Special Unit.

“I don't know what he did, man. He wouldn't talk about it. Said it was classified, national security, that kind of stuff.”

Kyle talked Michael into at least checking out the pool game. Michael might have walked away if not for one of the three Harvard friends looking over and seeing Maria behind the bar talking to a customer.

“Man, I am taking that sweet meat home! She looks like a nice distraction for at least one night.”

Michael bumped into the guy, giving him a bit of an itch. “That ‘sweet piece’ is mine. And she is not a one night distraction for anyone.”

“Sorry, man. I didn’t know.”

“Uh-huh.” Michael took the cue stick from Kyle and smiled at the man. “How much money can you lose?”

Kyle rubbed his hands gleefully as Michael went to work. To keep things interesting, Kyle snuck away to talk to Maria, talked her into bringing drinks over to their table. Michael a little hot under the collar had a nice mean streak.

“Man: I can’t believe you sank the 9 ball again.” the man said as Kyle returned to the game. “Double or nothing.”

Michael chalked up his cue. “You read my mind.”

Jesse found Max. It didn’t take him long to find out what Max was up to. “You interrogating my friends?”

Max shrugged. “Just asking questions.” He watched Michael win another game.

Kyle hit the snotty Harvard guy on the back. “It's like a nightmare, isn't it?”

Jesse glanced over at Michael shaking down his friends. “Oh, so that's what that was all about in the tuxedo shop, too, wasn't it? You and your friend trying to build some kind dossier on me?”

“Dossier?” Max lifted a brow thoughtfully. “That's an interesting word for someone who used to work for the FBI.”

Jesse made a face, his confusion apparent on his handsome face. “What? What are you talking about? I never worked for the FBI.”

“Louis said you had a mysterious classified job at the FBI.”

Jesse laughed. “Louis is an idiot. I did an internship at the DEA. For a semester, and yeah, some of it was classified. What the hell business is it of yours anyway?” Jesse’s face suddenly became serious as a thought occurred to him. “What, are you looking for some dirt on me, some excuse to get Isabel to call off the wedding?”

“That's not it.” Max assured Jesse.

“The hell it isn't.” Jesse turned as things behind him heated up.

Maria had come to the table bringing drinks, and one of Jesse’s friends put his hand on her ass. Michael smacked the man’s hand with his pool cue.

Jesse saw the trouble, and tired to stop it. “Hey, hey, hey, come on, guys, come on.”

“Nobody makes shots like that. It's a statistical impossibility.” Jesse’s friend told Michael and the others.

“How would you know?” Michael asked.

“I'm a statistician.”

“Ooh! Whatever. Just give him his money back, man.” Kyle said his purpose of taking the smug grins off Jesse’s snooty friend’s face was achieved.

“No way!” Maria said. “Who cares if it is statistically possible or not? You saw it go in.” She stood in front of Michael. “Are you calling him a cheat?”

Jesse quickly intervened. “Ritchie, what's going on?”

“These red neck jerk-offs are trying to hustle us.” Ritchie told Jesse. Maria made a huffing noise making a loud comment about sore losers.

“What did you just call us?” Kyle asked, his face not so friendly.

“Oh, didn't you hear?” Ritchie asked. “I said you're a red neck jerk-off!”

“Hey! Hey!” Max moved in to stop a fight as one of Jesse’s friends grabbed Maria to move her out of the way.

Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Get your damn hands off her!”

“Back off!” Jesse ordered everyone as a mug of beer when flying through the air, and Maria screamed ducking. Jesse turned around as the room exploded in fists, and Max hit Jesse in the nose. “Ow!”

~~~

They were all at Michael’s apartment talking about the fight, tending to bumps and bruises when Isabel found them. Isabel went directly to Max as Maria, Michael and Kyle backed away, all of them appearing very innocent about the whole affair. Michael quickly asked if anyone wanted a Snapple, and the group of them decided they needed to go to the grocery store to get some.

“You broke his nose?!” Isabel demanded not noticing the others leaving quickly.

“I didn't mean to. It just happened.”

“Oh, it just happened.” Isabel repeated, more than a little outraged. “You just happened to be swinging your fist in the air, and he just happened to step in front it!”

“Look, I am sorry. It was a party.” Max excused himself. He wasn’t the only person fighting, and even Maria hit a guy over the head with a bottle of beer. “People were drinking too much, I-- things got out of control.”

“Oh! Like your investigation. Is that one of those things that got a little out of control?”

“I can explain …”

“Don't bother. I understand perfectly. You don't trust me.”

“It's not about trust.”

“It is all about trust, Max.” Isabel couldn’t believe the most important day of her life was going to be her worse nightmare. “God, do you really think that I would marry someone that I don't even know? Someone who might be secretly working for the FBI or even--ohh! An alien? Don't you think I have walked through his dreams a few times, and that maybe I checked on his alien status a long time ago?” Isabel ran a shaking hand down the back of her neck. “God, Max! The irony here is that I trusted you. I trusted you to stand up at my wedding when my whole family bailed. I trusted you to be there for me … and you weren't.”

Isabel threw her hands up in exasperation walking out of the apartment leaving Max wincing as the door slammed. Max stood there staring at the door, actually sorry he let things go so far.

When the others got back, Maria saw Max slumped on the sofa. “Isabel gone?”

“Yeah. She’s mad.”

“I bet.” Maria pulled Max off the sofa. “Time to get glum later. We still have a pavilion and reception hall to decorate, and I happen to need two aliens … count them, two … to help me realize my dream. I am thinking satin, lace, and beautiful flowers.”

“Thought you said Isabel didn’t want to do anything with her powers,” Michael pointed out.

“Sure her powers. Now your powers … that’s another story.” Maria opened the door. “Let’s go! This will all be over in less than twenty-four hours.”

~~~

Maria and Liz were helping Isabel get ready and all of them stared at the ugliest wedding dress any of them had ever seen.

“I know it's not exactly what you wanted, but …” Maria felt bad. They could’ve let Isabel change it with her powers, but Amy had already seen it, and …

“We searched every store in Roswell, really.”

“No, it's fine, and thank you.” Isabel thanked them, already shocked at the decorated wedding and reception. It was so much work done so quickly, and they did it all for her. “Thank you both so much for everything you've already done., And it'll be really …” Isabel looked at the dress. “Really fine.”

They looked over when the door opened, and Diane Evans stood in the doorway. “It's lovely. I mean, really it is, but I just thought that maybe as an option.” Diane held up a dress. “This was my wedding dress, girls, and my mother wore it before I did, and I'd be honored …”

Isabel rushed to her mother hugging her tightly. “I love you, Mom.”

“I mean, I don't know if we could possibly get it altered in time.” Diane said a little teary eyed along with Isabel.

“Oh, no, I’ll find a way.” To wear her mother’s dress, she would bend her no alien power rule.

“Good.”

~~~

Jesse was getting ready as well and his mother knocked on the door, sticking her head in the door. “Guess who's here?”

“Hey.” Max said moving into the room past Mrs. Ramirez.

“Can I leave you two alone, or do I have to referee?” Max shook his head.

“Thanks, Mom.” Jesse called to his mother.

Max winced when he saw Jesse’s blackened eye and broken nose. “I picked up a steak on the way over.”

“That's an old wives' tale, Max.”

“Look, I just-- I wanted to say that-- forget about it. No, really, I-- I was way out of line interrogating your friends. I mean … Isabel's obviously in love with you, and you obviously make her happy, and … I don't know, I couldn't accept that.”

“You probably know this from all of your, uh, ‘research,’ but my father died when I was thirteen. What you probably don't know is that it was four years before my mother ever saw another man, and I couldn't take it, not even then. I hated them.”

“You didn't want anyone replacing your father.”

“Partially, yeah. But even more than that it was … they weren't good enough for my mother. No one, to tell you the truth, could ever be good enough for my mother.” Jesse explained. “So I understand. No one's ever going to be good enough for Isabel.”

“I'll get over it.”

“Maybe,” Jesse shrugged. “I never did. But we gotta put it behind us, all right? Because even if we're not going to be friends, we are going to be family.” Jesse looked at the package in Max’s hand. “So you gonna eat that steak or what?”

“Uh …” He took it out of the butcher wrap. “Um, just hold it there. It just takes a second.” Max put the steak on Jesse's nose and using his powers, he healed him.

Michael entered the room in time to see the healing and gave Max a serious look. Oh, yeah, smooth. That wasn’t obvious, now was it? “Hey, I brought … steak. Guess you guys already tried it. Maria suggested using meat tenderizer.”

Uh … I don't know, take a look.” Max stepped away from Jesse.

Jesse looked in the mirror in surprise. “Yeah.”

“Well, look at that.” Max said feigning surprise.

“Yeah, look at that,” said Michael rolling his eyes. He turned and smiled at Jesse to distract him. “Man, I should’ve warned you about Max. When he can’t handle things, he tends to get real physical about it, you know? Fist always goes flying. Physical violence is his thing.”

Max glared at Michael who just shoved his hands in his pockets.

~~~

The Wedding March was playing and Jim was holding Isabel's arm getting ready to walk her down the aisle.

“This is it.” Isabel said staring at the aisle in front of her. She glanced at Jim. “Are you ready?”

Jim noticed Philip Evans, and he smiled. “I don't think so.” Jim dropped Isabel’s hand and gestured to her father. Isabel turned and smiled when her father walked up to her and put out his arm.

“May I?”

Isabel nodded smiling and tears filling her eyes at the same time. Jim stood back and watched as Isabel and her father walk down the aisle.

~~~

Michael and Kyle were fighting over a video camera during Max’s best man’s speech, and they missed the toast as well. Maria shushed them a few times, but then gave up to go start the music.

“All right, Karter. You're on.” Maria told the marooned in Roswell man.

“Hit it.” Karter told the band. Anything to get out of this town. Ivy began to play and guests started to dance. Karter looked at the beautiful young girl next to him. “You know, you have a special talent for this business. You should look me up when you graduate.”

“Yeah, sure. That’s going to happen.” Maria went to find Michael. “Spaceboy, leave Kyle alone and go dance with Isabel. She and Jesse are almost through the first dance.”

“Dance? No one said I had to dance with anyone but you,” Michael said. She was his date, that had to mean something like he didn’t have to trample on other women’s feet.

“Michael, do you see my mother over there?” Michael nodded. “Well, she’s going to expect you to dance with her. As will Mrs. Evans, and probably Mrs. Ramirez.”

“No.” Michael looked at Kyle who nodded sagely. Weddings were a hotbed of obligation dances.

“She’s not lying. Best thing to do is dance with everyone quick, then you’re a free man.”

Michael sighed getting up. “Two minutes,” he told Kyle. “Two minutes, then you rescue me. Otherwise Isabel will spend her honeymoon in the emergency room.”

Isabel was dancing with Michael, whispering to him to stop stepping on her feet when a man came up to cut in. Isabel started dancing with him glancing up to find she was dancing with the man from her dream.

“Stay calm and keep smiling, Isabel.” Khivar said.

“You're not here. You're not really here.” Isabel insisted.

“Oh, I am here. I've come for you.”

“No. I'm dreaming or sleeping or something.”

“May I?” Khivar asked for permission to toast the bride. “To your happy day. And, uh … many more happy days still to come. I'll see you soon.”  Standing in shock in the middle of the dance floor, Isabel watched as Khivar disappeared into the crowd, and Kyle walked up.

“Can I, uh, dance with the bride?” Kyle asked.

“Kyle, did you see that guy who was here?”

“The guy you were talking to and dancing with?” Kyle asked confused.

“You saw him? You really saw him?”

“Sure. Why?” Kyle shrugged. “Who was he?”

“Someone who can’t be here.”

~~~

When Isabel was ready to throw her bouquet, Amy nabbed her daughter for a talk to distract her, and Jeff sent Liz off into the back to check on the breakdown of the catering. Jesse had already tossed the garter, and now all that was left was bouquet.

“Maria!” Someone called her name, and at the last moment, Maria turned from her mother to find a bouquet landing in her hands. Shocked, she looked around as everyone in the party applauded and Isabel gave a mischievous smile. Not using alien powers her fanny!

“What just happened?” Maria asked her mom.

Amy glanced over with Maria to see Michael coming towards them. He was swinging the garter on his finger, coming to claim his dance.

“Destiny,” Amy murmured with a sigh, stepping back to leave Michael and Maria to it.

Michael put the garter up his shirt sleeve and held out his arms to his date. “Dance?”

“You hate dancing.” Maria reminded him, slightly blushing at everyone watching them.

Michael pulled her into his arms bending low, he whispered in her ear, “It’s tradition,” as their eyes met.

Interruptus……

Jesse and Max were packing the trunk of the car, as Isabel and Jesse prepared to leave for the honeymoon. Kyle came out of the Crashdown searching the area for a certain alien girl. They had all gone there after the reception, and Michael and the others were in the back unloading the dishes and stuff from the reception.

“Hey, guys. How's it going?” Kyle asked. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah. Fine.” Jesse closed the trunk of the car.

“You sure?” Kyle asked again.

“Yeah.” Max noticed how distracted Kyle appeared. “What's up?”

“Nothing. Nothing.” Kyle pulled a face, then looked around again. “Is Isabel around?”

“Yeah, she's, uh, upstairs changing.”

“Great. Sorry.” Kyle rushed back inside to the rear breakroom.

“Kitchen,” Liz ordered Michael who was carrying dirty dishes.

“I'm not washing all these.” Michael told her.

“Go.” Liz ordered.

Kyle found Isabel pulling her aside. “Hey, what are you doing? You didn't tell them?”

“No.” Isabel shook her head. “You tell them. After I'm gone.” Isabel went to join her new husband and leave for her wonderful honeymoon.

“Hold on. Isn't this guy like an alien killer?”

“Look, I get one honeymoon, all right?” Isabel told Kyle. “He's not gonna ruin it!”

“Isabel,” Kyle stopped her again looking around furiously, “I'm all for denial as a … way of life, but you can’t just run away from this one.”

Isabel moved his hand off her. “Yes, I can.” She had no problem leaving.

Michael came out of the kitchen grabbing Kyle. “You wanna wash or dry?”

“I can’t believe she didn't tell you.” Kyle said in disbelief.

“Tell me what?” Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Where’s Maria? What did she get into?” Michael looked around finding Maria off talking privately to Isabel. He frowned as the two girls seemed very serious.

“Will he suspect anything unusual, just anything …?”

Maria bit her lip nervously. She actually had the chagrin to turn a little pink. “Isabel, it’ll be okay. All these years sharing a bed with Michael … it’s different. I can’t explain it, but there is this intensity to everything, like dreams, feelings, fantasies, and even … um, look …” Maria actually felt embarrassed by something she never bothered to share before. “Its’ intense, but in a good way, not in a way that will make him wonder as much as be … appreciative.”

Jesse interrupted them, making Maria and Isabel both jump a little. “All right, Mrs. Ramirez. Time to go or we are going to miss our plane.”

“I know.” Isabel hugged Maria. “See ya in a week!”

Michael came up to stand beside Maria, his arm snaking out to pull her near in case she took off again. “Have fun.” Michael said to Isabel frowning for a second at the knowing glance that Isabel gave him and Maria.

“What did Isabel want?” Michael asked.

Maria shrugged sniffing. “Advice about sleeping with an alien from the human perspective. Seems I am the resident expert.”

Michael face held shock. “I think she meant sexually, Maria.”

“Yeah, I know.” Maria patted him on the stomach and walked forward to wave with the others. Michael’s mouth dropped. He thought it only happened to him.

“Bye!” Isabel called to everyone as Jesse put her in the car. Jesse ran around and got into his side.

“Bye!” He called winking at his mother standing next to Diane Evans.

“We'll miss you!” Diane said.

Isabel laughed leaning over to talk to her mother across Jesse. “Mom, it's only a week. I'll call.”

Philip pulled his wife back to him. “Have a great time!”

“I'm sure she will.” Kyle said as the car pulled away.

“Everything is different now.” Diane said hugging her son to her side.

Max watched the car as it disappeared. “Yeah, it is.” His mother kissed his cheek before following her husband and Jesse’s mom back into the Crashdown where the parents were having coffee talking about how fast their children were growing up.

Michael and Maria joined Kyle and Max. “What's going on?” Michael asked Kyle, when he really wanted to ask Maria that same question, curious about what she just said … about the sex thing … with an alien. It better be him and not some other damn alien … Max? Larek? Rath? Michael’s eyes narrowed at that thought.

“Is she officially gone yet?” Kyle asked.

“Yeah.” Michael glanced down the road. No car. That looked pretty gone.

Max was slightly depressed, and he wasn’t sure why. “I'm leaving.”

“Wait. Kyle's gonna tell us something.” Michael said remembering Kyle’s comments in the kitchen about ‘her not telling them’. “Spit it out.”

“I can’t believe she didn't tell you.”

Michael was getting a little tired of Kyle, but Maria’s hand tightened on his waist. “Tell us what?”

“About Khivar.” Kyle noticed everyone’s reaction. “What, did I say his name wrong?”

“What about Khivar?” Michael demanded. Isabel’s fears about Khivar still very real in his mind.

“He's here.”

“He's here?”

“She saw him.” Kyle confirmed. “She danced with him.”

Michael’s mouth fell open. “She what?”

“At the reception. He looks normal. Looks like a human.”

Michael glanced at Max. “How does Isabel's former alien lover crash her wedding and we don't know about it?”

Kyle shrugged. Not his department. “I don't know, but he's here.” Kyle cleared his throat. “Maybe I got him on tape?”

Michael and the other went inside to find the video that Kyle and Michael shot during the reception. Maria whispered to Michael, “hey, I thought you were Isabel’s former alien lover … you know, being all engaged and all.”

Michael snorted. “Not likely … not possible. Mindwarp. I don’t stand in line, and I don’t share.”

“For a foster kid, you sure don’t share well.”

Michael glanced down at her, “ as a only child, neither do you.”

“Yeah, don’t forget that, buddy!”

Liz came to watch as the rewound the tape. They went through it slowly until Kyle found the spot where Michael was dancing with Isabel, damaging her feet and desperately looking around for Kyle. The man that tapped Michael on the shoulder and cut in to dance was there.

“No, no, that's it.” Kyle said. “Stop it. Stop it.”

“How can that be him?” Michael asked staring at Kyle, needing him to be sure. “That's him?”

Maria’s mouth opened in appreciation of the fine looking man dancing with Isabel. “Woof!” she exclaimed, checking out the man again when she noticed Michael’s glare at her. “I'm just saying.”

“So what's the deal with this guy?” Kyle asked seeing everyone’s expression.

“Son of a bitch killed us.” Michael explained.

“All of us.” Max told Kyle.

“He killed you?”

“Yeah. We don't remember a lot. In our other life, Khivar was our enemy. He was trying to take over my throne. Isabel fell in love with him and helped him overtake us. It was a bloodbath. We were all killed, including Isabel. Our genetic material was mixed with human DNA, and then we were sent here.” Max told Kyle wrapping their entire history up in a nutshell.

Kyle made a sound of disgust. “Nothing's ever simple with you people, is it?” Maria shook her head at Kyle. Welcome to the alien abyss.

“What is Khivar doing here?” Liz asked.

Michael made a face. Wasn’t that his question? “I doubt he's on vacation.”

“What are you gonna do?” Liz asked Max, not sure she wanted to know.

“What we have to.” Max said sharing a look with Michael.

“We're going to La Jolla.” Michael said using his powers to create airline tickets for him, Maria, and Max.

“First class,” Michael said picking them up and handing them to Maria. “And we're gonna kill him.”

Maria glanced at the tickets. “Aw, man! Why don’t I ever get the window seat?”

~~~

“Maria, can you put the phone away? Tell Parker to call later or not at all.” Michael suggested.

Maria shushed him. “Then what happened? Uh-huh. Of course you should be suspicious! Weren’t we always suspicious as well?”

“Maria …”

“Fine. Um, look. I’ll call you back when we land. Uh-huh. You bet.” Maria hung up. “Do you want to know, or are you’re boxers still in a twist?”

“Just spill.”

“Mr. Evans came to the Crashdown after we left, and had a mano-a-mano talk with Mr. P. They were all secretive and whispery like. Liz asked her dad what it was about, and he made up this lame lie about their tax accountant increasing their fees.”

Max woke up in his seat across the aisle from Michael and Maria. “Is that all that Liz got from him?”

“Yeah,” said Maria sniffing at Michael. She bestowed a nice large smile on Max. It was nice to be appreciated. “She said that they looked like us when we were hiding something.”

“Or it was about their tax accountant increasing his fees,” Michael suggested.

“I’ve got to go … somewhere else. Be back.” Maria left them to go find the restroom, and get rid of tons of liquid from the party.

“She’s going to get upset if you keep dissing her information.”

“She’s looking for trouble, when we have enough already on our plates.” Michael told Max.

“Why did you make her a ticket, too?” Max asked. “Habit?”

“No. Self preservation. Maria alone, would be investigating your father right now. Also,” Michael sighed, “in case you didn’t notice … this was it. My first formal date with Maria, and before the date was over I had Liz Parker ordering me to do dishes, and find myself on a plane to La Jolla. This is my date, and I am damned if I’m going to let anyone spoil it for me.”

“She said yes.” Max pointed out, not bothering to mention that Michael and Maria almost danced exclusively together at the party.

“That was a start, but I want her to say yes to other things as well.”

“Are we talking about sex again?”

Michael glanced up to see Maria rejoining them. “I’m always talking, thinking, and dreaming about sex, but no … this is something more important. Sex is a huge part of it, but there is so much more, I can’t even say.”

~~~

When Jesse and Isabel arrived at La Jolla, Isabel thought she saw Khivar across the street, but when she looked back, he was gone. They were tired when they checked in, so they lay down to take a short nap, to catch up on the jet lag. When Isabel woke, she found Jesse gone. There was a note from his. Confused by dreams of Khivar, Isabel quickly went to find him since he was late. She found him by a pool with a man.

Khivar.

Jesse had met this man … Kevin, who was Khivar on the driving range. Unable to find a reason to pull Jesse away, she joined the two men listening to them talk. Jesse told Kevin, aka, Khivar how meeting her was love at first sight.

Khivar admitted to having someone that special in his life, but his great love was gone. Missing. He was looking for her for all eternity. Khivar spun this tale of fantastical love, castles and realms, two people loving against odds. Jesse listened amused, and Isabel wanted away.

Jesse asked about the story, and despite Isabel’s pleas of it being private, Khivar shared it, his eyes never leaving Isabel’s.

“Hey, it's all right. Really. Look, to fully understand what happened, you gotta go back to the first night we met. See, we weren’t supposed to fall in love. Our families were enemies, we were at the palace, and it was one of those rare moments where they were trying to find peace.”

“The palace.” Jesse repeated, skeptical of this modern day fairytale.

“We were by the water, and … she pleaded with me not to, but I kissed her.” Isabel moved uncomfortably remembering her dream. “And that was it. From that point on, we were together. We would have done anything for each other, and we did. Till one bad night. One … one night I lost her.”

“Well, it all sounds pretty far-fetched to me.” Isabel said laughing lightly trying to brush it off.

Khivar’s eyes remained fixated on her. “But it's all true.” Isabel hated that more than anything, because she knew it was.

~~~

“I got it, Kyle.” Jim called going to answer the door.

“Ok.” Kyle went back to what he was doing.

“Hey.” Jim was surprised to see Philip Evans. “What's up, Philip?”

“Hi, Sheriff.” Philip remembered Jim’s dismissal. “Uh, Jim. Uh, listen, I feel really odd about this …”

“About what?”

“Well, I'm not sure. I've been talking to Jeff Parker, and, um … and I know this is gonna sound strange, but there's some things I need to know, and I was wondering if you could help me out. Can I come in?”

“Sure!” Jim stood aside and invited Philip inside. “Yeah, I'm sorry. Come on in. Come on in.”

“Thanks.”

“So, uh … what kinda things?”

“It's about the kids. Um …” Philip tried to narrow it to a specific question. “About Max, actually.”

“Something happened?” Jim asked concerned.

“Something's been happening for a few years now, and I don't know what it is. I'm just trying to find out more information on my son.”

“How can I help you?”

“Well … I used to see him all the time with this girl. She had blonde hair. I think she was staying at your house.”

“Tess.” Jim said breathing in deeply, feeling the pain Tess had left behind.

“Yeah. They dated, didn't they?”

“Yeah. I think. I mean, for a while, yeah.” Jim made a face, not sure how to answer that. “You know kids. Hard to keep up.”

“Yeah.” Philip seemed to give that some thought. “Where is she now?”

“She left.”

“Oh.” Philip frowned. A minor girl just leaves and no one notices?

“She went back east. She's got relatives there … an aunt and uncle.”

“Do you have a way of contacting her?”

“What, uh--why?”

Philip smiled, but there was no humor in his eyes. “I was just gonna ask her a few questions.”

“About Max.” Jim guessed.

“Do you have a phone number for her?”

“Yeah, somewhere. I've got her address here. God knows where that is. Let me ask Kyle when he gets back.” Jim said quickly covering. “And, uh … we'll see if we can’t track her down for you.”

“I'd appreciate that.” Philip said leaving. “Thanks, Sheriff.” Once again, he forgot that Jim was no longer the sheriff.

“Sure. Sure, no problem.” Jim shut the door and turned to see Kyle staring at him. He had heard everything.

~~~

“He bugs me.” Isabel told Jesse as they were dancing.

“Who, Kevin?” Jesse glanced over at the other man. “What, you think he's some freak who preys on honeymooning newlyweds?” Khivar moved his hand over a drink changing its color. Jesse didn’t notice, but he didn’t need too much convincing to be alone with Isabel. “Ok. Let's sneak out this way.”

“Jesse.” Kevin called coming up the newlyweds. “Here” He gave Jesse the drink. Kevin played it cool telling them he should leave them alone. He said and goodbyes and offered his congratulations as the drink caught up with Jesse. Sick, Jesse had to quickly leave before he lost his stomach. Thinking it was a bad oyster appetizer, he excused himself. Khivar grabbed Isabel and started dancing with her.

“What did you do to Jesse?”

“He'll be fine. Just used him to steal a moment. I've been searching for you for an eternity.”

“I'm not Vilandra anymore.” Isabel told him struggling to get out of his arms.

“Yes, you are. I can feel it. I can feel it right now.”

“You got what you wanted from me.” Isabel remembered her world, her people, her family and friends lost to her betrayal as Khivar took control. “Please, just leave me alone now.”

“Ditch the human toy and meet me by the water. Like when we first met.”

“No. No. No.” Isabel struggled out of his arms to go find Jesse, to put some distance between her and her past lover.

~~~

Liz was on the phone with Maria, who was sitting in the bathroom on the plane talking to Liz and Kyle, listening to their conversation.

“So what did your dad say to him?” Liz asked Kyle while Maria listened.

“Well, he handled it for the moment, but it's true. Max's dad is investigating.”

Maria’s voice came over the phone. “You guys, I really-- I wouldn't worry about this. Look at it from Mr. Evans' point of view. His son is practically a hardened criminal. Suddenly daughter gets married. He's trying to get a grip on his new world order.”

“Suppose he discovers the interstellar love triangle and the alien hit squad with human girl Friday winging its way to honeymoon central?” Kyle asked the phone.

“No, he won't.” Liz said.

“He might.” Kyle told Liz and then spoke into the phone just in case Maria hadn’t heard. “He might.”

There was a knock on Maria’s bathroom door. “Occupied!” She called to the door.

“Maria, it’s me. Open up.”

“Spaceboy!” Maria whispered into the phone. “Hold on.” Maria opened the door peering out at Michael and a slight line waiting for a bathroom. “Huh?” She said innocently.

“I know what you’re doing in there.”

“Using the facilities?” Maria said hopefully. Michael made a face shaking his head. He pushed inside and turned back to the other passengers.

“We might be a while.” Shutting the door, he and Maria were in the cramped bathroom. He held out his hand for the phone.

“What’s going on?” he asked the co-conspirators on the other end.

“He won't.” Liz was still reassuring Kyle.

“Won’t what?” Michael asked as Maria’s phone went dead and the overhead chimes went off asking people to prepare to land.

“Phone battery is dead.” Michael told Maria as he opened the bathroom door and led her out. People were staring at them. Michael smiled back. “Honey, you’re always so much better a few miles in air.

“Oh!” Maria said. suddenly noticing the audience. She whispered hotly at Michael on the way back to their seat about not appreciating the damage to her reputation. “I just made it.” Michael reassured her. “So how did your phone lose its battery?”

“Freak static electricity field?”

“Uh-huh.”

~~~

Back in Roswell, Liz was calling to Maria in the dead phone. She gave up and disconnected. “Phone is dead. I think Maria’s battery went dead.”

“What's this?” Kyle asked picking up a flyer.

“I don't know. What is it?” Liz leaned over Kyle staring at a missing person’s flyer.

“Guess what?” Kyle said.

“What?”

“Isabel's alien lover is a man named Denny.” Kyle held it up to Liz. “He's not from Antar.”

“No. That's how he got here.” Liz said it all coming clear. This poor man was an innocent like Brody. “Khivar took possession.”

“This guy's totally innocent.” Kyle said reading the information with Liz.

“With a wife.”

“And Max and Michael are gonna kill him.” Liz took her phone and tried Maria again.

~~~

Isabel was waiting for Jesse to come out of the bathroom. They finally ditched Kevin, aka, Khivar, and Isabel was a bundle of nerves. He was there. How could he be there? If only she and Jesse could, solidify their union, make love, then maybe she could better resist the draw from Khivar.

“Jesse, are you coming out?” Isabel asked as she had a flashback from her Khivar dream.

“Yeah. One second.” Jesse called through the door.

“Oh, Jesse, hurry.” Isabel said agitatedly to herself feeling herself slipping. Isabel glanced out the window and saw Khivar watching her room. Using her power, she melted the door knob locking Jesse in the bathroom.

Jesse tried to come out when the door stuck. “Hey, Isabel! Something's wrong with the door. Can you push it or something?”

“Um, it's stuck, honey.” Isabel said to him. “I can’t even turn the handle.”

Jesse couldn’t believe it! “How much did we pay for this hotel room?”

“Jesse, sweetheart, I'm going to go and find some maintenance people and see if they can get it open.” Isabel said through the door. “I'll be right back.”

“Isabel … Isabel, just use the phone.” Jesse told her as she let herself out of the room. Isabel walked over to Khivar.

“What have you done to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“You've taken control, used some kind of power to get me here.”

Khivar laughed. “I've done nothing.” He told her. “You're here because it's where Vilandra wants to be.”

“Vilandra is dead. She doesn't exist.”

“She does.” Khivar put his hand on Isabel’s face twisting it up to him. “Within you.”

“Vilandra betrayed my entire family. She murdered them, and I've been given a second chance, and it doesn't include you!”

“Yes, it does! Just by being here.” Khivar laughed. Silly girl, she was powerless to resist, just as before, and her being there proved it. “We can leave tonight. Right now.”

“How?” A ship? Isabel couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of another Granilith.

“It's a new mode of transit, something we've been working on. It's better than a ship.” Khivar explained. “Just come with me.”

“No. And if you really love me, don't come back.” Khivar held her, kept her from leaving. He leaned down and kissed her.

~~~

Michael pulling Maria along as they and Max arrived at the resort. “What if he's not here?” Michael asked Max. “What if this is some wild goose chase?”

“Oh, he's here. He wants Isabel.” Max said. “Khivar's nothing if not determined.”

Maria glanced at Max. “And you know that how? Max, do you even remember Khivar, except that he murdered all of you and took your throne using Isabel in the process.”

“That’s beside the point. His past record speaks for itself.”

“You know, I’m beginning to think you have Isabel issues. Have you considered therapy for your sister obsession?” Maria asked.

“Maria, concentrate. We’re looking for Khivar.” Michael told Maria, but he glanced at Max. Maria might have a point. He was the one supposedly once engaged to Isabel, and he never reacted anywhere near as emotionally about her as Max did … actually he never acted emotionally about her unless irritated. Strange. “If this Khivar is obsessed, and I’m going to take your word for it, Maxwell since I think of all of us, you might know more about that than me or Maria, then I hope we're not …” Michael stopped talking when they rounded the corner and found Isabel and Khivar kissing, “… too late.”

Max dived for a low wall, and Maria who was frozen in one spot, her mouth opening as she watched Isabel getting all jiggy with someone not her new husband, gave a little chirp when Michael grabbed her and ducked behind the wall with Max as the three of them slowly going to their knees to peek.

“Return with me, Vilandra.” Khivar said, in such a human voice, that Maria had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

She whispered to Michael, “Don’t you think his voice should be deeper, with like a echo?” Maria repeated the phrase, ‘Return with me, Vilandra’ in a mocked up alien voice.

“C’mon,” Michael whispered hotly to her, “no one talks like that.”

“Could the two of you put this argument on hold?” Max suggested gesturing to Isabel and her alien lover.

“I'm not Vilandra.” Isabel told the man.

“You can be. We can leave all this behind.”

Max’s cell phone rang, and Maria almost screamed, but Michael quickly put his hand over her mouth pulling her into his body.

“You ever hear of vibrate?” Michael suggested to Max.

“Jesse.” Isabel said over the wall looking back to the hotel and her trapped husband inside. Trapped by her so she could meet her alien lover.

“He doesn't matter.” Khivar told Isabel.

“He does!” Isabel insisted. “He does matter.”

Max put the phone to his ear. “Max, hi. You're still alive!”

“Is that Liz?” Michael asked suspiciously staring at Max, and then at Maria. She just shrugged. This wasn’t her fault. Her phone was dead.

“I can’t talk right now.” Max told Liz in the phone, talking low so Isabel and the demon bastard from Antar couldn’t hear him.

“Max, did you kill him?”

“No.” Max told her lifting up to look at Isabel and Khivar. “I love you, but I gotta go.”

“Are Michael and Maria ok?” Kyle asked, his voice coming over the phone. “What about Isabel?”

“Max, don't kill him, ok?” Liz told Max.

“Hang it up.” Michael told Max. They were going to give away their location.

Maria had been watching Isabel and the delicious looking guy she was macking on. “Tell Liz we’ll call her back.” Maria glanced at Michael. “You know, you aliens can be real romantic at times. Who would’ve expected that from an emotionless race?”

“We do have emotions.” Michael insisted. “Most of them are … violent ones, bordering on murder, but they’re emotions.”

“He's a human being. His name is Denny Ridgley, he's married, and he's a local.”

“Are Michael and Maria ok?” Kyle insisted.

“Max, hang it up!” Michael ordered Max.

“Yeah.” Max looked at Michael and Maria looking over the wall, Michael holding Maria into his body trapping her to the wall. “Maria is fine. Michael is … better.”

“Yes, they're fine.” Liz told Kyle.

“Have they found Isabel?” Kyle asked.

“Who's Denny Ridgley?” Max asked.

Michael and Maria looked at Max in irritation as he continued to stay on the phone. Michael looked back over the wall. “They're gone!”

“Max, his wife has been putting out missing persons posters all over town.”

“Come on!” Michael told Max, helping Maria up. “They're gone.”

“I personally think that Khivar has like taken him over. It's gotta be a possession thing. Oh, my god, and one more thing. Your father, he's been going around town asking questions.”

That captured Max’s attention. “About what?”

“About you and Tess.” Liz told him as she stumbled over the other girl’s name.

“Find out what he's after. I gotta go.” Max disconnected joining Michael and Maria. “Khivar's possessing some guy named Denny.”

“So?” Michael said hurrying along with Maria as they looked in all directions hoping to find Isabel and the creature that stomped out their lives last time.

“So we can’t kill him.”

“Yeah, who says?” Michael shook his head catching the look from Maria. “Hey! I’m just saying that last time … he annihilated us.”

Maria huffed and looked past Michael at Max. “Is Liz and Kyle okay, Max?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. They miss you.”

Maria smiled deciding to ignore Michael. Why the hell did she ever agree to date him? Next thing she knew, he would be wanting to hunt Brody down to get rid of Larek.

“I was just saying,” Michael said seeing her reaction.

“You say too much.”

~~~

Isabel returned to the room to open the door and release the trapped Jesse. “What did you do?” He asked.

“Nothing,” she lied.

“To the door?”

“What-- oh!” Isabel realized he meant how did you open it, not that she broke it. “Um … the front desk. They told me that sometimes it sticks, and you have to …”

Jesse looked at her feet that were dirty. “Were you outside?”

“No. Yes.” Isabel rolled her eyes crafting yet another lie. “The maintenance guy was outside. So I had to find him to ask him about the door, and he said that sometimes you just have to lean into it and … and pull back. All at the same time.”

“Lean in and … pull back all at the same time?” Jesse said amused walking into Isabel, picking her up. “Is that what you have to do?” He carried Isabel to the bed more than willing to get his honeymoon back on track. “Now, where were we?”

There came a knock at the door. Afraid it was Khivar, Isabel got off the bed quickly.

“I'll get it.” Isabel said.

“Ignore it.”

Isabel smiled and held out her hand to Jesse motioning him to stay. “Just don't move, just …”

Jesse laid back on the bed trying to figure what he heck was happening on his honeymoon. “Whatever.”

Isabel went to the door as a female voice called, "Room Service", and she opened it to see Max, Michael and Maria standing there. Maria waved.

“Hi.” Max said.

“We're here to kill your boyfriend.” Michael told Isabel pleasantly.

“Who is it?” Jesse called from the bed.

“Room service.” Isabel told Jesse nervously slamming the door in the other teens face.

“Did you order something?” Jesse asked confused. His honeymoon wasn’t turning out exactly the way he expected.

“No. It was a mistake.”

Jesse patted the bed next to him. “Come to bed.” He gave Isabel one of his brilliantly sexy smiles.

“I really want a drink.” Isabel said suddenly as she desperately tried to find a way to get Jesse out of the room.

“What?” Jesse’s handsome face creased in confusion.

“Yeah.” Isabel liked that excuse. He would have to go downstairs. “Honey, would you be a fantastic husband and go down to the bar and get me one of those, um … fruity, pineapplely umbrella drinks?”

“What? Come on!”