Title: Trying to find peace again

Summary: Maria is back, but is she okay? Will they find the baby? Are Kyle and Tess getting together? And what's going to happen to Alex? What about Max and Liz?

Authors notes: This is a sequel to "Missing", which you can find here at FanFiction.net or you can just read my summary of it below.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author: Linda. roswell@netlane.com

Summary of "missing": Maria got kidnapped by alien-hunters who found out that she was pregnant. After some time the gang found out that it was Michael's baby, but that was weird since Maria and Michael hadn't slept together ever since eight monhts ago and Maria wasn't showing. Alex was sent back on a mission to save Maria and everyone was thrilled to have him back. Tess and Kyle shared some moments and may become more than friends. Max and Liz are happily together and Isabel felt alone until Alex showed up. Amy DeLuca and Jim Valenti are married but living apart. The were away for a couple of days when Maria got taken away.

The gang recived a note saying that Maria was at the pod chamber and when they got there, they found her not moving on the ground. Max tried to save her, but without any luck. She died and everyone was devestated.

The funeral was nice and everyone got to talk about their lost friend. Kyle told Amy about everything and now she knows about the secret.

Michael got an idea and they all connected and managed to bring Maria back. But what will she tell them about the baby that the alien-hunters took?

Goodbye again...

"I can't believe I'm back working only two days after my death," Maria complained to her best friend Liz.

She sat down on a chair and rested for a moment.

"I know Maria. And I'm sorry. But it's not like I can just tell my father that you can't work because you died and then came back," Liz said. "And besides, you didn't look so exhausted yesterday when we had your welcome-back-from-the-death-party."

"Yeah, but still," Maria said and sighed.

"Maria! Table four wants their food now!" Michael yelled from the kitchen.

Maria looked at her boyfriend and yelled back:

"Don't yell at me! If you're not nice to me spaceboy, I won't come by your house tonight."

"Oh, what a threat," Michael said in a mocking tone. Then he added: "You're just kidding right?"

"I'm dead serious," Maria said and smiled at him. He was so cute when he looked all clueless. She couldn't resist walking over to him and give him a kiss.

"What was that for?" Michael asked when she broke the kiss.

"I'll leave you to figure that one out on your own," Maria said and walked away...

Isabel pulled on a blue sweater and a black leather skirt. She knew Alex loved that skirt. He had told her that about a week before the prom.

He said that even though he had decided not think about her in that sort of way, he just had to say that she looked really sexy in that skirt.

She remembered it very clearly.

In fact she remembered almost everything about Alex clearly. She didn't realise back then how much she really cared about him, but when he died and she missed him so much that her heart almost broke, she understood it.

And then when Maria got taken away by alien-hunters, Alex had come back to them. To her.

But only for a while, Isabel reminded herself. Maria was back now and that meant that any day now Alex could be sent back. Back to the place he came from. He wasn't allowed to tell them about that place, but Isabel hoped that it was a good place.

She looked at the watch on the wall and realised that she was late for the meeting at the Crashdown. Funny that Max hadn't said something to her. Her brother was always on time.

Isabel looked one last time in the mirror and then went to get her brother…

Isabel opened the door to the Crashdown and found everybody already there.

"Sorry we're late. Believe or not, but it's actually my dear brother's fault."

"Yeah, sorry," Max said and went to sit next to Liz by the counter.

"That's okay," Tess said. "Me and Kyle just got here anyway."

"Enough with the chit-chat. Max, why are we here?" Maria asked.

"Don't look at me. It was Alex who called to this meeting," Max answered.

Everybody turned to look at Alex who was leaning against the wall.

Isabel suddenly felt worried. Why had Alex called to a meeting? Had something bad happened to him?

"Alex, is something wrong?" Liz asked before Isabel had the chance.

"Well…yeah you could say that," Alex said. "As you all know I was only back temporarily…"

"And now that I'm back you have to go again," Maria ended for him.

"Exactly," Alex said.

Alex's words sunk in to Isabel and she suddenly felt like crying. She had gotten use to having Alex around again and she couldn't bare the thought of losing him all over again. She just couldn't.

She felt Alex take a hold of her hand and squeezing it.

This could be the last time she would ever feel that again.

"When do you have to go?" Isabel asked. She couldn't look at him. If she did she knew that she was going to start cry. And she didn't want to do that in front of everyone.

"Tonight. I don't know exactly when."

"I can't believe this," Maria said and burst in to tears. "They can't do this to us. We need you."

Michael pulled Maria in to a hug and whispered something in her ear that seemed to calm her down.

"I knew that this was going to happen," Liz said. "But I kind of hoped that they would let you stay."

"I think we all wanted to believe that," Max said and took Liz's hand.

"Maybe it's for the best if we don't have all these big goodbyes and stuff," Alex said and looked around at everyone and gave them a week smile. "Just know that I'm going to miss you all and that I don't regret anything.

Well maybe that striptease at Isabel's surprise-party. But otherwise I'm really glad to have known you guys. And that includes all you alien-freaks too."

"Thanks Whitman," Michael said and let go of Maria and bent over to give Alex a hug.

"You've kept our secret and helped us," Max said. "We'll be grateful to you forever. He too gave Alex a hug and so did Tess and Kyle.

"Would you guys mind if me and my girls had a moment to ourselves?" Alex asked.

"Of course not," Tess answered.

"We can go up to my room," Liz said.

"Good," Alex said and took her hand in his and Maria's in the other…

TBC... If you want me to...          PS. If there is something you are wondering about, feel free to e-mail me at: roswell@netlane.com