Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Melinda Metz, various publishers and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

The Heart Remembers

A freak accident causes Max to remember his life as Zan and chaos insures. Set right after Destiny. The couples are Tess & Max, along with a hint of Isabel & Michael.

Streaks of various shades of red banish away all of the traces of the night as the run rose majestically in the sky. In the small town of Roswell, New Mexico only one occupant decided to stay up all night just to relax and enjoy the spectacular view.

A graceful smile bloomed across her face as she ran a hand over her faded blue jeans. 'There is nothing more stunningly beautiful then a sunrise,' she thought as she tucked a stray blonde curl behind one of her ears. 'However, it would have been nice to have someone else here to enjoy it with; that might have made it ever more special.'

She brought her knees up so that she could rest her chin on up of them as she folded her arms across her legs. "Don't go wishing for things you know are never going to come true, Tessa Harding! Besides, this is just perfect the way it is," she told herself as loneness swamped her.

As she closed her eyes, she heard the sounds of the early morning bird's chirping. 'I wish it could always be like this... so peaceful,' she commented just before she heard her neighbor's television flare to life. It's only like this until the rest of the world wakes up.'

Slowly she stood up and stretched her tired limbs. Pulling her hair out of the ponytail, she took both of hands and shock out her hair. 'I should be grateful that it's a Saturday and that Nasedo is not here.' Turning her head towards the rising sun, she took one last long look before moving towards the stepladder.

"I'll be back tomorrow," Tess promised softly as she started to make a mental list of things she would like to accomplish before lunch time. As she reached out for the stepladder, she turned to put her foot on the first rung she felt her balance slip. Frantically she attempted to right herself as the stepladder slid out from under her. Desperately her short nails clawed the roofs shingles before she grasped on to the gutter.

"With my luck I'll land on my feet and twist my ankle," Tess moaned as she glanced down. "Which would serve me right for not paying attention in the first place." Closing her eyes, Tess concentrated as she attempted to mentally reach out.

'Isabel! Max! Michael!' She felt the gutter slip from under her finger, as she struggled to maintain her grip. Her eyes widen in shock as her grasp failed her.

"Max!" Tess cried before her world faded into black.

Gasping for air, Max woke up with a start. He instinctually knew that something has woken him up; but at the same time he couldn't remember what. 'Maybe Isabel is having another nightmare?' Max quested as he forced himself out of his warm bed. Glancing at his alarm clock he was slight taken back at the time.

'Five forty five in the freaking morning! This better be good,' Max thought as he ran a hand over his face. Opening his bedroom door, he jumped back in shock as he saw his sister standing there fuming.

"Max!" Isabel hissed at him. "What could you possibly want that you have to interrupt my sleep?"

"Huh? Max whispered as he pulled her into his room. "I thought you called me. Wait, didn't you call me?"

"No!" Isabel huffed before she started to become concerned. "Maybe it's Michael or Tess. My god Max! What if the FBI has them?"

"Calm down," Max instructed.

"Calm down?" Isabel demanded. "Maxwell!"

Cringing from her tone, Maxwell flinched. "I just meant don't start thinking the worst. Let's get dressed, and check on them," Max rationalized. When he saw that she agreed with his decision, he released a breath he didn't know that he was holding. After she left, Max quickly gathered his cloths and dressed.

Moving into the family room, Max looked up to see Isabel gracefully striding towards him, completely dressed, with keys in hand.

"Let's roll," Isabel announced far more serious than Max had recently seen her. He offered no protest as she glided into the driver's seat. With skills that a race car driver who be envious of; she had them speeding towards Michael's apartment in no time. Half way there, they spotted Michael racing his way towards them. She slammed hard on the breaks, and was out of the Jeep before it came to a complete stop.

'She must have been really worried,' Max thought as he observed his sister embrace Michael like a crazy woman.

"I'm fine Issy," Michael reassured as he ran his hand up and down her back. "I'm fine."

Yawning, Max closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt part of himself being shattered as a fuzzy picture of an unconscious and bleeding Tess flashed before him. "Tess," Mix whispered wakening himself up.

"Tess!" Max shouted startling both Isabel and Michael. "She's hurt!" He saw them break out into a flat run for the Jeep. Isabel go the Jeep into gear as Michael jumped into the back.

"Breath Max," Isabel ordered as the Jeep flew down the empty streets. With the squeal of the tires, Max shot out and was racing towards the back of the house. Michael dashed to keep up with him. Isabel trailed behind them only to stop short when she saw Tess laying broken on the ground with a frantic Max attempting to heal her, while Michael hovered around.

"Oh... my," Isabel whispered as she bounded over to Tess's side.

"We need to get her inside," Michael ordered as he saw Max starting to heal her. Michael.

"No, I have to heal her first." Max argued.

"Think about this Max," Michael countered. "If her neighbor's look out their window we're done for. Let's just get her inside, and then you can heal her." When Max looked up, Michael's breathe caught as he saw the crazy look in his best-friends eyes. "Hell, heal her now."

"No, you're right," Max understood. "Isabel get the door. We have to get her inside before someone sees."

Gently Max cradled Tess's head as Michael picked her up. Isabel forced the backdoor open with her gifts, clearing the way for Michael and Max to bring Tess in. Once they were inside, she flicked her hand to close the drapes and to clear everything off the family room table.

"Do you think we need the heal stones?" Isabel questioned as she stood next to Michael.

"I don't think so," Max answered as he started to heal the open wounds on her hands. Moving slowly, he worked his way up to the head wound. "I think I'm going to need Michael's raw energy."

"The only way to channel that is with the stones," Isabel stated as she griped Max's hand. "Those are in the pod chamber. We can go and get them."

"Izzy, we don't have time to go get the stones," Michael stressed. "Besides which, Tess has been training me on how to focus my powers." With trepidation, Isabel slowly released her grip on Max's hand. "Hey, Tess will pull through. Max will make sure of it. I think we're going to be very hungry when this is over," Michael observed.

"Is that your not so subtle way of telling me to cook you some breakfast?" Isabel demanded as she gave him a gently smile.

"Yes," Michael answered as he watched her leave the room. "Alright, here we go," Michael whispered as he added his power to Max's.

Adding Michael's power to his own, Max placed his hands over the Tess's head wound. Closing his eyes, he focused his healing energy on her. A flare of white hot energy zinged under his hands as he heard a soft giggle ring in his ears. 'Zan!' Bright light exploded under his eyes before he saw the beauty standing before him. 'Zan!'

"Ava, my love," Max whispered as he collapsed onto the ground.


 TBC….

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