Liz Parker stood pounding her hands on the pod chamber door, tears were rolling down her cheeks and screams of fear and anger flew out of her mouth.

'MAX!!'

Her screams were stilled for a second as the ground beneath her began to crack and crumble, but quickly they renewed themselves with an added note of despair. The ground around her was rolling away into a landslide but she wouldn't move. 'It was Tess. she killed Alex,' she cried, her voice cracking with tears.

Suddenly Liz was wrenched away from the door, crying and screaming as Maria DeLuca and Kyle Valenti pulled her to safer ground. Liz collapsed onto the warm sand of the desert as the large rock containing the Granolith crumbled away to reveal the glowing mass it held. The Granolith burst from the ground with a deafening blast and shot into the sky.

'I loved you!' shouted Liz after the small space ship. She flung her head onto the sand and began to cry uncontrollably.

***

Liz Parker smoothed the crumbled page of her journal and stared down at her mug of steaming coffee. Her eyes were filled with tears and her face showed a mixture of mangled emotions.

She dropped her head into her hands and sighed. Why was she haunted with that memory every second of the day? It had been two years since then! Why couldn't she forget?

She could hardly remember the first three months after Max had left. She remembered crying a lot, and not getting much sleep. But the she had got ill, almost all of that was a blur, the only clear thing was the picture of the Granolith being ripped away from her.

Then she, Kyle and Maria had graduated, that day everything had seemed bitter and wrong. Three people were missing from that day who should have been there..

Kyle had left Roswell as soon as he could, he had gone to Berkley University to study Sport, all he had wanted to do was move on and block out the memory of that small blonde girl who had made a fool out of him. But Maria and Liz? They had lingered in Roswell, they both agreed that it was just a gap year, a good excuse. Every morning Liz had woken up wondering if this was meant to be her wedding day, her quietness had increased and the only person she would really talk to was Maria, but then that stopped too.

About half way through the year Liz made her first big decision and she and Maria left for Sweden. Liz smiled as she remembered Maria thoughts about the trip, she just hadn't understood. Going to Sweden was Liz' way of fulfilling a promise to Alex, he would never be forgotten, everyone knew that, but the way Liz saw it at least one of them should see Sweden. Alex had talked about how amazing the Northern Lights were so Liz would see them for him!

Even through her own pain Liz could still see Maria was hurting. She knew Maria was trying to stay strong for her but even so, part of Maria's spark had left along with Michael. And so Maria had gone with Liz, they were keeping each other sane and alive.

It had been one night in Sweden that Liz' life had really come to a turning point. Liz left Maria sleeping and walked out into the night to watch the northern Lights. Under their gentle glow Liz cried, she cried for Max, for Alex and what they had all lost.

After that night the grieving, lonely Liz Parker had gone from the eyes of the world, she was replaced with a Liz Parker with a purpose, a Liz Parker whose emotions were gone. Even the ones with Max? Liz' heart ached every time she thought of Max but that ache of love had long since been replaced with one of anger. He had betrayed her, he had abandoned her! Her feelings were only increased by the fact she could still sense the connection they had. It was still there, a bitter reminder of everything that was gone.

As the door behind her opened Liz snapped back into reality, her face immediately glazed as she turned to face Maria.

Maria wondered out of her room wearing a bath robe and clutching a towel, she saw Liz sitting at the table with her head in her hands. Her heart swelled, why did Liz have to pretend she was fine?

'Hey,' she said sleepily. She raised the towel and began to dry her wet hair.

'Morning.'

'What you doing today?' yawned Maria as she slumped herself down into a chair.

Liz closed her journal and got up to make a second cup of coffee. 'Nothing much, I thought

I'd head over to the lab, do some more research. You?'

'Oh, I have a lecture this morning and then I have to practice for the practical tomorrow.'

Liz nodded and placed the hot mug down in front of her best friend. Las Cruses University, thought Liz with an ironic smile. The last place in the world she had thought she would end up. In a way most of the disasters in her life had centered around this small university, Alex' death, searching for Leandre, finding about Tess' pregnancy. And now she was here, sharing a small flat with Maria and studying Science!

'You gonna use Alex' guitar for you practical?' asked Liz her eyes wondering to where the small instrument stood in the corner. She remembered the last time she had watched Alex use it and then she thought of Sweden. It had seemed in a way that he was always there with them, on that night in Sweden under the Northern Lights it had seemed that he had been hugging her in that way he had always done before. He was here now, in their apartment.

Maria nodded, 'How's your research going?' she asked eyeing Liz' face. 'Are you sure it's safe?'

Maria watched as an emotion flicked across Liz' face. She saw how much Liz' face had changed, every curve had become a corner and the warm brown of her eyes had become a stony Grey. 'Liz, you would tell me if something happened wouldn't you?' asked Maria worriedly.

'Yeah, yeah, course I would.' said Liz a little too quickly as she turned away.