Thanks for the support Trude. It is very greatly appreciated. ) Here is a new chapter, hot off the presses!

Chapter 4

Max shifted in his seat so he was sitting closer to the table and leaned against it. "Wait a second Iz, who is this new girl? Have we seen her before? Has she gone to school here long?"

Izzy held up her hand to stop further questioning. "Her name is Tess, and she just moved here from Albuquerque. She is a foster kid…just like you Michael." Michael harrumphed at that comment. "Anyway, she is, and she is living with…you are never going to believe this one…the Valenti's!"

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better." Michael muttered.

Alex had been silent for the most part during this whole conversation, but decided to throw in his two cents here. "I know! The Sheriff, becoming a foster dad? It's just so bizarre! Not to mention that she's a fully developed teenage girl, and he has a normal teenage boy in the house!"

Isabel shot him a look, with one eyebrow raised, for that "fully developed teenage girl" comment, and Alex blushed and slouched down a little in his seat to try and escape her gaze. She was thinking of course, "had he really been looking that closely?" She shook her head a little to try and dispel the heat creeping into her cheeks, and wondered why she should care who Alex didor didn't notice.

Max then veered attention back to him with the following statement. "Guys, we are getting off point here. So she is living with the Valenti's. We can get into the details of that later." The next statement was directed to Isabel. "I want to know all you found out about her otherworldly status as it pertains to us."

"I knew you'd jump back to that soon" Isabel replied. "Well there's not much I can tell you, as she only told me enough to know she was not lying. She wants to meet with all of us at the same time for her to tell us more. She doesn't know that Liz, Alex, or Maria know anything about us though. I'm not sure if we want to let her in on that yet. We should feel her out."

Liz crossed her arms in front of her chest and replied "I don't think it matters if she knows about us. She's the one with something to hide."

"I know how you feel Liz..." Max replied "…but I don't want to take any chances with you three. You guys are just as important to us as we are to you. Just give us some time ok?"

Liz siged, "OK" and Maria looked relieved. Who knew what this new girl's abilities would be…was she the only one who was thinking about that? She had just taken a breath to voice that opinion when Michael spoke up.

"We have to be careful, who knows what this new girl could be capable of? We can protect ourselves for the most part, but you guys don't have any defenses."

Maria huffed at that and exclaimed "Don't you worry about us spaceboy, we'll be just fine." She didn't want to seem scared, even though the feeling of fear was nesting in her belly at that moment.

"Maria, you need to learn to be careful, just like the rest of us!" he retorted.

"Oh yeah, this coming from Mr."go in with guns blazing" and think later" Maria snapped.

"Ok everyone, just relax ok?." Max broke in. "I think the next thing we need to do is arrange a meeting between this new girl…Tess, is her name?"

"That's right" Isabel replied.

"Arrange a meeting, with her and the three of us. We need to be careful, plan to meet in a public place of some sort, someplace where our conversation will be lost on everyone around us though, and discuss what she knows. Agreed?"

Everyone except the humans replied back "Agreed."

The next day at school everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells. Max, Michael, and Isabel were all tense just waiting for a bomb to drop. Their nerves were on edge not being sure if Tess was friend or foe,and being pretty sure that she wasthe formerwas not helping. Underneath the nervous tension though was a growing excitement. What would they find out when they talked to her?

Liz was standing at her locker just about to lock it up when Max walked over to her.

"Hey love, how are you doing?" he said as he leaned in for a quick kiss.

"Oh, I'm ok, but I can see that you are a little jumpy. Thinking about what you will find out from Tess this evening?" Liz replied.

"Yeah" Max said as he leaned against the lockers for support. "I just can't shake the feeling that what she has to say will somehow change everything, and I can't figure out if it will be a good change or…"

Liz reached over and put her hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer "Relax Max, everything will be ok. I know you guys can handle it, and that you will be careful. Maybe you will find out the missing pieces of your life…"

Max leaned in so that he was face to face with Liz. "You are my life…"

Liz smiled and kissed him quickly and replied "You are mine too…and the rest will just be filling in the gaps."

Just then the bell rang, and the couple hurried to Biology.

Isabel was sitting in History class attempting to pay attention, but instead was playing with a lock of her hair staring absently at the clock watching the seconds tick by. Alex was staring at Isabel trying to figure out what his next move was going to be. He knew she was seriously distracted with the whole Tess situation, and thought this would be a great time to lend his support and give her some focus. Then maybe, just maybe she would start to re-evaluate their relationship and he could get to the next level with her. Pure Heaven. He scribbled a quick note on a piece of paper, and passed it over to her desk.

Isabel was brought out of her daze by Alex's note, and looked down to read it.

Dear Izzy,

I know you have a lot to deal with right now, and that you are nervous about what you are about to learn. I just wanted you to know that I think you are the strongest woman (Czech Woman ) I have ever known, and that you are going to be fine. Also, if you ever need an opinion from the outside looking in, I'm here.

Alex

Isabel quickly wrote a six word reply and handed it back with asmall smile. Alex could feel his slight blush as he unfolded the note and read "Alex, you are on the inside." The blush went from slight, to full blown heat crawling up his neck and into his hairline when he read that. "I'm on the inside?" he thought to himself. What does that mean? He knew he'd be dying with questions inside until he could talk to her later about that comment. He looked over at her and she was still smiling slightly at him. He smiled a big goofy smile in return and then she rolled her eyes and giggled quietly as to not disturb the class. She quickly schooled her features and mouthed the word LATER and he sighed. He turned around knowing he would not be paying much attention in this class today either.

At lunchtime Maria was walking around outside looking for someone to sit with. Giving up upon not finding any of her friends, and too hungry to search more, she plopped down under the welcome shade of a tree and bit into an apple. She really wanted to see Michael before his meeting with Tess tonight. She didn't trust the girl further than she could throw, but she knew she came off a little strong the day before at The Crashdown.

Just then, like a shadow, Michael popped out from behind the tree she had chosen to sit down at.

Maria gave a small shriek, and then slapped Michael on the calf. "Thanks for making me almost choke on my apple!" she snapped.

Michael just looked down at her smugly, knowing he had intentionally startled her, and thought to himself that she really was cute when smoke escaped her ears. He kneeled down and sat down next to her.

"Sorry, I really didn't mean to…" he said smiling internally.

"Fine, fine, whatever..." She said putting up her hand and effectively cutting off any more of an apology. "So, you meet with Tess tonight, huh?"

Michael crossed his arms and replied "Yeah, we decided to meet at that Carnival Grounds. You know the one that just came into town?"

Maria took another bite of her apple and replied "Uh huh, I know. The one set up on the north side of town." She took a breath and asked hesitantly, "Are you guys sure it's safe to be talking there?"

Michael just squinted his eyes at the sun and replied "It will be fine Maria, stop worrying."

Maria sighed and leaned over so that she was sitting a little closer to Michael. "You know I just want you guys to be safe, right? I know you are smart and that you would protect them and yourself if it came to that."

At this sudden weighted moment from Maria, Michael felt her heavy emotion. She was trying to hide it, but he could feel she really was concerned for him. At the same time she trusted him as a protector. He didn't even trust himself as a protector. The thought of her having so much faith in him gave him a feeling in his stomach he was not used to, but it wasn't unpleasant. He suddenly turned to her and used his thumb and pointer finger to grasp her chin andhave her look into his eyes.

"Thank you for having faith in me. It means a lot." Then as if he realized that he was acting out of character, he shuffled to his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets. If he didn't put them somewhere he might just grab Maria and kiss her. He had never felt so attracted to her before, but he wasn't sure how she felt about him at the moment.

Maria was trying to compute what just happened. Did Michael and her just have a moment? It was over so fast she wasn't sure. Afterwards, he jumped to his feet he mumbled to her something about having to go return a library book, but she barely registered that he had left. The feeling he left with her was so beautiful she never wanted it to end. Stonewall Michael had just bared a tiny bit of his soul to her and she was going to savor it while this moment lasted. She leaned back against the tree, while taking another bite of her apple, and thought to herself "There is still hope for us…"

Just then Liz walked up and sat down next to her. "Hey Maria, wow you look like you've just been kissed! What's up?"

"Something better,I just saw a crack into the stonewall that surrounds Michael." She replied.

Taking out a sandwich from her paper lunch bag, Liz replied "That's a first."

Still smiling blissfully Maria stated "I know! I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere with him. I wonder if this new person Tess will cloud his thinking and halt this progress. All I can say, is she better not!"

Liz swallowed the bite of sandwich she had just chewed and said "Don't worry Maria, he'll come around. Have some faith!"

"OMG, that's just what he told me!" Maria exclaimed.

"What?" Liz replied.

"That I had faith in him, and he was thanking me for it!" Maria said.

"Well there you go, you just have to have a little trust in him now."

"That's so hard sometimes…my dad really screwed up my overall trust in men…" She sighed and then said "…but today is a start!"