Max knew something was wrong with his sister, but he didn't want to address it. He had to make decisions, no doubt enraging some. It seemed clear to him that he was the ultimate power in a communist party, albeit a small one. He had to go with what the people wanted while also making executive decisions. It always made him the bad guy, and he hated being hated.

Liz gripped his arm tightly, and he though back to the night when she wore that red dress. It was so easy to grasp the memory of a few days ago. It was back when things had been simple for once. It was the simplest life had been since…since he saved Liz. Amazing how one desperate decision can change the lives of everyone in Roswell that mattered, the most important ones now in Scotland on the run from the law because of his decision. But he couldn't take it back; it wouldn't be like him to do that. Death was his other despised companion.

He turned his attention back to Isabel, drinking her scalding hot coffee; she was now making it so. The need to be there for her and ask her what was wrong was suppressed by the thought that now they had to find their way through a major city in a foreign country and start over again.

Everyone was awkwardly waiting for him to make a decision about where to go by not saying anything but giving him desperate glances. He had never been allowed this much power. It dawned on him that everyone was in such an emotional state beyond Alex's return that no one could think straight. They had the FBI against all of them, held at bay a little as they were out of their jurisdiction, but they would come eventually.

And everyone was having their own problems. As for Max, it was for everyone, including himself. He was concerned for Isabel, but Maria was also high on the list. They could hardly make room for Alex, let alone a child. He couldn't ignore her pains from the plane. Kyle was being quiet, which was a little weird. Alex was a little offset ever since he came back, probably because he missed so much and lost Isabel, which put Max on edge with him a little more than usual. Michael wasn't being snippy with him, and that was the worst for Max on many levels. As for Liz, she just seemed to be caught up in this doldrums state like everyone else because of her worries for the things everyone was worried about. Max just wanted everyone to be relieved, but he knew that only time could fix all of this. It annoyed him to not be able to fix this.

"We should go. We've been here a long time," Max commented, staring at the rest of them, seeing if they would get up.

No one stood up, so he just sat there. Everyone heard him, but they just couldn't pick themselves up.

"Let's find a hotel in which to stay the night. Let's rest and reconvene tomorrow and plan." He figured someone would react to the formality, even Liz, but everyone just stayed silent and stared at their cups, save for Isabel, who was still looking at the table. "Let's just go. I know no one here wants to sleep, but we have to."

Slowly everyone stood and ambled toward what they thought was the exit. Maria leaned on Michael and Liz leaned on Max, but no other sign of intimacy was visible. Isabel walked next to her brother, but at a distance. Alex walked a little back and on the other side of Max and Liz and stared at his feet. They all got taxis and decided on a hotel. The taxis caravanned over there, the cabbie occasionally asking a question to which was answered simply and curtly. Everyone paid and gave a little extra tip on accident. They checked into adjacent rooms and sank into the pillows, no one sleeping.

Max held Liz close on the bed as he started to hear what he thought were sobs, but it was too dark to be completely sure. She was definitely shaking, and he wondered how much he was trembling. It wasn't like him to be this weak, but everyone was. It was amazing how easily the feeling came over them, too. They had been weary from running and teary from leaving on the plane, but now it just was worry. He conjectured that it was the fact their mind wasn't taking time to think about their next move that their worries caught up with them to haunt them. Except for Isabel, who had been in her state since Alex's return. That was the problem with peace: too much time to think.

Liz talked for the first time sometime in the middle of the night. "This is too much for everyone. How can we fix it?"

"Time is our friend in this case. We need to stop running from what worries us and face them." He stared at the ceiling, but he grasped her hand and squeezed it tightly. "What's your biggest worry?"

"That we won't make it out of this alive. I mean, the constant worry. If it continues, we might not be able to fight them."

"Or perhaps it'll wake everyone from it. I just wonder how it started. Peace?"

"Maybe. Or timing. Alex is back, which makes Isabel torn because of the decision. We've become a family, so we're all worried for her. Then there's Maria. And Alex is just so off. It's like it's not really Alex, but he has all of his memories from before his death, so it has to be him. The FBI is after us again, and we don't know how long we have. It's all happened at once. It's a lot to take in. But peace relaxes our mind, so we can brood over it."

"I knew you were smart, Liz," he cooed lovingly. It was bitterly weird on his tongue, given the air. He almost wished he hadn't said it. She didn't answer, which made it more awkward for him.

"What if we don't have time to solve these problems or they come up on us all at once?"

"The FBI problem will be solved if we don't have time, making it a little easier on us. Then Iz can go back to Jesse, making it less confusing for her. In nine months Maria's problem will be solved one way or another. And they've already come to haunt us. We have no choice but to face this. The only weapon we have is each other. I think that as long as we have the seven of us, we'll be okay."

"It was easier when it was six."