A/N: AWWW people LOVE me! I have 175 reveiws! That, and people are actually worried about Valenti. How fun! Here's the answer to some of your questions. The others will have to wait. Enjoy, and as always, I love an in-depth reveiw! Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge.

Chapter 29

"Morning Diane," Jim said casually. "I need to talk to Max, is he here?" Jim had spent the last few days stewing over Michael's odd behavior the night he found him in the alley behind the station, as well as his own son's sudden need for extra meditation time.

"Of course, come in. Max!" Diane called, "The sheriff is here to see you." She smiled and gestured for him to have a seat in the living room. Jim smiled dazzlingly as he finally took off his mirrored sunglasses. He saw Max frowning as he came down the stairs.

"Sheriff, is everything okay?" Max asked seriously after they'd greeted each other and Diane retreated to the kitchen.

Jim opened his mouth and shut it again. He'd prefer to be left in the dark about most alien related business but the uneasy feeling in the back of his mind had been nagging him for too long to ignore it. "Actually, I saw Mr. Guerin the other evening and he appeared pretty agitated; Kyle's been the same way. I was hoping you might be able to tell me what's going on Max."

Max rubbed a hand over his face and sat down on the loveseat and motioned for Jim to sit on the sofa. "Do you want the short or long version?" His face didn't quite match the joking tone.

"Which one do you want to tell me?" It'd been a long time since Jim had needed to deal with the weirdness that surrounded Max Evans' life, and he wasn't sure he'd missed it.

"You know that Liz's fiancé Jeremy is working at Eagle Rock?"

"Kyle mentioned something about him working for the FBI." Jim paused for a beat as the implications of what he had learned hit him. "Wait a minute; you think he's an alien hunter?" Jim sat on the edge of his seat. "Are you sure?" He asked as Max nodded.

"Liz saw him working in the white room." Max looked into the older man's blue eyes. Jim could see a hint of terror swimming in them.

He leaned back on the sofa and readjusted his cowboy hat. "Does he suspect you?"

"We don't think so, but we know he's dangerous. We're trying to figure out how to protect ourselves and Liz."

"Why would Liz be in danger?" Jim frowned.

"Liz has somehow developed some powers," Max looked anywhere but the sheriff's face. "If she marries him, her life is in danger."

Jim could tell Max was uncomfortable. There was much more to this story than he was telling. "Maybe I should hear the long version, Max. There's obviously more to this than you're telling me."

Liz had just slipped on her dress when she heard Mrs. Evans announce that Sheriff Valenti was downstairs. She and Isabel caught each other's eyes. Isabel let out a shaky chuckle. "Even after all this time, I still feel nervous when I hear Valenti's here."

Liz smiled empathetically. "Can you zip me?" She asked as she wadded across the room with fabric from the dress flowing in all directions. She hoped it would distract Isabel from the unexpected visitor downstairs.

Isabel held up her hand, and Liz felt the zipper inch up her back. "I love when you do that." The two girls shared an understanding grin.

"So it looks like the hem needs to be about… here…" Isabel waved her hand over the bottom of the dress and it shortened itself. "And we need to make it a little more snug here." She waved her hand again over the strapless bodice.

"Too snug!" Liz gasped as she felt the dress tighten.

"Sorry," Isabel muttered as she passed her hand over the dress again, "better?"

Liz nodded. After a few moments of Isabel fussing with her gown, Liz said "When we finish, I was hoping I could try to connect to Jeremy again?"

Isabel sat on her bed and looked at her friend. "Yeah, I guess. I still don't know why Max wants someone with you though."

Liz shrugged, "neither do I, but I'd rather have someone with me anyways."

Isabel nodded. She flipped her hair behind her and studied the dress again. "I think we need to add some more fluff here…"

"I won't be able fit through the door if it's fluffier, Iz." Liz complained.

"Damn," Jim muttered when Max finished his story. His head was swimming with revelations about the strength of the Alien's powers now, as well as Liz's newly developed ones. "So why hasn't Liz just called off the wedding?"

Max twisted his mouth into an unhappy grimace. "After her flash, Liz decided that if she broke off their engagement, Jeremy might assume it's because of me. She's afraid he'll come after me to get even."

Both men heard a stifled chuckle behind them and turned to see Isabel standing in the doorway. "You make it sound like a soap opera, Max," she declared. "Hi sheriff," she added brightly as Jim stood and tipped his hat at her. She stood awkwardly for a moment. "I'm just grabbing another cup of coffee for Liz, so ignore me," she explained as she headed into the kitchen.

"Liz is here to have Isabel alter the wedding dress," Max said casually. "We have to keep up appearances until we know more."

Jim nodded. "Though being seen in the same house as you is not going to make this better."

"It's my house too," Isabel interjected as she emerged from the kitchen holding two cups of coffee in her hands. "Besides, Liz already told Jeremy we were going to spend the day together."

Jim could hear the defensiveness in Isabel's tone. "That's fine Isabel; I'm just saying that if this guy is as jealous as Liz seems to think, it might not be wise for her to be seen with Max, at all."

Isabel rolled her eyes. "That was the problem before; Liz isolated herself from us, and we weren't able to protect her. I'm not letting that happen again. Find a new plan." She demanded as she headed upstairs leaving the two men sitting silently in her wake.

Isabel held out her hand to the closed door and it swung open. "You won't believe what Valenti is suggesting…" Isabel stopped mid sentence. Liz was lying on her bed with her eyes open. Isabel could feel the connection. Isabel didn't have to guess who she was connecting to. She set the coffee on her dresser and sat beside Liz.

She quickly connected with Liz. She saw the outside of her home and felt Jeremy's black anger swirling around her. He was spying on Liz, she realized. A flash popped into their minds of Max opening the door in his boxers and grinning when he saw Liz. A moment later, everything went black and they were both lying in Isabel's room.

"This is bad," Liz whispered.

"We have to tell Max," Isabel said solemnly. "Valenti was just saying that it would be bad for Jeremy to see you with him."

Liz sat up. "Grab the dress. We need to do damage control. He needs to see us doing what I told him we would."

Isabel nodded and slid the plastic garment bag over the dress. She looked over at her friend who looked scared and pale. "Are you okay?" She asked as she slung the dress over a chair and sat on the corner of the bed.

"He was so angry Iz." She said in a tiny voice.

Before Isabel could respond, Liz had leaned forward and hugged her tightly. Isabel held her friend for several moments. Isabel and Liz both pulled away when they heard the door open.

Max entered holding the phone in his hand. "We have a problem," he declared. "Valenti just saw Jeremy parked outside the house."

"We know. He followed me here," Liz said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Max demanded.

"We just connected with Jeremy and found out." Isabel's voice was deadly calm.

Max looked at his sister and back at Liz again. "We need a new plan."