Liz parked the car in the alley and went back into the Crashdown. She could see Maria handing Michael an order slip through the kitchen window. "This is the way everything is supposed to be." She said aloud as she pushed through the door to the cafe. Max was sitting at the counter discussing the importance of the fashion channel on basic cable with Isabel. Liz smiled and stood before them. "Hey Max, Isabel." She said, filling their glasses. Max smiled in return.
"Will you tell Isabel that it isn't essential to have a television channel that shows only fashion runway shows, please?" Max pleaded with Liz.
"I dunno, Max..." Liz smiled. "New York Fashion Week is so far away, yet I can watch it on my Zenith in the comfort of my own home." She said, winking at Isabel.
"Exactly!" Isabel said with a sigh of relief. "Exactly what I was saying!"
"Girls..." Max muttered, a smile creeping onto his face. "At least I only know one who could whoop my butt with her supernatural powers."
"Two..." Liz said, halfheartedly. Tess Harding could make anyone believe anything with her mind warp.
"What did you say?" Max asked.
"I said two. You know two girls who could whoop your butt with her supernatural powers." Liz repeated herself.
"Well, Liz, honey, I don't think Maria's ability to ramble incessantly really counts as a supernatural power..." Max said quietly, hoping Maria wouldn't hear him.
"No...I mean..." Liz paused to laugh. "I mean Tess."
"Tess?" Max repeated the name. It sounded foreign to him.
"Yeah, don't you remember your evil alien bride? The mother of your unborn alien child?" Liz prompted him.
Max's face remained blank. 'Could it be another effect of the time warp?' She wondered. "Oh jeez!" Liz forced a laugh. "That was a dream I had!" She giggled, Max gave her a look of concern. "It was just so real!" Liz added nervously, turning to go back into the employee room. Max followed.
"Don't you just hate when dreams are like that?" Isabel smiled sincerely.
"Liz? What's going on? Who is this Tess?" He asked with conviction. "Did you find something out that you didn't tell me about? She didn't work for Whittaker or something, did she?"
Liz turned to Max slowly. "Max, Alex isn't dead. I know you'll probably think I'm crazy, but yesterday, when I got home from school he *was* dead. There was a whole spread in the yearbook for his memorial on page 50. He died three weeks ago. Tess killed him. But now he's alive and no one remembers Tess." Liz said, confusing herself with her own words.
"Liz, take a deep breath and sit down." Max said, leading her to the couch. "Now tell me again."
Liz took a deep breath and sat down next to Max. She searched his eyes for any sign that he remembered what she'd just said. When she found nothing but confusion she began to cry. "Alex died three weeks ago. Tess killed him. She was your evil alien bride who was carrying your unborn baby. She used him to decipher that book from your planet. When he found out too much, she killed him. Tess made it look like an accident, but we found out the truth. Just before you, Tess, Isabel and Michael were about to return to your planet, we explained the awful truth. You sent Tess and your child home through the Granolith chamber." Liz paused, hoping she didn't forget anything. "And now Alex is back and no one remembers Tess."
Max took a deep breath. "Liz, it's all just like you said, a dream. A dream that seemed real. Okay?" He paused. "Alex never died and there is no 'Tess'." He said pulling her into a hug. "I know you've gone through a whole lot in the past two years and I'm here for you." Max said, kissing her lightly.
A flash of the solar system reminded Liz of his love for her. "That's it!" Liz exclaimed. "You remember how when you healed me you saw my memories?" She asked him, her mind spinning with ideas. "And then you showed me yours?" Max nodded. "What if you could just see my memories of Tess and Alex's death...and Las Cruces University? Then you'd have to know they were true!" Liz said, taking his hands in hers so he could allow the connection.
"Liz, none of those things happened. Alex was away in Sweden. There is no such girl..." He pleaded with her to realize he was right. When he saw her face was unchanging, he looked into their palms. "Okay." He said quietly. "I'll do it." Max closed his eyes and began probing into Liz's mind. He passed by several events in the past few weeks. Many memories of a petite blond flashed by. Max began to slow down the thoughts. The setting was the pod chamber. Max stood in front of the petite blond. He was gesticulating with grand motions. The girl seemed upset. The next memory was outside the chambers. He, Liz, Maria, Michael and Isabel stood staring out into the horizon. Isabel's voice invaded the memory. 'What happens now, Max?' She asked. 'I have to save my son.'
Max shook his head and opened his eyes. They immediately connected with Liz's own brown eyes. His face was a combination of disbelief and confusion. "But how could this happen?" He asked her.
"Tess could perform mind warps." Liz knew this would need some explaining. "When she sent Alex to the University to translate the alien text she made him and us think that he was in Sweden. Then, when he found out that she'd done this to him, she mind warped him again..." The words caught in Liz's throat. "Killing him. She made Kyle help her get rid of the body by making him think it was suitcases." Liz paused again. "Then she made his death look like a car accident."
Max's head was lowered in disbelief. "This is unreal." He whispered. "I'm getting these...memories...They're just coming back to me. Of me and Tess...our child...Alex's..." Max paused. "Funeral. I don't know what to do..."
"Well we have to tell Michael and Isabel." Liz began. "We can't tell Alex. I mean, I have no idea what will happen to him once this is all over." She halted briefly. "Maybe we shouldn't tell Maria. It will just kill her if she finds out he's actually dead."
"Right...We have to tell Isabel and Michael. Then we have to figure out why this is all happening. When Tess left, she told me about a deal Nacedo had made with Kivar. She would deliver myself, Isabel and Michael to our enemies..." Max strained to remember. "And our son. My son. Maybe she's doing this so she can complete her side of the deal. To deliver our child, the rightful heir to the throne, to Kivar."
Liz nodded, the whole idea was quite feasible in it's own alien way. "She needed to buy herself some time. So she wiped out all of our memories of herself and her role in Alex's death. It makes perfect sense." Liz said. The more she thought about it, the more logical it all seemed.
"I have to go tell Isabel and Michael." Max said, standing up quickly and leaving Liz alone in the backroom.