~*~Three years later~*~
"Alex Whitman! If you do not get your butt down here right this instant, I am going up there and dragging you down!" Maria bellowed up the stairs.
"Maria, what is the hurry? I mean, it's not like they're gonna be able to start without us?" Alex replied as he ambled slowly down the stairs.
"The hurry?" Maria shrieked. "The hurry is that we have been trying to get this gig at Caliente! forever and the show is going to start in an hour! That is the hurry!"
Alex grinned and started out the door. He looked back and said with a wicked smile, "Come on, Maria. We don't want to be late now, do we?"
Maria's face twisted in mock anger and ran out the door after Alex. She was about to yell at him when she noticed that he was standing still, staring at something – or rather, someone. "What's going on, Alex?" She followed his gaze and almost fainted. There standing were Max, Michael, and Isabel. "Where's my cedar oil?" Maria managed to squeak out.
~*~*~*~*~*
"So, let me get this straight? You're planning on staying on Earth?" Maria asked skeptically.
"Yes!" Michael shot back, exasperated. "We've said it twenty times already, Maria!"
"Don't you use that tone with me, Michael!" Maria snapped. "You expect me to accept you guys with open arms after three years, just like that? I don't think so!"
Max interrupted at that point before Michael and Maria killed each other. "I know this is hard, Maria, with us just showing up like this. But you have to believe us, we are here to stay this time."
Alex jumped in. "But why? I mean, on Antar you guys are like the big kahoonas and here, well, you're not really…"
"…important?" Isabel finished with a smile.
"No!" Alex defended himself. "You are definitely importantly, at least to us. I was going to say famous." Isabel's smile broadened when she heard that.
"Famous is the last thing we want to be," Max answered. "It was nice on Antar but we wanted to come back home."
"What about the war?" Maria wondered.
For a moment, the three faces of the aliens darkened as they relived their memories of the war on Antar. "It's over," Michael simply replied. Seeing the looks on Maria and Alex's faces, Max realized they probably wanted more information.
"We won the war. Khivar is no longer a threat to us – he's dead. And as for our thrones, Michael, Isabel, and I didn't want it anymore. So right now, it's kind of a democracy."
"Oh. Coolness, democracy is good," Alex said, nodding his head. "So, where's Tess?"
The name 'Tess' seemed to strike a nerve. Backs stiffened and faces hardened. "Gone."
~*~*~*~*~*
It was late into the night, but the five old friends sat up talking, trying to catch up on lost time. The conversations focused mainly on Maria and Alex though because the others did not seem to want to talk about Antar much. Michael wanted to talk to Maria privately and waited semi-patiently for his chance. Finally, when Maria went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, he followed her.
"So, Maria…" he started.
"I'm surprised you remember my name," Maria replied coolly. "Three years, Michael. Three years I have waited and you finally come."
"I know. But I'm back, for good now," Michael pleaded.
"So?"
"So? What do you mean 'so'?" Michael asked in disbelief. This wasn't exactly the welcome from Maria he was hoping for. Then something dawned on him. "Are you going out with Alex?"
"What?!" Maria exploded. Then she burst out laughing. "I'm not going with Alex! How could you even think that?"
"Well, what do you expect me to think? You guys have spent a lot of time together these last few years," Michael said defensively.
"Yeah, cause you've been on some God-knows-where planet meeting other alien chicks and fighting and… and… meeting alien chicks."
"Is that what all this is about?" Michael asked. His eyes softened and he took Maria's hand. "Maria, I haven't been meeting 'alien chicks' while I've been gone. I've been thinking about you constantly. I promised you that I would come back to you, didn't I?"
Maria threw himself into Michael's arms, her doubts and worries over the years suddenly gone. "I've missed you, Spaceboy."
"Me too."
~*~*~*~*~*
"So glad to see you two finally joining us again," Alex said sarcastically when Michael and Maria finally joined them again.
"I know. You must have missed our presence terribly," Maria said.
Max summoned his courage and finally asked the question that had been on his mind ever since he had gotten back on Earth. "Where's Liz?"
Maria and Alex exchanged glances, which did not go on unnoticed by Max. "What? Did something happen?" he asked, panic rising in him.
"No!" Maria quickly answered. "It's just that…well…we don't exactly know."
Isabel was confused. "Wait, you don't know where Liz is? But how…"
Alex answered. "Well, after you guys left, we kind of drifted apart. Liz didn't seem want to be around us anymore. All we know is that she is probably… probably in the Boston area. She got accepted to Boston College on a free ride, from what her parents tell us, and that's all we know. We don't know if she's still there."
Max looked devastated. "I have to find her. I have so much to tell her."
Maria's heart went out to him. "I'm sure you'll find her," she comforted him. "And I'm sure she's waiting for you somewhere."
~*~Boston, Massachusetts~*~
"Elizabeth Parker, will you marry me?"
"WHAT?!" Liz shot out of her seat. She stared down at her date for that night, Sean.
Sean was down on his knees and started following her on them as she backed away. "I would like to have the honor of being your husband," he clarified.
"But…but…" Liz sputtered. "But, Sean, we've only had two dates. Don't you think," she gave a nervous chuckle, "don't you think this is a little sudden?" She continued backing away from him but he kept following.
Liz looked around the small restaurant they were in and her cheeks flushed even more to see that they were the center of everyone's attention. "You should really get up, Sean."
"Not until you say yes. I know we haven't known each other that long, Liz, but I really think we should get married. As soon as possible!"
Liz started panicking. "You know, I don't think…" She paused as Sean started coming even closer. "All right, stop right there!" she yelped.
"You're saying yes?!" Sean asked hopefully.
Liz vehemently shook her head. "NO!! I am not saying yes."
"Then what are you saying?"
Liz could have screamed in frustration at his denseness at that moment. "Look, Sean, I don't think we should see each other anymore. I have to go now."
She grabbed her purse and cardigan and ran out the restaurant as fast as she could. She hailed a cab and got into it. "Where to, miss?" the cabbie asked.
"Chestnut Hill," Liz replied. She couldn't wait to get back to her dorm and just sleep the rest of the night away. As the cab pulled away, she could still see Sean on his knees staring dumb-foundedly at where she was standing before.
'Another loser down the tube,' Liz thought. In the past few years she had been on numerous dates with numerous guys but all she ever seemed to get were the ones from the bottom of the barrel.
It only took a few minutes for Liz to get back to the Boston College campus and she paid the cabbie when she got out. She was walking toward her dorm when she thought she felt someone staring at her. She looked around the dark campus, trying to see if someone was following her. 'Stop being so paranoid,' she chided herself as she hurried back to her single dorm room.
Liz sighed when she got back to her room. It wasn't decorated at all, just the bare furniture, computer, and books. There seemed to be no personality of the occupant present in the room. Liz sunk into the bed and closed her eyes for a few minutes. Then she changed out of her dress and into her pajamas. She thought back to the proposal and chuckled softly. 'Ugh, imagine marrying him,' she thought. 'Maria, would have such a laugh over this.'
Maria. Liz hadn't talked to her in so long. Of course, thinking of Maria brought Liz's thought to Max. It had been a long time since Liz had allowed herself to think about Max. After he left, she threw herself into school and became valedictorian of the class. She wanted to attend BC because it was far away from Roswell. It was a big jump, in more ways than one. Liz was still trying to get used to the snowstorms that took place for seemed like the long winters. Thank goodness spring was here.
Liz stared at a box that was under her bed. She debated on whether to bring it out or not but finally did. Taking the lid off, there were pictures of her and Max. There were mementos of her time with Max. It had been a long time since she had looked at them. 'Why am I thinking about him all of a sudden?' Liz wondered.
Thank you, everyone, for leaving feedback! I really appreciate it! I know it has been practically forever and a day since I last updated but I have been really busy! This is a transition part and I know it kind of sucked but don't worry, Max and Liz will meet up soon!!!
~*~Lisa~*~