Chapter Twenty

The familiar ring of the door opening made them all turn around. Max, Michael, Kyle, Thaman and Valenti all walked through. Serena looked and saw all three of their faces light up when they walked in. Funny how just an entrance can cause such happiness. She watched as Liz got up first and walked over to Max. His face softened when he saw her. He reached out his hand and grabbed the tips of her hair as he kissed on the lips. He put his other arm around her to pull her close to him. Maria got up but her way of walking up to Michael was different. She walked over to Michael but just stood there until he grabbed her and pulled her close to him. He didn't kiss her on the lips but only kissed her on the forehead. She could see Isabel get breathless as she watched that guy next to Kyle. She didn't walk over to him like Liz and Maria. She just stood up and kept her eyes on him. She looked at Kyle who looked very glad to see her. He immediately walked over to her.
" How are you doing? " he asked smiling nervously.
" I'm ok " she answered smiling. She looked at Isabel and that guy. The guy looked at her with cool distant eyes. Was this really the guy that she was talking about?
" How are you this morning my... ? " Thaman stopped himself as he looked at the new girl with them. " Are you well? " He definitely didn't use the usual ' Hey what's up? ' phrase. So proper.
Isabel smiled gracious to him. " I'm fine today Thaman. Thank you ". It was like they had this language of looks or something.

" Are you all having breakfast? " asked Kyle.
" Kyle we're busy here " said Michael impatiently.
" I was just leaving anyway Rude Boy " said Serena

Thaman raised his eyebrow at her comment. Maria smirked.
" Where are you going? " asked Kyle he wanted to grab her hand but he didn't want to seem pushy.
" I have some things I have to get today, " she said walking towards the exit. " I'll see you guys later " she said as she looked back at the girls.

" Can I come with you? " asked Kyle. He looked at the rest of the group. He knew what was happening was important but if he had to leave Roswell that meant no Serena. His dad could talk to them about it.

She looked at him in surprise and smiled. Her smile nearly knocked Kyle's breath away. " Sure " she said.
~~~~~~~~~~
" I don't trust her " said Michael as they all sat down.
" You don't trust anybody " said Isabel
" Because I'm usually right "
" Usually wrong " answered Maria
" Whatever "
" Come on now. She's just a new girl in town. Just leave it at that " said Isabel.
" Yeah another new face in Roswell. You all know what that means " said Michael.
" It's not like we're going to high jack her in her car and go off to some place out of state " said Isabel.
Michael shot her a frown but didn't say anything.
" The last time we had a new face it wasn't pretty "
" You seemed to like it, " said Maria hitting him. " She was Michael obsessed remember? "
" I don't want to think about it all right? "
" Nobody's going to do anything " said Max. " Nothing is happening with Serena. But I think we can trust her "
" I think so too " said Liz. " She hasn't done anything to make us suspicious of her "
" Yeah she hasn't asked suspicious questions or pushed to be a part of the group " said Isabel.
" Just an act "
" No Michael I think we can trust her " said Liz
" You just trust everyone "
" Stop it Michael, " said Max " Liz said that when the Future me came he told her that Serena was her friend "
Michael looked at Liz. Liz nodded to him.
" But anyways, it's not like we're going to tell her " said Max. "We'll see what happens "
" This is not why we are here My Lords, " said Thaman.
" Yeah we came here for more important reasons " said Michael
" What is that? " asked Isabel.
" We must leave Roswell for a while " said Thaman.
" What do you mean leave Roswell? We've never left Roswell " said Maria
" You went to Vegas, " said Thaman smiling at them.
" That was different, we had a purpose "
" And we have a purpose now " said Valenti.
" Why do we need to leave Roswell? " asked Liz.
" We need to begin training and you all need to be there " said Thaman. " We do not know what we are up against exactly. We do not know just how many of them are out there and you know that after yesterday we are going to have to be extra careful. The war is beginning and I want everyone here to be prepared for whatever comes along. We will not be gone forever, just for a couple weeks "

" Like a camping trip or something " said Maria.
Everyone nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" Brody! " called Maria as she walked through the UFO Center. This routine of bringing him lunch made it a good excuse to see how he was doing. She had hesitated bringing his lunch today. Because of what happened yesterday, she wasn't sure it would be entirely safe for her to see him. " Brody! "

" Oh Maria over here " he said. He was overseeing some men fixing one of the displays.

She walked over to him slowly. He turned around and his face lit up when he saw her.

This was the Brody that she knew. The one that always seemed so happy to see her. The gentle, kind and funny Brody who just adored her and cared about her. It hurt her that she didn't have the same feelings for him. He deserved someone that would care about him the same way. He knew about Michael and didn't make any advances towards her. He seemed content to just be in the same place as her. It was something that they never talked about but she knew.

" Your usual " she said cheerfully, holding up the bag.

" Thanks " he said graciously. " I forgot to call and was getting desperately hungry "

What was it about his accent that made her want to giggle? He reached out his hand for the bag. She handed it to him and watched him as he counted the money for her.

" I haven't seen you in a couple days have I? " he asked

" Yeah " said Maria trying to block out the sight of him trying to kill them all as Khivar and he had successfully killed Thaman in the mean time. Even though it was a cheap blow, but hello Maria that wasn't Brody, that was Khivar. After Thaman had made it so that he wouldn't wake up, they had put Brody in front of the computer, making it seem like he had just fallen asleep there.
" They took me again " he said bringing her to the side so that the workers couldn't hear their conversation.
" What do you mean? "
" Well I was at home cooking Sydney lunch. I had just given it to her and then I blanked out. Then I woke up here at the Center. I don't even remember how I got here. When I went home Sydney said she didn't even notice that I had left "
" That's something, " said Maria trying not to seem nervous. " It happens "
" Does it? " he asked looking at her face.
" Well sometimes I forget things like that too "
" Really? "
" Come on Brody it was probably nothing. You probably got an epiphany or something and then fell asleep " she laughed. Well trying to laugh.
" I woke up incredibly sore and I have a bruise on my shoulder. I don't remember hitting anything "
" I can't help you there Brody " said Maria calmly.
" I just think I was taken again " said Brody sadly. " Its becoming more frequent "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Serena was in the bathroom of her hotel room changing. Kyle was waiting outside for her to get ready. Isabel had told her that the guys had been Kyle's friends from before and she didn't want to tell Kyle anything. They technically hadn't done anything to her and she wanted as little attention from this place was possible. She had just taken a shower and was putting on her clothes. She wiped the mist from the mirror as she looked at her face again. You can't encourage this, she said in her mind. You'll have to let go of him. But I don't want to. He seems like a genuinely good guy and he's interested in me. But once he finds out what you are he may not be interested any longer. Well I'm not going to tell him then. She ran the comb through her long hair one more time, before grabbing a thin metal stick that looked like a chopstick. She wrapped her hair around it and ran it through her hair all in one motion. She examined herself in the mirror again. She opened the door and stepped out.
~~~~~~~~
Kyle had been pacing the hotel room waiting. He wondered where they would be going, but he really didn't care. He just wanted to be with her. He couldn't imagine that he could feel that way. He was supposed to be the tough jock who had girls all over him but now he was dragging along behind a girl. What had happened to him? Was this really a part of Max that he had adopted because he healed him? Or was this really just him being gone over some girl he didn't even know. Some stranger that had come into town and was going to leave any day now.
" Ok I'm ready " she said stepping out of the bathroom. She stepped back a little as she looked at his face. " Are you ready to go? "

" Oh yeah " he said blinking his eyes. She was just so beautiful. She was so full of mystery and just different. He had felt like he could fall in love with Liz because she was different but he didn't for obvious reasons. But he felt different about Serena. She was a different, different. Ok now Valenti you're not making any sense now he said in his head. " Where do you want to go? " he said putting his hands on his pockets.
" I have to go shopping for supplies " she said grabbing her purse
" What kinds of supplies? "
" I need some snack foods, toothpaste, dental floss, things like that " she said opening the door. " Are you sure you want to come with me? "
" You need someone to show you around Roswell so I'm your man " he said holding out his arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Max? " said Liz as she walked over to him. He was standing on her balcony looking out over the street. He looked at her but didn't say anything.
" What's wrong? " she asked.
" Tess had that transmitter all along " he said turning towards her. " She was one of them but we never saw it. I should have seen it. Now she's going to have my son and I can't protect him. She's somewhere out there and I have no idea how I'm going to get him back "
Liz walked over to him and put her hands on his face. " We're going to get him back Max. We'll think of something "
" I can still feel him Liz. He's calling for me and once he's born... It's tearing me apart that he will only have Tess and Khivar to take care of him. To raise him like their son " he put his arms around Liz's waist, pulling her closer to him for comfort. " It should be our son "
" He is our son Max. We're going to get him back "
" It doesn't bother you that you're not really his mother? "
" It bothers me, but Max, he will be our son. Don't talk about this like it's your problem. This is our problem and we're going to get through this. We'll figure something out, we always do "
" I can't lose you Liz, " he said as he buried his face in her hair. " No matter what I can't lose you "

Liz smiled to herself. Only Max could make her feel like this. Even when Kyle or Sean had told her she was special, it never gave her the same thrill as it did with Max. With Max, she could feel his words run up her spine. She lifted his face above hers. She was always amazed at the way he looked at her. How could she be so lucky as to have someone as beautiful both inside and out love her so much? Yes it did bother her that Tess would be having Max's son but this was more important than her feelings of jealousy. That was a little prince growing inside of Tess. It wasn't the baby's fault that it's mother was who she was. It deserved the best, like every baby does. Liz wasn't worried about getting the baby back. She knew they would figure it out. She was worried about how the baby would react to her. She would love it no matter what because it was something that came from Max, but would the baby respond to her? Would it love her as much as she loved it right now? Would it know that she would never resent it for what it was? She was praying that it would accept her. She wouldn't try to replace Tess as its mother, she would only be what she could be. She looked up at Max. He watching her.

Max could tell from her eyes that she was some place else. Probably worried about him again and trying to think of some solution to solve it. Why did she sacrifice so much for him? Why did she constantly consider himself over herself? He was trying to think of what she might be thinking about in her beautiful, bright brain of hers. Her expression showed that she was scared about something but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what that was. Was she really worried about Tess being the mother? He wanted to kick himself. She had put so much of herself into everything and he sleeps with Tess. As if she could tell what he was thinking she put her hand on his cheek, gaining his attention effortlessly. He looked down at her with a guilty look on his face.

" Will there ever be a time where we don't have to worry about the world around us? " he asked closing his eyes.

He looked down at her trying to read her expression. She nodded at him with hope in her eyes. He reached his hand for her face. Then he gently ran his hand down her arm. They both looked down in amazement as a glow came from Liz's arm where Max's hand had just touched. They both laughed softly as they remembered the last time that it had happened.

" Only you will touch me like that, " she said as she snuggled up to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

" So how was your day with Kyle? " asked Liz. She was up in her room with Serena. Maria had her shift with Michael. Isabel was downstairs at the Crashdown, waiting for Maria's shift to end. Liz's parents had come home and were doing the Crashdown paper work. They were really quiet when they came home. They wouldn't elaborate on their trip. Max had to leave and make the necessary plans for their trip with Thaman. Kyle was with his dad preparing as well.
" It was good. He's a nice guy " answered Serena. She was looking around Liz's room as Liz was in the bathroom changing.
" Yeah he is " said Liz as she came out.
Serena was looking at a photo album on her dresser. " Can I look through it? "
" Sure " said Liz walking over. " Those are pictures of our Junior Prom "
She opened it up to the first page. It was a picture of her, Alex and Maria at the Prom.
" Who's that? " Serena asked pointing at Alex.
" That's Alex " said Liz looking down.
" Where's Alex? I haven't met him yet "
" He died "
" Oh, " said Serena softly. " How did it happen? " she said understanding
" A car accident "
" That's awful. How long ago? "
" He died a couple days after Prom "
Serena looked at Liz and turned the page. " You and Max " she said " You guys don't look too happy "
" What are you talking about? We're smiling " said Liz trying to smile. But she remembered all too well what she saw that night.
" Yeah " said Serena looking at the picture of Liz and Max posing for the portrait. She turned the page. She looked at Michael and Maria, then Isabel and Alex. " Were Isabel and Alex...? '
" They were sort of off and on "
" I see " said Serena turning the page. She paused when she saw Tess and Kyle.
Liz took it as jealousy. " Oh that's Kyle... "
" And Ava "
" No that's Tess " said Liz trying to hide her shock. How could Serena know Ava?
" Tess? But her name is Ava "
" Oh no her name is Tess "
" Where is she? "
" She left town a couple weeks ago "
" How long was she here? "
" About a year and a half "
" Almost two years " said Serena to herself.
" Serena , how do you know her? "
" I just know her, but her name was Ava and not Tess "
" And she looked just like this? " Liz had to emphasize that part. Serena could be talking about Ava, the dupe.
" Yeah "
Ava hadn't really looked like Tess. You could tell the difference between them. The only thing the same was her face. Ava talked, dressed and acted totally the opposite of Tess.
" How do you know her? " asked Liz.
Serena sighed. " An old bone in my closet "
" Were you guys close? "
" No, not really "
" You hated her didn't you " stated Serena
Liz looked at Serena's face.
" You can tell me Liz "
" We never really got along. There was always tension between me and her " Liz looked down at the picture. Kyle and Tess were posing, smiling up at the both of them. " What about you? Were you close to her? "
" We weren't friends "
" So how do you know her? "
" It's complicated "
" Did she do something to you? " asked Liz. It would be horrible if Tess mind warped Serena like she had with Alex. Liz tried to remember if she had ever seen Serena tapping. No she didn't but then she never looked.

Serena looked at Liz's concerned expression. Liz was new in her life and nobody ever really wanted to become friends with her. The people here were all so friendly to her. Why? But you can't tell anyone your secret because you will be in danger, she reminded herself. " I guess you could say that " she said looking bored. What did Liz know? " Was Kyle really into her? I can't really tell " she said examining the picture again.
" I think they both were really close. But they left it as friends "
" Was he the only one she was close to? "
" She didn't really get along with Maria and me. She got along ok with Max, Isabel and Michael "
" Max got along with her and you didn't " said Serena finding it hard to believe.
" Yeah "
" Hmm "
" What? "
" She was the tension wasn't she? She's why you and Max weren't together. "
" What makes you say that? "
" It's written all over your face. Why would Max make her an issue? What an ... "
" Max never made her an issue, " said Liz sadly. " I did "
" Why? "
" I just did, " she said looking at the other side of the room.
" We all have secrets Liz. " sighed Serena. " I won't ask you for yours and please don't ask me for mine. Maybe if we get to know each other better we'll share " said Serena putting her hand on Liz's shoulder.

Liz nodded silently. Surprised that Serena didn't push for answers. She probably had so many things to hide like she did." How can we get to know each other better now that you're leaving? "
Serena laughed slightly. " I just found a reason to stay longer "
Then Liz thought. They would be leaving Roswell tomorrow. Serena couldn't come with them. All of the guys would kill Liz if she decided to tell yet another person about Max, Isabel and Michael. It was just too dangerous. But Liz had this feeling that what Serena was looking for with Tess would probably help them all. If Serena knew about Tess then she knew there were more aliens out there. She just hoped that she didn't suspect the three of them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" So everything is set for tomorrow right? " asked Michael. They were all at Valenti's house. They were all loading up their essentials. Valenti was bringing all his camping gear and food supplies.
" Yeah I think everything is ready " said Valenti
" Are you sure your parents approve of this trip my Lord? " asked Thaman to Max
" Yes, they know about it and so do Liz's parents and Maria's mom " answered Max.
" Where exactly are we going? " asked Kyle

" Some place where no one can find us and we can begin training " said Thaman. " We have a lot of work to do " he said looking at Max and Michael.
" So where is there a good place to go to? Can't we just go to the desert? Do we have to leave like this? "
" Why are you acting like this son?" asked Valenti
" He just wants to be with his new girlfriend " said Michael
" We could just go to the desert and practice but we will have distractions " said Thaman standing between Michael and Kyle. " The past two weeks have been very eventful Kyle and we have to stay together in a group during this time. We can't let anything that happened to Liz happen again " Thaman looked at Kyle. " If we are not a group then we will not survive "

Kyle nodded. " We don't have much time now "
~~~~~~~~~~~~

The conversation had turned to local school events. Not really a subject that had to do with academic stuff but interesting nonetheless. Serena found things about her would be attackers from the three girls. Serena had convinced them to not do anything else to the boys. She could take care of herself and they left it at that. She wondered how their guys would act if anything like that happened to one of them. It would be war totally. Their boyfriends looked like they could do some damage. She wished she had someone like that.

" Ok so when was the best night of your life? " asked Serena

" Hmm let me think " said Maria putting her finger to her mouth and looking up at the ceiling. " That's so easy " she said showing a shiver go up her spine. " A couple weeks ago when Michael made me this Italian dinner and he had Scooby plates. It was just so romantic. It was such a huge step for Michael and the fact that he made that effort for me meant so much "
" Very sweet " said Serena looking at Liz. " What about you? "
Liz looked down shyly. " My best night " she said.
" I know what she's going to say, " said Maria shifting her position on the floor.
" Yeah, it's obvious " said Isabel
" The night that Max and I fell asleep on my bed. I don't even remember falling asleep and when I woke up he was at the foot of the bed sleeping. To know that he was there and that there was nothing to keep us apart anymore " she said smiling to herself with the memory. " The next morning we woke up in each other's arms "
" That's so awesome " said Serena, she looked at Isabel.
Liz looked at Isabel to catch her reaction and was surprised to see that Isabel was smiling at her. Both girls shared a smile. Everyone looked at Isabel. She looked down at her hands shyly.
" The best day of my life happened last night " she said
" Yesterday? " asked Serena in disbelief.
" Oh God yesterday was nothing short of eventful " said Maria
Serena looked at her questioningly.
" We were busy yesterday " explained Liz.
" Yeah you guys just rushed out of the movie theater without a word " said Serena
" Hmm we had something we had to do and we forgot about it " said Maria
" O k " said Serena. She looked back at Isabel to continue.
" Yeah it happened last night. I was out in the desert, looking up at the stars with Thaman "
" Thaman, " repeated Serena " Is that the guy from the Crashdown today? "
" Yeah " said Isabel
" I so need to hear this " said Maria.
" We told each other that we loved each other and that when things were all settled we would be together. It just isn't the right time for us to be together "
" And you're happy about that? "
Isabel nodded. " Just to get something like that out of Thaman, you know he means it. That's just the way he is "
" You must have been waiting a long time to hear that "
" A lifetime " she said looking at Maria and Liz. Both girls didn't know about her flashes and she wasn't really eager to share. But maybe if they knew, they would know just how special Thaman was. Not even Michael and Max know about it. She made a reminder to herself to tell them how everybody died in their other life. They had a right to know.
" What about you Serena? " asked Maria " What was your best night? "
" I don't have any in depth nights like you guys have had " said Serena " But I've had some great nights. I've had good times in my life although none really come to mind "
" What do you mean? " asked Maria " You should have something you remember "

" Yeah I should, but so many other things have happened after that, that it's hard to remember good times "
All three of them nodded. " We understand how that is "
" Yeah " said Liz. Before Thaman came she couldn't remember anything really good that happened to her. This past year had been absolute hell for her. After all her sacrifices she could have lost Max anyway. But she didn't want to think about that now. Max was here, he knew everything, they were together again and nothing was going to get in their way.