[b]Part 22 - Another time, Another life - Section I[/b]

[I]Somewhere in Ontario, Canada, December 2001[/I]

"Are we almost there?" Maria complained from the back seat. "I really have to pee."

"You're not the one who's eight months pregnant." Liz reminded her from the front seat, where she was sitting beside Michael, who was doing his best to completely ignore Maria [I]and[/I] Liz.

Liz knew that he was still mad at her, still angry that she had not listened to him and stayed behind in Roswell. But if it was true - that Isabel had [I]really[/I] finally found Max and Tess...

There was absolutely no way that she was being left behind, pregnant or not.

"Michael..." Maria whined.

"There's a town coming up in about ten kilometres." Michael snapped. "Just hold your horses. Jeez."

But Liz was aware of the way in which he glanced at her with concern, felt the car speed up slightly, which was saying something because he was already driving well over the speed limit. It had been easy to let the speedometer creep up on the prairies near Winnipeg, which they had finally left about half an hour before. They were well into the rocky, tree-lined Canadian Shield now, but Michael hadn't slowed down, determined to reach the small town of Wade before dark.

They were meeting up with Isabel in the summer resort town of Kenora and would then push on to Wade, which was well north and much less civilized, if what Isabel had told them on the phone was true.

With every mile, Liz knew they were getting close. She could almost [I]sense[/I] Max again, in a way she hadn't since she had been sure that he had left the planet more than six months before. She could feel every inch of her body beginning to tingle with anticipation, mixed with a heavy dose of fear.

She could also feel her baby becoming restless, as though she knew that she was soon going to be reunited with her father. The baby had not been a kicker until very recently - the last twelve hours to be exact. It had worried Liz for a while, but somehow she had eventually just realized that her daughter's temperament was just like that - serene and patient, waiting calmly for the time when she would make her grand entrance.

While Liz could almost feel her baby's excitement, they still didn't know how Max was going to react when they found him. He had obviously made a very concerted effort [I]not[/I] to be found, if the boonies they were driving through were any indication.

Isabel had left Roswell in mid-September, the only one who could feasibly get out of town without creating a large fuss with their parents because she had already finished high school. Not for the first time, her early graduation was proving to be a blessing in disguise. She had dropped out of community college, telling the Evans' that she needed a semester off, needed some time to get over the fact that her brother was apparently gone for good.

Michael probably could have gone as well, but he had never even contemplated it, telling Liz that it was his responsibility to look after her. It had brought grateful tears to her eyes. In fact, Michael had even suggested that she might want to move in with him until she got on her feet after the baby's birth. He was taking the role of protector so seriously, it was almost amusing. Liz and Maria took great joy in teasing him about it.

Liz tried not to dwell on the fact that Michael was still so furious at Max for staying on Earth and not telling any of them, it was another reason he didn't want to play a large role in finding him. She preferred to think about how cohesive the group was now, how bonded they were about everything else.

It was only on the subject of Max that they disagreed.

Isabel had reacted in exactly the opposite way. She [I]wanted[/I] to find Max more than anything, mainly to give him a large piece of her mind Liz suspected. And so, using a combination of dreamwalking - there were very rare occasions when Max was apparently [I]not[/I] blocking Isabel - and information she had bullied out of Pam Troy, she had managed to track him as far as North-Western Ontario by the end of November.

She had rented a hotel room in Kenora since and had spent her days questioning the locals for any sign of her brother and Tess. It was a small town, much smaller than Roswell, especially in the winter months, and the two newcomers [I]had[/I] been noticed, particularly because the young blonde had been so obviously pregnant when they had arrived.

It had only been last week that Isabel had managed to actually [I]find[/I] them though. Liz, Michael and Maria had been on the first plane to Winnipeg, the closest city with an international airport.

Isabel had not confronted the missing pair yet, but she had learned that they were living simply, in a cottage
North of Kenora in the tiny town of Wade. They kept to themselves, but word had filtered out that Tess's baby had been born.

Isabel had tracked the Native-Canadian mid-wife who had delivered Max's first-born. It had not surprised any of them that Tess and Max had chosen [I]not[/I] to allow the baby to be born in a hospital.

The baby had been a boy.

Tess had been right about that. But, apparently, she had been far from right about the baby being unable to survive on Earth - because from what Isabel had heard, he had been born healthy and that both mother and baby had come through the ordeal with little problem.

It had not surprised Liz at all. Tess had always been good at lying. Her entire plot had been to force Max back to Antar, to throw him into the power of his enemies. In fact, her entire [I]gift[/I] centred on deception and deceit, because it was what mind-warping inherently did.

It was almost a relief that the baby had been a boy and born before Liz's own. Liz knew now for certain, having connected with the baby several times, whether by accident or conscious will, that her unborn child was a girl. Her child was [I]not[/I] the heir, was not the first-born, would be safe.

The one thing Liz could not understand was [I]why[/I] Max had chosen to remain with Tess after his son's birth. He had to have known that his friends and family had wanted him at home, his child too. He could not have [I]truly[/I] believed that [I]all[/I] of them were better off without him.

Something had clearly gone [I]very[/I] wrong. And they would soon find out exactly what.

Michael was pulling the rental car off the highway, the gas station sign flashing the information that food was also available. "Hungry?" He muttered to Liz as he came around to Liz's side of the car and literally pulled her to her feet.

"I could eat something." Liz admitted.

As Liz and Maria used the restroom, Michael apparently decided to purchase the entire stock of the small restaurant. Liz exchanged an amused glance with her best friend when they returned to the car where a miniature mountain of food awaited them. But she didn't comment, simply ate until she was full and managed, somehow, to fall into a light doze.

It was fully dark when she came back to consciousness.

The car was stopped again. Liz felt a flash of annoyance that no one had woken her up. She could see that they had pulled off the highway again, were on a small, unpaved road, which seemed to lead nowhere, the headlights streaming off into nothingness.

Michael and Maria were outside the car, arguing about something.

"...don't think it's a good idea. She's going to be devastated!"

"She has a right to know." Maria replied. "If anyone can help him, it's Liz. And I refuse to allow you and Isabel to go in there alone."

"We're the only ones they [I]won't[/I] kill." Michael retorted.

"Michael, of course they will! They don't need you!"

"Izzy's been safe!"

"Because they don't know she's here you idiot!" Maria almost screeched back.

Liz sighed wearily, wondered where Isabel was. She opened the car door, managed to hoist herself to her feet. "You might as well tell me." She told Michael and Maria wryly. They were both now scowling in her direction. "I know there's something now."

"Liz, you're never going to believe who's up here." Maria moved towards her, her expression panicky. "They just arrived about five days ago apparently. Lonnie and Rath!"

Liz felt her heart enter her throat. Max had told her all about how Rath and Lonnie had been willing to sell him out. He had even suspected, after they had tried to kill him in New York, that they had been the ones who had taken out Zan.

"Are they hurting him?" Liz asked weakly. And as a secondary question, "Why are they here?"

Just then a familiar form appeared in the light thrown by the headlights. It was Isabel, her hair in tight braids, and a winter hat covering her head. It was only then that Liz realized how cold it was. She pulled her insignificant jacket more tightly around her body. It was only seconds before Michael's hand was on her back, sending a pulse of warmth through her.

"Thank you." She smiled at him. Moving forward, she hugged Isabel tightly. Isabel moved back, stared down in amazement at Liz's large belly. She touched it almost reverently.

"She's so big!"

"It's almost time Isabel." Liz replied calmly. "But this baby isn't going to be born without her father. Where is Max? What's happening?"

Isabel sighed, rubbed her eyes wearily. For the first time, Liz noticed that her friend looked exhausted. "I've managed to get in to see him once by imitating Lonnie. She and Rath leave every day, to get cigarettes I think." She wrinkled her nose. "They are suffering big-time up here. Anyway, I went in yesterday. I've figured out the problem, why Max hasn't come home."

"What?" Liz asked breathlessly.

"He thinks he's Zan." Isabel shook her head. "When they crashed, he was hurt I guess - unconscious for quite a while." Liz felt her body tense at this. Isabel must have noticed because she quickly added, "He's fine now though - physically at least. Nicholas is here too. I think he and Tess have been tag-teaming him, confusing him, pulling out memories of their life on Antar, feeding him lies about living in New York."
"Why?" Liz demanded. "What do they want?"

Michael jumped in here. "Iz's figured out that the reason the granolith crashed was because it won't fly without all four of us. Tess called in Nicholas, who managed to find Rath and Lonnie. They're all going back."

"Where have they been all this time?" Maria asked, voicing Liz's own question, although her heart was beating at about a million miles an hour and she couldn't seem to make her own voice work.

Max had [I]not[/I] deserted them. He didn't even know he [I]was[/I] Max.

He had not deserted [I]her[/I].

Her heart suddenly felt about a thousand times lighter. Because as much as she had constantly argued with the others that there had to be a good reason for Max to stay away, she had always had that little doubt, as much as she had tried to suppress it, that little question, that perhaps he had finally chosen Tess over her. She almost wouldn't have blamed him, the way she had behaved towards him before he had left.

But she had had nothing to worry about. He was being [I]kept[/I] away from them. He was still hers.

And now they had to figure out a way to bring him back to her, to them all, but most especially, to her child.

"I have no idea where they were." Isabel shrugged. "That whole scene with Tess in New York was obviously fake, since she was working with Nicholas all along. I think they wanted us to assume they were dead."

"Does anyone else ever get the impression that maybe Tess and Ava were switched?" Maria asked, out of nowhere. "I mean, they're all bananas, but she seemed pretty normal to me..." She paused. "In spite of all the piercings."

"Who cares?" Michael demanded. "The point is, we need to get Maxwell out, need to break the mind-warp. Especially if they're planning to leave." He looked at Isabel. "I assume they mean to do it soon?"

"I think so." Isabel replied. "I think the first thing we need to do is get rid of Rath and Lonnie. Then Michael and I can take their places..."

"No." Liz stepped forward, put her hand on Isabel's arm. "That'll take too long. And besides they might be stronger than all of you. They're a complete four-square. Max will work [I]with[/I] them, against you, if he thinks he's Zan."

"What, are you planning to go in there?" Isabel raised an eyebrow at Liz, stared meaningfully at her stomach. "Don't be ridiculous Liz. In fact, I don't even know why Michael let you come." She glared at her friend next.

Michael looked aggrieved. "Hey! Don't blame me! I tried to leave them both behind. But they just henpecked me. I'm the [I]victim[/I] here!"

When Maria elbowed him sharply in the ribs, Liz frowned at both of them. "If you truly think I would have stayed behind, then you're both as crazy as your dupes." She told them primly. "There's no point in arguing about it." She smiled slightly. "And I don't plan to go in there anyway, but I do think that I'm the only one he'll listen too. I'm going to bring Max to me." She looked pointedly at Isabel. "And you're going to help me."

To be continued...