Beth Whitman unlocked the door to her house while listening to Susie talk about the latest exploits of her kids.

"..Then Stephanie came back into the room saying 'Mr. Saddam, the wars still on. We talked it over, and we now have an air force. We fixed up old McPherson's crop duster with a few guns. And we got three more men to make sixteen'.

"Then Jaime replied 'well, I'm glad to hear that, but I have 10,000 airplanes, 500 tanks, and my army has increased to two million since we last talked'.

"Then Stephanie said 'Mr. Saddam, I'll be back'. And she left the room again. A minute later she came back and said 'Mr. Saddam, we talked it over, and we have to call off the war'.

"Jaime replied, 'I'm sorry to hear that Paddy, but I have to ask, why the change of heart'.

"Stephanie looked at her real seriously and said 'well sir, we talked about it, and decided there is no way we can house and feed two million prisoners',"

The three of them began laughing. Beth was the first to stop. "Why are the lights still on? Those two should be upstairs already," she said as she walked into the front of the café and stopped abruptly. Marie stood next to her, with Susie behind them.

"Umm, I think I'll get out of here. Talk to you guys tomorrow," Susie said going out the way she had come while taking her cell phone out and dialing her husband.

"Cassie, Juan come over here," Beth said. The two hurried over. Then Marie got her voice back.

"What is going on? It's after eleven, you were suppose to close at ten."

"We did, but they got here just before then, and have been here eating," Cassie said.

"They were just leaving," Juan said.

"No we weren't. Not until we know the truth," Micky said.

"I don't know who you think you are, but when you are asked to leave, you leave."

Everyone looked towards the door and saw the sheriff standing there.

"Kyle?" red-blonde said.

"I will say one thing, you four sure have changed. What happened to your hair Tess? Isabel?" Kyle asked.

"Juan go call your father. Cassie go with him," Beth said quietly. After they left the room, she locked the door and sat down with Marie near the table where the others had congregated.

"Beth, Marie are the kids gonna be out of the way?" Kyle asked.

"Of course," Beth said quietly. "I'm not that stupid."

"So, what finally brought you back here?" Marie asked them.

"Wait a minute, you know us?" red blonde said.

"Yeah, and you know them. And Beth's husband Al," Kyle said sitting down next to Beth. "You know them really well."

Isabel looked at the two girls. One of the women had jet-black hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. Her eyes were green, and at first she thought of Maria, but this girl's eyes were full of pain and hurt. Maria's were never like that. The other girl had short red hair in a bob. And pale blue eyes that also held a hint of pain. But there was happiness there too. Isabel assumed she was Beth, upon seeing the diamond ring on her left hand. The diamond solitaire on a silver band with a matching wedding band looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't remember why. "Yeah, and you know them. And Beth's husband Al," Kyle said sitting down next to Beth. "You know them really well." /-/ Wait, could they possibly be Maria and Liz/-/ Isabel thought. /-/ But why the name changes/-/

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember anyone named Beth, Al, or Marie," Tess said.

"Well, let me introduce myself. I'm Beth Whitman. You already met my son Juan. This is Marie Valenti, Cassie's her daughter."

"Beth, let us in," a voice called from behind the back door.

"I'll get them," Kyle said forcing Beth back into her seat and going to open the door allowing Al and the kids back in. Al stopped immediately upon seeing the four visitors.

"Al, we have some company," Marie said quietly. The kids pulled up chairs and Al walked over to his wife and knelt down next to her.

"Are you ok?" he asked looking at her face for any sign otherwise.

"Yeah, have a seat. They don't remember us," Beth said.

"Your right, we don't remember you. So who are you people?" Michael asked standing up again.

"Sit down Michael," Marie said quietly.

"Look lady, don't tell me what to do," He said and continued to stand. Marie stood up and looked him in the eye.

"I'll tell you anything I want to Michael Guerin. That's my right since you left me behind when you ran off to save your precious little world. And destroyed everyone important to us in this town!" Marie yelled.

Suddenly a look of recognition appeared of Michael's face. "Maria?! What?" and he sat back down with a thud.

/-/ Oh my... that means Al is Alex /-/ Isabel thought.

"Took you long enough Bozo. Yes, I was Maria, she was Liz, and he was Alex. I swear you guys have lost any brains some of you might have had," Marie said sitting down with a huff, and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Would you please tell us what the hell is going on?" Isabel asked, her ice princess attitude coming back.

"Us too," Cassie said quietly.

"First of all, Juan, Cassie, meet Max Evens," Marie said pointing to Dark haired. "Isabel Evens" pointing to Princess. "And..."

"Let me guess, Michael Guerin and Tess Harding" Juan said.

"Yeah. Alright, I'll begin," Kyle sighed then took a deep breath. "It all began about a week after you left..."

:-:-: Flashback :-:-:

Kyle Valenti sat down at his usual place and watched Liz and Maria rush around. They were too busy. They couldn't be doing good considering the resident Czechs had left a week ago. Kyle sat there watching them for a few minutes. He was brought back to the present when Alex Whitman sat down across from him.

"What are you doing Whitman?" Kyle asked with a hiss.

"Talking to you Valenti," Alex replied casually.

"About what?"

"Our girls, what else?"

"What are you talking about Alex. We don't have 'girls'."

"Kyle quit trying to act tough. We both know you still care about Liz, and you care about Maria too. Besides, your dad's seeing Mrs. De Luca. You may as well be family."

"Shut up Whitman. All right, I am worried about them. But what can we do?" The two continued to watch the girls wondering how they could help them.

"Maria, are you ok? You are really pale?" Liz asked her best friend.

"Oh sure, I'm fine. It's nothing..." Maria began, then took off towards the bathroom as fast as she could; Liz was right on her heels. The girls spent about fifteen minutes in the bathroom, and finally came out to find two very pale friends waiting at the bathroom door.

"Maria are you ok?" Alex asked.

"Yes, I just haven't been feeling well," Maria answered.

Ok, Do you need anything?" Alex asked

"No," Maria began.

"Yes!" Liz interrupted, "I need you to do me a big favor."

"Anything," Kyle said

"I need you to go to the drugstore and pick up a pregnancy test," Maria said quietly

"WHAT???" Kyle asked

"Make it two. Now go," Liz said pushing them out the door.

:-:-:

Later that afternoon, Liz and Maria were sitting on the Valenti couch. Kyle was pacing and Alex was staring off in space when the timer went off. Liz slowly got up and walked across the room with Maria on her heels. They stopped at the table and picked up their tests. Both of them had two pink lines.

:-:-: End Flashback :-:-:

"We eventually told our parents. I thought my Dad would have been furious, I was only sixteen. He didn't say anything. He did punch Alex though," Beth said.

"That hurt too," Al said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, they always said that was the biggest surprise. Almost as much as the news that Max, Isabel, Michael, and Tess had run away," Beth said quietly.

"I know, my mom was so angry, then she just cried," Marie said

"I don't blame her. At the time, I wanted to kill Michael," Kyle said. "After the folks found out, the girls went to stay with Marie's Aunt and Uncle in Ireland."

"My turn," Marie said taking a deep breath.

:-:-: Flashback :-:-:

"Liz honey, where are you?" Maria called through the house.

"I'm in the living room."

"Liz, guess what!"

"What?" Liz called.

"Alex is coming."

"What? When?" Liz asked meeting her in the doorway.

"Come on, let's sit down first. I swear, I never thought I would be so big," Maria said as she sat down on the couch and put her feet up.

"You're seven months pregnant, what do you expect?" a voice called from the doorway.

"Oh, hey Aunt Maggie," Maria said.

"Hey girls, just to let you know, we're picking Alex up at the airport tonight. You can come or stay. It's up to you..."

"Go!" they both said at once.

:-:-:

That night at the airport Maria and Liz sat discussing baby names with Maria's Uncle.

"I like Cassandra Marie, what do you think?" Maria asked

"I love it. What about a boy?" Liz asked.

"It's a girl Liz."

"Just to be safe though you might want to pick a boy name."

"Oh Uncle Henry, but I know its gonna be a girl. However, to please you, for a boy I'm thinking Michael Alexander."

"Really Maria, I never thought you would do that. Henry, where is Maggie?" Liz asked

"Getting us something to drink, I'll go help her," Henry said before he left across the waiting area.

"Now, you really aren't planning on naming your baby Michael are you? I thought you hated the name right now," Liz said.

"I do. That's why I said I would name a boy Michael, because I know she isn't going to be a boy. Now, what about you?"

"Juan Alexander," Liz said.

"After your grandfather and Alex?"

"Yes."

"What about a girl?" Maria said with a smile.

"What girl?" Liz said, then they both started laughing uncontrollably.

"Girls, what's so funny?"

"Oh nothing Uncle Henry," Maria said

"Good, because the planes here. Let me help you two up.

The three of them made their way to the debarking area. Soon the passengers started making their way off the plane.

Maria was the first to see Alex. "Aleeeex!" she shrieked as Alex ran towards her and gave her a hug. Then he turned to Liz. She hugged him, and soon the five of them were on their way.

:-:-: End Flashback :-:-:

"He became our Lamaze coach. And a month later he came in handy," Marie said.

"Yeah, well we celebrated Beth's seventeenth birthday on the fourteenth of December. Then the next day the fun began," Al said.

:-:-: Flashback :-:-:

"Liz, are you ok?" Alex called through the door.

"Alex, where's Maggie?"

"Do you want me to get her?" he called.

"Yes please," Liz called back.

Alex got Maggie and stood outside while she was in the room.

"Alex, get Henry, we're going to the hospital."

"Now? It's too early!"

"Well, this baby is coming now," Maggie said.

:-:-:

Ten hours later Henry was sitting in the waiting room with Maria when Alex came out. "Is she ok?" Marie asked

"Yeah, Baby Juan weighs 4 pounds 13 ounces and is 17 1/2 inches long. Brown hair and his father's eyes. Where's Maggie?"

"Getting coffee," Henry said.

"Ok..."

:-:-: End Flashback :-:-:

"On January 11th, Juan came home. The next day we were back at the hospital," Al said.

:-:-: Flashback :-:-:

"Maria, what's her name?

"Cassandra Marie Valenti."

"It's beautiful, like her."

"Thanks Alex, how's your hand?"

"It'll heal," Alex smiled at her then winced while the nurse continued wrapping his hand. "Just remind me to never play thumb war with you again," He said.

A few minutes later he went out to the waiting room and took baby Juan from Liz.

"Are you ok?" Liz asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just great."

"Your hand," she said quietly.

"It'll heal."

"Alright," she replied, then the two of them continued to watch Juan.

:-:-: End Flashback :-:-:

"Yeah, that was a rough time," Beth began. "We finished High School through correspondence with West Roswell, and we flew back to graduate with our class in June of 2002. Al and I got married on October 19, 2002. The three of us moved to Waldorf, Maryland. I majored in Molecular Biology at MSU, and Marie majored in the arts, specifically music, at a community college. Al started Med School at Georgetown, and reformed the Whits with Marie singing.

"After Marie and I finished collage, she continued doing the clubs, and I got a job at Georgetown. After the accident, my folks left Marie and I the Crashdown, and things in Maryland went south so we came back. Al finished his last year of med at NMU, and then got a job at Roswell Memorial,"

"Whoo, you guys never told us all this mom," Cassie said.

"Yeah, well it wasn't something we liked to talk about," Al said quietly.

"One question, why the name change?" Michael asked.

"We stopped being the Liz Parker, Alex Whitman, and Maria DeLuca people knew after you guys left. A lot of things built up, and we just did what we thought was best for us and the kids," Marie said looking towards the front of the restaurant.

"Liz and I became Beth and Al Whitman. No one ever asked anything, and it's not like they can go ask all of our folks about it. Maria became Marie Valenti. The names suit us now. We aren't the idealistic people we were. We've changed," Al finished with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Why Valenti? Did you and Kyle get married?" Isabel asked.

"I hope not, his wife would kill me," Marie said with a laugh.

"You?! They would never find my body," Kyle said, "Actually, my dad and Amy got married a couple months before Beth and Al."

"Yeah, Kyle's wife came in with us earlier," Beth said then turned towards Kyle, "Did Susie call you?"

"Yes, she did call him. Then us a minute later," A voice said from the back.

"Grandpa, what are you doing here?" Cassie asked.

"I thought I should drop by after Susie picked up the girls. Amy wanted me to check and make sure everything was ok between you guys and the returning aliens," Jim Valenti said as he walked toward the front of the building.

"We're ok dad. Just reliving the past," Kyle said.

"Ok then, hello Max. Michael. Isabel. Tess. It's been a long time. We'll talk later," Jim said, before he walked out the front door. "Call me girls," He called back as the door closed.

"Wait a minute. Amy knows?" Michael asked

"Oh Yeah. We didn't tell her till after Cassie had connected with her at their wedding though," Kyle said and laughed to himself.

"That was not funny. I thought she was going to have a heart attack. Then when she came out of her shock she yelled at me for almost an hour about keeping secrets from her and putting myself in trouble. And she still didn't even know what was really going on. Poor Jim had to sit her down and explain everything since I couldn't say a word without getting twenty more in response. And Beth and Al were trying to explain things to Susie and Mr. And Mrs. Evens without them figuring out the truth too," Marie said exasperated.

"Come on, looking back don't you think it was funny. After all, I think it was hilarious and I'm the one who got stuck with the two ragamuffins," Kyle said laughing.

"Does anyone else know?" Max asked.

"One question first. How could you cheat on Max like that?" Tess asked

"What?" Max exclaimed.

"Well, if Juan is Alex's son, and he was born a month early in December, that means that he was conceived in May. We left in June," Tess said smugly.

"Tess!" Max said with a hint of anger in his voice, then turned back to the others. "We had better go. It is getting late. Can we meet again?"

"Yeah, tomorrow's Saturday, we close after noon. Stop by then," Al said

"Alright," Max said as the four aliens stood up.

"One thing first," Cassie said standing up and walking over to the four of them with Juan right behind her. "This is for hurting my family," She said then slapped Isabel and Tess.

"And this is for hurting my mom and Aunt particularly and my dad and uncle as well," Juan said punching Michael then Max.

"Juan Alexander!" Beth and Al yelled at the same time.

"Cassandra Marie!" Marie and Kyle yelled at the same time as Beth and Al.

"Go to your rooms. You're opening in the morning. We'll deal with this then," Al said quietly but with the hint of authority.

"It's ok. See you tomorrow," Max said then left the restaurant with the others in tow.