[u]Part 3[/u]

With a perplexed look, Serena turned to look at Liz, who had stopped talking mid-sentence. She turned in her seat, and saw Liz wearing a horrified expression, mouth hanging open in a round 'O' shape, her finger hanging in mid-air.

"What's the best part?" She asked curiously.

Liz shook her head, and brought her hand down to the steering wheel. She gripped it so tightly, her knuckles turned white. "It's just a mirage. I'm not used to this hot weather anymore. That's all," she said to herself softly. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, then opened them, in an effort to make the vision crossing the street disappear.

"Liz, what's wrong?" Serena asked.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Serena turned to look at the UFO center, wondering what it was that had gotten Liz so upset. She scanned the area and saw nothing unusual. In fact, she saw nothing at all, except for a petite blonde girl walking across the street. Still looking up and down the main drag, Serena spoke to Liz without turning her head. "I still don't see anything unusual, just some girl-"

This time, it was Serena who stopped in the middle of a thought as a realization dawned on her. They were in front of the place where Max worked. Across from the building where Liz had grown up. And the girl walking across the street was the exact image of the blonde-haired midget Liz had described so many times before.

Serena turned, wide eyed, to Liz, back to the girl, and back to Liz again.

"Well, don't just sit here," she whispered as if the blonde midget could hear her. "Go!"

Not waiting another second, Liz turned the key in the ignition, and stepped on the gas pedal. But just as soon as the car started to move, she slammed her foot onto the brakes. The car screeched to a halt. Liz inhaled sharply, and stared out of the windshield again, her face frozen into a panicked expression.

Staring back at her were equally panicked crystal blue eyes, wide with fright at having narrowly missed what could have been a fatal car accident. Taking a long breath, and exhaling deeply, Tess Harding pulled her sunglasses off of her eyes and stared back at the windshield of the bright red sedan that had almost run her over. She put her hands on her hips, and narrowed her eyes, waiting for the driver of the car to step out so she could let them have a piece of her mind.

But as the door slowly opened and a familiar form stepped slowly out of the car, Tess's expression changed from one of angry excitement to one of pure disbelief. Not ten minutes earlier, she had been itching to jump on a plane and head out to New York to fix what she should have fixed years ago. Her mind had been swimming with the words she would say, words that should have been spoken so long ago, before hearts had been broken and lives had been ruined. But as she came face to face with the one person that had caused pain in the lives of everyone she loved, Tess's mind went blank.

"Liz?" Tess whispered softly, almost afraid of the answer, hoping against hope that it was she, but also wishing with some part deep inside of her that it wasn't. She wasn't ready for this.

Liz stepped closer to the front of the car and stood awkwardly against the bumper, shifting from foot to foot as she fought down the lump forming in her throat. "Tess," she said flatly. "Are you okay?"

Tess shook her head mutely, still unsure of what to say to the person she'd had endless conversations with in her head over the past four years. Tess took a minute to look at the woman standing before her. Gone was the naïve girl who had been brought to life on a cold restaurant floor by a boy who had loved her from afar. Gone was the girl who had rushed into marriage at a young age, only to walk out on her vows as quickly as she had agreed to take them. Gone was the girl with long dark hair, and features that overflowed with youth and innocence. In her place, stood a woman with the look of experience and maturity in her deep brown eyes. Her straight hair was wavy now, but still as long and dark as it had ever been. Her skin was a bit darker, bronzed and shining from summers spent on the East Coast. She was taller, and had filled out, becoming the woman she was always meant to be.

Narrowing her eyes, Tess looked closely at Liz, taking in her appearance from head to toe. Liz looked good. She had been well taken care of and she had made a good life for herself, far from the people who cared about her the most. Nowhere was there any visible sign that the person standing in the middle of the street had wreaked havoc on what had been a very tight knit group of friends when she had left them with no explanation four years ago. Tess wondered briefly if she had even felt a fraction of the hurt she had left behind.

"Liz, h-how have you been?" Tess asked with forced friendliness. She was amazed that her rage at this woman should have stayed buried for so long. But, now, only moments after watching her best friend trying to hide how heartbroken he still was - even after four years - it all just wanted to burst out of her.

From the corner of her eye, Liz saw Serena step out of the car and shut her door. Seeing her friend standing there, watching the two woman with curiosity gave Liz the courage she would need to make it safely through the next few minutes. She was a grown up now. The Liz Parker that had left Roswell was gone, and in her place was a strong, mature woman. She could do this. "Fine, Tess. I'm fine. You?"

"I've been great," Tess said. "I was just heading over to see Maria," she said, pointing at the Crashdown. "She's managing now. She's working and we always have lunch together on Friday's," she said. Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "The seven of us."

Liz quickly counted in her mind who the seven people would be. Maria, for one, and unless something drastic had happened, she assumed Michael wouldn't be far behind. Where Maria was, Alex was, and she couldn't help but think Isabel and Kyle would be there as well. Tess made six, and that left the last spot for one person alone.

Max.

She could picture the seven of them sitting at the corner booth, squeezed into the benches, a couple chairs pulled up to the end, as they had done so many times before. Except this time, the picture was different. This time, instead of her being at the table at Max's side, it was Tess. And the picture in her mind was enough to make her nauseous. Liz looked down at her feet, then back up to Tess. "How is everyone?" Liz asked softly. She had wondered, over and over, during the past years, how the people who were once her best friends were getting along in life. Not once had her parents told her the news from Roswell. They had known that leaving had been painful for her, and with her best interests at heart, they decided never to tell her unless she asked. Which she had never been courageous enough to do. Part of her was scared to hear how the people she left behind were doing, but part of her had been ashamed. Ashamed to find out how they had reacted after she walked out on them all.

Tess put her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun, and gave a weak smile. "Good. Despite everything, well, you know," she said, glancing sideways at Serena. "We're all fine."

Liz nodded, and forced back the tears threatening to break out. She had gone over this moment time and time again on the plane. What she would say. How she would act. What she would do, when she came face to face with her past. But she hadn't expected it to be Tess she saw first. And now, she didn't know what to do.

"Maria? And Alex?" Liz asked cautiously. Suddenly, she wasn't sure if staying was a good idea. Maybe she could find out how everyone was, let her parents hand Max the divorce papers and convince him to sign, and leave town before she saw anyone else. It sure would be a lot easier.

"Maria's married. She and Michael got married a year ago. Alex and Isabel are planning their wedding right now. It'll be in the spring."

Liz looked up, started to speak, but ended up swallowing her words instead. As Tess's hand moved slightly over her eyes, the sun caught the sparkle of a shining diamond on the third finger of her left hand. And that could only mean one thing. Tess had wasted no time. When she had gone to New York, Tess had taken her place as the woman at Max's side. Liz felt her stomach tighten, and suppressed the urge to grab her abdomen, refusing to let herself get visibly upset over someone she no longer loved. She wouldn't give Tess the satisfaction.

"I've missed them," Liz said softly, her voice faltering slightly. She fidgeted with her hands, wringing her fingers together in an attempt to hide her emotions from Tess.

Tess frowned slightly and shook her head. "They've missed you too, Liz. It was hard for them at first. It took them a long time to get over..well, you know."

Once more, Liz felt her chest tighten. She did know. She had never bothered to pick up a phone, or write a letter, or make a visit back home to let the two people she had spent her childhood with know why she had left them behind. But she had always known deep down how much pain her leaving must have caused them. The three of them had been everything to each other at the worst of times and when she hit rock bottom, she hadn't trusted them enough to depend on them for comfort. She was scared to death that she would see one of them and that they would let her know how much they hated her. As she blinked, and kicked at a pebble on the ground, Liz was hit with another memory. Of the last time she had seen Maria.

[i] "Don't Liz. You can't just run out. You love Max. Max loves you. And I know you don't give up on the people you love. Stay here Liz. Fight for him. You've fought this long for him. You can't give up now."

"You're right, Maria," Liz said, throwing her hands up in the air. "I did fight for Max. I fought harder for him than I ever have for anything. And I got him. But it wasn't right, Maria. I know that now. He's not mine to fight for anymore. It's time for me to give up."

"Why Liz? Huh? Because you saw something? Heard something? What? Why are you giving up now? Tell me!"

"I can't Maria. But trust me, it's time for me to go. I can't go on like this. I've done nothing but fight lately. And I simply don't have anymore left in me. That's it. I have to leave. There's no other option."[/i]

Maria had done her best that day to keep Liz from leaving but it had been to no avail. As soon as Maria had turned her head, Liz had run, and had yet to look back. She hasn't spoken to anyone from Roswell since.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, more to herself than to anyone.

Tess chose to reply anyway. "You should tell them that."

Liz snapped her head up and narrowed her eyes. Tess Harding was giving her advice. How dare she! "Don't even try to-"

"I won't," Tess said, interrupting Liz. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Liz nodded and looked back to Serena. "I guess we need to go now. I have a few things I need to do."

Tess took one more look at Liz and started to turn towards the Crashdown. "Liz?" She asked tentatively, turning back briefly. "They'd really love to see you," she said. "They need to see you, Liz. It would do them good."

Liz turned back to the car as Tess walked away, and as a thought hit her, she whirled back around and called Tess's name. "Tess!" Liz called after the girl. She waited for Tess to turn around. "Can you not.I mean could we just keep this.."

"I won't tell them you're back, Liz. It's not my place."

"Thank you," Liz said reluctantly. What a hard thing for her to do. Say thank you to the one person in her life that had taken away everything she had ever wanted. But right now, Liz didn't want to face anyone. She wasn't yet prepared to face Maria or Alex. Or even Kyle, Isabel, or Michael. And she wasn't even sure she was ready to face Max. It seemed everywhere she looked she saw something that reminded her of someone from her past. And she needed time to collect herself.

"Hey, I think I'll drive from here," Serena said, coming around to Liz's side of the car and prying the keys from her shaking hands.

Liz nodded, and walked silently to the passenger side, opened the door, and sat down limply.

Serena got in, started the car, and drove towards the motel they had passed on their way into town, so that they could get a room to stay in for the week. She glanced worriedly at Liz every minute or so, but Liz sat motionless in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead as they made their way to the outskirts of town. It seemed that everywhere she looked, she saw her memories being played out, like a movie of her past. And at every corner, she heard voices from her youth.

Turning the corner near Senor Chow's, she saw a dark haired girl and an amber eyed teenage boy with eyes for no one but each other.

[i] The thing about Czechoslovakians that you sorta have to factor in, is they have these incredibly soulful eyes.[/i]

Passing West Roswell High, scenes from the first few days after her life had been changed by an otherworldly experience flashed through her mind in a blurry haze.

[i] The Eraser Room does two things: cleans erasers and takes our innocence. Do you know what I mean by "takes our innocence," Liz? The Eraser Room has taken some of the best of us.[/i]

Liz took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting her head fall against the cool glass of the passenger side window. It was inevitable now. She was home. And as much as she wanted to, she knew she wouldn't leave Roswell again without making things right with her friends.

As they drove further away from her old haunts, Liz realized one thing that she hadn't been prepared for. She thought she was stronger. She thought she could fight it.

But, little by little, and as hard as she was fighting to stay out, Liz Evans was being pulled back into the alien abyss. "Liz, are you okay?" Serena asked as she pulled the car to a stop outside the motel.

"They're getting married."

"What? Who?" Serena asked.

Liz turned in her seat and faced Serena, her eyes a swirling vortex of pain, remorse, and disbelief.

"Max and Tess. They're getting married."

"She told you that?" Serena asked, angrily. "She had the audacity to tell you she was marrying him?"

"She didn't have to. I saw the ring. On her finger. It's almost the same exact one he gave me."

"Liz, just because you saw a ring doesn't mean that it was Max who gave it to her."

"Of course it does Serena. Tess came here to stake her claim to Max. She came to Roswell to retrieve what belonged to her before I even existed. She did it. She got what she came for. Max."

Serena looked at her friend, and could sense the inner turmoil she was going through. "I thought you were over him," she whispered softly.

"I am," Liz answered without hesitation. "I am over him." Liz said it again, as much to convince herself as to convince Serena.

"Right," Serena said reluctantly. "Then the fact that he's getting married doesn't bother you all. He's moved on, you've moved on, you're happy. I mean, you're okay with it. Right?"

Liz turned without answering, and opened her car door. "I'll go check us in." She put on her sunglasses, and stepped out of the car.

Serena was right. She had everything. She had a great life waiting for her back in New York. There was a job that had made her rich [i]and[/i] famous. A loft apartment that would make most people jealous. A fiancé who loved her and wanted to spend his life with her.

This would be a short trip. They'd stay the night, in the morning she would go talk to Maria and Alex, and then she would find Max and get him to sign the divorce papers. It shouldn't be a problem, getting his signature.

Because he was getting married too.

And it didn't bother her one little bit.