[u]Part 5[/u]

Slamming the car door for the fourth time in ten minutes, Liz turned around, took a deep breath, and started up the walkway to the front door of the quaint, modest two story home. She'd made up - then changed - her mind three different times about ringing the doorbell. The second time she'd even had her finger on the little glowing button, but at the last minute had turned and run down the driveway, practically jumping in the driver's side window without bothering to open the door.

"This is it, Liz," she said to herself forcefully. "It's now or never. No more room to change your mind." Taking a deep breath, Liz started up the walkway.

Taking a look around, she noticed that the surroundings hadn't changed that much. The oak tree with the tire swing where she got her first broken bone was still in the front yard. The cement slab in the sidewalk where she, Alex, and Maria had left their hand-prints in the sixth grade still lay at the bottom of the porch steps. And just visible above the roof was the top of the old oak tree where she'd had her first camp-out. It had been the summer after they saw E.T. and the three of them had been fascinated. They wanted to ride floating bicycles and see glowing fingers first hand. Liz had convinced Maria they could find their own aliens and Alex had come along for the fun.

[i] "Here, put some more over there," Alex said, handing the bag of Reese's pieces to Maria.

"What if no one comes? What if the aliens' don't see them?" Maria asked.

"They're like bait," Liz said. "You know, when you fish. They'll like smell them or something, then they'll come for them, and we'll kidnap him."

"But what if no alien comes? What if they don't smell them?" Maria asked, wide-eyed.

"Well, then," Alex said, putting one arm around Maria's shoulder, and the other around Liz's. "We'll always have each other."[/i]

Liz chuckled to herself as the memory came and went. They never got their floating bicycles. And they hadn't always had each other.

But they had definitely gotten their aliens.

Shaking her head slightly, and regaining her composure, she settled back to the task at hand.

When she had come home from Max's Liz had been furious. Her eyes were red and her face tear-streaked and her hair was a tangled mess from having driven with the windows down in an effort to dry her face. She'd stomped into the hotel room, grumbling under her breath, and had only calmed down when Serena threatened to throw her into the bathtub under a freezing cold shower.

While she had been angry at Max, she'd been even more mad at herself for letting him get to her. She'd had herself convinced that talking to Max was going to be easy. She'd misconceived the feelings and anxiety she'd felt before going to see the man to whom she was still married. And, as a result, she had come out of his home with a barrage of feelings welling up inside her. He'd pushed all the right buttons and had succeeded in making what should have been an in and out meeting into something much more complicated. As a result, Liz's emotions had hit the roof the minute she was out of Max's sight.

She'd walked around the corner from his house, gotten into her car, and had laid her head over the steering wheel, crying for several minutes. When the blurriness subsided, she started the car and drove to the hotel. The entire ride was spent replaying her meeting with Max over and over in her mind. It was only then that she thought of things she should have said. Once she got there, she cried again, this time because she was angry that she'd let herself cry over Max in the first place.

She'd gone in and Serena had cornered her, making her spill the whole story. Only after a long heart to heart with her best friend had Liz started to feel better. Then Serena had headed out to the pool and Liz had looked up Alex and Maria's addresses and headed out to see her former best friends. She was a bit surprised to see that Alex still lived at home.

This time though, she was fully prepared. There were no misconceptions. She knew without a doubt that this wasn't going to be easy. She'd deserted Alex and Maria. They'd been the two people she knew and loved the most in her life until Max came around. They knew her better than her parents. The three of them had been through some of life's greatest joys and some of its most painful sorrows together. They'd formed a unique bond that they had promised each other would always be strong. But Liz had broken her promise when she'd left Roswell. She'd deserted the two people in the world who had been firmly by her side since elementary school. And she knew there would definitely be tears and pain at this meeting.

Reaching the top step yet again, Liz held out her finger to the glowing button of the doorbell, and only let herself hesitate a minute before pressing the button firmly. She'd gone to Alex's first, since she already knew where he was living. She stood, shifting her weight from side to side, waiting for him to answer his door.

After what seemed like an eternity, Liz reached out and rang the doorbell again. This time, she heard a slight thump from somewhere in the house, and the unmistakable sound of footsteps coming towards the door. She plastered a smile on her face, and waited for the door to be answered.

"What's wrong, Isabel, did you forget.."

Liz watched as Alex trailed off, mid-sentence, his eyes a mixture of shock, surprise and, then, confusion. She waited for him to say something, but when he just stood there, Liz tried to think of something to say to the person she had called her best friend for most of her life.

The only thing that came out was, "Hi Alex."

Alex shook his head, blinked his eyes and continued to stare at her.

Liz offered a shaky smile, but it quickly faded when the disbelieving look didn't leave Alex's face.

"Alex, it's me, Liz."

"I know perfectly well who you are."

Liz bit her lip and looked down at her feet. She stared at the ground as Alex looked at her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come," she finally said, after the silence had become painful. She made a move to turn back towards the street.

"Do you want to come in?"

Liz took a deep breath, and turned around just as Alex stepped aside wordlessly so she could enter. Slowly Liz walked back to the door and stepped inside the home that had once been like her own.

"I got in yesterday. I'll be here for a few days," Liz said.

Alex nodded, continuing to study Liz carefully.

"I just, I mean, I wanted to come by here. I needed to see you. And Maria. I want to apologize."

"You talked to Maria?" Alex asked.

Liz shook her head. "Not yet."

"She should be here for this. I'll call her."

Alex walked into the next room, where Liz knew there was a telephone hanging on the kitchen wall. She walked in to the living room and set her purse on the end table. She looked around as she heard Alex's hushed voice wafting through the silent house.

Liz walked to the mantel, and looked at the pictures gathered there. The first one she recognized. It was a picture of she, Alex, and Maria taken the summer before tenth grade. It was the next year their lives had been changed forever. The next was one of Isabel and Alex, standing outside the Crashdown with smiles on their faces and their arms around each other. She saw pictures of Alex's family, and more of he and Isabel. When she got to the last frame, she reached out and touched it gingerly. It was a framed picture taken at Maria and Michael's wedding. Maria was standing in the middle of the photo, her head thrown back in laughter, her finger pointing to her slightly bulging belly. Michael was standing next to her, his hand on Maria's tummy, a smirk on his face. Alex was on the other side, a surprised look on his face, and Isabel and Tess standing behind her, each of them with their mouths open, having been in the midst of saying something. Off to the right, Kyle and Max were watching with grins as their friends focused on Maria's belly. Liz dropped her finger and sighed sadly. She had missed out on so much with her friends. These were moments she'd never get back.

"It was at the reception. Maria felt Eliza move for the first time and we were all around to see her reaction. Your dad took the picture."

Liz turned around and saw Alex leaning against the door-frame, watching her intently.

Her parents hadn't told her that they kept in touch with her friends. It never crossed her mind that they would see her friends regularly, but now she wondered why it hadn't. After all, they were friends with Amy Deluca, The Evans' and Sheriff Valenti.

"You all look very happy," Liz said.

"You should have been there Liz."

Liz looked up at Alex as she felt the tears rush to the surface. "I know. I'm sorry, Alex, I just-"

Alex held up a hand and motioned for Liz to stop. "Maria's coming. She should hear what you have to say."

Liz nodded quietly and walked to the couch, sitting down to wait for Maria's arrival. Alex left the room, making Liz flinch. Apparently he couldn't even stand to make casual conversation with her.

Ten minutes later, when Liz heard a car door slam and a key being inserted into the door, she stood up as Alex walked in from the next room.

"Alex Whitman! What is the deal? Being all secretive and stuff? It better be good to call me out and not tell my why I'm coming over here. And who's car is that in the driveway? You didn't tell me you were getting a new one. Alex! Where are-"

Maria stopped short as she walked into the living room and saw Liz standing near the fireplace. Her mouth fell open. It only took her a moment to regain her composure however. "This is a joke, right?" She demanded, her eyes narrowed. Liz could feel her heart pounding the tattoo of impending doom in her chest.

They were not going to forgive her. While she had pretended to accept it, had pretended she was ready, the fact that she was now actually experiencing rejection from Alex and Maria.She wanted to cry.

"Afraid not, she's here. In the flesh." Alex sounded annoyed.

"So what," Maria said, throwing her purse and keys onto the arm-chair to the right. "Finally figure we were worth talking to? You know, being all famous and stuff. Finally decide to come down and talk to us middle-class schlubs?" Maria inquired sharply.

"Maria," Alex warned softly.

"Don't Maria me, mister! She left us!" Maria reminded him angrily, pointing at her former best friend. "When she left Max, she left us all. Me and you included. No card, no letter, no phone call. She deserted the people who loved her most!"

"She came to apologize," Alex said.

"Well, it's too little too late Liz. We've moved on without you," Maria told her.

"I'm sorry," Liz said. "Out of all the things I've done in the past four years, the only thing I regret is leaving you two."

Liz watched as Maria's grimace faltered, and she could have sworn she saw a sad look cross her face. But just as quickly as it was there, it was gone, the angry look back in her features.

"You didn't even let us know you were okay. One minute I'm talking to you about Max, and the next minute you're gone. You could have been dead for heaven's sake! And how did we find out you weren't? We had to read it in the paper. The paper, Liz! You couldn't even call to say you were okay, and we found out when your picture was in the paper! Just like everyone else. We deserved more!" Maria said, her voice shaking with anger.

Liz looked down at her hands and played with the ring on her left finger.

"I was hurt. Heartbroken. My world had just collapsed around me. I couldn't handle it. That's no excuse, I know, but I just didn't know what to do. So I ran. And I didn't look back. I couldn't." She trailed off as Alex walked across the room to put his arm on Maria's shoulders, apparently demonstrating a united front. She took a deep breath and plunged on. "I know it was wrong. And I know I hurt you, but all I can do is apologize."

"And you expect that to be it? You say you're sorry, and then everything's okay?" Alex asked.

Finally, letting the tears fall from her eyes, Liz looked at Maria and Alex. "You two were the most important people in my life. And I left you. Because I was wrong. But I was young and naïve. I'm different now. I've changed. And I realize how wrong I was. And how much I miss you - both of you. I want to be part of your life. I want you to be a part of mine. I know it will take time," Liz said. "But I need you." She added the last part, whispering it softly. "How could you do it, Liz? How could you just leave us like that. You could have come to us. We would have helped," Alex told her quietly.

"I can't change the past. What I did was wrong. I know that now. I want to make it up to you. I want to start our friendship all over. All I can do is apologize. I'm sorry."

Liz watched as Maria's lip started to quiver. She stood with her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on Liz. Alex simply stared at his feet, and squeezed Maria's shoulder.

After what seemed like an eternity, Liz realized that neither of them was going to say anything. She waited another minute, as memories from their friendship danced through her mind.

Their first school dance. When Maria had dragged Alex and Liz into doing her own rendition of the 'Funky Chicken'.

Their first day of Middle School, when Maria had cried because she had to sit next to Vicky Delaney in three classes and had then gotten mad at Liz for laughing..

The night of Alex's 15th birthday party when Maria had slugged Pam Troy for trying to crash.

The night she ran after Maria after telling her the truth about Max.

The night she'd spent in jail with Alex and the rift it had almost caused in their friendship.

She was scared that Alex and Maria wouldn't be able to forgive her, and that those memories would be all she'd have left of her friendship with them.

Figuring they needed some time to think, she picked up her purse and eased past them to the door. "I'm sorry. I better go." She tried not to let her resignation sound in her voice, but she knew it was there.

They were not going to forgive her. It was horrible, but it was true. And it was no less than she deserved.

Just as Liz reached the door and put her hand on the knob, she heard Maria's voice. "I have a baby, you know. She's named after you. We had to have at least a piece of you here.if you couldn't be." Liz turned around, and watched as Maria moved towards her slowly, raising her now tear streaked face to look her in the eyes. "You should meet her."

Liz dropped her purse abruptly and she closed the distance, grabbing Maria in a fierce hug. "I'm so sorry, Maria. I'm so sorry. But I love you, and I've missed you so much," Liz said through her tears.

She felt Maria shake her head as she squeezed her back. "I've missed you too, Lizzie. More than you could know."

As Liz and Maria stood in a firm embrace, crying softly, Alex walked up to them. "Well," he said, placing one arm on Maria's back, the other on Liz's. "Got room for one more?"

Liz smiled, despite her tears, and reached out to grab Alex. "I love you too, Alex."

"We never stopped missing you," he said.

Liz nodded. "And I never stopped missing you. Either of you."

"C'mon," Maria said, pulling Liz towards the kitchen. "We have a lot to catch up on."

Liz followed Maria and Alex into the kitchen, smiled as Alex reached into the freezer for some ice cream and Maria grabbed three spoons from the drawer. Some things never change, she thought. She scowled as an image of Max smirking at her appeared abruptly before her.

Well, that wasn't strictly true. [I]Someone[/I] had changed and [I]not[/I] for the better.

She almost forcibly thrust Max Evans out of her head. He had no right to be here. It was because of him that she had almost lost her best friends. She wasn't going to let him interfere again.

Two hours later, still talking and reminiscing, Maria screeched abruptly, looked at her watch and then jumped to her feet. "Oh my goodness! We're supposed to meet everyone at Senor Chow's in 15 minutes!"

Alex slapped the counter. "I almost forgot. It's Kyle's birthday!"

"Isabel has been planning this for weeks. She'll kill us if we're late," Maria told Liz, grimacing, obviously reluctant to leave.

"That's my cue," Liz said.

"Come with us!" Alex suggested. "Kyle'd love to see you."

Liz shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea." She wasn't ready to face the whole group just yet. She watched as Alex and Maria exchange looks. They had been very careful to leave Max out of their conversation, nor had she told them she'd already been to see him.

"You sure?" Maria asked.

Liz nodded.

"Well, we still have a lot to catch up on," Alex said.

"And I have a lot to tell you. I want to tell you why I'm here."

"And you will," Maria said. "But right now, we have got to go. He'll probably hold Eliza hostage if I'm late." She walked around the counter, and grabbed Liz in a quick hug. "I'm glad you're back, Liz."

"Me too," Liz said.

"Well, that makes three of us," Alex added.

"Tonight. Will you come back by here?" Alex asked.

"What about your parents?" Liz asked.

Alex shook his head. "Moved out last year. Got an apartment in Albuquerque. I live here now. And Isabel will too this time next month."

"Okay, then. You'll be here too?" she asked Maria.

"You bet your butt," Maria said, smiling. "I have someone you should meet."

Liz nodded, and walked outside, watching as Alex and Maria climbed into Maria's car and sped off down the street. Sighing, she got in her car and headed to the hotel to pick Serena up so she could go see her parents.

***

"Relax, Isabel, they'll be here," Tess said. She had a pretty good idea why Alex and Maria were late, but she didn't want to tell anyone. After all, it wasn't her place. She was pretty sure that Max already knew. He'd come in to the restaurant, and had given her a piercing look.

"You and me, later," he'd said, sounding extremely annoyed.

She had groaned, sensing that Max had run into his erstwhile wife and that he wanted to blast her for not telling him that he had been right. That Liz would come back. He'd sat next to her, brooding quietly since he'd shown up and hadn't involved himself in the conversation.

"I swear. If they don't show up soon, I'm going to send Alex down the aisle by himself."

"You will not!" Kyle said, calling Isabel's bluff. "You've done too much planning for that wedding. It'll screw up the pictures to have him standing there alone." He quirked a grin at Isabel, making her scowl at him.

"Fine, I won't," Isabel said. "But I'll be very upset!"

"Hold your horses Izzy, here they come," Michael said. He was holding Eliza, feeding her with the bottle in his hand.

"It's about time!" Isabel replied huffily.

Maria and Alex walked up to the table and Alex took his seat next to Isabel, across from Max. Maria leaned over and kissed Eliza on the forehead, kissed Michael quickly on the lips and sat down between him and Alex.

"Where have you been?" Isabel demanded. "You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."

"We were held up," Alex replied.

"Held up by what?" Michael asked, not sounding like he really cared but just trying to keep the conversation going so that Isabel wouldn't start screeching. If anyone knew how to handle his almost sister, it was Michael, Tess reflected gratefully. It wasn't a good idea to let Isabel get started.not a good idea at all.

Tess watched Maria and Alex, knowing what was going to come next. She wondered how they were going to explain this one.

Apparently head-on.

Maria took a deep breath. "It's Liz. She's back in town." She held up her hands as she heard her friends gasp. Tess turned her head and watched Max closely. The fact that not even a spasm of emotion crossed his face confirmed to her that he [I]had[/I] seen her. She was dead. She still wasn't quite sure why she hadn't told him about Liz's arrival. Maybe it was the fact that she still felt like she owed Liz Parker something, but it didn't excuse it. Max was her best friend. He had a right to be pissed off at her.

"Now before anyone says anything." Maria continued hurriedly, "She wants to talk to everyone. She wants to apologize. She knows what she did is wrong and she came back to tell us that. She feels bad and she misses us. She wants to tell us all about her fame and fortune, and all about her new life. And she wants to hear about us, and what she's missed. Oh yeah, and she knows about Isabel and Alex's wedding, and he invited her, and she's going to come, if everyone agrees, and she wants to see Eliza, and-"

Michael reached a hand over his sleeping daughter and clamped it over Maria's mouth. "Wait a second, Maria. You're talking faster than my brain can process. Did you just say Liz was back?"

"You talked to her what did she say? What does she look like?" Isabel demanded, apparently in spite of herself, because she quickly snapped her mouth shut and glanced at Max worriedly.

"Did she say why she left us high and dry?" Kyle asked.

Alex looked around at his friends and answered their questions. "Yes, she's back, We did talk to her and she said a lot and she looks great. We still don't really know why she left." Tess frowned, wondered why she felt that Alex was trying too hard not to look at she or Max as he said that. "Any more questions?"

Maria leaned over the table and narrowed her eyes at Tess and Max. "You two don't have any questions?"

Tess shook her head and Max muttered a brief, "No".

"Why not?" Maria asked suspiciously.

"Everyone's already asked what we wanted to know," Tess replied carefully.

"You knew!" Maria said, pointing at Max and Tess. "You two knew she was here and didn't tell us!"

Tess let out a deep breath. Liz had asked her not to tell. Although Tess's loyalty lay with her friends, she hadn't told them that she'd seen Liz. And now she'd have to explain why. She could only hope they'd understand. "I saw her briefly yesterday. But she asked me not to tell anyone she was here."

"Tess! I can't believe you didn't tell us. Liz has been gone for four years. Why should you do what she asked?" Michael said. "And you knew too, Maxwell?"

"Not until this morning. When she came to see me." Max looked away, his face still expressionless. Tess saw Michael stare at his best friend a moment longer and then exchange a glance with Isabel, who was beginning to look ready to spit nails. If there was anyone who wasn't going to forgive Liz for abandoning Max, it was Izzy.

But, then, she didn't know why Liz left. No one did. Except for Tess.and Max of course. Tess hadn't even told Kyle, mainly because Max had asked her not to after getting back from New York.

She had been so sure that Max following Liz to New York would fix things, that once he explained it all, Liz would come back and all would be right with the world. But when he had returned alone, Tess had decided that they would play the whole thing any way he wanted to. It was [I]his[/I] marriage after all and [I]his[/I] wife. And he hadn't wanted anyone to know.

Maria and Alex had tried to find out for a while. Maria in particular had known that something seriously awful had happened, but when Max refused to talk about it and when the Parkers continued to refuse to tell any of them where Liz had gone, even she had finally given up.

"You saw her and you've been sitting here this whole time and didn't say a thing?" Kyle asked now, leaning around Tess to address Max.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know if she'd want to see anyone." Tess looked at him frowning. She wondered why he didn't tell them why Liz was [I]really[/I] back. That she was here for a divorce. But they all [I]had[/I] to know. Even Michael read the paper.well, sometimes anyway.

"Tess, why didn't you tell us? For goodness sake, we could have used some warning!" Maria exclaimed, apparently not willing to get mad at Max.

She took a deep breath. "I know," Tess said. "But Liz is an adult. She can handle her own problems and she asked me not to tell anyone and I didn't. Let her explain for herself! Besides she didn't tell me why she was back. I'm obviously the last person she'd tell." She paused, then muttered, "I barely know her." This seemed to satisfy Maria, although Isabel continued to look suspicious.

Alex took a deep breath. "Well, she's here and now we all know it," he said with false cheer. "We'll all see her eventually. Can we eat?"

Slowly, after a few more angry huffs and some whispered words, conversation at the table livened up as the seven friends celebrated the special occasion. Looking around the table, at everyone she loved, Tess stopped at Max and saw the sad look in his eyes, even though he was trying to hide it as he laughed at something Alex said.

He couldn't hide from Tess though. Liz Parker was back in town. And their lives were surely going to change - again.