Liz's head lolled back and forth as Max drove the jeep. She was partially awake and Maria pressed down on the t-shirt, making the soaked up blood squish out of it like squeezing a sponge. 'It's not blood, just cranberry juice. Very thick, very dark cranberry juice.' Maria tore her eyes away from the blood that covered her hands and yelled to Max in the front seat. "Fix it, goddamn you! Fix her, make her better Max – I need her!" Max shook the tears out of his eyes and tried to stay on the road.
"I tried." His voice caught in his throat.
"Try again," Maria yelled.
"She's blocking me! I don't need a full-blown connection to heal her, but damn it she won't let me in. Without some type of connection there's nothing I can do." His town of voice was evident enough that he was dying inside. Michael glanced nervously at the side view mirror to make sure Isabel and the others were still behind them in Maria's Jetta. Kyle was following on Liz's motorcycle.
"She's not going to last all the way back to Roswell. We need to find a hospital. Now," Michael said, right before Maria's cell phone began to ring. She grabbed the phone with one wine dipped hand and looked at the caller ID.
"It's Liz's parents," she said nervously. "Michael, come back here and hold this on the wound for me." Michael did as she asked, but kept his eyes darting at everything but Liz. If he looked at her, he'd lose what little composure he had left. Maria answered her phone. "Hello? Yes Mrs. Parker, Liz is with me but there's something really wrong with her.... What?! She's got a what? Yes, we're looking for a hospital. No, we're in Phoenix – I'll explain later. Yes, I'll call you as soon as I know." She hung up the phone, shaking and dazed.
"What Maria? What's wrong with her?" Max asked desperately.
"The Parkers got the results from the last of Liz's tests back. She's got a tumor in her abdomen." Max and Michael stared at her uncomprehendingly.
"No. She doesn't have a tumor. She's got a gunshot wound – one that I healed a year ago but-" Max started.
"Well the doctors found a tumor in her abdomen," Maria countered.
As the two bickered, Michael stared down at Liz. He lifted the heavy, dripping shirt from Liz's stomach, and fresh crimson liquid coursed freely from the puncture in her. He watched the blood pump out and thought to himself. Maria noticed Michael's actions and grabbed the bloody cloth from him, yelling loudly. "What are you trying to do Guerin?! Kill the one person who has limitless understanding and all the answers? I need her more than I need any of you, don't you dare let her be taken from me!"
"She's not bleeding Maria. That shirt won't help her." Maria looked at him incredulously.
"Michael, look at her!" Max yelled.
"I AM! The question is, are YOU?" Max stopped at a red light and turned around. He still saw blood, and it must have shown on his face because Michael growled, "Goddamn it Max, this sounds really fucking cheesy and cliché but stop looking with your eyes – look with your heart!" Max nodded and closed his eyes. He thought about Liz's laugh, her smile, how happy he was when he was with her. He opened his eyes and jerked back in shock.
"Jesus," Maria whispered as she finally 'saw' Liz. Liz's whole body was glowing faintly, and on her stomach the huge mass could be seen through her skin. It was shaped like that handprint Max had left behind on her skin after healing her, only it was spreading. It branched out from the fingertips like a web, crawling across tissue and bone, neither prejudiced nor partial to anything or anyone. The light had turned green a long time ago, but the vehicles were parked on the deserted street with no intention of going anywhere.
Michael held up the t-shirt they had been pressing against Liz's stomach. It, along with Maria's hands – she noticed, was clean. The others had run up to the jeep by now and were confused when they saw the drastic change in Liz's appearance.
"What the heck? She was bleeding, we all saw her bleeding," Isabel ranted.
Max looked at Michael. "How did you know?" he asked his friend.
"I don't really know. It was almost like she told me. In my head. Reluctantly of course, but... I don't know," Michael responded, uncomfortable under Max's close scrutiny.
"You connected with her."
"How is that even possible? I wasn't touching her – she wasn't even looking at me! She's passed out cold," he protested.
"Well I know a connection when I hear one," Max argued, feeling jealous of Michael. Why did she have to reach out to Michael instead of him? 'Because you made out with Tess in front of her, you pigheaded asshole!' Max wanted to kick himself, but he focused on the matter at hand. Max looked over at Michael, who was wiping his eyes miserably and mumbling to himself. Max thought he looked like a small child who'd just lost his naivety. It took Max a few minutes to understand that Michael was saying "Stop asking me for that. Please – we need you here." Michael's muscles were tense and he was huddled in a ball as if he were trying to protect himself from a physical beating. The origin of the blows however, were mental. He looked up to see Max staring at him and he averted his gaze, glanced everywhere else nervously. He hadn't realized anyone had been watching him. But Michael could still feel Max's gaze on him, and he could only fight one battle at a time. Max's was easier to deal with.
"She... she knew that this was happening to her. I can still feel her, hear her thoughts in my head. She wants us to give her up – she's too tired to fight it anymore."
"I can hear her too." Max and Michael turned to face Alex, his expression pained and broken. "She won't listen to me either."
Max felt the wind blow against him, carrying her voice on its back. Her voice was faint and painful, but her message was clear: "Let me die. I- I can't hold it in anymore. I tried... so hard. But it- The pain – please, just let me go." Maria sobbed uncontrollably and began to drag Liz's limp form from the jeep when Max grabbed her shoulders, crying, and started shaking her.
"Why Maria? Why did she set me up with Tess, why did she lie about not wanting to die for me, why did she sleep with Kyle? Tell me why!"
She ripped her arms from his grasp and angrily screamed back at him, "Because you asked her to, you bastard!"