Disclaimer: You know the drill…the characters aren't mine. A lot of stuff in the beginning is taken from End of the World. God knows THAT'S not mine. Anything that makes sense and makes it all better, now that's mine. Seriously, Roswell and all characters belong to Jason Katims, 20th Century Fox etc. I'm just borrowing them.

Rating: PG-13 – possibly to R

Love Changes Everything

Chapter Nine – The Destiny Book

"Max, are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" asked Tess.
"No, Tess, really, I just want to be alone," Max replied.
"Max, I just can't leave you alone when you are like this," Tess said, solicitously. "Why don't I just sit here with you, and if you decide you want to talk, I'll be here to listen."
"You're a good friend, Tess." The two sat silently for several minutes, looking at the sky. Max reached over and picked up Tess's hand and held it tightly.
"Have you ever believed in something so much, only to have it ripped away?" he asked her.
"What do you mean?"
"Like when you were little, and believed in Santa Claus. Didn't it just destroy you when you found out he wasn't real?"
"Max," said Tess. "I grew up with a shape shifting alien taking care of me. Santa Claus was not a part of my life."

"Okay, bad example," said Max, a sad smile on his face. "Have you ever had a friend who really let you down?"
"Max, you, Isabelle and Michael are the first real friends that I have ever had. But I don't think that you could do anything that would ever hurt me." She looked at Max, and wrinkled her face up a little bit.
"No, Tess, you are right," said Max. "There isn't anything that you could do that would ever upset me." Max released Tess's hand and put his arm around Tess's shoulder and pulled her to him tightly.
"Don't worry Max, everything will be okay," said Tess.


"Where is he?" asked Isabelle. "Why hasn't he shown up yet?"
"Maybe he couldn't get away from Tess," said Alex. "I mean, maybe he's playing it up to really make it work good."
"And maybe that evil beast is messing with his mind," said Liz. "We have to do something."
"I'll go," said Michael. "Kyle, you said they were in the park?"
"Yeah, the one off of Wilson St."
"What are you going to say?" asked Maria.
"I don't know," said Michael, climbing out the window, but I'll think of something."
"Wait," said Liz, slipping the ring off of her finger. "Give him this as soon as you get him away from Tess."
"Don't worry Liz," said Michael. "I'll bring him back."

Michael drove down the dark streets of Roswell. He turned down onto Wilson St. As he approached the park, he saw Max's Jeep and Tess's car in the parking lot of the playground. He pulled in, and parked his bike and started walking through park, looking for Max and Tess. Wandering down a path, he found them seated close together on a park bench.
"Hey, Max, Tess," he said sitting down next to Max.
"Uh, Michael," said Max. "Tess and I were kind of talking."
"Yeah, look, I'm sorry to interrupt, but your parents called my place looking for you. Your mom said something was up and she needed you home."
"Oh Max," said Tess. "Do you want me to go with you?"
"No Tess," said Max, giving her a loving look. "I'll walk you to your car. You go on home. We'll get together tomorrow. Thanks for everything. Talking with you really helped a lot."

The two walked Tess back to her car and watched as she drove away.
"Michael, what exactly did my mother say?"
"In a second, Maxwell. Here, I want to give you this," Michael said, holding out the ring.
"Michael, I don't know what to say," joked Max. "This is all so sudden."
"Max, do me a favor, shut up, sit down, and slip this on your finger."
"All right, but I'm telling you, I'm saving myself for the wedding night," said Max as he sat down on a nearby bench. He slipped the ring on his finger, and grabbed his head.
"Oh my God!" he shouted. "What the hell did she do to me?"
"I'll explain later," said Michael. "Come on, let's get your Jeep home. Slip around the back of your house and go through the neighbor's yard in case Tess is watching. I'll be waiting for you around the block."

Max climbed on the back of Max's bike, and the two sped off down the street towards Liz's apartment. They scaled the fire escape and climbed through the window into Liz's bedroom where the rest of the group was assembled.
"Oh good, pizza," said Max. "I'm starved all of a sudden."
"Yeah, we know, we all were," said Alex. "Apparently one of the side effects of breaking Tess's mind warp is an insatiable hunger."
"What happened, how did you figure it out, and more importantly, why did Michael give me a diamond ring?" asked Max.
"Well, first, everything went according to the plan," said Kyle. "Right after you took off out of here, Tess followed you, and the vision of Future Max disappeared."

"Wait," interrupted Max. "Liz, what happened to your face? Did Tess do that somehow?"
"Oh, that," said Liz, gingerly touching the bruise on her face. "No, Tess didn't do this, Michael did."
"What!"
"He was trying to protect me. He heard someone climbing up the fire escape, and he shoved me into the bathroom. I fell and hit my face on the sink."
"Was it Tess?"
"No," said Michael. "I saved her from Kyle."
Max reached a hand out to Liz, and the two walked across the room to her bathroom. Inside, Max shut the door. He put his hand on her face and healed the bruise. As he did, he saw flashes of Liz's time with Future Max, and felt the pain she felt at deceiving him, even though it wasn't a real deception.
"He was right you know," Max said.
"Who was right?" asked Liz.
"Future Max, when he said you were strong. You are strong Liz Parker. You are probably the strongest woman I have ever known. I am so incredibly lucky to have you in my life." He kissed her gently. "You have done so much to protect us. I owe you my life."

"Hey, you two, either get a room, or get out here!" shouted Michael. With a sigh, Max and Liz ended their kiss, and went back into Liz's bedroom.
"So what do we have?" asked Max. "And why did everything Tess did come rushing back to me when Michael put this ring on my hand?"
"The band of the ring is made of platinum," said Alex. "Platinum somehow blocks the signals she sends out when she is trying to mind warp us. Actually, what it does is makes us aware of what she is doing. The first time you put it on, you get this incredible blast of memories back. It's really powerful.
"And you know this how?" asked Max.
"The Destiny Book," said Isabelle. "Alex decoded it."
"Alex," said Max. "That's excellent man. What else did you find out?"
"Everything," said Alex. "I know everything about you that you could possibly want to know."