Liz awoke the next morning with the beginnings of a throbbing headache. She dragged herself out of bed and climbed into the shower. When she walked downstairs thirty minutes later, wearing white slacks and a pink halter top, she found Max already there, waiting for her. "See you later, Dad," she said softly, kissing her father's cheek before following Max out to his jeep and climbing in. As Max slid behind the wheel, Liz stiffened and looked around slowly, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. Max, seeing the fear in her eyes, also scanned the area, but saw nothing unusual. He kissed her softly and pulled the jeep out into traffic.
"Where are Isabel and Michael today?" she asked, trying to shake that nervous feeling. She glanced over at her brooding boyfriend.
"Isabel has Mom's car today. She's giving Michael a ride in." Seeing Alex up ahead he pulled the jeep up to the sidewalk and Alex climbed aboard.
"Thanks, Max," he said, settling into the back seat. "Hey, Liz. Feeling any better this morning?"
Liz smiled wanly. "Yeah. Everything's great," she answered unconvincingly. She glanced behind her again. She could feel eyes boring into her back. Max took her hand in his, squeezing gently.
"There's nobody there, Liz," he said softly. "I won't let anyone hurt you. You know that, don't you? Pierce is after me, Liz. He has no reason to come after you."
Liz shivered slightly. "What if he knows, Max?" she asked softly, her head throbbing harder now. She searched through her bookbag, pulling out a couple of aspirin and a bottle of water. Max frowned, watching her swallow the pills. "What if Agent Pierce knows what you did that day?"
Max pulled into the parking lot and hopped out of the jeep, rushing around to help Liz down. "He can't know, Liz. But even if he did, he would still be coming after me, not you."
Liz stepped into Max's arms. "What if he wants to study me to find out how you healed me, Max?"
Max held the petite girl close, stroking her hair lightly. "I won't let him get near you, Liz."
Max and Alex escorted Liz into the building. And Max walked her right up to the door of her first class. He squeezed her hand gently before letting go and heading off to his own first class.
Liz slipped into her seat and rested her head in her hands. The aspirin weren't helping. Her head was pounding mercilessly now. A few minutes later, Liz left her classroom and headed to the nurse's office. She lay silently on the cot, eyes closed, trying to drown out the pain in her head.


Liz stayed in the nurse's office until lunch. She didn't want Max to worry about her, so she made her way out to the quad. Finding the gang in their usual spot she moved to them slowly and settled into Max's arms, resting her throbbing head against his shoulder. Once again, the feeling of being watched came over her and she shivered, looking over the quad, searching for her stalker.
Max held her tighter and nudged Michael. Michael stood and moved away from them, toward the building, stopping just outside the doors and turning back toward his friends. He scanned the area thoroughly but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Finally, after several minutes, he made his way back to the group. "There's nobody there, Liz," he said softly.
Liz sighed in frustration. They may not be able to see anyone, but Liz could feel eyes on her, boring into her back. She knew she wasn't imagining it. Somebody was watching her. And whoever it was, they knew how to avoid being seen themselves.
Why wouldn't the others believe her? She had never lied to them. Never overreacted to a situation. Liz had always faced things in a calm, rational manner. It was the scientist in her, she knew. So why couldn't Michael and the others just accept that what Liz was feeling was real? That someone really was watching her, stalking her.
"Liz, really, there's nobody out there, ok? You're just.....imagining it or something," Michael said. "You can't keep going on about being watched. It's all in your imagination. Think about it.....This all started after that whole thing with Topolsky. But you heard her doctor, Liz. Topolsky was nuts. She made that whole thing up. There is no Pierce. Nobody's following you. I mean, really, Liz. If there was an alien hunter out there, which there's not, but even if there was........he would be after us, not you."
"Michael's right, Liz," Isabel said shortly. "There's no reason for the FBI to be watching you."
Liz closed her eyes, trying to drown out their words. They were never going to believe her. They thought she was just imagining everything. Her own friends didn't believe her. She felt the pounding in her head increase. She might as well accept it. Short of actually being captured by the Special Unit, they were never going to believe her.
And they were obviously tired of listening to her 'crazy feelings'. They didn't think there was any reason for anyone to be after her. And maybe they were right. Maybe there wasn't a reason for Pierce to be after her. But someone was following her. She knew it. She could feel it. She stood up slowly, and looked down at her friends.
"I'm sorry you think I'm making this up to.....to....get attention or something. I won't bother any of you with it again," she said softly. Then, before anyone could protest, she went back into the school and returned to the nurse's office.

Liz was still in the nurse's office when the final bell rang, and that was where Max finally found her. He scooped her into his arms, carrying her to the jeep and settling her in the passenger seat. Then he climbed behind the wheel and drove his angel home. At the Crashdown he turned to her and kissed her softly. "Get some sleep, Liz. I'll come back for dinner and to check on you," he ordered softly.
Liz entered the cafe and made her way slowly up the stairs to her room, crawling into bed. The pounding had subsided to a dull ache, but Liz felt completely exhausted. Her shift didn't start for another 2 hours so she decided to take advantage of the time, closing her eyes and letting sleep claim her.