*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Roswell or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

*A/N: Hey! :-) I'm not going to bother you with too much chitchat right now, just be sure to read the A/N at the bottom of the story on your way out. I hope this chapter works for you. The main theme here was definitely Max/Liz and how they still care for each other, but Tess is in the way, you know? Hope ya'll feel that when you're reading. :-)

*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)

Liz was walking through a long hallway and had been for a while now. At first her pace had been quick, but that was when she still had expected to see a door every time she turned the corner. Now her pace was slow and lingering. She was taking her time to notice things about this hallway. Things she hadn't noticed before. Like how narrow it really was. If she reached out her hands a little, they would collide with the rough texture of the walls. Walls which were painted in the purest of whites. A shade of white that would sting her eyes if she looked at it too long, but she knew that she couldn't close her eyes. She had to keep them open, afraid that she might miss the single door that would lead her out of here. Afraid that she might miss her only way of getting out of here.

But no matter how hard she looked or hoped, the wall didn't even reveal so much as a crack. A crack which would let her know that this hallway was indeed in contact with the world she was familiar with. With the world she belonged in, although there was something about this place which seemed familiar to her. Perhaps it was the color of white or the way her footsteps sounded on the tiles, like she had been here before. But she hadn't. She couldn't remember being here before. She quickly rounded another corner, but was forced to stop walking when her ears collided with a screeching cry. It sounded like a pair of manicured fingernails were being scratched across a blackboard. A horrible sound. A sound which caused tears to appear in Liz's eyes. But also a sound that triggered one of her memories. A memory she had desperately tried to forget, but still dreamed about every now and then. A dream which she awoke to with rapid breathing and shaking hands. A dream which was really a nightmare. And when the second scream reached her ears, her heart started to beat faster and her hands started to shake at the same pace. It was him.

''Max!'' Liz yelled, the panic more than evident in her voice. It was the same panic she had felt the first time she realized that they had locked him up in a room as white as the walls around here. It was the same panic she had felt when she saw flashes of what they had done to him and it was the same panic she felt during her dreams.

She started to move faster, almost running. She wanted to do something. She had to do something. She didn't want Max to go through something this horrible again. She hurried around another corner, but came to an abrupt stop when she realized that this hallway had doors. Steel doors, which might lead her to him. As another scream cut through her body, she ran to one of the doors and tried to open it. When it wouldn't, she immediately moved on an tried another one. After trying a few more, she got frustrated and scared. She couldn't remember which doors she had tried and which she hadn't. The screams had seemed to die out a while ago, which made her worry even more. As long as she had heard his voice she had known that he was still alive. Now there was nothing but silence.

Liz tried a few more doors, knocking on them and screaming for someone to open up, but none of the doors ever opened. Defeated she leaned against one of the doors and looked at her hands, which were still shaking. She had never been so scared or worried for anyone in her entire life. A tear slid down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away, not wanting to give up when she didn't know if Max was still alive or not. She wanted evidence. Evidence to back up her tears. Evidence that would prove her wrong. He was still alive.

Suddenly there was a loud click. Liz raised her head and went by every door with her eyes. One of the last doors had opened and someone was standing there. Liz wondered if she should go back or forwards. But she realized that this might be her only way out and she hesitantly moved towards the door. When she was close enough to recognize the figure, she gasped and started to walk faster. It was Max. Her feet seemed to stumble over each other, because they couldn't keep up with the pace she had set. She stopped walking when she was only inches away from him.

She smiled at him and let her eyes wander across his body, wanting to see if he was okay. Although there were no cuts or bruises, there was something odd about him. His skin wasn't his usual healthy color. Instead it seemed covered in a greyish shade. And his eyes, they were darker than usual and slightly bigger. He must have seen the doubt in her eyes, because he quickly reached out and pulled her into the room. His touch didn't comfort her, it felt different somehow. Rougher. And she couldn't stand it, it felt alien to her. She pulled her arm free and backed away from Max in fear, even though he didn't make any attempt to reach for her again.

Suddenly she crashed into something cold and she screamed, as objects clattered to the ground. She turned around to look at what she had just bumped into. It was a steel table. She took a few steps back and lowered her eyes to the objects which had fallen to the ground. Her hand flew to cover her mouth when she saw the operating knives. There blades were without a doubt razor-sharp and would cut through flesh like butter. She instantly turned around, not wanting to see her own frightened face reflected in the silver blades. Instead she decided to focus on Max, wondering why he had lead her into this particular room.

As if he could read her mind, he lifted up his hand and motioned for her to follow. His long fingers were also covered with a sickly grey color. A color which scared Liz, because it was so foreign to her. Hesitantly she took a few steps towards him, pausing briefly, when he placed his hand on the wall to reveal a silver hand print, the same she had had imprinted on her own skin, like a temporarily tattoo. The silver started to spread across the wall, creating a square which was precisely of the same size as the doors she had passed in the hallway. And when Max took a step towards it , the square started to evaporate, creating a doorway where they could pass through. Liz had no choice but to follow him.

As soon as she stepped through the opening, it materialized itself again, leaving nothing to see but the a white wall. Max stood a few feet in front of her and when she moved closer, she realized that he was standing in front of another steel table. One that, especially in this kind of environment, could make chills run down your spine and reminded her of an operating table. As she moved even closer, another wave of panic hit her and her breath caught in her throat, while she tried to process the image she was being confronted with. On the table lay Alex. His hands and legs were strapped to the table with steel chains that seemed to melt right into the table, making it impossible for him to even move so much as an inch.

A cry escaped Liz's lips as she saw how pale he was. ''Alex.'' She hurried towards the table and uttered his name once more. ''Alex.''

Alex slowly responded to her, too slowly in Liz's eyes. He turned his head to look at her, his eyes holding none of the life she remembered. He opened his mouth, which seemed to cost him all of his remaining energy, but nothing came out, but a loud breathing sound, as if he was struggling for every breathe he took. Tears appeared in her eyes as she reached for his forehead, just wanting to give him some form of comfort and relief from the pain he must be feeling. But before she could place her hand on his skin, Max grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her away from the table. Away from Alex.

Liz wanted to struggle, put up a fight, but was partly distracted by footsteps that were coming their way. She turned her head sideways and gasped when she saw Tess heading towards them, dressed in a white coat, one doctors always wore. As Tess passed them, she quickly met Max's eyes, before moving over to Alex. Liz knew that there was something terribly wrong with both Max and Tess, and when Tess reached into one of her pockets, Liz screamed. She wanted Tess to disappear and she wanted Max to turn back into the Max she knew and she wanted Alex to feel better. Nothing seemed right. Everything seemed so alien.

But Max quickly put a stop to her screams by placing his hand tightly over her mouth, making it harder for her to breathe. Her eyes never left Tess, as she reached inside her pocket and pulled out a shiny object. One that Liz recognized only seconds later as one of the operating knives she had seen in the other room. She started to struggle against Max's hold, with no success, although she didn't want to give up. She had to get to Alex, she had to protect him. Tess wasn't going to take him from her again. But no matter what she did or in what direction she squirmed, Max's hold never faltered. And eventually she did give up and watched with tears in her eyes as Tess lowered the knife down to Alex's chest. She had let him down, again.

*~*~*

Liz woke up gasping for air, while she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She forced herself to take deep breaths, as she waited for the images of the nightmare to evaporate into pieces that weren't big enough to remember. But no matter how much she wanted to forget it, the images always remained vivid in her mind and Alex's cries made it hard for her to fall asleep. How could she stop dreaming about his death, when she didn't know how he died. Of course Tess hadn't killed him with an operating knife, cause there had been no cuts on his body, but Tess knew many ways of killing a person that were probably more horrible than that.

Liz threw her covers to the side. Now that she had her breathing under control again, she realized how clammy the air around her was. It felt warm and humid against her skin and it seemed to keep putting more and more pressure on her. She laid back down and pressed herself down on the sheets, which were still at a normal temperature. But eventually she pulled her covers back up. Without them she felt naked. She felt as if she was lying on one of those steel tables. It made her think of Alex. And when she closed her eyes she would see flashes of Alex's pained and horrified expression. So, she kept her eyes open, accepting the fact that she wouldn't get any more sleep tonight.

*~*~*

The next morning it was evident that Liz had had another rough night. Faint bags could be seen underneath her eyes, which held an exhausted look. A look Maria immediately understood when she saw Liz that morning. It wasn't only the lack of sleep that had caused it. It was also the same dream that she kept having at least once a week. And Maria felt sorry for her. Whenever she saw Liz like this, all her sympathy for the four aliens disappeared and she knew that Tess shouldn't be trusted. Although she never brought that up on days like these. Instead she empathetically smiled at her friend.

''That day of the week again?'' she carefully asked, already knowing the answer.

Liz nodded, as she leaned back against her locker and rested her head against it.

''Was it the same dream?''

Liz nodded once again. ''Yeah, I see Tess lowering the knife to his chest and then I wake up,'' she explained, purposely choosing not to say Alex's name.

''Maybe it means that..............''

Liz sighed and turned her head to look at Maria. ''Analyzing it again won't make it go away.......... or for me to accept it.''

Maria nodded. The two girls didn't say anything else until the bell rang and they both went their separate ways.

Liz slowly made her way over to her history class. She stood in the door opening for a few seconds as she looked in the direction of her desk. Max was already there, sitting in the seat next to her. She had known that he would be here, but she had hoped that she would arrive before he did. Liz sighed and made her way over to her desk. She dropped her books onto the desk with a loud clatter, but she didn't care. She just wanted this day to be over with. Although she would wake up tomorrow and think the same. It wasn't that she was depressed, cause she still wanted to achieve all the goals she had set for herself, but everything seemed more of a routine now.

Liz glanced over at Max out of curiosity. She often wondered what was going on in his head. If he ever thought about Alex. If he doubted his decision to trust Tess instead of her. By the distant look in his eyes she knew that he was thinking about something, or worrying. He frequently worried, mostly about things that didn't even concern him or weren't his fault. She knew that she couldn't blame Max for Alex's death, but she could blame him for taking Tess's side and detaching himself from her and Maria. She could blame him for how she was feeling right now. After all, if she hadn't met him then she would still be carefree and Alex would still be alive. But on the other hand, she would also be dead if it wasn't for him.

Liz turned her head to look out the window before she would start to feel guilty for not trusting Tess. She let her eyes wander from one side of the schoolyard to the other side and back again. It was a good distraction and she did this a few times, before she came to an abrupt stop. A familiar figure had caught her eye. She frowned and wondered if what she was seeing was true or not. After all, how could Max be standing out there and sitting next to her at the same time. She shook her head and lowered her eyes for a few seconds. When she looked up again he was gone. Her eyes automatically flew over to Max, wondering about what she had just seen.

''Max,'' she softly said, his name seeming so familiar, just like the figure had seem out in the schoolyard.

Max looked up from his notes and glanced over at Liz when he heard her say his name. But he got no acknowledgement from her. Instead she stared at her books for a while, before grabbing them and getting up.

''Mrs. Parker, what are you doing?'' came the immediate response from their teacher.

''I don't feel well. I think I better go to the nurses office.''

With a small nod the teacher gave her permission to leave the classroom, which she did, giving Max another thing to worry about.

Liz closed the door behind her and rounded the corner, instantly crashing into someone. She dropped her books, but kept herself from falling with them.

''I'm sorry. I'm just late for class and.........''

Kyle Valenti stopped apologizing when he saw who he almost ran over. ''Liz, you okay?''

Liz shook her head, while lowering her eyes to her books.

''Wanna go outside?'' Kyle offered, noticing how tired Liz looked.

''You have class,'' she pointed out.

Kyle shrugged. ''I'm late anyway.''

*~*~*

During her lunch period, Maria hurried out of the classroom and over to Liz's, wanting to see how she was doing. When Liz didn't leave the classroom as one of the first people, she became worried. And when Max came out and murmured something about Liz going to the nurses office, she turned around and headed for the nurses office, where she found out, to her relief, that Liz was never there. Feeling a little bit better she headed to her regular lunch spot, hoping that Kyle would know where Liz was. But her worrying came to an end when she spotted both Kyle and Liz sitting at the table. She joined them.

''Hey, you okay?''

Liz shook her head. ''Remember how I wanted things to go back to normal?...... Well, now they are, but things are still not normal.''

Maria nodded, fully understanding what Liz meant. Kyle, on the other hand, didn't, but it didn't keep him from reaching for Liz's hand and gently squeezing it. After all, he and Maria were the only two people Liz could still depend on.

*~*~*

Liz shivered as she went outside to throw out the trash. There were hardly any stars and there were no street lamps to light up the dark alley behind the Crashdown. But Liz was used to it. She had taken out the trash every night ever since she had been 7 years old. She followed the same dark path every night.

She dumped the bag in the container, wanting to get back inside as soon as possible. While turning around she glanced in the direction of where the alley started. Underneath one of the first street lamps she could see, stood Max. She wasn't surprised by the fact that he was here, although he would normally use the front door and ask her permission before entering.

''Max?'' she asked, while taking a step towards him. When he didn't make any attempt of meeting her half way, she started to head towards him. But when she was half way there, he turned around and disappeared around the corner. Liz frowned at his behavior and headed back inside, making sure to lock the door behind her.

*~*~*

That night, when Liz had gotten out of her uniform and slipped into a pair of sweats and a tank top, there was a knock on her window. One she recognized, because it used to happen almost every night. Back when she and Max still had things to talk about. Back when they were still together.

Liz turned around and met his eyes through the window. She made her way over to the window and unlatched it, so he could come in. His movements were familiar as he climbed into her room and closed the window behind him, knowing that the air was too cold. Liz crossed her arms and looked up at him.

''This is definitely a step up from the alley.''

Max shot her a confused look, not knowing what she meant. ''What?''

Liz shook her head. ''Never mind.''

''Are you alright?''

Liz sighed and uncrossed her arms, so she could run a hand through her hair. She should have expected him to worry about that, but she hadn't, because she didn't know he still cared. She nodded. ''Yeah, I'm fine.''

''Really?'' Max asked, his eyes losing their harshness, which he used as a cover, so people wouldn't know what he was thinking. ''Because you look quite the opposite.''

''I'm just tired,'' Liz said, as she sat down on her bed. ''And stalking's illegal. Even if it's Czechoslovakian stalking.''

A small smile appeared on Max's face, thinking that this had to be one of Maria's lines. Something she would use on Michael, although they hadn't seen or talked to each other for a while now. Something that was also his fault. He had pulled Liz and Maria into his world and now they were just another few of his responsibilities, although he knew that that wasn't true. Liz had been so much more than that. And she still was.

''I was worried,'' he stated.

''I'm fine......,'' Liz said, as she noticed the smile on his face. A smile that wasn't supposed to be there. She didn't forgive him for taking Tess's side and without her forgiving him things would never get back to normal between them. Alex's death wasn't something she could just forget, and she would remind him of just that. ''.........Alex's death isn't something I can just get over. He was my best friend.''

Max's smile weakened. ''I know. And I understand.''

Liz shook her head, not wanting to believe him. She couldn't believe him. ''You don't.''

''Liz,'' Max warned, although she didn't listen.

''At least when she wasn't here you would still give me a chance to prove myself. Now, you believe Tess, over me.'' Liz paused briefly, feeling the sadness that she was trying to keep underneath the surface, although it clearly shone through in her heartbroken expression. ''We used to be able to talk........''

''We still can,'' Max said, while taking a step towards her, not wanting for her to cry over something that wasn't true.

Liz shook her head. ''We can't. I don't like Tess, I don't trust her.''

Max abruptly stopped moving. ''Because you haven't given her a fair chance.''

''I did. And she ruined it when she killed Alex.''

Max studied Liz for a few seconds, before realizing that they would never agree on Tess. Not when Liz would probably never trust her. And maybe she had a good reason to, but he didn't want to believe that. Not when Tess was supposedly his soulmate. She was a good person with great power, one he shared a bond with. A bond which they had formed back on Antar.

''I should go,'' Max said, before turning around and walking over to the window.

''You really don't care, do you? About Alex, about how he died, about me.''

Max turned around and held Liz's gaze, wondering if she did really believe that. ''I love you,'' he stated, wanting desperately for her to believe it.

Liz's expression turned bitter and her response was simple, but effective. ''Loved.''

Max turned his head, while calmly opening the window. He didn't want to let her know how hurt he was by that simple statement. If she didn't care, then he didn't either. He climbed through the window and left. Liz didn't stop him, although she had wanted to. She knew that Max loved her, he had confessed that to her on more than one occasion, but she hadn't been thinking. All she could think about was Alex and how Tess had finally gotten her claws in Max. Tess had gotten everything that she wanted. She had gotten Max and had alienated the humans from the aliens. All was back to normal.

*R*E*V*I*E*W*! Please :-) So....... I've gotten a good response for the first chapter and although I don't write just for the reviews, they are definitely motivating and they make me doubt my writing less. So, thanks for that and I hope that this chapter worked for you. The main focus while writing this was on Liz's dream. I wanted you to feel just slightly panicked, so I hope that got through. And ya'll probably know the show way better than me, so I apologize if the characters are OOC. This is me practicing....... Thanks 4 reading! :-)