Author's Note: I decided to stretch the story out a little. Tess, Ava, and Alex have been through so much that they need comfort. Trust me though…I'll get to Max and Tess soon. But I have to work out some little kinks.

It was dark and the pain was almost unbearable. Almost, but she kept her wits long enough to hear Ava cry that Max had wanted to kill her; that he wouldn't come for a woman he believed killed a good friend. The thought of Max wanting to kill her brought her more pain than the baby dying in her womb did.

So she dreamt of him, how he used to love her in the past; dreamt of the plans they made for the baby and of him coming to rescue her and the others from Kivar. Tears leaked from her closed lids as the pain came back in waves. Arching her back, she was surprised to find that the hard cold ground had become soft and warm, but was in too much pain to care about it.

A warm hand, a strong masculine one wiped her tears away gently. A damp cloth replaced the hand as a familiar voice whispered comforting nothings. The sound of the voice, so loving and gentle, created more tears. She could almost believe it, that she was back home; that she was still loved.

"Shh, Tess. It's alright, you're safe. You're home, sweetheart. Max just went to get his things from home. He'll be right back. I'm here, Tess and I'm not leaving you. It'll be alright…I promised you that you and your baby will always have a home here, and that's one promise that I'll never break." Jim Valenti continued to wipe Tess's tears away.

A creak at the doorway took Jim's attention away as he saw Alex and Kyle walk in. "Hey, guys," Tess was able to get out. Waving her hand at them to come closer. Alex immediately sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. Kyle stared at his feet as they spoke softly together. Jim moved to the chair that he had pulled from the dinning room in order to stay close to the young woman he thought of as a daughter.

"Yeah, so I have no idea what the hell I'm going to tell everyone. They all think I'm dead and even if we mind-warped the entire town, there's still my grave and, of course, public records. So whatever we think of it has to be good. Oh god, my dad's going to have a heart attack." Alex leaned down to rest his head on his hands.

Tess, lifting her arms from beneath the covers, reached up to pat his head. "Don't worry, Alex. We'll think of something." She turned to look at her favorite human, her brother, who had not looked at her once since walking in. "Hi, Kyle. Are you okay? Is everyone alright? I don't remember…what happened?" No one answered. "Kyle?"

Jim got out of the chair to go back to Tess's side. "It's alright, Tess. Everyone is fine; we all got out safe and sound. Max, Isabel, and Michael just went to the Evans' to let them know that they were all going to come over here tonight…to 'hang out' with Kyle. Maria had to go home; Amy got mad that she stayed out all night with Michael again. And since we couldn't really explain, Maria is grounded. Liz had to work tonight, but she's going to stop in right after. Alex, of course, is going to stay here until we can come up with a decent story. So is Ava. She's in the kitchen right now, making us dinner. And if she's half the cook that you are Tess, I'd say we're all in for a treat. Listen, I'm going to go check on her; Alex, why don't you come with me." With that, he left Kyle alone with Tess.

Kyle tiptoed to her side, like a naughty child caught doing something bad. "Hey, Tess. You doing okay? The baby?"

She licked her lips, her mouth was dry, "Kyle, could I please have some water?" Her voice cracked as she made the request.

"Oh, sure." Kyle nearly tripped over his own feet to get a glass of water for her. He handed it to her, then quickly reached out to steady her hands after he'd seen the glass trembling. "Gently, Tess. Okay?" He helped bring the glass to her lips until she had her fill. After she had nodded that she was done, he was surprised to find his own hands shaking.

Tears blinded him for a moment, until he felt Tess wipe them away. Her soft voice broke through the enormous amount of guilt he felt, as she asked him if he was okay.

He laughed bitterly, "Am I okay? Yeah, I'm fine, Tess. God, Tess. I'm so sorry." His laughter became racking sobs. Leaning into her open arms, he cried hard against her shoulder as he repeated the words "I'm so sorry."

After the tears had stopped, she told him that it was okay and that she understood. After all, she said, he'd been mind-warped into believing he'd seen Alex's murder.

"I can't believe you, Tess. I hated you. Hell, I wanted you dead! And you say that you forgive me. How can you forgive me when I can't even forgive myself for ever believing that lie—that you actually were a killer, capable of murdering Alex? I'm so stupid! God! I mean, that must've been why Kivar ordered Ava to mind-warp me." He threw the pillow against the wall, it fell to the ground with a soft thud.

"No, it wasn't." Ava's soft New York accent differentiated her voice from Tess's. Kyle turned to look at her as she leaned against the doorway. Alex was standing besides her, a tray of food in his hands. "Kivar picked you because the others were already suspicious of Tess from the start…especially Liz. If Kivar had made me mind warp any of them, Max would've seen through it. It would be too easy to believe it coming from one of them. You were the only one that Max would believe, because Max knew, deep down, that you loved her just as much as he did. He knew that you didn't think wrongly of Tess, that you'd never turn on her for no reason. I'm so sorry, Kyle. I never meant to hurt anyone like this. I just wanted Kivar to let us go. I had no idea that it would turn out this way…I'm sorry." She hid her face with her hair, before fleeing the room.

Alex handed Kyle the tray before running after her. Kyle set it on the night stand, asking her what she wanted first.

Tess shifted higher up on the bed, still weak, but determined. "Kyle, please…tell me what happened, I don't want food…I want answers. I don't understand-- I don't remember. We were captured by Kivar…he made Ava pretend to be me. She told me that she mind warped you into thinking that I killed Alex? Max—he got angry? She said that he wouldn't come…but he did, right?" The baby kicked her, hard, making her gasp. "Oh…the baby." She gasped, breathing harshly. "Where's Max? Why isn't he here with me?"

"Tess. I promise you…he's coming. He just went to get his things…he'll be here as soon as possible. Trust me. There's nothing in this universe that will keep Maxwell Evans from your side. The guy went up against a gun-wielding alien army to get to you…then carried you all the way back to Roswell and to this bed." Kyle smiled at her, trying to put her at ease. She took a deep breath, relaxing against the pillows as she rested her hands against the kicking baby. The baby kicked her hard again…making her grimace.

Jim came back in, hearing her become upset. "Tess, are you alright?" He put a hand on her belly, smiling as he felt the baby kick. "Huh. That was a hard kick…I think that boy of yours is going to be a football or soccer player, huh?"

She sadly smiled back at him, "Yeah…maybe, if he lives that long. I don't think he's doing too well…" She trailed off, picking at the blanket before looking back up, "You know what I've decided?" Both Jim and Kyle shook their heads. "It's not too weird to call you Dad…and to call you my brother."

They all smiled. "Yeah…think of it from my perspective. I really have an alien for a sister. That's okay, though…you're still my favorite Martian. Oh, man. Guess what? We get to call you 'Grandpa', old man."

Laughter filled the room, the happy sounds of a new family.

Ava ran. She ran so hard and so fast that she didn't think the wind could follow. It was all she could do…to keep from thinking about all the pain she caused. Tess…Kyle…Max…Isabel…Everyone that she hurt. It was unintentional…but it was her powers that did it, no matter who controlled her. The tears flowed unending, blinding her; She kept running, though, even though her mind shut down dampening all of her senses, keeping her from seeing, smelling, or even feeling the world around her.

She didn't even hear the loud honking of the truck barreling its way down the street towards her.

Not until it was too late.

To Be Continued…

Ha ha ha…I'm evil.

Please REVIEW. I really want to know what you thought of this chapter. (Yes… there's more to come.—Like I said, there's still a lot of things that need to be taken care of before we get to the 'couples.')