Author's Note: This one is for Mony19. (At least the first part.) Thanks so much for all the reviews. Thanks so much Rebelqueen, ASIG, RunningWild22, Anya, Jen, Agel15, RoswellAngelCakes, LadyTrista, and AngieGH4Ever. (Thanks RebelqueenI didn't need a Beta for this chapter, but thanks for responding. Maybe the next chapter.)

Two Weeks Later

Finally, Tess thought as she leaned her body back to slouch on the couch, it's just the three of us—No, four of us, she amended.

Tess assumed that after Zan was born, things would have gone back to normal; stop being so hectic. The things said about assumptions had never been truer. Zan was a good baby, he didn't cry all the time like Tess had heard some baby's did, but he was still a baby. He needed many things, most everything from her. She had originally felt overwhelmed with the responsibilities of suddenly being a mother, going so far as to breakdown crying after the fifth consecutive sleepless night.

Everyone tried to help with Zan, but surprisingly, especially to herself, it only angered her. She was Zan's mother: it was her job to take care of her son's every need.

Of course, everyone had suggestions, a different idea of what her son needed. The problem was no one asked her what she needed. –And the funny thing was that the only thing she needed was to be alone with her new baby—to find out what he needed directly from him. She wanted to know him, to know what every cry meant, every little smile and babble. She couldn't do that with half a dozen people running around her all the time asking what she and the baby needed.

It had taken some doing but she was finally alone—well, with Alex, Ava and Zan, after she'd forced everyone out. Max, Michael, Isabel, Maria, Kyle and Liz went back to school. Jim, after weeks of pleading and negotiating went back to work as the town sheriff. Mr. and Mrs. Evans, who'd become the mascot grandparents, were harder to get rid of. They were incredibly proud of their new grandson, spoiling him at every instant. After an enormous gift of a twenty-five thousand dollar trust fund, they had finally promised to lighten up…after all, what would a baby do with a trust fund?

Most of all, she was happy to get rid of Liz, who'd come over daily, bringing Tabasco sauce covered pies, cookies, and cakes. It was smothering. Tess tried her hardest to push her away, but Liz wouldn't budge. Kyle had told her that she'd done the same thing to him after he'd gotten hurt playing basketball, and to just soak it in. Once Liz got over her guilt, she'd be her usual annoying self, Kyle remarked. Was it guilt? Or just a ploy to steal Max back? Even Max was confused as to why she was acting like a crazy lady.

Tess shook herself from thoughts of Liz. That part of her life was over; she didn't have to worry about Liz anymore, Max finally acknowledged their destiny and they would be married, again, soon. She smiled as she listened to Ava sing to the baby resting against her shoulder. Alex, she knew was staring at Ava, smiling at her as well. Tess knew that Alex was in love with her, it was written all over his face, just as the love Ava felt for Alex was in her every smile and expression.

"Alex," Tess called. "Come and sit with me." She patted the couch cushion besides her. "We really haven't had a chance to talk, since you know…"

Alex forced himself to stop staring at Ava in order to turn his attention towards Tess. He got up and walked over to sit on the offered seat. "Yeah. You've been so busy, with Max's parents, the baby preparations, Liz…I think this is the first time that this house wasn't full to capacity."

Tess smiled, "I was just thinking that. It's peaceful, you know. The quiet."

Zan fussed in Ava's arms, making little baby noises. Ava walked over quickly to hand the baby over to his mother before he started to cry. Once he was safely in Tess's arms, the fussing stopped. Ava smiled, "Well, I guess he just wanted his mommy, huh?"

Rocking her body gently as she pulled her blouse down to nurse Zan, Tess nodded in agreement. "Yeah, or else he's hungry." The question was answered as Zan began to suck greedily.

Ava sat next to Alex, "I can't believe that we're leaving tomorrow. I'm going to miss it here. I didn't think that I would, but I am. I'm going to miss you, Zan, Max, Jim, everyone."

"Me too," Alex said. "But we need to leave, Ava. I need to start a new life—one that I'm hoping that you'll be apart of." He turned his body to face her as he waited for her answer.

Ava held his hands, "Of course, I want to be apart of your life. I," she gulped in worry, "I love you, Alex." She lowered her face, not wanting to see his face; not wanting to see him reject her.

Jerking in surprise as his fingers lifted her chin to look into her eyes as he spoke, "I love you too, Ava." With those words, he gently kissed her lips. She returned his kiss, putting her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. He soon forgot that anyone else was in the room, kissing the woman that he'd fallen in love so quickly for the first time.

"Umm… I think I'll just take Zan to his crib now." Tess stood up, walking away from the mushy couple. Ava and Alex pulled away from each other as she spoke.

Ava turned beet red, "Sorry, Tess. I forgot you were there." Alex, a hand over his mouth, just bobbled his head up and down, completely entranced by Ava. She got up to follow Tess into her bedroom, watching as she gently lowered Zan into the crib next to her bed.

She watched quietly as the baby settled down, put his thumb in his mouth, then fell asleep. Ava spoke quietly, "I'm glad that Michael got you that apartment next to his, it really is cramped in here, especially with all the baby furniture."

Tess, after giving her son a kiss on the cheek, motioned for Ava to follow her back into the living room, switching on the baby monitor on the way out the bedroom door. "Max is so excited! He's like a little kid; he's decorated the baby nursery himself and he won't let me see it until we move in. And he's out buying furniture with his mother. It's a great place." They both walked into the kitchen, where Alex was busy pulling out meats, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, and hard rolls.

Alex listened as the two ladies chatted about the new apartment, interrupting only to ask if they wanted a sandwich. They all sat at the kitchen counter, just talking. Something that they hadn't done since 'Alex died'.

"So, I guess we're going to have to call you Tom, from this point on, huh?" Ava asked.

He smiled sadly, "Yeah. That's me, good ol' Tom Collins bound for New York City with my girl, Ava." His smile changed, became flirtatious. "What do you say about becoming Ava Collins?" He looked her in the eye as he spoke.

Tess gasped as kneeled down in front of the shocked woman. "I don't have a ring for you, Ava. But will you marry me? Be my destiny…"

Ava turned to look at her double, then turned to look at the still kneeling man before her, "Oh, my god. Of course I'll marry you!" He kissed her hand, before standing up, and pulling her into his arms to spin her around happily.

Tess clapped her hands, and then stood to hug the newly engaged couple before her. "Congratulations, Alex, Ava. I'm so happy for the both of you."

The Crashdown Cafe

Liz pulled her apron off, putting it in her locker, happy that her shift was over. She fixed her hair in the little mirror after she pulled off the silly alien headband her father forced his waitresses to wear as a uniform. Walking back into the kitchen, she pulled out a homemade Men-In-Blackberry pie and a bottle of hot sauce. Making sure that no one was around, she poured the bottle on top the pie. She just hoped Tess liked Blackberry as much as she loved the strawberry. After tossing the bottle, she closed the top of the box that held the pie.

The door opened as her father ran in carrying a pile of dirty dishes to the sink, muttering about how much people wasted food as he dumped half eaten food in the garbage before placing the dishes in the sink. She smiled at him, shaking her head as she turned to walk out the door, pie in hand.

"Liz. Where are you going with that pie?" Jeff Parker asked his daughter. "That's the fifth pie you've taken this week. You know that Amy De Luca spends hours making those pies for the Crashdown." He lectured her.

"Dad, I'm bringing it over to the Valenti's." She told her father, as she pulled the door open. "It's a present." She turned to glare at him, "You know that Mom took the cheap road at the baby shower…"

Michael walked in just as Liz walked out. Since she wasn't looking, he ran into her, literally. Pie covered both Liz and Michael. "Oh, my god. Michael, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you." She ran to get a wash cloth.

Jeff yelled, "Liz, clean up that pie before it stains the tile. That's blackberry." He shook his head at his daughter's klutziness. "Michael, what are you doing here? You're not scheduled to work tonight."

Michael wiped his shirt, licking his fingers, "I actually came to—um, Liz promised to tutor me, so we're going to study."

Liz looked up sharply, "Oh, yeah. We were going to study a bit at the Valenti's. I thought that I told you that I'd meet you there, Michael."

Her father stared at them. Michael answered her, "Yeah, well. I figured that I'd be nice and walk with you. Nice to see you, Mr. Parker."

Once the blackberry was cleaned up off the ground, Michael took Liz's elbow and walked her out. Once they were away from prying eyes, Michael's voice became firm, "I know what you're doing. I'm not going to let you ruin Max's life."

She took on a defensive pose, arms crossed over her chest, "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not out to ruin Max's life." She turned to walk away from him.

He didn't let her, grabbing her wrist. "I heard you that day. Tess was practically bleeding to death and all you did was yell about how she stole Max from you. Now, you're all sugar and sweetness to Tess…trying to make yourself seem like little miss perfect again, so that you can get Max back."

She pulled her wrist from Michael's grasp, "I'm not trying to steal Max back! I don't want Max anymore. Tess can have him! I was just being nice."

Michael bared his teeth, "Yeah. Nice, alright! I've had enough of this—I'm telling Max."

She yelled back, "Tell Max!" He walked away from her ignoring her pleas. "Michael, please don't tell Max! MICHAEL!"

Max and Tess's New Apartment.

Michael stood in front of the door, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before knocking on the door. Max opened the door; he was covered in blue, green, white, and red paint splatters. He looked happy to see Michael. "Michael, please tell me you're here to help me paint?"

Michael poked his friend in the chest, taking off the red colored paint with a finger. "It seems like you've got the painting covered, Maxwell. I just hope that some of it got on the walls."

Max grabbed Michael's head in a fake choke hold, messing his hair. "Well, at least I'm not covered in purple—whatever that is."

Michael pulled away laughing, but put an arm around him as he was lead inside the new apartment. "I got a pie in the chest. What's your excuse?" Michael looked at his friend in quiet shock. "Woah, Maxwell. What are you getting paid at the UFO Center? And can I get a job there? I mean, you have the exact same apartment as me. My apartment doesn't look like this."

Max smiled, "Actually, most of this was from my mother. She's the one who did most of this. I was just here for the manual labor. My mom said she refused to let her grandson live in a pig-sty like your apartmentNo offense."

"None taken," Michael said simply, understanding that his mother was sort of snobby, being a lawyer's wife. Max toured him through the apartment, showing him the nursery, pointing out that HE, not his mother, designed the room for his son. The kitchen and bathrooms were well organized. And the master bedroom was stunning. The bedding and its matching canopy were a deep purple, embroidered with gold edging. It truly looked like a room made for a king and his queen.

Whistling, Michael just remarked at the extravagance. "Tess is going to love this apartment. Congratulations."

Max slapped Michael's shoulder, pulling him into the kitchen and handing him a Snapple. He took a large swig of the drink, before asking, "So, Michael, if you didn't come to help me paint, why did you come?"

"Um…I have something to tell you. And I don't know how to say this."

Max put a hand up in concern, "What is it? Something wrong? Isabel? Tess."

Michael interrupted, "No. Nothing like that. It's just that you're going to be angry." Max looked at him motioning to continue, "It's about Liz. You remember the day Zan was born, Liz went out with Tess for a walk. Well, I followed them—I had to. Something made me follow them, I can't explain. It's like Tess and I are connected. I always seem to know when she's in trouble. It's weird, but anyway…the day they went on that walk, Liz—she freaked out on Tess. She was screaming about how Tess had stolen you from her the entire time. If I hadn't gotten there—Max."

Max didn't wait for him to finish his story; he shot out the door, not even bothering to shut it behind him as he practically ran to find Liz.

"MAX!" Michael shouted at his retreating body. "Oh, shit. He's going to kill Liz." Michael shut the door behind him as he ran after his best friend, hoping to catch up to him before he reached his intended target: Liz.

To Be Continued…

This was mostly a filler chapter…I wanted to keep you all happy, so I try to do as you suggest. (I know…Alex and Ava never even kissed and then Alex asked her to marry him, it's not realistic, but it's my story. I'm a hopeless romantic… Alex knew that she was the one for him, okay?—Just go with it.)

But eventually, this story has to end! (It feels like it keeps going and going and going…like the energizer bunny.)

Next chapter (or so, I hope): Max and Liz collide. Alex and Ava leave for New York. Max and Tess get married and move into their new home. (I did want to add a little Michael/Maria…though I might not, just to end it quicker.) It's not like I want to end the story, I just have new ideas. (I've had a Sentinel/Angel crossover brewing in my mind for the last year or so…and I want to write it. I also had a Roswell/Angel one in mind. –Ever wonder WHAT type of demon race Cordelia Chase was "part" of?)

Epilogue: A secret… (I'm not telling.) Nana Nana Na Na.