Chapter 11

"Morning Chica," Maria greeted as she and Alex made their way into Liz's bedroom. Liz was sitting on the bed, reading a note that Max had give her, she looked up and smiled when she saw her best friends.

"Hey!" she greeted as she stood up and hugged Alex. "Nice to see you on this plane again," Liz teased and Alex laughed.

"You have no idea how weird that is, knowing that I was on some different plane, or was it you?" he asked and Liz shook her head.

"No one knows, all we know that we were all shifted, Maria, Kyle and Mr. Valenti because they were out of town. No one knows why I came back though, Max thinks it might be due to him healing me," she explained as they moved over to the bed and sat down on it.

"How is Max?" Maria asked and Liz shook her head.

"Not so good, he is furious with Isabel and Michael," she admitted and they both looked at her, confused and Liz nodded in understanding. "Isabel snuck off again to meet up with Nicolas behind his back and Michael told Courtney where the Granolith was," Liz explained and Maria shook her head.

"What happened to Courtney?" Alex asked.

"She killed herself before Nicolas could gain the location of where the Granolith was hiding, Nicolas was actually impressed, he told Michael that how a true solider was," Liz told him.

"Does Max know why Isabel keeps sneaking off to meet their enemies?" Maria asked and Liz shook her head.

"No, he keeps asking her but she is refusing to back down so that makes him frustrated. He's been taking it out on the punching bags, burst three of them with one punch," Liz admitted and sighed. "I hate seeing him like this."

"Do you wish you had just run away?" Alex asked as all three of them laid down, Liz's head was on Maria's stomach and Maria stroked Liz's dark hair while Liz's legs were over Alex's lap, where he was rubbing her feet.

"Honestly?" she asked and Alex nodded. "Yes. God, I know that it would have been the wrong thing to run away, Michael, Tess and Isabel would have never survived if it wasn't for Max but seeing him so stressed out and frustrated, sometimes I catch myself thinking it would have been better if we had just left," Liz admitted and she sighed. "As much as I love being in Roswell with you guys, I just miss it when Max was so relaxed and happy as he was when we left Roswell over the summer. God, he was laughing and smiling even more, it was like he was just a normal carefree teenaged boy just having the time of his life. Being in Roswell, you can see it takes a toll on him, he has all these responsibilities and the weight of more than one world on shoulders."

"Why can't we just have a break every now and then?" Maria asked and Alex sighed.

"The consequences of knowing the secret, our lives are in constant danger," Alex explained and Liz shook her head.

"It's not fair you know, Max has been through hell and it just seems like nobody wants to give him a break. Michael and Isabel are constantly pushing Max toward the brink, Tess has actually been helpful, she's been trying to get them to lay off Max but it doesn't seem to work."

"I noticed that Michael and Isabel seem a lot more angry these days," Alex pointed out and Liz nodded.

"And that's what's frustrating Max. You see, they tell him to be the leader he's suppose to be but when he issues an order, they jump all over him, getting onto him for daring to order them about. They act like it's one rule for them and another rule for Max and Max is expected to pick up the pieces and to forgive them when they go to him but he is expected to pick up his own pieces and grovelled for forgiveness," Liz admitted and sighed. "I just hate seeing him like this and wish there was something I could do to help him."

"Just be there for him," Maria told her as she stroked Liz's hair. "That's all you can do or you can go on the offensive and kick their asses," Maria suggested and Liz laughed.

"Can you honestly see me kicking their asses?" Liz asked. "They're bigger than me for once."

"If anyone can do it, it's you," Alex told her. "You're like superwoman, without all the superpower or shall I say some superpower. Max told us about the stunt you pulled with fire yesterday, man Liz, I always knew you would do great things one day but creating fire storms, that's was not what I had in mind," Alex told her and Liz nodded.

"Tell me about, I thought Max was going to pass out when he told me what happened. I, somehow, drew everyone powers and mixed it together before creating the firestorm. I'm just grateful I didn't kill any of the pod squads and it look like the skins are finished," Liz told them.

"Thank god for that," Maria stated and they just lay there, basking in the closeness of being with their best friends.

"Hey Max," a male voice greeted and Max turned from where he was stuffing the intestines back into the dummy alien and smiled when he saw James making his way over to him.

"Hey James, what brings you down to this wonderful place of aliens?" Max teased and James laughed.

"Just wondering if you knew where my girlfriend is?" he asked.

"She's probably with Liz and Alex, they have been waiting to catch up with each other as Alex had been busy with the band," Max explained.

"Cool," James stated and Max looked at him with an amused smirk.

"You're worse than me," Max stated and James looked at him. "When Liz and I first got together, I wanted to spend all my time with her," he explained and James winced as he sat down on the stool and looked at Max.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked and Max laughed.

"Only to the people who have been through it before," Max reassured. "Don't worry, you'll get use to it. Once the newness of the relationship wears off, you'll find yourself appreciating the time you have apart because it makes you cherish the moments you have together," Max explained and James nodded.

"Is that what it's like for you?" James asked and Max nodded.

"Yeah, I love Liz and I love spending time with her but twenty four hours, seven days a week? We tried that once and almost went crazy. We need the space so we can do our own stuff and just enjoy being together."

"Good, I know Maria has been freaking out slightly over us wanting to be together all the time, she was scared that the spark of our relationship would burn out before it even had the chance," he admitted and Max smiled.

"That's Maria," Max told him.

"Yeah, but Mrs. Deluca is quite scary when she wants to be, when I first met her, she threatened me that I was not to have a shotgun wedding and get her pregnant at a young age," James told him and Max laughed.

"That's Amy, trust me, she may seem like a tiger but she is a loyal once she gets to know you, trust me. She's great, she makes these fantastic cakes!" Max exclaimed and James nodded.

"Oh yeah, Liz is always sneaking a bit of cake, in fact I've seen you all do it," James noticed and Max nodded.

"What can we say? We all have a sweet tooth," Max admitted with a half grin.

"Isabel," a female voice called from the doorway, Isabel looked up from where she was sitting on her bed and saw her mother standing in the doorway.

"Yeah Mom?" she asked.

"I think it's time for us to have that talk now, come into the kitchen please," Diane told her, Isabel opened her mouth to protest when Diane spoke up once more. "It's not up for discussion," she warned before leaving the doorway. Isabel sat there on her bed for a few minutes before getting up and headed toward the kitchen. She stopped when she saw her mother sitting at the table; she moved closer to the table and sat across from her mother.

"So, what did you want to talk about it?" Isabel asked and got a warning glare from her mother.

"You know what this is about, what is going on with you and Grant?" Diane asked and Isabel laughed slightly.

"It's nothing serious, just a casual thing," Isabel told her and Diane sighed.

"Honey, I think you are just jumping into this head first, for one thing, you're in school and he has finished college and has a job," Diane pointed out and Isabel rolled her eyes.

"I bet if it was Max who was dating an older woman, you would be okay with it," Isabel muttered and Diane shook her head as she looked out of the window, she barely even recognised Isabel anymore, she gathered her strength and turned back to face her daughter.

"Actually, no I wouldn't but Max isn't the topic here, you and Grant are, I'm just worried about you, you told me that Alex had dumped you for another girl and the next thing I see is you dating an older man, I just don't want you to make any mistakes while on the rebound," Diane explained and Isabel scoffed.

"Oh trust me, I'm totally over Alex," Isabel stated with a smug smile and Diane shook her head, her daughter was definitely not the same girl she was last year.

"I don't want you to see Grant," Diane told her and Isabel looked at her, disbelief written over face.

"Tell Max to stop seeing Liz then I'll stop seeing Grant," Isabel told her and Diane glared at her daughter.

"I'm not going to tell Max to stop seeing Liz, she makes him happy!" Diane snapped and Isabel rolled her eyes. "God, Isabel you make him so miserable," she stated and Isabel looked at her mother like someone slapped her across the face. "I've never seen your brother look so happy like he is with Liz, god, when you are around him, it's like you're draining all the happiness he has because you can't handle it. You need to get rid of this petty Jealously you have of Liz and start respecting your brother's decisions or I can tell you right now, right here that you will have no part in his life whatsoever because I fear he will cut you right out if you continue to do this!" she snapped. "Beside, Max is not the topic of this discussion, you dating older men is. Why don't you just date someone of your own age?" she asked and Isabel scoffed.

"They are nothing," Isabel stated and Diane shook her head.

"Then I'm afraid you leave me no choice, you're grounded," Diane stated and Isabel stood up.

"You can't do that!" Isabel exclaimed and Diane stood up.

"Yes I can, I'm still your mother!" Diane snapped at her and Isabel fumed.

"You wouldn't do this to Max as he is dating Miss Perfect Liz Parker," Isabel mocked and Diane slammed her hands onto the table, causing Isabel to jump back in fear.

"ISABEL AMANDER EVENS!" Diane snapped. "As I have stated before, Max is not the topic of this discussion, and you are right, I wouldn't do this to Max as he is dating Liz because she has never led him astray and she isn't older than Max, plus add in the fact that your brother is pretty committed to Liz, while you're jumping in and out of relationships, I want you to go to your room and have a good look in the mirror young lady because you are seriously losing ground!" Diane snapped. "God, right now I feel ashamed that you have turned out like this and it makes me wonder where I've gone wrong!" Diane told her before shaking her head and left the kitchen, leaving Isabel standing there, stunned at what just happened.

Maria arrived outside of Michael's apartment and scowled as she looked at her watch, she has a date with James tonight and she needed to make sure her mother was okay after the break in that happened due to the skins searching for the pod squad when everyone disappeared, she knocked on the door and it was answered a few seconds later.

"What?" Maria asked as Michael came into view.

"We need to talk," Michael stated and Maria rolled her eyes.

"I kinda figured that out when you 'Ordered' me down here," Maria stated as she brushed past him into the apartment. "And make it quick, I have a date with James and I'm not missing it for you," she informed him.

"It's about James," Michael stated and Maria threw up her hands.

"I don't want to hear it," she told him as she moved closer to the door but Michael moved in her way, blocking the door.

"You're risking us!" Michael snapped and Maria glared at him.

"I don't see how I am," Maria stated.

"By hanging around with him, you will be getting him involved with us!" Michael hissed and Maria's green eyes turned to slits.

"Oh no, you are not doing this!" She told him and Michael looked at her. "You are not going to guilt me into breaking up with James!" she snapped. "I like him!" she exclaimed.

"He's a liability!" Michael snapped.

"He's Liz's cousin! You can't go round killing him off!" Maria snapped.

"Watch me!" Michael snapped and Maria took a step back and Michael cursed.

"Nice to see you again Naesco," Maria snapped before storming out of the house and slamming the door shut.

Maria made her way into the Crashdown; she smiled slightly when she saw her best friend wiping a plate from behind the counter and felt her heart tighten at she was about to do. She moved closer to the counter, Liz looked up and smiled when she saw Maria.

"Hey Maria, what are you doing here tonight?" Liz asked and Maria took a deep breath and looked at Liz once more.

"Liz, I think you need to get James out of Roswell," Maria told her and Liz looked at her.

"Why?" Liz asked.

"Michael threatened to kill him," Maria stated and Liz dropped the plate that she was holding as she turned to her best friend.

Max came hurrying in when he heard the crash and looked at his girlfriend and best friend.

"What happened?" Max asked; Liz shook her head, still in a stunned shock as Maria turned to face him.

"Michael threatened to kill James," Maria whispered and Max looked at her stunned.

"WHAT?" he demanded.

"Apparently he's a 'liability,'" Maria informed and Max closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply before cursing.

"I'm gonna kill him myself," He muttered and nodded. "Okay, you go home Maria, make sure your mom is better after that break in, I'll look after Liz," Max told her and Maria nodded as she leaned over and hugged Liz.

"Michael isn't going to get anywhere near James," Maria whispered and Liz nodded as she hugged Maria back and Maria walked out of the Crashdown to her Jetta while Max turned to Liz and held her.

"I'll sort this out baby, trust me," He whispered and she nodded.

"Why would he want to kill James? He's my cousin!" she gasped out.

"I think it's because James and Maria are together," Max told her before shaking his head and rubbing his hands up and down her back. "Michael won't go anywhere near James, I promise," Max whispered.

"Hey," James greeted as Maria climbed into the car; she smiled at him.

"Hey," she greeted, she reached over and kissed him on the lips, leaving James breathless when they broke away.

"Wow, what was that for?" he asked she smiled and shook her head.

"I just felt like it," she told him, he eyed her curiously before nodding slightly and put the car into motion, she would tell him when she was ready.

Kyle moved back and forth in the kitchen, grabbing things for his dinner when he felt someone watching him, he turned around to see Tess standing in the doorway.

"Hey Tess, want me to make you something to eat?" he asked and Tess arched an eyebrow.

"You cook?" she asked and Kyle laughed.

"Hey, we can't live of on mirco-wavable food and take-aways all the time," Kyle pointed out as Tess moved in closer in the kitchen and sat at the counter as she nodded.

"True, yeah, I'll have whatever you're having, heavy with Tabasco," she told him and he nodded.

"Coming right up," he informed her as he turned back to the food, she watched him causing Kyle to look up once more. "Do I have something on my face?" he joked and Tess smiled.

"No, I'm just amazed how well you've adjusted to knowing there's out of this world people in your town," Tess told him and he nodded.

"I'm not gonna lie and say I'm not still freaked out but I'm coming round, it helps that Max hasn't turned me into a toad/frog yet," he told her and she looked at him, puzzled amusement shining on her face.

"Are you okay about Max and Liz?" she asked and he looked up at her. "Sorry, Liz and I spoke a few times, you know, just getting to know each other and she mentioned that she used to date you but broke up and you were sore about her and Max getting together," Tess explained and Kyle nodded.

"Yeah, Liz is a great girl, she is the type of girlfriend that every guy would want to settle with, I really liked her and it did hit my ego that she dumped me for another guy but I'm cool with it, Max really makes her happy. There's this sparkle in her eyes that she never had with me," Kyle explained and Tess nodded.

"Max seems really happy with Liz," she told him and Kyle laughed.

"You have no idea, we nicknamed him mouse because he was always quiet, it always seemed like he had the whole world on his shoulder, I still can't believe how true that it," he explained and Tess nodded.

"I guess Liz is really good for him," Tess stated with a small whisper while watching Kyle turn back to making their dinner.

Max arrived at Michael's apartment; he banged on the door. Michael answered the door a few second later and let Max through.

"Well, well, well, his highness actually tore himself away from Liz's butt to visit me," Michael remarked and Max threw him a glare that made Michael glad that none on them had alien death ray glares as he would have been dead a thousand times over.

"Stay away from James," Max warned.

"He's a liability!" Michael snapped and Max shook his head.

"How is he a liability?" Max demanded. "He doesn't hang out with us, he doesn't know the secret about us and he hasn't been asking questions," Max told him.

"If he keeps hanging around here, he will find out," Michael warned and Max scoffed.

"Ever since you got together with Tess, you've been acting like an asshole," Max stated.

"I'm picking up the slack you let down!" Michael snapped.

"What 'slack' is that?" Max challenged. "The king part or the Tess part?" Max demanded.

"You have a duty to your people!" Michael snarled.

"Yeah, I really was going to let a fifty or so year message tell me who I've to be with," Max remarked. "Give it up, the only reason you want James out of Roswell is because Maria is no longer pining after you," Max retorted. "She finally found someone who respects her and want to show the world how great she is," Max reminded and shook his head. "Stay away from James," Max stated once more before walking away, leaving Michael alone in the apartment, staring after Max.

TBC