A/N- Over the past months, multiple people have left comments, added the story as a favorite, and/or added it to their alerts. You all waited patiently for me to find my voice again, and I feel it is not right for me to make you wait any longer. I present to you the final chapter of Steam. I hadn't quite planned on ending it yet, but it seemed like it was the time. I hope you are all still out there to read this, and I hope you enjoy. Please leave a comment to let me know how the ending was for you (After multiple edits, I'm still not quite sure I like it). Thank you for reading and putting up with my lack of updates for so long. Your reviews have made this story worth while and very enjoyable to write. Thank you again, and enjoy. :)

Chapter Twelve

"We have to go in," Max said decidedly, turning his gaze toward the compound. "We have to go in and fight." His voice was steady, solid. He spoke with an air of confidence, but Liz could feel the fear inside of Max. As they grew closer over the days, it was becoming easier for her to sense Max's feelings. As she looked at him, she could feel the unease that settled in his stomach as he looked at the compound across the field.

Michael took a step forward, standing next to Max. "You know I'm right behind you, Max."

"Are you serious?" Isabel's voice broke and the two boys turned toward her. "You can't honestly be serious. We can't do this, Max. We can't go back in there! Don't you remember what they did to you?"

Max closed his eyes momentarily, letting Isabel's words sink in. "We have to, Isabel," he said finally. "There's no other way to ensure Liz's safety. She is one of us. I can feel it. She was meant to find us. Tess may have turned against us, but Liz will not. I know you are scared, but we have to make sure they never come after her. I cannot watch them destroy us again."

Tears ran slowly down Isabel's face as she took another step toward her brother. "I can't lose you again, Max. I just can't. Is there another way? Can't we look for another flash? Can't we wait for Liz to remember?" She turned quickly toward Liz. "Do you think you can remember?"

Liz stood quietly for a moment. "It's coming back to me in pieces. I'm not sure I can force it." She admitted sadly. "I don't have a whole lot of control over the situation. If Max and I were to connect, I may be able to remember more, but I can't promise you anything."

"Try," Isabel said quietly, the tears still thick in her voice. "Please, Liz? Please try. Try to remember so that we don't have to lose each other anymore. I believe Max; I believe that you are a part of us. That is why we need to stay together. Please try, Liz. I can't watch us suffer anymore."

Max took Liz's hand and she turned toward him. He had a question in his gaze, asking her if it was alright. She nodded slowly and he turned toward the group. "We will try. When Liz and I connect, that is usually when she gets the flashes." He shifted his gaze from Liz to the group, then back to Liz.

"Are you ready?" Max asked quietly, his hand rising slowly and cupping her check.

She turned toward him. "I'm ready, Max. I'm ready to remember everything."

Slowly he placed his other hand on the side of her face, running his fingers lightly over her skin. She raised herself up on her toes, letting her lips connect with his, feeling their surroundings disappear as they lost themselves in their connection and as her mind quickly unfolded in front of them. Her memories came quickly, one right after another, the scenes of her past flooding back and revealing themselves to them as they stood embraced in the woods.

"You have to stop doing that, Liz" Nancy's voice said shakily as she looked at her daughter. "You know they're going to put you away one day if you don't stop thinking you can do that. It's a lie."

As Liz looked at the fear in her mother's eyes, she knew that somehow her mother was right. She could often feel the presence of someone who had ill will toward her, and she knew that there were people in this world who would hurt her if they got the chance. She was so confident in herself, though. So sure that no one could get to her.

She turned toward her mother and gave her a steady, even gaze. "Don't pretend it isn't real mother. You of all people know what I am."

They took her after work, shoving her into a van and driving her away. Liz screamed and cried as they pinned her down, taking her far away from all that she knew. Punishing her for all the things she knew she could do but that her mother had feared so deeply. They slammed tape over her mouth and slid the cold syringe into her veins, silencing her screams as they drove down the dark road toward the compound.

Liz screamed in pain, but the tests prevailed. She screamed at them to stop, swearing that she did not know the answers to the questions that they asked, begging for a release from their pain.

"You know how to make it stop, Liz," the man said calmly, watching them make the deep incisions in Liz's arms-- one after another-- the pain ripping through her as they came closer to the veins in her wrists that they knew would end everything.

"I don't know anything! Please," Liz gasped, her voice begging him to stop. "I don't know what you're looking for. You think I know about 1947 and the crash, but I don't! I'm just a girl."

The man gave a thin smile, the corners of his face turning up in satisfaction. "You will never be 'just a girl,' Miss Parker."

"We have to get out," Tess whispered to Liz as they sat side by side eating. "I have a plan, but I have to touch your arm and you're going to feel a strange sensation. It's called connecting. If I connect, you'll see my plan."

Liz looked at the other girl skeptically. A part of her was still unsure, but she could feel the fear inside of Tess that echoed her own. Tess was vulnerable, just as she was. Slowly Liz moved her arm closer and let Tess place her hand over it. The images quickly zipped through her brain, Tess's plan laying itself out piece by piece.

Liz turned toward the other girl, the shock and fear evident in her eyes. "Who are you?" She asked.

Tess smiled, "You should know, Liz. We're the same."

The alarm screamed as Tess shattered the lock on the door, kicking it open with her foot and screaming at Liz to run. Liz ran, her feet flying across the field toward the woods on the horizon. She felt Tess behind her, her breaths coming quickly as she urged Liz along, and the feeling gave her comfort. They reached the edge of the woods, and Liz felt a twinge inside of her. Slowly she felt an eerie sensation of fear settle around them and she knew that they were near. The men from the compound were after them, and they were closing in.

"Run!" Tess's voice screamed from behind her, and Liz surged forward, pushing through the branches.

The log caught her ankle before she could move to avoid it, and she yelled out in pain as she fell to the ground. The forest breathed around her, the wind tussling the leaves as Liz lay staring up at the forest around her.

Suddenly Tess was above her. "You need to run, Liz! Run!" She said, holding out her hand and pulling the girl up.

"Wait!" Tess said, pressing her hand into Liz's. Liz felt the connection open between the two and Tess quickly placed her hand on Liz's forehead. Liz felt the heat from her fingers, but before she could ask what Tess was doing she had removed her hand.

"Run!" She screamed, pushing Liz forward. Liz ran, pushing her way through the thick forest branches and running as fast as she could from the evil that encompassed the wood around her. Suddenly, she stopped. The forest was silent and she realized that Tess was gone. She was alone.

Suddenly, she heard Tess's voice coming from the other side of a bank of trees. Liz carefully moved the branches and saw Tess face to face with one of the men from the compound. Liz's heart beat faster as she watched them. Tess stood bravely in front of him, but Liz could feel the fear vibrating from her body.

"Where is the other one?" The man asked, his gun aimed steadily at Tess.

"Where do you think she is?" Tess asked nonchalantly. "She's dead. I killed her, just like you told me to do."

Liz felt her heart speed up in her chest as she listened. She held her breath.

Tess pointed to the ground off to the side. "There. I did what you wanted, now can we please just go back?"

The man crouched down, inspecting the bare ground where Tess had pointed. Liz looked on, confused.

"I want you to bury her." He said. He snapped his fingers and another man emerged from the woods carrying a shovel. Liz watched as he handed it to Tess. With trembling hands, Tess took the shovel and began to dig.

Liz couldn't understand. Somehow the men believed she was dead. The realization dawned on her suddenly that Tess was making them see these things. Tess was making them believe that she was dead so that she could escape.

Liz watched as the men stood observing Tess digging, lifting, and burying her friend.

Tess glared up at them. "Can we go now?" She asked. "I did what you wanted me to do, and now I just want to get some sleep."

The men reached out and grabbed her by her wrists, pulling her along through the woods. They disappeared through a wall of branches and Liz collapsed backwards against the trunk of a tree. She let out her breath, her heart beginning to slow.

After a few moments, Liz heard the noises. Screams rang out from across the field, shots rang out. Liz felt a darkness fall over her heart. Tess was dead. She had sacrificed herself so that Liz could live.

Liz turned, her mind racing and tumbling over itself. Run, Her mind screamed. Run far, far away. Find Max Evans. She ran blindly through the woods, her mind collapsing around itself as her heart opened and she let herself feel the pain, the sorrow, and the regret. She let herself cry for the pain they'd put her through and for the life that had sacrificed itself for her own. She staggered through the woods, pushing through the branches as hot tears poured down her cheeks, pushing her way toward the unknown that Tess knew she would find

Liz reached the house, the rain pouring down on her as she collapsed gasping on the neatly manicured lawn. She looked upon the house, and knew that she had arrived. She had arrived right where she'd always belonged. She ran to the side window, pounding quickly on it before collapsing in a fit of exhaustion on the ground below. When she awoke, Max's dark eyes stared down at her. She felt a sensation stirring deep inside of her as she looked up at him. She felt the safety and warmth of his embrace, and she knew that he was a part of her. In him, Liz felt a connection of something she thought she'd lost long ago.

The images cleared and Liz felt Max's lips against hers, his body shaking with the effort of sustaining the connection and with the pain that came from within Liz's subconscious. She opened her eyes and looked straight into Max's.

"She died for me, Max." Liz said softly. "She died so that I could live."

Max took a step backward, his hands remaining clasped around her face. He turned toward the group, his face chalky white.

"What did you see, Max?" Michael asked, his voice urgent. Liz watched as Maria laced her hand through his, attempting to calm his anxiety.

"She- she," Max's voice broke. "Tess is dead. She didn't betray us."

"What?" Isabel asked, taking a step forward. "What do you mean she didn't betray us?"

Suddenly Liz pulled herself away from Max, her fingers reaching up and resting on her temples.

"Wait," she said slowly. "There's another, Max." She looked throughout the group. "Tess left a message for you all."

Liz closed her eyes, staggering backward as she released the memory from her mind; the memory that Tess had placed there for them to find.

A bright light flashed in front of Liz, and slowly an image began to form. Isabel gasped as she looked upon the blond girl's frame. She had left a message for them in Liz's mind.

Slowly, Tess's form began to speak.

"To Isabel, Michael, Maria, Alex, and to you, Max. I know that this message will reach you, because I know that the five of you are where Liz belongs. It took me a long time to realize that I wasn't a part of you. I'll admit, I was always jealous of the bonds that you all had formed before my arrival, and that jealousy made it impossible for me to feel at home. You tried so hard, but I never felt that it was enough. I was always waiting for the four of us to feel as one, just as Nasedo always said that we would. But the feeling never came, and I couldn't understand why.

"When I used to look at you, Max, I could feel that you knew it as well. I didn't feel at home here in Roswell, so, I fled. Nasedo was gone and I was alone, so I fled to the compound. I was ready to give myself up to them and give them all the information I had on you, just so that I could finally feel needed again. I know, it sounds petty, but I needed that feeling again. So I went to the compound, but I did not find what I needed. The men in the compound were dark, evil. They wanted the information I had, but they had no use for me otherwise. Inside, I knew that they would kill me once they had the information they needed. Suddenly, I knew that I was on the wrong side.

"I refused to give them the information that they asked for. I endured pain because of this refusal, but I knew that it was all I could do. I could not let them get to you. I could not let them lock you up in that compound.

"I caught wind that Liz was arriving. They told me that they'd found a girl. That she was 'special.' Not an alien, they said. Or at least they didn't think so. But she could feel things in others. She had the power to feel everything that you could feel, and she had the ability to read your thoughts if she tried hard enough.

When she arrived and I met her, I knew instantly that she was a part of us. I knew that she belonged with us. I knew that she was who you were waiting for, Max, all those years we were together. I could see it in her eyes, feel it in her heart. They thought she could give them answers, but she was not one of us. She is special, she has powers all her own, but she is not one of us. They asked her questions she did not know the answers to, and so they wanted to dispose of her.

They told me that I was to pretend to be on her side and convince her to run away with me. They told me that once we got into the woods around the compound, I was to kill her. We ran, but I did not kill Liz. The men were around us, so I told Liz to hide. First, I planted this image in her mind, but also I opened her mind. I opened her human mind to all of the powers that we possess. You will no longer be weakened by my absence.

I told them that she was dead, and made them see her body on the ground. And then I died. I died so that you could be free. I died so that you could have Liz, Max. I died so that she could finally end up where she belonged. I died to make up for everything I almost took away from you. I trust that you will embrace Liz and that she will become one of you, just as I always wished I would. I love you all more than you can imagine, and I want you to know that. Live your lives, and become one again. I hope that with what I did, I have set you free. And I hope that you will never feel lost again, Max. I love you, and goodbye.

The image of Tess slowly faded, her soft silhouette floating away like a fine steam, being carried away by the dry desert wind. The six friends stood, staring at one another as she left. The silence fell over them as they all simultaneously realized and understood what Tess had said.

Suddenly, everyone began speaking at once.

"Tess didn't betray us!?"

"She sent Liz to us!"

"She tried to make up for it by covering it up?"

"We were wrong all along."

"We blamed Tess for everything, but she tried to save us."

The voices clattered over one another. The air lifted around them as they felt the sweet release of fear from their hearts.

They shouted, hugged, cried, laughed. Over the noise, Max caught Liz's eyes over the jubilant cries of their friends. A small smile played on his lips as he slowly walked toward her, closing the gap between them. They stood on the outskirts of the group, their silent gaze hidden by the joy of their friends' laughter.

Liz stood, staring up at Max. She lifted her hand, running it lightly over his cheek.

"I'm sorry about Tess," she whispered, understanding the sorrow in his heart.

Max nodded. "Tess sacrificed herself. I will always miss her. She sacrificed herself so that I could live, and so that I could find you. Somehow she knew that you were meant for me. She could feel exactly what I felt when I opened my window and saw you lying on the grass outside. She could feel that you were a part of me." Max paused, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from in front of her eyes. "I never want to lose that part of me, Liz. You will forever be inside of me."

Liz felt the tears collect underneath her eyelids. Around her, the people who had taken her in and learned to trust her laughed and talked, and she knew that she had finally found where she belonged. She had lived for so many years unable to understand why she could never find her place. Her place was here, among her five new friends. A part of something larger than she could imagine. In Max Evans' arms.

She pushed herself up on her tip toes, allowing her lips to connect with his. "I love you," she said as she pulled away. "I think I've always loved you." As they stared at each other in the dying light of the desert evening, Liz and Max felt calm. In each other, they felt the connection of something they thought they had lost long ago.

And at that moment, Liz Parker was whole.