I don't own Roswell or any of its franchise, but I call dibs on Jason, should he ever become available!

A/N Hehe, you didn't see this update coming, now did you? I was just writing and couldn't seem to stop and voila, chapter seven;) Thank you all for your wonderful and kind reviews (I'm over 1oo!), I really appreciate them. I haven't replied to any of them this time around, for which I'm sorry, but I figured, you'd rather get an update as a thank you anyway. I hope you'll like the new developments! Enjoy!

- Thanks a million to Chaniebelle for betaing!-

Max's POV

They were stumbling along, both of them spent, exhausted and wounded in more places than one. Suddenly he felt her trip forward a bit too roughly for him to prevent and they both tumbled to their knees.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, an ominous looking blood trail falling from her mouth, "just leave me and get out before it's too late."

Noises from behind them were getting closer and there wasn't a doubt in either of their minds that death was coming for them. "No," he said, stubborn to the end. "We're gonna be okay; I'll think of something."

Her kind, yet old, eyes landed on him and for a brief moment she looked like the very young woman she was, and not one of his closest friends and more importantly, the girl, whose knowledge had helped them take down Khivar's second in command just mere thirty minutes ago. "It's no use…Liz wouldn't have wanted this, she would have wanted you to come back; they all would…Just, please, Max."

Max swallowed, ignoring the excruciating pain in his own limbs, "Forget it, I'll try to heal you again, this little break might have helped me." He held out a trembling, bloody hand and from it a slight glow started to come forth, but before he could use his powers, the glow fluttered and went away like a candle blown out by a gust of wind.

She smiled sadly, "It's no use, Max – you've used the last of your resources fighting Caden, while I took care of Caden's men."

The noise level grew louder and they heard footsteps. She blinked and suddenly got a very determined look in her eyes, "I'm not sorry for any of this, Max – Please don't be sorry. I'm grateful for the chance to know you and having you heal me that time. It was an honor to serve you, my King."

Max never saw it coming; suddenly she launched to her feet and started running towards their roaring pursuers, who'd been just about to reach them, "I'll kill you all, you sons of bitches!"

A moment later there was a loud, deafening boom, from the one grenade they hadn't used and Max flew backwards several feet. Blood spattering his face and pieces of something and someone was all around him, but Max didn't notice at the time, his entire being was consumed with grief over losing the last of his precious, human loved ones.

"SERENA!"

"No!" His eyes opened with an almost audible snap and he sat up, gasping from the emotional turmoil his nightmare had brought to the forefront of his mind. Absentmindedly, Max realized that once again, his control was waving when he spotted his entire bed was trembling approximately one foot above the floor.

With an effortlessness that could only come from vast amounts of practice, Max took a deep breath and regained control of himself. The bed gently settled down on the floor and the trembling around him came to an abrupt halt.

A few minutes later, Max exited his room and walked down to the kitchen, where he could hear Isabel and his mother chatting amiably. It was still a very surreal experience being around his mother in his sixteen year old body.

"…going away for a business trip, so you better be ready to see some home movies soon," his adopted mother warned Isabel with a happy smile on her face, just as he entered the kitchen. "Oh, good morning, honey."

A second later, the happiness dimmed a bit and she looked at him with a bit more seriousness in her eyes, "did you sleep okay?"

Isabel was eying him with too much interest and knowledge as well, but Max simply shrugged it off, muttering something about a bad dream as he reached over and took a plate, filling it up with a huge amount of chocolate chip pancakes. Inwardly he briefly lamented the lack of Tabasco sauce, but it didn't stop him from giving a rare smile of satisfaction at the first bite.

Dianne was smiling at his palpable contentment, before turning her attention back on her daughter, "Anyway, like I was saying; I'm not looking forward to spending my next four evenings alone, so you better help me occupy my time. I'm not seeing enough of you lately; either of you. Whatever it is you're spending all your time with Michael for, it can't be more important than your mother."

The royal siblings shared a brief look, but simply shrugged with a smile. Dianne rolled her eyes at their obvious dismissal and kept talking.

A few minutes later, Max breathed a sigh of relief when the phone rang, momentarily putting a stop to his mother's renewed, not too subtle attempt at coaxing out the story of his nightmare. When Dianne walked into the living room to gossip with one of her girlfriends, Max decided to ask about something that had been bothering him. Inwardly he knew that his rough night was a contributing factor to his sudden quest for information, he was eager to think about something else than what he'd experienced in his other lifetime.

He slowly turned to Isabel with a serious look in his dark eyes.

She blinked and raised a brow in question when he didn't say anything right away. Max remained silent, and she sat down her coffee cup and asked with a defensive tone in her voice, "What?"

Max glanced once behind him, making absolutely sure that Dianne wasn't about to walk in on them. "What's going on with you and Alex?"

Instantly, Isabel lost her haughty expression and looked down at the table. Her cheeks slowly, but unmistakably, turned a dark shade of crimson. "What about me and Alex?"

"Why is it that he's been looking oddly confused lately and whenever I've been looking at him, he's been rubbing his stomach?"

"Maybe he's got a mosquito bite, ever think of that? It could be serious, infected even."

Copying his sister's earlier movement, Max raised an eyebrow and didn't say anything to that absurd suggestion.

Isabel sighed in defeat a few seconds later, "I don't know what happened, honestly. I was just dreamwalking and then…I don't know."

Max frowned, his interest piqued, he leaned forward. "Dreamwalking? Did anything happen?"

"I might have kissed him." Isabel confessed, quickly adding before Max could get a word in, "and then there was this warm sensation in my whole body and light and…"she trailed off and then looked at him with wide, accusing eyes, "You didn't tell me that happened with you and Liz. Michael didn't either for that matter. Do you think it's the bond? And why didn't I ever have that with Jesse? I mean, I did marry him and I loved him, so…"

Max got up, walked over to the cabinet and took out and already opened bottle of Tabasco sauce. Only after he'd drippled a fair amount on their plates, and had put it back in its place, did he speak again. "I honestly don't know how it happened, Isabel, but I'm positive that you've created a bond with him somehow. If you're starting to feel emotions that aren't yours then you'll know for sure."

Isabel looked thoughtful, chewing a bite of her now perfectly seasoned meal, "Now that you mention it, I have been feeling a bit weird for a little while. But still, why didn't I have the bond with Jesse? I always wondered, but didn't wanna bring it up after Liz and Maria died."

Max forced himself not to react at the mention of that horrible day when he'd cradled Liz's lifeless body in his arms, and tried to think about what his sister was asking. "I think the reason you never bonded with Jesse was because you were already in a bonded relationship with Alex."

"What? No, I wasn't." Isabel argued and Max tried to explain.

"You once told me that you saw Alex after his death; could feel him as though he was next to you, right? I think that you were starting the bond around the time he died. I mean, Michael and I didn't know about our bonding until after we left Roswell, and S-Serena mentioned something about our," he looked around again to make sure they weren't being overheard, "alien side having to grow up and acknowledge our mates, but you've always been more mature than Michael and me, so I'm actually not surprised that you started to bond with your soulmate before we even left Roswell."

Isabel looked completely gobsmacked. That's roughly how I looked when I first discovered the complexities of the bond. I'd probably still be thoroughly confused if Serena hadn't sorted it out for me.

Max froze internally, Serena's last scream of defiance still very vivid in his mind. "What's wrong, Max?" Isabel had finally gotten over her surprise.

"Nothing," he muttered and got up to rinse his plate. "I'm going for a run." Why is it that I have barely thought about her since waking up here, and now she's in my head all the time?

"Max," his sister's solemn tone, made him pause and he looked up from where he was crouching to put on his running shoes. She was looking at him with a mixture of sadness and exasperation. "Please don't shut me out. We need to stand together this time from the beginning. Whatever it is, I'll handle it."

Max sighed and straightened up. He walked over to Isabel and gently placed his hand on her warm cheek. 'I'm sorry, Iz. I just dreamt about Serena tonight, I guess I've been focusing so much on getting back to Liz that my conscience wanted to remind me what I have to prevent this time around.'

He showed her his dream in flashes and Isabel nodded gravely with a small glint of guilt in her eyes. Apparently she too had been focused on finding her lost love and not much else since returning. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

Max ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Yeah, me too. I still have to get used to the whole idea about not keeping things bottled up. Usually Liz was the only one, who could make me see sense and now with the whole Topolsky thing-"

"Who's Topolsky?"

Dianne's cheerful voice snapped the two hybrids from their serious conversation and they turned to their mother. "No one." They said in unison and a few minutes later, Dianne watched in confused amusement as her children literally ran out the door for a jog.

Alex's POV

He awoke with a start, gasping for air, frantically clutching his stomach. Glancing down with a frown, Alex sighed. That makes it the third time I've woken up like this; this is getting ridiculous.

Ever since that strange dream where he'd kissed Isabel Evans, he'd been walking around with an odd feeling inside. His stomach kept itching at the most inopportune moments and he was really getting sick of it. The only time the sensation seemed to calm was, ironically enough, whenever he was within viewing distance of Isabel.

Deciding to stop thinking about the girl of his dreams (literally), Alex sighed and got ready for the new day. His focus slipped from Isabel to a new problem, two problems in fact. Liz and Maria were hiding something from him. A lot could be said about Alex, but he wasn't unobservant.

Liz had been acting strange ever since the shooting at the diner and Maria had developed a weird looking tic whenever he came near them. She acted like she did when they were kids and she was trying her hardest to act casual while keeping secrets from him.

Like then, it wasn't really working out for her this time around and Alex was getting mighty sick of all the stopped sentences and guilty glances whenever he was around either of them. And then there was the whole thing with Max and Michael.

The two boys had stuck around him like glue ever since the gym incident; they were complete mysteries and for some weird reason they seemed to want to hang out with him. For a boy, whose only real friends had always been girls, this was a new phenomenon.

And then there's the whole thing about them staring at me whenever they think I'm not looking. It's creeping me out. Alex finished his last spoonful of soggy cereal and sighed. Maybe Maria was right; they're on to something, worming their way in somehow…but for what reason?

Alex shook off his dark thoughts and with renewed determination; he left the house and made his way to the Crashdown, knowing that his two best friends were working the morning shift. I won't move until they've talked to me, the tall teenager swore to himself.

Alex was distracted halfway to his goal by a sight that made him eternally grateful for having put on some loose pants. Isabel Evans was running towards him, wearing a tight black top and some sweatpants. She was jogging next to her brother. To Alex's mild envy they looked like they could keep going forever, like they were made for it.

A moment later, Isabel spotted him and started running a little faster towards him. Alex's heart rate increased and he remembered his dream, where Isabel had said so softly, "I'm not inapproachable, you can talk to me and I swear I won't turn you down."

"Good morning, Alex," Isabel's voice brought him back to the present and he looked into her beautiful eyes and felt a peculiar lurch just above his navel. Excitement that didn't seem to actually come from him, but the emotion matched his own enough so he quickly forgot about it.

"Hi, Isabel." He was proud that he didn't stutter. His eyes slid over to the silently watching Max. He really does looks way too old to be a teenager, Alex thought, unconsciously taking a small step backwards as his instincts acknowledged that the male before him was stronger.

"So," Isabel didn't seem to notice Alex's discomfort, "I'm just out running with my brother."

"Yeah," Alex smiled, "I kindda noticed that."

Isabel had a brief look of mortification on her face, before she realized that he wasn't mocking her for stating the obvious. She sent him a wide smile. "I was wondering if you'd like to meet at the Crashdown for some early lunch later?"

Max coughed and stepped a few steps away, evidently willing to give them their privacy. Something Alex was grateful for, although he was now sort of friends with the quiet Evans, it wasn't a secret that he was extremely close to his sister and thus very protective.

"Sure, I'm just on my way there, actually." Alex finally replied when Isabel seemed to get a bit worried about his lack of answer. He was rewarded with another big smile that lit up her entire face. Alex practically drooled at the sight. Is she interested in me? Alex Whitman, the King of dorks in Roswell?

"Well, I'll just run home and take a shower," Isabel stated, "I'll meet you there in an hour or so, okay?"

When Alex nodded, a bit distracted by the doubled feeling of jubilant joy in his belly, Isabel caught Max's eye and they hurried onwards in the direction of their house.

As Alex walked the rest of the way to the Crashdown, his determination to question his friends were put in the back of his mind, he was much more interested in asking them for advice in how to act around the stunning girl that was Isabel Evans.

When he stepped into the Crashdown, the familiar smell only heightened his mood. There was just something about the smell of fried foods that spoke to him. His eyes immediately landed on Liz, who was leaning on the counter, looking bored out of her mind. Maria stood next to her, looking, if possible, even more bored.

Alex could understand that, the diner was practically empty. "Hey Liz, hey Maria" he waved at them. They actually flinched in chorus at his greeting and Alex frowned. And we're back to the reason I wanted to go here…

With a deep sigh, Alex strode up to the two young women, placing himself on one of the stools. "So," he began, casually looking through the menu he knew by heart already, "what's up?"

Maria shrugged and started wiping the counter. Liz busied herself by filling the salt shakers, not looking at him as she answered, "not much, you?"

Deciding not to pressure them right now, Alex smiled happily, "Well, I think I've got a lunch date with Isabel."

The salt shaker in Liz's hand slipped from her grasp, and fell to the floor and shattered. Liz didn't care apparently, she simply continued looking at him with big eyes. "Isabel as in Isabel Evans? What? Tell me everything?" Maria stood frozen with her mouth opened in disbelief, obviously just as curious and dumbfounded as Liz.

For just one little moment, Alex felt the wall they'd raised between them crumple to the ground in their eagerness and he quickly dove into his tale about how the magnificent Isabel had actually been the one to ask him and not the other way around. The three of them were so busy talking that neither of them noticed that they were all gently rubbing their stomachs.

Isabel's POV

Today has been a great day, Isabel decided as she sat quietly next to a pensive Max. In the backseat, Michael was eying the landscape with an equally thoughtful look on his face. Isabel knew that she should try and be a bit more serious too, usually it was something she excelled at; her nickname in the war had been Ice Queen after all, but after the day she'd had, Isabel wasn't really in the mood to go to the desert to try and come up with some plans for avoiding the F.B.I or anything alien related.

Realizing that the two other hybrids were not willing to listen to her babble about what a wonderful time she'd had with her lost love, Isabel leaned her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes with a contented sigh.

The way Alex's face had brightened when she walked into the diner caused her insides to tingle; his shy grins whenever he was joking and realized that she in fact understood and liked his humor. The best part, Isabel thought with another unusually happy sigh, had to be when I kissed his cheek before I left. His whole face turned red, it was so adorable.

As Max drove them to their destination, Isabel refused to remember the last time she'd been here. She really didn't want to remember Khivar's furious expression as they closed the path into the cave with their powers, how he swore to kill them and especially her, his old lover, slowly and painfully.

Isabel shook her head, trying to let go of the hated memories that just seemed to slip in regardless of her struggles. Alex, think of Alex and his goofy smile; his warm eyes and the fact that you finally have a bond with someone!

Her mood restored, Isabel followed her family out the jeep and walked next to them as they made their way to the hidden cave that concealed the granolith. She looked over at Michael, curious to see how he was taking being back in a place where they had so many nightmarish memories. He was looking pale, but his jaw was clenched and he was clearly not going to let their bloody past overwhelm him. Good, she thought proudly.

Isabel smiled a small smile before looking over at her brother; her smile froze on her face and her steps faltered a bit. The Max Evans she'd been seeing ever since returning to the past, the Max Evans who'd tried his best to fit in as a sixteen year old again, was no more. His face was a blank mask, the same emptiness that he'd shown ever since Liz's death was back. This was the face of her King. Not good, Isabel thought with a frown.

"Max?"

Michael seemed to notice the same thing as she did and shook off his own gloom and walked up right next to Max, who was looking at Isabel with a raised brow, just like he'd done this morning. Only that time it didn't scare me like it does now…

"Yes, Isabel?" He asked when she didn't speak after saying his name.

Isabel hesitated, but ultimately decided to be blunt, "don't turn into him again, okay?"

Max blinked in confusion, but when he saw that Michael was nodding in agreement with Isabel, realization seemed to dawn on him and his eyes turned warmer; more alive. "Sorry, I was just remembering."

"I know," Michael spoke for them both and shrugged, "me too. But let's go do what we came here for and stop stalling."

Max nodded and Isabel silently followed while she was secretly very relieved to see the human side of Max reappear. The war had changed them all; the deaths of their friends and the people, who fought for them, had been one of the major reasons for that change. The kills they'd had to make to survive and stay one step ahead of Khivar was another. Ultimately, none of them had changed more so than her brother.

He'd always been idealistic and somewhat hopeful for their success, especially after Serena and the Unit had entered their lives, but after Kyle, Serena, Maria and Liz had all died in some way or form to protect him; the biggest hope for the Antarians, Max had literally turned into another person. He killed without mercy, living only for vengeance. He no longer gave a damn about saving his home planet; he just wanted to see Khivar dead. Along the way, Max had transformed into someone that quite frankly scared the crap out of Isabel and she was not happy to see any kind of sign of his return.

No matter what, Isabel swore, not for the first time, I'm not letting that happen again!

A few minutes later, the trio had reached the podchamber and Max mutely placed his hand where it needed to be and before long the heavy stone slid aside, allowing them entrance.

It was odd being back in the chamber and Isabel's skin was itching in discomfort. Her eyes landed on the spot where she'd mercilessly killed the only one of Khivar's men that had ever managed to gain entrance to the podchamber, just moments before waking up in her bed in this timeline.

"It's okay, Iz," surprisingly, the comforting voice belonged to Max, "if you'd be more comfortable, we'll go outside."

"No," Isabel shook her head, "I think it's good for us to see this again and focus on not making the same mistakes. Let's just start planning before I lose the last of my good mood, please."

They sat down on the cool stone floor and Isabel and Michael looked at Max, unconsciously doing what they had promised not to, placing all their expectations on his shoulders. Fortunately, Max was so used to this that he didn't seem to realize what they were doing.

"I have an idea, but I'm not sure you're gonna like it," he began after a small pause.

Isabel crossed her arms; she suddenly had a very bad feeling in her chest. Michael, on the other hand, gestured for Max to continue without saying anything.

"I suggest that we initiate contact with Nasedo and then proceed to kill Pierce so Nasedo can do what he did the first time around and take down the Special Unit from the inside."

"No!" Isabel's hate for Nasedo flared to life and she jumped to her feet. "We can't do that, it's asking for trouble!"

Max calmly nodded, "Yes, but at least we know what to expect from him and…"for one brief moment, something dangerous flashed in Max's eyes, "Tess. We now know that he has to follow my orders, remember? And whether we like it or not, Tess hasn't actually done anything yet, so we can't go on hating her."

"Oh yes we damned well can," Michael joined the discussion with a dark expression on his face. "Khivar wouldn't have known half of what he did about us, if that two-faced bitch hadn't ratted us out to save her own neck."

Max got to his feet, he looked at them with disappointment and Isabel suddenly couldn't bear to face him. Judging from the fidgeting Michael was doing, he was having similar difficulties, "Don't forget that I know firsthand just how much she betrayed us, but," Max held up a hand, "if I'm willing to try and get past it so we can save everything and everyone we hold dear, you two should try and do the same. Especially you Michael…"

There was a long silence and then Michael slowly stood up, facing Max. Isabel watched with amazement, how he gave a short bow and stated seriously, "You're right, Max. I'm not willing to risk Maria's life again, so I'll follow you like I always have."

Max nodded once and locked eyes with Isabel. She still couldn't look him in the eye and looked away. It was true that Max had suffered the most from Tess's betrayal; not taking into account what had happened during their time in Roswell, Tess had leaked information during her pregnancy on Antar and Khivar had used that knowledge ruthlessly to capture Max and torture him in an attempt to lure out the rest of the rebels, but even after two weeks, Max hadn't broken from the pressure, and when Liz led Serena's Gifted Unit in a rescue attempt, only Max, Serena and two from her unit had made it back out alive.

The memory of watching the extremely battered Max cling to Liz's body and sobbing was still one of the worst ones she'd ever lived through. And then we lost Maria only a few hours after that, Isabel sadly recollected. Losing Alex was one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through, but I can't let any of that happen again; it's not only his life that's on the line…

Finally, having made her decision, Isabel looked back up and met her brother's eyes confidently. "I'm in."

Max's POV

It was late in the evening and Max was about to begin the first phase of his plan. He felt Michael's presence behind him, watching his back in case of trouble. For a person like him, a locked door didn't pose much difficulty, but in this case, he didn't even have to use his powers; his photographic memory already made sure that he knew the code to enter the building.

"It's kindda weird doing this again," Michael whispered with a silent grin, "considering that last time you were chewing me out for breaking in here."

Max rolled his eyes and closed the door to the UFO center quietly behind him, "Don't start, okay?"

After having finally come up with a battle plan, Max was almost eager to get it underway. He couldn't wait to get the F.B.I out of their lives – especially agent Pierce. This time he's not gonna get one chance to go near Liz and the rest of them, Max promised inwardly as he soundlessly walked into the computer room where his former boss, Milton and later Brody had stored some pretty neat stuff, considering it was just human technology.

Five minutes later, Max looked up at the impatient Michael. "I found it; he's actually easy to find once you remember what Serena taught us."

Nodding, Michael said, "Great, now finish what you have to do and let's get outta here before-"

The light was suddenly turned on and both hybrids tensed, preparing themselves for a fight; only to deflate slightly when Milton stepped inside the office with an angry expression on his face. "What are you two doing? I'm gonna call the cops!"

Michael looked like he wanted to flatten the pompous little alien believer, but Max quickly intervened. He still remembered how to handle the fanatic curator. "Please don't Mr. Ross. We're sorry. I swear I'm not doing anything dangerous." Not yet anyway, Max added on the inside.

Milton frowned, still looking angry and Max continued, acting every bit as fanatic as Milton usually did, "I just…I heard about a UFO sighting in the area and I know that this place is the best place to find information and I'm just so sorry; please don't call the cops! My parents will kill me!" Unnoticed, Max pressed the last few keys and finished his self-appointed mission.

Michael couldn't quite conceal the shock on his face, seeing Max acting like a kid caught with his hand stuck in the cookie jar, but he tried his best; nodding along to Max's explanation.

Fortunately all of Milton's attention was on Max so he didn't notice Michael's less than stellar acting abilities. "What sighting? The scanner I have didn't mention any UFO sightings," he asked after a brief pause.

Max swallowed a curse, he'd forgotten about Milton's police scanner. "Well, it wasn't really a confirmed sighting," he slowly said, looking down bashfully, "I mean; I read about it in my school paper and thought I'd just check it out. I'm just so eager. We're so eager, right?" Max glanced at Michael, who nodded fervently.

"Well," Milton said, almost reluctantly letting go of the phone in his hand, "I can understand your enthusiasm kid and even respect it as an enthusiastic believer myself, but trust me, there hasn't been any sightings around here. And I'd appreciate it a lot if you'd come around during business hours in the future."

Max breathed a sigh of relief when Milton stepped aside, allowing them to pass. They were almost at the front doors and Michael had just whispered, "That was a bit too close, even for me, Maxwell," when they heard the curator call out to them, or more specifically Max.

"Hey kid, can I talk to you?"

Max nodded and stepped away from Michael, so the older man could talk to him in private. "Look, I like you," Milton began, "like I said, you've got something I can relate too. Fire and drive. Unlike that big loaf over there," he pointed none too discreetly at Michael, "I can only offer you minimum wages and the hours aren't all that good, but I've got a lot of things a believer such as yourself might find interesting."

Fifteen minutes later, Max exited the UFO center, loaded with books, followed by an outright grinning Michael. "Oh, man, this is priceless," Michael declared. "We learn all about our heritage from our little healed girl genius, discover about unknown abilities due to all our dangerous adventures, travel through time itself and still you end up working for an obsessed extremist."

"Shut up."

"Like I said," Michael repeated, "priceless."

"Well," Max tried to think of the bigger picture, "at least we succeeded in our job. Now all we can do is wait."

For one short moment, Michael regained his seriousness. "Yeah and hope to hell it doesn't blow up in our faces."

"That too." Max said evenly and unloaded all Milton's alien books in the back of his jeep. "Wanna sleep at my house tonight?" he then asked, trying to think of something else.

Michael ran a hand through his hair, "maybe later; right now I just sort of feel like I need to spend some time around Maria. Don't worry," he continued, "I'll behave."

Max smiled briefly. "I know. I'd go watch over Liz if it wasn't because Isabel needs to know how everything turned out. I have a feeling that all the emotions of today will have filtered through the bond. Just remember to actually get some sleep."

Michael agreed and Max quickly started the jeep and drove home to tell Isabel of their success and his new, yet old, job. At least she won't mock me; he thought with a grimace, she's working part time at the Crashdown now, so she isn't allowed to point fingers...

Maria's POV

Maria was sitting by her window, looking out the glass onto the empty street. Why, she didn't really know, she just had a feeling that she should do that. There was a sudden stagger in her belly and Maria groaned loudly, placing her hand on her abdomen.

This time it was pure amusement that filtered through to her. At least it's changing into something bearable now, Maria thought sourly. All through the day, her mood had jumped up and down; she'd felt that odd pull inside her that somehow let her know of Michael's emotions.

Earlier in the day, it had been almost painful, a wave of sorrow, anger, guilt and then unyielding respect flew at her. She almost felt like she'd been hit in the stomach with a bat or something like that. One look at Liz's pale face, told her that her best friend was living through something of the same; except for the fact that Liz had actually run past her into the toilet where she'd been sick for a pretty long time before Mr. Parker had sent her upstairs with a firm order to rest.

How long she'd been sitting there on the windowsill lost in thought, Maria didn't know, but suddenly she noticed a familiar shadow on the other side of the road. Unexplainably she suddenly felt a mental image flash through her mind, like déjà vu; the same shadow lurking in the dark, staring at her through the heavy rain with big puppy dog eyes.

Maria scrambled to her feet, opening the window and sticking her head out. "What are you doing here, Guerin?"

Michael stepped closer and the nearby streetlamp enveloped him in light, allowing her to see him much clearer. He really is quite handsome, Maria thought, but she forced the traitorous thought back, not willing to feel even the slightest bit of attraction to an alien; no matter how cute he was.

"Nothing," Michael answered with a small smile on his lips. Maria tried not to look at them and instead focused on his eyes. "I guess I wanted to make sure you were alright after…everything."

Biting her bottom lip, Maria thought about how she'd kicked him in the groin, how hurt he'd looked at her for just one second before the real pain set in and he fell to the ground with a moan of agony.

"I'm coping," she settled on saying and then said in a rush, "and I'm sorry about lashing out on you and I hope you're not permanently injured."

Michael smiled, it was a slow, wide smile that re-invited the thought about his looks into Maria's mind, "I'm fine now, thanks. Like I said, I just wanted to check up on you. Make sure, you're not sniffing too many drops and trying to cope with everything on your own."

"I've got Liz," Maria stated quietly, not really noticing that she was leaning further and further out the window.

Michael nodded. "Yeah, you two have always been quite a pair, haven't you?" Maria could suddenly feel a short stab of grief and determination inside her and she frowned, pondering its meaning.

"Well," Michael's voice brought her back to the present. "I'm gonna go now. I'll see you in school first thing Monday, DeLuca. "

Before she knew it, Michael had taken the last few steps to reach her and his warm hand touched her neck gently, almost reverently and he had pressed a quick, chaste kiss on her right cheek. "Sleep well."

A moment later, he was gone and Maria slowly stumbled back into her room. She was completely confused. On one hand Michael Guerin was the kid, who she'd always loathed. The guy, who'd had the audacity to say that she was a crappy waitress because she told him that tips wasn't a city in Russia. The guy, who'd turned out to be a freaking alien!

And then…Maria sighed, on the other hand, Michael Guerin was the guy, who'd jumped in and shielded her with his body at the day of the shooting, the guy, who'd comforted her after getting injured at the diner and called her baby of all things.

I need to bring out the big guns, Maria decided after having tossed and turned in her bed for nearly an hour, still wholly awake. She turned to her nightstand and took out the bottle of calming drops that her mom had made her swear only to use in dire emergencies.

And if this isn't an emergency, Maria thought resolutely, I don't know what is! Five minutes later, she was fast asleep.

Somewhere in Seattle

A continuous beep resonated all through the small, unfurnished house. Feeling surprised for once, he reached out, grapping the device and looked at it with furrowed brows before pressing a few of the glowing buttons. The sound abruptly stopped and a message came spilling forth in a code that he hadn't seen since his days as an active soldier.

"Well, isn't that interesting," he muttered quietly, reading the whole thing with an intense look in his eyes. He had waited a long time for some kind of sign from the King, but nothing like this. "Interesting indeed."

"What are you doing, Nasedo?"

Nasedo looked up from the message and smirked coolly at the pretty, young, blond girl standing in the door. "I think it's time we moved back to the rest of our family," he simply stated, ignoring her surprise. "Start packing, we leave in the morning."

TBC…

A/N *peeks out from behind the sofa* Hope you're not disappointed ;) I know I've written a lot of Michael and Maria, but I'm using the canon as a reference. Those two were always explosive and quick to get things going; whereas we waited a looong time for Max and Liz to even kiss. Don't worry, I'm planning to go into depths with all the couples eventually; but like I said, this story is not going to be rushed.

As for Serena, you'll learn about her background in a future chapter; I can reveal that you have met her before though in the canon, but I don't think you'll know who I'm hinting at -I'm trying to be original after all;)…lol. Please take a moment to award my quick update (and it's still a long chapter too!) with a little review ;) Until next time

Ditte Mai