I don't own Roswell or any of its franchise, but I call dibs just in case it's ever available…

A/N Hi all. Merry belated Xmas and Happy New Year. I hope it all went well for you and yours! Thanks for all the reviews; they really helped me not procrastinate any longer. Hehe. This chapter isn't as long as the other one and that's mostly because it's a transition chapter. Next time will be a lot more intense, I promise. That said; I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

This chapter is unbetaed, so if you spot any big (or small) grammar issues, please don't hesitate to let me know! Thanks in advance for any assistance!

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Liz's POV

The customers in the Crashdown looked up with puzzled and curious gazes when Liz stormed inside, her usually so pretty features twisted together unattractively as she sneered in silent anger.

The fuming brunette didn't acknowledge the questioning glance her father sent her from behind the counter, no, instead she marched past him and out the backdoor and all but stomped up to her room and slammed the door behind her, practically shaking the building in its very foundations.

Within seconds, she'd grabbed a pillow off her bed and was screaming into it to muffle the sound a bit. When it didn't help her mood at all, Liz threw the fluffy pillow at the wall with all her might, watching it fall down softly without inflicting any damage. It was very unsatisfying. She wanted to push all of her things down from her cluttered desk, see it shatter into a million pieces with a rewarding amount of sound. But the small and always logical filled part of her pointed out that it'd be a brief joy and there were things on her desk that she'd had treasured for years.

Instead, she sat on the bed and glared at the walls surrounding her. She got to sit undisturbed for about two minutes after that, when Maria burst through the door with her eyes widened and her mouth practically agape. To be fair, it was pretty unusual for Liz to be the drama queen in their friendship.

"Okay," Maria began, cautiously sitting down next to the still glaring Liz, "so you basically walked right by me down there and your shift started fifteen minutes ago…Your dad sent me up here, he told me to tell you that he doesn't even care why you've left your room when you're supposedly sick from, and I quote, "female problems," and only wants you downstairs and ready to work as soon as possible. Queen Amidala, or as you like to call her, Isabel hasn't bothered showing up today and Agnes is at her daughter's house this week…Oh, screw it," Maria huffed and grabbed an unresponsive Liz's shoulders, turning her around to face her.

"Mind telling me what the hell happened today? Michael's emotions went all over the place and I could barely sit down before feeling like I had to puke, then you come in looking like you do and Isabel doesn't show up and even though I'm not fond of it, it can't be denied that she's a really good worker. Tell me everything or I swear, I'm gonna do something really horrible that I can't' really come up with right now, but when I do it's gonna be legendary so spill it!"

Liz blinked and could see the growing horror on her best friend's face when her tears welled up and Liz hated that she wasn't stronger. I never cry. I shouldn't be feeling like this just because the boy I love is lying to me…

"Liz, what's wrong?" Maria's tone was now gentle and soft and she took Liz's hands in her own, waiting for some kind of explanation with a little more patience than she'd shown minutes before. "I'm listening,
Honey."

"It's about Max," Liz explained, half hoping that the warning would make Maria run downstairs and leave her bed, while at the same time, needing her best friend to stay put and be her support.

Once again, Maria proved to Liz just how good a friend she really was, because she mutely nodded and waited for Liz to explain.

"Well," Liz started, "you know I told you about the weird flashes that I got when I reopened the connection between me and Max."

"Yeah, if by reopening, you mean kissed his brains out, go ahead," Maria teased with a small smile, obviously seeking to lift Liz's spirit a bit.

"I've been having dreams ever since. Dreams that shouldn't really matter, except they do because it's like I'm remembering stuff that I've forgotten and this morning I just had enough and wanted to see if what I dreamt was real. I found this metallic orb thing in the desert just where I dreamt it was and…" Liz paused, biting her lip nervously before continuing, "And I sought out Max to confront him about it. He was at Tess' place with Michael of all people."

Maria froze. "What? Michael was at New Girl's house? Why? Did they like, look cozy together? Did she twirl her stupid curls around, making gooey eyes at him? Aaaand, that's not what I should be focusing on right now. Continue."

Liz smiled a bit, the first less than morose expression on her face since Maria arrived. "For the record, she wasn't even there. Anyway, I showed Max the orb thing and he literally went blank. It was weird. I got nothing, it was like there was no bond at all the moment he saw it. And his eyes, Maria; they looked really bad. It was almost like…You know what, I can't explain it properly, so let's just skip it. I tried to get him to open up and tell me what it was and what he wasn't telling me, because let's face it; things have been pretty abnormal lately for all of us. Then…"

Liz looked down at her hands in her lap, unable to continue for a moment, as the memory of Max's emotionless mask entered her mind. She didn't think she'd ever truly get over the fact that she'd been the one to make him look like that, like a living dead.

"Liz?" Maria's voice brought Liz back to the present and she looked up, meeting the concerned gaze of her best friend. "Then what happened?"

"I don't really remember to be honest. I tried to send him some kind of emotion to jumpstart him again. I mean, he looked not only blank, but exhausted too, like he'd been having a rough day. Michael seemed kind of protective of Max before I got him alone, so I think something's happened."

"Yeah, me too," Maria added, looking thoughtful. "Like I said, Isabel isn't here, so that makes all three of the Czechoslovakians unavailable. But that's not important right now, I need to hear the rest of the story whatever it is."

"Okay," Liz took a deep breath, knowing that what she'd done wasn't exactly up to par with the usual mature way she acted. "Somehow I told him that I wanted the truth and that if he cared as much about me as I did him, he shouldn't keep secrets. He didn't respond and I lost my temper. To be completely honest, I think I might have tapped into his unexpressed anger, because I totally blew up when he didn't confess whatever it was and went home and you know the rest. And to top it all off, I think I might be getting a stupid cold…" Liz ended her story with a small pout as she crawled further into the bed, making more room for Maria.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Maria agreed a moment later, and sighed loudly, sitting back against the headboard with a frown marring her face. "It doesn't sound good, Liz. But I do think you have a point about the anger; you losing your cool so often isn't like you and when you do, you're way better at speaking and more mature; I mean, I'm usually the one stomping away and having screaming matches with my pillow."

Liz chuckled tiredly, closing her eyes and leaning her head on Maria's shoulder. "I know."

"So, in an attempt to get my more levelheaded friend back, I'm gonna suggest that you get downstairs and work so your thoughts and suspicions don't turn into something more. Come on, Baby Girl." Maria slapped Liz on the leg gently and stood up.

She's right, Liz realized as she quickly changed her clothes, I'm much more mature than this and I need to talk more with Max, preferably without getting us into another argument. A few hours of work is just what I need to clear my head. I have to make Max trust me with whatever it is he's hiding and I need to figure out a way to apologize for blowing up at him too…

Liz barely managed to button the last button on her uniform before Maria grabbed her wrist and dragged her downstairs, where her dad kept his promise and didn't interrogate her about whatever it was she'd been doing.

Max's POV

"…that's how he was able to heal you," Max heard Isabel explain quietly to Alex as he finally reentered Tess and Nasedo's house.

"Th-That's just…I mean, you're and they? No, I…" Alex's voice was shaky and Max didn't have to look at him to know that he was freaking out. The tall teen's eyes were darting around the room and he jumped a bit when his gaze locked into Max's.

Evidently, on some level he'd felt the connection forming during the healing, and unlike when Max had healed Liz, he wasn't soothed at all.

"Well, it's late and I gotta go home; my parents must be worried sick and…" Alex trailed off and without looking at any of them, especially the frozen Isabel, kneeling in front of him, he left the Harding's house as though he was being threatened on his life.

Max licked his dry lips and looked down at his sister. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he could feel something other than his own sadness and despair over his situation with his once in another life spouse. An almost crushing wave of compassion flew over him as he watched the immobile Isabel silently suffer.

After a few minutes, Max walked over to Isabel and without a word, he just took her in his arms and offered his strength to lean on. 'It's gonna be okay, Iz' he thought out to her and caressed her long hair gently; 'everything is going to be better tomorrow'.

A shadow loomed over them and Max tensed and looked up, ready for anything, only to slightly deflate when he met Michael' stony eyes.

Max didn't get a chance to say anything before Michael, in a completely uncharacteristic move, sat down behind Isabel and embraced her as well, copying Max's silent approach. The contact seemed to be the last straw for Isabel, because she started to shake and her eyes teared up and she let herself cry.

'He's never looked at me like that before', Isabel thought out to them after several minutes of quiet sobbing. 'It was like he was afraid of me and he's never looked at me with fear before, not even in our last life'.

Michael tightened his grip on Isabel and Max heard his response as clearly as had he spoken it out loud. 'It's a lot to take in any day. Cut him some slack, he was almost…you know killed, by the girl he crushes on. We have to remember that he's sixteen, they're all sixteen.'

Max couldn't help but feel that it was a not so subtle hint for him about Liz and he sighed into his sister's soft hair. Suddenly, Isabel chuckled and the sound warmed Max's heart. 'What?' he asked and pulled back to meet her red rimmed eyes with a raised brow.

'I just can't get used to Michael being the most mature one of us right now.' Isabel replied with a small smile in Michael's direction.

Michael grunted and shrugged with mock nonchalance. 'You're telling me; I still can't get over the fact that right now, I'm the one with the most stable relationship; and I married Maria, remember?'

They all let out a small huff of laughter, it was almost painful to Max, like he'd all but forgotten how to have fun these days.

"Okay, I know we all need to talk about what happened," Tess' voice interrupted the trio's small moment of peace, "but I have to say, you're creeping me out a little bit."

Max's mood changed immediately, and he quickly got to his feet; not feeling secure with having to look up at his enemy. A quick glance around the room, told him that Nasedo was still absent and he settled all his attention back on Tess.

Tess paled, but stood her ground. Her attempt of looking like she wasn't the least bit scared was slightly marred by the fact that she was involuntarily biting her lip. Max didn't speak, waited to hear her jump into numerous excuses. To his surprise, Tess didn't behave as he'd expected. Instead, she straightened up and met his eyes head on for, perhaps the first time ever in this timeline.

"I know I messed up and because of me, someone almost got killed and I'm sorry. I think I acted prematurely on some levels. I'm still not convinced that your aversion to my abilities is healthy in the long run, because they're useful and all that, but…" Tess looked down; it was like Max's eyes were too hard for her to look into for too long. "But all of you have to understand where I'm coming from too. I grew up with Nasedo as my only confidante. He's never actually been fond of humans and I've always been alone, whereas you three always had each other. Then I came here and found to my surprise that I kindda liked a few humans and my life here and I guess I was scared out of my mind to lose it because you seem to want to share your secret with all the humans you meet."

There was a beat of silence, before Tess added quietly, with a regretful look at Isabel, "but I never intended for anyone to get hurt. Hell, I don't even know how Alex knew where to find you in the first place. I'm sorry."

"Are you gonna undo the mindwarp on Kyle?" To Max's mild surprise, it was Michael that asked the question as he gracefully stood back up, holding out a hand to Isabel as she did the same.

Tess glanced at Max and he knew the answer before she even said anything. "I-I can't. I'm sorry."

"Why? You already saw what it's done to your relationship with us! I can't believe-" Tess held up her hands in a placating manner, stopping Michael's rage for the moment.

"It's not a matter of not wanting to do it anymore, Michael." Her eyes sought out Isabel and she continued softly, "but I can't. I don't know how yet. It's never come up before. I can't undo what I did, even if I wanted to."

"And you don't want to…not really," Max spoke up, trying to stay calm as on top of his own emotions, he was attacked by Liz's anger and uncertainty from the inside, tempting him to lose his temper.

Tess sighed and ran a hand through her messy curls. "I don't know to be honest. I was scared that Kyle knowing about us would make him hate me. For some reason, I seemed to have connected more with him than any other human. I even considered using my powers on Liz because she was such a great friend, but then I realized she already knew about us and you're all attached to her too."

"And had your powers even touched Liz, I would've known," Max informed Tess, fighting off the desire to show the woman he'd married in another world just what he'd do if she ever dared truly thinking about using her mindwarp on Liz. "And then make no mistake, I would've killed you." He finished off his warning, ignoring the way the blood rapidly vanished from Tess' already pale face as she replied quietly.

"I'm beginning to see that you three aren't normal high school students even with the alien DNA thing. You're way more ruthless than I could ever be."

Max quickly met Michael's eyes, when Isabel suddenly burst out into a shaky laugh. "You have no idea, Tess. Come on guys, we need to head home now. I'm tired."

Max nodded and waited till Michael had led Isabel out the front door before turning back to Tess. "We want to include you, but pull another stunt like this again and you won't only have Isabel to deal with. And remember this," Max placed his hand almost tenderly on Tess' shaking shoulder. "We're the ones giving orders, not your guardian; don't let his twisted viewpoint on humanity kill what's left of yours. See you tomorrow…"

0o0o0

When the alarm started ringing early next morning, Max sat up and quickly silenced the damned thing. He felt an unusual warmth next to him and looked over at Isabel with a sad smile as the memories of the day before assaulted his mind.

Isabel was pale, and her cheeks were blotchy. It was easy to see that even despite the calm façade she'd shown to Tess before leaving her house had cracked the moment she'd gotten home and been able to think about everything that had happened without distractions.

Max looked at his sister with a small smile still etched on his lips as he recalled how she'd snuck into his room in the middle of the night like she used to do when they were little and had first arrived at the Evans' house. I have to somehow talk to Alex and make him understand that what happened yesterday was not a normal thing; if he starts avoiding Isabel now, she'll break down completely. Living long enough to come back here and make sure he survives so they can be together has been what's kept her sane for so long…

A hint of worry started bubbling in Max's stomach as he kept staring at a still sleeping Isabel. Or so he thought anyway.

"Would you please not look at me like I'm one of the exhibits at the UFO center, Max?" Her voice was rough, but solid and he knew she wanted to act like everything was fine, so he simply nodded and got up, grabbed some fresh clothes and went to the bathroom to get ready for a new day.

A while later the two hybrids went to pick up Michael, who was still living in the trailer, until Mr. Evans could get him emancipated and free to find an apartment on his own.

Max nodded seriously in greeting when he met Michael's gaze for a second before it travelled over to a silent, but apparently coping Isabel. Michael jumped in the back and started talking about random stuff in a manner that Maria had done so many times before in the original timeline.

Max was only listening with a half ear; now that Michael was able to distract Isabel a bit, he had a chance to focus on his own predicament for a minute or two. Liz's anger had faded into annoyance by the time that Max had gone to bed, but he knew that her quest for answers was nowhere near finished. A part of him actually wanted to just come out and tell her everything, but realistically, Max knew that no sixteen year old would be able to handle what he had to say, no matter how mature said teenager was.

"…flyer for that camping thing in Frazier Wood with the Dads'." Michael's words brought Max back to the present and he glanced over at Isabel, who was smiling softly to herself.

"Wait," Max held up a hand, bringing the other two's attention to him, "should we still go? I mean, this time we don't have to look into any alleged crash, because Nasedo is already here and doesn't have any need to send us signals of his arrival. The sheriff isn't as fanatic as he was last time, at least that we know of, and…" he didn't know what else to say.

Surprisingly it was Isabel that continued, "I think we should go. It was a good bonding moment for all of us back then. Maybe it'll work again; I mean, let's face it, aside from Michael, none of us are having much luck in getting back together with our loved ones."

"Again," Michael said with a smirk plastered on his face, "let me point out how that is not what I expected either."

Max sent him a small grin and they didn't speak again until they exited the car in the school's parking lot. Isabel was fiddling with a strap on her book bag as she said with determination lighting up her face. "I for one think the Father's day weekend is a great idea to maintain. And this time, we're bringing Michael."

"What?" Michael objected halfheartedly, "my foster dad is at rehab, I think that pretty much disqualifies me. Sorry." The fake sincerity pretty much dripped from every word.

"Maria was with the Parkers, so she'll most likely be there this time too," Max pointed out, sharing a knowing look with his sister, when Michael's objections immediately seemed to stop.

They agreed to go on the trip this time around, hoping to mend some fences – or in the case of Isabel and Alex, at least stop the teenager from losing his mind out of fear.

Later that day, Max ran into Liz as she was coming out of the restroom, mostly due to the fact that he'd been standing in wait just to see her after he'd felt her presence through their shared connection. To his shock, and instant irritation, he saw that Tess was with Liz. His eyes darted over Liz's figure, making damn sure that she was okay. Aside from looking like she was having the mother of all colds, Liz looked just as perfect as ever. Except from the small glare she sent him when she noticed his wandering eyes.

"This is the ladies room, Max," she said with a cool tone in her voice. To Max's relief, Liz's anger wasn't hiding the small spike of desire, affection and surprisingly something that felt like guilt that rose inside of her the moment their eyes linked.

"I know," Max said quietly, "I was…" his eyes landed on the silent hybrid and he grabbed the first excuse he could think of, "looking for Tess."

The skeptical look Tess sent him managed to make Max feel like the teenager he looked like for the first time since arriving in this new and old world. "Me? Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," was all Max could force out as he simultaneously struggled with not letting his keen embarrassment through the bond to Liz. Judging from the small smile on her lips, he wasn't doing as well as he'd hoped. An idea popped into his head and he turned to Tess again. "Yes, Isabel was wondering if you were coming to the camping thing in Frazier Woods with your...uhm, Dad."

"You're going?" Liz interjected before Tess could much more than stand with her mouth open in surprise over his absurd question. "I mean…you're going?"

"Yeah," Max replied, trying to act like he didn't understand her confusion. "I love to camp. So, Tess," he redirected his attention on the blonde, who still hadn't moved a muscle, "are you and Na- Mr. Harding going?"

"I'm not sure," Tess answered slowly, and Max knew why she was looking so dubious. Just the day before, they'd all showed up at her house, basically trying to hurt her as painfully as possible and now here he was pretty much asking her to join them on a camping trip, with Nasedo; an alien that had never hidden his dislike for humans.

What am I doing? Max asked himself, knowing the recipe for disaster he was cooking up. Nasedo's never going to act normal around any of them…and I can't put Liz or the rest in jeopardy; I might have ordered him to behave, but I know he's not going to be nice about it – especially to Liz and Maria…

"I'd actually love it if you went," Liz spoke and interrupted Max's internal bashing of himself. He instantly straightened up with a frown, still not used to dealing with a Liz that didn't all but foam at the mouth whenever Tess came up in the conversation.

Those beautiful brown eyes that he loved so much glanced up at Max and he swallowed down his initial domineering response of forbidding her to interact with Tess, reminding himself firmly that for one thing Liz had never really liked him ordering her around and also, the friendship growing between the two women was proof of their whole time travelling plan working.

Liz turned her attention back to Tess with a beaming smile, "my dad is sort of guilting me into going and I already planned on bribing Maria into going later, but it'll be nice to have another girl there. And Isabel too of course," here Liz shot Max another oddly knowing look.

"I'll talk to him," Tess promised and then looked extremely grateful for the bell ringing and interrupting the very surreal conversation a second later. Liz sent Max a secretive smile before she too followed Tess to her next class.

The moment that Max could no longer see Liz, he turned around and made his way to the teacher's lounge, so he could give Nasedo a few words of warning, just in case that Liz was present when Tess asked him about that stupid camping trip.

A few minutes later, Max arrived at his destination and knocked on the door once. He quickly entered without waiting for a response and let his eyes wander around the not very crowded room with an alertness that came from always having to spot anything unusual with one look in a very heated war.

It was the usual mix of idealistic teachers that were talking animatedly to each other about their wonderful students, comparing ways to engage them further. There was the normal middle-aged group of tired teachers, huddled together in the corner, looking like they didn't know whether to weep over the fact that the day wasn't over yet or just put their heads in their arms and sleep until they could go home.

Then of course there were two other people that sat by themselves in the small couch area by the windows. Spotting Nasedo, Max sighed inwardly and walked towards him. Next to the alien, who was in his Mr. Harding body at the moment, sat Kathleen Topolsky and the time since she'd discovered their secret and been abducted so violently by Nasedo had not been good to her.

She was paler than ever, with dark circles under her eyes that not even makeup had any hope of hiding. Her hair was clean, but lacked any of its usual shine and her eyes. Well, she looked both extremely shocked and tired at the same time and Max had seen the look often enough in his lifetimes to recognize a person on the edge and he felt a wave of sympathy for the woman that, although her objective had been less than good to Max and his family, had only been doing her job.

"Hello Mr. Evans," Nasedo spotted him first and Max stopped once he was just out of reach; old habits died hard apparently. "What may I help you with this fine day?"

Topolsky's blue-grey eyes turned to Max and she looked at him with something akin to both fear and gratitude. "H-hello Max," she whispered and quickly turned her attention back on the cup of coffee in her hands. Max's respect for the F.B.I. agent heightened a fraction when he noticed that despite her obvious anxiousness, she wasn't trembling. After the last few battle filled years in his original timeline, Max had grown to respect the people that didn't break easily under pressure.

He nodded once at her and looked back at Nasedo. "I wanted to talk to you about something, alone," he added once Nasedo reached out to lift Topolsky up from her seat to follow them to a more private location.

"I can't do that," Nasedo disagreed, looking around to check for unwanted ears, "she's not been completely broken in yet, so I can't trust her alone in these quarters. I can only leave her alone when she's at her apartment because I've taken liberties in assuring that she can't contact her boss there and-"

"Leave the poor woman alone," Max's temper rose when he spotted the slight flinch that Topolsky couldn't quite repress, "I trust her and she won't reveal anything. We'll be right back, Miss Topolsky."

Max pointed at the door and waited for Nasedo to walk towards it and then turned back to the once again frozen agent. "I promise you that I did not know he was so adamant in his surveillance of you. I'll make sure you get your freedom back."

"What if I run to my superiors with everything I know?" Topolsky muttered, not making eye contact as her eyes remained trained on Nasedo's disappearing form. "You can't trust me."

"I know," Max answered honestly, "I'm not entirely stupid, but I'm not as inhuman as your dear Mr. Pierce seems to think so either. Relax Kathleen; I won't let him hurt you anymore."

And with that Max reached out and planted a hand gently on Topolsky's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly before following his much too independent protector. He pretended he didn't hear the confused woman's words of, "you shouldn't trust me, Max…but thank you."

Michael's POV

The entire time since he'd walked away from Maria in that hallway to go to Tess' house, Michael had fought his instincts to keep away from her. Her tumult emotions had been ramming into him so heavily all night that he had barely gotten one hour's decent sleep combined.

So, of course his first order of business the second he exited Max's jeep, was to go find Maria.

The blond was talking animatedly with Liz in whispered tones when Michael finally laid eyes on her again, feeling his battered soul calm down as he was once more within reach of her. He stopped his approach when he recognized the signs in front of him; she was deeply engrossed in something her future self had referred to as, "best friend duties," completely devoted to whatever it was that Liz was muttering to her.

Finally it seemed as though Liz had nothing else to say and just as Michael was about to walk over to the two young women, Tess walked by Liz and was seemingly roped into the conversation by the tenacious brunette.

Okay, when the hell did they become friends? Michael's confusion bled through the bond and within seconds, Maria looked up and locked eyes with him. Raising a brow at his no doubt slightly scowling expression, Maria excused herself from Liz and Tess and walked over to him.

Michael usually devoted all his energy on watching his love being…well, alive, but he couldn't help but watch Liz and Tess out of the corner of his eye. Over the years, Liz and he had developed a close friendship and she'd talked to him about Tess and the betrayal a few times, something she still didn't do much whenever Max was around. He in turn managed to tell her things about his fears of losing Maria, of not winning the war and their friendship had blossomed. Michael truly loved Liz as the sister he never had, so there was a big part of him that wanted to go after her, when she started walking away with Tess trailing her, looking slightly confused and yet happy about the contact at the same time.

It was the look in Tess' eyes that stopped him, maybe she had a point about being lonely all those years, Michael pondered briefly, trying to see past his old hatred for the fellow hybrid, and he could feel the fresh anger at her actions towards Kyle dim, if only just a little bit. I was alone too in a way with Hank and feeling like a complete screw up compared to Max and Isabel, but I was saved from my loneliness when Max healed Liz and introduced all the humans in our lives…Would I have turned out as prejudiced if Liz hadn't been shot? The thought scared him and he repressed a small shudder at the mere thought of never having bothered to see beneath the obvious and get to know Maria or the rest of his friends for that matter.

"Hey Spaceboy," Maria's voice interrupted Michael's ponderings and he looked down at her, already smiling a little at the mere sight of her healthy and unharmed. "Are you finally ready to fill me in on the whole debacle that was yesterday?"

Running a hand through his messy hair, Michael sighed. "That depends."

Maria crossed her arms and struck a pose that clearly stated that he better spill everything, "that depends on what, Guerin?"

"On whether or not you'll accept that there are certain things that I can't tell you." Michael answered, hating that he just couldn't tell her everything, but also knowing that it was impossible.

"Can't or won't?" Maria didn't back down and Michael had to stop himself from smiling again.

"Both. So, what's it gonna be?"

"Fine," Maria lifted her hands with a shrug, running a hand through her hair, mimicking Michael's earlier movement. "But I swear if you don't tell me why I had to calm my otherwise extremely calm and collected best friend down from a tantrum yesterday, then I won't be held responsible for what happens to you."

The bell rang before Michael had a chance to respond, so he just nodded mutely and took Maria's hand gently in his. "Let's skip first period and I'll try to avoid too many secrets."

The feel of Maria's warm hand soothed Michael's still edgy feelings, and he let out a small sigh of genuine happiness when he felt her squeeze his hand softly.

A few minutes later, they were sitting in the eraser room and Michael quickly narrated that there had been an issue with Tess that had had to be resolved as quickly as possible.

"…and then Liz showed up, looking ready to kill and Max talked to her and that's all I know." Michael finished his tale and leaned back against the wall exhaling deeply and hoping that his (hopefully) future wife would just accept the story and move on.

Maria sat down gingerly next to him, looking troubled. "Well, I promised not to ask questions and all that…but why are you having issues with Tess? I mean, aside from this weird wipe every now and again, she's pretty cool. Liz seems to think so too, she's taken her under her wing."

"Well," damn it was hard to keep things hidden, "she was raised differently and that's pretty much the main reason. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, Maria."

They sat in silence for a long moment, before Michael continued quietly, "for what it's worth, I wish I could tell you everything."

Maria smiled softly and then she surprised him by putting her head on his shoulder and taking his hand in her lap, covering it with her own. "I know, Spaceboy, I know."

0o0o0

After he'd enjoyed a small moment of peace with the love of his life, Michael decided to tackle the second obstacle he'd promised himself to handle that day.

Alex.

He found the gangly teen in his last class of the day, sitting in his usual seat that was next to Michael's. When Michael entered the classroom, Alex's eyes darted from him to the seat and then back again. It was clear as day that the human did not look forward to being in close proximity with him.

Well, tough, Michael thought and prepared to calm the obviously still freaked Alex down. A few more steps and then Michael was sitting next to Alex, trying to act cool.

"Hey Whitman," he greeted with a friendly smile, and skillfully ignoring the small cringe that Alex gave in reply, "got a sec after class?"

"W-well, I'm…You and…I…busy," Alex managed to squeak forth before the teacher arrived and interrupted Michael's attempt at conversation.

The class went by agonizingly slow, and when the bell rang, Alex was out the chair and halfway out the door before Michael had even straightened out from his bored slouch.

Michael quickly followed and then laughed inwardly when he spotted the gym teacher standing right in front of Alex with a huge bunch of colored flyers in his hand. Michael heard the teacher exclaim something about failing if he didn't pass enough out and decided to butt in, seeing a chance to get Alex alone.

"I'll help you, Alex. With two pairs of hands it won't take long; we can't have you flunking, now can we? Thanks Coach," Michael grabbed half of the flyers and placed them unceremoniously in Alex's trembling hands and then led him over to a more secluded spot, carrying his own half of flyers.

"I'm not gonna be scared into doing anything," Alex hissed as soon as Michael released him. The fierce look in Alex's eyes reminded Michael that, although soft by nature, there was a courageous man inside Alex that had stood side by side with them through everything until his much too untimely death.

"Relax Dude," Michael sighed, "I'm not out to hurt you. I just wanted to talk to you about yesterday."

It was like he'd spoken magic words because in the next instant, Alex completely stopped moving. "I completely get why you're freaking out; going through what you did and then discovering the truth about our background is nothing to laugh at, I know."

Alex held up a hand, "I'm not gonna tell anyone, so you can stop hassling me; besides, it's not like I'd be able to tell anyone, is it? No one would believe me."

"Liz and Maria would," Michael couldn't help but smirk as he watched Alex piece things together quickly.

"That's what they were hiding…But…"Alex stopped, looking confused and still a bit dazed about everything.

"Liz found out when Max healed her when she was shot and Maria discovered soon after that. So you're not alone, Alex," Michael tried to make his voice as gentle as he could, as though speaking to a wild animal. "Isabel is devastated about what happened, Alex. It was an accident, I swear."

"It didn't look like an accident when she was aiming for the new girl," Alex pointed out, his hand trailing the place where he'd been wounded unconsciously. "In fact I'd put a lot of money on the fact that she wasn't accidentally trying to hurt that girl."

"That's a whole different and much more complicated story," Michael said and smiled sadly, "Trust me when I say it'll make what you learned yesterday seem like nothing in comparison. Now," clapping his hands together, trying to lighten the mood, Michael changed the subject, "let's go hand out some flyers, shall we?"

To his surprise, Alex actually nodded and followed him down the hall, handing out papers to whoever happened to pass him by. At one point Michael saw Alex head in the direction of Liz and Maria, who were walking down the hall and he just knew that the three humans had some stuff to talk through, so he sighed and decided to go look for Isabel.

I just hope I got through to him, or else I don't know what we'll do…Michael tried to ignore the foreboding feeling he got at the very thought of Isabel's response to an Alex that feared her forever, and started looking for Isabel.

Topolsky's POV

Kathleen was sitting quietly in her small office, looking out the window without really seeing anything. It was odd, almost frightening in a way to be sitting alone in the little room. She hadn't actually been truly alone since Nasedo had taken her and tried to kill her so ruthlessly.

The memory of the way the poison in her veins had paralyzed her body, but not her brain threatened to overcome her, and the walls suddenly seemed like they were closing in on her.

She jumped to her feet, gasping, and hurried over to the window, opening it enough so that the illusion of being squashed slowly ebbed out of her. A few minutes later, Kathleen had regained her senses and she walked back to her desk.

An half an hour later, she still hadn't moved and she frowned. Why haven't I picked up the damned phone and called Pierce? He needs to know, that's what I came here for and now I know everything. We should protect the country from them…

Unbidden, a picture of Max standing in the desert, growling with anger at the sight of what had been done to her, came to her and she sighed heavily. "I can get in touch with Pierce before anyone can do anything about it…I should contact him and give him my statement…Max is stupid for believing in me; I warned him…"

The clock on the wall ticked merrily on and still Kathleen didn't move.

TBC…

Next Time On The Antarian Timetravellers: Frazier Woods and Kyle – Need I say more?

A/N Thanks for reading and hopefully reviewing.

Until Next Time

Ditte Mai

Extra Little Note For All Readers: A few of my lovely reviewers have stated that they think Liz is too OOC and that the love she feels for Max at this stage is not in any way good, that she's too angry, immature and/or selfish compared to that unselfish girl we learned to love in the show and in the books. I completely agree, but as I've respectively said before; Liz is not the same one as in canon. Things aren't happening the same way and furthermore, Max is not the same innocent boy with a crush either. He's a war battered man that's keeping secrets to protect Liz's innocence and in return Liz's age will come to play a bit more in this story compared to canon where they were the same age. She's sixteen and in love (yes, she already loves Max deeply) and Max is almost twice her age mentally...Also, some are concerned about my Candy moments taking over the Dreamer moments. Not going to happen. All couples will have equal "screentime", but their issues and dilemmas aren't the same and thus we have diversity once more... I hope that makes sense. I am not trying to discourage anyone for voicing their opinions, but I had to respond here since the reviewers that I'm mentioning here are either not logged in or have disabled my ways of replying to their reviews.