I don't own Roswell or any of its franchise. I do however lay claim to this plot idea and will defend it vigorously people!

A/N Epic apologies to all for the wait. Life, computer issues, a wicked case of writer's block etc. all helped me procrastinate far longer than I should have. I decided not to cut the chapter in half as a bribe or whatever. This chapter has a lot of POV shifts; I hope it's not too confusing. Thank you for all your awesome feedback. And now, I've chatted long enough. Enjoy!

Unbetaed chapter as is the norm. Please let me know if you find any grammatical errors, so I can correct them. Thanks in advance!

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Liz's POV

"You do it."

"Nope."

"Come on, please. You're so much better at this kind of thing."

"Oh really? Calming down people is my forte because I freak out a lot? Thank you so much. Now, it's definitely not gonna be me."

"Maria!" Liz practically whined, but the determined set of her best friend's jaw told her it was no use. "I didn't mean it like that, it's just that you're way better at handling him then I am."

Maria rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms to point a finger accusingly at her, "Be that as it may, Parker, but I am still mad at you for somehow managing to get me to do this stupid weekend in the first place, so you should be the one getting Alex to come too. Not me. Besides, it was your idea."

Liz sighed and pointed out with a small smile, "I paid you an agreed upon amount of money and I'll do some of your homework too, so you're not exactly being dragged on this weekend, you know…"

"That's completely beside the point," Maria copied Liz's smile and straightened up. "The point is, that you thought that Alex wasn't completely okay with the knowledge of our Czechoslovakian friends when we talked to him at school and you got the oh so brilliant idea to convince him to come with us to the frigging woods to clear the air with said Czechoslovakians, where we'll all end up in a circle singing Kumbaya or something like that if things go according to your plan. Right?"

Liz bit her lip, "Yeah that pretty much sums everything up."

"Good," Maria yawned so widely, her jaw creaked ominously, "then pull yourself together and start ringing the doorbell. I still can't believe you got me up so early just for this, so let's not waste it. Go on."

Grinning sheepishly, Liz took a deep breath in preparation for what would no doubt be a fierce battle. At the same time, her mind wandered to the reason why she'd come up with this unusual plan in the first place.

At school when he'd marched up to them with a mixture between a scowl and a betrayed look on his tired face, Liz had tried, along with Maria, to explain to Alex that the teenage aliens in their lives weren't really so bad. Then the obviously frightened Alex had proceeded to inform them just how wrong they were, according to him. The thought of Isabel being deadly didn't surprise anyone much, especially Maria, who'd spewed something about Queen Amidala yet again, but the knowledge of what they were all capable of and just how close Alex had been to death, did mute their attempts at talking for a little while.

Of course, Alex had taken the opportunity to sneak away, leaving both Liz and Maria in a shocked daze. When they'd tried looking for their lanky friend, he was gone and no matter how much they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found. After that, Liz and to a lesser degree, Maria had taken to calling his house once an hour to get him to talk, with no luck.

So now the two young girls were standing outside of the Whitman's residence at the crack of dawn, fully intending on dragging Alex, and his father, with them to Frazier Woods so they could clear the air with the Czechoslovakians.

And then, Liz thought to herself as she squared her shoulders and finally rang the doorbell, maybe I'll get a chance to get Max alone and talk to him. I still owe him an apology for blowing up in his face after all.

It wasn't Alex who opened the door after a few long moments, why that surprised her, Liz didn't know, but she smiled awkwardly at the small, but plumb robe wearing form that was Alex's mother.

"Hi Mrs. Whitman," Liz greeted before the older woman could do anything other than raise a brow in confused questioning. "Is Alex up? We kind of need to talk to him…Oh and Mr. Whitman too, if that's all right?"

Five minutes later, found them all gathered in the cozy kitchen, where Mrs. Whitman fluttered about in her quest to make some breakfast. Mr. Whitman was nursing a cup of coffee, looking just as dog-tired and eager for bed as Maria, who was sitting beside him, did. And Alex was sitting quietly in front of Liz, his eyes told her that he knew she was up to something and that he wasn't about to make it easy for her.

Well tough luck, Liz thought, getting ready for her plan to start fully, I'm getting you out of the house whether you like it or not.

Thus started the biggest act in Liz's life, helped generously along by Maria; within three minutes, Liz had pointed out all the times their friendship had meant the world to her, how many times they'd stood united against injustices in the world and how his unwillingness to share a wonderful weekend with his two best friends was slowly killing her with disappointment. After five minutes, Liz pulled out the big guns and started in on the fact that time was running out for them to just be children; how their time with their parents as guides were ebbing out before life as college students and more would get in the way, and wouldn't it just be a great way to repay their fathers to spend some quality time with them before it was too late? Ten minutes after Liz had pulled out the "parents aren't around forever card," Mr. Whitman was looking deeply saddened, his sorrow only heightened when Maria softly, and with big soulful eyes mentioned what she wouldn't give to have a dad to spend some time with.

Alex was looking decidedly uncomfortable; having obviously already figured out what Liz was up to. What sealed the deal completely though wasn't anything Liz or Maria had planned. No, Liz looked on in satisfied surprise, as the softhearted Mrs. Whitman turned around with tears trailing down her cheeks and embraced Maria tightly, before ordering her husband to go out and buy some sleeping bags as quickly as possible so they wouldn't be late for the trip.

Liz shared a look with Alex, who, like her, was ignoring the sputtering from Maria as his mother very nearly choked the life out of her in sympathy. Well played, his almost amused eyes said silently and Liz smirked, knowing that she had just pulled off something pretty brilliant.

Isabel's POV

Isabel was sitting quietly in her father's car as they drove to the school where they'd all take a bus to the camping site in Frazier woods. Max was nodding sporadically to make their dad believe they were all in fact listening and just as psyched up for this upcoming weekend as he was. And Michael was sitting next to Isabel glaring at the scenery, looking very much like the teenager he portrayed.

A few minutes later, they arrived and all of them exited the vehicle and followed Philip Evans to the trunk to help carry their equipment. Philip's friendly face practically beamed with delight and Isabel felt a pinch of guilt for how not enthusiastic she and her brother had been the first time around.

This was the last time we ever did anything with Dad before our lives became so messed up, Isabel realized with a soft sigh as she took the dreadfully pink sleeping bag that Max handed to her. No matter how this weekend will go with Alex and the others, I have to spend some time with Dad to make him happy. He's my dad after all and I've missed him just as much as all the others we came back for…

"Sweetie," Philip's voice interrupted Isabel's thoughts and she turned to him, matching his still huge smile with a little, but heartfelt, effort. "I can't tell you how much it means to me to see you two joining in like this. And Michael too, of course."

Isabel shared a reminiscing glance with Max as the memory of the first time Philip Evans had said that washed over her. Then she said with a fond tone in her voice, "That's us Dad, we're joiners now. Right guys?"

Max nodded and none too discreetly nudged Michael's ribs, who grunted out an agreement as well. It was obvious that his attention was on the yellow bus, hoping to catch a glimpse of Maria.

Philip grinned, his intelligent eyes probably noticing more than he led on, and he started making conversation with some of the other Dads' that were standing patiently in wait to enter the bus. Suddenly, Isabel spotted Alex and her heart skipped a beat.

He came, I can't believe that despite everything he still came, Isabel thought, remembering how spontaneous Alex's participation been the last time around, because of his feelings for her.

Before she even realized she was doing it, Isabel was on the move. She reached Mr. Whitman with a beaming smile on her face, pretending not to hurt inside when Alex quickly edged away from her and she felt a spike of fear from him.

"Hi Alex, I'm so happy you came. I didn't think you would."

Mr. Whitman briefly wore an expression that looked a lot like the one Alex used to wear whenever Isabel smiled at him before he apparently remembered that Isabel had spoken to them and broke into a chuckling laugh. "Well, actually Alex isn't exactly here of his own free will."

Isabel's eyes went to Alex's filled with curiosity, but once more, he was actively not looking anywhere near her, so Mr. Whitman quickly explained before the silence grew too awkward, "The credit for our participation all goes to Liz and Maria." Mr. Whitman grinned, hoisting a brand new sleeping bag out of the trunk of his car with a bit of difficulty, "Alex's been a bit moody these last few days and I figured he was fighting with his friends, because Liz and Maria kept calling him until finally they showed up early this morning and well," the older man, whose gangly nature had been passed on to his only child, looked a bit embarrassed as he finished his story, "here we are. We Whitman men have never been able to deny pretty girls anything. Isn't that right, Son?"

Alex shrugged and still didn't really say anything and Isabel knew that she had to do something before she lost him.

"So, did you talk with Liz and Maria? Did they," Isabel glanced over at Mr. Whitman, whose attention was now focused on one of the other dads. "Explain things? I mean, it must be easier to get the story from them since you share the same species."

Alex's eyes snapped to hers and Isabel winced, "Too soon?"

"They're checking the names now," he eventually said, shifting his eyes away from hers yet again as he started making his way over to the waiting bus where people were forming lines.

The sight of his quickly retreating back almost broke Isabel, but she wasn't known for her icy personality for no reason. She blinked away the excess moisture in her eyes and decided then and there that no matter how scared Alex was of them, of her; she was definitely going to change his mind. After all, Maria's fears were just as bad as his and she ended up being one of my closest friends…

Nodding to herself, Isabel all but skipped over to the bus and when her name was called she held up a hand and said with a cute, dimpled smile to the man holding the clipboard, "I'll be right in; I just need to fix my hair before the long ride; you know how it is, it can get really frilly and…" seeing the visibly disinterested look that she was aiming for, Isabel waited patiently, like a lion stalking her prey, for Alex's name to be called. She completely ignored Max's raised eyebrow at her shenanigans, her loss of dignity was not as important as her plans.

The moment, Alex stepped into the bus, Isabel used her, for once blessed, height to shove people out of the way and get inside the vehicle just after him. Fortunately, Alex was so focused on getting a seat that he didn't notice her and guess her plan. He sat down in an empty seat by the window in the back of the bus and before he could get a chance to do much of anything, Isabel slid in next to him with a big, cheerful smile on her face.

"Well, isn't this nice? We're gonna have such a great time together, Alex. I just love this kind of stuff, although I hope the weather stays okay because I haven't packed much to be honest. I can't wait till we get there and I heard from some of the others that we light fires and chit chat all night. I think that's awesome. Don't you?" Isabel practically chirped, using her dumb blonde tone of voice, making sure to trap Alex's attention when she twirled some of her hair seductively around her finger.

Operation: "Remind Alex That Isabel Is Also Human," had commenced.

Maria's POV

Maria's mood was very mixed at the time they reached the woods. She still hadn't quite forgiven Liz's quick thinking to get her to attend. Although, I have to say that Michael's participation is an unexpected bonus. Maria smiled to herself and watched the animated look in Michael's eyes as he tried keeping a conversation going.

Liz wasn't talking much, and it had never exactly been his words that characterized Michael, so it could have gone better.

Although, Maria pondered as she looked between her best friend and the guy that she lo- cared deeply about, he never looks at her with that broody glare he used to give us all before the shooting. Now that I think about it, he kindda looks like he cares about Liz.

The thought sent a rush of pure dread through Maria's very being and she quickly forced herself to feel contentment to prevent Michael from realizing she was going through something. Is he into Liz too? If I have to compete with her, I doubt I'll win. She's everything I'm not; smart, brunette, smart and I wish I had her skin tone…

As though Michael knew what was going through her head, he turned his head slightly and looked at her with so much emotion that she couldn't deny that she was acting pretty crazy. All the small moments they'd shared lately cemented that belief and she breathed a sigh of relief.

To stop her mind from coming up with even worse theories, Maria looked around the crowded bus and her eyes landed briefly on Isabel and Alex. The latter was looking almost more uncomfortable than he'd done when Liz had turned his parents against him earlier that morning. Isabel was acting decidedly un-Isabel like and Maria frowned. I have to keep an eye on those two. If she hurts him, I'll just go scrounge up some kind of Czechoslovakian Kryptonite and then I'll whoop her shapely behind so hard that-

"Maria?"

Liz's voice interrupted Maria's scheming and she looked over at Liz. "What?"

"Michael asked you a question?" Liz's tone was amused and Maria had a feeling that the brunette knew exactly what she'd been doing. Instead of saying anything to Liz, Maria turned her full attention on Michael with a sincere smile on her lips.

"I just asked you how you got roped into coming to this thing?" Michael repeated, mimicking Maria's smile, something that made him even more attractive in the young blonde's opinion.

"Oh, it's a long and devious tale filled with guilt, bribes and promises of premade math homework." Maria grinned when Michael's laugh boomed out in the bus; she really liked his laugh. It was warm and throaty as if he rarely used it.

"I see," he shook his head after a few seconds and ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up a little. In that moment, the morning light shone through the windows and illuminated Michael in a way that made Maria struggle for breath for a second, she could feel something stir within her; something that was rather primal and embarrassing in a bus filled with strangers and more importantly friends.

In a hastened attempt to make sure that no one, and in particular Michael, realized what was going on, Maria leaned forward a bit and asked, "so what about you, Spaceboy? How'd you get roped into this whole thing?"

To Maria's immense surprise, Michael actually flushed. A trail of red went from his throat to his cheeks and for some reason; Maria absolutely loved the sight of a sheepish Michael.

"Well," the object of her thoughts replied with a shrug, "I didn't want to go at first to be honest. But then I changed my mind, got to know a bit more details."

Maria's curiosity squelched her desire and she probed further, "what kind of details?"

The look Michael then sent her, made Maria's heart skip a beat and this time it was her fighting off a blush unsuccessfully as he answered quietly, "I found out that you'd be there too, so how could I not come?"

Max's POV

Max sat silently and observed his sister's actions, while also keeping an eye out for what Liz was doing. Currently, she was sitting in the front next to Maria, who was chatting intimately with a soft smiling Michael.

The memory of the original trip to Frazier Woods kept popping up and Max grimaced as he reluctantly tore his eyes away from Liz's smiling profile. I guess this trip always takes place when Liz and I are going through difficult times. I have to find a way to make her see that all my secrets doesn't matter; only our love does…

A spike of brief concern ran into him from Liz's side of the bond and Max immediately looked back over at her. But she wasn't looking at him, instead her face was turned away in much the same manner his was just seconds before.

Before Max really got a chance to wonder what was going through his soul mate's head, he noticed Sheriff Valenti looking at him with a familiar look in his eyes. It was a look that Max hadn't seen since he'd saved Kyle in the original timeline, a look of pure suspicion.

Max pretended to be confused and raised his eyebrows slightly; it worked perfectly. The sheriff looked away and dove into a quick conversation with Jeff Parker, who was sitting in the seat in front of him. I thought he wasn't after us this time around, Max thought, hating that seemingly no matter what he did, he just couldn't help but relive certain aspects of his former life, I need to keep an eye out. I won't tell Iz or Michael before I have more concrete proof of Jim sniffing around. It'll just scare them and we have enough problems as it is.

Max ignored that sensible part of him that pointed out, rather forcefully that he was once again trying to do everything himself and that he had promised himself and those he loved to stop before he ended up doing something stupid to escape the burdens. Like sleeping with and impregnating Tess.

The mere thought sent an itchy shiver down Max's spine. Well that's not gonna happen again, he thought with a sigh and leaned his head back to rest a bit. But none the less, I should listen to my conscience for once and tell the others about Jim as soon as this weekend is over. I have to stop trying to keep everything on my own shoulders. Isabel and Michael have seen just as much as me and are perfectly capable of shouldering things too.

Max rolled his shoulders to get the rising tension out of his body, and silently rejoiced in the fact that Tess and her "father" wouldn't be joining them in Frazier Woods due to some sudden family emergency. It was a relief to the hybrid king, although he felt a pinch of pity for Kathleen Topolsky, who was now left behind with Nasedo as her only company.

So deep into his own thoughts was he that Max didn't notice at first when the bus started slowing down. Only when it came to an abrupt halt like busses were prone to do, did he blink out of his mind and noticed the change in scenery.

A lot could be said about the first time he'd lived through the camping weekend in Frazier Woods, but for the first time Max was mature enough to take in the beauty of the lush green surroundings; the sounds of birds chirping and the usual ruffle of sounds that came from such places. After spending years on the run and then even more years engaged in battle, Max could appreciate the serenity that was an old forest full of uncomplicated life.

"Come on, Son," Philip's voice roused him before Max's mind conjured up too many images of the deadly fights he'd been through and he sent a grateful smile to his father, who was acting like a kid in his eagerness to get outside and just have some fun.

Unbeknownst to him, Max mirrored his sister's earlier promise of setting more time aside to spend with not only his father, but his mother as well; especially her since a part of him never really had forgiven himself for being the one to end her life in the original timeline.

The memory of that wasn't exactly something that Max thought about if he could avoid it, so he quickly hoisted his bag over his shoulder and followed the others outside.

0o0o0

A little later, Max put the finishing touch on raising the tent he was going to share with Michael and looked around.

Isabel had also just finished with the tent she was going to share with their dad and was already on the move towards Alex and his dad, who was standing around awkwardly, both staring at the evidently just purchased tent in their hands with identical looks of bewilderment and slight worry.

Max swallowed a smile, hoping that Isabel's take charge attitude would shake Alex out of his fear and remind him that she was still the girl he'd been in love with basically all his life.

A muttered curse interrupted Max's subtle surveillance of his sister's backhanded wooing and he quickly looked around where he spotted Kyle with one of his fingers in his mouth, scowling at the half-raised tent in front of him. Sheriff Valenti wasn't helping, instead he was chatting amiably with Jeff Parker yet again.

Taking a deep breath, Max made his way over to Kyle. "Need a hand? None of mine are bleeding," he added with a small twitch of his lips, hoping that Kyle would understand the joke. Luckily, Kyle's irritation over the tent situation was bigger than his old annoyance with Max's general presence, so he nodded.

"Yeah, thanks, Man. I don't know what's gotten into me; I'm usually not this clumsy. I just have a killer headache; haven't been drinking enough water today." He explained further when Max's brows furrowed a bit.

It didn't take Max long before the tent was up and ready to be used. Kyle nodded his thanks once more and went inside the tent with his bag, looking for all the world like he just wanted to sleep. He'd been surprisingly civil towards Max despite having been mindwarped to forget that he wasn't actually an active part of the 'I hate Max Evans'-club anymore.

It is nice to see that his mind hasn't completely reverted to Jock again; Max thought as he stretched out his back and continued looking around to see if anyone else needed a helping hand. Not too far away from where he was standing, Max saw Michael adeptly helping Maria and Liz with their tent.

After all the nights they'd spent in the wild, Max, Michael and Isabel were practically experts in the field of camping, so it was not really a surprise to Max that they'd been the first ones done.

"Max, come on over here for a sec," Max heard his dad yell from across the small clearing where he was standing with Jeff and Sheriff Valenti. Every instinct in Max told him to act casual, doing his damndest to act his supposed age and not like the man who'd led a war.

"What's up?" Max very nearly cringed at the croaky attempt of speech, but he played it off and waited for his dad to answer his question.

It wasn't Philip that replied though, it was Sheriff Valenti, "Hey, Son. I just wanted to thank you for helping my boy out. It was mighty nice of you, but I'm sure I can manage the rest from now on. It's a father's day weekend, after all so I've gotta have something to do."

Only Max recognized the subtle warning in the older man's voice as the other men chuckled merrily at Valenti's alleged joke. Max hated the way the sheriff's eyes were cold and without any warmth at all like he'd been used to once upon a time. There was a big part within Max that wanted to just embrace the man that had become a father figure and close friend, but he knew that Jim would either shoot him or have him committed for mental problems if he acted on that impulse.

The memory of the last time he'd seen Jim Valenti alive rose without warning inside of him and Max quickly excused himself to find a private place to battle his demons. A few minutes later, hidden safely away from view, Max allowed the memory to surface completely, knowing that it would be better to just let it play out.

It had been an early winter's morning, the sun had barely settled on the cloudy sky before word had reached their temporary camp that some of Khivar's men were approaching fast.

Max had been more dead than alive at that time after a run in with Khivar himself just a few days earlier, so he hadn't been able to stop Jim from lending a hand. "You can't take them on," Max had whispered, desperately trying to force a few more drops of his own healing power into his wounds, ignoring Liz's and Isabel's disapproving looks with an ease that came from practice, "you're only human. It isn't your fight, Jim. Wait for Michael; he's gonna be here soon…"

Jim's eyes had crinkled up in a soft smile as he'd crouched in front of Max. "Ah, but Son, don't you get it? There's people out there trying to kill you; that makes it my fight. Michael's group won't arrive until it's too late and you and yours are too worn out to do anything other than get yourselves killed."

"If you go out there alone, you're the one getting killed," Liz had protested quietly from behind Max, but Jim had simply smiled sadly in reply.

"If one can't die for their family, what can they die for? Just," he'd stopped for a second before placing his hand on Max's shoulder and squeezing it firmly, briefly letting his true feelings of fear and grief shine through his weary eyes, "…just tell my boy I love him, okay? Don't let him mourn his old man too much."

Max hadn't had any intentions of letting Jim run out to protect them, to give the rest of them time to escape, but the next thing he knew, Jim had pressed his fingers on a certain point on Max's neck and forced him to pass out. The last thing Max had heard before darkness claimed him had been Jim apologizing. When he'd woken up several hours later, they'd escaped their pursuers and Jim was dead.

The anguish of that memory cursed through his veins like liquid fire; it was something that he, like the circumstances of his mother's death, had never really processed. Get yourself together Man, Max tried heroically to fight off the pain of his past, but the more he fought it, the harder it became to not succumb to the misery swirling inside of him.

The feeling of a small, warm hand on his cheek brought him slightly down to earth and Max opened his eyes, knowing without question who it was that was trying to ground him in reality.

"Max," Liz's brown eyes were filled with concern, but her voice was calm and soothing; her touch sending a much different fire through his being. "Just breathe, okay? You're having some kind of a panic attack; just breathe through it and everything's gonna be fine, I promise. Do it with me; in and out. Come on, you can do it."

Max took a quivering breath, slowly beating the demonic memories down with the help of the one person in the world he couldn't live without. And exhaled loudly, expelling his fears and his stupid chaotic thoughts, trying to reach some semblance of normality again.

It took a little while before the sense fully returned to Max and when he finally managed to put the lid on his mind for the time being, he realized he was standing with his forehead resting on Liz's with her hands on his cheeks. He blinked, feeling himself flush a bit in embarrassment, but she smiled so sweetly up at him that he knew that she didn't think less of him despite his obvious issues.

"Are you back now?" asked Liz almost in a murmur and Max nodded mutely, too engrossed in the moment to risk ruining it by speaking. But the quiet moment between them was inevitably ruined a bit a second later, when Liz suddenly scrunched up her face and quickly turned her head sideways to sneeze loudly. Twice.

Immediately, Max's worries for her overshadowed any he had for his own woes and he quickly reversed their positions, placing his big hands on her face, checking to see if her temperature was elevated.

"Max, don't," Liz laughed hoarsely and batted his hands away, "I'm fine. It's just a stupid cold. I've got some pills in my tent so I'll be fine."

"Okay, but…uhm, if you need any relief of the Czechoslovakian kind, please let me know," Max glanced around, noticing that Michael was standing just out of hearing range with Maria at his side. Apparently, he too had felt the pain that Max was reliving and had come to help; only to be beaten by Liz.

Liz smiled and discreetly wiped her runny nose with a paper towel from her pocket while she seemingly thought that Max was distracted by looking over at Michael, who sent him a relieved look and walked away with Maria trailing him.

"I'm sort of happy to see that you're still willing to talk to me actually," Liz's soft-spoken words brought Max's full attention back on her and she bit her lip nervously before continuing, "I know I haven't exactly been a good friend to you lately, Max. I pushed you to tell me all your secrets, not respecting the fact that they're your personal business. I'm sorry I overreacted."

"It's okay," Max smiled, enjoying the flash of genuine happiness in Liz's eyes. Then he downright grinned when her face transformed into a fake serious mask and she spoke again.

"Of course, I still wanna know everything. So when you're ready to talk, and won't feel pushed about it, come find me. I'm usually at school or at this little diner where I wear this green uniform."

"Really?" For Max, the mischievous banter was a breath of fresh air, reminding him of the good times he'd had with Liz, instead of all the bad things for once. "So I can just stroll right on in and recognize you?"

"Yep, just look for the tiny brunette wearing antennas and fighting off alien obsessed tourists."

Liz's eyes twinkled beautifully at him, lifting his spirit more than anything else could've done, and before he knew it, Max had leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss on her soft lips. She looked slightly dazed when he pulled back a few seconds later. "When I do decide to talk about everything, I'll definitely seek you out."

When Liz still didn't lose her glazed look, Max smiled smugly, feeling younger than he'd felt in years and started making his way back to the campsite. He'd only walked a few steps when he felt Liz's hand grab his and weave her smaller fingers in with his like it belonged there.

Which, Max surmised, practically beaming as they came out into the clearing to the others, isn't that far from the truth now that I think about it.

Kyle's POV

The chatter around him was grating on his last nerves. Kyle took a sip of his water, knowing that a headache could be lessened by drinking plenty of fluids.

Ever since he'd woken up, Kyle had been assaulted by painful jabs in his skull and he was getting pretty sick of it. It was stealing all of his energy; he didn't even have the energy to scowl at Max Evans as he helped him out with his tent. But then again, Kyle amended only to himself, none of my friends are here so I don't have to act like a complete asshole, which is good 'cause I seriously doubt I have the strength to do it in the first place.

All of them had hiked around a bit during the day, playing some games that the organizers of the camping event had planned and now they were all just sitting around and relaxing before going to their tents to sleep.

Smiling wryly at his somewhat sour mood, Kyle let his eyes wander around the campfire. His dad was playing cards with Mr. Parker and Mr. Whitman and some other dads that he didn't really know by name. Michael Guerin was sitting next to Max Evans and the two guys' eyes were locked on Maria and Liz, who were deeply involved in some kind of girly talk that Kyle wasn't the least bit interested in listening in on.

Alex suddenly walked by him, looking like he was feeling just as bad as Kyle was. The young jock watched the tall teen disappear quietly when Isabel suddenly blocked his view of everything. It looked like she'd been following Alex, but apparently Kyle looked worse off, because she unceremoniously planted a hand on his forehead and asked if he was feeling okay.

"Yeah, I'm just tired," Kyle muttered and withdrew his face from her touch. Surprisingly enough, it looked as if his abrupt movement had hurt her feelings, but Kyle was simply too exhausted to care much at the moment. Instead, he resumed his looking around and once more, his eyes landed on Liz. His heart gave a small lurch at the sight of her and he sighed, knowing that she would never see him as anything other than her friend, Kyle. It didn't hurt as much as it used to, but he'd never really like it.

"Kyle, you should go lie down, you don't look so good," Isabel hadn't left yet, so Kyle looked up at her with a frown.

"You should go after the geek; he seems worse off than me."

"Alex isn't a geek," Isabel immediately defended the no longer present boy and Kyle smirked.

"Whatever, Isabel. I'm gonna go play some cards with my old man, so don't worry about me. Bye," and with that, Kyle simply stood up and walked over to his father. Again, he ignored that part of him that seemed to almost quail at the idea of speaking so harshly to Isabel, and sat down to join the card game.

It's not like we're even friends, he told himself, massaging his temples as the throbbing suddenly increased momentarily. We just hang in the same crowd and that's it…

He played a few rounds, losing spectacularly, before he excused himself to go to bed. His headache hadn't disappeared at all, and all he really wanted was some sleep.

It only took him a few minutes to get ready for bed and as soon as his head hit his small travel pillow, Kyle was dead to the world.

0o0o0

It was a combination of his father's deep snore and a spike of pain that woke him up some time later. Kyle tried his best to overcome the aches in his head, but it was a battle he was doomed to lose.

After a few minutes of restless shifting around and muted groans, Kyle decided that some fresh air would do him some good. He slipped out of the tent as soundlessly as he could and started trotting deeper into the woods where he could make as much noise as he wanted to without waking anyone up.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle spotted Liz's lithe form as she returned from what was no doubt a bathroom break, and he hurried into the shadows to avoid being seen.

The fast movements cost him and Kyle bit his lip hard enough to make it bleed, as he tried to keep the pained moan from escaping as he watched Liz walk away from him. A small part of him worried that he was really hurt and that his plan for solace might not be the best idea he ever had, but he overrode it and continued on for about half a mile, before the pain suddenly changed.

The pounding in his head was building, the pain was crushing him from the inside, making him worry briefly if his eyes would pop out of his head before the pure agony distracted his thought process with a vengeful flash of pain.

Images of things that he didn't understand started pouring through his aching mind, and he finally stopped struggling for balance and landed on his knees in the soft grass with a groan of despair.

In the distance he could hear voices calling his name, with increasing desperation, but he couldn't process it enough to actually alert them to his presence.

A more insistent voice that sounded suspiciously like his own came through louder than anything else, "Damn human of him. Of course, he's the reason I got shot in the first place, but what the hell. No conditions are permanent. No conditions are reliable. Nothing is self…Look, what's going on here is really scary. If I don't lighten the mood, I might loose it…Oh, I've got no symptoms yet. You know, Max healed me a year after he healed you… We took you into our home, Tess. We protected you. And how did you repay us? You brainwashed me into carrying Alex's dead body! ... "We're surrounded! You have to leave me here…"… "I just died for you Woman, what else can I do?"

"Aargh!" Kyle's hands were in his hair, tearing out the strains painfully, trying to absorb everything, but it was too much, too many things just kept coming and finally everything turned into blissful darkness where no pain could follow him.

Isabel's POV

Isabel was supposed to share her tent with her dad, but after the exhausting, and unsatisfying day that she'd just had; Isabel felt like she needed to spend time with her brother, so she when she couldn't fall asleep, she woke up her dad and quickly convinced the groggy man to let her spend the night in Max and Michael's tent, reminding him that Michael was more of a brother to her than anything else.

Maybe he could see how much I just want to talk to Max, Isabel wondered as she silently made her way to her brother's tent. A few seconds later, she stuck her head into the tent and wasn't surprised at all when both Max and Michael were sitting up and looking at her alertly. None of us has quite learned to sleep peacefully yet, Isabel thought with an inwardly sigh.

"Can I sleep-" she started to say, but Michael nodded and Max moved to the side, making room for her. She thanked them and slipped inside. She hadn't brought her sleeping bag, but one quick swipe over Max's discarded sweater transformed it into a new one and she wiggled her way into it with a small sigh.

After a few beats of comfortable silence, Isabel looked over at her brother. "I could feel that you almost lost your control today; is everything okay?"

Max nodded with an almost ashamed smile on his face that turned serious once he took in the defeated look in her eyes. "Did he come around at all?" he asked quietly and Michael leaned closer, no doubt eager for her answer.

"I don't know. Maybe. I kept up the dumb blonde routine for a while, but he didn't seem to like that part of me any better than the alien one." Isabel felt Michael's hand on her back, offering her his support and she continued, "He actually got mad at me a little, saying that I didn't need to pretend around him and stalked off. When I found him a little later, he just asked me to give him some time to process everything and that he still cared about me. So, honestly, guys; I don't know what to think right now."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about," Michael was the first to speak after a few moments of heavy silence. "That dude's been crazy about you since grade school and no amount of," here the normally so stoic hybrid actually snorted, "Czechoslovakian" involvement will be able to keep him away."

Isabel smiled in the dark, hoping with everything in her that he was right. Suddenly, Max tensed next to her and that unavoidably made her and Michael equally as watchful.

The tent was quickly lit up with a little help from Isabel, who quickly vacated her sleeping bag; next to her Michael was clenching his fists ominously and Max's face was halfway through his transformation to that dark part of him that none of them liked.

Then, a second later, Isabel felt him relax minutely and he whispered Liz's name and they sighed in relief. It was a short lived relief though, because Liz fumbled with the zipper a few times and cursed, like she was feeling scared, before she managed to stick her head inside of the tent.

Unlike Isabel it clearly surprised her that they were all awake and waiting. "Oh, uhm. Hi, sorry to interrupt but…" she trailed off hesitantly and bit her lip.

Isabel felt Max's hand on her arm and heard his mental voice in her head, 'she's worried about something; I can feel her fear.'

How Isabel had missed that was beyond her, the worry lines on Liz's face stood out especially in the artificial light that Isabel was still subconsciously maintaining. "What's wrong, Liz?" she asked when it didn't seem like the brunette intended to reveal just what she was doing there in the middle of the night.

Isabel was glad to see that despite all the roadblocks that Max and Liz's relationship had suffered since coming back in time, Liz's big doe eyes were firmly locked with Max's, as though she drew some kind of silent strength just from his very presence.

Liz bit her lips and finally answered Isabel's question after a second more of staring at Max. "I-I don't know if I'm overreacting or just seeing things, but…" Liz stopped for a second and then spoke again, making Isabel's insides twist in fear that no doubt matched that of the boys next to her. "I think something's wrong with Kyle."

What happened next could only be described as an explosion of activity.

The trio of time traveling hybrids flew out of the tent; Max calmed Liz and somehow managed to get her to return to her own tent, it was probably made easier due to the fact that Liz clearly wasn't feeling all that well. Michael started tracking Kyle through the forest, using every bit of practice that he'd gotten from their last life. Max walked beside him and was busy plucking leaves from trees and transforming them into bandages, prepared for anything. And Isabel walked right behind them, covering their backs. It was an old habit from their time in the war, but right now neither of them was interested in breaking it. Their only concern was finding Kyle.

As they half walked and half ran through the forest, calling out their human friend's name, Isabel's mind was conjuring all kinds of horrifying things and she feared what they'd find. Please don't let anything happen to him, she prayed silently, looking around frantically, but thoroughly. I can't bear to lose my best friend again; once was more than enough!

"There!" Max's voice rang out clearly in the night half an hour later, and Isabel immediately ran in the direction he was pointing, safety precautions be damned.

The sight of Kyle's immobile body lying on the ground brought back memories that the Princess hybrid had hoped fervently never to relive. Before she knew it, she was on the ground next to him, reaching out a shaking hand to his unmoving body.

"K-Kyle?" his name was whispered almost inaudibly, but he didn't respond. Isabel felt her brother and Michael arrive, kneeling down around Kyle.

"What happened?" Michael's voice was gruff and one quick look, told Isabel that he was scanning the perimeters alertly, making sure, however improbable, that Kyle hadn't been attacked.

"He's still warm, his pulse is a bit fast, but normal otherwise," Max answered, quickly making all their hearts calm down a little. "I think he's just passed out for some reason…Maybe he just, I don't know sleepwalked out here? He's been very quiet tonight."

Isabel and Michael gave Max a shared look of disbelief and Isabel was about to say something not too nice, when Kyle spoke up and changed everything she thought she knew.

"Yeah, well, maybe, you're an idiot, Max." Sitting up, the teen continued, looking them over with a weird glint in his eyes that was borderline befuddlement. "And what the hell just happened? Did some of Khivar's boys learn to mindwarp, because from where I'm sitting, you're all looking very young all of the sudden…?"

TBC…

A/N Told ya something would happen with Kyle, didn't I? I have borrowed some sentences from the show in the paragraph where Kyle has his meltdown, but the rest is all mine :D Now, please take a moment and let me know what you thought about the chapter, if it was worth the long wait and all that.

Until Next Time

Ditte Mai