I don't own Roswell or any of its franchise -but Christmas is almost upon us, so let's keep our fingers crossed!

Unbetaed but if you find any glaring mistakes please let me know so I can correct them!

A/N YES, I managed one more chapter before the end of the year, go me! This chapter is full of set ups, moving the plot along (finally), so the next few chapters will be a bit more action filled than this one. Anyway, I hope you'll all enjoy this despite the shortness!

Last Time on TATT: The humans show their lack of appreciation of being more or less ignored while the hybrids go through a lot of stuff with Nasedo. Michael begins to realize that Tess isn't as bad and gets some cooking tips from her that he never knew he couldn't live without, Kyle doesn't understand the beginning acceptance of Tess from the other Timetravellers. Liz confronts Max, who ends up declaring his love for her. Topolsky makes a choice after Max shows her a thing or two…

CHAPTER TWENTYTWO

Kyle's POV

It was the middle of the day and Kyle was sitting in the middle of the quad alone for once; having sought out some much needed solitude by waiting until Max and the others had left.

The sun was warming him up, ailing him with its gentle warmth.

Kyle exhaled deeply as the bell rang and took away the rare moment of serenity he'd managed to achieve.

"Well," he muttered as he threw away the trash from his barely eaten lunch and got to his feet, "at least I managed to sleep a full eight hours tonight so that's a good thing."

Ever since that night in Frazier Woods where he'd woken up, been born or travelled through time and space or whatever it was, Kyle had discovered one crucial thing; his younger body and mind hadn't been able to handle the sudden onslaught of excruciating memories and he'd woken up screaming more times already than he'd done while actually living through the time itself.

And after barely two months, it was starting to affect him physically as well. Kyle rarely looked in a mirror anymore; the bags under his eyes weren't a good look on him, something he knew very well from experience. He'd begun losing some of the meat on his bones - opting instead to spend the worst nights exercising to an almost brutal degree alongside a stone-faced Max, who never pushed him to talk and just shared his silent strength with him.

Kyle was still crashing at Max' house and the added tension that was the strained relationship he now shared with the father he'd all but idolized in his old life, wasn't helping him sleep.

And then there's the whole suddenly accepting Tess thing, Kyle thought as he walked towards class and spotted the curly-haired hybrid chatting amiably with Liz, Maria and Alex. I know she's innocent here, but I just can't be myself around her... At least not yet, he amended, trying to convince himself that eventually it would happen.

Another now familiar sight brought Kyle back to the present and he smiled sadly, allowing himself to let his feelings show since he was sure no one was watching him.

As he watched, Isabel walked up to Alex and practically beamed at him, looking more beautiful than Kyle had ever seen.

Memories of a certain day pressed his boundaries, trying to escape from the part of his brain where he usually kept it all locked iron-tight.

Naked skin, sweat covered bodies, warmth and ferocity all mixed into one in rejoicing that they weren't dead like so many other. A weeping Isabel, sorrow and fresh guilt aging her prematurely, a repeated litany of "I'm sorry, Kyle - please don't shut me out" echoed through his mind and Kyle was actually relieved when he accidentally bumped into one of his former friends, Johnny.

"Whoa, Weirdo," Johnny sneered looking down his nose at him, "just 'cause we used to hang doesn't mean you can come anywhere near me. Besides aren't you like all gay for Evans these days?"

Kyle never felt his added maturity more than in these kinds of situations, but in order to blend in he swallowed an annoyed sigh and acted like he was gravely insulted.

Besides, Kyle reasoned as things quickly escalated and Johnny pushed him into the nearby lockers with a bang, this way I'll blow off some steam.

Sadly, the fight didn't last long enough to quell the restlessness growing inside of him, because only a few moments later, Michael and Max appeared out of nowhere and pulled Johnny away from him.

"Kyle! What the hell?" Michael asked, turning the slightly smaller human around to face him. "Are you out of your mind?"

"No," panted Kyle, wiping the sweat off his forehead, trying to infuse himself with his earlier serenity, "I'm known for being a popular jock that hung out with Johnny and the others, but I guess I forgot the teenage pecking order. I couldn't back down without escalating things even more, so if you got a problem then bite me!"

Kyle ripped his arm out of Michael's grip and turned to leave, but froze when his eyes locked with Isabel's from across the now deathly quiet quad.

For a second, her beautiful eyes shone with the same hint of memories that he'd just unwillingly lived through and he didn't quite know if he wanted her to come over to him to finally clear the air or just leave him the hell alone.

Then Alex gently placed a hand on Isabel's shoulder and she turned to answer his soft spoken question.

If she turned back to look at him, Kyle didn't know, because as soon as her eyes left his, he had disappeared inside the school.

0o0o0

Later that day, after dodging his friends and even a call to the principal's office, Kyle was unable to avoid a confrontation any longer.

It was Michael, who eventually took his arm and began pulling him out to the parking lot, where Max and Isabel were waiting.

Seeing Isabel in the distance recharged Kyle's anger and abruptly, he tore his arm out of Michael's grip, "let me go, Man," he all but hissed and took a few steps backwards. "I'm gonna walk today."

"Dude," Michael wasn't deterred in the least; a trait Kyle normally found very respectable, but today it was just plain annoying. "What's up with you today? You're acting like a younger version of me and it's not that attractive. You don't have that Guerin charm to pull it off."

"Stop being an idiot," Kyle growled, not in the least bit amused, "I'm having a shitty day and I don't want you Pod Squads to put your noses into it, all right!"

Michael frowned and straightened up, subconsciously letting his General persona bleed over in his younger body; obviously he too was no longer amused. "Kyle, you're a close friend so I won't kick your ass, but get over yourself for a minute. We all have bad days."

"Yeah," Kyle retorted, refusing to let his guilt keep him from speaking his mind, "but you've got someone to share it with. Maria is your other half and you got her back. Max got Liz and Isabel's got...well..."

Michael's face suddenly dawned with understanding and Kyle almost hated him for the flash of pity he sported before he regained control of his facial features.

"Not one word," Kyle warned, holding up a hand.

"She was never-" Michael started but then stopped at the look he received for his troubles. Michael was after all, the only one who'd ever known the whole truth.

"I'm handling it," Kyle said, after a beat of uncomfortable silence, "I guess it just hit me a little harder today than normally. I just don't want to talk about it, it drives me insane..."

Michael sighed and just ran a hand through his already ruffled hair. "I'm just worried about you, Valenti. It's not healthy carrying it all inside like you've been doing."

"Yeah well," Kyle shrugged and turned to leave, "I'm managing and besides, I had my shot to be with her and she didn't want me; hell, I even died for her so…Anyway, I'm gonna take off, gotta blow off some steam before I wind up doing something we'll all regret."

"Kyle," Michael held out a hand to halt his leaving and Kyle looked at him tiredly. "You didn't see her after you," the hybrid quickly checked his surroundings for any possible listeners before proceeding quietly, "died. I mean, she was a complete mess and one of the reasons that she was on board with this whole granolith time jumping scheme, was because of you."

Kyle smiled and he couldn't help but look over Michael's shoulder at the woman they were talking about, before he met Michael's eyes again with a sigh. "That may be so, but I'm not the main reason, am I?"

Michael didn't respond to that, like Kyle knew he wouldn't and at long last he managed to get away from his friend. Only to stop a few minutes later, when he'd grabbed his bag in his locker as he realized that unlike everyone else, he really didn't have a place to go right now. If I go to Max's house, I'll run into Isabel and I can't face her right now without making things worse for the both of us, Kyle thought, scratching his stomach as it itched, until an idea struck him.

I can go work out for a bit and then crash at Michael's later, Kyle decided, remembering that Michael's emancipation from Hank had finally been finalized and he'd moved into his "new" apartment just one week earlier, and made his way to the small gym that Roswell High had.

Fortunately for Kyle's peace of mind, it was empty for once, so he didn't have to worry about anyone wondering just what had happened to the school's wrestling champion in regards to his changed muscle mass and form.

How long Kyle spent in that room he didn't know, but when his knees were shaking and the sweat pouring off of him reminded him that he needed some form of liquid so he didn't crash and burn, he slowly stopped and walked towards the soda machine that he vaguely remembered being a big part of his first time as a carefree teen.

Kyle was so deeply focused on just getting something to drink and not think about anything else that he reached the coveted machine, only to realize that he didn't have any cash. Why didn't my powers travel with me to this place? He wondered sourly, slamming his sweaty hand on the glass, half considering just tipping the whole damn thing over and be done with it.

Then, Tess' voice startled him right back to reality and Kyle froze. "I can help you, if you'd like?"

Kyle slowly turned his head, a mantra of 'she's not evil, she's not evil', running through his mind as he forced out some semi-polite refusal.

Tess' disappointment was poignant and Kyle actually felt like it was pouring through him and he barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes at himself; he'd left his empathic ways and Buddhism behind even before he'd gotten himself killed to save Isabel and Max.

"You know, Kyle," Tess' eyes forced him to meet hers in that unique way of hers that he'd all but forgotten, "I know that I did a horrible thing to you and I'm sorry."

Kyle's insides froze for a second with pure fear; does she know what she made me do back then? Has she returned as well? But then Tess continued softly and Kyle's worries were put to rest for the moment.

"Wiping your memories of that day in the computer lab with your friend was a rash decision, but at the time, I truly believed that you couldn't handle the truth about us. And now, I know that I was wrong and I really would like you to give me another chance; I mean, we were sort of becoming friends and I'd like that to be the case again."

We were more than friends; we were family, the thought filtered through Kyle's conflicted mind, but even as the words echoed inside him, something didn't feel right about that statement anymore and he frowned, quickly pushing the confusion feelings aside to concentrate on the present.

"I'm a guy who can carry a grudge and…" Kyle swallowed through the part of him that still didn't want to see past Tess' old self and continued with an inwardly grimace, "…Look, I'm stubborn and anyone can tell you this about me- Anyway, my point is that I need to stew a little but then we'll probably be okay again."

"Don't." Tess' eyes narrowed and Kyle almost wanted to take a step back at the heat in her gaze. "I'm not stupid; I've been putting up with a lot of weird treatment from Max and the others until they finally seemed to realize that we're supposed to be friends; a family. I'd like you to take a note out of their book and forgive me and let me back in. I don't need your half-hearted stalling and promises, Kyle; I just need my friend back. And when that happens, I might even get you to stop feeling so hurt and bitter about Isabel being in love with Alex all the time."

"How did you-?" Kyle began, but was interrupted quickly by Tess' tinkling laughter before she answered him with her head tilted to the side, almost as if she was inspecting him for something.

"Please, you're very easy to read once one knows what to look for, Kyle and for some reason I do. So here's a little piece of advice whether you want it or not; I'm a good person and I like you and I like Isabel, but you two clearly aren't meant to be and you need to get over that and enjoy your life instead of making everyone miserable. I mean, aren't you the happy go lucky guy that welcomed the new girl and made her welcome when almost everyone else were too busy gossiping about her? Also, I know what it's like falling for a guy who's most definitely in love with another girl; and if I can get over it, so can you."

And with that, Tess left and Kyle honestly didn't know what to think or feel anymore. It's like she's taken all my thoughts and cut right through them to the core, he pondered as he began to walk out of the school's grounds. She's right; I need to stop obsessing over things that can't be changed. She reminds me of the Tess that lived with me for so long and knew me better than anyone. The one who didn't sleep with Max and ruin everything with her obsession to become Max's mate; the one that I loved…before she turned into the sister I never had, Kyle quickly amended, scratching his itchy stomach and chest, somehow feeling both tired and excited and thoughtful all at the same time.

Michael's POV

Michael ran a hand through his hair and groaned as his muscles protested the movement. I guess sitting cooped up in the same position for so long can do that to even the best of us, he thought and briefly debated asking a very focused looking Max at his side to help him out a bit, but decided against it when he noticed that his friend was looking so intently at his screen that he might end up blowing up all the lights in the room if he was startled out of his zone.

"Not to sound weird or anything," Kyle's whispered voice reached him and Michael turned his head a fraction to look at the human, "but I'll rub your neck if you rub mine, Dude."

The smile on the sheriff's son was genuine and he no longer looked like he had a severe wish to lash out at everybody and Michael couldn't help but respond with a smile of his own, politely declining the offer with the one fingered salute.

I wonder what got through to him, Michael wondered, eying his friend through the corner of his eye as his fingers nimbly typed away busy with his own self-appointed assignment, when I talked to him yesterday, he still acted like everyone was against him. But I'm glad he's somewhat back to himself though.

Kyle had burst through Michael's door the day before, several hours after school, looking haggard and tired, but he hadn't worn his almost signature look of bitterness and subtle antagonism anymore. It was like he'd been through a mood changing machine and so, when Michael had raised a brow and told him to go get something to eat and Kyle hadn't given him the one fingered salute in response, he figured things were finally getting back to normal.

And I'm not rocking that boat by asking him what made him chill out, Michael thought and turned to look at the screen that Max was busy typing away at.

"Found anything yet?"

Max nodded distractedly and continued typing ferociously; Michael straightened up with eagerness overtaking his fatigue instantly. It would be their first real lead on that issue if they succeeded and they really needed to tie up this loose end before it came to bite them in the ass like the last time.

Michael and Kyle waited with baited breath for a few agonizing minutes, before Michael's patience couldn't take it anymore and he snapped, "Maxwell, care to share with the class?"

Max stopped his fervent typing and looked at Michael. "I followed their last known foster homes and went from there; Isabel dream walked me last night to see if she could get some of my memories to the forefront of my mind so I'd remember better and I finally got something and I think I know where they are right now. What about you guys?"

Michael leaned back and let Kyle take over, silently happy that they'd gotten somewhere too, "We've found the town again and after a bit of digging it's obvious that they're already settled in and preparing the harvest just like last time. Maybe we'll catch them unaware this time around. Michael and I were thinking we'd sit down tonight and figure out the best way to go about destroying those damn husks again, so you and Iz might be needed for some basic grunt work."

Nodding in agreement, Michael added, "I've found Courtney's last known address and thought we should look her up before she comes to town. Or," Michael shrugged, "I mean, it's not even sure she's coming to Roswell this time 'cause we haven't really done anything and the signal that got sent out last time by the Pods haven't been sent this time and…well, I'm just not keen on getting her killed this time around if it can be avoided."

Max nodded solemnly, he clearly recalled how much help the Skin had been to them, despite her almost religious beliefs that Michael was the true leader.

I hope she's gonna see past that this time, Michael barely repressed a shudder at the memory of the times he'd been forced to take responsibility in Max's absence – the last time had all but killed him too in the original timeline during Max's captivity. I'm definitely a General, but I'm not the King.

"Well Guys," Kyle broke the tense silence, looking entirely too happy after having spent so much time looking bitter and sullen, "you know what this means, don't you?"

Michael and Max shared a bemused glance when Kyle continued with a grin, "Roadtrip this weekend! We just gotta decide where to go first though."

0o0o0

Going to New York in peacetime isn't at all like I've envisioned, Michael thought, looking around the passing buildings on their way out of Roswell very early the next Saturday morning.

Michael glanced to his side where a blank faced Kyle sat next to none other than Tess. The tension is so thick in here I could cut through it with a knife…Maria's face flooded through his mind and Michael sighed and leaned back in his seat, she'd know how to get us all loosened up; probably force Max to change the radio channel a hundred times and singing along to every song for ten seconds before humming some of her own songs instead in the end.

The memory of one of the very times such a thing had happened entered his mind, and Michael couldn't stop a small smile of genuine happiness slip over his face. Maybe this time it'll happen when we're on our honeymoon or something; or when we're taking a holiday or- whoa, stop it, Michael's more rational part interrupted his fantasies; she's barely seventeen years old and you're already planning your lives together. Do you want her to run away from you screaming? And have you forgotten that she's pretty rightfully pissed at you at this point in time?

Michael shook the thoughts of any possible marriage with his favorite blonde out of his head and decided to observe the other occupants in the Jeep as a decent tool of distraction from that last bit. Max was driving, silent and efficient as always; his every movement showed that he'd forgotten to act like a teenager for the time being, because he sat ramrod straight, scanning their surroundings rapidly as though scouting for any possible attacks.

Can't say that I blame him, Michael mused with an internal shrug, I'd probably be doing the same thing if I was the one behind the wheels. They'd lost too many friends to surprise attacks in the war and such a thing was never easy to shake off.

Screams for help that couldn't come in time, blood and guts all over his clothes and face marking him as one of the few survivors still standing- No, don't think about that, Michael valiantly forced the memory of that hideous day out of his mind and looked over at the former wife that he now considered a sister.

Isabel was sitting next to Max, supposedly reading a girly magazine, but her attention didn't seem to be on the shining pages at all since she'd been on the same page for the last ten minutes or so. Michael caught her looking discreetly at a slightly uncomfortable looking Kyle every now and again, but he chose not to comment on it.

And then there's Tess, Michael thought, glancing over at the fourth hybrid, still a bit surprised that she'd managed to gather an invite to the Big City as it were. Or invite might be pushing it, Michael thought with an internal smirk.

It had sort of happened by accident; Kyle had left to gather supplies for their trip once they'd finally decided where to go first and had then given Max and Michael the task of getting Isabel on board, since they'd need her for the trip as well to present an united front.

Michael had only been a slightly amused witness as he watched the curly haired hybrid somehow wrangle out information about their trip from Max, citing something about the fact that they'd all promised to include her and shortly after that, Tess had grabbed Isabel's wrist and dragged her away so they could pack, completely ignoring the protests that both Max and Isabel were giving.

It had been fun to watch, Michael reminisced with a small smile playing on his lips; and then she had to go and tell Maria and Liz about the trip as well and that's when things turned less fun and a lot more complicated.

Maria had been in her ace once she tracked him down later that very day; finally deeming him worthy of her presence again after the whole fiasco at Tess' house where she'd all but broken his nose with all of the flying porcelain, and had pulled him over into an unused classroom to ask why in the world, she and Liz weren't coming along as well.

Michael had blinked, thinking fast as to what kind of excuse would appeal the most to his (hopefully) future wife. But then, Maria had simply rolled her eyes and slapped his chest.

"Don't even bother, Spaceboy," the nickname caused a pleasant tingle in Michael's stomach that he tried not sending back through their connection to keep at least a little of his pride, "Tess told me all about you four gallivanting off to The Big Apple to confront some kind of mechanically engineered look a likes that some old book or something says are bound to be evil. I totally respect that and I even support that you need to go deal with that; I mean, one Michael Guerin is bad enough, I doubt I could handle another one."

Maria had smiled ruefully, but then her eyes had turned dark with some other emotion and Michael had known that she was far from as calm and collected as she seemed, "what I just don't understand however, is that apparently Kyle Valenti has gotten an invite. Kyle Freaking Valenti, Michael! He's the kid that used to pull down my pants in elementary school and laugh at me for wearing pink undies; the guy who's never acted like a decent human being unless it was to impress Liz! I just don't get why you all trust him and not us."

Maria had trailed off softly, looking away to hide her obvious displeasure and in that moment, Michael had finally realized that she was truly hurt that he and the others seemingly didn't trust her and Liz and Alex enough to let them come with them.

"It's not that we don't trust you," Michael had begun, itching to reach out and cup Maria's soft cheek in reassurance, "but this whole thing with Kyle is one of the things that I just can't talk about. I'm sorry and-"

"Don't even bother, Guerin," Maria had taken a step back, her face slipping into a cold mask that brought back haunting memories inside of Michael that he fought to push away immediately. "I guess we're just not that close after all. Have a nice trip."

Before the tall time traveler could manage much more than gawk in shock, Maria had vanished from his sight and the way all emotions suddenly seemed to dim down, told Michael that Liz had taught her a thing or two about maintaining privacy through the bond.

"Fuck," Michael had cursed and slammed his right hand straight through the nearest wall; unconsciously sending a pulse of his raw anger through his fingers and instantly demolishing the plaster.

A minute later, he'd vacated the classroom, a freshly fixed drywall behind him and a severely bleeding hand, which didn't hurt nearly as much as the disappointed glance Maria had sent him before she'd left.

"Michael," Tess' voice interrupted his reminiscing and Michael jolted back to the present, locking eyes with the blonde.

"What?" He immediately felt bad for snapping at her, but she seemed willing to ignore his bluntness and just nodded with her chin towards the window.

"Everyone's taking a bathroom break and a little pit stop for some fresh air; and since you've done nothing but stare miserably out the window for the last few hours, I figured you needed a break too." She sounded so genuine, which only made Michael feel even worse, until she added with a smirk so much like his own, "don't worry about it, Michael. Make it up to me by buying me some marshmallows and some Tabasco sauce and it's all in the past."

"That's a deal Harding," Michael grinned and a few minutes later, the two hybrids were enjoying themselves immensely by grabbing as many Snapples that they could safely carry; something that Tess enjoyed almost as much as Michael did and when they all returned to the jeep ten minutes later, Michael finally managed to push his feelings about his spat with Maria to the back of his mind for the time being.

Besides, he thought, stealing one of the Snapples that Tess had claimed for herself, I can't be distracted about that right now; I need all my attention on those bastards and not on anything else.

Liz's POV

"I'm telling you there's something going on that's potentially dangerous to everyone, but are we in the know? No we're not and it's bugging the hell out of me," Maria's voice rang through the phone line into a very tired Liz's ear.

In her defense, it was about the fifteenth time that day that she was listening to the same thing. Maria had a tendency to repeat herself when she was really angry.

"I know Maria; you're right, it does suck," Liz parroted the things she knew from vast experience that her best friend needed to hear and true to previous form, Maria quickly launched back into a heated diatribe about how everyone and most specifically Michael was at fault for all that was wrong with the world and Liz allowed her own thoughts to wander a bit.

I don't think they're doing this to deliberately hurt us, she thought, slowly getting up to stretch her legs, Max seemed as apologetic as Maria said Michael did when he told me and, Liz continued, biting her lip in worry as a memory from the other day passed through her open eyes, Michael did truly seem like he was more than sorry.

Liz had been speeding to her locker to grab the one book she'd forgotten for class and gotten a special hall pass to go get when she'd spotted Michael exiting one of the rarely used classrooms. The sight had momentarily blown every thought out of her head and she'd just stared in horror at the image in front of her.

Michael had walked slowly out of the classroom, looking briefly to either side before walking away, his right hand hanging limply down his side even as long trails of crimson blood traveled down his skin and left a ugly trail after him.

Liz had immediately spun around and run back to her AP English class that she shared with Max, bursting in with a distracted apology on her lips for her irritated teacher even as she bent down and told Max that Michael was injured. He'd left the classroom faster than should've been possible with nary an excuse for the now very befuddled educator standing forgotten by the blackboard.

The look that came over him the moment I told him about Michael is something I'll never forget and I really hope I'll never see it again, Liz thought with a shudder, releasing her now throbbing bottom lip from her teeth with a soft pop.

Liz had been tempted more than once to tell Maria what she'd seen, but in the end had decided against it to keep some semblance of calm in Maria's day.

"LIZ!" Maria's bellowing voice hurt Liz's unexpecting ear and she yelped and dropped the phone to rub her abused ear softly. She bent down and picked up the phone after a few soothing rubs.

"Maria!"

"You weren't even listening!" Maria accused in the other end, making Liz roll her eyes a little before she could control herself. "Don't roll your eyes at me, Parker!"

Guiltily, Liz stopped and sat down at her desk, not for the first time taken aback by her friend's seemingly psychic abilities. "Look, I'm sorry, Maria; but I can't really say anything that I haven't already pointed out. Why don't you just come over and watch some movies with me; I'll even call Alex and see if he's interested too?"

Maria hesitated, but declined with a dramatic huff before she sighed heavily and added quietly, "Aren't you sick of their secrets by now? I mean, I've promised not to snoop and I won't, but I truly feel like they think we're untrustworthy and besides changing his puppy dog look from you to Isabel, what's Kyle done to deserve their trust?"

"I don't know," Liz replied, glancing over at her poster of the solar system next to her closet. "But I think we just need to be patient and then they'll tell us everything soon enough."

"You're very annoying," Maria pointed out, "you sound so damn grown up all of the sudden; just because you and Max are all over each other lately…I just really feel like we're meant to be in the loop too, you know."

Knowing that saying anything else would probably just add fuel to the fire, Liz simply chuckled and before long the conversation ended with a Maria who said something about asking her mom to take her to her favorite fortuneteller to figure things out for her.

The silence after Maria hung up was almost choking Liz for some reason and she grabbed a pencil from her jug of writing utensils on her desk and took one of her post-it's and started writing; Going to New York abruptly – Tess hinted that it was to fight of some kind of clones.

Liz stared at the words for a long time, before her eyes narrowed and then, slowly, almost as though she was in a trance, she crossed out the word, 'clones' and wrote, 'Dupes', instead before getting up and going outside to the hiding place where she kept her journal and put in yet another note about her boyfriend's mysterious behavior.

Someday I will know everything, Liz thought resolutely, hiding the bulging journal in the slot before putting the brick back with an ease that came from a lot of practice. Max's flashes to me during our first few kisses told me that there's still a lot I need to know, but unlike Maria I'm done trying to ask them for answers; I'll find them all myself eventually.

A few seconds later, Liz's mother's voice sounded from the doorway and she quickly got back into her room and followed her mom down to dinner.

0o0o0

The next day was Sunday and Liz had barely slept all night, waking up every few minutes from vague nightmares about someone looking like Michael and Isabel trying to kill Max.

And the continuous feeling of unease and alertness from Max's end isn't really helping matters, Liz thought as she got out of her morning shower and got dressed.

When she got down to the diner and stole a few donuts for breakfast, her dad took one look at her and sent her out for a walk in an attempt to make her feel better. I guess, I do look a little pale, Liz thought and glanced at her reflection in her spoon, but she just shrugged it off, knowing the reason for that and the bags under her eyes as well and did as her dad told her to.

The sky was filled with dark clouds and Liz quickly regretted her obedience when the first few drops fell about thirty minutes later and she was nowhere near her house. And I didn't even bring a decent coat, she lamented fruitlessly as she held her hands over her head for some meager semblance of shelter from the continuous drops falling on her with more and more power.

It didn't take long before she was completely drenched and Liz really wished for some kind of miracle when all of the sudden a police car drove by and pulled into the curve a few feet further ahead. The passenger seat opened in a silent invitation and Liz hurried inside and turned to send her rescuer a beaming smile.

"Thank you so much, I was almost drowning out there and…" Liz trailed off as her eyes caught up with her mouth and she recognized the new addition to Sheriff Valenti's team; Deputy Fisher.

Deputy Fisher was a good looking man, with an air of friendliness about him and he never forgot his southern manners whenever out in public. He always tipped his hat politely whenever Liz serviced him at the Crashdown. She had even witnessed him climb up a tree to rescue old Mrs. Peterson's elderly – and extremely fat – cat Mr. Pippin a few weeks ago; charming her with friendly smiles even as the feline scratched his face something fierce.

And still; there was just something about him that didn't sit well with the clever brunette. He smiles with his lips but not his eyes, she thought not for the first time as the dark haired deputy did just that.

"Well, Miss Parker, I couldn't with good conscience let a pretty little one like you catch a cold. Colds are dreadful things to overcome after all." His charming smile sending inexplicable chills down Liz's spine.

"Err…right," she murmured uncomfortably. "Anyway, it's really nice of you, Sir."

"Think nothing of it, Miss Parker," and there was that smile yet again, Liz noticed before he turned his attention back to the road, "what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't help out wherever I could."

They drove for a few minutes in silence; something Liz was profoundly happy for since she truly didn't know how to react to the man – she quickly decided to let her instincts guide her since they'd never steered her wrong before when he finally did open his mouth and asked a bit too casually for it to seem sincere.

"So; I've been seeing that Evans boy around you a lot lately. Your Daddy says you're all but glued together these days."

"Yeah," Liz shrugged awkwardly, fiddling with a loose thread on her wet shirt. "We're together a lot, I can't deny that."

"So…" Fisher's voice took on an edge that sent warning signals to Liz, "where is he this weekend? I haven't seen him or his sister around – or that other boy that always hangs around them."

For the first time in a long time, Liz was truly happy that Max and the others secrets weren't hers yet, because she had a sudden feeling that if she knew more then she might not get out of the car anytime soon. And even what little I do know, I'm not gonna tell you, she sent out, wordlessly defying the older guy next to her, who was still wearing a much too nonchalant expression on his face for it to be real.

"Well I heard him and Michael talking about going camping this weekend with Sheriff Valenti's son, Kyle. I don't know where Isabel is though; out with her closer friends I suppose."

"You know, I don't like being lied to," the tone was eerie and Liz swallowed, but told herself to hold firm, taking solace in the bond where she could feel Max's calm. There was a very tense silence as he pulled up in front of the Crashdown a little while later, but then his face broke out into that excessive friendly smile that creeped Liz out more than ever, "I'm glad we got to spend a little time together, Miss Parker; I'm sure we'll get better acquainted soon. In fact," the deputy smiled even wider, "I can pretty much guarantee it. Now run along now before you start to shiver and get really sick."

Liz nodded mutely and exited the car faster than she could remember doing before in her life and ran to the backdoor so she didn't have to be seen by all the customers in the diner. Suddenly she was craving privacy more than anything; no that wasn't true, Liz realized as she stripped down and ran into her bathroom, locking the door behind her before sliding down her small tub for a bath, I need Max – even though he's secretive he's not creepy like that man…

Unbeknownst to Liz, Deputy Fisher was a lot creepier than even she gave him credit for and as she sat shivering in her bathroom, attempting to calm down from their encounter, he drove out to a secret facility in the desert and changed back into his real clothes and identity, which was Special Agent Daniel Pierce.

Pierce's POV

The scanner beeped granting him access as he knew it would and he walked into his office to go over some reports from the doctors taking ever so gentle care of his former agent, Kathleen Topolsky. After a few minutes of some quite enjoyable reading, he got up and walked to the White Room where they were holding her for interrogation.

The shrill scream echoing off the bare walls around him a few hours later, was hoarse; the exhaustion plain to hear and Pierce almost enjoyed the sound.

She's a traitor to her race, he thought, watching detachedly as yet another shiny instrument of pain was being pulled out of Kathleen Topolsky's trembling body.

The doctor, who was currently on duty, trying to make the stubborn agent talk, calmly wiped the object free of blood and then grabbed one of his many colorful syringes and plunged the sickly green liquid into Topolsky's sweat-covered neck.

It's almost beautiful to watch, Pierce thought as spasms quickly overtook the female's body.

He took a piece of cloth and forced it into her mouth, he wanted her in pain, not choking on her own tongue after all.

"Sir," a new voice sounded from the earpiece that Pierce almost always wore when he was busy in the White Room.

A leader should always be reachable, as Pierce's grandfather used to say, something that had only reinforced itself in Pierce's mind when he joined the military and seen the chain of command in action firsthand.

"Yes Agent," Pierce said, keenly aware of Topolsky's crying eyes on him as he spoke.

"I've just been introduced to this particular case, Sir, and I need to say that unless you want Agent Topolsky brain dead or insane, you need to give her a break soon."

Pierce narrowed his eyes and glanced behind him at the wall he knew was a one-way window from the other end; where the new operative most likely was at that point in time. "We've been at this for a month. If she'd break down like that, she'd have done so already."

Pierce swallowed a smug smile at this sound argument, loving the defeated sigh he could hear in his ear at his determined tone.

"Ok Sir; just remember that the Intel she might provide may be faulty at best."

"Of course, Agent," patronized Pierce, turning back to lock eyes with a silently crying Topolsky, "but I'll never stop unless you start talking Kathleen."

Topolsky blinked and her already pale skin turned a little whiter, as impossible it may seem.

"A-a..." Topolsky croaked, trying to speak through her no doubt aching throat.

Feeling generous, Pierce nodded to the doctor to give her some pain reliever.

A few moments later, the suffering woman continued in a raspy voice. "A month? It's finally been a month now?"

The question seemed a little odd to Pierce, but since he'd been through hundreds of these sessions he knew the victims..., knew the hostiles, he corrected internally, usually focused on the oddest of things during their rare break from agony.

So, he just nodded and softly agreed that, yes it had been a whole month at long last.

Something flashed through Topolsky's red-rimmed eyes and she looked down briefly before slowly lifting her head as though all of the burdens of the world were on her petite shoulders.

After staring soundlessly into Pierce's eyes without any emotions showing, Topolsky sighed heavily and finally did what Pierce had so fervently wished for; she broke.

"If you take me back, I'll tell you everything I know. Just please stop hurting me, sir..."

TBC…

A/N So this is it; I hope it doesn't feel to jumbled together with all the plot advances, but it is what it is. I started writing this and lost most of the chapter when my computer suddenly didn't want to start. It's functional again, but I've had some delays for that reason. Hopefully it tickled your fancy and you enjoyed it, because it's one of those rare instances where I actually sort of like my finished product (usually they're received the worst hehe). So please take a moment to let me know your thoughts!

Anyway, I hope your holidays will be joyful and full of laughter and love. Merry Xmas and Happy New Years to All!

Until Next Time

Ditte Mai