Part 2

Maria looked up as the Crashdown Café doors swung open, the bell above jingling softly. Liz hurried into the café, her bookbag slung over her shoulder and her breathing rapid. Maria shook her finger at her best friend, Liz was rarely ever late, so Maria took every opportunity to tease her when she was.

"I know, I know. I’m sorry, just let me change and I’ll be right out," Liz promised as she disappeared behind the Crashdown back room doors. Maria returned to wiping down the counter, it was an early afternoon in the middle of the week and not a time when they were overcrowded. She could easily handle the restaurant until Liz could help her out.

And Maria could easily forgive Liz for being slightly forgetful and out of character. Liz had gone through so much in the last six months with Max that Maria didn’t blame Liz for her occasional tardiness. Thank God Alex had come back from Sweden a few weeks ago. The exchange student program had worked wonders on their friend, he was more confident and at ease with himself, with the world, with her and Liz, and even with Isabel. A year ago Alex couldn’t stop mooning over Isabel Evans, and now he was perfectly content to be a simple friend.

Maria grinned to herself, at least that was what Alex would have Isabel believe. She knew Alex wasn’t quite over her, despite what he said, he just understood the futility of pining after someone who wasn’t ready for what he was offering. Maria knew that feeling all too well. Michael had no idea what he could have with her, not really. And he could never make a decision about what he wanted. Maria hated waiting for him to decide, but she loved him. There was nothing she could do to change that. So she would wait.

The door opened again and Maria looked up, smiling at Sheriff Valenti. She noted curiously that Jim seemed a little nervous as he approached and took off his hat. Maria smiled, she had to admit that she liked that about the Sheriff. He always did the little things, the courteous things that women loved. Maria had finally adjusted to the fact that the Sheriff was dating her mom, and she found that she liked the change in her mother. Amy DeLuca was happier and she enjoyed the time she spent with Jim, that much was obvious. And despite the DeLuca curse when it came to men, Maria hoped that her mom and Jim would last.

"Sheriff, what can I get you?" Maria asked, gesturing to one of the chairs by the counter. Jim shook his head.

"Nothing, thanks," he replied. Maria stopped cleaning the counter and she looked at him closer. He was really nervous. He was turning his hat in his hands in a circle, his fingers twisting the brim of the gray Stetson. She raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Sheriff, is there something you wanted to talk to me about? You know, Czechoslovakian related?" Maria asked, lowering her voice to a whisper. Jim looked confused until he caught her meaning and shook his head, a slight grin on his face.

"Uh, no Maria, nothing Czechoslovakian related. I actually had something I wanted to discuss with you and Kyle and Tess. If you’re free tonight we’d like you to come over for dinner," Jim managed to finally blurt out. Maria leaned back a little, stunned. Something involving her, Kyle and Tess? Her mind drew a blank where they shared anything relating to all of them. Finally she nodded.

"Sure Sheriff, I get off at six, and I’ll just come straight over there. I just need to let my Mom know—"

"No!"

Maria’s eyes opened wide at the Sheriff’s sudden outburst. He cleared his throat.

"I mean, I’d rather you didn’t tell your mother anything. This actually involves her, but I’d like to keep it a secret," Jim replied. Maria nodded slowly.

"Ok, I won’t tell her. I’ll be over at a little after six," Maria said slowly, her mind processing what Jim has said. He gave her a slight smile and backed away from the counter, heading for the door. Maria’s curiosity was going wild as the Sheriff left and Liz joined her behind the counter, putting on her alien antenna and smoothing down her hair.

"Hey, what did the Sheriff want?" Liz asked. Maria shrugged.

"You got me. I think he might be planning something for my Mom’s birthday in a few weeks. He wants to have me over for dinner with him and Kyle and Tess," Maria said, reaching for the sugar shakers to refill.

"Speaking of Kyle and Tess . . ." Liz trailed off, her eyes on the door. Maria followed her gaze and saw Kyle open the door of the café for Tess as they entered. Tess was laughing at something Kyle had said, a smile lighting up her face. Maria shook her head in amusement.

"He is so smitten," she observed. Liz watched them carefully.

"You think so?" she asked, trying to hold back the desperation in her tone. Everything she’d done, everything she’d changed about the future, was supposed to allow Max to fulfill his destiny with Tess. Not that she particularly wanted to see them cuddling in one of the Crashdown booths, but she didn’t want the pain and heartache she felt to be for no reason. Maria caught the tone of her voice and set down the shakers.

"Look Liz, you told me that Future Max told you the future is unclear now, it’s not written what will happen. All we know is that the future he came from no longer exists. What if this is all supposed to happen? What if Tess just needed to be accepted into the group to feel welcome and now you and Max can be together?" Maria asked. Liz shook her head violently.

"No Maria. Max and I can never be together. That was the whole point of what I did. Max can never love me again. How could he possibly after what he thinks I did with Kyle?" Liz said, her voice trembling at the thought of Max’s face, hurt as he looked through her bedroom window, seeing her with Kyle. Maria stood with her hands on her hips.

"You told me that Max told you a few weeks ago that he wants you to be able to go out, travel, see the world, right?" Maria asked. Liz nodded, biting her bottom lip. That had been an exercise of willpower, telling Max in the eraser room that she wanted to see the wonders of the world with him by her side. She knew she shouldn’t have, that it was playing with things she couldn’t change, but she couldn’t let him think that he could never do those things.

"And Max told me that he wanted me to do those things, that he wanted me to experience all life can offer. But he’ll be here, because he can’t have the same things," Liz said sadly. It still seemed so unfair to her, that Michael, Isabel, Max and Tess couldn’t be normal teenagers. Maria was smiling broadly at her.

"What?"

"He’s waiting for you to come to him," she announced. Liz looked confused, so she continued. "You know that old saying, ‘If you love someone, set them free. And if they come back to you it’s love, but if they don’t, it never was’? That’s what Max is doing, I can guarantee it."

Liz was skeptical, but Maria seemed certain.

"But Maria, I can never go back to him, no matter how much I want to. Things can never be the way they were. Max is going to be waiting a long time," Liz said. Maria shook her head and returned to the sugar shakers.

"You underestimate the patience of Max Evans," Maria replied, her voice confident. "This is the boy who waited eight years to even speak to you. I think he can withstand a little waiting around for you to realize how much you love him."

"Maria, it’s not that simple, and you know it! This isn’t something I want, it’s not something I brought on myself. I wasn’t given a choice," Liz said, her voice raising slightly. Maria sighed.

"Liz, I know that. And what you did was hard, impossibly hard. But that’s over, that path has been avoided. Things are different now and you have no idea how events will take place. But one thing hasn’t changed, and it’s never going to change. Max Evans and Liz Parker are in love. They always will be, and no leather-clad, longhaired gorgeous man from years into the future is going to alter that!" Maria said, emphasizing her point by dropping the sugar shaker on the counter with a clatter. Liz smiled a little.

"Gorgeous, huh? I never said he was gorgeous," Liz teased. Maria laughed.

"Liz, honey, Max in leather. How could that possibly be a bad thing?" Maria replied, joining Liz in laughter. Liz enjoyed the moment, being able to joke about things with her best friend, one of only two people who knew the true situation. But, Liz’s face returned to seriousness.

"Even if you’re right, what can I do?" Liz asked. Maria turned to study her.

"Are you going to listen to me this time? Really listen to me?"

Liz nodded.

"Tell him. Tell Max everything."

Liz shook her head once, and it struck Maria with finality.

"No, I can’t."

Liz was silent for a minute and then she looked up at Maria.

"And you know that you can’t either. You know that, right? Promise me you won’t tell Max, Maria," Liz said. Maria held up her hands in surrender.

"You know I won’t tell him, even though I think it’s wrong not to. I promised you I wouldn’t, and I won’t," Maria said. Liz gave her a slight smile and went to ring up one of the customer’s bills. Maria watched her go and then her eyes shifted to the booth where Kyle and Tess were sitting.

"But that doesn’t mean that someone else can’t tell him," Maria mused.

Kyle watched as Tess leaned over her paper, a pen poised in the air. She was concentrating on the history questions and occasionally she would nibble on the end of the pen. He found himself smiling at her and looked away quickly when Tess raised her head and her sharp blue eyes met his. Without saying a word she looked back down at the paper though a smile curved her lips.

Ever since Kyle had told her she was a part of the Valenti family and that he wanted to protect her things had been different. He was more than just nice to her in the usual way. They still teased each other and she still enjoyed playing tricks on him, but there was an underlying meaning to everything. Tess really did feel like she belonged, something that she’d never felt before.

Truthfully, she’d been thinking about leaving after Nesado was killed. She wasn’t wanted, her destiny with Max was a formality that she saw would never happen because Liz Parker was the one who held his heart. And Tess realized, after some time, that she’d never loved Max, she’d just been in love with the idea of having a family, of having Max love her. And she still had some impressions of the lives they’d lived before, of what having Max love her had been like. Because of that she’d wanted to believe that he could love her again. What she’d failed to realize for a long time was that Max was a different person, and she was also different than those other lifetimes.

But, looking at Kyle, she knew that things were vastly different. Kyle made her feel things she’d only thought she’s felt for Max. She realized that Kyle was the real thing. She still cared for Max, he was their leader. She trusted him and trusted the things he’d taught her about being human. She knew that knowing Max had made her a better person, a better human. And she was grateful for the way he’d protected and looked after her in New York. But she knew he wasn’t happy. He could never be happy as long as Liz and he weren’t together. Thinking of Liz, Tess looked over at the counter and saw Maria and Liz having a heated discussion.

She was curious because of the sad look on Liz’s face. Tess knew they had to be talking about Max. Max got the same look on his face sometimes and Tess knew he was thinking about Liz. Ever since Liz had slept with Kyle Max had been unbalanced. Tess cast Kyle a quick look and found him examining the menu. She was more than a little suspicious about what Liz said had happened. At the time she and Kyle had not been close, so she’d filed it away as some rebound thing Liz was going through. But she also hadn’t known Liz well at the time either.

Not that she and Liz were the best of friends now, but Tess felt like she understood her better. Watching her with Max, watching Liz watch Max made Tess feel like she knew Liz and knew Liz’s heart. And Tess could tell her heart belonged to Max. Besides, getting to know Kyle had made her see that he wasn’t like that either, he wouldn’t have slept with Liz. Sighing, she did wonder if maybe it was only something she wanted to believe, that Kyle hadn’t been with Liz. Because she had hopes that there might be more between her and Kyle and she wasn’t sure she liked the fact that he slept with Liz. It was a curiously human wish, and wholly unrealistic because the truth was that she and Kyle were not formally together, but the hope was there.

But things were still so uncertain with her and Kyle, so murky that she didn’t know that she had the right to ask him. She wanted to, more than anything in the world, but she didn’t want him to think she was too possessive. Maria walked up to the table at that moment, order pad and pen ready.

"What can I get you two?" she asked, though her gaze was fixed on Kyle thoughtfully.

"Can I get the Trekkie special with a Mountain Dew?" Kyle asked. Maria nodded and jotted his order down. Tess looked up without having to refer to the menu.

"And I’d like fries and a Vanilla Alien Blast," she said. Maria nodded and was about to step away, when she stopped, looking at the both of them.

"Hey, do you guys know anything about this dinner thing tonight with you two, me, and the Sheriff?" Maria asked. Kyle looked at Tess quickly, his eyes questioning and Tess looked back at him, signaling that she had less of a clue than he did about what Maria was talking about.

"No, what are you talking about?" Kyle asked.

"Your dad invited me to dinner tonight with you guys. He didn’t say anything?" Maria asked, surprised. Kyle shook his head, surprised.

"Weird. Guess we’ll find out tonight," Maria replied thoughtfully. She stepped away after another minute and then returned, flashing Tess an apologetic smile.

"Kyle, can I speak to you for a minute?" Maria asked. Kyle nodded and slid out of the booth, following Maria over to the counter where they leaned close, their heads practically touching. Tess was instantly curious, but her thoughts were distracted by Max entering the Crashdown. She felt a tug of sympathy at the sadness on his face, his dull eyes and stony face. Max immediately went and sat down at his usual booth, the next one in front of where Tess sat, facing her. He didn’t even really see her and Tess watched him pull out his books and paper, immediately starting homework.

Liz came over quietly and placed a glass of cherry coke on the table in front of him. Max looked up, caught her eyes and gave her a small smile of thanks, which she accepted with a nod of her head and then moved away. Tess watched Max’s eyes following Liz and then his eyes drifted over to meet hers. Tess almost cried at the despair in the depths of his deep brown eyes. Max didn’t deserve to be in such pain. He looked back down at his papers, but Tess would still see the tenseness of his shoulders and how he slumped in the booth.

And at that moment she resolved to help Max however she could. She didn’t know how, but she would do whatever it took to bring Liz back to Max. Before she could get excited about the prospect, heard Kyle’s voice raising from the low conversation he and Maria were having.

"Are you crazy DeLuca?!?"

Kyle followed Maria over to the counter and he sat on one of the stools, curious what she wanted to speak to him about. Maria leaned forward on her elbows, her long hair falling over her shoulders. She glanced behind her to ensure that no one heard them.

"Listen, Kyle, I need your help. Actually, it’s more Liz that needs you help. Liz and Max really, well, it’s kind of complicated—"

Kyle held up his hand before Maria rambled on for twenty minutes.

"What is it Maria?" he asked, not annoyed, but wanting to get to the point of the tirade. Maria took a deep breath.

"Well, you know that little show you and Liz put on for Max last October?"

"Yeah, I was there."

The sarcasm flew right over Maria’s head and she continued on.

"Ok, well, Liz told you later what it was all about, right?"

Kyle nodded.

"I had to drag it out of her though. I told her I had a right to know why I had been used to hurt Max so badly. It doesn’t bode well for me in the afterlife if I’m screwing over the guy who saved my life," Kyle said matter of factually. Maria shot him a strange look, something he was getting used to and paused as Liz walked behind them, carrying a soda to Max’s table where he’d just walked in. Maria’s eyes softened at the sight of them, Liz looking longingly at Max and Max following her every move as she walked away.

"Well, here’s what I’m thinking. I’ve been sworn to secrecy, and I’m sure Liz told you not to tell anyone," Kyle nodded.

"Ok, well, I think you should tell Max."

Kyle blinked twice, wondering if he’d heard her right the first time.

"Are you crazy DeLuca?!?"

Maria shushed him, already having alerted the entire restaurant to their conversation. He lowered his voice and leaned closer to her.

"Maria, you know why Liz did what she did. Don’t you think we should respect that decision? It was hard enough for her to do, I don’t want to interfere!" Kyle said, his voice strong. Maria shook her head.

"I know, I know we should, but something tells me we shouldn’t. Max and Liz don’t deserve to be apart. Whatever future was going to be is gone. Besides, you can’t change what’s going to happen, it just happens. And maybe it’s written for Max and Liz to be apart, but I don’t think so. There is no force in the universe that is strong enough to separate them forever, and that is what I choose to respect," Maria said, her voice forceful. Kyle studied Maria for a minute, his mind whirling.

A year ago he never would have guessed he’d be where he was. He never would have guessed that Max Evans was an alien who would bring him back from the brink of death from a gunshot wound. He wouldn’t have dreamed that aliens would be living in Roswell, going to school with him, eating next to him at the Crashdown and would appear and be totally human. He never would have thought that a small petite blond from another planet would be living in his bedroom and making a space in his heart and family. He never would have guessed that his father and Maria’s mother would be dating. And most of all, he never would have thought that Maria DeLuca would actually make sense.

And looking at Maria, her eyes determined and her lips set, he realized that Maria was the only thing making sense lately. And even though he still respected what Liz had done, he saw the strength of her decision and admired it, he still felt it was wrong. And even though Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess had royally messed up his life, he couldn’t blame them. He’d been wanting to, in fact, he had up until that moment. He resented their need for help because they were different, but he understood now that it wasn’t within their control. They didn’t choose it anymore than he had. And because of who they were and because, through Tess he wasn’t seeing association with aliens as a bad thing, Kyle resolved to help them, because that’s what friends did. And that meant helping Max.

"Ok Maria, what do I need to do?"