Chapter 16

"Max and I can never be together again."

Kyle gaped. "Liz, what are you talking about? We are going to find some way to fix this whole mess and then you and Evans are going to live happily ever after."

"No, Kyle." Liz shook her head sadly, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. "Even if we do go back to normal, this just proves why Max and I aren't meant to be. Kyle, Tess almost killed Alex, and Max thinks that's me. He thought I almost killed Alex, and when we talked, you could-" She broke off. "Could see the passion, attraction in his eyes. She's nearly a murderer, and he still wanted her."

"No, Liz, he wanted you. He didn't know why, but I know it was you he was-"

She interrupted him with a quiet conviction in her voice. "Kyle, Max has no clue anything is different with me. He knows 'Liz' is acting strangely, but he couldn't make a connection to me." She smiled sadly. "Max is a good person. He wouldn't just feel attracted to someone like Tess, me, who he knows almost killed one of his close friends, unless it's something so basic he can't fight it. They're destined to be together, Kyle."

"Liz, I would probably be the last one to say this, but I believe that you and Evans are meant to be together. Even I feel it when the two of you are in the same room. I thought you believed too?"

"I did," she agreed. "Before I saw the look in his eyes and knew he lied to me all those times he told me Tess meant nothing to him. That he wasn't attracted to her at all." A lone tear coursed down her cheek. "You can't make someone react like that in a matter of minutes, Kyle. He's always felt it."

"But Liz, how do you know that it wasn't you that inspired that look," Kyle pleaded. "I've heard he fell in love with you the moment he saw you. Why couldn't it happen again?"

"Because of his eyes. His eyes were telling me he knew he was cheating on his Liz, but he couldn't help it." She turned away, begging Kyle to end the conversation. "He did it anyway."

~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

"This is what we've been waiting for our whole lives." Michael's statement hung silently in the air as Max and Isabel tried to process what he was saying. What the repercussions of this information were.

Their whole lives, they'd searched for a way to go home, but now that they had it, did they want to go? It was easy to say that they couldn't fulfill their responsibilities to their home planet if they didn't have a way to get home, but now they would have to confront the issue head on.

"This is what I've been dreading my whole life," Max whispered. "I wanted to know who I am, where we're from, but every piece of information we get just messes up our lives even more."

Isabel stood silently, too afraid to agree with Max. "That's because they're only partial answers, half truths," Michael insisted. "This is everything we need to know about ourselves laid out for us."

"No." Max shook his head. "This isn't about us. This is about people who we have some connection to, people who are dead. I know I have a responsibility to Antar, but I know I don't believe in everything in this book. It makes me wonder if anything is cut and dry."

Isabel finally spoke. "Max is right. We haven't followed this book before, at least not the part of it we knew. You and I aren't together, Michael. Neither are Max and Tess." Max's eyes shifted nervously at this statement, thinking about the event of the night before and his ponderings.

"That's the interesting thing about what I've read so far," Michael said. "This talks all about our past lives together, but it doesn't ever say anything about what we should do on earth. There's the history of our past lives, the science of how we were recreated, and directions to use the granolith that are insanely confusing. It ends with some sort of prophetic prediction about our return to home."

"Nothing about our... relationships... on Earth?" Max asked. "What about the pictures in the original copy of the book, with us paired up and all our reproductive organs on showcase? What about the four-square?"

Michael flipped a few pages back in the translation as Max picked up the real book. He opened to the page with the picture and walked over to Michael, who was finding the same section. "There's not much text here, apparently. But it's in the science part. It seems more like our creation, again. I know it doesn't make much sense, but that's what it says."

"What does that mean, though?" Isabel wondered. "That they don't care about the pairings?"

"No." Michael paused. "I think it means they assumed we would just be together, because we were before. That there was no fighting it, and we would end up together on our own terms." At Michael's statement, Max dropped the book in his hands as though he'd been burned by it.

Michael and Isabel turned to look at him strangely. "Sorry," he mumbled. He could feel a tightening around his heart. How strange it was that Michael should use those words which had permeated his consciousness since feeling the undeniable connection with Tess last night.

"Whatever, Maxwell," Michael said. "That's not the issue right now, anyway. Isabel and I aren't gonna be together, and you and Tess certainly aren't."

Isabel and Max both felt uncomfortable, knowing more than Michael did about what he was saying. They both wondered what he would say if he knew what was transpiring in front of his eyes. Isabel thought he would flip out because she'd kept the truth from him, but she knew he wouldn't cooperate with their plan to keep some semblance of control over Tess. Likewise, Max thought Michael would blow up because Max was having feelings with someone who'd betrayed them. If Michael was anything, he was extremely loyal, even if sometimes it didn't seem that way.

"What we have to discuss is going home," Michael continued. "Things have been quiet in regards to the skins lately. I mean, we had to deal with the gandarium, but we don't know if that had anything to do with the skins. You said Grant dug up some and that's what got the whole chain of events started." His tone became a little more excited. "That may mean the skins are weak right now, and it might be the perfect time to go home."

"Home," Max repeated. "Antar is not home, Michael. Do you really feel like it's home?"

A frown appeared on his friend's face. "Like Roswell is, Maxwell?" he shot back. "Roswell is not home to me. Just because you don't want to abandon your little daydream with Liz when she finally decided to give in to your sorry ass..."

Max moved toward him angrily, one arm readying to hit Michael.

"Stop it!" Isabel yelled. "Both of you!" Max turned to her, looking shameful.

"Since when are you our peer mediator?" Michael asked bitingly. "I don't remember you interfering before when Max decided to punish me with his royal hands."

"What is wrong with you, Michael?" Isabel pleaded.

"What's wrong?" He snorted. "Both of you refuse to look at the truth. You are so wrapped up in Liz and Alex and being human that you aren't remembering who you are. Max, you didn't even look at the book's translation until I came over this morning, and it has all the answers to our heritage in it. You hardly knew where you left it. Now, we can go home and free our planet from this hell it's going through- and you can't get over your romantic hang-ups."

"Oh, please," Max finally snapped. "This isn't about us. It's about you. You've been pushing everyone away for so long, but lately you've realized you were wrong. Roswell is home. But you can't let yourself believe that, and you're trying to convince yourself as much as you are us." A little fire went out of his voice and he took a deep breath. "I know you've had a hard life, here, Michael, and knowing that we're supposed to liberate Antar has given you a purpose. But what about Maria? What about your apartment, Laurie, everything? I don't think you want to go back any more than we do, but you're scared. And when you're scared, you get defensive and try to piss everyone off."

"Maybe," he answered. "But that doesn't change the fact that we can go home. All we have to do is set the granolith and go."

"Maybe in theory. But what about everyone else who is involved with us? We can't just leave, Michael. It's not fair to us or them."

Michael leaned against the wall heavily, all the anger deflating out of him. "How did we get so far from 'don't get involved'?" He let out a humorless laugh. "Things were so much easier when we didn't have to worry whether someone would miss us if we disappeared off the face of the earth."

Isabel spoke abruptly, happy with the change of subject. "I wouldn't change things. I know I wasn't happy when you healed Liz, Max," she laughed. "Far from it, but now I realize it was supposed to happen. I wouldn't give up Alex or the friendships we've all made for anything." She bent to pick up the metal book, still laying forgotten on the floor where Max dropped it. Her fingers flipped to page where her very face looked back at her.

"But there is still a very real decision to make," Michael insisted. "And maybe it should be everyone's decision. You're right about that. We're all involved."

"You want a group meeting?" Max nodded. "Fine. Tonight, after closing at the Crash."

Isabel's face fell. That was not what she'd expected. "Can I have the translation for this afternoon?" she asked quickly. "I want to read it. I'll bring it to the meeting tonight, okay?"

Max shrugged. "Sure." Michael handed it to her.

"I'll see you guys later," Isabel called over her shoulder as she left the room. First, she really was going to read everything through herself. And then she was going to the Valenti's to show this to Liz.

~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

After Kyle left, Liz had fallen back into his bed and tried to go back to sleep. However, the conversation they'd had wouldn't leave her mind, and all she could think of was Max. His dark eyes filled with unbridled emotion wouldn't cease staring at her, and it was slowly driving herself crazy. Finally, with a muffled scream, she jumped out of bed, scattering pillows and sheets every which way.

"Damn you, Max," she murmured. To try to get him off her mind, she made Kyle's bed and set about tidying his room, which was still messy from all the 'research' she'd done lately. Then, once that was done, she emerged to an empty kitchen and living room. There was a note on the table from Kyle, telling her he'd gone to check up on a job he'd applied for at the mechanics. If she needed something, he'd be back later that afternoon, and he hoped she felt better.

Liz smiled. Kyle really was a great guy.

She sat on the couch, wondering how she should occupy herself for the next few hours. During their brief phone conversation, Isabel had told Liz she would come by sometime that day with the translation so they could go over it. Liz knew there had to be something really important in it that caused Tess to translate it with such secrecy and speed. In the end, she got up and went out the Valenti's back door, plopping herself in a dusty lawn chair. She let the sun hit her face, wondering idly if Tess' skin would burn easily because of how pale she was. Her eyes drifted shut from the warm laziness that the sun made her feel. She could almost feel herself drifting into sleep when she felt a presence invade the area. She sat up quickly, scanning the area, until she noticed the figure watching her from the side of the house.

"Nicholas," she breathed.