Liz sighed as she closed the book in front of her. Another hour wasted following a bad lead. She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to shake off the tension that threatened to strain her muscles. The lack of light in the room wasn’t helping either, but there wasn’t much she could do about that. Max was sitting on the floor; the Destiny book propped up on his knees. And he looked every bit as bored and tense as she was.
Last night had been uneventful. Well, if you could call Max sleeping on her floor uneventful. She had waited until she was sure he was sleeping before allowing herself to nod off. And she had been plagued by dreams all night. In one of them, there had been a dozen Max’s, each one pulling her in a different direction until she didn’t know what to do or where to go anymore.
And when she had woken, it had been to discover that Max was already awake and watching her silently. The intimacy of the moment had unnerved her and she had all but fled from the room to make them breakfast. By the time she’d returned, Max had been fresh from a shower and already opening the alien book.
She wasn’t sure how he could be so calm, so utterly unaffected by her presence. She supposed it was a testament to the job she’d done so well. Not only had she quashed every bit of love he might have felt for her, but she’d also managed to make him indifferent to her. And she knew that no matter what he did, she would never be able to be indifferent to Max Evans.
Kyle and Tess had arrived soon after the quick breakfast and after a mere five minutes, Liz had wanted to toss them bodily from the room. They’d insisted on talking until the sound of their voices grated on even Liz’s nerves. She had grown accustomed to the silence with Max, and a part of her knew that she simply wanted them to go so that she could have these last few hours alone with Max. They would find a way to fix him soon and he would go back to hating her from afar. For right now, he needed her and she savored every last minute of it.
She had spent the morning pouring through every science and astrology textbook she owned while Max did nothing more than stare at the Destiny book, and eventually they had driven Kyle and Tess away out of sheer boredom. Liz was hoping for some sort of guidance, anything that would tell her where to go or what to do. But so far she had come across nothing. And she was running out of books.
Maybe what they needed was a break. Kyle and Tess had decided to go back to the UFO Center to see if the others had missed anything and were then planning to scope out the town. Lunchtime was approaching and unless she was mistaken, Liz’s room was making Max uncomfortable. Periodically, he would tug at the collar of his shirt and she wondered if it had anything to do with his memories of her and Kyle in bed together. She’d basically sentenced him to stay in her bedroom whether he liked it or not. And she felt selfish enjoying his company when he so obviously didn’t want to be there.
A quick glance at her watch told her that Kyle and Tess would be gone for awhile still. There was time for a sanity break. She rose from her desk chair and saw Max’s head rise to follow her movements. She flashed him a small, reassuring smile and held up a finger in a gesture meant to tell him to wait where he was. When he nodded his understanding and returned to the book, she hurried out the door.
Max heard the door click shut and he leaned his head back against the wall, letting his defenses down for a minute. It was absolutely killing him to be this close to Liz and not touch her. He’d been dying inside as every minute had faded into the next.
He’d thought he could distract his wandering thoughts of her with his translations of the alien book that promised all the answers they’d waited to hear. He’d been overjoyed and excited at first to be able to read it, but he’d soon discovered that the book was largely technical, containing the exact procedures used to recreate them on Earth. It wasn’t anything he could understand easily and would have been hard to follow without the pounding headache, but he knew Liz would have been fascinated by it. And the irony wasn’t lost on him that he couldn’t share it with her.
Max shook his head, realizing that no matter what he did his thoughts always circled back to Liz. He’d slept on her floor; mere feet away from her and his body had craved her. Not that he’d actually slept. He hadn’t needed to, and he hadn’t questioned it. Even today, he knew he should be tired, but he didn’t feel it other than the fatigue and stress of the last twenty-four hours. He’d known that Liz would stay awake last night until she’d thought he was asleep, so he’d feigned it. And it had given him hours of interrupted time to simply watch her.
He’d studied the planes and shadows of her body, the angles and curves of her face as she slept. It hadn’t been a peaceful sleep, but he hadn’t dared touch her for fear she would wake and catch a glimpse of the love and longing he knew he would always feel for her. It was bad enough she’d woken to find him watching her, but at least he hadn’t been hovering by her bedside when she’d caught him.
And the long hours of the still night had given him time to think as well. And he knew now that she was keeping them apart on purpose. He’d come to the realization at 3:52 that morning. Even if she had casually slept with Kyle, she had to know he would forgive and forget it. Somehow, he would find a way to shove the hurt aside. She was his Liz, the one perfect, shining thing in his life. If he did no other deeds in his life worthy of mentioning, he would know that it was because of him that she was alive to brighten the world. And he would keep that knowledge close to his heart.
So, she had to be keeping this wedge between them on purpose, maintaining an arms length of space between them at all times. But why?
A hand closed around his arm and he yelped in surprise. He turned to the open window to find Liz smiling sheepishly at him. What was she doing on the balcony? She’d left through the door a few minutes ago.
She held out a hand to him, but she made no move to step inside herself. Did she want him to follow her? The sky was overcast, and not so bright that it would hurt to step out into the light, but still he hesitated. As if reading his thoughts, she dangled a pair of sunglasses in front of him. Her room had been steadily growing warmer as the day progressed, even though he’d seen Liz put a sweater on early that morning. Surely it had to be cooler and less claustrophobic outside.
Making his decision quickly, he rose from the floor and tucked the alien book under his arm. Following Liz through the open window, he was hit by the first refreshing blast of cool air. He hadn’t realized how warm he’d been inside until the wind blew across the thin sheen of sweat on his body. And he took a second to breathe in the air before he took the sunglasses from her hand and followed Liz down the fire escape ladder.
She’d already pulled his Jeep around to the alley, and he climbed into the passenger seat, more than willing to let her lead him. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the headrest while Liz pulled the Jeep out onto the street. All around them were sounds, people calling out in greeting to one another, and the endless chatter among friends on the sidewalks. A nearby car blasted out a loud tune on the radio. He recognized the tones of each one. And he wasn’t able to understand a single one of them.
He tried to block it out, to ignore the pounding in his head that never seemed to go away. He realized Liz must have been going fast because it only took a few minutes before all of the harsh sounds faded away. Here, on the open highway, only the wind rushing past them broke the silence. And he’d never loved Liz more than he did in that moment. How was it possible that she knew him even better than he knew himself? She’d known how stifled he’d been before he’d even felt it.
He kept his eyes closed. Even though the sun wasn’t directly overhead, it was still a bit brighter than he preferred. And he couldn’t help but wonder again if this was what it felt like to have migraine headaches. He’d heard about them, but had never suffered one. His immune system was generally too advanced. But he suspected that it was currently out of whack, and anything was possible at this point.
The wind on his face felt better then anything he could have imagined, and he wished that they didn’t have to go back to Roswell. Here, he could pretend that nothing was wrong. He was out for an afternoon date with Liz, driving aimlessly out to the desert. They would pull to a stop soon and lie atop the hood of his Jeep, and they would talk for hours.
Liz had shared most of her personal fears and dreams with him during those aimless drives. It was how he learned that she really didn’t have her heart set on Harvard as much as everyone thought she did. It had been when he had shared with her his dreams of wanting to go to college and study to become…anything. He’d told her his greatest fear was to be allowed to begin a life only to be called home. Those had been good days, when the future was a place of hopes and dreams. Those had been the days before he’d seen Liz in bed with Kyle, looking at him with that horrible mix of sorrow and pain.
She’s lying to you.
Even as the nightmarish visions filled his head, his inner voice called out to him. Something had been off about that whole night, but he’d been willing to let it go. And there was hardly time to figure it out now. He would merely have to wait until this whole mess was over and confront her. He would lock her in a closet with him if he had to, but he would get the full truth from her someway.
The car slowed and began to jostle as Liz pulled to a stop on a bed of gravel. Max opened his eyes and looked up to see that Liz had taken them to Frasier Woods. It had been months since he’d been there, but he recognized it all the same.
Liz had already climbed out of the Jeep, hefting a backpack onto her shoulders and grabbing a large bag from the back seat. She nodded her head, motioning him to follow her. What choice did he have? He climbed after her, picking his way over rocks on the path that lead to a small clearing. By the time he’d reached it, Liz was already unpacking the contents of the bag, pulling out sandwiches and bottled water from the Crashdown. And beside it all sat a small bottle of Tabasco sauce.
For some reason Max couldn’t understand, the sight of that bottle hurt more than anything else. Liz was hurting him, them, on purpose. She was doing her hardest to push him away, and yet she had remembered to bring Tabasco sauce for their impromptu picnic. It was almost too much for him, but he had lived through worse pain than this and he could pretend that the pain wasn’t eating away at him inside.
He slowly sat down across from her at the picnic table, not realizing how hungry he was until that moment. She handed him half of the food and he took it gratefully. The sky rumbled with the threat of rain, but he paid it no attention. Max couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so utterly normal, as if he hadn’t a care in the world more than beating the rain back to the Jeep.
And Liz was still allowing him to sit in silence. But he found that he was missing the sound of her voice. He knew he couldn’t understand her, but it suddenly didn’t matter. He’d grown accustomed to the spikes and pitches of her voice when he’s listened to her talk with the others. Some of the sounds clashed together horribly, but there was a melody to it, a cadence that soothed something deep inside of him. But how could he get her to talk to him without saying anything himself? She wouldn’t shy away from the blatant alien aspects of his new speech, but it would shatter the illusion that things were normal between them.
He mulled it over while they ate, but could find no way to pantomime the growing desire. He watched helplessly as Liz picked up the few remains of their lunch, afraid that they would return to her room now that lunch was over. He liked it outside, away from the memories and the stifling heat of her bedroom. It was still warm outside, but at least the cool wind helped take the edge off the heat.
Together, they made quick work of the trash. He was trying to figure out the best way to get her to stay there with him for awhile when he distinctly heard her cell phone ring. The familiar, overly simplified notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony made him want to laugh suddenly, though he knew it was more hysteria than humor that drove the desire. At least some things were still recognizable.
Liz dug into her backpack and pulled it out, twisting her body slightly away from Max to talk. He tried to figure the conversation out based solely on Liz’s reactions, but quickly discovered that it was a lost cause. Was it Kyle, checking in with her? Tess, wanting them to come back? Michael or Isabel with news on the device?
After a long minute, Liz hung the phone up and turned to look at him. She offered him a smile, but there was little hope in it. So, it had been Maria then, calling to tell her they hadn’t found the device yet. Liz’s tone had been too pleasant for her to have been talking to either Michael or Isabel. He tried not to let it discourage him. He hadn’t expected it to be easy to find Brody. He supposed he was lucky they even had any idea where to start. But he felt the despair edging in. Would he ever have his life back again? Or was this what his life would be like now? Wondering and trying to guess his way through things? And he couldn’t exactly go home, not like this. What would he tell his parents? He could draw them a picture of a flying saucer and hope for the best, but somehow he didn’t think that would work.
Liz watched as Max’s face crumpled and she couldn’t hold back any longer. All morning, she’d watched him suffer in silence. She’d left him alone on the drive out to the woods. She’d even let him have a peaceful lunch. But he was staring up at her with the eyes of a broken man, and she couldn’t let him suffer it alone anymore. She crossed the distance between them and reached a hand out. He didn’t recoil or back away, and she took it as a good sign.
“Max,” she sighed, not caring if he could understand her or not. He turned towards her when she spoke to him, turning those eyes on her. She took another step closer, letting her hand drop to circle his arm. And as soon as she made contact with his skin, alarm filled her. Her eyes widened and she put both hands on Max’s arm now. He was burning up.
She ignored his confused looks as she ran her hands up his arms to his neck and face. He was running a fever, easily above a hundred, though she had no idea how high. How had she missed it before? She could tell Max still had no idea what was going on, so she took both of his hands in hers. She put one of his hands on her own forehead, letting him feel the cool skin, and she placed the other hand on his own forehead. She could see the instant he understood, and his face tightened in surprise. He hadn’t realized he was sick. Why would he? He had no experience with it.
Cursing herself, Liz let her hands drop from Max. She had to figure out what to do. She’d known he was warm last night, but it hadn’t been anything like this. Max seemed to be undergoing some sort of physical change in addition to losing his speech. Quickly, she ran through some of the symptoms. He had passed out yesterday morning, and when he’d awoken, he hadn’t understood anything but Antarian. He had a sensitivity to light, and had been growing increasingly warmer. She didn’t like the ideas that were forming in her head. Not a single one of them spelled anything but trouble for him.
He wasn’t going to like it anymore than she was, but she was going to have to run a few tests. Max didn’t seem to be feeling sick, so the rising heat might not be anything to panic over yet. She would need blood and skin samples, and the high powered microscope that she had loaned to Max a couple of weeks ago. Cursing her luck, Liz packed up the few belongings they had with them, and picked up her backpack. She hurried to the Jeep, and revved the engine to life as Max climbed in beside her.
Within minutes, they were back on the highway heading back towards city limits. They were going to have to go by Max’s house. With any luck, his parents wouldn’t be there and they could sneak in and out before anyone noticed they were there. Max stared out the side window as she drove the familiar streets to Max’s house. A quick glance at the empty driveway told her they had the house to themselves for a second.
Gesturing to Max, she climbed out of the Jeep and let him lead her inside. He looked nervous to be in his home, and she didn’t blame him. He was probably afraid. Though they were alone, he still hesitated at the front door, shifting his attention first to the right then to the left as if he expected his parents to leap from the bushes and strike up a conversation.
Liz placed a hand on his arm, both to offer her support and gauge his temperature. Was he warmer than he’d been earlier? It was hard to tell and she was itching for a thermometer. Max sighed and opened the door, leading her inside his house. Once there, he stepped aside, uncertain why they were there. And Liz realized the blind faith Max had placed in her. This was the last place he wanted to be and yet he had gone if for no other reason than she had led the way.
Pushing aside the guilt and awe that realization brought, Liz strode to Max’s bedroom and entered it without a second thought. She faltered for only a second when she realized that she hadn’t ever expected to find herself back in his room again. Forcing her focus on the matter at hand, she spied her microscope on his desk. She crossed the room and carefully packed it inside her backpack.
Max hovered in the doorway behind her, darting nervous glances down the hall. Wanting to leave as badly as Max did, Liz eyed the desk again, making sure she wasn’t forgetting anything. She spied a stack of empty slides and she reached for them quickly. Her arm brushed against a stack of books on one corner and she sent them scattered to the floor. Quickly, Liz leaned down behind the bed to pile them again, but when her fingers brushed against the glossy squares, she hesitated long enough to glance down.
Peeking out of the middle of his English textbook were several pictures. Unable to resist, Liz pulled them out of the book. She darted a glance at Max and found him monitoring the hallway. Gazing back down at the pictures, she wasn’t prepared for the slash of pain and longing that cut through her.
Several of the pictures were of her alone and she recognized them from the trip into the city she’d taken with Maria and Alex last spring. They’d all been celebrating a day free from aliens, and had spent one blissful day without a care in the world. A quick flip through the rest of them produced moments in time that she’d almost forgotten were possible. In one of them, she had been sitting on Max’s lap. Max’s arm circled her waist, resting comfortably on her hip. They both wore identical grins and Liz ran her finger over the image. A stab of regret pierced her heart. She would have gladly given up everything to live in that single moment of time. Life hadn’t been easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it hadn’t sucked beyond all comprehension. She had been with Max, and it had been enough.
The audible click of a door echoed through the house. Liz popped her head up quickly, her eyes wide. Max scurried inside his bedroom and closed the door as silently as he could, then turned to her. Liz realized that he was turning to her for help, for answers. And she wasn’t sure if she could live up to the expectations he held. Realizing she still held the photos in her hand, she stuffed them inside of her sweater pocket and quickly stacked the remaining books before standing.
They could go out the window, escape as if they’d never been there. But whoever was home had obviously seen Max’s Jeep and would be suspicious as to why he would sneak out of his own home.
“Max? Isabel? Are you two home?”
Liz heard Diane’s voice and closed her eyes briefly. There was no way out. She could hear the footsteps clicking towards them, and found that she was holding her breath. The doorknob turned and Max moved to stand beside Liz. Together they watched as the door swung open, and Diane’s eyes settled on them.
Startled to find them both watching her, she let out a breath and smiled at the couple. “Oh, Max. You scared me. I wasn’t sure who was home. Liz, it’s nice to see you again. It’s been too long since we were able to see you around here.”
Liz smiled, but it felt stiff. “Hello, Mrs. Evans. Max and I were just getting some science equipment I loaned him. We’ll be out of your way in a second.”
She waved the comment away. “You’re not in the way at all.” She looked at them a second longer. “Is everything okay in here?” There was tension in the air and she wasn’t sure what she’d walked into. Max was looking at her in the oddest way, not making direct eye contact, and Liz seemed flustered. Had she interrupted something between the two of them? She’d been under the impression that her son and Liz had broken up, but it looked as though things had changed.
“Everything’s fine. We were just leaving actually.” Liz shouldered her backpack, ready to grab Max and bolt. She could feel the tension rolling off him in waves. He was nervous, scared, and jittery.
“No, stay for a few minutes. I never get to see my kids anymore. You can help me in the kitchen for a second.” She offered them one more smile before retreating to the hallway.
Liz turned an apologetic frown to Max. She wanted to reassure him, to tell him everything was going to be okay, but she didn’t know how. So, she settled for threading her fingers through his. Hoping that she could bluff her way through thirty seconds of conversation with Max’s mother, she tugged on Max’s arm to lead him out the door.
Diane was already busy unpacking groceries when they made it to the kitchen. “So, tell me what you kids have been up to lately.”
“Nothing interesting. Just school and work. Today is the first day I’ve been off in weeks.” Liz kept Max positioned a step behind her.
“Well, you have to have some time to play, don’t you? Max, would you please put this in the cupboard behind you?”
“I’ll do it!” Liz announced a bit too quickly, taking the box of cereal from Diane’s hand. She turned back to Max. “Max, why don’t you take a seat?” Liz pushed him down onto a stool as she passed by him to put up the box.
“So, Liz, how are your grades doing? I’m afraid Max’s have been slipping lately.” Diane shot a pointed look to her son, hoping he would catch the words. But he was staring at the countertop blankly.
“Ah, they’re fine. I get to study on my breaks at work, so I’m okay.” Liz didn’t like the way Diane was looking at Max, as if she were trying to figure him out. “I’m afraid Max and I should be going, Mrs. Evans. We were getting together to study as a group and the others will be waiting for us.”
“Max? Are you feeling okay?” Diane stepped closer to Max.
“He’s fine, just tired” Liz answered, a step behind Diane. If she touched Max, she would know something was wrong with her normally healthy son, and wouldn’t let him leave the house.
Diane frowned. There was something they weren’t telling her. “Max? Are you sure you’re okay, honey?” She watched as Max finally raised his head to look at her. His eyes were wide and panic stricken. And more than once, his gaze flickered between her and Liz. And since it didn’t appear that her son was willing to talk to her, Diane looked to Liz for answers. “Liz? What’s going on? Why isn’t Max saying anything?”
Liz opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She glanced at Max, saw the apprehension that had etched fine lines on his face. His eyes were pleading with her, begging her to find a way out of the situation for him. Trying to swallow the fear, Liz was appalled to discover that her breathing was coming faster. And she knew then that sometimes the truth was the only way to go. “He’s not saying anything because he can’t.”
“What do you mean he can’t? Max can’t talk to me?”
“To anyone,” Liz answered simply. She could feel the weight of Max’s stare, but she didn’t dare look at him. She focused her attention on Diane. “It’s all part of a Sociology experiment at school. You know the old adage where you don’t know someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes? Well, it’s kind of like that. Some students were picked to live through certain handicaps for the length of the experiment and see how it feels, and how the world treats them.”
“And Max chose not to talk?” Diane asked skeptically.
“Well, actually, Maria was assigned that one, but I think we all know she’s not capable of it. So, Max offered to trade with her. It’s for extra credit,” Liz added, hoping she could get Max out of the house before Diane wanted to talk about it any further.
“I suppose he could use the extra points.” She looked at Max again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Behind Diane, Liz waved her hand to get Max’s attention. She made a show of shrugging her shoulders, prompting Max to follow her lead.
A second later, Max forced a smile onto his face and shrugged his shoulders.
Diane laughed. “Oh, I guess that was a dumb question.” She reached over and ruffled Max’s hair, noticing how Max seemed to glance over her shoulder before nodding his head. “Will you be staying with Michael again tonight?” When Max nodded his head again, she chuckled. “If only we could convince Isabel to give this silence thing a go, this house would be a lot more peaceful for your father and I.”
Deciding she had to get Max out of there fast, Liz stepped forward. “Mrs. Evans, we really have to go.”
“Okay, well you two kids have fun and don’t study too hard.”
Liz hooked her arm through Max’s and smiled at Diane as she pulled Max to his feet. “We won’t.” Liz grabbed her backpack and gently steered Max towards the front door. “Bye, Mrs. Evans.”
“Bye kids, and good luck, Max.”
Liz had the door closed behind them as Diane was still calling out her well wishes. Taking a second to let out a breath of air, Liz turned to look at Max. He looked utterly exhausted. His face was pale and his eyes still held a trace of the sheer panic he’d felt when he’d first heard his mother’s voice. She wanted to reach out and feel his temperature again, sure his temperature had risen, but she didn’t dare. It would only take a few minutes to get to her house and she could set him up there.
*~*~
“Hang on, Max, I’m coming,” Liz whispered to herself as she ran the hand towel under the cool water of her sink. She hurried back to her bedroom where Max was lying on her bed. She sat beside him and pressed the towel to his forehead. He immediately moved closer to the source of the coolness, letting out a low moan.
Max had steadily been getting worse in the last hour. She had finally abandoned her research and had moved to take care of him. The beginnings of a panic attack were close. She hadn’t been able to reach Kyle or Maria all afternoon, and she could only hope they were okay. After a dozen messages, she’d given up on both of them. Max was hardly well enough to be able to protect himself and what could she do against Nicholas and the Skins?
She heard a scuffling sound outside and her fingers automatically closed around the baseball bat leaning up against her wall. It wouldn’t do much good, but she felt better for having it there. But a second later, Kyle poked his head through her open window.
“What’s the emergency?” He climbed through the window, reaching back to offer Tess a hand inside behind him.
Liz wanted to fling herself across the room and hug him, but she didn’t want to leave Max’s side. “Where the hell have you two been? I’ve been calling all afternoon.”
“We were trailing someone. Ringing cell phones are a dead give away. What’s wrong with him?”
Liz glanced down at Max. His eyes were still closed and she wasn’t sure if he was sleeping or not. She adjusted the cloth on his forehead and reluctantly slid off the bed. She led Kyle and Tess over to a corner of the room and lowered her voice. “He’s getting worse.”
“What happened?” Tess asked, her voice devoid of all emotion.
Liz didn’t have time to pick apart Tess’s feelings to figure out if she really cared or not. “His symptoms are getting worse. He’s running a fever of a hundred and two and I can’t get it to come down. He’s too pale and I haven’t been able to get him to eat or drink anything since lunch. I think he’s having trouble swallowing, but I don’t know for sure.”
“So, he’s got a space bug,” Kyle guessed. “It can’t be related to the speech thing.” He saw the worry etched deep in Liz’s face. “Is it?”
Liz lowered her gaze to the floor. “I did some tests, took some blood and skin samples. Max is…changing.”
“What do you mean changing?” Tess asked fearfully.
“I mean that he’s…I don’t know, evolving or something. I’m not sure what’s happening. But all I know is that we’re running out of time.” She heard the waver in her own voice and found back the urge to sit down and cry.
Kyle placed a steady hand on Liz’s shoulder. “Okay, Liz. Just calm down and tell us what you found.”
Liz took a deep breath, trying to find words to describe to them what she’d seen through her microscope. “His cells are changing. The new cells are absorbing the old ones, swallowing them whole, then multiplying.”
“Changing,” Tess repeated softly. She glanced at where Max lay in Liz’s bed. “What happened to him? Do you have any idea?”
Liz followed Tess’s gaze to Max and watched as he began to thrash on the bed. “No. Well, maybe. I have an idea. I think that whatever happened to him flipped a switch in his brain from Human to Antarian.”
“And now his body is trying to catch up,” Kyle finished. “Damn. You’re right. This isn’t good. Did you call Maria yet?”
“Only a hundred times. She’s not answering her phone either.”
“Do you think the changes are reversible?” Tess asked.
“I don’t know,” Liz whispered. “I don’t know enough about what’s happening to him to know anything for sure. But I’d say our best chance is to get our hands on that device.”
“Will he be okay here tonight?”
Liz met Tess’s eyes. Here was the one person in the universe with the power to take Max away from her. By all rights, he was already Tess’s. She was his destiny, not Liz. Liz knew she should step back, but she found that she couldn’t.
“I can take care of him.”
Tess sized Liz up and took a long minute before nodding. “What do you need us to do?”
Liz felt as if something had shifted, though she wasn’t sure what. “I know Kyle doesn’t know how to work a microscope. Can you?”
“Hey!”
Tess ignored Kyle’s outburst. “Yeah. Why?”
“I need for you to monitor the changes when I take new samples. Do you know how to prepare a slide?”
Tess shook her head. “No. Will you show me?”
“Yeah. Kyle, can you take Max’s towel and run some cold water over it?” Liz led Tess over to her desk and began pulling out everything Tess would need. Kyle walked by them, grumbling, though it was kept to a minimum. “Okay, Tess. First you need one of the slides from over here.”
