"Attention, this is your captain speaking," Liz sighed and opened her eyes, she’d just gotten to sleep when the announcement came across the loudspeakers in the airplane.

"We’ve reached our cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, so I’ll be turning of the ‘fasten seat belts’ sign and you are free to move about the cabin. Our travel time to Albuquerque is six hours and forty two minutes."

Liz nodded sleepily and grumbled a little at the interruption to her sleep. They’d left New York City on an early morning flight the night after Amy and Jim arrived in town. The five of them hadn’t gotten any sleep at all, they’d spent the night with the children, who pleaded and begged to come along. Liz tried to push the image of her son’s eyes, begging her, and then the keen disappointment when he realized she wouldn’t yield. Even when Max had turned to his father for some help, he’d found that his father and mother were in agreement about their son not coming to Roswell.

"Did they really need to announce our cruising altitude over the loudspeaker?" Alex asked behind her, trying to keep the edge of fear out of his voice. Liz smiled and turned to look at Alex through the crack between the seats. Alex opened his eyes and looked back at her, a nervous smile on his face.

"What are you looking at Parker?" he asked defensively. Liz merely smiled. Isabel patted her husband’s hand, which was tightly gripping hers. Her touch seemed to actually calm him a little and Isabel then turned to Maria, who was seated on her other side. Isabel smoothed back the hair on Maria’s forehead as she stared out the window, her eyes barely blinking. Maria’s gaze seemed to be fixated on some object off in the distance, but Liz knew otherwise.

Maria was looking out the window in the southern direction. It was like she was looking for Michael, like even though they were still so far away, maybe she could catch a glimpse of him. Liz felt her heart twist for her friend and her hand automatically searched for Max’s finding his warmth next to her. His hand naturally cradled hers and their fingers intertwined loosely. Liz smiled as she leaned her head against Max’s shoulder and curled up against him, pushing the armrest out of the way.

His arm went around her shoulders and she pressed her nose against his shirt, inhaling the smell of him that she’d missed and longed for so long. The idea that she could turn and see him right beside her was still a bit of a novelty, but Liz was already growing accustomed to having him where he belonged. Her peaceful thoughts were interrupted by a nagging feeling that she had had ever since Max had discovered that Michael was missing.

"Max, do you think he’s ok?" she asked quietly, keeping her voice low enough so that Maria wouldn’t hear her. Max took a deep breath before answering.

"I don’t know," he said honestly. "God, I hope so. I can’t believe that I wouldn’t feel if he was gone, but I just don’t know. I don’t want to think about never seeing him again. And I don’t want to think about Maria and those children living their lives without him."

"It’s not your fault," Liz said, easily picking up on the guilt in Max’s voice. When he shook his head, disagreeing with her, she repeated her words more firmly.

"It’s not your fault, Max."

Max seemed to struggle with himself as he closed his eyes and tried to believe what she said.

"I wish I could believe you, but I just can’t. If I hadn’t left him there, or if I’d left him a different message, maybe things would be different."

"Max, you can’t think like that. Maybe if you and Michael had stopped at Denny’s instead of the Crashdown that day, I’d be dead. Maybe if you’d used a condom on Prom night we wouldn’t have our son. Maybe if I’d woken ten minutes earlier I could have stopped you from leaving that morning and you would have come back from getting breakfast instead of running for your life from Topolsky. Max, you just can’t live your life like that. I spent years wondering about every little detail because you were gone. I thought that if I’d only done one little thing different, you wouldn’t have left. It took me ten years to realize that I couldn’t think like that," Liz said softly, capturing Max’s eyes with her own. Her words seemed to finally sink in and he nodded slowly.

"I hope he’s just hanging out somewhere and we’re worrying for nothing," Max said.

"Me too. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he sees Beth and Mike for the first time," Liz said, a grin spreading over her face. Max smiled too, imagining how Michael would feel once he saw his son and daughter.

"He’s going to be so happy to come home," Max said, looking sideways at Liz’s profile.

"Home. That’s where we’re going back to," Liz replied, suddenly realizing that they were going back to Roswell, to the place they’d grown up in, to the place their parents still lived.

"Your parents will be so happy to see you," Liz said. Max nodded.

"I can’t wait to see them again. Just knowing they know about everything and that they accepted it, that they accepted Max and Belle, it helps," he said. He saw that Liz’s eyes had saddened.

"What are you thinking about? Your parents?" he said, already knowing the answer before she responded.

"I’m still upset at them for pushing me away, for not accepting why I kept my baby. They didn’t understand that it was a part of you, and even if you hadn’t been gone, I couldn’t get rid of that. And, even after all these years, they haven’t budged, they haven’t changed their minds," she said, her voice still slightly bitter.

"They had their reasons for the way they felt. Don’t you think maybe they would have changed their minds by now, but maybe they haven’t known how to come to you?" he asked, then he grinned. "It took Max to bring you and me back together."

"I suppose that could have happened, but I still feel so angry because of what they’ve taken away from Max. He feels as if it’s his fault, and if only they’d meet him, if they’d only care to know him, they might not feel the way they do," Liz said.

"Someday they will meet him. And they’ll realize what a special person he is, just like his mother," Max whispered in her ear.

She’d closed her eyes and nodded slowly. He touched her cheek with his finger and she turned her head instinctively towards him. He kissed her lips softly as she smiled and leaned against him, finally falling asleep.

Max looked out the window at the clouds and he sighed, wishing the plane could somehow move faster. Twisting his arm carefully, he reached behind the seat and held out his hand towards Maria. He couldn’t see her, but he could sense her worry and fear as if it were his own. He’d missed being in tune with his friends’ emotions, but he was quickly picking them up again. Maria’s hand slipped into his and he squeezed her fingers gently.

Maria managed a smile as Max held her hand gently. She’d forgotten how wonderful Max was. Although her relationship with Michael had been perfect for them, she’d always admired the way that Max could be supportive with just a gesture or a word. Michael had a harder time displaying his emotions, but Maria hadn’t cared. He knew what to say to her, and that’s what had mattered.

Maria looked over at the picture that Isabel held in her hand and she smiled. It was one of the kids, playing in the park after a game. Isabel’s fingers ran over the dull edges of the photo and Maria looked up at her, watching as Isabel’s eyelids fluttered closed.

"Tell them we love them," Maria whispered. Isabel nodded slowly and then her breath evened and she fell asleep. Maria returned her gaze back to the window and the clouds. The kids should still be asleep, it was only seven in the morning back in New York and Maria knew that Isabel’s dreamwalking would reassure the children of their fears. None of the children had been apart from them and Maria was finding it hard to adjust to the lack of their boundless energy around them. Trying to tune out the noises of the airplane engines, Maria sighed and closed her eyes, willing sleep to come.

Mike looked over at Belle as she mumbled in her sleep. He was sleeping on the floor of his room, and he’d given her his bed. He waited, and finally looked away when she turned on her side and sighed, signaling she’d fallen back asleep. It seemed even more important that he watch over Belle now that their parents had left. He knew his grandparents were there to protect them too, but something told Mike that they shouldn’t be in New York City while their parents were in Roswell.

He stood up quietly and left the room, walking down the hall to Beth’s room. He listened at the door carefully and softly knocked when he heard Beth’s voice. She called him in and he grinned at the sight of his sister and Max, wide awake, sitting cross-legged on her bed, facing each other. He sat on the floor, facing them as they turned their eyes to him.

"Couldn’t sleep?" Beth asked, a wide grin on her face. He nodded.

"It just feels weird, like we shouldn’t be here, just waiting," Mike said, feeling the frustration that had been boiling since their parents had told them they couldn’t come. Max nodded.

"I think it’s more than a feeling. I think we do need to be there," he commented. Beth looked at him, perplexed.

"Max, what do you mean?" she asked. Max shrugged, struggling to put into words what he’d been thinking.

"I’m not sure exactly, but I know we could help them. I’ve felt Michael for a few days and I know I could find him, if we got close enough," Max confided. Beth straightened up.

"You can feel him? What are we waiting for?" she asked excitedly. Mike held up his hand, stopping her.

"Beth, are you forgetting that we are ten years old, no money and no way of traveling across country?" he asked. Beth’s smile faded for a minute, then she brightened.

"Sure we do. Grandma and Grandpa can take us," she announced. Mike rolled his eyes.

"Sure sis, like they’re going to get on a plane with us just because we ask them to. Not to mention that our parents told them to stay with us here," Mike pointed out. Beth frowned and thought carefully. Max squeezed her arm.

"We’ll think of something," he reassured her. She nodded and then looked up as the door creaked open and Belle came in, climbing on the bed next to Beth.

"I talked to Mom. Everything’s okay, they’re on the plane right now," Belle announced. Max nodded to his cousin, then he practically fell off the bed when Beth yelped and bounced up and down.

"That’s it! We can tell Grandma and Grandpa that something’s happened to them, that Aunt Isabel contacted Belle through dreamwalking and that we need to get there right away! It’s perfect, there’s no way for them to check and they’ll have no choice but to go to Roswell and bring us along!" Beth said. Max looked at her warily.

"Do you think that’s such a good idea? Lying like that to them?" Max asked. Mike caught his eye.

"Do you have a better idea?" he asked, and Max shook his head no. They all turned to Belle, who waited expectantly.

"So, what should I say?"

"Honey, are you sure that Isabel said they were in trouble?" Amy asked Belle. Belle nodded, keeping her eyes wide and scared as Mike nodded to her behind his grandmother’s back. Amy sighed, straightening up and looking around the airport terminal for her husband.

"Kids, stay right here together. Jim went to check us in and we’ll get on the plane soon," Amy replied, her voice distracted as she went in search of her husband. The kids grinned at each other after she left and huddled into a group whispering quietly.

"That was almost too easy," Belle said proudly. They’d waited a few hours until their parents would have landed in Roswell and it was still early in the morning in New York. Belle had staged quite a performance, starting with a high pitched scream that got Jim and Amy running from the bedroom quickly to comfort her.

Belle had managed to sob out an explanation, that their parents were in trouble and that Isabel had told them to get to Roswell right away. Jim and Amy had been worried, they had no way of checking on Max, Liz, Isabel, Alex and Maria and since Michael had disappeared, they didn’t want to wait to see if it would happen to them. Jim had called the airlines while Amy got the kids ready and they’d caught a taxi to the airport within an hour.

Max walked away from the others and looked out the window at the airplane that would take them to Roswell. He’d never even been on a plane before and he’d never been out of New York. He couldn’t wait to see Roswell, the place his parents grew up. Beth came up next to him.

"You’re not still mad because we lied to Grandma and Grandpa, are you?" Beth asked, suddenly worried about his reaction. She knew he hadn’t liked the idea, and she didn’t want him to be angry with her. He looked at her, shaking his head.

"No, I’m not. I don’t think I could be Beth, because I know I’d do the same thing if it were my father. Actually, I did, I lied to bring my parents together, and I’ll help however I can to bring yours back together too. We’ll find him," Max said. Beth mustered a smile and nodded back.

"Just keep telling me that, ok?" she said. Max nodded.

"You got it."

Amy called them over and they followed the others on the airplane. Max let Beth have the window seat and he sat in the middle, next to Belle while Mike, Amy and Jim sat in front of them. After the plane took off, he turned to look at Belle, who had reached for his hand nervously.

"They’re going to be mad," Belle said quietly.

"Maybe at first, but they’ll be glad to see us," Max said, keeping his voice low.

"What if they can tell we’re coming?" she said urgently. Max shook his head.

"I don’t think Dad’s and Aunt Isabel’s powers are that strong. They can sense our presences, but not our thoughts," Max reasoned.

"Not like you can," Belle said, cutting through his thoughts. He whipped his head around to look at her. He hadn’t told anyone the extent that he could sense the people around him. Belle smiled at him.

"Come on Max, I’m your cousin. And you can’t keep anything from Beth, Mike and me, we’re all too connected," Belle replied. Max nodded and leaned his head back against the seat. He was starting to wonder what the full extent of their powers was. He’d seen what Belle, Beth and Mike could do, and it always seemed to be stronger than what even Isabel could do.

He glanced over at Beth, who was staring out the window. He tried to tamp down the uneasy feelings in the pit of his stomach. They’d be there in less than six hours. It just couldn’t be too late.

They had to find Michael.