"Mom, listen to me. Are you listening?" Liz asked, glancing at Max as he came from the bedroom, carrying a large cardboard box. She rolled her eyes and he gave her a wry smile before he trudged out the door and down the hallway.

"We will be back in Roswell in less than 24 hours. All the problems with the flowers, the caterer, the decorations and the guests can wait until then. I don’t want you to get all stressed out about the wedding, that’s what Max and I are supposed to do. Okay, now did you really hear me?" Liz asked after a second. She closed her eyes as her mother continued to panic over wedding details. Max walked in from his bedroom and grinned at his mother, knowing instantly whom she was talking to.

"Mom, give me the phone. I’ll calm her down," Max suggested. Liz handed him the phone without a word and she turned to collapse on the couch as her son carried the phone down the hall to Maria’s apartment.

"Hi Grandma! No, Mom’s fine, she just needed to lie down. Wait until I tell you all the fun we’ve been having packing," Max said, his voice trailing off as he walked down the hall.

Liz sighed and then smiled at how Max had a naturally ability to easily calm her mother down. It had been a crazy few weeks since they’d returned to New York from Roswell. And the time since they’d gotten Michael back to when they’d left their parents in Roswell had seemed entirely too short. She looked around the apartment, painfully bare as they had packed up photos, books and all their keepsakes from over the years. They were leaving tonight and she and Max were going to be married in less than two weeks in their hometown.

It hadn’t been an easy decision, but she still felt as though it were the right one. She, Max and their son were moving back to Roswell. It was a final decision. The university had been stunned and shocked, but ultimately all her colleagues wished her luck. Max had given his notice at the paper without hesitation and he’d turned down the offer of a raise without a second thought, telling Liz that it didn’t matter, that all he wanted was to be with his family.

And they’d both talked about it amongst themselves and with their son. It felt like it was important to be near their parents, to be near the place where she and Max had spent so much time together. Liz had anguished over the decision, hating the thought of telling Maria and Michael to the point that she’d been in tears trying to tell her best friend. Maria had laughed at her, caught her in a hug and whispered in her ear that she, Michael, Beth and Mike were also moving back to Roswell.

Liz had protested, wanting to be sure that they weren’t leaving just to go along with the group. Maria had shrugged, saying that she had seen what else there was besides Roswell, New Mexico and she realized that it wasn’t a bad place to be. Especially if all her family was there. That had left Isabel, Alex and Belle.

Max had worried over telling his sister and Liz didn’t blame him. Isabel would not be happy to be away from her brothers after being apart from them for so long. They’d both been surprised when Isabel and Alex had announced that they would be relocating their jobs to Los Angeles, and they would commute from Roswell. Max had merely stared at his sister and she’d silenced him with her knowing smile before Maria engulfed her in a hug. Liz’s hand had tightened on Max’s at the moment.

They would all be going home. Finally they would be together.

Max grunted as he tried to gently set the box he was carrying into the back of the moving truck. He heaved a sigh and turned to walk back upstairs when Michael caught up with him.

"Aren’t you done yet Maxwell?" Michael said, his eyes glinting playfully at Max. Max shoved him in the shoulder.

"Yeah, well, you’ve got extra help," Max replied, gesturing to Mike and Beth, who were running up to them from the truck. Mike motioned to his daughter and Beth squealed as she ran up to her father and jumped on his back, laughing as he carried her upstairs piggyback style. Max smiled at the sight, happy that Beth and Mike finally had the father they’d been missing. He glanced at Mike and gestured to the stairs.

"Race you," he challenged. Mike grinned and nodded. They took their places and got ready to start.

"Ready . . . get set . . .GO!" Max yelled, their footsteps pounding as they climbed up the stairs. Mike panted behind him.

"No fair! You’ve got longer legs!!" he called. Max laughed and slowed his pace a little, allowing Mike to catch up with him. When they finally got to the right floor they tore out of the stairwell and raced down the hallway, their shoes squeaking on the floor. Beth watched them coming from her vantage point on her father’s back, her eyes wide. Michael moved to the other side of the hall as Max and Mike tagged the doorway. Beth held up her hands.

"It’s a tie!" she cried. Maria poked her head out from down the hall and she couldn’t help but smile at the picture of Max and Mike panting and heaving breaths, but all grins.

"Too much playing and not enough packing! We’ve got a plane to catch in only seven hours!" Maria reminded them before she returned to inside the apartment. Beth pouted a little, and hung onto Michael as they lumbered down the hall, followed closely by Mike. Max entered Liz’s apartment and his eyes softened at the sight of her, collapsed on the couch, one foot on the ground and the other over the armrest. He settled down next to her and lifted her feet over his lap.

She murmured a little and he ran his hands up her legs to her sides. He shook his head, unable to get over how his hands easily covered the expanse of her waist. Placing his hands carefully, he laid his hand over her stomach, exactly in the spot where he had twelve years earlier. He felt the warmth of her skin and how his fingertips tingled as he touched her. The rise and fall of her chest as she breathed noticeably increased and he smiled, finally looking up to her face. She smiled slightly at him, gazing at him with her eyes almost closed.

Before she could utter a word he moved up to claim her mouth, catching her breath and lips in his mouth. She sighed against his lips and her hands moved up under his shirt. He almost gasped at how her hands were so cool against his skin. He had just run up eight flights of stairs. Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard the phone ring.

"Max has the phone, he’ll get it," Liz murmured, turning her attention to the side of his neck, kissing a path up to his ear. Max felt as though he might black out from the feeling of Liz’s hungry lips, until she suddenly stopped. She practically shoved him back as she fumbled with her shirt buttons and tried to smooth her hair. He sat back, slightly dazed and looked at her, confused.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Max is coming!" she hissed. Max listened carefully, barely making out the sounds of footsteps coming down the hall and wondering how she had heard them.

"Mommy radar," Liz explained, understanding the look on his face. Max entered the apartment a second later, carrying the portable phone towards his mother.

"It’s Dr. Jasper for you Mom," Max said. Liz took it, her face curious. She’d had an appointment a few days ago, just a regular checkup.

"Hello Doctor," she said, getting up and standing next to the window. She listened for a few minutes and Max watched her face, worry beginning to form in the back of his mind. Everything had been so perfect since they’d all been reunited, he could almost picture something bad happening to shatter that. Liz turned away so he couldn’t see her face and Max felt his heart shudder in his chest. Something had happened.

"Thank you for calling Doctor," Liz finally said before she hung up the phone and placed it on the windowsill. Max pushed himself off of the couch and walked up behind Liz, gripping her shoulders with trembling hands and turning her to look at him. When he saw the tears on her cheeks he felt his mind just stop for a minute, until Liz smiled up at him, her eyes radiant.

"I’m pregnant," she whispered. It took a few seconds for the words to register and then Max realized that nothing was wrong, in fact, everything was just right. He laughed and engulfed Liz in a hug, feeling her arms go around him and clutch at his shirt. He stroked her hair and cupped her face in his hands as he pulled back to look at her. He wiped her tears away and solidly kissed her, pulling back after a minute and smiling at her so widely he could practically feel his cheeks stretching to the point of pain.

"I always wanted to see your face when I told you that. I thought of how it would look, what you would say and how happy you would be. My imagination couldn’t have possibly done justice to the real thing," Liz whispered. Max leaned his forehead against Liz’s and enjoyed the feeling of her breath against his lips.

Then his hand moved down her body to rest gently on her flat stomach. Her hand covered his own and he watched as she caressed the back of his hand, her left hand over his. The wedding bands they both wore seemed to almost sparkle in the light. Max turned to look at his son and caught him smiling at his parents. Max motioned the boy over and he came to hug his mother.

"You’re going to have a brother or sister," she whispered into his ear. Max pulled back from his mother and gently laid his hand on Liz’s stomach. He then looked up at both his parents.

"Actually, twin sisters," he commented quietly. Liz looked at him in astonishment and then she laughed. Max joined in, amazed at his son’s power. He would have had to connect with Liz to realize that kind of information, but Max barely had to touch her.

Liz fell against him, draping her arms over his shoulders and hugging him tightly. He couldn’t believe that he could ever be as happy as he was at that moment.

"Sweetheart, you have to hurry up. Grab your brother’s hand and don’t let go of mine."

Ashley looked up at her mother’s fearful eyes and she tried to ignore the knot of worry in her stomach. She gripped her twin brother’s hand tight in her own, ignoring his protests that she was holding on too tight.

"Mom, where are we going?" she asked, barely managing to keep up with her mother as they practically ran through Central Park.

"We have to find my brother. He’s the only one who can help us. We have to find him before they find us," Ashley’s mother said, her voice leaving no room for argument. Ashley shuddered as she thought about what would happen if they found them first. She, her mother and brother had barely managed to escape the night before and her mother had immediately run for downtown New York City, almost as if she felt some mysterious beacon calling her.

Ashley didn’t know much about why the men who normally watched after them would come after them. She didn’t understand why they usually fed her and her family drugs to keep their powers reduced. But she did feel her powers coming back, stronger with each passing minute since they’d been out in the world. The buildings were fascinating, and Ashley wanted to reach out and touch the people they passed on the street, just to assure herself that they were real. She was eight years old and she’d never been out in the world before.

She knew her mother had, the way she walked, with purpose and without noticing the wonders around them. Ashley wished her mother would talk to them more. When they were kept in the rooms by the men who fed them the drugs her mother didn’t like to talk too much about the past. She said it was too dangerous. But Ashley got snatches of it when she touched her mother. Just the slightest contact brought on waves of memories.

Ashley opened her mind to the memories as she gripped her mother’s hand and they left Central Park and swiftly walked towards some high buildings. She saw it all, her mother’s entire life and she struggled not to gasp out loud or cry out at what had happened to her mother. Just when she thought it would be too much, her mother let go of her hand and crouched over her children from a low balcony across the street from an apartment building. Ashley’s blue eyes were fearful at the sad look in her mother’s eyes.

"I need to make sure it’s safe before I take you two over. If anything happens to me, do not move from this spot. If the men come for you, use your powers to hide yourselves. Do not come out unless I tell you to, or if something happens to me, wait until the men are gone. You can only trust four people: me, my brother and the two others who are like me and my brother," Ashley’s mother said.

"But, how do we know who they are?" Ashley protested. Her mother smiled at them, her eyes tearing up a little.

"You’ll know darling, you’ll know," she reassured her daughter. She kissed her daughter and son, trying not to sob out loud. She knew they were close.

"I love you both so much, remember that."

Ashley watched her mother get up, her hand lingering on her head. The last touch left an impression in Ashley’s mind and she felt her mother’s memories tumbling around in her head. Later, she told herself, later she would examine them. She watched her mother cross the street, her eyes never wavering as her mother swiftly walked up next to a moving van. She looked inside, then looked up at the building in front of her. She was about to enter when two men came from the side of the building and grabbed Ashley’s mother. Her brother squirmed in her arms as he tried to run to their mother, but Ashley held on to him tight, her eyes never leaving the sight of her mother kicking and trying to scream against the hand over her mouth.

Ashley tried to bring her powers to push the men away from her mother but she couldn’t. The drugs were still too powerful. She felt the tears slipping down her face as the men pushed her mother into a dark van and drove the van down the street, the tires screeching. With one last effort of power, Ashley passed out next to her brother on the pavement, their presence hidden behind the wall she’d built around them. As her mind went blank she heard her brother trying to get out of the bubble she’d surrounded them with and she knew he wouldn’t be able to. He couldn’t get out and no one could get in.

"Is that the last of everything?" Michael asked Maria. She nodded and he pulled the moving van doors shut before giving the drivers last instructions on where exactly they were taking all their worldly possessions. Maria turned to look at Max and Liz and she smiled, so happy for her friends. Max stood behind Liz, his hands settled low on her stomach, where their babies were. His eyes were closed and Maria knew he was trying to connect with his daughters.

When Michael came up next to her and kissed her neck, she tingled at the feeling. She still hadn’t gotten used to having him always right there, and every time he came up to her, it felt like an amazing new gift. Her hands closed around his arm and she leaned against him, gazing up at the apartment with wistful eyes.

"I almost wish we could have spent more time here as a family," she remarked.

"We did spend some time here," Michael said, trying to say the right thing to her. Maria nodded.

"I know, and I know that Roswell is the right place to be. To be with Max and Liz, Max and the babies, Beth, Mike, Isabel, Alex, Belle, Mom, Dad, the Parkers and the Evans. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that it doesn’t matter where you go, as long as you have the people most important around you," Maria said. Michael nodded and kissed the tip of her nose.

"I couldn’t have said it better myself," he replied.

"No, you couldn’t have. That’s why I did," she teased him. Michael merely grinned and looped his arm around Maria’s shoulders. When the taxi cabs finally pulled up Max and Michael were busy for a few minutes loading luggage. Max shut the trunk before he opened the back door for his son and Liz.

"Izzy, Alex and Belle are meeting us at the airport to say goodbye before they try to finish up packing, so we’d better get going," Max commented. Liz reached for Maria’s hand and the two women looked up at the apartment that they’d lived in, raised their children in and shared together over the years. They shared a long look and then followed their families into the cabs. Michael paused for just a second as he was about to help Maria into the cab. She noticed and caught his eye.

"What is it?" she asked, her expression concerned. He squinted his eyes for a minute, concentrating, but then the feeling passed.

"I don’t know. Whatever it was, it didn’t hurt. But it’s gone now," Michael shrugged, the odd feeling swept away like a boat in the ocean. Maria climbed into the cab next to Beth and Michael sat down next to her, shutting the door behind him. She looked back at the second cab and caught a glimpse of Max and Liz snuggling in the backseat as the cab pulled away from the curb. She then turned forward and watched the road ahead of them as Michael cradled her hand gently in his own. She turned away too quickly to have seen the two small children running across the street, after the two cabs, trying to catch them as though their lives depended on it.

Ashley woke up, her mind groggy as her brother shook her violently.

"Ashley!! They’re across the street, and they’re leaving, you have to put the bubble down so we can catch them!!" he brother yelled. Ashley looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of four adults and a bunch of kids in the street, getting into cabs. The moving van was gone and hours had passed since their mother had been taken. She hoped that her powers had stored up enough to bring the bubble down, because just like her mother had said, she knew who those people were. They were related to her and she and her brother had to catch them.

With all her might she tried to shatter the walls of the bubble and after a few minutes the walls evaporated and her brother took off like a rocket, trying to catch the cabs as they slipped into traffic. She stumbled after him and even as her legs pumped and her lungs screamed from the effort, she knew they wouldn’t be able to catch the cabs. She finally crumbled onto the sidewalk and cried for everything they had lost and for how they were alone. She wiped away her tears as her brother came back to her, his eyes dejected and downcast.

She took his hand and they began to walk down the street. They knew what they looked like, and how many there really were. Ashley set her chin and felt the determination settling in. They would find them again, even if it was the last and only thing they ever did. She and her brother would find the people her mother trusted, the people who were like them.

Max rubbed Liz’s shoulder and looked down at her face, burrowed into his chest as she slept. They managed to say goodbye to Alex, Isabel and Belle and get on the plane before it took off, but just barely. Now came the long trip to Roswell. He glanced back at Beth and Max cuddled together in the seats behind them and smiled at how Beth had snuggled up to Max. Michael was snoring slightly against Maria’s shoulder and Maria was reading a book quietly. Every few minutes she would look up at Michael and her eyes would soften at the sight. Max settled his head back against the chair and he smiled as he closed his eyes. Liz’s hand came up to rest over his heart and he enjoyed the heavy feel of her fingers.

They were going home.