Part 4

Max opened the door to his apartment and walked in, flipping on the lights as he went. He dropped the mail on the table and walked over to the answering machine, pressing the play button.

"Hi sweetie, it’s Mom."

Max grinned at the sound of Charlie’s mom’s voice.

"I just wanted to call and see how you were doing, and see how Jody’s doing as well. I’m hoping you two might make it out here some time after the New Year for a visit. Give me a call when you get in."

Max saved the message for Charlie to hear. Charlie’s mom lived back in Seattle, his hometown. He’d been adopted at a young age and his father died when he was a teenager, so his mother was his closest relative. The machine beeped and played the next message. There was a long pause and Max waited, wondering what was taking so long. Suddenly, he grinned at the sound of his youngest sister’s cheerful voice.

"Max? Are you home? Mom wants you to call, she says she needs to know when you and Beth are coming home, and Jules and Kat said you better be home for their birthday. And Cam got a dog!"

Max grinned at Alexandra’s voice. She was only six years old and he knew if someone hadn’t caught her drifting off she would have talked to his machine all afternoon.

"Alex, honey, say goodbye," Liz’s voice called from the background.

"Bye Max!!"

The line went dead and Max reached for the phone to call his mother, looking at the clock and realizing the lunch crowd would just be dying down at the Crashdown. He was about to dial the number when he heard a key in the door. He looked up and waved at Charlie as his roommate entered and fell into the recliner next to the couch where Max was sitting, a grin on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" Max asked his friend. Charlie dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a black velvet ring box, tossing it to Max. Max caught it and opened it, his eyes widening in surprise at the diamond engagement ring inside.

"When’s the big day?" Max asked. Charlie had been planning to ask Jody to marry him for months now, he’d just been waiting for the opportunity.

"I think tomorrow. I can’t wait to see the look on her face," Charlie admitted. Max closed the box and handed it back to Charlie, unable to stop the regret that flashed across his features. Charlie immediately saw the expression and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Are you thinking about Beth again?" he asked. Max nodded.

"I can’t help but think about how things could be different. About how we were more than friends once, how it was the most amazing thing in my life, and how I let her go. And now I can’t get back what we had. I don’t even know if things could ever even be the same," Max sighed. Charlie looked at him, surprised.

"Max, I’ve seen Beth look at you. She has the same doubts, the same thoughts. I think she just doesn’t know what to do, what the right first step is," Charlie suggested.

"I don’t want to push her away. I mean, you waited for Jody, maybe I should wait for Beth to decide what she wants," Max thought aloud. Charlie took a deep breath.

"Jody was going through a lot at the time and it was the hardest thing in the world, waiting for her to realize what she did want," Charlie said. Max nodded, having heard the story of how Charlie and Jody had met. They’d both been advanced ballet students at the American Ballet Academy and Charlie had been immediately taken with Jody. They’d been the best of friends for a year and Charlie had watched Jody’s involvement with one of the other ballet dancers, watched him use Jody and then ignore her.

"I’ve heard guys say that they hate being ‘just friends’ with women, but I wouldn’t have traded that year that Jody was my friend for anything. She may have been with Cooper for part of it, but I was the one she talked to, the one she laughed with, and when she was upset, she came to me. I knew I loved her, but I also knew that I had to wait for her. Being patient while the woman you love is not with you is hard. That’s what Jody needed, but I don’t know if that’s what Beth needs. She doesn’t know what to say to make things right, to make things how they used to be," Charlie said. Max met his eyes and nodded slightly.

"I don’t even know what that would be either. And I can’t lose her as my friend. I lost her once and I can’t do that again. But being around her just hurts, because I can see that dancing is still her priority," Max replied, unable to keep the sadness out of his voice. Charlie shook his head.

"I know it seems that way, but Beth will realize what she’s missing. She will, Max, that I am sure of. It took Jody a year, the longest year of my life, but it did happen. Do you want me to talk to her?" he asked. Max shook his head.

"No thanks. I think I just need to wait for her. Or I need to figure out what the right words are to say to her. I’m happy for you and Jody, Charlie. Just means I’ll be needing to find another roommate," he said with a smile. Charlie laughed.

"It’s going to be awhile. Jody’s going to want things perfect and we need to find a time and place when everyone can be here."

"By the way, your mom called, the message is on the machine. I’m going to call home first, but the phone’s free after that," Max said. Charlie nodded and headed off to the kitchen, towards the machine. Max picked up the phone and dialed one of the phone numbers he could punch out in his sleep.

"Crashdown."

"Hey Kitty Kat," Max teased his sister, using his nickname for her.

"Max?!?! Oh my God, Jules!!! Max is on the phone! Get Mom!" Kat squealed. He heard his other sister shouting in the background and he held the phone away from his ear at the noise.

"How’s New York Max? How’s Beth? You aren’t working too hard are you?" Kat asked, her voice warning. He rolled his eyes.

"Hey, when did Mom get on the phone? New York’s great, Beth is fine and of course I’m working too hard," Max replied. Kat frowned at Max’s description of Beth as "fine", but she hadn’t been surprised. Her normally warm and open brother always became terse when he was asked or spoke about Beth.

"I can’t wait for you to get home! We have such great plans for Snowmass this year! There’s a rodeo coming to town while we’re there and Dad’s really been looking forward to skiing this year," Kat rambled on. Max felt his stomach drop at her cheerful plans, not having the heart to tell her he wouldn’t be there. He’d tell his mother tonight.

"Oh, here’s Mom. Can’t wait til you get here Max! Love you!"

"Love you too Kat."

Max waited for his mother to get on the phone, knowing that her warm voice would instantly soothe him. He didn’t know if it was because of the ten years they’d spent with just the two of them, but she had a magical way of knowing his thoughts and knowing what he needed to hear without asking.

"Hi sweetheart, how are you?"

"I’m good Mom, it’s good to hear your voice," he said, meaning the words vehemently. He heard her pause and knew that even through the phone line she was picking up on his distress.

"Max., what’s wrong? Something with Beth? I was hoping to get a chance to talk to both of you when you come down for the holidays, but we can talk about it now, if you’d like," Liz offered. Max felt the lump in the throat form at her words and knew even if he could lie to her, she would pick up on it immediately.

"Actually, that’s what I need to talk to you about."

Beth walked along Broadway towards 72^nd Street and her and Jody’s apartment. She and Max had parted ways a few hours before and she walked all through midtown, just staring aimlessly at the sights. She’d walked through Rockefeller Center, watching the figure skaters and the shoppers on Fifth Avenue. She’d walked all the way down to Times Square and thought about seeing a Broadway matinee show but decided not to after a few minutes consideration. Then she’d walked up Broadway, watching the shadows growing longer as the sun dropped in the sky. The lights of cabs and buses flickered on and reflected off the patches of snow on the ground.

She pulled her coat around her body closer, shivering slightly against the cold wind. She tried to avoid the icy patches on the sidewalk and even though she easily could have taken the subway to her stop, she'd decided to walk. She’d hoped that the cold air might clear her mind, but thoughts of Max, the day they’d spent together, the way he’d helped her and the fact that he wouldn’t be in Roswell for Christmas haunted her mind.

It was hard to even imagine, but she’d forgotten how wonderful Max was. They didn’t spend much time together with her busy performance schedule and his long hours at the hospital and up until today it had been two weeks since she’d last seen him. They’d talked on the phone, but she forgot about his soft brown eyes, how they looked at her warmly, and about his dark brown hair and how she longed to reach out and touch it. When he’d come into her dressing room with Charlie and when he’d touched her leg to heal her she remembered what it was like to have his hands running up her body. She shivered again, this time not from the cold.

The holidays wouldn’t be the same without him there. He was the oldest of all the kids and, like his father, actually took the unspoken responsibility seriously. Beth smiled slightly, recalling how Max’s sisters adored him, following him around. It had been more of an annoyance when she and Max had been teenagers and the twins were young, but now they loved to tease their handsome older brother and would do anything to see him smile. Beth sighed, her thoughts turning to her namesake. Aunt Liz would be devestated. Beth resolved to call her tonight, as she crossed the street to her building. She was just about to go inside when she heard a voice calling her.

"Beth!"

She turned at the sound of her name and tried to keep the smile on her face. Brad Morris, one of the ballet teachers at the American Ballet Academy, walked towards her. They’d gone out a few times, but Beth had quickly realized that he wasn’t her type. But he still persisted after her, which was why she attempted to avoid running into him. He came up to her and took her arms gently, his face concerned.

"Beth, I heard you got hurt today earlier at rehearsal. Are you ok?" he asked.

"I’m fine Brad, thanks. I had a friend of mine look at it and he gave me a clean bill of health," she replied. Brad looked dubious.

"Someone said that Sims wouldn’t let anyone near you. What an idiot, you could have been seriously hurt and he kept a specialist away," he replied. Beth bristled at his remarks but she tried to keep her temper in check.

"Charlie was doing what I asked, just like a good friend would. Besides, I had my own doctor coming in to help me," she said. Brad snorted.

"What? You’re not into that New Age healing stuff, are you?" he asked.

"Not exactly," Beth countered, knowing he wouldn’t even be able to begin to grasp the concept of the healing Max was capable of. She started to pull away and walk towards her door.

"Listen, Brad, I appreciate your concern, but I’m beat. I’m going to head on home," Beth replied. "Night!"

She made a quick escape, waving as she backed away and allowed the doorman to hold open the door for her. She walked through the lobby of the building, taking a deep breath as she entered the elevator car and pushed the button for the twelfth floor. She knew she’d been slightly rude to Brad, but she really didn’t care. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirrors on the wall of the elevator and she stared at her own green eyes, wishing she could find the answers to everything that she felt was spiraling out of her grasp.

It was the same face staring back at her as it had been eight years ago, but she felt like a different person. She knew that without Max in her life the way she wanted she smiled and laughed less. Her hair was still a mass of golden curls falling to her waist and she was blessed with the preferred figure of a ballet dancer: tall, slender, long legs, and a graceful neck. While Max looked exactly like his father, Beth had gotten her mother’s green eyes and blonde hair. She was tall like her father, but Mike looked more like Michael, something that seemed to be inherently genetic for the male offspring.

The elevator dinged, signaling her floor and she exited, walking down the hallway to the apartment. She opened the door and smiled at Jody, who was curled up on the sofa. Jody’s blonde hair was pulled in a ponytail, she wore sweats and a bowl of popcorn sat beside her on the couch. As Beth walked in, Jody turned her movie off and turned to her friend, her eyes curious.

"Have you been with Max all this time?" she asked, trying not to sound too curious. Beth shed her coat on the hook by the door and sat down next to Jody, taking a handful of popcorn.

"No, I’ve just been out walking, thinking."

"Thinking of Max."

It wasn’t even a question, Beth realized. Jody knew her as well as anyone and she knew exactly where Beth’s thougts were. She nodded.

"Yeah."

They were both silent as Beth munched on some popcorn and Jody studied her profile. Beth knew Jody was waiting for her, waiting to hear what she needed to say. Finally, she took a deep breath and turned to face Jody on the couch, drawing her legs up underneath her.

"You’ve told me before, I know you have, but tell me again. What made you realize that you wanted more with Charlie? I mean, you guys were friends for so long, what made everything change?" Beth asked, her eyes pleading. Jody smiled just a little, shaking her head.

"You’re right, I have told you this story before. But, no objections from me," she paused, taking a deep breath.

"You know, it wasn’t even anything to do with Charlie really. It was me. It was me, coming to realize, growing up and seeing that he was exactly what I wanted, what I needed. It wasn’t an easy realization, but it happened so suddenly. I’d been thinking it for awhile, but I only consciously came to the conclusion the day that we danced in the workshop at the academy. It was this really alternative ballet that Cooper choreographed, with Charlie playing a ballet instructor, I was his student and Cooper was this dangerous, exciting guy who literally swept me off my feet," Jody laughed out loud.

"Not too far off from real life. Charlie was that perfect guy, the best friend and the most wonderful person in the world and I didn’t see it in real life and got involved with Cooper because he was different, sexy, whatever. He used me, and then ignored me. And then Charlie was there to pick me up, hold me and make me see that I was better than that. In the ballet Charlie saw me dancing and came over to pull me over with him. Since you dance with him, you know this, but he’s just an amazing dancer. He just pours his emotions into his dancing and as his dance partner it’s almost a tangible feeling to be on the receiving end. The next part of the ballet had Cooper trying to win me back and me starting to pull away, starting to pull towards Charlie."

"I remember the music, how it had gotten a little faster in the song when I was dancing with Cooper. Suddenly, when Charlie took my hand and led me away, it slowed down. It was like the whole world slowed down."

Beth watched Jody’s face as she talked, slightly envious of the way Jody’s eyes sparkled as she spoke and the contagious grin on her face.

"The dance continued with Cooper lifting me and spinning me around in all these frantic moves. He threw me up in the air and then Charlie caught me. Everything was just clearer, simpler with Charlie. I knew exactly what I needed, and it was him. I was just lucky that he waited for me, that he still wanted to be with me. We haven’t been apart since then," Jody finished. Beth shook her head in amazement.

"I never get tired of hearing that," she admitted.

"I know you think it’ll never happen, but you and Max will find your way back to each other," Jody encouraged her.

"I don’t know. After everything I’ve put him through I don’t know if I can expect him to forgive me so easily," Beth replied.

"Beth, there’s nothing to forgive! He told you to go, life just put space between you. The two of you just need to find a way back to what you were before you separated," Jody said. Beth blinked back her tears.

"That’s just it. He told me to go and I did. I gave up on us, I’m the one that put that space there!" Beth replied, swiping at her eyes and furious with herself for crying. The thought of all that had happened, even though it was eight years old, still brought her emotions to the surface. Jody was about to say something when the phone rang. She picked it up.

"Hello? Oh, hello Mr. Guerin. I’m good thank you, and you? Sure, let me check and see if she’s here," Jody covered the mouthpiece with her hand and mouthed the words "your dad" to her, her eyes questioning. Beth nodded, taking the phone from Jody and shooting her a grateful look. Beth cleared her throat and put the phone up to her ear.

"Hi Dad."

"Bethie, how are you?"

Beth smiled at her father’s voice. She was the only daughter in her family and she knew even though he’d never admit it, her father cherished the thought that she was still his little girl. She had a feeling it was partially because of the regret he felt having missed the first ten years of her life, but she was more than grateful that they were together now.

"I’m good Dad, really looking forward to seeing you and Mom and everyone in a few days. How’s Mom and Jack?" Beth asked. Michael took a deep breath over the phone.

"Your brother is keeping us busy trying to keep him and Cam out of trouble. Maria’s great, she and Liz are busy planning the girls’ birthday party this weekend. Honey, have you heard from Mike? Your mom was trying to call him yesterday, to see when he’d be coming in, but you know how hard it is to get a hold of him sometimes," Michael replied. Beth nodded to herself. Mike was a FBI Field Agent out of Washington D.C. and she often had to wait for him to call her because he was all over the country investigating cases.

"I talked to him last week and we have our weekly call tomorrow night. He’s supposed to call me from wherever he is, so I’ll ask him then," Beth promised.

"Thanks Bethie. When are you and Max flying in?" Michael asked. Beth sighed.

"Well, Dad, that’s just it. Max isn’t coming to Roswell for Christmas."

Michael frowned as he hung up the phone after talking to his daughter for twenty minutes. He’d spent the majority of the time trying to cheer her up because she was sad that Max wouldn’t be joining the family for Christmas. He looked up at the sound of the front door opening and smiled at Maria as she entered. By the stormy look on her face he figured out that she had somehow heard the news.

"Max called Liz from New York tonight. He’s not coming home for the holidays! Liz hasn’t even told the girls yet, the twins are going to be so upset he won’t be there for their birthday. I can’t believe he’s not coming home!" Maria said, heading into the kitchen. He chuckled a little to himself as she began putting dishes from the dishwasher away, noisily banging plates and silverware. Whenever she got upset Maria tended to do all things loudly. He followed her into the kitchen, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe.

"I know, I just hung up with Beth. She told me he wasn’t coming, she was kind of upset about it," he observed. Maria fixed him with an exasperated look.

"Of course she was! Michael, she’s so unhappy without Max in her life and she just doesn’t know how to change things—"

Michael stopped his wife with a hand on her waist, bringing her against him. Her mouth closed, but he could tell by her wide eyes that Maria’s mind was still moving at miles per second.

"They’ll figure it out. Max and Beth are adults, Maria. And you’ll have two weeks to lecture her all about it," Michael said. Maria narrowed her eyes but let the last comment slide.

"Has she spoken to Mike lately?" she asked. Michael shook his head.

"He’s supposed to call her tomorrow night. I asked her to have him call us, I want to see if he’s found anything recently," Michael said. It had been a twist of irony that Mike had joined the FBI and had access to government files that could help them uncover some of the details about their pasts, about Michael, Isabel, Max and the other alien, Michael’s sister who was still out there somewhere. Maria touched the side of his face, reassuring him.

"When he finds something, you will be the first one he calls," Maria said.

"I know. I just worry that after all this time there won’t be anything to find, or someone else will find her first," Michael admitted. Maria’s eyes softened and followed his gaze outside to the V shaped constellation in the sky.

Max stared up at the light morning sky, seeking out the spot that he knew bore the stars of his parent’s home planet. The city lights rarely allowed the light from the stars to be visible from the ground but he always knew where to find the constellation. It was early morning in New York City, he’d just arrived at work. He pushed through the emergency room doors and immediately found the ER swarming with technicians, nurses and paramedics. He was about to check in at the front desk when Gary, one of the regular paramedics, rushed up to him and threw him one of the heavy jackets the paramedics wore on call. It was equipped with a radio at the shoulder and would protect from the biting winter cold.

"Max, we need a pediatric paramedic down at the Museum of Natural History. Some kind of building cave in and a group of school kids inside," Gary said, talking fast as Max pulled on the coat and followed him out to the ambulance.

"Does Dr. Gerald know I’m heading out with you?" Max asked above the wailing of the sirens as Gary backed away from the ER. Max figured it would be a good idea if the resident advisor knew where one of his doctors on call was.

"He suggested you join me. My partner got hurt on our last call that we just dropped off when this one came in. Been awhile since you did paramedic duty?" Gary asked, narrowly avoiding cars as they slowly made their way towards the museum up Central Park West.

"Yeah, it’s been a little while," Max admitted, checking around his neck for his stethescope. He could feel his adrenaline pumping as they neared their destination. Gary hit the brake hard as they pulled up to the museum and Max jumped out with him, heading to the back to get the stretcher, which held the portable equipment. Max was puzzled as they climbed the steps to the museum and Gary stopped just at the entrance.

"Doesn’t this seem a little strange to you?" Gary asked. Max turned to look at him and then looked around, realizing what the other man meant.

There wasn’t a sign of another person anywhere in sight. Not on the steps, or just through the doors. For a museum that was normally teeming with visitors, it was oddly as quiet as it would be in the middle of the night. And they were first on scene.

"Maybe we should wait for the firemen to check out the structure, make sure it’s sound before we head in," Gary suggested. Max shook his head, suddenly feeling the urgency that they needed to get inside, that he needed to get inside right away.

"We can’t wait. They are people inside and they might be in critical condition. Come on," Max said, pushing through the front doors. Max walked in and tried to ignore the eery silence of the museum. He looked around for signs of where they should go when he caught sight of the still forms of several school children just through the entryway, past the raptor skeletons and in the large open room where the elephant herd stood frozen in time. He gestured to Gary and they rushed to the bodies of about thirty kids and five adults.

Max kneeled down and gave a young boy a quick visual exam, seeing nothing overtly wrong. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gary lean over an adult woman and he looked up at Max, perplexed.

"What the hell is going on? It’s like they’re—"

Max felt for a pulse as Gary talked, finding it steady and strong. The boy was breathing normally and with even breaths. He finished Gary’s sentence.

"Asleep."

When Gary didn’t respond he looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of the other man slumped to the ground, rolled over next to the others. He rushed over and found him in the same condition.

Max froze as he felt the presence of someone coming closer. Suddenly he felt very much alone and that something was not right. When he felt the brush of someone’s mind against his, he felt his heart rate triple. He could communicate with any of his relatives, but he did not recognize who this person was. He was about to slowly turn and look when he felt a force like a brick wall slam him from behind and lift him from the ground to hit one of the nearby glass covered displays. Painfully he opened his eyes to look straight at a family of stuffed cheetahs staring at him with lifeless glass eyes. The glass wall cracked and split under the force and he slid to the ground, his vision swimming as he lost consciousness.

His last thought was that he didn’t know who had hit him, who had been able to enter his mind, but instinctively he knew they weren’t human.

They had to be alien.