to the stars...”

Max couldn’t keep the grin off his face as the two vans drove up to the clearing beside the gas station. He pulled Liz up into his arms gently and let Tug help them out of the narrow space in the back seat of the van. His eyes came to rest on his mother’s face as she bounded out of the van and ran over to him, tears streaming down her face. He couldn’t hug her, but he buried his face in her neck as she whispered loving words. She pulled back and looked down at Liz questioningly.

“She’s fine. Just sleeping.”

His Mom nodded and then turned to grab Isabel in a fierce hug. He wasn’t surprised to see her sob on Isabel’s shoulder for a moment. His gaze moved over to see Joey beside them looking troubled and a little lost.

“Max!” His Dad embraced him, enveloping Max as well as Liz with gusto. “I am so proud of you, son!” He pulled back and looked Max in the eyes. “From what Isabel said, it sounds like you had a rough time of it.”

Isabel and his Mom turned to get in on the conversation, bringing Joey with them. “I’m so glad that you’re all okay!”

A few tears slid down Joey’s face and Max moved closer to her. “Joey, what’s wrong? You’re not still scared, are you?”

She rolled her eyes with an embarrassed smile. “No, I just... I was hoping someone else would be coming with you guys. But I guess he... I guess he couldn’t come.”

Max saw his Dad and Mom exchange smiles and suddenly he knew what this was all about. Kyle Valenti? Liz had mentioned something about the two of them spending time together, but... His gaze darted to Joey’s face. “This is about Kyle?”

Joey looked at Max with an upward tilt to her chin. “Yes, do you have a problem with that?”

Max was taken aback by her quick change. “No. I guess I’m... sort of out of the loop on this one.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Exactly what’s happened between you two?”

Joey sighed. “Nothing, big brother. Apparently, nothing at all.” She turned away, but their Mom put a hand on her arm.

“Sweetie, Kyle did come.”

Joey swung around, gave her a quick look and scanned the crowd again. Max shook his head. Kyle Valenti? He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

******

Where? Where was he?

Joey tried to keep the hope off of her face, but it was impossible. She saw the Parkers headed for Max and the Whitmans smothering Alex... and there was Sheriff Valenti. But where was Kyle?

After scanning the group several times, her eyes finally went back to the blond beside the Sheriff. The girl was tall, almost as tall as the Sheriff with striking features- high cheekbones and wide, blue eyes. Did Kyle have a sister?

At the thought, her mind cleared up a little. The girl did look like Kyle a little, especially around the eyes. And her hair was the same light brown. That must be it. Joey looked back over at her Mom and shifted awkwardly.

“Go ahead, dear.” Her Mom was smiling a little too much, but Joey just chalked it up to the emotion of the situation.

“I’ll be right back.” She threaded her way through the group, getting a smile from Nathan as he and the other outsiders talked quietly by Christopher’s van. Her gaze went back to the girl beside Sheriff Valenti. The girl was staring at Joey with the strangest expression. Joey shifted her gaze to the Sheriff. He was smiling as she approached.

“Hi, Sheriff Valenti.”

“Hi, Joey. Good to see that you’re okay.”

“Very good,” said the girl beside him quietly. Joey met her intense gaze only a moment before looking back to the Sheriff.

“Oh Joey, I’d like you to meet someone.” The Sheriff turned to the girl beside him, who looked panic-stricken at the words.

“That’s okay. She doesn’t need to meet me.”

“Yes, she does.”

“No,” the girl intoned fiercely. “SHE DOESN’T.”

Joey looked between the two of them, searching for the missing piece in this conversation.

“I think she does. Joey, this- this is Kyla.” The Sheriff beamed.

“Alright, that’s it,” the strange girl grabbed Joey’s arm gently and propelled her to the other side of the van. “Leave us alone, Dad.”

Joey would’ve been frozen to the spot if she hadn’t been pulled forward. That reply... that tone... It couldn’t be.

She stopped as soon as the girl let go and they faced each other uneasily. The girl shifted her weight a few times and appeared to be trying to work up the nerve to say something. Joey looked deeply into the blue eyes and sucked in a breath. She recognized those eyes! “Kyle?”

The girl threw out her hands in amazement. “YES! You know who I am?”

Joey had thought she was ready to hear the answer, but she obviously wasn’t. “Uh... Kyle? It‘s... it‘s you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” He/she started to speak with animated gestures. “The shapeshifter was afraid that someone would see us trying to leave, so he turned into Dad, turned the guard into me, and turned me into... this! See?”

Joey’s eyes were wide open and she knew she should shut her open mouth, but she just couldn’t process what he was saying long enough to do it.

“Joey, are you okay?”

She snapped her mouth shut. “Yeah. Is this... condition permanent?”

He/She stared at her. “I was hoping you could tell me that.”

“Oh. I think I need to sit down.”

“Good idea. Let’s get in the van.”

“Okay.”

She let him/her help her climb into the seat and then sat staring straight ahead. She had so much to tell him, but now that he wasn’t... himself... should she?

After a few minutes, the silence became so heavy that she didn’t know how to break it.

******

Max felt his body grow rigid at the sight of Mrs. Parker getting out of one of the vans.

“Mrs. Parker, you’ve known me since I was a child. Have I ever given you any reason to think that I might be dangerous to Liz?”

She blinked. “No, Max, to be fair, you haven’t. But- what you are is dangerous to Liz.”

What you are.

The painful memory surfaced without him even trying to recall it. Liz’s Mom had tried everything to keep he and Liz apart, and it had almost cost them their lives. He watched her approach with cold eyes. His gaze flickered to her husband beside her and he suddenly realized Mr. Parker must know the whole truth now. Max swallowed hard. Mr. Parker’s eyes were fixed on Liz. Max suddenly felt inadequate; he hadn’t protected her enough. How would they ever be able to trust their daughter with him if all he did was endanger her life?

He shook his head to clear away the thoughts and determined quickly to do whatever it took to convince them he was worthy of her love. Because he had to.

They stopped just in front of him. Mrs. Parker’s face was a study of emotions and Max didn’t even try to read them all. It was obvious she wanted to take Liz from him, but she didn’t dare. Mr. Parker cleared his throat. “Is she... alright?”

Max nodded. “She’s sleeping.” When the older man’s eyebrows went up, Max continued. “Very heavily. She should wake up soon.”

Mrs. Parker sighed audibly and relaxed against her husband. Mr. Parker put his arm around her and smiled. “So, I hear we may have an alien in the family.”

Max’s mouth quirked to the side. “Try two.”

Mr. Parker’s face went slack. “Oh. Yeah. That’s right.” He seemed to deal with it and smiled again with effort. “It’s been an interesting few days. Care to share what’s been really going on?”

Max looked down shortly. He didn’t want to tell them what Liz had been through. He didn’t want to re-live it himself. He looked back up. “People are always afraid of aliens. They were trying to prove that Liz was changed into a hybrid because of plans of ours to take over the world, one unsuspecting human at a time.” The irony made him half-smile.

“What did they do to her, Max?” Mrs. Parker’s eyes were wide, her lips in a brittle line. Max found himself wanting to tell her every excruciating detail, to make her realize the extent of the danger she put Liz in by conspiring with the FBI, but it went against his nature. She was Liz’s mother and he couldn’t wish her pain, especially when they would be leaving her alone with her thoughts for who knew how long.

“They tested her. An alien hunter tried to kill her. She ended up killing him instead. That’s why she’s so tired.” The Parkers nodded, obviously having trouble absorbing the information.

“So, she’s okay?” He reached out a tentative hand and touched her cheek softly.

Max smiled at Mr. Parker. “She’s fine. I healed her and now she’s just recovering the energy she lost during the last battle.”

Mr. Parker leaned over and kissed Liz’s forehead, then smiled up at Max. “Thank you.”

“If she’s okay, then why are you holding her?” Mrs. Parker looked suspicious and Max wanted to throttle her.

“Because I promised her we would never be apart again and I meant it. It’s when we’re apart that things tend to-”

“Right.” Mr. Parker interrupted. “Then we’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen again, right, Max?”

Max was smiling gratefully despite himself. “Right.”

Mrs. Parker nodded and looked down. “What’s going to happen now, Max? I don’t think it’s wise for you to come back to Roswell.”

“She’s right.” For the first time, Max realized his mother and father had been behind him that whole time, just waiting. Now his mother joined him, putting an arm around his waist. “Things have gone from bad to worse there.”

Max hesitated, then chose his words carefully. “Well, even if that weren’t true, we would still be leaving. By midnight tonight, we’ll be travelling home.” He felt the shock in all the bodies around him. A silence fell. He looked over at the Parkers. “I‘m sorry, but it’s the only way now.”

Mrs. Parker looked up at him with teary eyes. “I know. And I’m determined to let her go. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that me trying to hang on to her never does anyone any good. In fact, it’s almost destroyed several good people that I know.” Max nodded and held her gaze firmly.

Mr. Parker put his arm around his wife. “We trust you, Max. Just take good c- care of Lizzie for us.”

Max nodded again and pulled her tighter in his arms. “You’ll be able to say goodbye when she wakes up, I promise.”

They nodded and pulled back.

Max found that he was trembling and his mother led him over to the rental van. “You should sit down, you’re probably exhausted.”

Max climbed up and sat down in the long seat, arranging Liz across his lap. He laid his head back against the seat and stroked a hand through her hair idly, wishing she would wake up.

******

Kyle looked sideways at Joey, out of the corner of his eyes. She was sitting still, looking ahead with blank eyes. He knew where her mind was, it was exactly where his mind had been for almost the whole plane ride. He sniffed and rubbed at his nose. “Well, it’s not as if we were compatible to begin with. So... I guess it’s really no great loss. We could be, you know, best friends and trade beauty secrets.”

Joey turned to stare at him with wide eyes. Kyle looked over at her. “Yeah, it’d be great. We could have sleepovers.” Her mouth quirked upward and Kyle was encouraged.

He added a lisp. “And maybe you could show me how to get my hair to do that curly thing that yours does, ‘cause mine has absolutely no body whatsoever and I could just die.“

Joey started to laugh. A beautiful, lilting laugh that made Kyle’s heart vibrate. He smiled and watched her beautiful face flush and look almost apologetic as she laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. He was starting to chuckle with her when she suddenly broke down into shaking sobs and collapsed against him.

Kyle huffed out a breath and put his arm around her. She leaned in sideways against his... boobs, and clutched at his loose buttondown. (Thank god Mrs. Evans had let him borrow it to cover the tight white t-shirt and mini-skirt Matpatha had stuck him in, pig.) Joey was trembling with emotion and Kyle stroked her back gently. Her tears dripped on his leg and his heart broke for her. She had been through so much.

“It’s going to be okay, Joey.“ His words came out husky and for a moment, he sounded almost like himself. Joey sighed and quieted down. Kyle suddenly couldn’t swallow against the lump in his throat. He didn’t ever want to move again. He felt her body stiffen against his a little and he cursed himself silently. If only he had his own damn body back, at least he’d be able to comfort her the way she needed.

She was going to pull away, before he’d said anything that he’d wanted to. How could he make her relax?

“So Joey, you’ve never told me much about your life before Roswell.”

She sniffed and wiped at her nose self-consciously, but she didn‘t pull away. “I know. There’s not much to tell.”

“Did anybody take care of you?”

“Sort of.” Her voice was quiet, vulnerable. “I lived on the streets for a while, and I learned the ropes pretty quick. You can find work, daily jobs that pay enough for food. It doesn’t take that much food to survive, when you get right down to it.”

Kyle felt his gut clench. “It really bothers me to hear you talk about yourself like that.”

“Like what?” She was still resting against him, finally relaxing a little.

“Like you’re the only one who cares whether or not you had enough food to eat.”

“Well, for a long time, I was the only person who cared.”

Kyle felt his heart pound. Could she feel it through his chest? “You know, you’re not anymore.”

Joey pulled away at that and Kyle moved to give her space. But instead of scooting away, she moved even closer and leaned forward until her face was only inches from his. He couldn’t move a muscle. Her eyes held him fast. Beneath the layer of glittering tears, they were deep pools of brown and amber, with flecks of green that he’d never even noticed before. Beautiful.

“I’m not what anymore?” She looked into his eyes as though his next words were air, water and food to her.

He swallowed hard and tried to remember how to answer her. “Joey, I meant what I said before.” In the silence, she leaned even closer, until he felt her hot breath on his chin, until she probably couldn’t see anything but his eyes.

“What did you say before?”

“That I love you.”

Happiness shot through her eyes at lightning speed, followed by sadness so quickly that Kyle almost didn‘t even catch it. And then her arms were around him, boobs pressing on boobs. Damn shapeshifter!

“I love you, too, Kyle. I wish I didn’t have to leave you.”

Whoa. Kyle felt his stomach hit the floor. “You are leaving? When?”

She pulled away gently and sat back against the window. After a moment of silence, she raised her knees up into her chest and hugged them. “A few minutes before midnight, all twelve of us.”

Kyle watched her carefully. “That would be, I guess, ’The Parting,’ huh?”

Joey nodded. She looked so small against the window, helpless to stop any of this.

“Is this what you want, Joey?”

She looked up at him with big eyes. “It doesn’t matter what I want. I’m one of the twelve; I have to go. Besides,” she said, looking away. “I pretty much blew all chances of a normal life here with that stunt at the hospital.”

In spite of himself, Kyle grinned. “Man, you were awesome, glowing like that.” She looked at him uncertainly. Oh yeah. “Hey, nobody was hurt. A few people didn’t get their eyesight back right away, but Matpatha was going to take care of that.”

She nodded in relief, then tilted her head to the side. “You don’t have much to go home to, either.”

She was feeling bad about that? Kyle put his arm up on the back of the seat and gently touched her arm. “Are you kidding? I dated the infamous glowing alien girl. I’m a celebrity.“

“Right.“ Joey nodded.

“But don’t worry, I’m not planning on telling anyone the truth about anything. After all the false info Dad and I are going to put out there, people won’t have any idea what really happened.”

“What about Garrett?”

“Oh, they can have him. One dead alien in the hand is worth two in space, you know. They’ll forget all about you after the REAL alien autopsy is done.”

A small smile lit up her gorgeous face. “Anybody ever tell you that you’re brilliant?”

Kyle raised his eyebrows and answered her honestly. “Nope.”

She grinned. “Well, you are.”

Kyle nodded. “Did anyone ever tell you that you are an excellent judge of intelligence?”