"I know what you mean," Isabel agreed. She sighed and then yawned and softly closed the book she was reading, laying it on the ground and then cuddling up into Alex's side. She looked into his eyes and smiled, switching to their new found private communication. *Besides, if everyone else can slack off, I totally think we're entitled."

"Well said," Alex agreed out loud, causing both Max and Dinah to look up. "Sorry, still getting used to this thing," he replied sheepishly.

Max nodded, sympathetic to his plight, and then looked back down at his own book. Dinah just bit down on a grin and continued her own research.

Alex looked back into Isabel's lovely face and then rubbed noses with her. *I like this,* he sent.

*What do you like?* she teased, brushing her lips over his.

*This!" he replied. *Holding you in my arms, kissing you, sharing with you. I like it all.*

She nodded. *Yeah, me too. It makes me feel...* she trailed off, looking for the right words and then sent, *It makes me feel flawlessly whole. Does that make sense?*

Alex smiled and then leaned in and gave her another kiss, this time longer. While he tenderly tasted her lips, he sent, *It makes sense. I feel exactly the same way.*

Isabel pulled back and sighed contentedly while her eyes caressed his face lovingly, never feeling happier in her entire life.

"Huh," Max said out of the blue, causing them both to look up.

"What is it Max?" Isabel asked. "Did you find anything?"

Max didn't answer right away and Isabel exchanged a curious glance with Alex. "Max?" she tried again.

"Huh? Oh, well I'm not finding anything about how to defeat Nacerro but I found something interesting in general. It talks about the telepathic links we're all having." He looked back down again at his book and Isabel sat up.

"Well? What does it say?"

"Hold on, Izzy. I'm getting to that." He paused and then nodded. "Okay, it says...," suddenly his voice trailed off and his normally collected expression turned blank.

"Max?" Alex asked. "Buddy? You okay?"

But Max didn't answer. He seemed to be in his own world. Alex and Isabel exchanged concerned glances and then watched as Max suddenly stood up from his chair. "Where?!" he asked, confusing them even more. They continued to watch as he started to quickly fish through his pockets and then shook his head.

"MAX!" Isabel yelled, not able to handle the suspense. "What's going on? Are you talking to Liz?"

He glanced at her suddenly, like he had forgotten her presence and then absently nodded.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?" Alex asked.

He shook his head and then bolted from the room. They both jumped when they heard the kitchen door slam behind him.

Isabel stood up quickly and pulling Alex up after she was on her feet and they both ran after Max but as soon as they got outside, they ran into Michael and Liz who both hunched over, breathless from running. "What is it?" She asked, looking between the two.

"She's gone!" Michael gasped, fighting to suck in a deep breath of air.

"Calm down Michael. Who's gone?"

"Maria," Liz answered for him, still struggling to catch her breath herself. "She said that she was going to go fight Nacerro by herself."

Isabel's eyes widened. "Is she crazy? It's suicide!"

Michael nodded and then grimaced as he stood erect. "No shit Sherlock, and if we don't get to her soon, we'll loose her. And the baby."

"Why would she do it?" Alex cried out. "Why would she purposely jeopardize her life? Your child's life? I just don't get it! That's not Maria."

"Here's the note!" Michael growled, shoving it in his face.

Alex took the crumpled sheet of paper from his hand and both he and Isabel read it.

"She's irrational," Isabel muttered when she was done reading it.

"No. She honestly thinks that she is doing the right thing but I'm scared that she's going to get herself killed. She doesn't fully understand the magnitude of Nacerro's power," Dinah said, appearing at their sides. "We have to get to her before she gets to Nacerro."

"MAX!" Liz cried out, causing everyone to turn and see him coming up towards the house at a brisk run.

Liz met him halfway and threw herself in his arms. "Oh Max," she moaned, suddenly bursting into tears.

"It's gone!" he told the others. "The jeeps gone! She took it!"

"SHIT!" Michael screamed, kicking his foot at the door, splintering the wood. He took a deep breath and looked towards his mother. "How can we get out of here? We need transportation. Is there any?"

Dinah looked thoughtful. "Well," she said slowly. "We do have some vehicles here but most of them are pretty old. They'll never catch her. How long do you think she has been gone?"

Michael held up his hands helplessly. "I have no fucking clue. All I know is that I can't connect with her."

"When was the last time you felt her presence?"

Michael thought about that for a moment, searching his memory. He realized that he really hadn't sensed her since after she left Dinah's house hours before. "Damnit! It's been at least four hours. She could be in New Mexico already."

"And you can't sense her now?" Isabel asked carefully. "At all?"

He searched within himself, for any sign that Maria was lingering around his thoughts like usually and then he opened his eyes and shook his head. "Nothing," he said, his voice sounding dead.

"Why is that I wonder?" Isabel asked, looking to Dinah for answers.

"I know," Max said suddenly and everyone looked at him. "It was in the reading I was doing about the telepathic links. According to the book I was reading, these links we have aren't stable. Their delicate balance can easily be interrupted by distance and many other things. It didn't say anything about how far out of range a person has to be to break the link but I'm sure it has to be a relatively long distance. I hate to say it but if you haven't felt her for a long time, it could mean that she left right after she blew up at us in the house and if that's true, she's definitely in New Mexico. It's only three hours from here to the New Mexico border."

Michael nodded and then put his head down, fighting tears. He was so worried about Maria. Why did she have to be so headstrong, so stubborn? She was acting a lot like Max right now in the sense that she though she had to take care of everyone else. Didn't she realize that he had to do this with her, that they all did?

Finally, he looked up at his mother again and said, "Can you get us a vehicle then?"

She hesitated before nodding and then said, "Yes, but I'm coming with you. And we need to bring the books and papers as well. We've got to find out how to stop Maria from getting killed."

*****

"Can't this piece of shit go any faster?" Michael complained as they drove up hill on their way back to Roswell.

Max sighed, keeping his eyes on the road. "Michael, this piece of shit, as you call it, is thirty years old. I'm going as fast as I can."

"DAMNIT!" Michael screamed, pounding his fist in the dashboard of the old van they had borrowed from the elders. "What the fuck is she thinking?"

From behind him, he heard a voice say, "Calm down Michael. I think we've already established that she's acting irrational, but somewhere in that twisted, half hormone - half crazy, Tyrvanas driven mind of Maria's, she thinks she's doing the right thing."

"Thanks for the recap, Isabel. Now, if you can't say anything to help the situation, I would appreciate it if you would just keep your damn mouth shut!" Michael said, his voice starting out irritated but quiet and then growing razor sharp.

"Just trying to help," Isabel replied hurt evident in her voice.

"Well, stop it. Nothing you can say is going to make me feel any better."

"Michael, we're all worried about her," Liz said softly from directly behind him.

Michael gritted his teeth, knowing that he had no right to blow up at everyone. "I know but I'm just so angry! It's suicide, Liz. She has no right to take a chance with her life, with our child's life. She's going to get herself killed and you know what the worst thing about the entire situation is? There is not a damn thing I can do about it."

*****

"You're doing the right thing," Maria told herself as she looked at her reflection in the rearview mirror. She only wished she felt as confident as she sounded. She knew that there was no way she could chance any of the others getting hurt or killed so she was going to do this herself. She may get herself killed doing it but she would take Nacerro down with her before she died.

Up ahead, by the dim lighting of the jeep's headlights, she saw a sign that read Roswell...12. That's when she saw the sign she was looking for and she took a sharp turn at the road with the sign that read; Now Entering The Mes Aleko Reservation.

*****

"Isn't there anything we can do to get in contact with her?" Michael asked his mother.

She shook her head. "I don't know."

"I know what we can do," Max said quietly.

"What?" Michael asked sharply.