"I know that Nancy. I just don't know what else to do. I have to keep looking for the others, and I have my job, so I can't watch over the kids all the time. And I don't know if Michael has grown like Liz, without any alien-traits, or if because he stayed in his pod the whole incubation time, if he already has some kind of trait that could lead others to him. And he should know what it is that is happening to him." Claudia sighed as she paced the living room.

She remembered how the alien had told her that the children would emerge from the pods and slowly start to develop the gifts they had as they matured. But she didn't know if they had started yet or not. She knew she couldn't go by Liz since she hatched earlier and might just be slower than the others at developing her gifts.

She didn't like the idea either, but she couldn't think of anything else to do. She knew Liz was still relatively safe, since she showed no signs of her alien side, and Jeff and Nancy were around to watch over her. But she worried about the boy. If he was the King, or even the brother of the Queen, he was part of the Royal family and needed to be protected and kept safe too.

What if he was in danger and didn't know it. She had to somehow warn him to keep him safe. But if she did talk to him, what could she say? He was too young to understand all she had to share, and she didn't even know if he knew he was different. He might be just like Liz, and have no idea. She just wished she knew! She had to meet the boy.

"There might be another way Mom." Jeff said with a sudden idea.

When he saw he had both women's undivided attention he smiled a little and raked a hand through his hair. "Look, I know we agreed to tell no one else about this, but if you want to keep that boy safe, and keep him and Liz from knowing the truth right now, this is the only way I can think of." Jeff started, already prepared for a fight with his mother about telling someone else.

"Go ahead." Was all she said, and rather calmly.

"Well…Jim Valenti is a good guy and a great friend, as you know mom. He could help us. He has ways of knowing things that are going on that could help us protect Michael as well as Liz. He can be trusted. Now I know his father was alien obsessed and it ruined his career and family, but Jim's stronger than that. He wants to know the truth for his father's sake, but he's not obsessive." Jeff continued.

Claudia frowned but thought about what her son was saying. She so did NOT want to talk to the kids yet. Not only did she think they were too young to know their past and future, but she knew they couldn't handle the dangers that they could face once they knew. And she also knew that until the five of them were all together, that they would not have the power they would need to fight the danger that was inevitable. She knew for all intent and purposes, that keeping the children in the dark for now was the best way to protect them.

But she still wanted to meet Michael and talk to him. Try to figure out if he had any alien traits or not. Tomorrow she would meet the boy but for now she had a decision to make.

"Alright Jeff. I trust Jim. He's been a good friend to you all these years and I've always liked him. We'll talk to him tomorrow." She sighed and headed to bed. She just hoped she was doing the right thing. **************

Jim Valenti looked from Claudia to his friend Jeff and slowly sat down in his office chair. He could tell by their faces that they were not kidding him. This was real. He knew he had to say something, but he was speechless. His father had been right! All these years he'd been right!

Claudia looked at her son and understanding passed between them. They could tell by the paleness of Sheriff Valenti's face that he was still in shock and would need a few minutes at least.

"He was right." Was the first thing Jim said when he could speak.

Claudia smiled softly and nodded sincerely.

"So Liz… She looks so… Normal. No indications what so ever that she's…." Jim knew he wasn't completely coherent yet, but they knew what he meant.

Jeff nodded but didn't smile. He himself had trouble remembering that his little girl wasn't normal even if she seemed it now. "No indications yet. The… the little alien that my mom talked to at the crash, said they would develop these powers slowly after they hatched. That they would need to be told about themselves and it's all in this book she has. So far we've been lucky with Liz. She's too young to deal with all of it anyways, so we haven't told her anything. And we think that she might develop even slower since she was hatched prematurely. She doesn't know… anything." Jeff explained.

Jim nodded. "And Michael Guerin? You think he's one of the children you're to protect, Claudia?" he asked still trying to piece it all together.

"Yes. I'm quite sure of it. I haven't seen the boy yet, but after talking with his foster father, and listening to the story, I know he's one of them. I just don't know which one."

"And we would rather not tell him either, but he does need protection. Protection from whomever is out there looking for them. The alien warned Claudia of the Pod children's enemies, but I also think that we have the government after them too still." Jeff sighed.

Jim nodded. He knew about the alien hunters and FBI investigations. The investigations were supposed to be over, but he knew they were still actively looking around Roswell secretly.

"I'll do my best to help watch over the boy Claudia. Hank's not that reliable since his wife died and that boy could use a good influence. Between Jeff and I, we'll make sure he's okay." Jim promised, exchanging nods with Jeff Parker.

"Thank you Jim. You don't know how much this means to me. Until I find the other children, they really shouldn't know. But… if Michael does develop any of his alien gifts, he might need to be told ahead of time. If you and Jeff can now watch out for him and keep me posted when I can't be around, I'd be so grateful." Claudia smiled in relief.

Now she could leave without worrying as much about Michael. He was in good hands with both Jim and Jeff watching out for him.

"Since Hank is working at the Crashdown, it shouldn't be difficult to keep an eye on Michael. I'll just tell him he's welcome to bring Michael along while he's working." Jeff explained.

"And I'll keep an eye out for him when he's with Hank at their trailer. Make sure the boy is okay." Jim promised.

Claudia smiled with tears in her eyes. Now she could leave when she needed to, to find the other children and continue her work. But first, she had to meet Michael. *********************

Maria screamed and held on to Liz as they helplessly watched the older boys, Steve and his friends Clancy and Julio throw rocks at a baby bird in a tree on the playground. Maria had already tried to stop them and been pushed to the ground, only to be helped up by Liz.

Tears were streaming down their faces as they watched the poor defenseless bird being hit with rocks.

"Stop! Please stop! You're hurting it! You're going to kill it!" Liz sobbed.

The boys laughed at the small group of younger kids starting to gather around, some in fascination, others, like Liz and Maria, in tears.

Tess saw the poor bird starting to fall out of the nest, and knew if the boys got a hold of that poor baby bird it would be hurt worse. She ran back into the school to quickly get help.

Max was playing basketball on the other side of the playground with Michael when he felt pain. It wasn't physical pain, but emotional pain. He froze in confusion. Then he knew. Liz.

Michael followed as Max suddenly dropped the ball and ran, calling Liz's name.

When the two boys came upon the scene, they were horrified and furious. Without thought, they both ran to block the path of the boys as they started toward the now fallen baby bird at the bottom of the tree.

"You again? Get out of the way punk!" Steve laughed at Max.

"Back off." Michael said through gritted teeth. Max just stared Steve down. Neither Michael nor Max was going to move willingly.

"What's going on here?" They heard the Vice-Principal call out as he came over with Tess close behind and in tears herself.

"Nothing Mr. Phillips" Steve tried to bluster his way out of the situation.

"Steve, Clancy and Julio, my office right now." The vice-principal ordered not liking the situation at all.

When they had left, most of the students wandered away. But Liz, Maria and Tess ran toward the bird lying on the ground breathing erratically.

"It's dying!" Tess whispered as she knelt down next to the poor creature.

Liz sobbed and held on to Maria.

Max looked around, saw no one else was looking, and he carefully knelt by the bird and gently picked it up.

He met Liz's wide eyes and knew she was worried about him getting caught using his gift. But he hated seeing the little thing suffer, and he hated Liz's tears even more. They tore at his heart. He concentrated on the bird and closed his eyes.

Liz, Michael and Tess held their breath while Maria looked at Max with a confused frown.

A minute later, Max let the bird go, and it flew off.

Liz smiled brightly as she looked up at the sky as the bird flew away, and then back to Max who was smiling shyly at her.

He saw her tears and did the only thing he could do. He went to her and lifted a hand to gently wipe them away. "It's okay now Liz. It's okay." He tried to soothe her.

Liz sighed and looked into Max's calm captivating eyes and lost herself for a moment. His touch was so gentle, but she still felt his shared pain with her.

"Thank you Max." She whispered and Max just naturally held her as she put her head against his shoulder as she slowly calmed down.

"What…? How…how did you do that Max?" Maria asked breaking the moment.

Liz stiffened but Max just turned to Liz's friend. "I just did Maria. I don't know how, but I can make some things better." He said quietly.

"Don't say anything Maria. Please! They might hurt Max or experiment on him if anyone finds out." Liz pleaded with her friend.

Maria just nodded and stared at Max. "Wow…how come you can do that?" she asked.

"You ask a lot of questions." Michael said with a frown. He was scared that another person knew about Max.

"Well how else do you find things out!" Maria exclaimed with her hands on her hips.

Michael just sighed and looked around nervously.

Maria suddenly softened and walked toward the hostile boy. "Thank you for standing up to those horrible boys Michael." She said with a smile.

Michael, not used to being complimented, just shrugged, uncomfortable.

"I won't say anything about Max. I promise." She said knowing he was worried about his friend.

Michael met her eyes and for the first time, he saw what Liz saw in Maria. Honesty, and loyalty. How many times over the last two years had he seen her come to her friends' defenses? She stood up to everyone and was afraid of no one. Michael had to admire that. He nodded and looked away.

Maria took that as a positive response and smiled at him.

Michael turned red as Maria continued to look at him like he was a hero or something.

Tess just stared at her brother and Liz Parker. Isabel had already given Max the third degree about the Parker girl since his preoccupation with her was so obvious, but Max had just ignored her. Tess hasn't understood what Isabel was so upset about, but now, seeing the bond between her brother and the girl, she was stunned. She had never seen Max take to anyone outside of the family before. But seeing him with Liz Parker was almost …natural. She suddenly felt as if this was meant to be. That she had seen this before and it was right.

She shook herself and realized she was having one of her funky fantasy moments as Isabel called them. Tess would often go into a dream like state of mind, where she felt things that hadn't happened and they seemed so real. And for a second, seeing Max and Liz together had seemed familiar. She knew if she told Isabel about this she would just laugh, so she wouldn't tell anyone about this. It was just her wild imagination again anyways she told herself. **************

Claudia watched Michael Guerin as he sat at a booth with Maria, Kyle and Alex after school. She could tell Michael was a quiet and defensive boy, and she knew he wouldn't be easy to talk to, but she had to try. She needed to meet him and make contact somehow.

Who are you Michael? Are you Liz's mate or her brother? And do you have powers yet? And where are the others? Do you know? Would Liz's reaction to him let her know who he was? She would have to observe them together. But then again, maybe Liz just didn't have any instincts yet. She prayed this was true, since Liz having any alien traits right now would not keep her safe.