Alex was about as close to panic as he had ever been. Liz was fumbling as she pulled on clothes over her huge belly. He watched her wince as she smacked her head on the cabinet in the kitchen.

He shook his head and smiled faintly. "Liz, go back to bed."

She looked up, rubbing her head. "What? What are you talking about?"

"I can't let you do this. Look at you!"

Liz looked down at her swollen stomach and then looked back up at him. If looks could kill, Alex would be stone cold on the floor. "Fuck you, Alex."

"Liz, I..." he'd never heard profanity like that from her before.

She finished tying her shoe and walked toward him. He backed away until he was forced against the wall. "Alex, if you think for one second that I am not going with you to rescue the father of my child, you've got another thing coming."

Alex groaned. "Please, Liz...I don't even know where the hell I'm going."

"Exactly, Alex. But I do."

He just shook his head. All of this was just altogether too odd for him. Visions, aliens, love...

****

Maria looked at her rearview mirror, sighing as she once again saw the blindingly bright lights of the car that had been following her since she reached the New Mexico border. At the last second she turned to take the state road through Cimarron Park, instead of going down the wide-open freeway. It was out of her way, but she knew from road trips that she could cut back across east towards Roswell after she passed Taos. She drove through the twisting mountain roads, totally unnerved by the darkness. The high cliffs around her were eerily illuminated in the moonlight, and she could see the occasional high waterfall that ran heavy with the fall rain. Maybe it had already snowed up here, she mused.

"Maria...where are you?"

The voice echoed in her head as clearly as daylight. Maria screamed and pulled over to the side of the road. The sound had been Michael... Michael screaming her name. She rubbed at her temples, hoping the echo would go away. It wasn't real, it couldn't be real. She was going to see Alex, and that was all.

"Ma'am...open the window, ma'am."

****

Alex glanced from the road over at Liz. They were driving his old Pontiac, not her shiny new Civic. It just seemed a little too obvious to take that one. She stared straight ahead, her vision focused on the road. Alex couldn't have known that she was having a conversation in her head.

*Max, where are you?*

*Outside town...a facility...go southwest, you can't miss it.*

Alex started to turn onto the main freeway and Liz broke from her reverie, shrieking. "No, don't! Stay on that road!"

He steered forcefully back out of the turn lane, wincing as his ears rang. "Okay, Liz. Jesus."

Liz closed her eyes. *Stay with me, Max.*

*I don't know if I can, Liz. I'm not doing this.* *Max, it's me. I'm doing it.*

There was an incredulous silence. *How?*

*I don't know. I think it's the baby.*

*God...Liz.*

*Just stay with me, okay? I need to stay connected with you to know where you are.*

*I'm not where I used to be. I don't know where I am.*

*Don't worry about it, hon. I'll be there soon.*

*Yeah...that's good. I hope...* His voice trailed off and Liz panicked.

*Max? Max, where are you?*

*I'm here, Liz. They're just...never mind.*

Liz started to cry, both in reality and the conversation going on in her mind. *Max...they aren't hurting you, are they?*

*Don't worry about it, Liz. Just keep my baby safe, will you?*

Tears streamed down her face, and Alex reached across and took her hand. *Of course, Max. Always. I love you.*

*I love you too, Liz.*

His voice vanished and the connection was gone, as suddenly as it had come. "Max!" Liz wailed aloud. Alex squeezed her hand gently.

****

Maria squinted as the cop shone a flashlight in her eyes, inspecting her face. "You're not drunk, are you, ma'am?"

She shook her head. "Oh, no, sir."

"Well...I'd like you to get out of the car now."

He took the flashlight away and Maria gasped aloud as she recognized him. He was the FBI agent who'd followed them around Roswell at the beginning of last year!

"Ma'am, get out of your car..."

Maria hit the gas, accelerating as fast as she could in her little Jetta. She left the cop/FBI agent behind her in a cloud of dust.

The agent shrugged and pulled out of his phone. He pressed one of the pre-record buttons and held it to his ear. "Marcus...Maria DeLuca is headed your way. Everything is falling into place."

****

"Liz...if you don't mind me asking...what the hell happened just then?"

Liz swiped at her tears with the back of her free hand. "I was talking to Max."

"Talking to Max...are you sure you're all right?"

She laughed softly. "I don't know if I'm crazy, Alex. I might be. I don't know. But I was talking to him. That's how I knew to stay on the road. It's how I know where he is. I just sense him."

"So how come...this sensing thing has never kicked in before?"

"Alex, I've been awake for two days, remember?"