Liz began by telling them about the pregnancy scare. Max sat with her on he couch, as she tried to explain in as little detail as possible, what had happened last weekend. They all sympathized with her and Max, trying to imagine the hell they had been through this week.......as common as teen pregnancy's were, it wasn't a proposition that either one of them was anxious to experience.

She then told them about her second visit with Max and Isabel's grandmother, and how she had explained how she couldn't be pregnant. Max looked over at Michael and winked, as Michael actually blushed, trying to avoid Maria's eyes. She glanced at him with interest, since they had become so close to "doing it" many times, and wondered what he was thinking. She'd definitely continue this conversation in private, later on.

Then it was Max's turn to speak, and he revealed the house details to them, trying to soften the blow about not telling them, by reminding them about their more pressing problem...........the so-called pregnancy scare. He explained that he and Liz both were under such stress, that they just needed a place to escape for awhile.

Even though their friends were empathetic, Max and Liz felt their slight hurt at being kept in the dark about this information.

"We'd love for you to see it," Liz spoke up to mollify them. "Why don't we go out there now .........it's not that far, only about fifteen minutes........and it would be a good break from all this work?"

They looked at each other and agreed eagerly. Isabel and Alex climbed in Max's jeep, and Tess and kyle were joined by Michael and Maria in the Mustang, as they followed Max out of town. They pulled up in front of the bungalow, as their friends jumped out of the vehicles in eager anticipation.

"Max, this is gorgeous!" Isabel exclaimed. She hugged him and Liz, as she took it all in, trying to comprehend her brother's good fortune. They all walked up the steps, as they stood on the generous porch, waiting for Max to unlock the door. Then they stepped into the foyer, their mouths dropping open, as they gawked around.

"Woo," Kyle whistled. "Man, this is incredible, you guys! Did all this stuff come with it?"

Max and Liz nodded, as they graciously showed their friends around their new home. They showed their delight at each new discovery, Alex predictably hovering longer than anyone, at the computer station. Michael and Kyle were taken with the den and it's big screen t.v., both grinning at all the sports they could watch, while the girls oohed and awed over the kitchen, and fell in love with the bathroom.

They all took in the double beds in the spare bedrooms, wondering secretly if they would be invited over to sleep occassionally. Max and Liz laughed at their quizzical expressions.

"Yes, of course, we'll have you guys over for a sleep over. Luckily, the den has a sofa bed, so that means there won't be a problem with sleeping arrangements."

They all smiled their gratitude as the young couple led them back into the living room and proceded to offer them refreshments. They brought sodas for everyone and some snack foods, which they placed in bowls on the tables.

"You know, we were thinking that this would make an excellent place to hold our meetings......that's if Michael doesn't mind," Max offered.

Michael looked over at Max and grinned. "Hey Maxwell, if that means that we have to give up my crummy place so that I have to suffer through an occassional hockey game on your big screen t.v., then I guess I'll just have to make the sacrifice," he mugged.

Max and Liz chuckled, and were delighted to be able to share their home with all their friends. They sat and chatted throughout the afternoon, making plans for a barbeque later on in the week, and deciding what to do with all the papers they still had to sift through.

"I think it would be best to keep all that stuff at Michael's for now," Max suggested. "There's so much material......I think until we get it down to a reasonable size, we should keep it where it is. Besides, Michael's place is more accessible for us, when we need to get something quick. Is that okay with you, Michael?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure, it makes sense. It's probably only going to be for another coupla weeks, anyway. I figure we'll have most of the searching done by then, and like you said, we'll have weeded through most of it."

"Alex, we'll need to get this on file soon. It'll be less bulky, and I noticed there's a safe in the den, so we can store any info in that, just for security reasons. I'll have to get the combination from Brody, that's all."

"Okay, Max. Kyle and I have actually started to organize some of the stuff we found yesterday, and I see that Brody has a tidy little computer station set up here.......his scanner will definitely come in handy, and his computers are so much faster than mine, that I think it's gonna work out great. Plus, the extra computer means that more than one of us can be downloading info at the same time. It should cut down on our search time a lot. It just means that the rest of you guys will have to work faster at weeding out the garbage from the real thing," he laughed.

"Give the guy a faster computer, and he goes power hungry," Maria mocked as she playfully made a swat at her friend. "And speaking of hungry, I could use something to eat right now. We'd better head back, 'cause I know my Mom's actually hoping to see me for a meal this weekend, and I know your parents are anxious to see you, Liz."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for reminding me, Maria. Okay, we'll be in touch later. Maria, Michael and I are working all day tomorrow, and I think Max has a tweve hour shift, don't you, Hon?"

"Mmm, yeah," he groaned, as he rolled his eyes. "I'll try to make it over to your place, Michael, at 8:00 tomorrow night. That's if Brody doesn't have some diabolical workload set up for me tomorrow."

"No problem, Maxwell. Well I guess we'd better get going, then."

They all got up from their comfortable positions, and headed for the door. Liz and Max cleared up their dishes with Isabel and Alex's help, and loaded them in the dishwasher, while they waved goodbye to their other friends.

"Max, are you gonna tell Mom and Dad about the house?" Isabel inquired.

"No, Iz," he shook his head. "They'd never understand, and I know they wouldn't be too happy about Liz and I spending time alone together out here. I hate having to keep it a secret from them, but for now, I can't see any other way around it."

She nodded in understanding as she glanced admiringly around the house one last time, before leaving with her friends.

---------------------------

The grey car that had followed them from town, was parked in around some shrubs, well out of sight of the house. The man behind the wheel smirked as his plans unfolded, right on schedule.

------------------------------

They drove home, Liz and Isabel chatting excitedly about decorating ideas for the bungalow. Even though it was furnished beautifully, Liz wanted to give it a personal touch, and Isabel was only too eager to offer her assistance. The guys just rolled their eyes as they listened to their girls talking about color schemes and fabrics.

They soon arrived back home and Max dropped Isabel and Alex off at Michael's so he could pick up his car. Then, Max drove Liz home. He leaned across the gear shift to kiss her.

"I think they really liked the place, don't you?" he asked.

"Oh yes, Max," she beamed. "I'm so glad we can share it with them.....I'm just so happy, I could burst." Max knew she wasn't only referring to the house. He reached out and stroked her abdomen.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Someday, we'll have kids, but I'm so glad that day isn't now!" he sighed with relief.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly. "I love you so much," she whispered through bright eyes.

"Love you too, Babe," he replied. "Well, I guess I'd better get you inside before your parents ground you for a week. I may be cured, but a week is a long time to wait for a little nookie," he grinned.

She chuckled and agreed with him, as he led her to her entrance.

"Call me later," she said. "Maybe we can go out for a little while, okay?"

"Yeah, I will." He gave her a quick kiss, as he let her go reluctantly."See you later," he called as she hurried up the stairs. She turned and waved as she opened the apartment door. He waved back, before turning to head home.

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"Maria," her mom called out to her. "Did you bring back those pie plates from Michael's, yet?"

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry mom, I forgot. I'll pick them up tonight, when I see Michael. The pies were a real hit," she smirked under her breath.

"What was that sweetie?" her mom asked as she came into her room.

"I said they were really good....everybody loved them," she replied innocently.

"Oh, good. Well dinner's almost ready, okay?"

"Yeah, mom I'll be out in a bit," she said, as she turned back to the phone to continue her conversation with Liz.

"So tell me what really happened last night, Liz? You owe me that much for saving your butt."

"Oh Maria, I don't want to go into the intimate details........just believe me when I say that when you and Michael finally do it, be prepared for a roller coaster of emotions. It's kind of the adjustment phase, shall we say, until you're compatable.....at least that what Grandma says."

"Liz, that is so cute....you calling Max's grandmother "Grandma". I can't wait to meet her!"

"Me too!" Liz exclaimed. "I mean, I have met her, but only in my dreams........and Max has met her in real life, only he didn't know it was her at the time. It's a little confusing, you know, but we are dealing with czechoslovakians," she sighed.

"Yeah, tell me about it! Michael can be so evasive sometimes, it drives me crazy......you know, the "I'm a soldier" spiel and "I'm a stonewall", "she mimicked.

Liz laughed and told her to hang in there, because it was definitely worth it. She giggled as she told Maria that the sex was incredible.

"You have no idea, Maria. I love Max and even if we didn't do it, I'd still want to be with him forever.........buuut, now that we have done it...........Omigod, I could never give it up!" she cracked up.

Maria burst out laughing. "Little Miss Innocent Liz Parker....tut, tut, tut. If only your classmates knew..........which, of course they won't," she reiterated. "I swear, they will never, ever hear it from me. You know that Liz, right?" she added.

"Of course, Maria. Your the last person I would expect to blab about this."

"MARIA," her mom yelled, "dinner's ready!"

"Gotta go, Liz. Are you going to Michael's tonight?"

"Maybe. I haven't heard from Max, yet."

"Well, if you are, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Bye."

"Bye"

-----------------------------------

Max sat at his desk, reading and sipping a soda, as he waited for dinner. Isabel knocked and walked in.

"Max, can we talk?" she asked with trepidation.

"Yeah, sure Iz. What's up?"

" I feel a little weird talking to my brother about this, but you seem to be the only one with the answers, so here goes."

Max sat quietly in his chair, turned towards his sister, as he listened politely to what she was about to say.

"Did our grandmother happen to mention when the girls from our planet were ready to conceive," she blurted out, blushing slightly.

Max looked down as he tried to compose his expression, trying not to smile.

"Well, Liz was the one who spoke to her.....I guess you should talk to her about this. But, she didn't say that Grandma mentioned anything about the females on our planet. I wish I could tell you more, Iz, " he commiserated.

"Oh, that's okay.........not like there's any rush to know......it's not like I was planning any romantic fling right now, you know," she stumbled out.

"Iz," Max laughed " you don't have to make up excuses to me. Believe me, I understand. Look, I feel funny talking to you about this, too, but I will tell you this......it's fantastic......and that's all I'm gonna say," he flushed.

"Really?" she giggled.

"Yeah," he grinned back. "Really!"

'ISABEL, MAX. Dinner's ready! their mom called.

They regarded each other for a moment, and then burst out laughing, as Max put his arm around his sister's shoulder and walked her down to dinner.

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Tess was chopping vegetables in the kitchen, when Kyle came in, and grabbed her by the waist. She squealed as she dropped the knife on the counter, and spun around in his arms to plant a kiss on his puckered lips.

"Hey, Buddha Boy, have you come in to help with dinner, or are you just happy to see me?" she purred as she rubbed herself against his obvious arousal.

He grinned at her as he nuzzled into her neck."Whatever you want from me, I'm always prepared," he growled.

"Well, that's more than evident," she replied with raised eyebrows.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about what Liz and Max had to say today...........you know, the whole Alien sex thing. I guess you wouldn't happen to know the status of your situation, would you?"

"The status of my situation?! she laughed. Do you mean, when I can get pregnant, Kyle?"

"Uh, y..yeah," he stammered."I mean, do you have to be older, too, before you're...uh.......ripe?"

"Ripe?! she burst out laughing. Do you mean fertile?" she giggled.

"Yeah, that's the word.....fertile."

"Why do you want to know, Kyle?" she asked coyly.

"Oh, I was just wonderin', you know, for future reference," he replied nonchalantly.

"For future reference, eh?"

"Yeah, you know, if we ....uh........well, if we were to.....uh.....you know," he raised his eyebrows.

"Hmmm, I see. Well, for future reference, I don't know the answer to that. Liz only mentioned the males of our planet, so I really don't know how that affects me or Isabel. But as soon as I find out, I'll let you know, okay?" she winked, as she turned back to preparing dinner.

"Yeah, sure," he sighed in frustration.

---------------------------------

Alex had popped back to Michael's to pick up some papers he was working on. Michael was watching t.v., munching on an omelet he had just prepared.

"You want some?" he asked as he gestured to the pan. 'There's plenty left."

"Uh, no thanks, Michael. I have to get home for dinner. I just wanted to check something out here before I put it on file."

"Okay," he replied as he turned back to the t.v.

"Uh, Michael, you know what Liz and Max were talking about this afternoon........."

"You mean the whole birth control stuff?" he turned back from the t.v., squinting in Alex's direction.

"Uh....yeah, the birth control stuff........well uh, I was wondering if Max might have some information on the females and th...th.their birth control stuff?" he gulped.

Michael looked over at him and shrugged. "I dunno, Man, he never mentioned anything to me. Why do you want to.............Oh, Alex are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Uh, what are you thinkin', Michael?" he asked hesitantly.

"Well, I'm thinkin' that maybe you and Isabel are thinkin' about, you know?" he leered.

"Absolutely not!" he exclaimed. "I was just interested for research purposes! I mean, something may turn up in one of these documents, and I'd like some forehand knowledge."

"Yeah, right," Michael smirked. "Well, Alex my man. Sorry, but I can't help you out," and he turned back to the t.v., losing all interest in the conversation.