Max sat and stared in return, his face slightly ashen, mouth agape. "Liz, let's not panic, Alright?"

Liz sat in the front seat of the jeep, visibly trembling as tears formed in her round eyes. She held her hands over her mouth, to quell the scream that was threatening to burst forth. "Not panic, Max! Is that all you can say?!" she finally yelled.

"Look, Liz, don't you think we're jumping the gun here? We don't even know if you're o..ovulating. Are you?" he stammered.

"I don't know. I can't remember. I need a calender, Max," she stumbled out.

"Hang on. I think I have a small one in my wallet." His fingers fumbled as he hunted for the requested item. "Here it is," as he offered it to her, with a sigh.

She took the tiny plastic card, thinking how ironic it was that such an important piece of evidence should be gleaned from something of such insignificant size. She tried remembering the date of her last period, but she was so upset, she couldn't even find the right month. Liz glanced over at Max pitifully as she attempted to extract the correct information from the minute calender. The numbers and letters blurred before her bleary eyes and she looked so helpless, that Max took her in his arms and held her tightly to offer his support.

"Okay, Liz," he crooned. "Try to relax, Babe. Now, when was your last period?"

"I think I got it two weeks ago this past Friday. But I'm not always regular, Max. I mean, sometimes my cycle is shorter than twenty eight days, so I could be alright, you know," she answered, hoping this was one of her shorter months. "Oh God, I feel so sick. We were so careful every time. How did this happen? I can't be pregrant! I have two more years of High School, plus college!"

Max pulled her in closer to his body as he kissed the top of her head. He was worried about more than Liz being pregrant...........the fact that he was an Alien hybrid worried him just as much. How would this affect Liz's system? How long would the gestation period be? He knew that he was essentially human, so the baby's appearance didn't concern him, but, what if during its development, it had an adverse effect on Liz? All these questions and no immediate answers. It was so frustrating!

"Okay, here's what we'll do. We'll pick up a pregrancy test at a drug store and that should answer that question. I guess we can use it now, or is it too soon? he asked.

"I don't know, Max. We'd better buy one and see."

He took a deep breath. This was not how he imagined the end to their wonderful weekend. They had had so much fun and had made the final committment in their relationship, many times, and it was the last time, neither one of them being able to clearly recall the event, which lead them to this present predicament.

It happened while they slept that morning. Of course, they must have woken up at some point and performed the deed.................. and in their confusion, they forget about protection. It was bad enough if Liz actually were pregrant, but to miss being aware of this special event was even worse. It was like they had slept through the whole thing!

Liz watched Max's facial expressions. She couldn't determine if he were angry or just frustrated. She tugged on his sleeve to bring him out of his reverie and he looked over at her with such obvious adoration, that her fears were immediately erased.

"No matter what happens, I'll be there for you and get you through this," he said as he kissed her hand. "I love you so much. I just don't want you to be hurt," he said in a hushed tone, as tears welled up in his eyes. He leaned over and kissed her lips tenderly. She, too, teared up and brushed his strong jaw with her outstretched hand.

"I love you, too, Max. You're right, we won't panic. We'll work through this together," she replied, with more conviction than she felt.

__________________________________

The two sat absorbed in their own thoughts. The day had started out like any other............ except for the fact that neither one held their virginity anymore. They watched the landscape zip by, reaching out tentacles of hope to slow their progress................and to delay their inevitable return to reality. The clear blue sky mocked their desperate mood, as they drove on down the road, searching for a pharmacy. Eventually, they saw a sign for a town off the highway, and headed in that direction. They proceeded along the main street and finally pulled up in front of a small drug store.

"Liz, will I go in and get it?" Max offered with trepidation.

"Thanks, Max, but I think I better be the one. It might look a little odd for a guy to pick up a pregnancy test kit. I'll be back in a minute." She kissed him in gratitude as she exited the jeep.

Liz entered the store and wandered down the aisles in search of the kits. When she found them, she spent some time reading the directions on a few. She finally chose one that seemed fairly straight forward, and went up to the counter to purchase it.

She returned to the vehicle to find Max nervously fidgeting in his seat.

"Thank God!" he exhaled. "I thought maybe something happened. I was just about to go looking for you. Did everything go okay?"

"Yes and no," she replied. "I got the kit, but according to the directions, I'm gonna have to wait at least two more weeks before I can use it. It says "test can be used on the first day after a missed period", so the earliest I can use it would be two weeks from Friday past." She threw the package into the back seat and slumped in defeat.

"Alright, so we wait. I know it seems like a long time, Liz, but we can't do anything about it. Let's just get home and try to remain calm. Are you gonna tell Maria?"

"NO WAY!" she shouted. No one knows until we know for sure, one way or another. We'll just have to act normal," she groaned. "Oh, why did this have to happen to me?"

"Liz, you're not in this alone, remember?"

"I'm sorry, Max. You're right, let's just go home." She stared ahead in desperation.

"Liz, we missed lunch. Why don't we go into that little cafe across the street to get a bite?"

"I'm not hungy, Max, but you can have something if you want."

"No, I'm not very hungry either. I was just worried about you. Never mind, let's go," and with that, Max turned the jeep towards the highway and headed back to Roswell. _______________

They reached home just after 6:00 p.m. The plan was to meet the girls at Michael's apartment, switch Liz's gear to Maria's car, and get dropped off at her place. Both she and Max composed their expressions as they knocked on Michael's door. It swung open, and they were met by the wdely grinning expressions of their friends faces.

Maria gripped Liz in a bear hug and whispered into her ear, " Still a virgin?"

Liz blushed and shook her head, laughing at Maria's wide eyed gleam as, she too, burst out laughing. Isabel leaned over to hug her and said, "Can three join in on this little conversation?"

"Why not," Liz answered. "The more, the merrier." She glanced over at Max as he, too, was taking a bit of ribbing from his male companions.

"So, Max," Alex eyed him suspiciously, "Do any fishing?" as he raised his eyebrows.

Michael spit his drink out as he roared with laughter. "Fishing?! Alex, my man. By the looks of Max, here, he caught the big one. Anyone who looks that whipped, must have had a hell of a fight on his hands. Confess, Max," he said under his breath, "Did you get your rod wet?" as he leered at his best friend.

"Michael, you can be so gross. It's none of your business, man."

"Never mind, Maxwell. Maria tells me everything, anyways. No big deal."

Max looked over at Liz huddled with the girls, and knew that Michael was right. Their group had few secrets anymore, and he already knew that this one was out in the open. He shrugged his shoulders in resignation and went to the fridge to get a soda.

"So, did you guys get anywhere with the deciphering, this weekend?" Max asked.

"Well," Alex replied, "We did manage to get the symbols into some kind of order. We think that may help more in finding out what they mean. It seems like it's a combination of directions..........you know, like how to get there,............. and some kind of relationship message..........maybe who belongs with who, or whatever. It's kinda complicated."

Liz and Max both shot Alex a look, as he peered back at them.

"Hey, what's up, you guys?" he asked. "Do you know something that we don't know? Did something happen this weekend that will give us some clues, maybe?"

Liz joined Max at the kitchen counter, as the other girls joined their respective boyfriends. They, in turn, proceeded to relay the message received from Max and Isabel's grandmother. Their friends listened raptly, as they retold their story, leaving out the details of their coital bliss.

"Max, does this mean that we all have to, you know, have sex with our human partners, or we'll die?" Isabel questioned her brother in a frightened tone.

"I don't know, Iz. We only know what we were told. No one else was mentioned," he replied as he went to give his sister a hug. She then turned to Alex as Max handed her over to him, while he returned to Liz to offer her some comfort.

Maria looked up into Michael's worried frown and gave him a reassuring squeeze. He glanced down at her gratefully, as he acknowledged her affectionate gesture, and returned the favour.

"Michael and I will have to spend more time figuring out what these symbols mean," Alex verified.

"We can all help, Alex," Liz offered. "We're all affected by this information. Maybe with everyone joining in, we'll have a better chance of figuring this whole mess out!" she answered in obvious frustration.

They all peered over at Liz's outburst, as Max hugged her tightly and shook his head in warning. Their friends got the message and let it go.

"Well, Liz," Maria piped up, "I'd better get you home before your parents send out the National Guard. I hope everybody's got their stories straight."

Liz turned to Max and kissed him tenderly as she gazed into his golden brown eyes. "I'll see you later," she whispered. Max returned the kiss and nodded, as she left his embrace and headed out to Maria's car with Isabel.

"Max, is everything okay? Liz seems a little upset over something," Alex questioned him.

"Nah, Alex, she's just a little tired, that's all. You know, busy weekend!" he waggled his eyebrows at his friend.

"Yeah, I guess so! Well, I've gotta get home, too, so I'll see you guys later," he waved as he exited the apartment.

"Yeah, later man," Michael called after him.

Max sighed in relief as he was finally left alone with Michael. He looked over at his long time friend, who could read him like a book.

"Okay, Maxwell, what's up? I know you, man, and you're hidin' somethin'."

Max drew his hand across his mouth in worry as he told Michael what he and Liz suspected. He knew Liz had said she wouldn't tell Maria, but he figured she would anyway, and he was too upset to keep this bottled up inside.

Michael shook his head and whistled. "Maxwell, Maxwell, you've really done it now, man!"

"A little commiseration would be nice, Michael. Show me some mercy here!"

"Yeah, like the mercy your parents are gonna show you when they find out! Look, you don't even know if Liz is pregrant yet, so just chill until you get the facts, okay?"

"I know that, Michael. I guess I just needed to tell somebody, you know. It just kills me to think that we were so careful all weekend, and this one time..........."

"Yeah, it only takes one..................."

"Please don't finish that, Michael," Max warned. "Why is it every time I confess something to you, you let me down? Why can't you, for once, give me some support? I don't know why I keep doing this to myself?" he sighed in defeat.

"Look. okay, I'm sorry, Maxmillian. The only thing I can say is to hang in there, and whatever you need, I'll be there for you, okay. I know this is tough. You just gotta let it ride for the next coupl'a weeks. Then we'll worry!"

Max threw him a frown, but nodded his head in gratitude.