They yawned and stretched, trying to get the kinks out.

"Oh," Liz groaned. "I don't want to get up. This bed is so comfy and cozy," she sighed as she hugged Max into her tight little body.

"Well, maybe we can spend some time here this weekend......you know, you could say you were spending the night with Maria and I could say I was staying with Michael."

"I hate lying to my parents, Max, but if it's the only way we can be together, then I'll do it. I'll do anything to be with you,' she smiled up into his face.

He leaned down to kiss her on the nose and she squirmed in his arms, which were wrapped tightly around her.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear, nuzzling it with his nose.

"I love you, too," she sighed. "I guess we'd better get dressed and hit the road," she moaned reluctantly, as she extricated herself from his embrace.

"It's not gonna take you that long to get dressed," he laughed, and she shot him a leering grin as she reached for her dress and pulled it on over her head. Then she slipped on her shoes and said," There, I'm done!" as she threw her arms up in the air in victory.

Max started pulling on his clothes, too, and soon they were ready to leave. He locked the door securely on their little house, and they jumped in the jeep and headed for Roswell. They made it home in plenty of time for their curfew and bade each other goodnight, promising to meet tomorrow for lunch.

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

The next day, Alex, Kyle, Isabel and Tess found themselves wading through reams of research papers and magazine articles concerning the Maya culture, sifting through the material to find topics that were relevant to their research. They were stymied by the amount of material that was written by scholars and amateurs alike, regarding a single culture. Most of it was actually very interesting reading, luckily for them, and they soon developed a filing system for the various subjects that were specific to the Palenque region.

Up to this point, they found no mention of any more existing caves in the area, but that did not mean that some didn't exist. Something that did peak their interest, were two items in particular: One regarding the Venusian calendar and a second concerning their religious practice of ancestor worship in preference to that of worshipping gods.

Alex was busy flipping through some notes he had jotted down the other day about a theory they were developing regarding the symbols in the cave at the Reservation. He and Michael had felt that some of the symbols clearly indicated a relationship message........ something to do with who they were or who their ancestors were.........and if they could tie this in with some of the translations of the Maya hieroglyphics, then maybe they would have some concrete proof of alien- terran existence 5000 years ago.

It was a long shot......especially since they didn't have any evidence that these supposed aliens were related in any way to Max's, Isabel's, Michael's and Tess's ancestors. Well, they had to start somewhere, and since the only thing they had to go on, so far, was the similarity between the symbol on Nasedo's necklace and the drawing at the Temple, it seemed that the next logical step would be to look for more similarities in the drawings.

Hopefully, they would be able to put the Maya translations to some good use. One symbol was not enough support for any theory, and between the cave symbols and those found in the book, they would have to come up with something more substantial. It would be so tidy to be able to link the two sets of symbols, and the ancestor worship of the Mayas could be it.

Maybe the Mayas were referring to the aliens when they spoke of their ancestors......who knew? But whether or not these same aliens were related to their friends, was another matter. The one thing that kept them going was the fact that Max and Isabel's grandmother had been the one to point them in that direction. That alone, made it worth continuing the investigation.

"Alex, hand me that paper with the whatsit's name calendar on it, please," Kyle asked.

"Venusian," Tess retorted as she rolled her eyes."It means it refers to Venus, Kyle."

"Yeah, whatever. According to this, those Mayas were pretty smart dudes. They had this whole formula worked out for calculating the "Venusian" year....I guess that means how long the year was on "Venus", he smirked at Tess," and the Earth year...........and it was pretty much accurate, They said it looked like it would have to be done by an electronic brain......a computer, right? So, since when did they have computers 4000 years ago?

It also says that the religious legends of these people talked about gods coming down from the stars........Aliens, right? I rest my case," he smiled smugly, as he did a little victory dance on Alex's bedroom floor. They all looked over at him and laughed.

"Well, there you go, Alex," Isabel spoke up, "mystery solved. Now, if we could only convince all those learned scholars of this fantastic find, we'd be making reservations for Mexico, right now!" as she raised her eyebrows in contempt.

"Isabel is right, Kyle. We're gonna need a lot more than some nonsense written in a best seller book, to tie this in with *our* aliens," Alex remarked, as he gave Isabel a hug. "But I know where you're comin' from, man. It's just one more link in the chain......a very long chain, I might add.....5000 years long, to be exact!" as he threw up his hands in exasperation.

"Okay, guys, let's not get sidetracked," Tess observed. If nothing else, it does seem to point to an advanced culture existing 4000 years ago, and with the cave drawings, maybe as far back as 5000 years. That much, we know. What we are trying to prove, is that these advanced peoples were related to us.....and that's all we're trying to prove, for now. Pretty straight forward, dontcha think?"

"Yeah, you're right, Tess," Isabel agreed. And the only way we'll do that is by linking the drawings, so let's get back to work, and see if we can find some more pictures of cave drawings at the Grotto........ and/or at the Temple."

They all returned to their overwhelming task, determined to find some tangible proof of a link between the three sets of symbols. They broke for lunch and decided to head for the Crashdown. It would give them a chance to talk to their friends about their discoveries thus far.

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

Liz looked up as she heard the bell jangle, and saw four of their friends zeroing in on their booth. She walked over to take their orders.

"Hey guys, what's up?" she smiled. "Any good news?"

"We're getting there, Liz," Alex replied, "but there's a ton of stuff to sift through."

"Well, don't worry about it. We'll all be able to help this weekend. It'll be fun!" she enthused.

"Always the eager scientist, hey Liz?" Kyle returned.

"Yeah, well somebody's gotta do it, right?" she countered with a grin.

"Okay.....enough, enough, already," Alex whined. "I'm hungry, so let's order!"

They gave Liz their orders and she handed them to Michael.

"So what's the Mutual Admiration Society been up to today?" he smirked as he checked their orders.

Liz laughed, as she leaned on the counter."A lot of complaining about all the work...........but they are coming up with a lot of info. It'll be our job to help them weed through it, I guess. I think they need some moral support, right now."

"Who needs moral support, Chica?" Maria butted in.

"The gang over there," Liz gestured. They could use a little mental pat on the back, poor babies."

"Hmmm.....that gives me an idea! Since it's Friday night, why don't we have a little party? That way, we can kill two birds with one stone....you know, TGIF and moral support, mental patting on back kinda stuff. Whaddya think?"

"I'm up for it," Michael replied," as long as I don't have to cook!"

"Deal," Maria agreed."We'll order pizza and stuff, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Liz joined in."I'm sure we could all do with a little R&R tonight, after this week! And since we're off tomorrow, I'm gonna live it up! Woohoo!" she exclaimed. "Oh, that reminds me, Maria......can you cover for me tonight with my folks. Max and I want some time alone.....so can I tell them I'm staying at your place tonight, please?" she begged.

"Sure, Chica. No probs!"

"So, I guess this means I should be getting a similar request from Max," Michael added drily.

"Yep," Liz nodded.

"So, Liz, where's the Romantic getaway this time?" Maria asked.

"Oh, that's our little secret," she winked.

"Okay, I get the hint......don't ask, don't tell, right?"

"Right!"

"Well, here comes the man in question, now," Michael looked up from making a Galaxy Sub.

"Hey, gorgeous," Max grinned as he picked Liz up and spun her around. " I missed you, today," he whispered as he gave her a generous kiss.

"Slow down, Romeo......we have a restaurant full of patrons, and I, for one, do not want them thinking that our new policy is to greet each one with a hug and a kiss.........so if you're gonna continue your lip suction, take it out back, okay?!" Maria joked.

Max put Liz down and grabbed Maria and spun her around as she squealed.

"A little jealous are we, hmmm?" Max implied.

She swatted him on the arm as she guffawed. "You idiot! You'll have us all fired! Well, not Liz, of course."

"Never mind, you two. My man needs food, right Hon?" she pecked him on the lips." What can I get for you, handsome?"

"I'll have a "Will Smith" and Saturn Rings and a cherry cola, please Babe, " he replied as he pulled up a chair at his friends booth.

"Coming right up sir. Oh, by the way we're gonna have a party, tonight...you know TGIF and all that, and it's all okay for tonight, you know, with Michael and Maria," she added.

"Great.......I feel like cutting loose tonight," he stated.

"So where's the party, Liz?" Alex piped up.

I guess we'll go to Michael's......where else?"

"Alright......party time," Kyle mimed. He snuggled into Tess. "You ready to party tonight?" he whispered into her ear.

She squirmed as his hot breath tickled her. "Uh, huh," she smiled seductively as she nipped at his lip. He kissed her full on the mouth as he pulled her closer.

The others watched this little charade with interest, wondering when these two had become so close. Tess and Kyle pulled away from each other, a little embarrassed, as they realized they had become the centre of attention. Isabel skillfully diverted attention away from them by asking what to bring to the party.

"I think we're just gonna order out," Liz answered.

"Okay, so I guess we'll meet at.......?

"Oh, I don't know........how about 8:00. That gives us time to relax and freshen up after work," Liz replied. "Speaking of work, I'd better get back to it myself, before Dad makes me put in some overtime! See you guys later," she grinned.

She hurried off to see to her other customers, while her friends brought Max up to date on their research. He nodded his head in approval at their suggestions.

"Tomorrow, we'll all get together and see if we can make some sense out of all this material. How does after lunch sound.......say around 1:30?"

"I'm with you on that, Max," Alex replied, and they all nodded in agreement.