Max swallowed. He knew what they were all trying to tell him. That he should "date" Liz like a normal guy. That they should go to the movies or bowling or something that wouldn’t let on how close they really were… physically and emotionally. He felt ill at the thought, but what else could they do? Tell her parents everything? He suspected that would only lead to him being barred from ever seeing her again, and that was not even an option for him.

Liz stood pressed to him, her face buried in his neck. As always, he smelled so… Max. Like home. But she could feel the tension in his body and she knew that it was there because they had to go home. Going home meant something completely different to them now. It did not mean their parent’s houses or their bedrooms in Roswell. It was not a place anymore. Home now meant each other…

She realized that she has started craving physical closeness with Max. Being near him for the biggest part of each day was rapidly becoming a necessity. She needed to hear his voice, look in his eyes, touch him, make love with him… She needed it like she needed breath to stay alive.

Max held her away from him and ran a caressing hand over her cheek. "Honey, Isabel and Michael and I need to talk about some things. Could you guys let us do that?" But he pulled her back when she started to leave, kissing her soundly in front of their groaning and griping audience. Leaning his forehead against hers, he whispered ‘I love you’ so that only she could hear.

Liz grinned. "Me too."

Maria pounced on her as soon as they were out of earshot of the three aliens. "SOOO???"

"Maria! What is wrong with you! You nearly gave us all heart attacks!" Alex clutched his chest dramatically.

"Yeah, like THAT’S something I’m worried about!" She dragged Liz over to her and Michael’s tent. "We want details about… YOU KNOW! What happened? Did it hurt? Did he turn into something weird? Did anything weird happen to you? What--?"

"Aaaahhh!" Alex’s cry halted Maria’s questions. "I SOOO do not want to hear ANY of this! These are my two friends, not to mention that I’ve know one of them since grade school! This is just too…" He put his hands over his ears.

Liz smiled at her friends’ antics. Everything seemed so… well, normal when they are around. "Don’t worry Alex. No details, I promise!"

Maria’s face showed her disappointment at Liz’s decision. "I don’t care if the wuss here is too pathetic to ask for details, but I KNOW he doesn’t just think of Isabel as a friend and he’s also dying to know if being closer is possible."

"Yes, Maria. It is possible. Nothing weird happened--."

Maria was getting impatient. "Yeah, yeah, whatever! Get to the good stuff!"

Liz had a dreamy look on her face by now. "Uhm…yeah… Maria, I don’t think we should talk about this…"

"Oooh no! You’re not brushing me off about this. I want to know! I NEED to know!"

Liz hugged her. "Maria, I love you, but this is between Max and I." She leaned closer, putting her mouth to Maria’s ear. "It will be wonderful for you too. When it’s the right time…" She stepped away from Maria. "Now, why don’t we think up something nice to do for the other three today. Its our last day here and with all the bad news we could use some fun time."

Maria grumbled something under her breath, but sat down obediently for the planning session.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Max was hugging Isabel. "Are you okay?" His voice was filled with concern. He knew that the news must have been really hard for Isabel. She had desperately wanted a real mother.

Blinking back tears, Isabel clung to her brother. She still had him and Michael, she reminded herself. And she still had Alex… "Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just need some time to… to adjust, I guess."

Max disentangled himself from Izzy and turned to Michael. He had his back to them, his shoulders stiff and tense. "Michael…"

"I don’t want to talk about it, okay Maxwell!" Michael’s voice was harsh.

Sighing, Max decided to let things rest for a while. His heart ached for Michael, who seemed more alone than ever now that his dream of going home would never come true. "Okay, but we need a plan for going home. And for what to say to Nick before we leave." Nick’s name brought back memories of the past few days. Particularly of Jans. "What happened to Jans and his cohorts?"

The question finally made Michael turn around. "We don’t really know. They took them into this trailer and later came out without them." He stopped, but Max was clearly waiting for him to continue. He knew that Michael would never have left things at that. "Okay, so I went back later. The trailer was empty."

"Empty?" Max was frowning. "Could they have taken them somewhere else then?"

"Maybe. But there were some weird spheric things in the trailer. Three of them…"

They looked at each other. "So, you think they’ve put the guys in those spheres?"

"How the hell should I know, Maxwell! You’re the leader. Go ask them!" Michael stomped out of the tent angrily.

Isabel stood up, but Max stopped her. "I’ll go talk to him."

~*~*~*~*~*~

He found Michael at the edge of the camp, on his way off into the desert. "Michael wait!"

"Leave me alone, Max!" But he stopped.

Not knowing where to start, Max was silent for a few minutes. "Thank you, you know, for looking after Liz and everyone else while I was gone. It meant a lot to me." Getting no reaction from Michael, he continued: "And I’m sorry. About our home and your parents--."

"No Maxwell, you’re NOT sorry." Michael’s voice was filled with hurt. "You’re not sorry, because now you can go on living your perfect little life in Roswell. You can continue pretending the Evans’ are your parents. And you can stay with Liz. Don’t pretend you’re not happy about that."

Momentarily taken aback by the vehemence in Michael’s voice, Max was unable to react immediately. There was truth in what Michael said. Ever since that day in the cave he had started hating his destiny and the fact that he would have to leave this planet that he had called home for so long. He hated his former home for what it represented: leaving Liz, his parents, his home…

"Michael, I… You’re right. I never really wanted to go home. I only wanted answers to my past. Our past." He turned to stare out into the desert, watching the horizon shimmer with heatwaves. "But I also want you to know that you are my brother. Isabel’s AND mine. We are family… And I can’t… I need you with me." He watched Michael anxiously for reaction. They were guys and never talked about this stuff at all. It was only to Liz that he had once confessed his feelings about Michael. ‘I can’t lose him.’

They stood side-by-side for a long time. Max started when he heard Michael saying softly. "Yeah. You’re my brother too."

Max hugged him, not caring that Michael stood ramrod straight while he did it. Stepping away, he smiled when Michael wouldn’t meet his eyes. "Let’s go find our women before they cook up something scary for us."

Michael looked relieved that Max wasn’t going to push the issue further. "Hey, its not my girlfriend that nearly drop-kicked that Jans guy into…" Michael trailed off when Max stopped in his tracks, swinging towards him.

"WHAT!"

Holding up his hands, Michael tried to get out of his slip. "Hey, I was just joking, okay!" But his nervous reaction told Max that he wasn’t.

"Michael, what the hell happened! Did Liz… I thought you guys handled Jans?" Max’s voice was rising and Michael REALLY didn’t want to be the one telling Max about Liz and her self-defense classes. Spotting Maria coming out of their tent, he started retreating towards her.

"I have to go. Maria is calling me…"

Max frowned as he watched Michael practically fleeing from him. What the heck was going on here? Then he saw Liz coming towards him and all thought flew from his head. His gaze hungrily took in her every movement. He drank in the sight of the sunlight making her hair shine like a halo. He watched how her clothes molded her body and his hands itched to do the same. And her eyes, as always he could see into her soul through her eyes. Taking a deep breath, he stopped himself from drowning in her gaze.

She reached him and stood on tiptoe to kiss him lightly. "You look really serious." She stepped closer, pressing her body to his and linking her arms around his neck.

He was sinking fast and he struggled to keep his head while her presence was playing havoc with his senses… and his body. "Liz." His eyes fell to her lips while she ran her tongue over her bottom lip. Okay, maybe he could just kiss her once. Then they could talk…

Liz smiled against his mouth as he kissed her hungrily. This was not what she had come over for, but the way his eyes had burned over her while she was walking towards him had started that now familiar ache in the pit of her stomach. And now he was finally kissing her. His mouth fitting to hers so perfectly. Their tongues dancing together, alternating between slow sliding caresses and urgent fights for dominance. It was hot out here in the sun, but she hardly noticed. Nor did she notice the interested stares they were attracting from fellow camp dwellers…

Max needed her closer. He never seemed to get close enough to her unless he was inside of her. Part of her. He shifted his weight and curled his hand around her rear, bringing her to stand between his legs. He trailed kisses from her mouth over her jaw to her ear and enjoyed the harsh impeded breath she took as a result. He liked the fact that she was not the only one with power in this relationship… Power. That reminded him that he needed to ask her something.

Liz moaned when he pulled away from her. "Max, don’t stop. Please…"

He nearly succumbed again. Grabbing her hands from his chest, he put them behind her back, holding her captive. Liz’s eyes flew open. Her new position put her in delicious contact with Max’s body, but his eyes told her that his mind and his body were in conflict at the moment. She blinked up at him, confused by his stern expression. His question floored her further.

"What is this I hear about you attacking Jans?"