I still haven’t told them everything.

Liz ducked her head, trying to get away from Max’s piercing gaze. Maybe if she explained that she did all of it for him… No, that wouldn’t work. Max didn’t care about himself, he only cared about her… She sighed, chewing her lip.

If he wasn’t so impatient for her answer, Max would’ve been amused by her squirming. But she looked guilty of something and his gut clenched at the possibility that she had put herself in danger.

Liz was getting desperate to get away from Max, but he still held her hands behind her back in a firm grip. So she went for a low dig. "Could you please let me go? You’re hurting me."

Max didn’t believe her for a second, but he let her go anyway. "Well, what happened with Jans?"

Backing away from him, she gestured over her shoulder. "Could we talk about this later? The others are waiting… we were planning a picnic."

He grabbed her hand again, holding her back. "No Liz. I need you to tell me now."

Liz squared her shoulders and stepped closer to him. What was she so afraid of? This was Max and he loved her. He would never hurt her. He might be really angry for a while, but surely she could seduce him out of that? "Okay, but you have to promise me you will not flip out." ‘O yeah great Liz, that line really worked on Maria last time…’

Max’s frown increased. He was liking the sound of this less and less. "Liz." His sounded threatening.

Liz ducked her head again. She felt like a naughty little girl when he spoke to her like that. How anyone knowing Max could not see that he was born to be a great leader was beyond her. Then her eyes were snagged by the triangle of skin exposed by the v-neck of his T-shirt. Goodness he was hot!

"Liz!" O yeah, right, he was waiting for an answer.

"Uhm, yeah, I sort of… I sort of had Jans teach me self-defense." She was still not risking looking in his eyes. "I figured that I should be able to look after myself and not just hang around looking pretty on your arm. He was just teaching me some basic stuff."

The silence lengthened between them until Liz couldn’t take it anymore and lifted her gaze to his. He was staring at her with a small smile curving his lips. His eyes were heating up in a way that made Liz feel deliciously desired.

"You are so amazing, do you know that?" His voice had that husky timbre that had the power of making her knees go weak. "And you really are trying to drive me insane…" Liz batted her eyes at him innocently and grinned when she heard his barely audible growl. "But if you don’t ask ME or someone we trust to help you in your little schemes next time, I’m putting you over my knee!"

Instead of looking suitably chastened, Liz’s eyes were sparkling. "Over your knee, huh? Okay!"

She laughed out loud at Max’s dumbfounded expression. It was about time he learnt that not everyone trembled in fear in front of the great leader! She pressed her body against his, enjoying its hardness and obvious excitement. Granted, she did have an edge over most people with Max…

"Could we get this show on the road already!" Alex shouted at them. He turned back to the others that were all waiting for Max and Liz to finish whatever they were doing. "Honestly, we are going to have so much trouble with them back in Roswell. First it was the staring, now it’s the kissing and uhm… other stuff that I don’t even want to think about. They are SO going to fail all their classes! Wouldn’t it be a sad commentary on their race if their leader was a high-school drop-out."

~*~*~*~*~*~

The picnic was fun, but they were all very aware of the fact that they were returning to Roswell tomorrow. And that they were returning as very different people…

Max watched his friends talk and felt peace flowing through his body. These were the most important people in his life and for a brief span of time, they were all safe. His eyes came to rest on Michael, who sat behind Maria, his knees bracketing her hips. He saw that the blonde girl’s antics captured Michael’s attention completely at times and lifted the burden of sadness and loneliness that he always carried with him. He caught Michael’s attention and said quietly: "You ARE home." Michael seemed frozen for a few moments before his eyes returned to Maria and he responded with a small nod.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was late afternoon when they went back. They were subdued as all the couples were contemplating their last night together. Max had trouble keeping his hands of Liz. They had all decided that going back to Roswell and working summer jobs were the thing to do for now. They would try to get away nearly every weekend, though. But it wouldn’t be enough for him. He was addicted to her. Sometimes so much it scared him…

Nick was waiting for them when the Jeep came to a halt in the camp. He watched as they piled out and noted that they were even closer than before. He was relieved that the news about their planet and parents hadn’t driven a wedge between them and their human partners. At least that was something else that his people could feel comfortable about. Bonds with humans can be stronger than those between aliens. He shifted his attention back to Max when he felt the weight of Max’s gaze.

Nick cleared his throat. "I need to talk to you. There is something important you must know before you go home."

The six looked at each other. They did not need anymore bad news right now. Max, as always, took the lead by taking Liz’s hand and pulling her into the dining tent with him.

Nick waited till they were all seated before talking. "Have you all decided what to do?"

Only Liz could see the tenseness underlying his question and she squeezed Max’s hand in an effort to get him to notice it too. Max registered Liz’s small gesture, but was too anxious to be able to figure out what she was trying to tell him.

"Yes. We need to go back home and regroup. We would appreciate it if you could stay away from us for a while. Until I contact you."

Nick was shaking his head even before Max had finished speaking. "We can’t do that."

Max was on his feet. "You don’t understand. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. Stay away from us."

Sitting down heavily, Nick stared at the table. "We can’t do that, because we need to protect you. I wasn’t lying when I told you that another race is on earth too. The one that destroyed our planet. And they want to destroy you too."

Max’s jaw hardened. "We can take care of ourselves. We have until--."

"They would want Liz too now." Nick played the only card that would ever make Max Evans stop in his tracks. He watched as he saw the shock register in Max’s eyes. Shock followed by guilt. Guilt that he had put her in more danger by making her his mate. Nick felt awful for using this, but he had to. They all needed each other now.

"How would they know?" Max’s voice was quiet.

"We don’t know enough about them to be sure. But they will find you and they will find out that you’re with Liz." Nick stood up too, his gaze pleading with his young leader. "We will do everything we can to protect her. To protect all of you. But you can’t go off without us now. It is too important that you stay alive."