Diane: (horrified and barely audible) "Oh, Max, no."

Phillip: (not yelling but the point no less made) "Max!"

Max: (reacting out of something that he didn't even know he possessed) "Look. We don't have time now for a parental lecture. It's done. If you had told us all of this a long time ago, I would have never risked her life."

Diane: (willing him to understand) "Please, Max. You don't understand. We needed your lives to be as normal as possible so that you would be safe. We couldn't risk telling you too soon. The three of you are all that stands between our world and extinction."

Max: (anger permeating every word) "Are you saying that we're expected to repopulate an entire planet?"

Phillip: "No. That's not it at all."

Max: (whispering words of encouragement to Liz while trying to martial his thoughts) "Then what?"

Diane: (sighing deeply) "We were not going to reveal so much to you so soon, but it seems you have left us no choice, Max. . . . How far along is she?"

Max: "Two months and 27 days."

No one commented on the exact nature of his reply.

Standing, Diane crossed the room and placed her hand on the crown of Liz's head, concentrating on the best possible image of their future that she could muster. Liz's head lifted slowly from Max's shoulder and she looked into his eyes through a film of tears and wondered how she could possibly be filled with so much hope. Max stared back and reached up to touch her hair, letting the strands slide through his fingers with a sense of wonder that couldn't be quelled even in the face of all that they had been told.

Diane knelt down beside the couple and drew Liz's attention away from Max long enough to ask her if she were all right now.

Liz: (quietly) "Yes. Thank you."

Diane smiled and went back to her place beside Phillip.

Phillip: "It seems we have much more to discuss tonight than we had planned. Do any of you need to call your parents. We're going to be a while."

All of the teens answered in the negative and tried to reshape the mental images that they had formed over the years of what their future would look like.

Isabel: (apprehensively) "If you're not our parents, then who are they? Where are they?"

Diane and Phillip sought comfort and strength from each other before answering.

Phillip: "There's no easy way to say this, Isabel. Your parents were killed shortly after your craft was launched."

Isabel's eyes flew to Max's. His reflected just as much pain as she felt hearing the words she had dreaded all of her life. Alex gathered her into his arms and held her tightly to him and prayed that he could comfort her.

Liz felt the sharp, stabbing pain in Max's soul and didn't even know where to begin . . .

In the end, she didn't have to worry about not knowing what to do. Her arms found their own way around his shoulders and her forehead rested against his of it's own volition. She shared the pain and that was all anyone could do.

Diane: "You are the successors to the throne, Max." "All of you must return so that you can take your rightful place in our government and restore peace."

Max: (sounding as shattered as he felt) "What's my place?"

Phillip: "You are the heir to the throne, Max. In your father's absence or death, you are our King."

Max choked and all of the color drained from Liz's face for the second time that evening.

Maria: (barely above a whisper) "Oh my God."

Michael held his peace for the moment as his thoughts tumbled around trying to right themselves. Isabel tried to listen and participate in the conversation but her grief was so overwhelming that she really didn't know if she could care anymore.

Max: (focusing on the only thing that really mattered to him) "What about Liz? Will she be okay?"

Diane: (earnestly) "Of course! But, you will have to leave much sooner than anyone could have guessed."

Phillip: (adding quickly) "Her healthcare and the technology to deliver your child were all planned out before you had even left our world."

Max visibly relaxed at this news and couldn't help tightening the hold he already had on Liz. They were going to be all right. All of them. He took a deep breath for the first time all evening.

Max: "So, Liz will be my Queen? Is that right?"

Phillip: "Yes, Max, she will be your Queen."

Liz: (startled) "Just like that?"

Diane: (chuckling) "Hardly. You are carrying the next generation of royalty, my dear. Our people choose their mates for life. That's why I was so certain about your bond with Max when you were here. It was obvious. It will be to everyone else, too."

Liz felt her face suffuse with color and glanced at Max briefly before resting her eyes on the floor.

Michael: (forcing the words out painfully) "What about my parents?"

Phillip: (smiling) "Your mother is alive, Michael, and she waits every day for your return. No one could love you more . . . with the exception of Maria."

Michael: (torn between joy and sorrow) "My dad?"

Diane: "We're sorry, Michael." "He was with our King and Queen when they were killed."

Michael: (voice barely above a whisper as the sound made its way painfully through his closed off throat) "Who am I?"

Phillip: "Your family was extremely prominent and highly respected, Michael. You are in a position to serve as King anytime Max is away or in the event of his death until his heir reaches maturity."

Michael: "What do I do the rest of the time?"

Phillip: "You are the second in command. I'm afraid that a great deal of responsibility rests on your shoulders. We rely heavily upon you."

Isabel: (sounding as small and insignificant as she felt) "Do I have a place?"

Diane: (rushing to her side) "Of course! Oh, Isabel, don't you know how truly unique you are?"

Her only answer came in the form of a bent head.

Diane: (coaxing) "Isabel, you must know that you are royalty, as well. And brilliant. You were never satisfied to just spend your days attending social functions. You have a thriving medical practice that sorely misses you. You managed to balance all of your commitments and provided the best and most innovative care to all your patients. I have no doubt that you will do no less now. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you're not the one to deliver Liz's baby.

Isabel (panicked): "But, I don't know anything about medicine!"

Phillip: (quiet words filled with pride) "Oh yes. Yes you do, Princess. On the return journey your memories will be restored and all that you were before will be again."

Isabel's grateful smile was all that Diane needed to see to know that her daughter, even if in name only, would be fine in this world or any other.

Silence filled the room as everyone tried to assimilate what they had heard in this long, strange evening.

Liz: (rousing herself from her wandering thoughts and settling on the question that mattered most) "How long?"

Diane: "What do you mean, Liz?'

Liz: "How long do we have before we have to leave?"