"Maria, calm down. Max hasn't done anything to me yet and when he's done whatever he does to me I deserve it so just drop it okay." His voice was full of the disgust he felt for himself at that moment.

Maria decided to change the subject and her tone of voice. Softly and full of concern she asked. "How's Liz? Is she going to be okay now?" Maria couldn't bring herself to ask if Michael had done what she had asked him to do. She didn't want to even think about it actually.

"I guess we wait." Was all he said as he walked down the stairs only to come face to face with Sheriff Valenti.

"Okay, I want some answers. What's going on with Liz?" The sheriff had been in the dark long enough and he was demanding answers. He felt by this time he deserved the truth.

"I think you better ask Max and Liz." Michael stated and walked past him. He ignored the questioning looks on Isabelle's and Alex's faces and strolled to the couch where he sat down in a manner that said he hated himself right now. His actions also spoke waves that said don't ask, I'm not talking right now.

Upstairs in the bedroom Max knew exactly what he needed to do and didn't delay. "I'm here Liz, you're going to be okay now." Was all he stated before he gave the baby the energy that it needed in order to stop draining Liz's energy from her body. Slowly Liz opened her eyes and realized what had happened. Max was lying on his side holding her in his arms. "Hey, how are doing?" He asked as he kissed her gently.

Liz started blushing. "I guess that was really romantic for you?"

Max was about to reply with a joke, but the seriousness of what had just taken place caused him to take on a serious tone instead. "We're in this together. I'll be there for you when you need me and I'll be there for our baby when it needs me."

"Always my knight in shining armor. My Prince Charming." Suddenly Liz sat up in the bed looking around nervously. "Max, was it a bad dream or was Michael in here saying he was sorry to me?"

"I don't know how to tell you this, but...Uh...Michael, he was here."

Liz's eyes widen with fear and Max could feel the fear flowing out of her body as if it was his own. "Oh Max, please tell me..we didn't..did he?"

"No. I'll always be there for you Liz. I have a feeling our friends didn't think I'd make it back in time." He tried to soothe her fears and explain he made it back in time.

"So Michael was going to...Oh my God, Maria." Liz could only think how much her best friend must be hating her right now.

"Hey, look at me. Nothing happened between you and Michael so there's nothing to worry about with Maria. Frankly I'm not sure how I feel right now. I mean a small part of me is grateful that Michael would have been here for you if I hadn't gotten back in time. But, you do understand when I have to go down stairs and punch my best friend in the nose for even thinking about touching you."

"As much as I love the thought of you protecting my virtue. I...I'm just REALLY glad you made it back in time." Even though she couldn't even think about Michael helping her she did feel grateful that he thought of her as that good of a friend to help her. She was pretty sure Maria had to have had something to do with it which made her feel that much more guilty. She didn't know if the roles had been reversed if she would have offered her best friend Max. "I guess we should go down stairs and let them all know I'm okay."

"Yea, I guess we should. Oh just so you know the sheriff's here and I'm betting he isn't going to let us skip over this one without some sort of an explanation." Max warned her so she could be prepared for the questions he was sure the sheriff would ask this time.

The two came down stairs just in time to see Isabelle fixing Michael's black eye. Michael stood up and everyone froze waiting to see what would happen between Max and Michael. Max walked straight up to Michael, slapped him on the back and then whispered in his ear so only he could hear. Michael nodded his understanding and then Max pulled his fist back and punched Michael right in the eye that Isabelle had just finished fixing. Before anyone could react though Max then stretched out his hand and helped Michael back up. "I'll fix it for you in a few minutes. Thank you for being there."

When Maria witnessed Max punching Michael she was about to scream at him that it wasn't Michael's fault when she felt Liz's hand on her arm. Liz pulled Maria into a tight best friend hug. When she pulled back she had tears streaming down her face. "I don't know if a simple Thank You is enough at this point."

Maria pulled her friend back into another hug. "Hey, what are friends for anyway. I'm just glad to see your okay."

The two then turned to witness Max helping Michael up and tell him thank you. They both walked over to them and Liz pulled Michael into a hug. "I'm not sure if I should slap you or kiss."

"Since I don't want a third black eye in one day. Could you just slap me please." Michael half joked.

At that Isabelle, Alex and Tess all sighed with relief knowing that everything was going to be okay with their four other friends. "I don't understand one thing though. Michael how did you get your first black eye if Max didn't punch you upstairs?" Alex inquired a bit confused.

"Well, when Max came into the room he didn't have time to wait for me to leave. So he told me to close my eyes and leave. I did and ran into the door jam before I found my way out."

Everyone glared at Max. "What, something's are for my eyes only!" He stated and then draped his arm around Liz in a protective and prosessive way.

"Max, I want some answers. I know about the pregnancy, now tell me the truth is she going to be okay?" The sheriff demanded. He had waited patiently and took in everything that had transpired between the teens in front of him and knew there was more to this situation than he knew.

Max was ready for the onslaught of questions from the sheriff. He glanced quickly at Liz, who just nodded her head for him to go on and tell. He then took a deep breathe. "Jim, you may want to sit down for this one." He stated and then motioned them over to the couch. The other's in the group quickly excused themselves not wanting to be in the room when Max explained to the sheriff about the baby's needs.

The sheriff knew immediately this was something big since Max had called him by his first name. That in it's self spoke volumes as Max always called him sheriff. "Is Liz in any danger carrying your child?"

The sheriff's question was as up front as it could get and the wave of guilt flowed through Max once again. Liz spoke up knowing how Max would be feeling guilty. "I'm not in any danger that Max can't fix. The pregnancy has a few minor complications that we know about."

"Complications? What kind of complications?" Both Max and Liz began to blush making the sheriff very confused. He already knew about Max and about the baby so what would they possible be embarrassed about he wondered.

It was Max that went into detail about the energy cells his body fluids carried and how the baby requires them so it won't drain to much energy from Liz causing her harm or death if the case may be.

The sheriff almost wanted to laugh, but he could tell by the way Max spoke the seriousness of the situation. "So how often does the baby need this extra boost of energy?"

"That's the problem, we haven't been able to figure out any kind of pattern yet. The dizziness I experience is when the baby starts to take some of my energy. It has come at different times of the day and there's no set time period from one to the next time it needs it." Liz answered honestly.

"Like today, I had...Uh..given the baby a dosage of my energy cells before we left. But...."

Liz picked up the conversation from there. But, as I said before there is no time pattern and the baby required some more energy. I had passed out and that's when the others had called Max to get back here ASAP."

"I know the two of you have been through a lot lately and I understand how the two of you feel about each other, but do you think it's wise to continue this pregnancy under the circumstances?"

Max was about to voice his opinion when Liz jumped in before he had the chance to say anything. "That isn't an option sheriff. Don't you see, this baby is our future. Not just Max and mine, but our whole planet's future. The baby carries the same blood energy that Max does and will be able to help in our fight against the other alien race. Besides, this baby is a part of me and a part of Max. It was made out of our love for each other. End of subject." Liz left no room for argument from either of the two of them.

Max shook his head amazed once again by the strength of his Liz. "Sheriff, Liz and I have already discussed it and the decision to keep the baby has already been made. I can assure you I would never let anything happen to Liz." He wanted to put the sheriff's mind at ease and also assure Liz they were in this together.

"Then I think it's time you two fill your parents in on everything." Jim Valenti couldn't see how they would try to keep their parents in the dark about Max. If they weren't able to predict when the baby was going to need Max then they were going to need their parents to support them in this pregnancy.

"Sheriff, we plan on telling our parents about the baby. Liz and I have already discussed it. But, now is not the right time to inform our parents of my heritage. I can't pull them into all of this."

"Being a parent of a teenage son myself, I'm pretty sure I can guess how your parents will react Max." Then he looked over at Liz. "Liz, how do you think your parents are going to react to the news when they discover your pregnant. And be honest." He knew as a parent himself he would react, but of course he only had a son to think about. A daughter would be a totally didn't reaction.

"I know they will both be disappointed in me, but I believe they will accept it after they have had time to deal with it." She tried to answer the question as honest as she could. Yes, they would probably be mad at first, but they would accept it eventually.

"Would they be angry enough say, to keep you from Max for a while until they accepted it?" The sheriff inquired trying to make the two understand where he was going with this line of questioning.

"I..." Liz thought about what the sheriff had said and then had no choice but to agree with his question. "They might try, but I won't allow them..."

The sheriff interrupted her. "Your a minor, their daughter. Legally they could keep Max away if they choose to." The sheriff knew he was scaring the two of them, but he had to make them understand.

"Sheriff, I understand what you're trying to say. I hope our parents can except our decision to marry and have this child. But, if they can't...We will be together anyway." Max spoke with authority letting the sheriff know he wasn't going to be away from Liz or his baby no matter what any one said. He pulled Liz tightly into his body hoping his words and actions would reassure any fears she had.

Liz turned to Max and gently caressed his face with her hands. "We're in this together." Her words spoke volumes to both the men in her presence.