"What about the van Max? Do you think it could have some kind of tracking device installed? Remember Nasedo obtained the van from the FBI." Alex asked, knowing how important it was for all of them to stay lost as long as possible. Isabelle gave Alex a grateful look, realizing then how much she admired how he was always thinking and looking out for all of them.

"It HAD a tracking device, but it doesn't any more. But, I think we should keep it in the shed and use Mr. Walter's jeep for any supply runs we make just to play it safe. Also, we should discuss our finance situation." Max knew he and Liz had plenty of money to sustain all of them for a while, but with six mouths to feed instead of only two it wouldn't last as long as he had expected it to.

Each member of the party stated how much they had to contribute to their survival factor. Max was surprised by the amount it tallied. Then he let them know how much both he, Liz, his father and Liz's father had given them. When Max told them the amount Liz's father had given them she was shocked. "Max?" She started to question if they had the right to accept that much money from her father. She knew her parents had some money, but she didn't want to take every penny they had either.

Max knew what Liz was thinking. "I tried not to accept it Liz. It was supposed to be your college fund money and I for one expect your dream of going to college still to come true and that's why we are not touching that money except for emergency using only." He touched his finger to her chin, lifting her face to meet his eyes. He wanted her to know he meant what he was saying. Soon he saw the trust in her eyes letting him know she trusted him completely. "Why don't we go make our list?"

"I'll make a list of food supplies." Michael suggested, knowing his personal list would be very short. Actually it would contain only one item he could think he needed at the moment.

"I think I better help you with that. God knows what kind of food you will come up with for all of us to eat." Maria joked. She and Michael walked into the kitchen to see what supplies they already had and try to come up with a menu that both aliens and humans a like would agree to.

Alex and Isabelle took it upon themselves to see what kind of household supplies they should put on the list. While Alex listed stuff like light bulbs, batteries and specific tools he would need to set up the computer system he had successfully packed in the van that Tess had stated they should take with them. Isabelle concentrated on home supplies like extra dishes, towels and linens. After all Mr. Walters was a single man where there were six of them.

Liz stated she would take care of the health and beauty needs like shampoo, soap and toothpaste. While Max made a different kind of list. Namely things they might need living out in the middle of no where. He thought of the medical necessities and emergency things they might need. He knew he would be able to heal most things they came across, but he felt it would be better to play it safe all the same. He decided to put the empty gas can in the car. He wanted to be prepared for anything that came up in the future.

They decided to drive the scenic route to down to Silver Springs, NM. They came across a Wal-Mart Supercenter and decided that would be the best place to get everything they needed. They divided up their list to make the most of their time. Since Liz and Max were taking care of the beauty aide stuff Michael handed Max is one item list. Max just smiled and nodded to his friend accepting the request that he had asked for. The trip there and back went like clock work. Even though the trip back was a bit cramped for space with all the supplies they had packed in the van. Alex had insisted they stop for lunch at McDonald's so he could have one last taste of fast food.

After everything had been carried in, Max handed Michael a small bag. "Good luck." Was all he said to him and then went to find Liz and help her unpack their personal supplies.

Maria was in one of the bedrooms unpacking her things when Michael knocked on the door. "Can we talk?" He asked shyly, not really knowing how to begin.

"Yes," She replied not knowing herself yet what she really wanted. She wanted to be with Michael, but she just wasn't ready to be with Michael quite yet. Especially after seeing what her best friend was going through.

"Look, I don't know how to say this so I'm just going to say it and hope you understand. I've been wondering about the sleeping arrangements. You see, I would like to stay with you, but I don't know if I can and trust myself at the same time." Michael had the word guilt written on his face. He knew if he slept with Maria on a nightly basis, sleep wouldn't always be on his mind.

Maria knew has hard as this conversation was for her, it was hundred times harder for Michael. "Michael, I think you know how I feel about you and I know you care a lot more for me then you want to show anyone. The thing is I'll be honest with you about how I feel as long as you promise to be honest with me, deal?"

"Okay, deal." He confirmed.

"Well, the thing is Michael, I would like for you to stay with me, but I'm not ready for a sexual relationship just yet. I guess I'm a little scared that if you do stay with me, I won't be able to say no if things got a little to...." She let the sentenced unfinished on purpose.

"I would prefer to stay in here with you Maria, but I agree with what you said. Hell, for every reason I have not to be involved with you. All I have to do is look at you or touch you and I could forget every one of those reasons why we shouldn't be together." He stated as he walked closer to her.

Maria reached out and took his hand and pulled him to sit next to her on her bed. "So it seems to me we have the same problem. We want to be with each other, but we are both afraid of losing control if we do. Well, I don't want to think about not being in your arms at night. It's the only time I truly feel safe, but if you think that would be too hard on you I will understand if you would rather take one of the empty rooms."

"Why don't we try it in here together for a while. By the way I have something I want to give to you." He pulled out the small bag Max had given him earlier. "I want you to have these. So when we ever do get to that point when we are both ready for that next step we'll be ready."

Maria took the bag, looked inside and immediately started to laugh. "Condoms! You want me to hold the condoms?" It was such a Michael thing to do that she couldn't help but laugh.

"I thought that way you would feel more in control over the situation and until you hand me one of those, I promise to keep mine and your urges under check. If you promise me not to hand me one until your sure that you are ready for what that would mean."

"Oh Michael....Yes, I will make that promise to you." She threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you." They both felt so relieved and full of joy. Michael leaned over and kissed her lips until they were both out of breathe from the kiss.

Alex had already brought his bags into one of the unfurnished rooms. It was Isabelle who approached Alex. "Hi, I wanted to give you this." She stated has she handed him a large bag.

Alex gave her a quizzical look then took the bag. Inside was one of those large heavy duty air mattresses. "Uh..Thanks."

"I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable and all." Was all Isabelle could think to say. They both knew what the sleeping arrangements were going to be without actually having to discuss them.

"No! This looks like it is top of the line as far as air mattresses go. You didn't have to do this though Isabelle, I would have been just fine on the floor."

"Alex please, that floor is hard and cold. It's the least I could do for you giving me the bedroom with the bed in it." She replied.

"Well, the house is yours. I'm just vacationing here for as long as needed." He stated trying to make light of the matter conversation.

"You mean, it's my brother's house." Isabelle was still a little jealous that her father had given the house to Max and Liz only.

Alex heard what her statement implied and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Hey, if your dad knew you had planned on tagging along. I'm sure he would have given it to both of you guys. Now what do I have to do to get you to help me blow my bed up." Isabelle found herself smiling at his comment. She was so happy they had told Alex the truth. She knew she could trust him with her life. Then she thought maybe someday soon I'll be able to trust him with all of me. With that in mind she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before taking the air mattress out of his hands.

She sat down and acting like she was going to blow it up when she took her hand to the opening and manipulated the molecular structures of the air inside of it and in a matter of minutes the mattress was filled. She then rose and proceeded to walk out of the room. As she made it to his bedroom door she turned. "If there's anything else I can do to accommodate you, you know where to find me." With that she breezed out of his room just as quickly as she had breezed in.

Alex collapsed on his new bed and whispered to himself. "God, if you only knew."

Back in Roswell:

By late afternoon Agent Motley had become frustrated. He had not only not heard from any of the aliens, but he had yet to see any of them at all. He spent half the morning sitting in front of the Evan's house and the other half in front of the Crashdown. He decided it was time to visit the county sheriff to see if he had information that could enlighten him on their where about. He flashed his badge to the desk clerk at the sheriff's station and proceeded to the sheriff's office. "Sheriff Valenti, we need to talk."

The sheriff hadn't heard anything from Max so he wasn't sure what the agent standing before him wanted. Since Tess was still staying at his house, he assumed the kids were all just fine. "What is there for us to talk about?"

"Did Max Evans or Liz Parker say anything to you about how they could be contacted?" The agent asked coming straight to the point of their conversation.

This threw the sheriff for a loop. "Did you try their homes?"

"They aren't home Sheriff. I believe they have left Roswell, I need to know if you have any information about their where abouts?"

It was at this precise moment Amy DeLuca called. "Oh Jim...Maria's gone. Sh..She..Left me." Maria's mother was crying hysterically into the phone.

Jim Valenti looked over at the agent that was sitting across from him. "I'm sorry agent, but this is a personal call that I need to take and before you ask no this doesn't have anything to do with Max or Liz." He stated as he motioned toward the door inviting him politely to leave his office. When the agent stepped outside he returned to the phone. "Amy please, calm down and tell me what happened."

He could hear her trying to subside her snuffles and get herself under control before beginning to speak again. "I just got home from work and found her note. I knew she was really stressed lately, I just had no idea how upset she really was. Oh God, my baby girl is out there somewhere on her own without anyone to take care of her."

"Amy, what did her note say exactly." The sheriff knew instinctually what was going down, but still needed to hear what Maria had wrote.

"It just states she was feeling to much stress here in Roswell and needed to get away from everything for a while. Not to worry about her she would be fine and she wasn't sure when she would be back. What am I going to do without her Jim. Doesn't she know how much I love her and need her?" Amy DeLuca started crying all over again.

"Amy, let me make some calls to see if I can find her. When was the last time you seen her?" He asked.

"Yesterday afternoon, but since I was going to work late last night and again early this morning she asked if she could go spend the night with Liz Parker. I called the Parker's house and they said Liz had spent last night at the Evan's. When I called them they said they hadn't seen any of the kids since they went to bed late last night."

As Amy divulged the information to Jim the realization hit him. The agent was right Max and Liz were no longer in Roswell, but not just them. The sheriff knew now Michael, Maria and Isabelle were probably gone too. He needed to confirm his suspicions, but was pretty sure Alex would turn up gone also. The only thing that surprised him though was that Tess was still here this morning when he left for work. "Amy, I'm going to make those phone calls and then I'll get back with you. Okay?" She agreed and as soon as he hung up, he called the Whitman's residence only to find out what he thought was true. Alex Whitman had left town stating he was going with Maria to make sure she was safe. His next phone call was to the Parker's, then the Evan's. They all agreed to meet in one hour at the Evan's house. The next phone call he made was to his own son and Tess asking them to meet with him at the Evan's house too.

The sheriff didn't know what to say to Agent Motley, but he still didn't know if it was a good idea to tell him what information he had yet. "Agent, I'm going to have to get back with you. A good friend of mine is having a bit of a personal problem right now. Why don't you come by my office tomorrow and I'll see what I can find out for you in the mean time?" With that said the sheriff excused himself from his office and left.