"I saw it," Cheryl answered, trying to come up with a logical explanation. "But I don't understand it. What could cause that? I wonder if they were even aware of it."

"Should we go in there? Ask them about it?" He was curious, but nervous. For the first time since arriving in Roswell, though, he was not bored.

"No! We can't barge in there, Mason." She thought for a minute. "Look, we're staying with those two, right? Let's just ask a few discreet questions and see if they drop any clues."

"And while we're there, we can poke around-see what we can find."

"Mason, you don't go through people's private things. That's invasion of privacy."

"Cheryl. You saw what I saw. What if . . . he's an alien or something. This is Roswell, after all."

Cheryl looked him in the eye, wondering if he was drunk himself. Then she saw the glint of humor.

"Very funny, Mason. For a minute, I thought you were serious."

"Then we're agreed. We find out what we can tonight and compare notes tomorrow."

"Just don't get carried away, Mason. Okay?"

He winked at her and smiled. This could be interesting.

**************

Max didn't know or care where he was. Drowning willingly in Liz's kisses, cocooned in her love for him, reality was a distant and somewhat distasteful option. There wasn't an inch of her he didn't want to explore; there wasn't any piece of himself he would withhold. If the only reality he ever knew was Liz, he would be supremely happy.

Liz was whimpering his name softly as he caressed her hair, her face, her body. She met every touch by pressing herself toward him, wanting nothing more than to be a part of him. His intimate touches and passionate kisses set her on fire and she never wanted it to stop. Somewhere, on the edges of her consciousness, she knew they shouldn't be where they were or doing what they were doing, but the will to stop completely escaped her.

Then something tugged at her senses. A beam of light. Was that Max? She loved it when his touch lit her skin like his kisses lit her heart. But no, was someone here? Her cloud of Max heaven began to disperse, and she could have sworn she saw the door close. What in the world were they doing! This was a restaurant! Someone had needed this room and found them instead! She had to get them out of there. Max couldn't be held responsible. She should have kept the control he'd lost. How had this happened, anyway?

"Max!" she whispered urgently. "Max! We've got to stop. We have to get back to the others and then get you home. Now!"

Max lifted his head and grinned at her. "Don't wanna. I like it here."

Liz was feeling a little desperate. "Max, I'm serious. If you get up now and let me get you home, I promise we'll do this again, soon." This was a promise Liz was more than willing to make, although she wondered if sober Max would let himself love her like this.

Max seemed to ponder her offer. At last, he pushed himself to a sitting position and Liz untangled herself from him. Once on her feet, she pulled him up beside her and straightened his hair. He was so adorable. All she could do was smile at him.

They made their way back to the dining room and Michael hurried over to meet them.

"Liz, where have you been. Is he okay?"

"Michael, he's drunk. Keep an eye on him a minute. I'll be right back."

Michael stared after Liz in confusion as she moved around to where she and Max had been eating their dinner. She picked up Max's glass and took a sip, her eyes widening at the stinging sensation in her throat. It was spiked! Her eyes moved around the room and stopped suddenly when she spotted Mason watching her. He and Cheryl were sitting apart from the others, trying to pretend they were uninterested in the rest of the guests. When he saw her knowing expression focused on him, he looked away quickly. Busted. But Liz knew now was not the time to confront him. She had to get Max home.

Maria came up behind her. "Liz, where have you been? You look like you've been . . . ya know . . . . Wait a minute, you and Max didn't actually run off in the middle of this dinner to make out, did you?" she asked Liz incredulously.

"Maria, no! I mean, somebody spiked Max's drink and you know what that does to him. I've been trying to keep him under wraps before he does something that might give him away."

Maria's eyes widened, and then she grinned at Liz. "Looks like you found something to keep him occupied in the meantime."

Liz blushed. "If you want to help, Maria, tell Isabel what's going on and ask her and Michael to help me keep an eye on him.'

"Got it covered, Liz. And by the way, Marla and I are going shopping for a little while tomorrow before they have to report for filming. Want to bring Cheryl and come with us?"

"Sure, call me later. But for now, let's just get out of here!."

The van dropped the group back at the hotel and the actors each hurried off to gather their things for the trip to their hosts' homes. As they waited, Liz kept close to Max, trying her best not to succumb to his goofy smiles and his clumsy attempts to pull her away from the group. He was charming and sweet, she admitted to herself, but the situation was too explosive. She had to stay in control.

When Cheryl and Mason arrived in the lobby with suitcases in hand, they headed out to Max's Jeep. Liz had an easy time getting the keys from Max and she hopped in the driver's seat. The group was quiet on the way. Everyone but Max knew what had happened, and Mason wasn't foolish enough to pretend otherwise. They pulled up in front of Max's house. Max leaned across the seat to give Liz a quick kiss.

"I'll call you later," he whispered loudly. At that moment, Alex's car pulled up and Isabel got out.

"Isabel," called Liz. "Can you get him settled inside?"

"You bet," she called, throwing Mason a chilling glance. She came up under Max's shoulder and started for the door. "Follow me," she called carelessly over her shoulder. Mason pulled his bags from the Jeep and followed at a safe distance.

"Tell him I'll bring the Jeep back tomorrow," she yelled as she backed out of the driveway.

Once they got inside, Isabel yelled to her mom that they were home and told Mason to follow them upstairs. She pointed out the guest room and the bathroom down the hall and continued toward Max's room.

"Max, just lie down and stay put for a while. You'll feel better soon."

"I feel fine, Isabel. I'm gonna call Liz."

"Not yet, Max. You just said goodbye to her, for pete's sake. She's probably not even home yet. Later, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, and sighed happily.

Isabel heard her mom coming up the stairs. "Isabel, where is our guest? I haven't even welcomed him yet."

Isabel hurried to make the introductions. "Welcome, Mason. It's an honor to have you here. I've laid out towels. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. I hope you'll let me know what we can do to make your stay more comfortable. Isabel, where's Max?"

Mason and Isabel exchanged glances. "He was tired, mom. I think he's getting ready for bed."

"Oh, well, okay. Nice to meet you Mason. I'll let you get some rest." She left to return downstairs and Isabel eyed Mason angrily.

"You may think you're some big star in here to have some fun at the expense of the local residents, but that stunt you pulled tonight was totally without class. You owe Max an apology. And you owe it to all of us to get your act together." At that, she spun on her heel and walked out.

Mason sat down on the bed. This sucked. He was stuck living in the Beaver's house, cut off from the life he knew. The life where people did his bidding and where he went home to . . . well, nothing. But at least it was his nothing. At least he was in control there.

Jamison would have a fit if these people complained about him, and he knew he couldn't afford that, so he reluctantly rose from the bed and made his way down toward Max's room. He found Max just laying on the bed, staring at a picture of Liz.

"So, Max. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," shrugged Max. "Sleepy."

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry, man. I was just trying to loosen you up a little. I didn't know you were such an easy drunk."

"Drunk?" Max looked confused. Then a dim light went on in his mind. "You got me drunk?" He sat up, frowning.

"I never expected you to get wasted on a few swallows, dude. You don't drink much do you?"

"Never," Max replied, getting an uncomfortable feeling at the back of his mind.

"Didn't seem to bother that little girlfriend of yours, though, did it?"

Max's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"

"I saw you guys making out at the restaurant. She's a little spitfire, isn't she? It's those quiet ones who'll surprise you in bed. What's she like-a screamer?"

Max was instantly on his feet, completely sober and trembling with anger. Two long strides brought them face to face, and he grabbed Mason's shirt in his fist, pulling him close until they were almost touching.

"You are talking about Liz Parker, a girl with more intelligence and class than you will ever have. When you look at her, it will be with respect. When you talk to her, it will be with respect. When you talk about her, it will be with respect. Any questions?"

Mason looked into the blazing, penetrating eyes that challenged him to disagree. He also realized for the first time that Max's slender physique disguised powerfully developed muscles. He had clearly misjudged Max and his relationship with his girlfriend. Great, Mason, he lectured himself. Twice in one day.

"Sorry, Max. I guess I didn't realize how it was with you two."

"I guess you didn't." He released Mason slowly. "I'm going to bed."

Mason nodded his head and took the hint, heading out the door toward his own room. All he wanted was to get away from this and get some sleep. No matter what he did or said, it wasn't right. The rules were different here and he didn't know what they were.

He finished up in the bathroom and was headed to bed when he passed Max's room. He could hear a voice, and he stopped outside the door.

"You're okay, Liz? I've just been piecing together what happened. I didn't realize . . . . I'm so sorry. You're sure you're okay?"

She must have reassured him, because he sounded relieved. "I know. I gather he's kind of a jerk. Thanks for understanding. I seem to remember that we left the dinner and went into some room. Did we really do what I think we did? I mean, I didn't take advantage of you, did I, because I would never . . . ."

After a pause, he chuckled. "Yeah? Well, I wouldn't mind giving that a try sober, either. Liz?" He paused awkwardly. "See you tomorrow," he said softly. "Goodnight."

Mason hurried away from the door, but not before glancing behind him and noticing the loving smile on Max's face as he hung up the phone. He shook his head. Things were sure different here.

*********** "So, you and Max are pretty serious?" Cheryl asked Liz as they gazed at the stars from her rooftop patio.

Liz hesitated. She still felt very private about her relationship with Max, even though she felt they were closer than ever. "We're just taking it slowly," Liz said. "But he's important to me."

Cheryl wondered what Liz's definition of "slow" was. What she and Mason had seen sure didn't look slow to her. "Those 'still waters run deep' guys always intrigue me. I wonder what they're hiding."

Liz jerked her head around to face Cheryl. "What do you mean?"

Cheryl looked at her innocently. "Oh, nothing. Just that the quiet ones are always special somehow. They always seem to have secrets. You know any secrets about Max?"

"No," Liz replied quickly. "Max doesn't have any secrets."

The phone rang and Liz was grateful for a reason to end the conversation. She hurried into her room, and Cheryl could tell it was Max, calling for one last goodnight. Cheryl sighed. Liz seemed a little jumpy about Max, but it was nonsense to think she would spill anything to a total stranger.

She reached idly for a book lying on the table and flipped it open: "I'm Liz Parker and 5 days ago, I died. After that, things got really weird."

"What are you doing?" Liz asked accusingly. She was standing in her room looking out the window at Cheryl. "Put that down. It's private!"

"Liz, I'm sorry. I had no idea what it was when I picked it up. Honestly. But Liz, what does this mean? You died? Then 'things got weird'?"

Liz opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. She just stared at Cheryl, wide-eyed.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Okay, guys. We can continue with the intensive M/L storyline, or we can take a break and give some other characters a little air time. Your choice.

1. Liz explains she has been writing a short story. Isabel dreamwalks Mason and learns something about his background and his intentions. The next day, Mason asks Marla to get close to Max and see what she can learn.

2. Liz gets angry at Cheryl. A little later, Cheryl overhears her upset call to Max and becomes even more suspicious. Meanwhile, Mason makes a play for Isabel.