Isabel looked questioningly at him, "If what will work Max?"

"Larissa transferred Zan's memories to me through a connection between us. Maybe if we stand here around the Granolith and hold hands we can form a similar connection and I can transfer the information she gave me to all of you at the same time."

"Sounds like a plan Maxwell." Michael stood opposite Max with the Granolith between them. Tess and Isabel stood between them on opposite sides as well. They held hands and waited for something to happen.

Max closed his eyes and concentrated on forming a connection. Just as Michael was about to say, "I don't think it's going to work…" the Granolith began to hum. Isabel, Michael and Tess exchanged worried glances and looked over at Max. His eyes were still closed and he appeared to be in a trance like state.

One by one they closed their eyes as images began to flash in front of them. Max tried to sort through the images to pick and choose which ones they saw, but they were coming too fast and he could not stop them.

Gradually they opened their eyes as the process came to an end. They looked around them somewhat disoriented. None of them were sure how much time had passed.

Tess sat down on the floor and said, "Wow. That was intense. I thought I had memories, but they were nothing like that!"

"It was just like watching a movie," Michael remarked.

Isabel looked over at Max; he looked exhausted. She reached out and took his hand again and squeezed it. "I'm so sorry Max." Tears welled in her eyes and she tried to quickly cover her face with her hands.

Max turned her around to face him and pulled her hands down. She looked at the floor ashamed. Max lifted her chin with his hand. "Isabel, what happened back then, is in the past. I know you are not Vilandra, remember?" She shook her head but still could not bear to look at him. "One of the things Larissa told me before she died was that, although we may have the same genes as Zan, Vilandra, Ava and Rath, we have our own souls. Isabel, do you understand?"

Isabel raised her eyes to meet his. She knew what he was telling her must be true. She felt it in her heart, but was still afraid. "Max, I understand what you are saying, but what if…"

Max brought a finger to her lips, "Shh, no 'what ifs' Isabel. We take one day at a time remember?"

Isabel nodded and they embraced.

Michael walked over to Max as he released Isabel and the two friends turned to face each other. Michael grabbed Max in a bear hug. Max hesitated, a little stunned and then returned the hug. Michael put him out at arm's length; "Guess I'm not the only one who has a problem with acting on impulse am I?" They both laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so." Max replied, "Michael…"

Michael cut him off, "Nuff said Maxwell. I understand, more so now than I ever have before."

Max looked at each one of them. He could see them as their Royal counterparts, but more importantly he could see them for who they really were. Each one of them was special, with special gifts and talents. He knew that separately they each had something unique to bring to the group but that together there was no telling what they could accomplish.

"We've been through a lot these past two days. We've been given a lot to think about. We should take some time to try and sort through everything we've just experienced and then come back together and talk." Max waited to see if anyone had any objections, but they all shook their heads in agreement. "Then let's go see how Brody is."

They filed out one at a time and headed back to their cars and to Roswell. *

At the hospital Sheriff Valenti greeted them in the waiting room. Liz and Maria were sitting on a sofa reading magazines.

Valenti walked over to them. "Liz and Maria tried to fill me in on the details of what happened last night. I came down here to see if Brody was okay and to see if you needed any help with…"

"No, sheriff." Max interrupted knowing he meant Larissa's body. "We took care of it."

"Okay. Well I'm going to head out then. Call me when you find something out about Brody." Valenti left and the group walked over to where Liz and Maria were sitting. Liz had her head on the armrest and had fallen asleep.

Maria whispered to Max, "She fell asleep just a few minutes ago. She's was up all night, uh, thinking." She paused when she realized what she was saying.

Max nodded and looked at Liz sleeping. Part of him wanted to kiss her cheek and watch her wake up, and the other wanted to run away and never look back. His emotions were still raw and he was glad she was asleep so he didn't have to face her right now. "That's okay, let her sleep. We're going to go look in on Brody."

The four went up the elevator to the critical care unit of the hospital and found Brody's room. The nurse would only allow one visitor at a time to go in so Tess went in first. Then Michael went in, and then Isabel. Isabel came out and walked over to her brother. He had his head down and looked away when she approached. "Max, what are you thinking?" she asked him suspiciously.

Max looked up into her eyes. "There's been so much death Isabel." Max didn't give her a chance to interrupt, "Look, I know what you're going to say…"

Isabel interrupted him anyway, "Oh, you do, do you? Well what if I said okay?" She looked at Max and saw his stunned expression. "You think you know me so well."

"Okay? Really?" Max had to admit he was surprised.

"Okay, what?" Michael and Tess came over to see what was up. Michael looked from Isabel to Max. "Oh, no you're not seriously…" Michael rubbed his face with his hands and then said, "I'm not gonna win this one I can tell; so just one question. What are you going to tell him when he sees the silver handprint?"

Tess piped in, "We could tell him the aliens abducted him again while he was in the hospital, and when he came to it was already there."

"Or we could tell him the truth." Max looked from one to the other. "He's already considered a freak who believes he's been abducted; telling him the truth certainly won't add to his credibility. I think he will be an ally to us and besides," Max looked down, "Larissa would want him to know. We have to come up with an explanation for how she died anyway, and I think he deserves to know the truth."

Michael shook his head, "Okay, just one more question. How do we explain the handprint to the doctors and nurses?"

"I have an idea." Isabel gave them a mischievous grin and headed towards the nurse's station.

The other three watched as Isabel turned on the charm and talked to the nurses at the desk. She ducked her head and looked apologetic as she tried to convince them of something. Of what, the other three had no idea.

She jogged back over to them trying not to look too triumphant.

"What in the world did you say to them?" Tess asked trying not to laugh.

Isabel grabbed Tess and said, "Come with me to the gift shop." She turned to Max and Michael and said, "Don't go anywhere, we'll be right back."

Michael and Max looked at each other and then to Tess and Isabel as they disappeared down the hall and shrugged. *

Close to an hour later the four entered the waiting room to see Liz, Maria and Alex talking. They walked up just as Alex was shaking his head and saying, "Geez! Will I ever not be the last to know around here?"

"Trust me Alex, sometimes that's for the best," Maria replied as they all gather around to hear what happened with Brody. "Well, from the looks on your faces, I take it he is better?"

"We feel sure he will make a full recovery," Isabel said with a huge grin on her face.

"No thanks to the 'silver hand print bandit'," Added Michael.

Liz, Alex and Maria all looked at Max with disbelief.

Tess laughed and said, "Let's just say, Brody's 'religious beliefs' dictate that he have his body covered in silver hand prints before he dies, so that the aliens will know where to find him when they come to pick him up."

They all looked at each other a moment and then burst out laughing.

"Well, I guess we have one happy ending," Alex observed as their laughter began to fade.

Liz stole a glance at Max just as he glanced over at her. They both looked away simultaneously. Liz remarked, "Well, I guess we can all go home now. Oh," she happened to think as she looked at Max again, "what are you going to tell Brody about Larissa?"

"The truth. I'm going to go over there later, once he is home and tell him everything."

Liz nodded and turned to leave as the others began to file out.

"Liz wait." Max caught her arm and she stopped. "We need to talk."

Liz tried to be casual as she replied, "Um, yeah, okay. Talk."

"I'll come by your place later, okay?" Max looked at her and tried to smile.

Liz nodded and tried to smile back. "Yeah, that sounds great."

***

Liz was in her room pacing. She had been pacing for the past 3 hours. Every once in a while she would take a seat on her bed to rest and in thirty seconds she was up again. Pacing. She had taken a piece of paper and twisted it beyond recognition. On it were all the reasons she should tell Max the truth and all the reasons she shouldn't. The "shouldn't list" went on to the backside of the paper, but it was number nine on the "should list" that kept gnawing at her. She loved him, plain and simple. "Screw the world," was number ten, but did she have any right to "screw the world'? She couldn't decide and that was why she was pacing.

That and because she knew that any minute he would be there and things between them would change…again. She was having this thought as she heard a familiar tapping outside her window. She went over to the window and raised it, allowing Max to come through.

"Hey Max," she said hoping he hadn't noticed her pacing.

"Hey Liz." He noticed how nervous she was and it made him want to get this over with as soon as possible. At the same time they said, "Larissa told me….". They laughed and it broke the tension a little. Again at the same time they said, "You go first… no that's okay, you…". They smileed, trying not to feel so awkward with each other.

"Okay, I'll go first." Liz took a breath and said; "Larissa told me that now that you have Zan's memories, that everything would be sorted out between you and Tess."

Max nodded but gave her a confused look. He wandered how many times he had to tell her he didn't love Tess before she would believe him.

"Okay, look Max. What I need to know before I can tell you this… this thing I have to tell you, um… is that things between you and Tess are okay. That you two have a good relationship or whatever, but most of all that she won't leave Roswell." Liz's heart was beating fast and she felt lightheaded, so she went and sat on the bed.

"Liz what are you talking about?" Max looked down at her even more bewildered. "Leave Roswell, why would Tess leave Roswell?"

"Please Max, just answer the question. I need to know." Liz started to think she had made a mistake and stood up and started pacing again.

"I'm not exactly sure what the question is, but I'll try. Tess and I are friends. It turns out she was only my wife in my other life because Larissandra," Max clarified, "that is Larissa to you, was kidnapped by Kivar. Tess and Larissa were best friends and it was her duty as Larissa's Lady in Waiting to marry me, Zan, if something were to happen to Larissandra." Max noticed Liz's odd expression. "Do you understand Liz?"

Liz nodded her head as she looked at a spot on the floor and sat down again. "So Larissa, Larissandra, was really your wife?"

"Yes." Max wasn't ready to talk about her just yet so he kept his answer simple.

"That must've been really hard," Liz looked up at Max with tears in her eyes. "I mean losing her like that."

Max was moved by her understanding and went and sat next to her on the bed. "Yes, it was." He shifted his body toward her. "Liz, Larissa told me something and I've been thinking about it a lot since then.

She said that although we, Isabel, Tess, Michael and I have the same genes as Zan, and the others, we each have our own souls, our own destinies Liz. She understood that I wasn't Zan and that I had to choose my own path. She let me go Liz; she released me from my past. I know it sounds weird, but when she gave me Zan's memories, she also gave me a choice. A choice whether or not to be Zan or to be Max. I can choose for myself where my life will lead, and who I will love." Max dropped his gaze. He didn't tell her what Larissa said about his heart belonging to her. He couldn't. It would hurt too much now to be rejected again.

The room was quiet as Liz and Max each considered what had been said. Liz's heart began to race, she knew now was the time to finally tell him, but she was scared. The future seemed so scary and unsure. Now that Max had a choice, what would he choose? Could she be for him what he needed? Would she lose him to his alien destiny one day? "Number nine," she murmured softly to herself.

She turned to face Max, and raised his chin to look at her. "Max, I can tell you now." She hesitated. "But I would rather show you." With that she leaned in and kissed Max. Softly at first, they were both still hesitant, then more intensely as Liz's memories began to flow into Max, and he saw what she had been unable to tell him for so long.

Max saw his future counterpart; he was momentarily distracted at his own appearance. "I look old and tired," he thought to himself, "and sad." He saw this future Max trying to convince Liz it was him. He smiled at her disbelief; it was exactly the way he would expect her to react. He saw himself through Liz's eyes as he was singing to her. Before he could relive the humiliation he had put himself through to get her attention, he heard future Max tell her that fourteen years from now aliens took over the planet and that he needed her to keep that from happening. He saw them again in Liz's room and heard future Max explain to her how Tess left after the terrible way he had treated her, and how he needed Liz to help him fall out of love with her.

Max pulled away from Liz and cupped her face in his hands. "Liz…" He looked into her eyes and saw the pain there. He brushed her cheek with his finger; he was beginning to understand. He wanted to finish. He wanted to see it all, just as she lived it, so he kissed her again, tenderly.

The flashes started again. Max saw Liz talking to Tess; he knew how hard this must've been for her. He saw Liz and the future Max hiding in Whitaker's old office spying on he and Tess. He heard Liz ask if they got married. He saw future Max hesitate. He knew somehow that he was only trying to protect her, and then he saw him give in and tell her. He never could keep secrets from her. The words "we went to Las Vegas, got married in the Elvis Chapel" rang in his head. The flash he had in Vegas was real! Liz tried to tell him, but she couldn't. She had been acting so strange that day and now he understood why.

He saw himself crash in on Liz and kiss her. He relived the flashes she had in her mind and felt the torment they were causing her. Then he saw them in Liz's bedroom as future Max became angry with her and told her that on the night of the Gomez concert they had made love and how that had cemented them. He remembered that night and although he never really dreamt in a million years that he and Liz would make love that night, he had put the condom in his pocket anyway…just in case. Future Max chastised her for not changing. He placed the fate of the whole world on her shoulders and told her it was up to her. How could he have done that to her?

He traveled with her to his own room where she told him she didn't want to die for him, and heard again all the excuses she gave him for wanting to end it between them. But now he saw them for what they really were, lies. He felt her dread at having to try and break his heart. He saw Liz and future Max back on her balcony. He saw her sitting in a chair, weeping over what she had just done. Her agony came coursing through him and tears sprang to his eyes.

He was angry with his future self for putting her through this. She was begging him to find another way. She was telling him she couldn't do it anymore, to find somebody else, but he didn't listen to her. How could he have placed this burden on her like this? Then he heard future Max tell her that just two weeks before the end, Isabel died and that right before he came here, he had held Michael in his arms, dead. This tore at his heart as he remembered Zan's memories of watching Rath murdered. Once again he saw Vilandra slowly fall to the ground with a laser hole through her middle and he understood why he did it. He tried desperately in his mind to think of another way he could have changed things, but he could see none. He knew himself too well.

He knew what this was leading up to but he maintained the connection, he had to see it through her eyes, to feel what she felt. He saw her ask Kyle for his help. He saw future Max, hiding out in the bathroom while Liz prepared. He saw the torment on his own face as future Max said, "If he tries anything…" He saw Liz slide beneath the sheets, self conscious and nervous. And then he saw himself come to the window and see them in bed together. His feelings were now overshadowed by Liz's. He felt the knot in the pit of her stomach turn into anguish and remorse. He felt her helplessness.

He saw her sitting with future Max on her balcony again. He heard future Max say that watching her do that was the hardest thing he's ever had to do, then tell her that maybe this was for the best. He heard her reply, "Don't you realize what you are to me, what you'll always be? You're the love of my life. Everyone else will be second best. There will never be another you." He choked as the tears rolled down his face, but he kept going. He saw her ask him to dance with her. He watched as they dance together. The only wedding dance she thought that she would ever have with him. And then he watched as his future self disappeared, leaving her standing alone and feeling lost. He felt her loss and heard her wonder if she would ever be truly happy again.

Max pulled away; he could not bear to see anymore. His hands were still cupping her face as he tried to wipe away her tears. Liz, unable to hold back her emotions any longer, surrendered herself to them and began to sob uncontrollably. Max pulled her into his arms and held her, gently stroking her hair.

When Liz was finally able to stop, she looked up at him and whispered, "Now you know."

Max pulled her to him again; he hurt so badly for her and all that she had been through because of him. "Liz, I am so sorry. This is all my fault. If I had not been so selfish… if only I had understood then what I know now about the four of us needing to be together as a team… but all I could think about was wanting to be with you, and it nearly cost me everything. Liz, I am so sorry, you did it all for me. You took this huge burden and you carried it all alone, how could I have ever doubted you?"

Liz smiled for the first time in what felt like years to her. "It's okay, Max. How could you have known? Besides, it's over now, and you know the truth. But, I would do it again, Max. I would do anything for you." She looked down, suddenly self conscious again.

"All this time, all this wasted time, because of me. Liz can you ever forgive me?" Max ran his hands up her neck and felt her hair. It felt so good to touch her again. It had been so long.

Liz placed her arms around his waist and gazed lovingly up at him. "Max, how can I forgive you for something you had no control over."

"Liz, please, I need to hear you say it." Max looked with such intensity into her eyes that she could not refuse him."

"Yes Max, I forgive you." She said to him softly. "Do you forgive me… for deceiving you? I know how much I hurt you."

"Liz, what you did, it only makes me love and respect you more. But if you need to hear it then, yes, I forgive you." Max gently traced her face with his finger. She smiled and closed her eyes under his touch.

She opened her eyes to find him watching her. "This may sound weird, but now that is all over, I'm kinda glad it happened. Things are better with Tess and, I mean, think about it, it worked Max, you did it! You saved the world by coming back like you did."

"Technically, I think you saved the world, Liz." Max grinned at her and caressed her back.

Liz laughed, "Okay, how bout we both saved the world, how's that?" It felt good to be in his arms again.

"I think we make a pretty good team don't you? I mean, after all we've saved the world from near destruction at least four times now." Max was playful with her now and tickled her waist. She giggled and tried to pull away from him but he held her fast.

He became serious again as his eyes wandered over her face, taking in each small detail and storing it in his memory. "Liz, I don't know what the future holds. I don't know what will happen this afternoon, let alone tomorrow. The only thing I am sure of is that I want you with me, for as long as that is possible. You complete me Liz; you make me a whole person. And as much as I need Isabel, Michael and Tess, I need you too Liz Parker. Will you…be with me?" His eyes searched hers for the answer he was longing for.

"One day at a time?" Liz raised her brow at him.

Max smiled and pulled her face within an inch of his. "Yeah, one day at a time."

Liz whispered softly, their lips brushing slightly as she replied, "Then how could I possibly refuse?"

They looked into each other's eyes, formed a connection between their souls and kissed, sharing the intimacy of their memories as well as their passion for each other.