Liz felt her heart brake at the sight, even if she didn't knew why. She was supposed to be happy. How many times had she had try to convince Max that he should go out with Tess? Told him that it didn't matter that he wasn't in love with her, she was his destiny and a whole planet depended on their relationship.

She went into her room and let the tears broke free. She felt stupid and was angry with herself for crying like that, but she couldn't help.

***

A few minutes later she heard a knock on her door and her sister's voice.

"Liz? Would you like to go with me to the mall today? A new Esprit has been opened and they are some great opening promotions!"

Liz took a deep breath in attempt to clear her throat from tears and answered quietly "No thank you Isabel. I'm tired today, I'll see you later. Have fun."

Isabel bit her bottom lip, she really regretted what she had said earlier that day and she didn't want Liz to shut her down. Even if the Ice Queen wouldn't admit it, she considered her sister her best friend. At lunch they had an argument over Kyle Valenti. Isabel knew that Liz didn't love him and thought it was stupid that she wasted her time with such a jock. Liz told her to mind her own business and Isabel left without saying good bye, angry with Liz.

She knew her sister, she would give her some time and then she would apologize.

***

When Isabel went and get Liz for dinner, this latter answered that she wasn't hungry, that she needed some rest. Isabel told herself that this might be more serious than she had first thought. Usually, when Liz didn't eat, it was the sign that something was wrong. Just after her parents died, she had a serious problem with anorexia, then last year, after the gang discovered Max and Tess' destiny.

"Isabel?"

Isabel's thoughts were interrupted by her mother who wanted dinner to start.

***

Max was immediately worried when he heard that Liz didn't want come down for dinner. Usually, even if she weren't very hungry, she would always come to eat with them, with him.

Minutes passed, Max got more and more worried.

For a desert, Diane had made her special apple pie that he knew Liz were fond of. He excused himself and went up to get her. ***

Her first reflex when she heard knocks on the door was to get up and open it for Max. He hadn't said a word, but she just knew it was him. But when she got up she caught the sight of herself in her full-length mirror, and she knew that even if she needed him right now, she could let him see her in this state. He would ask questions about her tears. He wouldn't understand. Even she didn't understand.

***

She didn't open, ok. But that didn't mean that he had to leave, so he just sat down in front of her door and waited. It wasn't the first time that she shut him out, but he always stuck around until she gave up and confided in him. It was also true the other way around.

One night last year, the four aliens had felt a strange need to go somewhere in the desert. The feeling scared Max and Isabel to death so Liz decided to go along with them. They listened to their feeling and arrived at a place in the desert. That night, they discovered the pod chamber. Still listening to their feeling each alien went to a pod, the one it had been in and touched it. At that moment, a woman appeared out of nowhere, they instinctually knew it was Max and Isabel's mother, even Liz. She told them something that none of the five would ever forget:

"If you are seeing me now, it means that you are alive and well. I take this form because it will be familiar to you, and it will help you to understand what I am about to say. You have lived before. You perished in the conflict that enslaves our planet but your essence was duplicated, cloned, and mixed with human genetic materials so that you might be recreated into human beings."

At that point they were all crying.

"My son, you were the beloved King of our people. I have sent with you your young bride, with your sister, and your best friend, also your second-in-command. Our enemies have taken control of our planet. Learn enough to use your skills, your knowledge, your leadership to combat the enemy so that you can come back and free us. You have to come back with your wife so you can give our planet the heir of the throne. And that I may once again hold you both in my arms. I live for that moment. Help us. I love you." (That must be familiar to you, isn't it?)

Liz drove the others back home because none of them were steady enough to be behind the wheel. Tess was rather happy about that, all her life she had wanted a relationship with Max Evans, and now she would have it. Isabel and Michael didn't know what to think, they were sad for their friend and brother, but exited to know about their home planet. Max was devastated.

For days they didn't speak about anything else, that's when they finally told Alex and Maria the truth. Maria totally flipped out and Alex asked them which drug they were on.

Only Liz saw how much this really upset and confused Max. At first he shut everybody out, then, slowly he let her in again. She was his oxygen, he didn't know what he would have done without her, he was so lost. With that Tess and Max didn't get closer but Max and Liz did. During all of this Liz had stopped eating, and Max didn't notice because he was too focused on himself. When he discovered it, he felt very guilty and pled with her to eat again. She did it for him.