She sighed as she pulled on her sweater and tried to gear her mind up for detailed descriptions of newly discovered, long-dead, and incredibly boring things.

But the only way she would be interested in an archaeology find tonight would be if Doug would tattoo it to Max's forehead.

Liz sat down on her bed, allowing her mind to drift.

Max had been in her mind all day.

She had awakened that morning with a smile, feeling the smooth ridges of her engagement ring where they lay against her breast.

Soon that would be his hand...

Liz blushed furiously.

Was she really ready for this?

Her head fell back as she closed her eyes.

God, yes.

She would give herself to Max when the time was right.

She wondered if the thought drove him crazy as much as it did her.

A knock at the door.

"Liz, your date is here," her mom said lightly as she pushed the door open. "How are you feeling?"

The smile in her mother's voice grated on Liz's nerves.

"I'm fine, Mom. Actually, I feel terrific."

Her mother got *that* look in her eyes and Liz moved over to her dresser to pick up her purse.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart. Doug is going to love that."

Liz turned around and tried to sound reasonably calm.

"Thanks, Mom, but you should probably know that I've been in here just dreaming about Max and wishing he were the one I was going to see downstairs."

"Liz, what in the-" Nancy Parker began angrily, then cut herself off, pressing two fingers over her mouth.

A long moment of silence passed.

Liz hesitated, then shook her head and headed for the hallway, only to be stopped by a firm hand.

"Don't you think you deserve to have a normal guy, a normal husband?"

Liz's eyes opened wide and she felt the breath leave her body. Her mother's eyes held her own with a hard edge.

Don't jump to conclusions, Liz reminded herself. Be calm.

"Mom, Max *is* normal," Liz replied as she gently pulled her arm away. "My date's waiting. Good night."

Liz practically ran for the door, stopping breathlessly at the top of the stairs.

That's why she doesn't trust Max.

No, she stopped herself, Mom couldn't know. We've been too careful.

But a little nagging doubt wouldn't go away. Her mother wouldn't have said something like that unless there was a reason.

Liz fought down the panic in her chest and mentally reminded herself that the quicker she went out with Doug, the quicker she could get back home and call Max.

Thus armed with the knowledge, she walked down the stairs with practiced calm.

******

"So, Liz, any new developments in your life?"

Liz almost choked on her soft drink, then stared up at Doug for a moment before answering.

"No, nothing really."

"Oh, I heard you were sick several times this week with migraines. Anything going on that I should know about," his brown eyes probed into her own.

Weird.

"Yeah... I mean, no. I was just sick, that's all," Liz said as she played with her straw nervously. Smiling, she withdrew her hand and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

"Any bad dreams lately," Doug asked with interest.

Liz blinked. Okay, she wasn't imagining things. This was getting very weird.

"Doug, why are you asking me this?"

"Does a friend need a reason to ask questions about your well-being," he jested at her lightly.

"No," Liz felt a twinge of embarassment at being so suspicious. "Sorry. I don't think I've had any bad dreams lately. At least, not to my recollection."

His eyes grew darker as he smiled and nodded.

"Oh, that's good. I had heard Maria asking you about them last week and wanted to make sure you were okay. That's all."

"Oh, okay. Um... how's the dig going," Liz awkwardly changed the subject.

"Fine. We actually found this Indian artifact that must date back to the early 1700s or so. It's a piece of ceremonial pottery that was used for handwashing before the jemoway ritual. Actually, that is one of the more interesting rituals of the Native American Indians..."

Oh good, Liz's mind went on autopilot. Ritual talk. He'll be on that for a while.

Her thoughts drifted back to her mother who had always seemed reluctant to accept Max for some reason.

But, let's be realistic here, Liz lectured herself. She might have just been making a completely innocent observation that Max was not a normal guy.

Liz placed a finger on her glass and traced the top idly, purposely trading her worrisome thoughts for more pleasant ones.

That was true, really. Max was way too wonderful to be considered normal. And waaaay too... sexy. She never had been able to decide if him being an alien was partly responsible for the way she responded to his touch, to his kisses...

She glanced down and focused her eyes on the glass as she continued to glide her finger around the top.

Just thinking about Max and the way his eyes would burn into her when he held her in his arms... it made her feel warm all over. Hot, in fact.

She brushed her hair up off of her neck with the other hand as she ran her fingers down the side of her icy cold glass. The condensation felt so good...

Crr-ack!

The glass broke to pieces, spilling coke all over the table and washing the shards onto the floor.

"Oh my god," Liz breathed out, her hand frozen in the air where the glass had been.

She looked up to see Doug staring at her with an amused grin.

"Did you do that," she asked him with barely veiled hope.

"No," he said lightly. "I believe you did."

Liz stared at him, when suddenly, someone grabbed Liz's hand and pulled her out of the booth.

"Kyle?"

"Doug, hi, how's it going," Kyle shook his hand while shoving Liz in the direction of the bathrooms. "Can I borrow Liz a moment? Why don't you clean up that mess while we're gone? Thanks!"

Liz tried to pull away as Kyle propelled her into the women's bathroom, but he held on firmly. Once inside, he checked the stalls and then locked the door behind him.

"Kyle," Liz said, completely flustered. "What the hell are you doing?"

He turned to look her in the eyes, his face amazed.

"Liz, I don't know where to start."

"Try starting at why you're following me on my date."

Kyle looked at her and waved his hand.

"That's not important-"

"Yes, it is."

He sighed and leaned back against the wall.

"I'm here because I don't like Doug. I don't trust him and I don't like you going out with him. Now, let's get to the important part. I interrupted your little dinner because of what I just saw. That glass, like, blew up while you were touching it. What happened, Liz?"

She was silent, scrambling for an answer.

"Um... "

He looked at her for a moment, then smiled briefly before continuing.

"There was a light... coming from your hand."

Liz stared at Kyle, her breath leaving her slowly.

"Do you want to explain what the hell that means?"

She actually found herself wanting to, but she didn't actually know herself. The room suddenly seemed very small and very... hot.

Kyle's face became concerned.

"Liz, are you gonna barf? I mean, maybe you should sit down; you look like shit all of a sudden," Kyle offered his hand and led her to the couch.

Liz almost managed a smile as Kyle awkwardly knelt in front of her.

He looked up at her pale face and sighed.

"This is one of those things, isn't it? One of those things you can't tell me about," he stood abruptly and paced to the other side of the bathroom.

Liz felt small and helpless waiting for his response to her secrecy... again coming between their friendship.

Kyle turned to her again.

"Okay, Evans is out of town. If you had to tell someone about this, Alex would be your next choice. I'll go call him."

"Why, Kyle?"

"Because, Liz, the way that guy looked at you when he saw your hand glowing... I swear, I wanted to kill him. I don't trust him and I don't think you should leave here with him."

A shiver traveled down Liz's spine at his words.

******

Alex was not doing his job to calm her down.

Liz sighed as they sat in Kyle's car, parked in front of the deserted Crashdown.

"Liz, I think we need to take this seriously. Psycho-stalker boy is lending me his car to get you to stay away from this guy. If that doesn't scare you, then well..." Alex gestured loosely to imply that she'd be crazy to miss the signs.

Liz took a deep breath.

"I know. I've never seen Kyle like this," she began, then stopped herself. "Well, at least not since he stopped investigating Max with the sole purpose of destroying him."

Alex grinned.

"Got to hand it to him. When Kyle goes off the edge, he takes the cliffside with him."

Liz smiled and then rubbed wearily at her face.

"Oh, Alex, I have no idea what happened back there. One minute I was thinking about Max, and the next minute, my glass imploded," her eyes became haunted. "And I think Doug was right. I think I did it."

"How," Alex asked with a frown. "Is there something weird going on that you're not telling me about?"

"Maybe," she began, then corrected herself. "Probably. Definitely. I've been feeling weird ever since the night Max and I got engaged and Michael- Michael kissed me."

Alex looked at her in disbelief.

"Maria's Michael? Spiky-hair, afraid of commitment, Max's best friend, Michael? What is he thinking? 'My best friend's out of town, so now's a good time to hit on his fiancee?'"

"Alex, it wasn't like that. It was..." Liz groped for words. "It wasn't him. At least, I don't think it was him. It wasn't a passionate kiss. It was just a way of connecting, I think. And the connection was the point. It... it... you're going to think I'm crazy here. It started something."

Alex slowly brought the car to a halt at the Crashdown and stared at Liz as she continued, her eyes lost in the memory.

"I can't really remember what happened, but... something changed in me. Something... some power came in and did something to me. It wasn't Michael."

"Has it happened again?"

"Well, I don't think so. Maybe. I'm having trouble remembering things. That feeling has come and gone several times, along with the migraines. I'm sorry, Alex, I know it sounds crazy."

"No," he sighed. "That's just it. I wish it did sound crazy. I wish I could just dismiss it as easily as I would have two years ago, when I told you that I didn't believe in aliens. But now... now I'd believe just about anything."

They sat in silence and Alex finally reached his arm around her seat, leaning over slightly.

"I agree with Kyle. No more dates with Doug, no matter what your Mom says. And we need to tell Max."

"Okay, but let me talk to Michael first. I want to hear his side of things, see if he knows anything."

Alex nodded and leaned over, opening the car door for her.

Liz kissed him quickly on the cheek and climbed out.

"Good night, Alex. And thanks."

"Yeah. I'm going to go take this baby for a spin before I take it back to Kyle. Too bad Izzy isn't here," he said with a smile, closing the door.

Liz smiled as he drove off, then sighed and walked inside the darkened cafe.