Tess slid the black cover across to stare at her through the screen. "Bored?"

"Don`t think I`m unaware that I`m not the first one to come in here and talk to you," Isabel said. "What do you say to Maria and Liz that amuses them so much? I mean, you told them. Now I wanna know. What`s your deal?"

"I`ve thought a lot about it," Tess said. "My deal is Nasedo."

"Nasedo?"

"You know, I never sang 'The Wheels On The Bus' in my own home. I never brought home a science project that he congratulated me on. I never came up to him one day and said, 'I met a friend today.' I never went to church with him. I never asked him to borrow a credit card to shop for prom. He locked me away from becoming too human, he wouldn`t let it happen. Now I`ve been under the impression that what I`m supposed to be as an alien is all I can be."

"I see."

"And now I see it`s not like that. Look at you guys. You`re just as much human as you are not. Maybe even more than not."

"Sounds like you`ve got things figured out about yourself."

"I do. And I think I know what I`m gonna do as soon as I get out of here."

"What?"

"Make some human friends. Get a dog. Get a job. Go turn myself in to Valenti as missing child suddenly with no guardian and become a foster child. and wait for the next thing."

"The next thing?"

"The next thing leading to our past. The next thing that will take us where we want to go. Until then, I can wait."

"Good for you. So...what about us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we gonna...keep in touch? Or will it be too weird."

"I don`t know if Max will ever want to talk to me again."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I know that every time he looks at me all he sees is that look on Liz`s face when she saw me kiss him."

"He just doesn`t want you to hurt her like that again, Tess."

"I won`t! I mean, I couldn`t even do that, not after...I have nothing left now. I haven`t got the power to do anything about it anymore. I know it won`t work no matter what I do to convince Max that...I don`t even think I believe it myself anymore."

"Believe what?"

"That we have to be together so much."

"Thank God."

"...What?"

"Thank God that you`re able to say that."

"Yeah. In fact it..." she shrugged, feels pretty good. Damnit, he`s not good enough for me!"

"There you go."

"What did I ever see in him? He can go off with his girl, what do I care?"

"Congratulations, you`ve made a tremendous breakthrough."

Tess laughed.

"So," Isabel said, "who cares if my brother hates you for all eternity? Which he won`t, because he`s not like that, but it`s nice to say that. It doesn`t matter what the others think. We can still have fun. It`ll be just like it was after we first started hanging out. We`ll go shopping for shoes. Point out cute guys. Try miniature golf..."

"And I`ll get a job," Tess added. "At the Crashdown!"

"Yeah. Okay, listen...can you do something for me?"

"What?"

"The others won`t know I was in here unless I tell them. So this is our little secret, okay?"

Tess nodded. "Yeah. Sure. We can do that."

"So...have any jokes to tell me?"

"Nope."

"Okay. I`ll go ask Alex. He`ll have one with no doubt."

"...So these two surgeons are golfing, right?" Alex began. "And one of `em sees an owl sleeping in a tree a little ways away. So he says to the other guy, 'I`m such a good surgeon that I`ll remove that owl`s tonsils without waking him up.' The other one doesn`t think he can do it, so he bets him ten bucks. But he goes up into the tree and comes down a while later with what looks a lot like tonsils. The other surgeon doesn`t want to give up his ten bucks, so he says, 'I`ll remove that owl`s-' "

"Stop," Isabel said. "I asked the wrong person. I`m going to talk with the girls."

Alex laughed and turned to the other boys after she walked away. Max leaned in. "You know, that joke...how does it end?"

The three boys huddled in so Alex could say it quietly, and the girls started to watch them, now having to admit they were curious as to how it ends.

"I guess some things have to remain a mystery," Liz laughed, bringing Maria and Isabel`s attention back to the girl`s half of the room. "So, has anyone-"

The attic door opened. Twelve eyes snapped toward it to see Tess.

"What is it?" Michael asked.

"I`m going," Tess said, pointing a thumb back over her shoulder. "I just thought I should let you know that I`m going to go hide somewhere else."

With that she slowly turned around and left the doorway.

"No, wait-" Liz got up. Everyone`s surprise was obvious as their eyes followed her running out the door.

"Tess!" Liz chased after her to the next floor down and caught up to her in front of the next stairway. "Wait...stay."

"Stay?"

"Yeah, I don`t think you should go anymore I think you should be able to...stay."

"Why?"

"I guess I could say the reason is because you`re willing to leave. No. That`s a small part of it. You`ve changed, haven`t you?"

"I`d say so."

"God, Tess, I take it all back. It`s not too late. It`s never too late. You`re a wonderful person underneath this stupid destiny. It`s only that that messes everything up. It`s only because of that that we`ve been so confused. But now I think everything`s fine...really."

"If I`m allowed to stay here with you while we hide I`m going to take it as an acception of me into your group. Are you willing to do that?"

Liz hesitated, but she smiled as she said it. "Yes."

Valenti kept track of what was going on with Pierce until he found out he had been relieved from duty, obviously from failing miserably to keep four aliens in his hands when it had been so easy to get them. no one was assuming everything was absolutely over, but they knew they were safe for now, so they went back to their homes.

The sheriff helped them with their cover story as to why they had been gone for a week. They just made up your original got-lost-in-a-cave story which was easy to pull off in roswell, New Mexico. If they lived in California they would have been just that up to their chins in deep shit.

The problem was Tess. Nasedo had been shot. Everyone expected her to become a foster child eventually. No one expected what happened when Mrs.Evans found out about it.

"Why couldn`t we take her in for a while?" she asked Isabel and Max.

Max and Is exchanged a look. Isabel shrugged at him helplessly.

"I don`t see why not," Max said. "If she accepts the offer."

The conversation he had with her about it was uncomfortable. It was full of "Wells" and "Uhs" and "Ohs" and "Hmmms" but most of all, "Oh craaaaps." in the end Max blew it out that Tess knew how weird it would be for the two of them to live together, playing foster sibling when they knew they were really supposed to be. but Tess said, "Max, we`re past that. I swear you`ll never hear from me about it again."

It was only until they found someone else to take her in. So they agreed to take her.

Once Tess had been with them for a couple days, things were pretty much mellowed out and normal again.

"I still can`t believe that girl," Maria said to Liz as they both stared at the three Evans adoptees in a booth in the Crashdown. Isabel was saying something, and they watched as Tess added something that made them all laugh. Not Tess. Not the Tess she had been a week ago.

"Neither can I," Liz said. "But I`m assuming it`ll just be easier for me if I don`t try and figure things out. Especially now. Max just got out from the white hell. We just got through them all finding out their past. And not until three days ago had I been wearing clothes I had put on that very morning."

"Oh, I hear you," Maria moaned. "Well, coffee drinker calls in section Maria. Here I go to feed the world."

Liz laughed. "See you around, Wonder Waitress."

Liz watched the three of them. There was probably stuff to do in the cafe, but the thought just didn`t cross her mind. She tore her stare away from their lively conversation to refill someone`s diet cherry coke. When she watched them again Kyle was suddenly by their booth, talking to Tess.

Oh. They`re bio partners, Liz remembered. He`s probably giving her one of the thousands of assignments she`s missed lately.

Then why is he laughing at something she said? Then why is she giving him THAT smile while she unsavoringly pours on the hot sauce onto her salad?

Maria was just then brushing past Liz with a pitcher of coffee. Liz grabbed her elbow to stop her. "Do you see what I see?"

"Woah, you almost made me drop the...oh. That."

They looked at the two of them for a few seconds.