"Honey, how's your head?" Alex reached across the aisle and gently squeezed his wife's forearm. She looked up at him and grimaced, pulling her arm more tightly around her son, who was sleeping beside her.

"Oh, it feels a little better..." Tess began quietly, squeezing her eyes shut.

"But...?" Alex prodded.

"I still feel like something's happening... something really terrible." She whispered, not wanting her children to hear.

"Honey, we'll be off this plane in like fifteen minutes. You'll see Max, and everything will be fine, okay?" Alex said firmly. He couldn't help but feel jealous at the connection Max Evans and his wife still shared. Tess could tell her husband was annoyed and gave him a quick smooch before the flight attendant came bounding down between them in the aisle.

"You must be excited to be seeing Liz for the first time in years." Tess added, turning her head to look at the precious sleeping little boy Alex had given her.

She was in love with her husband. Nothing had changed. She was fine.

"I can't wait to see her. I bet she looks exactly the same..." Alex smiled.

Tess gave a small smile. "That's wild that we ended up with two teachers in the bunch..."

"Yeah, two teachers, a PR rep for Disney, a doctor, an artist, a sheriff, a fashion designer, and a model. We have the bases pretty much covered, huh?" Alex smiled. Tess nodded in agreement and nudged a sleeping Teagan.

"Mommy, are we there?" He asked with a yawn. She kissed the top of his head full of black hair.

"Yes, sweetie. We're here. We're going to see Uncle Max and we're going to meet a very special friend of your Daddy's." She said sweetly as she leaned over to push some fallen items back into his knapsack and pulled it up onto her lap.

"Dad, can we get something to eat when we get on the ground? I'm starving." Angelique whined. Alex nodded.

"Of course, Angel. I'm a bit hungry myself." Alex began and he and his daughter laughed as they heard his stomach begin to rumble. Their conversation got softer and softer to Tess, who was staring out of the window and not paying attention much.

Relax Tess. She's a different person now. She can't hurt you anymore. The little voice in Tess's head continued to comfort her.

"Of course she can." She said outloud quietly. Alex looked at her with confusion.

"Of course she can...what?" Alex startled her. She looked back at him, flustered and confused.

"Nothing, nothing..." Tess said. "I'm just tired." Alex looked at her with worry. Could seeing Max and Liz together again really be effecting her that badly?

God, he hoped not.

* * * *

*Alex! I'm going to see Alex soon!* Liz thought, trying to calm herself down at the thought of coming face to face with Tess again after all these years. Max sat next to her in a chair at the gate and squeezed her hand.

"Liz. You okay?" He asked her quietly.

"Y-yeah. Just thinking about the labs I have to grade when we get home..." She managed to make up some excuse. Max sighed and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I know you're worried, about... seeing her again." His voice trailed off. "She's a completely different person now. You'll see. She and I-- it never happened. And it will never happen, she's married now and she's a mother, and I--" Max began, trying to find the words to defend the woman who had become a close friend of his.

"You have me." She breathed out, closing her eyes as the nervous tears began to fall. She didn't even notice when he lowered his warm lips to her cheek.

"Thank you." He added, his warm breath tickling her ear.

"For what?" She asked, strangled.

"For saying that." He sighed as they looked up at the podium by the gate door. The employee was moving towards the door and propping it open. The plane was rolling in. Max pulled Liz to her feet and they walked towards the door hand in hand as they breathlessly waited for all the people to mill through the door. It didn't take long until Max began smiling as the three-year-old spitting image of Alex Whitman came charging towards him, running into his arms and smiling.

"UNCLE MAX!" Teagan cried as Max scooped down to pick him up in his arms. Liz looked at them in awe. She wasn't sure what she was more fascinated by- Teagan's striking resemblance to his father or seeing how Max interacted so wonderfully with this little boy.

An older looking blonde girl soon followed into the hug with Max and Teagan. *Angelique.* Liz deduced. The tight curls gave her away. Liz looked up slowly as she saw Alex and Tess finally. Each was carrying a large carry-on bag and she saw Alex's face light up as it met her own.

"Liz!" Alex cried as he flung his arms around his old friend. "Jeez, girl, you didn't write, you didn't call... we thought you'd dropped off the face of the earth." Tess hit his arm softly, giving him a warning look. Liz looked pained and Alex quickly thought of a save. "But, it's so great to see you, Liz. I've missed you so much." He squeezed her more tightly and Tess looked down at her feet. Max sat Teagan down on the ground and walked closer to Tess, hugging her close to him.

"It's good to see you." Max said, smiling in her hair.

"You too, Max. Are you alright? I was just so worried." She looked at him frantically as they pulled back from their embrace. She searched his face with her hands, looking for any sign of injury. Alex and Liz noticed this connection and turned their attention to them.

"See, honey, I told you--- he's fine." Alex said firmly. Tess nodded quietly, dropping her arms and moving away from Max.

"I just thought---"

"Tess, it's okay. We're glad you guys could come up. I know you guys have a lot of catching up to do." Max said, smiling and motioning to Tess, Alex, and Liz. Liz looked at Tess and smiled uncomfortably. Angelique walked over to her Mom and hugged her.

"Teagan, Angelique... this is a good friend of Uncle Max's. She's my old friend too. Her name is Liz. Liz, these are my kids, Teagan and Angelique." Alex said, smiling. Liz leaned over to be at eye level to Teagan.

"Hi, Teagan. It's nice to meet you. You look so much like your Daddy." The little boy smiled shyly at the stranger and Liz looked closely at Angelique, who was the spitting image of Tess. She waved at her and the girl barely managed a smile. "Hi Angelique. It's nice to meet you, too. It's good to see you--- Tess." Liz said quietly with a small smile. Tess returned the small smile and nodded.

"Yes, Liz. It's been a long time." She said firmly. They stared at each other for a moment and Alex and Max exchanged a concerned look. Angelique studied the look between her mother and the strange woman and decided to change the subject.

"Dad, I'm hungry. You promised we'd get food when we landed." She pleaded, walking towards Alex and tugging at his jacket.

"I'm hungry, too, Mommy." Teagan said, squeezing his Mom's hand. Tess looked from Liz's face over to Max's and back down to her little boy's and smiled.

"OK, sweetie. Let's get some food. If that's okay with Uncle Max." Tess replied.

"Of course it is, Tess." He said quickly, ushering them towards the food court nearby. With the Whitman family and their bags in tow, Max grabbed Liz's hand and lead them over to the dining area. Alex looked painfully at his wife's shocked look when noticing the romantic gesture between Liz and Max. He lowered his head and continued walking with Angelique in tow.

"So," Max said, turning around to face them as they walked. "How long can you guys stay?"

Tess spoke up first. "Well, the kids have spring break right now which means Alex does too. I can take off work pretty much whenever I need to, especially since I told them it was a family emergency."

"Oh. Where are you guys staying?" Liz asked, trying to continue the polite dialogue with Tess. Max squeezed his hand and smiled down at her effort to be civil to the girl for which she once had bad feelings.

"We're staying at the Plaza downtown. We've got it booked for five nights." Tess said firmly, looking up at Alex who was staring in the other direction pensively.

"Hotel room, Mommy?" Teagan asked, his ears perking up with excitement.

"Yes, baby. We're staying at a hotel. Uncle Max needs his privacy." Tess said quietly, looking down at his son and then back at Liz, who's hand was still joined with Max's.

"How come *she* gets to stay with Uncle Max and we don't?" Angelique asked pointedly, motioning towards Liz.

"Angelique Theresa Whitman! That is none of your business! Apologize to Liz right now." Alex said firmly. Tess's face went sheet white at her daughter's indiscretion. Was Liz really staying with Max? How did Angelique know that?

"I'm sorry." She murmed quietly, not looking at Liz. Max and Liz blushed furiously but Liz quickly spoke up.

"It's okay, Alex, really it is. She didn't know." Liz said quietly, looking down at she and Max's joined hands.

"Hey kids, you want pizza? Tacos? I think there's a sandwich place--" Max tried to change the subject but was interrupted by a side comment from Tess.

"--But Max, Alex and I didn't know either." Tess said, looking at Max curiously. Max and Liz looked down at Angelique, who was eyeing Liz with intensity.

"Well, isn't that funny? Angel must be psychic!" Alex chuckled uncomfortably, smiling and patting his wife's back. "Teagan, what do you want to eat, son?"

"Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" Teagan chanted. Angelique turned up her nose at the idea. She tugged her dad's jacket as she continued to stare coldly at Liz.

"Dad, I changed my mind. I'm not that hungry. I'm tired." She said to him as she looked at Liz.

"OK, baby, well you can take a nap when you get to the hotel." Alex said, running his hand through her blonde curls. She nodded quietly.

"Are you sure you're not hungry, Angelique? It was a long flight." Tess piped in as they made their way over to the pizza place.

"I'm sure, Mom." She said firmly. "I just want to go to the hotel." Max looked down at Liz, who looked like she was going to cry. He linked his arm with her own and she rested her chin on his shoulder. Angelique continued to glare at them as Alex and Tess busied themselves with ordering food for Teagan to eat.

"Max." Liz whispered. "I think I'm just going to sit down at that table over there. I'm not feeling too well all of the sudden." She motioned to a table nearby. Max looked down at her, concerned.

"Are you okay?" Max asked her as she broke away from him to slump down at the table.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine. It's just been a long day. The lecture was really complex this morning and I had three lab sections this afternoon. I'm just drained."

Liz replied.

"Okay, sweetie." He said quietly, turning back to Alex, Tess, and their kids. "Hey, Teagan, when we get back to my house, do you want to play that computer game I showed you last time?"

"Is that the jungle one? I didn't like that one, Uncle Max." Teagan said, wrinkling this nose.

Max laughed at the serious tone in Teagan's voice. "Okay, buddy, what do you want to play?"

"Anything but that, Uncle Max." Teagan replied as Alex handed him a Sprite to drink. Max laughed again and Liz watched him intently. He was so easy with Teagan. She smiled knowing that he would make a great father one day. How nice that would be...

"Liz?" Max asked, walking over to the table after a few moments and touching her elbow.

"Wh-what?" She asked, shaking her head lightly.

"You ready to go?"

Liz nodded as he took her hand. Tess tried not to look at how easy the couple was with each other, only having been back in each other's lives for a few weeks. Alex grabbed his wife's hand and she gave him a small smile.

"Mom, I think the parking lot is this way." Angelique said, pointing to a nearby sign, trying to distract her mother. Tess nodded and smiled as she took her daughter's hand and Teagan munched on his small slice of pizza wrapped in tin foil.

* * * *

Simon pulled a black box out from under his bed and searched frantically through it's contents, finally pulling out a small black-and-white photo buried deep at the bottom of the pile. He fingered the curves of the image gently, taking in the subject's creamy skin, huge eyes, full lips, and luscious long blonde hair. He snuggled back into his pillows, holding the picture out in front of him and concentrating.

"Let me in, you beautiful creature, you." He muttered before he shut his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

* * * *

Isabel was floating inside a cave. In the darkness, she could see the gentle, peaceful glow of the pod chamber- the sacs that housed she, her brother, her son's father, and her friend Tess before they were born. She could feel her body moving forward, trying to reach out and touch it, but just as her fingers grazed the soft coating of the sacs, she was jerked away and fell to the cold floor, knocking her out cold. Isabel saw a bright light, followed by darkness-- then she was overwhelmed by fear.

"Max!" She cried out, searching through the darkness, trying to find her beloved brother. "Max, where are you?" Suddenly, she felt two strong hands on her shoulders, caressing the sides of her arms. "Max?" She whispered, the darkness cloaking the identity of the person. "Max, is that you?"

"Zan is dead," The man whispered in her ear, his hot breath stinging her skin. "And soon you will be too, Vilandra."

"What are you talking about?" Isabel screamed, trying to wiggle away from his grasp. "Who are you talking about? My name is Isabel. Max is not dead!" She screamed.

"He will be soon. There's nothing you can do about it Vilandra." The intruder said quietly, calmly, pushing a strand of silky blonde hair behind her ear.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT! Who are you? Leave me alone!" Isabel cried, raising her hand to him and trying to use her powers to free herself. She screamed when she realized that her powers were rendered useless in this world.

"Oh, Vilandra, don't cry--- it will be quick--- and soon. I promise." He planted a kiss on her forehead.

Isabel woke up in a cold sweat, screaming. "NO! Oh, God, NO! Max!" It took her a moment to realize her surroundings, but soon she realized she was in her own bed, in her apartment. Her baby boy was sleeping soundly in the next room.

"Mommy..." Seth Michael Guerin's voice echoed into the hallway. "Mommy... Uncle Max? Uncle Max hurt?" She could hear his whimpering as she threw back the covers and ran down the hallway into his room. She flipped on the soft lamp next to his bed and pulled him into her arms.

"It's okay, sweetie. Mommy just had a bad dream about Uncle Max again. It was a dream, it wasn't real." Isabel tried to reassure herself as well as her son.

Seth's lower lip quivered. "I had bad dream, too, Mommy. Uncle Max hurt. I scared, Mommy." He began crying into her shoulder as Isabel soothed his sandy brown hair.

"Look at me, sweetie. Uncle Max was in danger in your dream, too?" She asked him firmly. He nodded slightly and hugged his stuffed animal--- the one named Max--- closer to him. "Baby, would you want to get on a plane and go see your Uncle Max?" Seth nodded quickly, his face brightening. Isabel hugged him tightly and kissed his head. "Okay, baby. I'm going to call your Daddy now. We'll go tomorrow. You, me, and your Daddy. Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" Seth cried, bouncing up and down, causing the bed to shake slightly. Isabel smiled at his enthusiasm.

Seth was the only one of the children that was full-blooded alien, and his communication abilities were already very strong. If he had a bad dream about Max, Isabel knew something was very wrong. Max was in danger--- and they had to help him. She kissed her son's head and tucked him back into the covers before switching off the lamp and returning to her room. She picked up the cordless phone next to her bed and dialed the number she knew by heart.