"Oh my Lord. Oh my Lord." The pretty blonde-haired girl sitting next to Adam began to repeat under her breath. She was taking deep breaths in and out but nothing was working."Adam, I can't do this." She said, looking over to her bio lab partner with a green tint to her face.

Adam-Michael chuckled softly. "Lauren, don't worry. You can record everything. I'll do the messy stuff. You don't even have to look if you don't want to." He said, smiling at her.

Lauren smiled back at him. "Really? You don't mind?"

"Of course not. My parents are doctors. I guess I get it from them. You know, the strong stomach thing." Adam-Michael said, picking up a scalpel and taking a deep breath. "OK, here I go. Now the manual says to make an incision from here....to here..." Adam said, calmly slicing open the specimen.

"Oh, my Lord. That is so gross." Lauren said, shutting her eyes tight but opening them again with realization. "Oh, I remember! I remember what this reminds me of now..."

"What could this possibly remind you of? "Adam-Michael asked her, laughing.

Lauren smiled. "No, I'm serious! This reminds me of that 'Alien Autopsy' show my Dad and I watched when I was little...you know, where they take the big knife and slice the alien into little bits...it was so hilarious!"

Adam-Michael's face went sheet white as he imagined one of his own relatives lying on the table in front of him, just like on the show Lauren and the Sheriff had seen. While he was lost in thought, he dropped the scalpel on the floor, causing Lauren to look up from her lab report in alarm.

"Adam! Are you OK?" Lauren asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. I mean, no, no, I'm not. I need to get...some air...excuse me." Adam said, running from his chair and out of the classroom.

"Mr. Evans! Mr. Evans, where are you going? You need a hall pass, young man!" The teacher said with warning. He walked back towards Adam-Michael and Lauren's lab table and leaned over it, facing Lauren. "Miss Valenti, what happened to him?"

"I don't know, Mr. Jackson, I mean he was fine one minute, then we were talking and the next thing I know, he dropped the scalpel and he ran out." Lauren replied.

"So, I guess he couldn't take it, huh?" Mr. Jackson replied, chuckling. "Looks like you're the one who's going to have to do it."

"What!" Lauren asked with horror.

* * * * *

Adam-Michael finally made it to the bathroom and managed to splash some water on his face, trying to get the image of the Alien Autopsy out of his mind.

"Get a hold of yourself." Adam whispered, surprised to hear not only the sound of his voice echoing, but also another very different, very familiar whisper adding to the chorus. He turned around with alarm. "Hello?" He asked.

No response.

"Jeez, I'm losing it!" Adam cried, turning back to the mirror and looking himself in the face once more.

But the whisper continued, creeping through the room like hot molten lava, spreading to every inch of the room's cinder block walls, making no place safe or silent. Adam-Michael craned his ear towards the window, where the sound seemed to be coming from. As he moved closer to it, he could finally make out the words.

"Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top, when the wind blows, the cradle will rock... when the bow breaks, the cradle will fall...and down will come Adam, cradle and all..." The icy but somewhat comforting voice seemed to call to him, beckoning him to the window. Adam recognized the voice immediately.

"Tess?" He whispered.

"Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top..." The singing continued.

"Tess, is that you?" Adam-Michael said frantically, his voice rising with urgency.

"Turn around..." The voice whispered. Adam-Michael turned around so he was looking in the mirror once more. He jumped backwards a good ten feet when he saw the image before him.

It was his mother, Tess. She was blowing him a kiss.

Adam's eyes watered with hot tears. "Mother?" He asked. "What..."

"Shhh." The image said, holding a finger to her lips. "Soon, Adam-Michael. Soon."

"What? What? Soon?" Adam asked, spinning around frantically, his voice getting louder with each word. "Mother!"

And with that, the image of Tess, as well as the singing, was gone.

And Adam-Michael was once again left alone, trying to sort together the pieces of his heart.

* * * * *

"Mom, you really are the greatest. I am SO sorry the sitter cancelled." Liz said, running into the Crashdown, her purse in tow. She met her Mother, Nancy, at the counter with a hug and a kiss.

"Sweetie, don't mention it. They are wonderful babies. They ate and slept most of the day.." Nancy said, taking her daughter's hand and leading her to the upstairs apartment she still shared with Liz's father, Jeff. "They woke up and were fussy for a while, so we played with some toys and I sang to them. That seemed to calm them down."

"Did they tag team you at all?"

Nancy laughed. "Tag team? Heaven's no. When one was up, the other was up, when one was asleep, the other was too."

Liz sighed with relief. "Good. I'm glad they weren't little monsters. I want to make sure I can call you if this ever happens again..."

"Lizzie, you know you can call me anytime. There are plenty of waitresses and cooks downstairs who handle things. I'm mostly up here by myself all day. It's nice to have some company every once in a while. Even if they can't talk." Nancy said, smiling. They walked into Liz's old room where they had the playpen set up. Matty and Dylan were out like lights. Liz felt a rush of emotion as she saw her babies lying there so peacefully. She sighed.

"They really are so cute when they're sleeping." Liz said, smiling.

"And when they're awake. They're so handsome, Lizzie. They're going to be real heartbreakers one day." Nancy chimed in.

"Like their father." Liz said, smiling. Nancy nodded in agreement.

"So how was work today?" Nancy asked, smiling. "Did you deliver any babies?"

"Two...well really three. One was...stillborn." Liz said, hanging her head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Nancy said, putting her arm around her daughter.

"Yeah, this is the third time I've delivered a stillborn baby. It doesn't get any easier." Liz's voice dropped to a whisper. "It makes me so thankful for the precious gifts I've been given." She leaned her head down into the playpen and kissed each of her sons on their soft rosy cheeks. Matty and Dylan stirred simultaneously, their soft whimpers turning in to loud cries for their Mom. Liz smiled, picking up Matty as Nancy picked up Dylan.

"Awww. Sweetie, don't cry. Your Mama's here now. Yes, she's going to take you home and see your Daddy, and your sister and your brother..." Nancy whispered in Dylan's ear. He continued to cry.

"I think they're hungry. That's definitely a hungry cry." Liz said. "Are there anymore of the bottles I gave you?"

"You can check in the fridge. I think there are two left." Nancy said as they headed downstairs into the kitchen, grabbing the last two bottles and putting them in the microwave. Liz took them out and tested them on her wrist to make sure they weren't too hot. She then handed one to her mother so she could feed Dylan. They returned back upstairs and sat in the living room, feeding the babies.

"I should probably get home soon. Jordana will be coming home from school soon and I'd like to be there for her to make her a snack."

Nancy smiled, noticing Liz's furrowed brow at the mention of her granddaughter. "Lizzie. You're not neglecting her."

"What?" Liz asked, confused. "No, I mean. Well, I am kind of worried...that I'm not spending enough time with her. And it breaks my heart. I mean, she's my baby. She's my first."

Nancy smiled. "I understand."

"And I don't love her any less than any of them. It's just been hard for her, you know?"

"She's not the baby anymore." Nancy piped in.

"Yeah." Liz said, nodding her head. "She's having a hard time getting used to the fact that there are little people in the house that need Mom's attention too."

"She'll come around. It's only been two months."

"Still. I think I might take her to the Santa Fe Zoo on Saturday or something. I'm not on call, and she loves the Zoo. She wants to be a Vet."

"Oh, really? That's wonderful." Nancy said, rocking Dylan as he ate.

"Yeah, Max can stay home and take care of the boys. I'm sure he won't mind."

Nancy smiled. "Some male bonding time."

"Yeah." Liz said, smiling. "He really loves spending time with the boys. He missed out on so much with Adam-Michael. He missed the first five years of his life. So this is all so fun for him, with his little boys."

"Max seems to be a wonderful husband and father." Nancy said.

"He really is."

"Where ever did you find him?" Her mother asked, a wide smile spreading across her face.

"Oh, he kind of...fell out of the sky..." Liz said, smiling. Nancy smiled back at her.

* * * * *

Liz unlocked the door to her home, pushing the double baby stroller through the doorway and into the house. There was something that seemed different about the place. Liz picked up the babies and took them into the kitchen, where she found Adam-Michael's car keys and bookbag lying on the table. He wasn't supposed to be home until after Jordana.

"Adam-Michael!" Liz cried. "Honey, are you OK?"

There was no answer. Liz held the babies close to her as she walked down the hallway into Adam's room, knocking on the door before entering. She gasped at what she found. "Adam!" She cried, running towards him. He was kneeling in the corner, a blanket wrapped around himself, his face dripping in sweat, his knees hugged tightly to his body, rocking slowly back and forth. "Adam! Adam, what's wrong?"

Adam continued to whisper. "Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top..." He sang the children's rhyme over and over to himself as his body swayed back and forth.

"Adam, what happened? Please, tell me! "Liz cried. "Was it Tess? Please! Tell me!"

Adam-Michael looked into Liz's eyes, and Liz felt a shiver go up and down her spine. She swore she could feel Tess Harding's icy stare pouring into her. This made her draw her hand back quickly from her son.

"Soon." Adam-Michael managed to choke out through tears. "Soon, she said soon. Soon, Mom."

Liz reeled, finally letting her tears of terror and anger flow freely from her eyes. "No. This can't be happening."

Adam-Michael let out a shrill cry that scared Liz to death. He sounded like a wounded animal. He looked into her eyes as Matthew and Dylan began screaming in Liz's arms. "Mom. I'm sorry." He whispered. "I don't know what came over me..."

"Adam, honey..." Liz said, gently lying the babies on Adam's bed so she could hug her oldest son. "It's OK. What happened to you?"

"I can't...I don't want to..." He began, shaking his head as tears began forming in his brown eyes.

Liz nodded her head. "It's OK, it's all right. We can talk about it later. When Dad comes home, we'll all sit down and talk about this."

"I don't...want to worry him. It could be nothing."

"But it could be something. We're dealing with an alien here."

Adam-Michael paused. "I'm an alien, too, Mom."

Liz sighed, knowing she'd made a really stupid comment. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean it like that. I mean, we don't know about your life cycles... I mean, what if you can...I don't know..."

"Come back from the dead?" Adam-Michael asked with a twinge of skepticism in his voice.

"Yeah." Liz said quietly.

"I hope not." Adam-Michael said. "I mean, Tess is my real mother. And a part of my heart will always be with her. But after what she did to you, Dad, Jordana, everyone... I won't let her do it to you again."

Liz put her arms around his waist. He was at least eight inches taller than her and he towered over her. "I know sweetie. We're not going to let anything happen to any of you. Your Dad and I would rather die than see harm come to any of you."

"Thanks, Mom. But hopefully we won't have to worry about that." Adam-Michael said. "Maybe I'm just imagining all this."

"Still, we don't know what she's capable of. Remember, Nasedo is still out there. For all we know, he could have taken those healing stones and restored her body back to life..." Liz added.

Adam-Michael looked at her, puzzled. "Healing stones?"

"Yeah. They're these stones that this Indian named River Dog gave to us: me, your Dad, Aunt Isabel, Uncle Alex, Michael, and Maria when we were in high school. See, Michael got really sick, and he almost died. We used those stones and chanted. We brought him back to life." Adam-Michael nodded, turning to the bed and picking up a squirming Dylan. Liz picked up Matty and held him close to her, smelling his sweet baby smell.

"I missed these little guys. Hey buddies! How's life treatin' ya?" Adam asked Dylan, rocking him back and forth in his arms. Dylan only responded with a yawn. Adam and Liz laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty beat too." He wiped the leftover tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Do you want to come out into the kitchen with me? Jordana's coming home soon and I wanted to make her a snack." Liz said.

"Sure." Adam-Michael said, following his Mom down the hallway from his room into the kitchen. He rocked Dylan in his arms as his barefeet relished the cool kitchen floor. "Hey, Isn't Zach's birthday today?"

"Yeah. Aunt Isabel and Uncle Alex invited us all over for dinner. Do you want to go?" Liz asked him as she began pulling out items from the refridgerator to make Jordana's after-school snack.

Adam-Michael paused and nodded his head. "Sure. That sounds cool. I haven't seen everyone in a while."

"Yeah, it will be good for you. Help take your mind off things." Liz said, placing Matty in a carrier that was set up on the kitchen counter so she could watch him while she was cutting up celery.

Adam-Michael nodded and sighed. "I hope so."

"So how was school?" Liz asked.

"Mortifying."

"What happened?"

"Well we were dissecting this frog today in biology class.... and Lauren Valenti is my lab partner...."

"Kyle's daughter? That's so cool!" Liz said, smiling as she cut up celery and spread peanut butter on top of the slices.

"Yeah, and she's the most beautiful girl at West Roswell..." Adam-Michael said, smiling. Liz smiled. "Anyway, I was doing the cutting cause she was really grossed out by the whole thing. And she mentioned something about that 'Alien Autopsy' show a while back and I lost it."

Liz nodded. "Understandable."

"Yeah, to you, but not to her! I dropped the scalpel and ran out of the room." Adam-Michael said, grimacing.

"Aww, honey, I'm sure she's forgotten all about it." Liz said. "So...you and Lauren are friends?"

"Yeah, *just* friends."

"Ever thought about asking her out?"

"Mom..." Adam-Michael said, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Liz said, giggling. "OK, I won't pry anymore. But you *do* know that before your Dad and I started dating, I dated Lauren's Dad for a while..."

"No way!" Adam said, smiling.

"Yup." Liz said, grinning. "He was a big jock, which I didn't like too much. But he was a great kisser."

"Mom. I don't need all the details." Adam-Michael said, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry. Again." Liz said, grinning as she finished Jordana's snack.

The door swung open and slammed loudly as Jordana Isabel Parker Evans bounded into the house. "Mom! I'm home!"

"We're in the kitchen, honey!" Liz cried. Jordana walked in with her bookbag slung over her shoulder and smiled.

"Wow, looks like a party in here! What are you doing home, Adam?" Jordana asked as she threw her bookbag on the kitchen table and walked towards her brother, giving him a hug. Adam kissed her on the top of her head. Jordana kissed Dylan's soft brown hair.

"Oh, I wasn't feeling well at school, so I got an early release." Adam-Michael explained. Jordana nodded and headed over to Liz, giving her a big hug. Liz kissed her on the cheek and handed her a celery stick with peanut butter and raisins sprinkled on top.

"Here, I made your favorite." Liz said, putting her hand on the side of Jordana's face. She really was exquisite. Deep brown eyes, long chestnut brown hair, round face, soft pink lips, rosy cheeks.

"Thanks, Mom." Jordana said, smiling and taking a bite of celery. "Hi, Matty! Hello, baby baby baby!" Jordana said, playing with Matty's foot. Matty responded by wiggling his arms and feet slowly and smiling.

Liz and Adam-Michael looked at each other and silently agreed that Jordana couldn't know about the Tess situation. Not until they knew for sure what was really going on. They weren't completely sure if Tess had started invading Jordana's subconsious as well, but they knew it was only a matter of time.

"Hey, are we still going to Aunt Isabel's and Uncle Alex's tonight?" Jordana asked her Mom as she chomped on the celery sticks.

"Yep. Your Dad's getting off work at 7, so he's going to meet us there." Liz said as she nibbled on one of the celery sticks she'd made for her daughter.

"Cool. Michaela got the new 'Hot Boys' CD and I can't wait to hear it." Jordana said, smiling with glee.

"ICK!" Adam-Michael cried. "Boy bands are so lame."

"Shut up." Jordana said. "They happen to write all their own music."

"Yeah, that's why the songs SUCK!" Adam cried, giggling. Jordana stuck her tongue out at him and playfully punched his arm.

"Well it's better than that stuff you listen to. You can't even understand the words!" Jordana cried, munching.

"Hey, I happen to LIKE it that way!' Adam-Michael said, smiling. "So there."