"He would, wouldn't he?" Maria smiled and pulled the petite bundle wrapped in a pink blanket closer to her chest.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Liz announced jumping to her feet. She reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a pair of pink booties. "Mom made them for her," she said holding them in the air for Maria to see.

"Awwwwww. Liz they are beautiful" Maira couldn't hold back her tears as she saw the little baby boots. This pregnancy thing was really an emotional roller coaster. She hugged Liz really tight and both girls started laughing. Maria said, "I think it will be a while before she can wear them though."

"I know," Liz laughed, too. "I guess since it's been two decades...you know, she kinda forgot how little babies can actually be."

"It's very nice, though. Your mom has always had an amazing talent. You remember the Halloween costumes she made us in the 3rd grade?" Both girls laughed remembering all the smiles they got when they walked the school hallways dress as green metallic aliens with blinking antennaes. Maria missed the times she and Liz spent together. Though Alex had been with her through every step of the pregnancy, she missed the girl-to-girl companionship that she'd always had with Liz. Two-hour phone calls between states simply don't hold a candle to emergency meetings in the infamous eraser room or balcony basking in the moonlight on lawn chairs.

On more than one occasion, Maria had begged Liz to move out to California. For a while Liz had no real excuse. She told Maria and tried to convince herself that she had to stay for her mom, or because of the Crashdown, or because the plants would die is she weren't there to water them. The excuses became less believable each time she forged one. Maria began to feel certain Liz was hanging on to Roswell in hopes that Max would come back looking for her there.

Then, Liz met Jackson. From that point forward, Jackson became Liz's excuse for staying in Roswell. Maria found trusting Jackson to be a difficult task. She couldn't quite place her finger on her suspicions, but something about him spooked her. She felt uneasy in his presence. When he and Liz visited Los Angeles last month, Maria noticed a difference in Liz. The strangest thing about the difference was that it only came out around Jackson. When Maria and Liz were along, she found the old Liz she knew and loved. But when Jackson came in the room, Liz became a completely different person.

"Maria, did you notice her arm?" Alex had asked when the couple left their Los Angeles apartment to return to Roswell. Maria never noticed what Alex saw...a strangely shaped bruise on her right arm near her shoulder.

"Liz, Hun, take off your coat. Stay a while," Maria joked as her friend placed the pink booties on the nightstand.

"I'm comfy, really," Liz lied. She feared the mark on her wrist might not have yet faded. She desperately wanted to confide in her friend, but Liz did not want Maria to get the wrong idea about Jackson.

"Liz, it's 90 degrees outside...and you're wearing a leather jacket," Maria tried to reason.

"It's always cold in hospitals. Hey...um, do you need anything. I mean, do you want something from the cafeteria...besides the yummy grub I'm sure they bring to your room?" Liz asked tactually changing the subject.

"Sure," Maria said accepting defeat...this time. "I'd love a Coke. No, a Cherry Coke...with one of those curly straws?"

"I'll try," Liz said as she left Maria's room.

"I think we may have a problem," Maria said to Hope.