Maria finally tore her eyes away; "I'll be right there."

Tess observed that Maria placed her hands firmly on the dresser, "Are you okay?" Tess wondered if Maria was having one of those premonition feelings.

"I'm just trying to find the strength," Maria answered honestly. "This is the first funeral I've ever been to, and to be honest I don't really want to go."

Tess pulled Maria away from the mirror, so she could face her, "It's going to be a way to say good-bye, and that's what you need to do…you need to say good-bye."

Maria's eyes stung with tears, "It's just too hard."

Tess gave her sister a quick hug, "For your own sake Maria, you have to."

Maria had a lot of hard things in her life and she always managed to get through them. Saying good-bye to Alex, her best friend, her brother, was probably one of the hardest things she would ever have to do. Maria was so thankful for Michael's support, because he kept her from losing her mind. However, saying good-bye to Alex was something he could not help her with, because it was something she had to do alone. Maria felt a special connection with Alex through music, and she was able to sing around him because she felt that he could understand her.

That is why she sang for Alex, she followed the casket carried by Kyle, Max, Michael, and a few other pallbearers. Although her grief and sadness kept her from singing her best, she could still see Alex telling her she had a beautiful voice. Alex was the one that could hear her inner music, and that was why she sang.

Maria kept on singing even though the looks of grief on her friends' faces tore at her heart. "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me," she sang as Isabel fell to her knees at Alex's casket. This only made Maria sing louder, "I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see." Maria placed a red rose on the casket as she silently said with tears running down her cheeks, "Good-bye Alex, I love you and I will never forget you." * * * "What about the chicken?" Tess asked Michael when they were at the buffet in Alex's house.

"Maria hates barbecue," Michael reminded. "There's gotta be something here she'll eat."

"How about the potato salad, at least it has vegetables in it," Tess pointed to the bowl.

Michael scooped some onto a plate for Maria, "Well she has to eat something."

"You're really close to Maria," Tess stated.

Michael didn't know if that was a statement or a question, "Yeah, but so are you."

Tess looked away, "Not as close as we once were. We've both changed since we arrived in Roswell."

"Well you still mean the world to Maria, even though she may not show it all the time," Michael told her honestly.

Tess stared straight into his eyes; "She means the world to me too."

"I should go give Maria her food," Michael walked away from Tess and sat with Maria on the couch. "I brought you some potato salad."

"Thanks," Maria took the plate from him, but then set it down on the coffee table. "I'm really not hungry…sorry."

Michael put his arm around her; "It's okay."

"Maybe a little later," Maria reassured him. Liz approached them looking frantic, "Liz what's wrong?"

"I'm calling a meeting," Liz's eyes darted widely looking for signs of their friends. "Meet me in Alex's room. I'm going to tell the others."

"What's got into Liz?" Michael asked in wonder.

Maria felt very concerned for her friend, "I don't know, I guess we should go find out." Isabel was already there with Kyle when Maria and Michael entered. She briefly paused at the doorway acknowledging all the memories of Alex strumming his guitar in that very room. She sat with Michael on the window seat while they waited for Liz, Max and Tess.

"What's up Liz?" Kyle asked once they were all assembled in Alex's room.

Liz stood in front of them with a serious look on her face, "Everything I'm about to say is gonna come as a shock to most of you, but something happened. And you need to know what's going on." Liz took a deep breath, because what she was about to say was going to upset them. "Valenti and Hanson are about to declare Alex's death a suicide."

"What?" Isabel was taken aback.

"No, it's not true, okay?" Liz seemed positive. "It's not true."

Maria was in a state of shock, "How could they say that? Of course it's not true."

"Well," Max spoke up. "I'm not so sure."

"What? Max, come on. We talked about this you said," Liz felt a stab of betrayal.

Max looked a little guilty, "I know, but I've read the file Valenti showed."

Liz retorted sarcastically, "Oh Valenti showed you the file."

"I don't believe it either, but I saw. The evidence is pretty convincing," Max couldn't look Liz in the eye.

Michael chimed in; "I can't believe its suicide."

"It wasn't a suicide and I can prove it," Liz grabbed a pair of tickets from Alex's desk. "Five minutes ago I found these here, in Alex's room. They are concert tickets to Beth Orton. Alex bought them on the day he died probably for him and Isabel. The concert is tonight." She received some blank stares from her friends. "Don't you get it? You don't buy concert tickets on the day you kill yourself. You don't make plans for the future when you are not planning on having a future."

Maria was with Alex that afternoon and he seemed perfectly normal, "She's right, there's no way. There's no way."

"I don't know. You know a couple of concert tickets?" Tess wasn't buying Liz's story. "It's pretty slim evidence."

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about, okay?" Maria snapped at her sister. It came out a little harsher than she intended, but Tess didn't know Alex like she did. Tess looked at her with wide eyes, because Maria never yelled at her. Maria immediately regretted yelling, but she didn't regret what she said.

"Hey, hey. There's nothing to gain with this argument one way or another," Michael jumped in to prevent further arguing between Tess and Maria. "We know Alex. We know what kind of guy he is, and we know he'd never kill himself."

"Exactly," Maria whispered, relieved that he agreed with her.

He continued, "So, as far as all the people in this room are concerned, it was an accident nothing more."

Liz went on, "It wasn't an accident. He was murdered."

"Murdered?" Kyle raised his eyebrows.

Max was getting annoyed, "Would you listen to yourself? Who could possibly want to murder Alex?"

"I don't know yet," Liz said. "Maybe somebody with a grudge against him, or maybe an alien."

Max got to his feet, because Liz was stepping out of line, "That is not what happened here."

"Would you just think about it for a minute? Is there anything any of us should have learned over the last year and a half it's that nothing is ever what it seems," Liz harshly pointed out.

Isabel stood up, "What is that? That's not evidence! That's not proof we had anything to do with this!"

"Keep your voices down! For God's sake!" Tess hissed as she jumped to her feet.

Liz defended her ground; "You cannot deny the fact that a key member of this conspiracy just died under very suspicious circumstances."

"I'm with Liz," Kyle came to Liz's defense as he stood face to face with the others. "There is something not right about this."

"It was a traffic accident. There's nothing otherworldly about that," Max responded.

Michael challenged from his seat next to Maria, "What possible reason would an alien have to kill Alex?"

"Isabel for one," Liz shot back as Isabel glared at her. "We know that there's an alien named Khivar who wants to bring Isabel back to your world."

"No!" Isabel won't believe that.

Liz didn't back down, "If Khivar discovered you and Alex."

"No! No!" Isabel didn't want to hear anymore. "You're just making this up!"

Max got into Liz's face; "You don't know what the hell you're talking about! You don't know anything about Khivar or our world."

Liz was completely controlled and she didn't even wince, "You don't want to think that Alex was killed by an alien because that would mean you are responsible."

Maria could slice the tension in the room with a knife, she never thought it would come to a stand off between the humans and the Royal Four. How was she supposed to choose sides when both types of blood run through her veins? Even though she was risking a lot, Maria already knew where her loyalty stood.

"Let's go," Max ordered as he turned away from Liz.

Michael looked over at Maria and from the look in her eyes Michael already knew her decision. Her loyalty was to Alex, and he didn't blame her. He hoped she understood why he got up and followed Tess, Isabel, and Max out the door.

Maria was upset, not because Michael left, but because they were divided. "I know what I know. And I am gonna find out the truth. I owe that to my friend," Liz said to her and Kyle before she left Alex' room.

Kyle looked over at Maria, "Well, I guess it's us versus them."

"Yeah, but it shouldn't be like that," Maria said sadly. "We need each other right now more than ever."

"Come on, let's go home," Kyle pulled her to her feet. "We'll stuff our faces with junk food and watch Jim Carrey movies all night." Maria managed a weak smile but her heart still pained her.

* * * Tess came home later that night, but she didn't say a word to Kyle or Maria. She just went straight to bed. "It will all work itself out in the end," Maria told Kyle even though she didn't entirely believe it.

"Yeah, totally," Kyle was just as convinced as Maria that this would completely blow over.

Tess was already gone when Maria woke up in the morning, and Maria assumed that she met Max. It seemed that she had been spending most of her time with him lately. She also assumed that Alex's death and the whole Tess and Max situation contributed to Liz's outrageous behavior. Maria just wanted to move on with her life, but she knew that it was going to take some time. Alex's death got her thinking that maybe she wasn't cut out for the whole alien protection business. Whenever Maria was put to the test she failed miserably and now she was beginning to think that the Royal Four would be better off without her. She figured that they were powerful enough to protect themselves.

Michael and the others believed that some day they would all be able to go home, but Maria wasn't sure she belonged there anymore. Also her failure in saving Alex made her feel that she might not belong there either.

"Maria!" an unfamiliar voice called from down the school hallway. Maria turned around to see Julie Walken, the yearbook editor calling her.

Maria didn't know what she could possibly want, "Hey Julie."

"I just wanted to tell you that the yearbook staff had decided to put a two-page memorial dedicated to Alex," Julie informed her.

"Oh," Maria said softly.

Julie ignored Maria's lack of enthusiasm and continued, "Since you were one of the people who knew Alex the best we thought you would want to put it together."

"Oh," Maria was now listening.

"You and Liz Parker," Julie added. "Because you guys seemed very close."

Maria felt stinging in her eyes, "He was like my brother."

"So will you do it then?" Julie asked sweetly.

Maria considered it, "I'll talk to Liz, but I'm sure she'll go for it."

"Cool," Julie started to walk away. "By the way, the deadline is in a week."