"Home?" Isabel looked at him and pointed toward the sky. "You mean, HOME?"

"Yeah. It's what we've been waiting for...right?" All of a sudden Max didn't seem to sure. He didn't know if he was ready to leave earth and go back to Antar.

"Well...are we going?" Michael said uneasily. He remembered Maria's words from a few days ago. I can't loose anybody else. My heart can't take it. It echoed in his mind.

"I don't know," Max said. This was all happening to fast. He needed time to think. "Let's just go home and we can discuss it in the morning."

"Fine." Michael turned on the engine to his motorcycle and sped off, faster than he had intended to. His mind was racing, almost as fast as he was. Home. The word kept repeating.

Finally he got to his apartment. He let himself inside and sat on the couch with his head in his hands, contemplating what to do.

"Max will make us go. He's the king. He can do that," he said to out loud to himself. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and he jumped.

"What the...!" Maria De Luca stood in front of him wearing a pair of his sweatpants and one of his button up shirts. "What are you doing here, Maria? It's almost one."

"I couldn't sleep so I decided to come over and since you weren't here, I figured you were with the podsquad so I made myself comfortable." She looked at him and noticed the stress in his eyes. "Do you want me to go?"

"NO. No, it's ok. I just have alot on my mind." Maria sat down and began to rub his back.

"Tell me about it spaceboy. What's going on?" she said in her sympathetic, little girl way.

"More than you can imagine," he said putting his head down.

"Try me," she said.

"You know all those papers that you, Liz and I found in that abandoned house?"

"Yeah..."

"Well inside there is the way to go home."

"And..." Maria stopped rubbing, but her hands remained on his back.

"I think Max is going to make us go home." Her hands fell.

"What?"

"Yeah, I know. It's terrible, especially all that's happened lately. But with Tess being pregnant and all..."

"Wait a minute. Tess is pregnant?"

"Yes. And the baby can't survive here on earth so we're probably going to have to leave."

A lump formed in Maria's throat and she was unable to speak for a moment. When she regained her voice she said, "And you're gonna go?"

Michael looked at her face, so torn. "I don't want to."

"But are you?" Michael didn't know how to answer that question right then.

"I don't know." Maria stood up and walked over to the other side of the room and put her jacket on. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go home. I don't know, I just can't process all of this now." Michael went over to her and took her in his arms. She was crying now.

"Don't worry. It'll all work out. I promise." He kissed the top of her head. "I'll talk to Max and figure it all out tomorrow. It'll be okay."

"First Alex leaves and now you're leaving me. God, I don't know if I can take it." He tilted her head up so that she was looking at him.