His parents came here tonight, knowing who and what the four podsters are and are prepared to leave the country with not just him and Isabel, but Michael and Teresa as well.

"Mom, Dad you'll never know how much your offer means to me - to us," Max turns and nods to Isabel and then to Michael and Teresa. "We have to stay here and see this thing through."

Unable to say more, Max's eyes meet those of his parents and he mouths the words "I've wanted to tell you for so long."

Liz releases Max's hand, as Philip Evans moves to embrace his son. "I know Son, I know."

Holding Max in his arms and absorbing the silent tears that shake his son's body, Philip Evans can only guess at the burden the young man has had to live with.

Father and son are soon joined by mother and daughter and they enjoy a family embrace which seems to last forever. The whole room seems to breathe a sigh of relief as everyone begins to talk at once.

Isabel's happiness is evident in the large smile plastered on her face as she holds her mother's hands as they talk quietly, away from the group.

Without her having to turn around, and without his having to call her name, Liz grasps the hand that Max has extended in her direction.

The bond that exists between his son and the woman he loves is not lost on Philip Evans. He smiles down at the doe-eyed girl who has been prophesized to be the key to identifying and destroying the enemy alien threat.

"Hello Liz." Philip Evans silently thanks her for loving his son.

Liz wraps her arms around Max's waist, responding to Mr. Evans' "thank you" with one of her own. "Hello Mr. Evans."

"So, when are you and Mom leaving?" Max tightens his hold around Liz's shoulders as he addresses his father.

The room becomes quiet again as everyone looks toward the stunned faces of Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

Diane Evans pulls Isabel along with her as she wades through the scattered desks to come face to face with her son.

"Max, honey," Diane Evans runs her hand up and down her brooding son's arm. "What makes you think that we would go anywhere without you."

"Mom, it's not safe for you here. If you hadn't come here tonight already knowing the truth, I would have had to tell you eventually. Your leaving the country will at least keep me from worrying about my enemies using you to get to me." Max lifts his head and angles his jaw in a position that his mother recognizes to mean his decision is made.

"You may be the leader of your world, but on earth, I'm still your mother and am legally responsible for you." Diane's raised voice sounds foreign even to her ears. "Our place is here with you."

"But Mom, I don't expect you guys to become a part of this." Max drops his head a little before raising it again to meet his parents eyes." I love you too much to continue to put your lives in danger."

"Son, don't you think that the decision should be ours?" Philip Evans quietly asks.

Max throws his hands in the air and through clenched teeth practically shouts; "I can't protect everybody."

Everyone's attention is focused on Max so they don't see the imposing figure framed in the doorway at the back of the room. The man known only as Shi-da enters the room followed by several members of the Nih-Hi-Cho.

"You won't have to, Max. The Nih-Hi Cho have been preparing for this for over 900 years. You're no longer alone." The man that the Human/Alien alliance recognizes from the 1959 photograph retrieved from the lake-house walks out of the shadows and continues into the room and stops within two feet of Max and Isabel.

All eyes are on Max and Isabel as they come face to face with the man purported to be their uncle.