‘Cause there’s a lighthouse in the harbour Shining faithfully Pouring its light out across the water For this sinking soul to see That someone out there still believes in me.

On a prayer In a song I hear your voice And it keeps me hanging on Raining down Against the wind I’m reaching out Till we reach the circle’s end When you come back to me again.

Garth Brooks

"We’re here." Liz told Max quietly.

She saw him jump slightly in the passenger seat of her parent’s car. His thoughts had obviously been a million miles away again.

She knew that he was searching his memory, trying to find anything familiar in the places she had been showing him all morning.

It had been Max’s idea for her to take him on a tour of the area, of all the places that had played significant roles in his life.

They had started at the Crashdown. The breakfast rush had just been starting when they had arrived and Liz had become aware almost immediately of the whispering.

She had totally forgotten that as far as the town was concerned Max Evans was dead - had been dead for the last nine months.

Max had seemed unaware of the stares at first. Liz had told him to sit at the counter, which he had done. He had been staring around with wide eyes, obviously trying to find something in the restaurant which would jog his memory.

Liz had hurried into the kitchen, had asked Jose to fix them some breakfast. She had not intended to leave Max alone for long, but by the time she got back it was too late.

Pam Troy was seated on the stool beside him at the counter, two of her cronies standing nearby.

Liz had hurried over, hoping to do as much damage control as she could.

"…..when I read it in the newspaper this morning, I couldn’t believe it Max!" Pam was saying in her shrill voice. "I mean, how lucky are you that you survived that river? Is it true that you don’t remember anything?"

Max had been staring at her, a perplexed expression on his face. "No, I don’t." He had replied in that super-polite way of his that was part Max/part Jaxon. "Do I know you?"

Pam’s hand had slid across the counter to inch up his arm. "You sure do…pretty well as a matter of fact."

Liz had wanted to throw up. "Your order’s ready Pam." She had told Pam between clenched teeth. Pam had shot her a snotty look but had left to return to her booth. "Remind me to tell my father to ban her from the premises." Liz whispered to Max, only half joking.

He had laughed. "I’m assuming that I wasn’t friends with that girl?" He had looked momentarily worried. "Was I?"

"Well, not really." Liz had replied, wondering how much she should be telling him. "You did date her for a while last winter."

Liz had felt better immediately at the horrified expression on his face. "I did?"

People had come up to them several times while they had eaten their breakfast, telling Max how glad they were that he was back. He had seemed pleased, but also sad that he didn’t remember anyone.

Liz had smiled secretly to herself when Max had reached for the Tabasco sauce and threw a generous portion of it on his eggs. Apparently SOME things were not forgotten.

They had gone to the UFO Museum next. Milton had almost had a heart attack at the sight of Max but then to Max’s complete embarrassment had proceeded to burst into tears.

"EVANS! I can’t believe it!" He lowered his voice. "We’re going to have to discuss this at length later Evans. I think there was more to your disappearance than the newspaper was letting on. We were getting too close weren’t we?"

Max had glanced at Liz uncertainly. "Er - I guess so."

Milton nodded knowingly. "I knew it. I knew the minute there was no body. THEY abducted you, didn’t they?"

Liz had stepped in that that point. This was getting a little too close to the truth for comfort. "No, nothing like that Milton. Max was picked up by some nice people and they took him to a shelter. It took this long for them to figure out who he was because he had no ID on him and everyone assumed Max was dead so there was no missing persons report."

Milton had raised his eyebrow at her. "Right." He had shot Max a covert look. "We’ll discuss this when you’re back on track Max…alone." He had said in a significant tone.

"Okay." Liz could see that Max was amused. He had apparently figured out what was going on.

They had gone back to the car, Max asking her for some information about Roswell and the famous crash. "Strangely, I do remember that detail about this place." Max had told her wryly. "I assume that that’s how we ended up here? In the crash."

"Yes. Do you want to go to the crash site?" Liz had asked him.

"No." He had stared off into space for a moment. "I want to go to where the Evans found us." He told her.

"Okay, but I’m not sure of the exact location." Liz told him. "Do you want to go to the school first? It’s on the way out of town anyway."

They had arrived at West Roswell during third period. Liz was pleased. She didn’t think that Max was up to dealing with all the stares and comments his presence surely would have garnered.

She had taken him on a quick tour by his locker, to the band room where he had told her his secret, past Ms. Hardy’s bio class where they had spent so many countless hours working together as the perfect lab team, in between staring at each other and trying to touch each other without getting caught.

Liz had smiled to herself when they passed the Eraser Room. "We spent a lot of time in there right after we got together." Liz told him, blushing a little.

Max had looked at her for a moment, a slight smile appearing on his face. "Really? Cleaning erasers?" He had asked innocently, but his eyes had been twinkling wickedly.

"Not exactly." He had continued to smile. Somehow she knew that HE knew exactly what they had done in there.

He might not remember it, but he knew.

They had driven down the highway where Diane and Phillip Evans had found Max and Isabel wandering lost and alone over eleven years before. Liz knew the scene exactly as it had played out, it having been one of the things she had seen the first time she and Max had connected. She described to Max the way he had felt that day, having felt it herself through their connection.

"You were scared and you were worried about Michael, who didn’t want to come with you, and your first instinct was to hide, but Isabel convinced you to let them find you."

Max had sighed, shaking his head. "How can I not remember any of this?" He asked in frustration, the good mood that had permeated at the school quickly dissipating.

Liz had reached over and taken his hand. He had let her, squeezing it gently in thanks. Liz had felt her heart speed up at his touch. He had been gone for so long - it was still magical every time she realized that he was really back. She wanted desperately to help him find his memories. Until then, he was not truly whole, could never truly be happy.

That was one thing she had promised herself when she had first determined that she was not going to rest until she brought Max home. This time he was going to be happy, and not just for isolated moments here and there. Her goal was to make him happy for the rest of his life.

"You will remember Max. I promise. And even if you don’t…." She had felt his eyes on her. She turned to watch him. "We have our whole lives to make new memories." He had eyed her, his expression unreadable and had turned to stare out the window at the passing New Mexico desert.

Liz had realized that they weren’t far from the pod chamber and had suggested that they go there next.

"That’s weird." Liz told Max worriedly as she brought the car to a stop next to a sports utility vehicle. "Tess is here."

"Sabrya. I can feel her presence." Max said quietly. Liz knew that he had not seen Tess since his return. She wondered if the memories that had been implanted by Tarsus included Tess - Sabrya - as his wife…

Her heart lodged itself in her throat at the thought.

"Well, let’s go see what she’s doing." Liz suggested with false cheer. Max climbed out of the passenger side, following Liz up the cliff-side.

"You wave your hand here." She told him when they reached the ledge where the entrance was located. Max eyed the spot for a moment, waved his hand in front of it. The silver hand-print appeared immediately. Max placed his hand squarely upon it and the stone face slid away.

Liz called to Tess as they entered. She didn’t want to freak her friend out.

She shivered when there was no answer. She could feel a presence here as well.

They were not alone.

Liz ducked her head beneath the opening, followed Max into the chamber proper.

She had not been there since the day Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess had found out their true destinies - since the day that she had walked away from Max and had started the whole horrible chain of events that had led them to this moment.

Liz forced herself to suppress the memory of the despair and heartbreak she had felt that day. It had all worked out in the end. Max was here and even though he had no memory of who he was, he did know that it was HER that he loved, not Tess. He had told her so not five hours ago.

That had to mean something.

Liz nearly stumbled into Max when he came to an abrupt halt. She brought her hands up against his back to steady herself, looked past his shoulder.

Tess was seated on the floor in front of the empty and dark pods, her legs crossed, her hands on her knees. She had her eyes closed and she looked like she was meditating.

"Tess?" Liz asked, worried. She remembered that Kyle had told her that Liz had been acting very strangely since after they had left for England. She recalled the fit that Tess had thrown about being left behind in the first place.

Tess did not move at the sound of Liz’s voice.

Liz felt Max’s muscles tense under her hands. There was no question that he was affected by the sight of Tess. Liz bit her lip, jealousy invading her soul despite herself. She hated to feel that way, but this place…it made her remember exactly the devastation she had felt at the news of Tess’ rightful place as Max’s bride.

And yet, Max made no move towards her. He seemed perfectly content to stay close to Liz.

"Sabrya." He finally said.

Tess’ eyes sprang open suddenly, their blue depths shining with a fervent light. Liz blinked. She had never seen Tess look like that before…even during her most insistent moments that she and Max belonged together.

She looked crazy. Her eyes shone with a zealot’s passion. They zeroed in on Max in an instant, completely ignoring Liz’s presence.