Liz hurried down the empty corridor, already tardy for AP English. She and Alex had left campus for lunch at Senor Chow’s because Alex had a coupon that expired that day, but their waitress had been so slow, in the end their idea of a leisurely meal had flown out the window. They had practically wolfed down their food but they were still late.

"See that your dad never hires that girl at the Crashdown." Alex had ordered as he had rushed away from her on his way to Computer Programming.

Liz had almost reached her class when an arm suddenly reached out from a nearby doorway, grabbing her and hauling her into a vacant classroom. Liz barely had time to gasp before Max’s lips were on hers.

As was always the case, all thoughts of being responsible instantly flew out of Liz’s mind. Max’s warmth, his scent infiltrated her senses, making her dizzy.

The flashes began almost immediately.

In the past, flashes had been solitary events, either brought on by great stress or interesting circumstances - if you could qualify finding a "damn orb," as Maria had dubbed them, an interesting circumstance…but now - they were as natural as breathing.

When Max and Liz’s commitment had solidified, the flashes had become a normal part of every moment they spent together. They heightened the connection that existed between them and Liz would not have traded them for a million dollars. She knew him inside and out because of them - not only who Max Evans was, but also who Jaxon Falconer, King of Illyria had been, for those memories were still intact as well.

Liz also loved that Max knew everything there was to know about her. It had been scary at first, to have yourself be so naked and vulnerable to another person, but in the end she would have it no other way.

Plus, it was darn fun seeing some of the dirty thoughts Max had about her.

Liz finally pulled away, scolding jokingly. "I’m sorry sir but I have a boyfriend and I don’t think he would be very happy to find me in here with you. You really must learn not to accost young ladies." She knew the smile on her face in no way matched her tone, but she couldn’t help it. She had no control of her happiness where Max was concerned. When she was with him, she was happy. When she wasn’t with him, she was happy that she soon would be. That was all there was to it.

Max gazed at her with hooded eyes. "Don’t you know about my reputation miss?" He asked teasingly. "I’m honouring you with my presence…you should be grateful! Your boyfriend would more than understand. I mean, I am the FAMOUS Max Evans."

Liz smirked at him. Max was referring to the infamous photos of them that Pam Troy - aka Danala - had posted on the Internet all those months ago. Max had still been missing during that little horror show, but he had definitely heard about it.

Oh, had he heard.

Only several days after he had set foot back in West Roswell as a matter of fact… which had been two days after they had destroyed Danala and Jennetta went into the pod. He had not wanted to leave her, but Liz had finally convinced him that it was up to Michael and Maria to look after his little sister.

It was the way they wanted it and they all had to respect it. They would help as much as the pair wanted them too, but it had to be Michael and Maria’s decision.

Liz had reminded him that not only was he half a year behind his classmates in school because of his months on Illyria, he had also been flunking most of his classes when he HAD been at school. This, of course, had all been part of his anti-Max act, but obviously no teacher was going to accept that excuse. And so Max Evans had spent most of the last six months desperately trying to catch up on almost a year’s worth of school work on top of his Senior Year work, hoping that he would still be able to graduate with his class.

Unfortunately Max was too darn honest to use his scanning ability to make his task a little easier, but then that was one of the things Liz loved about him. But it did mean that he was often exhausted.

It didn’t help that he had insisted on returning to work at the UFO Museum and that he also drove out to the Transformation Chamber at least once a day to check on Jennetta and Ren, the latter having set up camp within the Chamber to guard the precious one housed there. And this was on top of his shifts looking after Jennetta anyway.

And then there was the fall-out from Max’s return from the dead…and those infamous pictures.

Max had entered the school on that first day encircled protectively by Isabel, Alex, Tess and, of course, Liz. Liz had even convinced Kyle to meet them at the front doors although he had been strangely missing in action during the two days since they had defeated Danala.

People had been thrilled to see Max. Before the anti-Max routine, he had been very popular. Sure he had been quiet and mysterious, but everyone knew that he was just about the nicest guy in the world. That sort of thing could not be hidden. Which was why the anti-Max behaviour had been so shocking and extreme…

They had all read the headlines in the newspaper, had seen it on the news: MIRACLE RETURN OF PRESUMED DEAD LOCAL TEENAGER. The papers in Albuquerque had picked up the story. Liz had been shocked to even see a report of the story on a network newscast a few days later, it clearly having been of enough human interest for Peter Jennings to talk about it.

Everyone was looking for miracles it seemed.

The Sheriff had done his best to shield the Evans from the brunt of the publicity, but they had been forced to endure it for several days.

And then when the kids at West Roswell had finally started to simmer down about Max’s miraculous return, they had begun to notice that not only was Max Evans back from the dead, but clearly so was his relationship with Liz Parker.

It had been their own fault really. Max and Liz had barely managed to keep their hands off of each other half the time. They had just spent so much time apart, had not really been together and half-way safe since the time before Tess had appeared in Roswell almost two years before. They couldn’t help it. And it was noticed immediately of course…

And certain people took it to mean something that they shouldn’t…mainly people that had known Pam Troy.

Liz still hadn’t found her journal. Tess had searched Danala’s belongings, which had been stored in the Pod Chamber, but the book of the history of Max and Liz had not been among them.

Liz remembered the exact moment Max had first heard that practically the entire school had seen those pictures.

They had all been sitting in the quad eating their lunch about two weeks after D-Day as Alex had taken to calling that horrible event, it being short of Danala Day. No one thought it was very funny, but they couldn’t exactly go around talking about it openly otherwise. Destroy Evil Alien Day had just not seemed appropriate somehow.

A routine had begun with everyone sharing the job of sitting with Jennetta because, although they wanted to, Michael and Maria had determined that they could not keep her a secret, look after her AND lead semi-normal lives to keep that secret at the same time, and thus had had to delegate. Clearly Ren was always there, but no one wanted Jenny to be alone when she first came out of the pod.

Alex and Isabel had been on duty and therefore were not sitting with them, but the rest of the gang was there, including Michael and Maria. Even Kyle had deigned to join them, although his distance had been increasing with every day. Liz knew that it had everything to do with Tess, but she had no idea what to do to help that situation.

It had been equally clear to Liz that TESS had not known what to do about the awkwardness between the two of them and so chose to ignore it. This had resulted in Kyle being even more hurt and pulling away from the whole group.

Because, as Kyle had told Liz when she had confronted him about it, Tess didn’t have anyone else. Kyle would survive without the group, but Tess wouldn’t. Liz had gone over to Max’s and cried on his chest about how sad she felt for her friend. Max had stroked her hair and told her that it would all work out if it was meant to…just look at them.

And so, the grouping on that particular day had been strange. Tension had been in the air. Michael had been grumpy for days, and while no one blamed him, it was still hard to deal with. Maria was no longer MARIA. She was quiet and sad and barely spoke at all. Tess had been chattering, trying to erase the unnatural silence and Kyle had been staring everywhere but at Tess. Max and Liz were holding hands, both upset at what their friends had come to.

They had all be jerked from their respective funks when Sandy Snell and Julie Lucas, two of Pam Troy’s lackeys if Liz remembered correctly, although it was hard too because Pam had always failed to keep friends for very long, had come marching up to them. They had looked frightened but determined as well.

"What did you do to Pam? Everyone’s been treating you like gold just because you disappeared Max Evans, but we don’t care!" Sandy had said, her voice dripping with venom. "I know you did something to her and that your crazy group of friends helped you!" She had stated, staring straight at Max.

Liz had felt Max flinch.

Pam Troy was another problem that had yet to be resolved. They had no idea what Danala had done to the girl when she had assumed her form. They had already determined that the Pam Max had dated was the REAL Pam. Although they were fairly sure Michael and Tess’ evil sister had murdered her, they had no idea where her body was. And they also had no idea what to do if Pam’s body WAS ever found.

The Sheriff had helped them, but they all felt terrible having to tell the Troys that Pam had run away. And yet there had been little else they could do. Liz knew that while Max had despised her, his guilt over Pam’s fate was yet another burden added to the heavy load he already carried.

"What the hell are you talking about Snell? Get lost!" Kyle had sneered, trying to rid themselves of she and Julie. But Liz had felt her heart go out to Pam’s friends despite herself.

She certainly had hated Pam, having been her victim once upon a time, but no one had deserved the end Danala had likely visited on her. Sandy had flinched, clearly slightly intimidated by Kyle and his social status. She knew that he could ruin her, but Liz had to admire her backbone, if not her next words, when she continued. "I mean, I think you thought Pam was responsible for those pictures and now that you and Liz are back together, you wanted to get rid of her."

Liz had felt Max tense up. "What pictures?" He had asked Liz under his breath.

But Michael had spoken up at this point. "You’re crazy woman! Who the hell would ‘take care’ of someone over something like that?"

Sandy had stared at him. "I didn’t think you had killed her or anything…just that you made her run-away somehow." Her eyes widened and she looked terrified. "Did you kill her?"

Michael had snorted, rising and getting ready to leave. "I don’t have time for these high school dramas." He pulled Maria to her feet. Maria had eyed Max sympathetically before they left.

"We’ll be with Jenny!" She called to Liz as they disappeared.

"We’re sorry." Liz finally said gently. "We don’t know where Pam is."

Sandy’s eyes had filled with tears. Julie had taken her by the arm, pulling her away. "I’m sorry." Julie told them. "She’s just really upset."

"I didn’t know Pam Troy had any real friends." Tess said after the foursome of she, Kyle, Liz and Max had sat for several moments in uncomfortable silence.

"I guess everyone has SOMEONE who cares about them." Liz replied, squeezing Max’ hand. She could feel his curiosity about those pictures that Sandy had mentioned, but also his guilt over Pam. She knew exactly what he was thinking. If he wasn’t who he was, innocent people wouldn’t be getting hurt.

River Dog. Eddie. Pam…even Nasedo and Silesa and her mate, who had died protecting him and Isabel and Michael and Tess. Liz knew that he carried the weight of their sacrifice around with him constantly.

That was just Max.

And that was when the rumours had started again. They were all sure that Sandy was responsible. Liz had had to tell Max all about the web-site. He had been horrified at first, that their privacy had been violated in that way. He had also been aware of the danger of Liz’s journal’s still missing status. But eventually he had started to see the humour in the situation, even had started to tease Liz about it because it still made her blush.

But as Max had told her finally: "I don’t care if people see how much I love you Liz. I mean, they can see it when I LOOK at you. They are probably assuming that we do that stuff anyway."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Liz had asked, reddening just thinking about it.

"I have other things to think about." Max had replied, pulling her to him and showing her EXACTLY what he was thinking about.

Things had slowly begun to return to normal, despite all the questions they still had.

They had exhausted Ren’s knowledge about what was happening to Jennetta. The transformation had begun. It had been Max who had first noticed the difference, he being the one who still knew her the best. It was slow, but she was definitely maturing.

She looked about thirteen at the present stage. It was disturbing and unnatural, but it was still Jennetta…and with every passing day she looked more like Maria. Her colouring was still all Michael, but her face was almost an exact replica of her mother’s.

Maria had cried when Isabel had pointed it out.

The other major concern was Tarsus. Max knew him, knew that he would not take Danala’s destruction lightly. Their fear of his return had calmed down slightly when Ren had reminded them that only Isabel and Max could open the portals.

"He got here the first time." Max had replied darkly. "And so did Danala…and I KNOW that Izzy didn’t bring them."

"Tarsus followed you on a ship the first time. He had been on Earth for decades, searching for you. He only found you when you activated the orb the first time." Ren had explained.

"And Danala?" Liz had inquired, knowing exactly what Max was thinking.

Ren had frowned. "Hmmmm…"

And they had left it at that….and so they worried.

Now as Liz threw her arms around Max’s neck and kissed him again, all these worries interfered again.

Max pulled back slightly, bringing his forehead to rest against hers. "What’s wrong Liz?"

Liz sighed, brought her hand up to touch his face lovingly. "The usual."

Max took her hand, smiled weakly. "I take it by that you mean the English test you are presently missing?" Liz eyed him seriously, knowing that he was just trying to cheer her up. He was so strong…always worrying about everyone else before himself.

But clearly right now he wanted to forget their problems. She would let him…for now.

"I guess I better go." She replied reluctantly.

"Hmmmm…" Max brought her hand to his lips, kissing her palm lightly. "I’ll only let you go if you promise to accompany me on a lovely carriage ride out to the desert later this afternoon milady."

Welcome back problems, Liz reflected ruefully. She and Max were on the evening shift with Jenny…

"You have a deal your highness." Liz replied with false cheer.

As Max walked Liz to her class, they both paused as they noticed Tess at the far end of the corridor staring into a classroom.

She must have felt their presence because she turned, saw them, and then whirled, running outside through the double-doors nearby.

"What was that all about?" Liz asked worriedly.

Max sighed. "I guess I’d better go see." He pulled her in for one last kiss. "I’ll see you later."

Liz watched him walk away, feeling the combination of complete happiness that being with Max engendered within her and sadness that nothing could ever be just normal.