She had almost convinced herself that she could avoid it. She had told the others many times that she wasn’t coming to the Prom, that she wouldn’t go and see Kyle with another girl. She had even told Liz and Isabel that she was looking forward to a night at home, that she just wanted to watch T.V. and paint her toe-nails. She had been able to tell that they hadn’t believed her, but that they had decided to let it go. It was clear to both of her friends that there was no convincing her.

Of course, Michael had not given up as easily.

While Tess was pleased that he had accepted her offer to move into the empty Harding house with her after the forging of their bond on D-Day, it was slightly irritating to have a brother constantly watching over her. The closer they became, the more protective HE became, and although he technically wasn’t older than her in THIS life-time, he still had an annoying tendency to act like the older sibling.

She had been sure that she had finally bullied him into submissively leaving her alone for the night when he had come down the stairs in his tuxedo. She had frowned at him, annoyed to see a silky gold dress draped over his arm.

"What is that?" She demanded.

"Maria bought it. She said it would fit you. Put it on." He ordered her. "I’m not letting you sit at home alone the night of your prom. I’m not going to have any fun thinking about you sitting here pouting and if I don’t have fun, Maria won’t have fun, and Maria WILL be having fun tonight. Valenti’s an idiot and doesn’t deserve you."

"Don’t say that about him!" Tess had said, anger instantly flaring. "He’s had a lot to deal with!"

Michael just raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah. Gee. We should be REALLY sorry that we’re aliens, that Max saved his life, that you love him. Excuse me if I don’t feel his pain."

"Michael."

"Get dressed Tess. I’ll be back to pick you up in an hour."

"I don’t have a date! I’m not going without a date!" Tess had pleaded desperately.

"You’ll find a date." Michael had replied dismissively. "Maxwell is waiting for me. We’ll be back in an hour."

And he had left, slamming the door behind him. Tess had clenched her fists, screeched in frustration.

But she had gotten dressed. She had known that Michael would just drag her to the dance in her pyjamas if she didn’t.

When she had finished doing her hair and her make-up, she had stared at herself in the mirror for a long time.

She was a coward. She knew it, knew it was the real reason that she hadn’t wanted to go to the prom. She had let Kyle run away from her in the transformation chamber, hadn’t tried to sort out the problem. She had wanted Liz to fix everything for her, had given up when it hadn’t worked. She had decided to MAKE Kyle come to her. She had known what she was doing to him, staring at him, making sure that she turned up everywhere he was bound to be.

She had been torturing him, daring him NOT to be with her.

And it was all because SHE was the coward, was scared he would reject her again. But she couldn’t go on like this. She loved him. And if he was going to reject her AGAIN, well this time it would be on her terms. He would have to do it with the proof of her love for him staring him directly in the face. She wouldn’t let him hide behind his jealousy of Max Evans.

This had nothing to do with Max. It had everything to do with Kyle Valenti and Tess Harding and the fact that they were both scared to death of what it would mean if they actually let this go somewhere. There would be no more excuses. THEY would be responsible if things got screwed up, they would be responsible for making their own happiness.

And so she had been waiting when Michael and Maria had come to pick her up.

She had almost lost her nerve when they had arrived at the school. It was going to be hard to walk into that gym all alone. They had been running late as it was, having fallen behind Max, Liz, Isabel and Alex in the Jeep. Maria had been hauling Michael by the arm, trying to catch up. Everyone was going to be in there, watching the door, watching her come in alone…

Tess had felt her heart speed up nervously. She had paused on the front steps to calm herself. She had sat down, careful not to muss her dress, had stared up at the stars for several long minutes. The "V" constellation, the one that sheltered their home world, had winked down at her, almost daring her to go through with this.

She knew that they were never going back there. Her life there was over. She had been Max’s wife in another life-time, but that was not her life anymore. She was Tess Harding, not Sabrya of Dernia - and Tess Harding wanted Kyle Valenti. It was simple as that.

Tess had decided to go in through a side door, hoping that she could slip in unnoticed and find Kyle. She hoped that she would be able to scope out the situation first. She felt bad that Vicky Delaney was going to get caught in the middle of this situation, but Tess admitted to herself that there were only seven people on this planet that she really cared about…well, nine if you counted Jennetta and Ren. She knew what she wanted and she had to go for it. Kyle had the right to make an informed decision.

And so she had been mildly surprised to find herself stumbling into Kyle’s arms the moment she walked into the gym. He had momentarily looked like he was seeing a ghost. His face was white and he actually looked a little sick.

Her heart began to thump a mile a minute. She couldn’t do it! She wasn’t ready!

The shock in his voice managed to make her focus. "What are you doing here?" She felt him clutch gently at her bare shoulders. It sent a shiver down her spine. She swallowed. He dropped his hands quickly, like he had been burned.

"You know exactly why I’m here." Tess replied, relieved that she sounded more confident than she felt. "I’ve come for you. And you’re not going to escape me again."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kyle demanded, clearly quickly regaining his senses. He looked beyond her. "Are you here alone? Liz said you weren’t coming!" He sounded astounded that Liz might have lied to him.

"She doesn’t know I’m here. I was with Michael and Maria." Tess replied, licking her lips. She smiled slightly to herself as Kyle’s eyes seemed to become glued to her mouth. He began to blink rapidly, as though he was about to pass out. She frowned slightly. "Kyle? Are you okay?"

He brought a hand up to his temple, rubbed. "I don’t think so. I was on my way out for some air."

"Good." Tess said quickly. "We need to talk - privately."

Kyle stared at her. "Why?"

"Because I have things to say to you - things you haven’t let me say. I’m tired of running Kyle." She reached out and touched his cheek. "I’m so tired. And I think you are too. I just want…"

She was interrupted suddenly. "Kyle!" Tess recognized the voice immediately. It was Vicky Delaney. Kyle whirled guiltily.

Vicky was standing nearby, watching them, her face completely lacking in suspicion. "There you are!" She exclaimed. "Hi Tess! I didn’t know you were here. You look beautiful." Tess wondered why SHE suddenly felt guilty. Why couldn’t Pam Troy still have been around for Kyle to date? Tess would have enjoyed having Kyle dump HER unceremoniously. Why did Vicky have to be so darn NICE?

"Thanks Vicky." She managed to reply. "So do you." And she did, damn her.

Vicky moved up next to Kyle, linked her arm through his. "I just talked to Sandy. She said they’re announcing the king and queen soon. We better go back in."

Kyle just nodded mechanically, still staring at Tess. He looked like he had been hit by a truck.

"I’ll wait for you." She mouthed after him. He nodded again.

Tess followed Vicky and Kyle into the gym. She could see Max and Liz dancing nearby, completely in their own world as usual. She scanned the room, sighed in relief when her eyes lit on Michael, Maria, Alex and Isabel sitting at a table to her left. Maria was sitting on Michael’s lap, wrinkling her nose as Alex pulled a bottle of Tabasco sauce out of his powder blue tux jacket, dolloping Isabel’s chocolate cake liberally.

"Why don’t you carry Tabasco in YOUR purse?" Michael was asking as Tess came up to them. "What kind of girlfriend are you?"

"The best you’ll ever get Spaceboy." Maria replied, smacking him lightly on the head. It pleased Tess to see her brother and Maria teasing each other again. They had been in a state of stupor for so many months now. While there was still always an underlying note of sadness in their demeanor, they were finally trying to live again, at least a little bit.

"Ah! Lady Tess!" Alex stood up, bowing her into his chair. "You look divine."

"I’m sorry I can’t say the same." Tess replied, smiling despite herself at Alex’s hideous ensemble.

"You came!" Isabel stared at her, her expression gradually melting into a smile. As quickly as the smile appeared, it faded, as Isabel’s eyes began to scan the crowd.

"I’ve already seen him." Tess reassured her friend. "It’s okay." Tess saw Isabel and Maria exchange a look. "Really you guys! It’s okay."

At that moment, a drum-roll began and a spotlight focused on the stage at the far end of the gym. Coach Clay, looking ludicrous in a tuxedo about ten times too small for his roly-poly frame, accompanied by Ms. Hardy, climbed onto the stage. They had a pair of envelopes in their hands.

"Prom King and Queen!" Isabel rolled her eyes. "Really! How immature are we?" Tess and Maria exchanged an amused glance, both appreciating the fact of how much Isabel had changed. The old Isabel would have been sitting on the edge of her seat in anticipation of being called up on stage, her acceptance speech already planned out in her perfectly coifed head.

It was absolutely no surprise to Tess when Kyle and Pam’s names were read off as the King and Queen. Tess smiled slightly to herself at the completely annoyed expression on Kyle’s face as Ms. Hardy placed the fake crown on his head. He reached up quickly and pulled it off.

She wasn’t worried, Tess assured herself. She had made her move. She had seen the look on Kyle’s face. She just had to wait for him to come to her. Vicky deserved to enjoy her moment, even to enjoy the whole evening. Tess could wait.

She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, tried to forget that Kyle hadn’t really said anything at all reassuring during their brief conversation, tried to forget that SHE hadn’t really said anything to him at all.

Tess was watching Kyle dance with Vicky moments later, a slight pang of jealousy beginning to hit her when suddenly a cell phone ringing caught her attention.

It was Isabel’s. Her purse was sitting on the table in front of her. The five of them all turned to stare at it.

"Well, answer it!" Michael finally snapped. "Why are you acting like you’ve never heard a phone ring before?"

It was at that moment that Tess noticed the expression on Isabel’s face. Her friend was swallowing convulsively, her visage completely white. "Alex!" Tess grabbed for Isabel’s purse. "Catch her! I think she’s having a vision!"

Alex just managed to catch Isabel before she went toppling out of her chair. Maria and Michael had both jumped to their feet. Tess barely noticed that Max and Liz had come running up, Max instantly on his knees in front of his sister. Alex was gently slapping Isabel’s cheeks as Tess answered the phone, expecting to hear Mrs. Evans’ voice.

"Hello?"

"Who is this?" The voice was familiar. Ren! Tess’ eyes widened.

"It’s Tess. What’s wrong? Is Jennetta okay?" Tess waved Michael away as he made a grab for the phone. She could see that Isabel was just beginning to come out of her trance. She was shrugging away from Max and Alex, wanting to be solitary as was usually the case after something like this had happened.

"She’s fine." Ren snapped. "Let me speak to his Highness."

Tess felt a flash of irritation. "This is your Queen." She snapped back.

"Not anymore." Ren replied, sounding a little more calm. "Please let me speak to the King Tess."

Tess rolled her eyes, handed the phone over to Max. "It’s Ren."

Max turned away, covering his other ear as he tried to talk to Jennetta’s bodyguard. The music had picked up again, the pounding beat ringing in Tess’ ears.

"I think we should get Isabel out of here." Alex was saying. He scowled slightly when Michael pushed him aside, sweeping Isabel up into his arms. "Hey!"

"Get the door." Michael ordered. Tess looked around uncomfortably. People were beginning to stare at them. Couldn’t Michael ever think before he acted?

Alex just rolled his eyes, hurried ahead to get the door. It wasn’t until they were in the parking lot that anyone thought to ask Max what Ren had wanted.

Max was standing quietly near the Jeep, his arm around Liz, a strange expression on his face.

"Maxwell! What’s going on?" Michael demanded, clearly remembering about Ren now that Isabel was safe.

"I know." Isabel said quietly. She was looking at Max steadily. "Jennetta is about to be born."

Maria shrieked. "WHAT???? Why did he ask to speak to you?" She grabbed Max by the lapels, shaking him. "What’s wrong with her? What bad news does he want you to break to us gently?" Tess looked at Michael, could see that her brother looked ill.

"Maria!" Max managed to grab her hands, lower them to her sides. "She’s fine! The pod is preparing to let her break out. We need to get out there fast." Tess saw the look on Max’s face though. There was still something he wasn’t telling them.

Of course Liz knew it too. "Max, what is it?" She asked quietly.

"I know THAT too." Isabel broke in, her voice still little more than a whisper. "Tarsus has taken the Citadel."