Max, Isabel,and Alex were the first ones at the quarry, they had all come together. Liz, Ava, Michael and Maria arrived next with Kyle and Tess right behind them.

"Kyle, where's your dad?" Max asked as he began to take control over the meeting.

"He had some work to do at the station and couldn't leave. Tess and I will fill him in later," Kyle answered. While Kyle and Max talked, Tess moved next to Max and stood at his side, her eyes on the ground as she tried desperately not to cry or to run. She didn't want to be here, she didn't want them to know.

Liz, Ava, Michael and Maria went to join Isabel and Alex on the blanket that they had laid out on the ground so they could sit and enjoy the picnic lunch that the girls had brought from the Crashdown.

Max sighed as he saw that Tess had immediately walked over to him, he knew or figured at her internal struggle, but it still didn't make him any less irritated. The three of them walked over to the blanket and joined their friends. They had already taken out all the packages of food and were filling their plates with food. Max decided to place the serious talk on hold for a few moments and just enjoy his friends and the time that they could spend together.

They were seated in a circle. Michael was across from him on the blanket with Liz on his right and Maria on his left. Ava was next to Liz and Alex next to her with Isabel between Alex and himself. Tess was on Max's right and Kyle between her and Maria. He felt like he was finally with his family. That everything was okay now that they were together. He smiled at the thought as he dug into his meal and enjoyed the conversation around him.

Twenty minutes later

"Okay. Now that we're all stuffed, can we please talk about what happened here while Tess and I were in New York?" Max asked. They were done eating and Ava and Liz were finishing up putting away all the containers so that the middle of the blanket was empty and clear. "I've been really patient, but I.."

Everyone laughed at Max's comment, even Tess. He hadn't been very patient. He had cornered each of his friends at different times trying to get the story. Max's ears started to turn red when he realized that no one really believed that he had been patient.

"It's alright, Maxwell. We'll tell you now and end your misery," Michael said with a smile on his face. Max was slightly taken aback by Michael's smile. He realized that since he had come home, Michael had been smiling and laughing more.

Michael turned his gaze to Liz. "You wanna tell him, sis, or do you want me to?"

Both Tess and Max's head snapped to Liz and Michael when he called her 'sis.'

"What do you mean? Liz's is your sister? But...but I thought that I was?" Tess cried out. Michael and Liz looked at her with sympathy in their eyes as well as joy. "Why is everybody taking everything I've always believed away from me?" she whispered as tears fell down her face. At that Alex crawled away from his place and towards Tess.

"Honey, listen. We're not trying to take anything away from you okay?" Alex said in his soft voice as he sat before Tess. "But what we have learned will actually make your family grown, not shrink." Tess looked up at him with an expression of confusion and hope on her face. "I promise. It's not bad, just new, different and interesting."

Tess nodded her understanding and Alex squeezed himself in between Max and Tess. Max and Isabel moved over. Max was glad that Tess had finally let someone else comfort her. He turned to Michael and Liz and said in a firm voice.