After a few moments, a young girl - already taller than Liz - opened the door. Her expression was one of defiance, of irritation. "Yeah?" she barked.

Liz recoiled a bit. The girl didn't look like Maria or Michael - she looked like both of them. Like someone had tossed their features into a blender and this was the result. "I'm, uh, looking for Maria DeLuca."

"Who?"

"Oh, sorry - Maria Guerin…or Michael?"

"Who are you?" the girl demanded.

"Liz Parker," she answered, determined to not let this sassy little girl get the upper hand. "Who are you?"

The girl seemed a bit taken aback. "Kelsey," she answered.

"Well, Kelsey, does Maria or Michael live here?"

Kelsey nodded, then screamed over her shoulder, "Mom! There's someone here to see you!" She didn't move her gaze from Liz as she waited for Maria to appear.

Maria came around the corner, an irritated look on her face as well. That look fell away when she saw Liz. She screamed and nearly bowled Liz over as she hugged her. Kelsey rolled her eyes and disappeared in the house.

"Come in, Liz!" Maria screeched as she pulled Liz through the door by the wrist. "Oh, my God, let me look at you!" Liz looked basically the same, only she'd cut her dark hair to her shoulders and she was sporting a golden tan from all of her work outside. She was still slight, pretty in her own way.

Liz appraised Maria as well. She had once again chopped her hair short, and her clothes were still as outlandish as they had ever been. She appeared more mature, but Liz guessed that was a result of her trials with Kelsey.

"Michael's at work," Maria explained as she lead Liz to the living room. She flipped off the TV, then plopped on the couch with her best friend. They hadn't seen much of each other in the past 12 years, but they sent e-mails and talked on the phone every week. "I'm sorry if Kelsey was rude to you - she's such a bitch these days. She's like her father."

Liz laughed. Maria had finally met her match. "How is Michael?"

Maria rolled her eyes. "Same old same old. He was really excited about seeing you, Liz."

Liz raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

Maria nodded slowly. "He misses you, too, you know." A meaningful glance passed between them, then Maria broke into a smile. "Let me get you something to drink?"

"Oh, sure. Um, ice tea?"

"You got it."

Maria left for the kitchen, and Liz got up to look at the pictures on the mantle - Kelsey's school picture, a wedding picture of Maria and Michael, baby pictures of Kelsey, a picture of Isabel and someone Liz guessed must've been her husband…and Max.

Liz felt a lump form in her throat as she looked at Max's handsome face. He'd aged, but no more so than the rest of them. In the photo, his head was thrown back and he was laughing - in his arms was a golden retriever, which was licking his face. Liz had heard that Max had become a veterinarian - he could heal and his patients would never tell his secret. Liz's hand went absently to her stomach, to the spot where he'd once healed her. She'd never told his secret either.

Liz whirled as she heard the front door open and a voice call, "Kelsey, come on. We don't have all day, sweetheart." God, she knew that voice. She had an irrational thought to try to hide somewhere, and then it was too late. Max had walked in to the living room.

"Kels- " He stopped in his tracks, his eyes meeting Liz's.

Liz felt her heart start to jack hammer in her chest and words were impossible. They stood staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Liz," he finally said.

"Hi, Max," she managed.

"I didn't know you'd be here - I mean, I didn't know you were coming to town," he stammered.

"Yeah, the reunion and all."

There was another uncomfortable silence.

"Are you going to the reunion?" Liz asked, desperate to break the silence.

"Um, I think. I haven't - "

Kelsey bounded into the room and threw her arms around Max's neck. He laughed and hugged her, always delighted at her youthful abandon. Kelsey kissed him on the check.

"Uncle Max!" she chirped.

Wow, Liz thought, that's not the same girl who answered the door.

"Are you ready?" Max asked her eagerly, matching her excitement.

"Yeah, just let me get my blades from the closet." The girl turned and nearly knocked Maria over. It was obvious Maria was a hindrance in Kelsey's life.

"Where are you taking her now, Max?" Maria asked, setting a pitcher of ice tea and some glasses on the coffee table.

"Oh, uh, roller blading."

Maria put her hands on her hips. "God, I hate it when you do that. What if she gets hurt?"

Max simply shrugged. "I'll take care of it."

Maria stopped. "Oh, yeah, you're right. Okay then, never mind. Have a good time. Keep her as long as you want…please."

Kelsey returned with the blades slung over her shoulder, then grabbed Max's hand and ushered him toward the door.

"Bye, Maria," he called over his shoulder. "Bye, Liz."

Liz didn't have time to answer - Max's niece had drug him outside.

"Liz, I'm sorry," Maria began, pouring the tea into the glasses.

"No, Maria, it's okay." Liz's knees felt weak, so she sat back down on the couch.

"I didn't know he was coming - he makes plans with Kelsey without ever saying much to me about it." Maria looked distant. "Which is okay, you know, because Max is good for her. She listens to him. It's just if I had known he was coming, I wouldn't have let him ambush you like that."

"Maria, he didn't ambush me."

"You know what I mean." Maria studied her friend's face. "Maybe it's better you got that out of the way."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean maybe now you can just enjoy the reunion without wondering when you are going to bump into Max." She reached across the couch and held Liz tight. "God, I've missed you, Lizzie." Her eyes brightened. "Screw the ice tea - let's go get some ice cream and catch up!"

_____________________________________________________________________

"I want to go to this UFO museum," Lynn Whitman was saying as she sat on the hotel bed. In her hand was a flyer for the museum.

Alex looked around the bathroom door. "Really?"

She laughed lightly. "Of course. You think I could come to the infamous Roswell and not check out the alien museum?"

Alex joined her on the bed, sliding off his shoes. "Guess not. I guess when you grow up surrounded by that stuff, you don't find it so interesting."

Lynn pushed her husband back on the bed and lay on top of him, kissing him. "You don't believe in aliens, do you?" she teased.

Alex started to say something, then figured sometimes the truth was stranger than fiction. "Of course I do. I went to school with some. I dated one."

She laughed. "Were they green?"

"Only when they chose to be."

"Did they have secret powers? Could they read your mind?"

"Nope -they could only invade your dreams at night."

Her eyes widened. "Good one, Whitman - that's spooky."

Alex looked into her deep blue eyes, touched her silky hair. "Can you read my mind?"

Lynn smiled. "I don't have to - I know what you're thinking about." She stood up and pulled her dress over her head. "But it was a long flight. Junior is getting a bit restless," she said as she gingerly rubbed her tummy.

"Sick?" Alex asked, sitting up on his elbows.

"A little," she confirmed. "I think I'm just tired. Maybe I will take a warm bath and a nap - then we can go to that museum."

He smiled to himself as his wife went to the bathroom and started the water in the tub. He reached over and picked up the pamphlet for the UFO museum. On the back at the bottom were the words "Owned and Operated by Michael Guerin." Alex chuckled - Michael had finally gotten his hands on all of Milton's information. He hoped it had brought him some peace.

_____________________________________________________________________

"So what's with Kelsey?" Liz asked, taking a scoop of ice cream. A bigger-than-life banana split was on the table in front of her. It seemed strange to be sitting in one of the Crashdown's booths after all of this time.

"She hates me," Maria said bluntly, taking a bite of her own sundae.

"Oh, that can't be true."

"It is. I think she knows I don't have any powers, so I'm not a threat to her. What could I possibly do to her? Some times I think she is scared to death of Michael because she knows he can knock her on her ass without much effort." She snorted. "But there's always Uncle Max."

"Does it bother you, Maria?"

Maria wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Some times. He is very good to her - treats her like his own daughter. But it's like being divorced and he's the single dad who gets her every other weekend and spoils the hell out of her. Then she comes home and Michael and I get to be the ones to discipline her and we're the bad guys."

"Did you talk to Max about it?"

"Not really. He's so happy with her we can't bring ourselves to do it. Besides, he's taught her how to use most of her powers - God knows if it had been up to Michael she'd have blown up half of Roswell by now."

Liz chuckled, remembering Michael's inability to control his gifts. Apparently not much had changed.

"The only time Kelsey seems truly happy is when she is with Max," Maria continued. "So I just let her go, hoping he's being a good influence on her."

Liz silently wondered about the struggles Kelsey must have been going through, knowing she was different from the other kids in her class. It hadn't been easy for Michael, Isabel and Max, and now Kelsey was going through the same things. Liz had witnessed Max's personal struggle and could sympathize with her.

"Anyway," Maria said, picking at her ice cream. "That's life with a pre-teen." She forced a smile. "What's new with you?"

"Oh, nothing you'd care to hear. Life on the excavation site is about all for me."

"Any boys?" Maria's eyes twinkled. Even over 30, she was still calling them "boys."

"No boys - lots of men, though."

"Really? Do I hear the sound of a broken heart there, Liz?"

Liz laughed. "Not really. You have no idea how geeky archeologists are, Maria. Besides, most of them are married - to botanist and paleontologists. Not a big pool of potentials."

Maria felt a sudden concern for the apparent lack of companionship in her friend's life. "You do date, though?"

"Sometimes." Liz looked at the tabletop. She didn't want to tell Maria that she found flaws in every guy she dated - mostly because they weren't Max.

"Well, good. A hot chick like you shouldn't be alone."

Liz laughed again. "Okay, enough about my pathetic life. I want to hear more gossip about people here in Roswell."

"Oh, alright. Who do you want me to start with?"

Liz looked to the ceiling. "How about Isabel?"

"Well, she's a widow now. Did you know that?"

Liz frowned, sad for her. "Yeah, I heard. What happened?"

Maria sat back in the booth. "She married a great guy - Jonathan Kane. A real hottie. He was a cop, part of the sheriff's squad. Actually he was Kyle Valenti's partner."

"Kyle turned out to be a cop after all, eh?" Liz was amused.

"Yeah, go figure. Anyway, they were on a domestic violence call, walked in on a drunk holding a gun on his wife. They say Jonathan was dead before he hit the floor. Isabel was devastated, didn't talk to anyone for months. She moved back in with the Evanses, and a few months later had a baby."

"Really?"

"Yeah, a little girl she named Hannah. We don't see Is very often." Maria looked away, sad.

Liz reached across the table and touched her hand. "I think I'd like to see Isabel before I go home."

"You'll get to - I think she's going to the reunion."

"That's good."

Liz heard the familiar jingle of the Crashdown door and looked toward it. How many nights when she'd worked there had she looked to see if Max was the one entering? She was shocked that Max had actually entered, holding Kelsey by the hand.

Max slid into the booth next to Maria and Kelsey slid in by Liz. Surprisingly, she was smiling at her.

"Uncle Max told me all about you," Kelsey announced.

Max laughed lightly.

"He did?" Liz looked from the girl to Max and back again. "What did he say about me?"

"Remember where you are, Kelsey," Max reminded her. She was bright, but she was only 12, and there were still things that couldn't be talked about in public.

"Um," the girl searched for words. "He told me about what happened here that day."

Liz looked up at Max, and it seemed as though those years slipped by and she was 16 again, shot in the stomach, and Max was leaning over her, healing her wounds.

"He also told me he was really in love with you and - "

"Waitress?" Max had interrupted her, obviously not wanting her to continue.

Liz felt her face redden.

The waitress stopped at the table. "What can I get you?"

"Coffee for me," Max answered, then gestured toward Kelsey. "Anything she wants."

Kelsey became absorbed in the ice cream menu and forgot about spilling Max's confidence to Liz and her mother.

"How was roller blading?" Maria asked, trying to divert the conversation as well.

"Great fun," Max answered. "Only fell four times this time. Kelsey didn't fall at all, of course."

Kelsey laughed, tossing her blond hair over her shoulder and Liz was eerily reminded of Isabel in her younger days. "That's because I'm younger, Uncle Max."

"Sure, sure, rub it in." Max looked at his watch. "I've gotta run," he announced. "Maria, can you just take Kelsey home with you?"

"Of course."

Kelsey started to pout, but Max pointed a finger at her and she stopped. He dropped some money onto the table to pay for the ice cream, kissed her on the cheek and then left.