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Wednesday,
16 May 2001 At the observatory, where the rising sun wakens Max and Tess. They smile at each other and say "Hey". Tess snuggles up against Max's chest and Max's smile changes to a look of concern. Max accompanies Tess into the Valenti living room. Kyle, sleeping on the couch, wakens at their entrance and watches them from under his blanket. Tess whispers "I guess I'll see you in school". Max whispers back "Yeah" and they kiss. Max forces a slight smile and Tess asks "Is everything OK?" Max replies "Yeah…yeah, great". Jim comes in, turns on the light and demands of Tess "Where the hell have you…" He notices Max is with her and surprised says "Max!" Seeing Max's look of guilt, Jim sighs and tells Tess to go her room. Tess immediately obeys, saying "Yes Sir". Max begins to explain by saying "Sheriff…" Jim cuts him off by sternly saying "Go home Max. We'll talk about this later". Chastened, Max agrees and leaves. Tess is in her bedroom looking at herself in the mirror. She has her hands on her stomach. She looks down, then back up at herself in the mirror. In wonder she says "Oh my God!" Liz knocks on Maria's bedroom window. Maria isn't too happy about being woken at dawn. Liz insists that she needs to talk to her, so she lets her in. The two of them looking at Alex's pictures of his trip to Sweden. Liz calmly explains about the building Alex and Leanna are standing in front of, being torn down in 1994. Which means either Alex, or the building, must have been superimposed onto the picture. Maria is creeped out by this information, but curious. She asks "So who's Leanna then?" Liz thinks she could be some girl that Alex never met who was also superimposed into the pictures. Maria thinks she may be an alien killer. They both briefly contemplate this possibility, then Maria asks, if he wasn't in Sweden, then where was he and Liz says that's what they have to find out. With a pleading tone she adds "I can't do this by myself. I really need your help". Isabel is in the Evans' kitchen, doing stretching exercises before her jog. Max comes in and tries to make light conversation about her jogging progress but she ignores him. In an apologetic tone, he tells her he realises that she is still mad but he really needs to talk to someone. In a huff, Isabel stops her exercises, pulls a chair from the table, slams it down in front of Max, sits and glares at him. Max sighs, then plods ahead, having difficulty choosing his words, saying it's not easy to say - especially to his sister, she probably knows that he and Tess have been getting kind of close, and that last night, they - well things…something came up between them, something happened. Incredulous Isabel declares "You slept with her!?" Max softly says "Yeah". In a flat tone Isabel says "Wow" then adds with disdain "Congratulations, Max. You lost your virginity" and she unenthusiastically applauds him. Max is disappointed in her lack of support. Isabel sarcastically replies "Oh gee, I'm sorry. Were you looking for some sort of comfort or sympathy, before you went off and washed her dried sweat from your body? Or, Hey, did you guys do it in the shower?" Max responds "Forget it" and starts to walk away. Isabel retorts "His Majesty will now retire to his room!" Max angrily replies "We didn't plan it, all right? It just happened! I'm feeling a little weird about it right now, and I was just hoping…" Still angry Isabel cuts him off with "You were wrong! I don't care about your morning after anxieties or your delicate feelings, because my feelings sure as hell don't matter to you!" and she stomps off. Tess is waiting for Max by the school entrance. Max comes down the stairs, almost in a daze. Tess goes up to him, smiling and says "Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something". A look of concern crosses his face and when Michael interrupts them, Max becomes overly enthusiastic about his presence. All smiles and hyper, he says "Hey, Michael…Hey". Michael gives him a strange look and cautiously replies "Hey?" Still nervous but toning it down, Max says "Tess and I were actually just talking". Still confused, Michael responds "All right, later" and walks away. Max continues to watch Michael leave, with a look of utter disappointment on his face. Tess, noticing, says "We can talk about it tonight". Max, relieved, asks "Are you sure?" Tess replies "Yeah. There's no rush". They both look at Michael, who glances back at them as he joins Isabel and Kyle and they all stare at Max and Tess. Tess, noticing, says "Max, if it's better for you to keep all this between the two of us right now…" Max automatically says "No" then with more conviction No, it's not". He reaches down and takes her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. Tess is all smiles as they approach Michael, Isabel and Kyle. Max looks less sure but he holds his head high as they pass the trio. Isabel, sitting alone on the bleachers at the football field, staring at Alex's memorial, is joined by Kyle, carrying two drinks. He asks how she feels about the whole Max-Tess development. She tells him she is not speaking with her brother, so if there's something he wants to know, he will have to ask Max. Taking one of the drinks she says "God I hate this place. To think I have to just sit here and rot for the rest of my life!" Kyle says as aliens, they are pathetic, boring and brooding and adds "If I had one tenth your power…" Isabel asks "What would you do?" Kyle replies "I'd have fun!" Isabel laughs and Kyle continues "You know, Fun? Enjoy myself. Get away from this whole doom and gloom thing you guys wallow in, especially you lately". Isabel tells him to shut up but then contemplates what he said and asks "What's your idea of fun?" Isabel is sitting on her bed. Kyle pulls a Playboy magazine from his backpack with the Playmate of the Year on the cover. With disgust, Isabel says "I'm not touching that!" Kyle says Jodie Ann Patterson likes funny guys, to convince Isabel to go through with it. Isabel reluctantly agrees and Kyle kneels by her bed and puts his hand over Jodie Ann's picture. Isabel places her hand over his and they enter Jodie Ann's "dream". She is riding an exercycle, drinking from a bottle of water. Isabel and Kyle are riding side by side exercycles, behind her. Kyle suggests that Isabel make Jodie spill her drink on her top. Isabel, exasperated, sighs and says "Why don't you just go talk to her?" Kyle is incredulous, he didn't realise he could do that. He gets off his exercycle, walks over to Jodie Ann and says hey. She looks at him with disdain and says "This is a private gym". He sees a slice of chocolate cake floating nearby, pulls off a bite size piece and feeds it to her. She moans with delight, takes his hand and licks every last bit from his fingers. She asks "Who are you?" In a euphoric state, Kyle replies "I'm the towel boy. The showers are this way", pointing towards them. Isabel breaks the connection in disgust. Kyle screams "No!" Isabel yells back "This may come as a surprise to you, but I really don't need to see that!" Kyle wails "Then brink a book! Let's go back!" Isabel replies "No dice!" Kyle sighs, defeated, and says "All right, well that was good for me, what can we do for you?" Isabel reminds him that she hates her brother, he suggests they blow him up and she replies that he has a sick little mind. Kyle smiles, laughs and says "Isabel, Buddha teaches us that some of us are born with stones and some of us are born with jewels but the most fulfilled of us are those who are born with stones, and turn them into jewels". Confused Isabel says "What the hell are you talking about?" Kyle asks if she wants to get even with Max or not and she says yes. Kyle replies "OK, then bring your powers to the party. I'll drive". Isabel enthusiastically agrees. That evening, using her home computer, Maria checks out e-mails she received from Alex while he was in Sweden. At the home of Derek , the computer nerd Liz had asked for help from on the binary code, Maria asks him to find the origination of the e-mails. Since it has been encrypted, he points out it would be illegal, but he agrees to do it. Max and Tess are sitting on a park bench near a stream. There is an awkward silence between them that Tess breaks by saying "You seem quiet". He, unconvincingly, replies "I'm not". Tess responds "Max, this just isn't the time to feel you pulling away from me". He awkwardly puts his arm around her shoulder and replies "It's just…what happened between us…it has all these…implications". He asks "What did you want to say to me before?" She is reluctant, saying it's not a good time but he assures her it is. She hedges, saying something sort of came up and he replies "Came up?" She continues "I'm not sure exactly how to say this…" Max laughs nervously and Tess says "I'm pregnant". The smile disappears from Max's face and is replaced by a look of deep concern. Liz visits Tess at the Valenti home. Tess thinks she came because of her and Max but Liz says no, she's there to talk to Tess about her mind control powers. Coming in, Max interrupts them before Liz can ask specific questions. He is not happy to see Liz there and asks why. Liz says she and Tess were just talking and she should just go. Max, blocking the doorway, asks "Talking about what?" Tess and Liz both try to brush it off as nothing but Max insists so Liz admits she was asking Tess about her mind control powers. Dripping sarcasm and venom, Max replies "Oh, so Tess killed Alex. Is that your theory?" Liz says "No". Tess tries to help, saying "Max, she didn't say that" Max interrupts, saying to Liz "That's what you're thinking, so why don't you just ask it!" Surprised by his attack, Liz replies "Max, of course that's not what I'm thinking!" Ignoring Liz, Max turns to Tess and asks "Tess, did you kill Alex?" Tess, exasperated replies "Max!" Max presses "What were you doing the night that he died?" Liz interjects "Will you stop it!" Max continues "Go ahead! What were you doing!?" Kyle, coming into the room, interrupts with "She was with me. We were watching Gladiator on video". Max says to Liz "An alibi. From one of your own". Hurt by his accusations, Liz asks "Can I go now?" Max flippantly replies "Yeah" and steps away from the doorway. Liz slams the door on her way out. Kyle goes up to Max and asks "Is everything OK?" Max gruffly replies "Fine!" and turns away as Tess assures Kyle that everything is fine. Maria finds Liz despondently lying on her lounge chair, on her balcony. She excitedly explains how she realised she could discover where Alex was, by determining where the e-mails he sent her came from, and, with Derek's help, she did. The e-mails were sent from a dorm room at the University of New Mexico in Las Cruces. Thursday, 17 May 2001 Liz and Maria are in Maria's kitchen, heading for the door carrying luggage. Maria opens the door to find Michael on the other side. He sees the luggage and wants to know where they're going. Liz makes up a story about visiting Alex's grandmother in Santa Fe. Michael says he wants to speak with Maria so Liz says she will wait for her in the car. Michael closes the door and says "Where are you going?" Maria replies "Santa Fe". Not buying it, Michael responds "Maria, where are you going?" Maria is reluctant to answer so Michael calmly continues "Liz doesn't want us to know because she and Max are at war. So here's the thing. I'm not gonna tell Max, but I need to know. Because if wherever you're going turns out to be dangerous, I'm sure as hell, gonna be there to protect you. So, where are you going?" Maria replies "We're going to Las Cruces, to the University. And if Liz found out that I told you, I will lose her as a friend". Michael responds "First sign of danger - you contact me!" Maria smiles and nods. Michael adds "Promise?" Maria nods again. "Michael says "Absolutely promise?" and Maria says "Yes". Michael leans down and kisses her on the cheek. She leaves and Michael follows, closing the door behind him. While in line to pick up their yearbooks, Max comments to Michael that Liz and Maria are not in school. Max asks if he knows where they are, Michael says no and Max complains "As if I don't have enough to deal with all ready!" They get their yearbooks and immediately check out their pictures. Max's picture has been replaced with a green alien with big black eyes. Stunned, Max says "Look at this!" Without looking, Michael says "Mine sucks too". Max looks around and sees Isabel and Kyle smiling at him. At the outdoor basketball court, Max and Michael are shooting baskets as Michael asks what else Max has to deal with. Max says just stuff and Michael tries to pin him down so Max admits it's about Tess and adds "The thing is, the other night, things between us kind of…advanced." Michael asks "How far did they advance?" Max replies "I would say they advanced just about as far as possible". Stunned, Michael asks "You and Tess actually had…" Max finishes his thought with "Hot alien sex. Yes". Curious, Michael asks "How was it?" Max replies "Well, it's probably a lot like human sex, except the point of culmination". Michael asks "The point of what?" Max replies "You kinda feel like you're floating. And there's this hot electric energy that courses through your body". Michael asks "And how long does that last?" Max replies "About an hour". Michael is impressed. Max adds "The thing is, there's been a complication". They head for a bench and sit down. Michael asks "What, alien herpes?" Max replies "No, nothing like that". Michael responds "Well, clearly you didn't have any performance problems and other than getting Tess pregnant, which you're too smart to do, what else could there be?" The look on Max's face tells Michael he wasn't that smart. Michael continues "You got Tess pregnant? Holy crap!" "Max replies "And she says it's growing fast. Nasedo said alien pregnancies take about a month". Anxiety growing, Michael asks "What's inside her? I mean, is it human? Is it alien?" Max retorts "Well we can't exactly go get a sonogram". Shocked, Michael says 'You're actually gonna go through with this?" Max replies "I don't know if I have any choice here. This is out of my hands. I can't tell Tess what to do!" Michael reminds him he is the King and Max replies "Which makes her the Queen!" Michael responds "Maxwell, if this thing comes out green with four fingers and three eyes, that puts a major crimp in our hide in plain site strategy". Max asks "So what are you suggesting?" Michael replies "I'm suggesting you point out to Tess how this could screw up all of our lives…forever. She's got to know this affects all of us!" Max contemplates what Michael has said. That night, at the dorm room, Maria and Liz are discouraged to find it totally empty. They are interrupted by a student walking by who stops to ask what they are doing. They tell him they are looking for their friend who was in this room. He asks if they are looking for Ray and they say yes, to get more information. He tells them "He was here for a couple of months, hardly said a word, very weird guy". Maria asks if he said why he was there and why he came in the middle of a semester. The student replies that Ray never left the room, only opened his door when they delivered his Thai food, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He only saw him out of the room once at 4 in the morning coming out of the Litvack building and Ray never even acknowledged his presence. He found it pretty creepy. Liz asks "So what's in the Litvack building?" The student replies that the University has this incredible, supercomputer. In the pod chamber, Max removes a bag from a hiding place. He and Tess sit on some rocks. Tess asks "What are we doing here?" Opening the bag, Max takes out the book she gave them, opens it and, looking at the hieroglyphics, says "This book…if we knew how to read it, it would probably have all the answers for us". Tess asks "What answers are we looking for?" Max replies "I guess answers about what exactly we're getting ourselves into. Tess, this is my child too and I fully accept that. But I also want you to know that this is your decision. I will respect whatever you decide…" Tess interrupts with "Max, I'm having this baby". Obviously disappointed in her decision, Max replies "Okay" then slowly gets up and walks to the middle of the chamber. Tess says to his back "Thanks for the support". Without turning he replies "I said I would stand by you". Tess sarcastically responds "Don't sound so excited about it". Irritated Max glances back at her and replies "Hey, my entire life changed overnight. I think I'm entitled to get a little freaked!" Tess counters "And I'm not? Don't you think I'm a little flipped out by this whole…" Max interrupts with "That's not what I meant…" He is unable to finish because Tess doubles over in pain and calls out "Max!" He rushes to hear and anxiously asks "What is it?" In pain she replies "The baby!" Max pulls her shirt back to reveal her stomach. A little hand, with four fingers and a thumb, glowing red, appears on her stomach. Max places his palm against the glowing red hand. The strain of the energy exerted registers on his face. He pulls his hand away and the little glowing hand fades away. Max, breathing heavy from the strain, says with wonder in his voice "I saw the baby. It's a boy!" Still smiling, he looks up at her and cups her head in his hands. Walking across the campus, Maria and Liz come upon an outdoor concert by Nelly Furtado. Excited, Maria begs Liz to stay for just one song. Liz agrees and they are both enjoying the performance immensely. Suddenly, Liz notices a young woman with long blonde hair among the crowd who looks just like Leanna. She points her out to Maria, who at first doesn't think it could be her, until she looks at the photograph and compares the two. Liz wants to go talk to her but Maria thinks it's getting too dangerous and that they should call Michael. Leanna notices them looking at her and starts to leave. Liz doesn't want to lose her so she takes after her and Maria follows. Leanna crosses the street and a bus stops in front of her, blocking Maria and Liz's view. They rush across the street, causing cars to screech to a halt all around them. The bus pulls away just as they get to the other side and Leanna is no where to be seen. A hand grabs Liz's shoulder and spins her around. It's Michael, who says "I want to know everything!" Friday, 19 May 2001 At school the next day, Isabel and Max are in a classroom and Kyle is in the corridor by the fire alarm. He pulls the alarm and in the classroom Mr Seligman tells the class that it's a fire drill and they know what to do, proceed in an orderly fashion, etc. Isabel waves her hand as she leaves the room. Max gets up to leave but his feet are "glued" to the floor. Kyle and Isabel watch from the doorway. Kyle is impressed with Isabel, saying it's a classic. Isabel doesn't seem that happy with her handiwork. Mr Seligman is getting perturbed that Max is not leaving with the rest of the class. Max and Isabel just stare at each other. At the Litvack Computer Sciences building, Liz finds a professor willing to help her. He tells her their computers' greatest potential is in the field of cryptography. In theory, a quantum computer can break just about any code. Sitting at one of the computers, the professor says "OK, now where getting somewhere. He was definitely trying to decode something, something major." The professor says he is not sure how deep he can penetrate but Liz encourages him to try and find out what he was decoding. In the Valenti living room, Tess and Max are sitting on the couch. Max is going through the classified ads, marking apartments for rent. Tess asks what he is doing and he replies "I've been thinking. If we're gonna have a baby, maybe we should get a place of our own". Pleased, Tess replies "you mean that? Really?" Max responds "I don't know how practical it would be. I don't even know if you want to". Tess replies "I want to start planning our future. I just wonder if that future is gonna be in Roswell". Max asks "You want to go somewhere else?" Tess replies "I always thought the ultimate plan was to go home. Our real home". Max responds "It is. Someday. But we don't know when that's gonna be. I think we have enough to deal with in the here and now. Don't you?" Tess agrees. Liz and the professor are watching the computer screen. Maria and Michael knock on the window to get Liz's attention. She excuses herself and goes to the door. Maria is holding a school catalogue with Leanna's picture from the track team. Her real name is Jennifer Coleman. Liz tells them she is onto something too and will meet them in the Quad later. Michael thinks the situation isn't safe and they should go back to Roswell. Liz has no intention of leaving and starts to shut the door on him. He grabs her wrist and says it's not an option, she is going back with him. She reminds him that he can't tell her what to do. As they are arguing, the Professor calls out to Liz that he found Ray's source material. Liz goes to the professor and Michael and Maria follow. On the computer screen are the hieroglyphics from the book. The professor thinks it is Native American but Michael knows it is alien. Michael asks "Where the hell did this come from?" Liz replies "This is what Alex was working on while he was here." Michael asks "What was he doing?" He learns that Alex was trying to translate it into English and asks "Was he able to do it?" The professor says the data was deleted then adds "The last day he was here, he created this huge text file. He e-mailed it to another address: jcoleman@ulascruces.edu". Liz realises he mailed it to Leanna. Max is in Tess's bedroom trying to read the book. Tess is in the kitchen getting soft drinks. Max throws down the book in frustration. He picks up the newspaper from her bed, and smiles when he sees that she has drawn a heart with an arrow through it and written MAX underneath. Suddenly he hears a crash and Tess crying out. Tess is on the kitchen floor, holding her stomach and in obvious pain. Max rushes to her and asks "Tess, what is it?" She replies "The baby. Something's wrong". He puts his hand on her stomach and gets a vision of the baby. The strain registers on his face. Suddenly he falls back, with a sharp intake of breath as if in fear. Tess anxiously asks "Max, what's wrong with him?" Shaken and trying to catch his breath, he replies "He's sick. It's the atmosphere. This planet is poisoning him!" Tess looks on in horror as he adds "Our son is dying". Liz, Maria and Michael go to Leanna/Jennifer's dorm room. Her roommate says she left unexpectedly because her mother is ill. Maria pretends she is there for some physics notes Jennifer promised her and distracts the roommate while Liz and Michael go into the room and quickly collect mail and papers from Jennifer's desk then they all leave. Outside the dorm they look through what they grabbed and discover a bill for a payment for property outside Las Cruces. When they arrive at the property they discover a building that should be condemned. Maria asks why anyone would rent the place and Liz replies because they have something to hide. They search the place and discover a computer in a room off the kitchen. When Liz and Maria walk into the room it sets off a security device - a glowing, red, pyramid shaped object that starts to beep, faster and faster, like it is ready to explode. Michael uses his powers to propel it out the window, just before it explodes. Breathing a sigh of relief, Liz thanks Michael, then turns her attention to the computer. On it she finds the translation of the book. Looking around the room, Michael finds a small box. He opens it and finds the crystal rod Future Max used to activate the granilith. Maria asks what he found and he replies "I don't know". Liz prints out the translation. Maria says "All the answers, Michael. Even if Leanna has them so do we". Tess is lying on her bed and Max is wiping down her perspiring face with a wet face cloth. She wakes and takes a glass of water from Max as he tells her she slept for a few hours. She asks how it is going with the book. He despondently tells her he can't figure it out and feels he has let her down. She tells him "You're the one person I know I can count on in this world. I have faith in you Max. I always have". He smiles at her kind words and kisses her on the forehead. He tells her "When that happened before, when you fell, I guess I suddenly realised that I could lose you. All this time I thought of you as this person that just would always wait for me - forever. I've been taking you for granted. I'm sorry about that". Kyle approaches Isabel at the Crashdown and says "I'm a guy and I know what freaks guys out. Max wakes up tomorrow - one testicle!" Isabel grins and says "No thanks". Kyle doesn't understand and Isabel responds "This just isn't making me feel any better". Kyle asks if they can dreamwalk Jodie Ann again, so Isabel says she's going. Kyle asks "But what about getting back at Max?" Isabel replies "I'm over Max". Kyle responds "You know, Buddha teaches…" Irritated, Isabel whips around and says "Kyle, if you quote that fat, bald man to me one more time, you're gonna wake up, one of these mornings [points to his crotch] - ZAP!" Kyle blanches. That evening at home, Max is putting out the trash. The can is overflowing and the trash keeps landing on the ground. After picking it up a couple of times, Max's frustration takes over and he starts kicking the cans and throwing the trash all around. He then sits on the ground against the wall and starts to cry. Isabel, who has witnessed the episode comes up to him and says "Max?" Still crying he says "Tess is pregnant". Surprised, Isabel says "What?" He replies "She's pregnant and the baby's dying because it can't live in this atmosphere". Stunned, Isabel stoops down next to him. Max continues "And I don't know what to do because I'm so scared. And I don't know what to tell Mom and Dad because it's like what would I even tell them. They don't even know who I really am. I feel so irresponsible and stupid and I know this is supposed to happen, because it's our destiny. Oh my God, what am I gonna do?" Isabel stands up, holds out her hand to Max and says "Max, come with me". He looks up at her like a little lost boy, wipes at his tears and takes her hand. She takes him to a stream at a park and they stand on the bridge over the stream. She asks him if he remembers what happened to his guinea pig "Bigfoot". He replies that the neighbour's dog got into his cage and killed him. She asks if he remembers what happened the next day and he says no. She waves her hand, it begins to snow and he remembers. With wonder, she says "It was the first time we had ever seen it. It snowed for two days. Biggest storm to hit Roswell in a century. It was a disaster for everyone but us". Max adds "We built snowmen". Isabel chimes in "We made angels" and they both laugh, remembering pelting Michael with snowballs. Isabel says "It was magic". Max replies "Just like this". Isabel says "Max, I had no idea what you'd been going through. My problems are really nothing compared to this, so I'm sorry". Max replies "No they're not. Your problems aren't nothing. They're important. Your life is important. I'm sorry for not realising that". Isabel says "We'll figure something out. We'll figure something out for you and Tess and your, do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" Max replies "A boy". Thrilled, Isabel responds "Wow. You're having a son". Feeling better, Max smiles and says "Yeah, a son. A son!" Isabel hugs him and Michael drives up on his motorcycle. Commenting on the snow he says "A little public, isn't it?" Isabel replies "It's a freak storm, you know, who cares?" Michael responds "Not me, I got bigger things to talk about. Maxwell there's two things I need to tell you. First is, I've been lying to you about Maria, Liz and the whole investigation. Instead of stopping 'em, I've been helping 'em. Second thing is, it was worth it". He hands Max the translation and Isabel the rod. Max asks "What's this?" Michael replies "It's everything we've been looking for. It's a translation to the book. You know the book". Shocked, Isabel says "You're kidding!" Michael replies "Not even a little". Isabel asks 'Well what does it say?" Max, who has been perusing it, replies with wonder in his voice "It's the way home. We can go home". |
