She opened her mouth and, just as he opened his in return, she took a breath and blew it into his mouth.

Michael coughed and pulled back from her in surprise.

"What the hell was that," he sputtered.

Maria giggled and collapsed on the couch. She looked up at his indignant face.

"That was a suck-and-blow kiss. Great for breaking the mood, huh?"

Michael growled under his breath, "Hardly. Now I've got you right where I want you."

Maria raised her eyebrows as he moved to sit beside her.

"Oh, you mean, on the couch? The same couch that you let Max and Liz borrow to explore their various connections on?"

Michael frowned at her.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Oh, nothing. Iım just waiting for you to admit that when I saw you sitting on the hood of a car that night, it wasnıt actually hockey that you were thinking about."

She smiled at him as his eyes narrowed and a smirk played around his lips.

"I admit it freely."

Maria jumped up, "A-ha! So you were thinking about what, football, basketball, art..." she trailed off teasingly.

Michael stood up, towering over her.

"None of the above."

He leaned down and watched her close her eyes in anticipation of a kiss.

He placed his lips firmly on hers...and sucked the breath right out of her.

Her eyes flew open and she gasped for breath.

Michael smirked as he fell on the couch beside her.

"Vacuum cleaner kiss."

Maria took one look at his grin and decided to wipe it off his face.

She jumped at him, knocking him back on the couch.

After struggling to sit up, Michael felt her lips on his and returned the kiss with fire and wanting.

He was careful to leave his hands on her waist, but it wasn't because he wanted to.

Maria took a breath and re-positioned herself in his lap.

Michael allowed himself to enjoy it for about thirty seconds, but the kissing became too intense and he firmly lifted her up off of his lap and set her on the couch beside him.

Maria sighed in frustration and watched him stand up and pace.

"Hanging out with Max much?"

Michael cast her a grumpy look.

"Want a soda?"

"Sure," she said listlessly. "You know, I thought you having your own apartment would be more fun than this. I think Max and Liz got more use out of that couch than we have. Not that they will anymore."

Michael tossed a cherry coke at her.

Maria tried to catch it, but it dropped to the floor.

"Nice throw," she said sarcastically.

"Nice catch," Michael shot back as he sat on a stool across from her.

"Can't you say something to Max? Heıs killing Liz with this whole Tess thing."

"It's none of my business," Michael shrugged. "Max is a big boy; he can take care of himself."

"Well, he certainly knows how to do that. It's taking care of others he desperately needs to work on. Liz has been nothing but wonderful to him and he just keeps dumping load after load on her."

"Well if it hadnıt been for Max, she wouldn't even be here, so give him a break, okay?"

Maria snapped, "Fine. God, I hate sexual tension. It's so frustrating!"

Michael just glowered at her.

******

Alex raised his eyebrows at Liz, but kept his mouth shut.

"It was here, Alex, I swear!"

Liz was flipping through her journal with something akin to panic. Where was it?

She finally stopped and closed the journal with a thud. She couldn't even meet his eyes.

The warning was gone.

Maybe she was a lunatic, forced out of hiding by extreme emotional turmoil.

She allowed Alex to help her up from the chair. The weakness overcoming her was too strong to fight.

******

Max, Tess and Isabel headed straight over to Michael's apartment. They had a lot to catch up on.

Of course, they hadn't expected Maria to be there.

But Maria took one look at Tess and excused herself breezily.

"I had better get home. Night, Michael. Don't forget to take out the trash," she said, eyeing Tess with venom.

Tess just smiled sweetly in return, then shot her a look behind Maxıs back.

After Maria was gone, they all took a seat and broke the news to Michael.

The story came out slowly. Tess had broken out of her pod, she guessed, when she was younger than they. She had been taken to her first foster family in Tucson, Arizona when she was three.

"Well, that raises more questions than it answers," Isabel ventured. "I don't suppose you remember where you were hatched or anything."

Tess stared at her. "Hatched? I was hatched?"

Max and Michael exchanged glances.

"Sort of, at least we were," Max admitted. "How did you end up here, in Roswell?"

Tess hesitated, "Well, it's sort of weird, actually. Most of my life was pretty normal until two months ago. I mean, as normal as it can get when you're one of us. I started having these visions of this shaft of light and these symbols. They seemed so familiar, even though I hadnıt ever seen them before."

She paused as she saw the three exchange glances. She reached up for the gold heart around her neck and fiddled with it as she continued.

"Eventually, it came to me what they meant. They meant home. And then one day I was looking at a map and, I don't know, the symbols fit with the physical characters on the map, and they pointed to Roswell. I didn't think I would be able to get here, but there was a fire and...my foster family lost everything," Tess suddenly looked very pale. "They...uh, couldn't...afford to keep me anymore, so I got shifted back to the orphanage. And, then...I ended up here."

Tess dropped her hands down in her lap and waited for their reaction.

"Who do you live with," Isabel asked thoughtfully.

"Well, they're...not very representative of who I am, you know? I mean, theyıre nice and all, but...I don't want to have people over or anything, ya know," Tess said in a rush.

Michael nodded.

"Yeah, I know."

They all sat silently, lost in thought. Tess jumped up.

"Can I borrow your bathroom," she asked nervously.

"Sure," Michael gestured vaguely at the back room.

Isabel stood and walked in front of Tess.

"Let me just check it for you. Michael isnıt exactly known for his cleanliness," she said as she sent him a passing glare.

Max sighed and looked at Michael

"Well, now we know one thing," Max said uncomfortably. "The orb's light *was* a beacon. For Tess."

Michael had a frown on his face.

"Something doesnıt feel right. Why is she so nervous?"

Max looked at him with surprise.

"Well, it could have something to do with the way you've been glaring at her ever since we got here."

Michael shoved himself off the couch and began to pace.

"I canıt help it. Thereıs just something off about her."

"I would have to agree," Isabel added as she crossed back into the room. "And it doesnıt make sense, why would you and Liz making out have led you to the orb, if it was just a signal for Tess?"

Max shook his head.

"I don't know. But I saw everything she described tonight when we...uh, connected," he finished uncomfortably. "She's not lying about the symbols, or the fire."

*Thanks for the vote of confidence, Max,* he heard a voice whisper inside his head.

Startled, he glanced over in the direction of the bathroom.

Tess was standing there, an amused smile on her face.

*Don't worry, they'll come around.*

******

Liz lay in bed, her blank eyes on the ceiling above her. She was listening to Alex talk with Maria, who had come by to check on her.

They obviously thought she couldn't hear them in the hallway.

"Did you see her eyes? I haven't seen her this unhinged since Valenti had us in jail," Alex whispered.

"I still donıt understand why she didn't tell me about this," Maria whispered angrily. "She was already upset about Tess and everything. God, I could kill Max for doing this to her."

"Yeah, well, stand in line. Right behind me and the FBI."

They were silent for a moment, and Liz tried to fill the space with harmless thoughts.

I wonder what Max and Tess are doing now?

Liz rolled her eyes.

Nice, harmless thought there.

Good grief, by the time school was out in May, she was going to be a vegetable if she couldn't...get...them...

A chill crept up her spine.

What was happening?

She suddenly couldn't see her room anymore-

She saw white-

FLASH

Max and Tess holding hands at the UFO Center

FLASH

Max laughing and smiling at Tess

FLASH

Their lips meeting in a kiss

FLASH

His hands sliding inside her shirt

"NO!"

Liz sat bolt upright in bed, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

A vision. A flash...whatever-

The door to her bedroom flew open and Alex ran to her bed, Maria close behind.

"Liz, what is it," Alex took in her glazed eyes and panicked. "What happened?"

Liz looked from his face to Mariaıs.