Title: Cousins Author: rfrose14 Written: ??/??/?? Rating: PG-13 Part: 2/4 Disclaimer: None. Summary: There's a new killer in Roswell. How close to Max's family can he be? “Michael, you weren’t there. The man wasn’t crazy.” Max said trying to control his anger. “He said he saw a man touch his head and he felt powerless.” “Maxwell, what if the man was trying to kill Nasedo?” Michael argued, trying not to let his anger burst. “Alex, what do you think?” “I think we should talk to Liz. You know, find out what she saw.” Alex answered. “Liz doesn’t want to talk about it.” Max said. “How do you know? Why can’t she make these decisions for herself?” Michael said. “Because she’s upset!” Max exploded. He didn’t want Michael to make Liz even more upset. He wanted her to believe he would stay but he wasn’t even sure he believed himself. Liz had asked him if he would go with Isabelle and Michael or stay with her if they found a way home. Max didn’t want to argue anymore so he went into the kitchen to be with Liz, Isabelle and Maria. When he walked in Liz was sitting on a chair with her head down. Maria and Isabelle were making dinner. Maria and Liz were supposed to eat with everyone who included Max’s cousins, his Aunt and his Uncle-to-be. It was too quiet for Max. He walked over to Liz, sat down and wrapped his arms around her. “Liz, what’s wrong?” he asked, lifting her head. A shot of pain stabbed through him when he saw Liz’s eyes. They were red, dark red, from crying. She flung herself into his arms and sobbed into his chest. “She’s afraid you’ll leave her. Go with Isabelle and Michael.” Maria told him. “Liz, I promise. I love you too much to leave you.” Max said. Just then, his Uncle-to-be Carl came in. His shirt had been ripped and Max saw a silver hand print under the shirt. Max stood up and walked over to him. “What happened? Get in a fight?” “Yes, as a matter of fact I did.” He answered. “Where are the kids?” he asked, obviously trying to change the subject. “The girls are asleep upstairs and the boys are playing video games.” Isabelle said. She was clearly upset. ‘Why shouldn’t she be upset?’ Max thought, ‘I just promised Liz I’d stay with her and leave Isabelle. Oh God, I have a major problem!’ Liz’s eyes were still red. She could feel it. She didn’t want to go home because she’d have to listen to her father talk about how much he missed her sister and why did she have to leave. That would just make Liz more upset than she already was. Isabelle had asked if she could stay with her and Maria for dinner and she said yes. She really hadn’t met Max’s father but she met his mother when they were in the crash. Liz closed her eyes. She didn’t want his parents to see her red eyes. ‘This isn’t going to work.’ She thought. She lowered her head. Then she felt a hand touch hers. She saw the strength in the arms and knew it had to be Max. “Miss Parker, um…are you a cheerleader like Isabelle?” Mr. Evans asked. “Yeah, and please call me Liz.” She answered. “Dad, um…how was work?” Max asked. Liz knew he wanted to get the subject away from Liz. “Fine.” Mr. Evans answered. Liz could tell by his father’s voice that he understood what Max was trying to say without saying it, so he directed the subject to Maria. “Maria, is school easy for you like it is for Max?” “Yeah, kind of…” Maria started but she was cut off. “What’s wrong with Lizzie?” Sally asked. “She’s fine.” Max quickly answered her. “Her eyes are red!” She argued. Liz took a breath and started to answer her but Sally cut in again. “Mommy’s eyes get that way when she thinks about daddy. She cries a lot. Did Lizzie cry?” Max looked over at Liz who was looking even more upset. “Yeah, she was.” Liz looked at him in a you’re-not-going-to-tell-them-are-you look. Max looked at her and said, “It’s her sister’s birthday tomorrow…” “But why is she upset.” Mark asked. “Because it’s also the anniversary of the day she died.” Isabelle answered. “Oh.” Said all three of the kids who could talk. Liz couldn’t take it. She was going home and putting on her headphones to drain out the sound of her father’s complaining. Max saw Liz get up and leave the kitchen. He got up to follow her. He saw Isabelle and Maria start to get up but he put his hand out to tell them to stay. He rushed after Liz and heard her crying. “Liz, wait. They didn’t know. I had to tell them something. I thought that would shut them up or maybe one of my parents would start up another subject.” “Well, Max, you were wrong. Weren’t you?” She turned around and rushed out the door. Max followed her but he was too far behind, so he picked up the pace. He noticed a man cut in between them and grab Liz’s arm. As she slumped on the ground the man went away. ‘Oh my God!’ was all that was in Max’s head. He ran over to her and held her limp body in his hands. He didn’t even think to follow the man until it was too late. Max hated himself. “Why did I let him get away?” he asked himself over and over. “If only I knew who it was.” “Max, stop scolding yourself. This isn’t your fault.” Maria answered his question. He wasn’t saying anything out loud, but she, like Liz, knew what he was thinking. He hated it. “It’s not like you could have prevented it.” She was sweet. Max knew this. “I can’t help it. I’m sorry.” He answered. Max leaned down and tried to make the connection again. He couldn’t. She was completely out of it. She had to wake up. If she didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to help her. As if on cue Liz groaned and as Max lifted his hand away in shock he got images of him. Her looking at him in that ‘I love you’ kind of way. “Max?” she whispered when she saw him. “Oh God, my head hurts.” She said. She was still whispering and that meant she was weak. She lay back down on Michael’s couch. Max touched her forehead and whispered in her ear that he was sorry. She looked at him, smiled and shook her head. “Don’t be.” She ordered him. He moved his fingers over her eyes to close them. She needed to rest. Liz couldn’t believe it. The last thing she remembered was a man, who she didn’t get a close look at, touching her arm, and then she fell. Then she woke up to see Max with her. She had to stop thinking. Her head was pounding. She opened her eyes to look for Max but everything was fuzzy. What was going on? Her head hurt even more, so she closed her eyes. “Max?” she asked. She knew he heard her because in a second she felt a hand touch hers. She knew it was him. She rolled over and almost fell off the couch. She didn’t know where she was. Max caught her and lifted her back on the couch. “Are you okay.” His voice sounded quiet to her. It was probably because he was upset. She opened her eyes and looked at Max. He was dark, along with everything else around him. She turned her head and she could see everything she was focusing on, but beyond that, she couldn’t make out a thing. She tried to say something, but it came out quiet again. “Max, where am I?” she asked. “Michael’s apartment.” Max answered. Liz felt his hand touch her forehead. “My head hurts, Max.” she didn’t know whether or not to tell him her sight was going bad. “Liz, what happened. Tell us everything, even what you feel like now.” She heard Isabelle’s voice but it was soft. “I remember someone touching my arm, then waking up here. My head started to hurt the minute I started focusing on things, like sound and objects.” She turned her head to Max. “Max, why is everyone so quiet?” she asked. “I can barely see you.” She heard Max take a deep breath, and then she heard a ringing followed by a voice in her head. She pulled up her hands to cover her ears. It didn’t help; it just made it worse. “Make it stop, Max!” she hollered over the screeching bell and the voice that said, ‘Welcome to Earth, my friend.’ She had no clue what that meant and she wanted to know. Max pulled her hands away from her ears and said “stop what”. Liz shut her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs. “Liz,” Max hollered, “Liz, what’s wrong?” He seemed so far away. Liz couldn’t take it. She closed her eyes, stopped screaming, and fell asleep. Her arms slumped to her side and off the couch. Max couldn’t believe it. Liz had asked him to make something stop, but before she could tell him what to stop she collapsed again. He couldn’t take it. He threw his hands up when he couldn’t connect with the girl he loved. He didn’t know what he’d do if he couldn’t get her back. He buried his face in his hands and started to cry. He wouldn’t be able to live without Liz. He felt a hand touch his shoulder and turned around to see Isabelle. Alex and Maria were on the floor, leaning against the wall. They were both evidently scared. Michael came out of the bathroom with a wet washcloth. “This might help.” He said as he handed Max the washcloth. Max took it and placed it on Liz’s forehead and pressed. She groaned which excited everyone. “Liz, are you okay?” Michael asked. “Yeah.” Liz answered. “Whoa.” Liz said. “What?” Isabelle asked. “I don’t know, but I feel like I went somewhere and saw things.” Liz said. “I don’t know exactly what I saw but I’m sure if I tried to, I could remember.” “You were asleep, Liz,” Michael said. “Max tried to connect but he couldn’t.” “Well, I felt like there was someone with me. How long was I asleep?” Liz asked. Michael, Isabelle and the others looked at Max. “About 3 hours.” Max finally said. Liz looked at him with scared eyes. Once she realized that she had been looking at him for a while she turned her head. “I, um, I’m fine now. That’s all that matters.” She said. “Well, you said that you went somewhere like I did. Maybe you went there so someone could tell you something. Try and see if you can uncover anything that had happened.” Michael said. “Maybe it will tell us who was with you.” “I know I saw someone but the picture of who it was is really blurry, like I don’t remember it.” Liz said. Liz closed her eyes and tried to make out the picture of the man she saw. ‘Where did I go’ she thought, ‘and what happened to me. ‘Who did I see’. Liz felt like she hadn’t slept in years so she decided to go to sleep. ‘Maybe that will help me figure things out.’ She said. Liz jumped into a sitting position to find herself in Max’s kitchen on the floor. She didn’t know how she got there but she was. She suddenly saw Max’s uncle. He seemed okay, but then he changed. Liz suddenly knew he was an alien too! Liz didn’t know how to tell Max that his soon-to-be uncle was one of them. When she saw Max’s uncle come in the back door, a shiver ran up her spine. This wasn’t the man that hurt her. How could it be? The man that hurt her was a lot taller. It couldn’t be him. But he was a shape shifter, wasn’t he? Liz was confused. Max came in and looked at Liz. “When did you get here?” He asked, in a happy voice. “Better yet, why are you here? You’re supposed to be at Michael’s.” His voice suddenly changed to angry. Liz got up and walked over to Max with her hands in her back pockets. “It’s Carl,” she whispered, “he’s like you.” Max’s soon-to-be uncle looked at them and Max looked at him. Suddenly, the man held up his hand and Liz and Max went flying across the kitchen. “MAX!!” Liz hollered as she hit the cupboards. Max’s aunt came in and saw her fiancé and looked at Max and Liz on the floor. Max stood up and looked at him. “Why the hell did you do that. I thought I was on your side, Carl?” Max asked confused. “Well then I guess you thought wrong.” He held up his hand again and Liz’s shirt burst into flames.