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 Max unrolls his sleeping bag on the floor of the cave and unzips it while Liz runs her fingers across the symbols of the cave map. Max watches her, then comes up behind her, spreads his hand over hers.
"We might never have found this if it wasn't for you," says Max.
"And now you can read it," says Liz.
"Because of you."
"Because of the book."
Max places both of his hands on Liz's shoulders and begins to massage them.
"Do you know what you're going to do?"
"No," he says. "I only know I can't live without you."
Liz turns to face him.
"I have something for you," he says."
"What?" asks Liz.
Max pulls out the pendant Isabel found at Atherton's and places it around Liz's neck as he did that night when she went to the Mesaliko Indian Reservation.
"Max, this is Isabel's."
"No," he says, "It's yours."
"It's one of the few items you have from home," she protests.
"I already talked to Isabel. She agrees with me. It belongs to you."
Liz takes the pendant in her hand and looks at it.
"Thank you," she finally says and kisses Max.
At the edge of the cave opening, Tess peers into the lit cave. She sees Max place the pendant around Liz's neck. She is angry and alarmed. No one must see Liz wearing the pendant. No one. Her jealousy rises as she watches Liz kiss Max; as Liz strips off Max's shirt. Her eyes burn with rage as she sees Max's true passion and love for Liz ignite. Tess backs away, too full of the knowledge of what is about to transpire and knowing that Max and Liz have inadvertently found their true destiny in spite of everything she tried to do to prevent it.
Sean DeLuca searches Liz's room. He's not sure what he's looking for, only that it has to do with Max, something that would expose Max according to Tess, something that could be used as leverage. He's checked Liz's desk, her computer, her dresser drawers. Nothing, just some photos of Max and Liz taken in a photo booth, a prom picture carefully tucked under her underwear, a knife Liz obviously had engraved for Max as a gift. He rests a moment against the window sill and stops to think when his eye catches something odd. He walks directly opposite the window and feels the bricks. There's one that doesn't look quite right, the masonry cracked, the brick slightly forward of the rest. He pulls on the brick and slides it towards him until it's free from the wall. Sean shines his pen light inside and spots the diary. He takes it out and begins to read.
Max and Liz lay on their stomachs, the sleeping bag pulled snug around them. They are in no rush to dress. Liz thumbs through the Destiny Book while Max compares the translation with the pages.
"Max, don't you think it odd that you can see through some of these pages?" asks Liz.
"I hadn't thought about it," he says. "Are you warm enough?"
Liz nods as she pokes her fingers through one of the openings.
"It has to mean something. I mean, why would you do it?"
"I don't know."
"Me neither. It doesn't make sense."
"And metal pages? What's up with that?"
"Maybe you're reading too much into it."
"Maybe. ...How are you coming with the translation?"
"It's like this manual on alien abductions."
"So what does it say? I never really got to read all of it."
"It's disturbing."
"Let me see," says Liz. Max pushes the papers in front of her as she puts the book to one side.
She begins to read: A fixed sequence of events reoccurs from one abduction to another. The story consists of eight possible episodes -- capture, examination, conference, tour of the ship ...
"Max, this is kind of weird."
"I know."
"No, no ... that's not what I mean."
He looks at her curiously.
"It's like it's written by a human."
Their eyes meet.
"You don't think this has something to do with Eagle Rock, do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, listen to this," she says and begins to read from the translation. "The examination begins soon after entry as though the beings are impatient to carry it out. The captive lies on the table while a party of beings performs a manual examination by probing or touching the abductee from head to toe with either fingers or handheld instruments." She stops. Max is very uncomfortable with the description. It's very X-filish and it's too close to his own experiences at the hands of the Special Unit.
"This sounds like a debriefing report or psych evaluation on humans who have claimed to have been abducted by aliens."
"I don't understand."
He flips on his side facing her; she does the same.
"Well, it could mean several things. It may mean the book is fake."
"But that would mean ..."
"that Tess and Nasedo lied."
"No, I'm not sure that's right."
Liz raises her eyebrows and cocks her head slightly.
"It's not as if Tess is the most trustworthy person you know." says Liz.
Max remains silent.
"Think about it, Max. She's the one who brought the book to your attention. We can't be sure it's real. We know Tess isn't above manipulating you or Isabel or anybody else for her own purposes."
"But Nasedo ..."
"How do we know that Tess wasn't mind-warping him too?"
Max frowns.
"He was captured by the military, wasn't he?" continues Liz. And when he first came to Roswell, he was working in the military as his cover. What if it wasn't a cover after all? What if, after he was captured, they broke him Max."
"You're saying that Nasedo told the military about us?"
"Maybe. Or maybe the other alien they captured. I don't know."
"But what about Tess? I saw her in the pod when I was six. That was real."
"You saw someone. It didn't have to be Tess."
"What are you saying?"
"What if it was Ava?"
Sean tucks Liz's diary into his belt in the back, then replaces the brick, leaving it as he found it. He hears the Parkers talking in the hallway and ducks behind the dresser. Liz's mom begins to enter Liz's room, but the phone rings and he hears her answer it. Sean steals across the room to the window and exits. Swiftly, he heads for the fire escape, down the ladder and into the alley. He sees and hears no one.
"What are the other options?" asks Max.
"Well, it's less likely, but humans are kidnapping aliens for medical examination and experimentation."
Max flashes to the White Room. Liz senses his fear.
"Max," she says and pulls him close to comfort him. Liz kisses the top of his head.
At first, neither hears the approaching footsteps. It is only when the steps echo in the cave they realize they are not alone. Max turns to see who is there and Liz peers over the top of his shoulder. It's Riverdog and Eddie.
"You must leave ... now," says Riverdog.
Max shields Liz from most of their view. They look quizzically at Riverdog, but it's Eddie who continues.
"You were followed."
Liz looks at Max.
"By a blond woman, about your height," he says to Liz.
"Tess," she says.
"You know her?" asks Riverdog.
Liz nods.
"She's one of us," replies Max.
"She is a visitor," says Riverdog, " but not one of you." To Liz, he says, "She means to harm you."
Max turns to Liz.
"How do you know that?" says Max.
"She will be back with others," said Eddie. "You must leave now."
"We will keep watch and wait for you outside."
"It's not working," says Tess. "The mind-warp isn't working."
"Of course, it's working," says Lonnie.
"I feel him slipping away," she says.
"You must be doing something wrong. My God, we're doing most of the work now."
"It's Liz. She broke it somehow."
"She's so cornball. She wouldn't know what to do."
"I know her. She's the one."
"What do you mean, 'she's the one?'"
"The prophecy."
"Get outta here," says Rath.
"I saw them," seethes Tess, the image burned in her brain.
"You mean, as in 'together'?" asks Lonnie. "Well, little brother has more going for him than I gave him credit for. ... her, too."
"So she has a thing for hot alien sex, huh?" asks Rath.
Tess is not amused.
"I want her gone."
"And so she shall be, my little petulant queen," says Nicholas. "You just have to be patient."
"And then we can all go home," says Lonnie.
"Home," says Tess nostalgically.
Yeah, home," says Lonnie.
Max and Liz emerge from the cave. He carries the sleeping bag under his arm; Liz holds The Destiny Book and its translation close to her body.
"Eddie will take you to a safe place tonight," says Riverdog. "You can't go home tonight. It's not safe."
Liz shows some alarm.
"What about our parents? Isabel?"
"The danger is to you. They are safe enough."
"Danger from whom?" asks Max.
"Your enemies."
"I don't understand," says Max.
"The prophecy. It begins."
Liz and Max exchange quizzical looks.
"You must go," says Riverdog.
"Follow me," says Eddie.
"What about the jeep?" says Max.
"You won't need it."
"Where are you taking us?" asks Liz.
"I can't tell you that," says Eddie.
"Why not?" asks Max.
"Because you can't reveal what you don't know. ... Just follow me. It's a long way."
"We didn't bring anything with us," says Liz.
"You have what you need," says Eddie. "Come."
Eddie begins to walk. Max takes Liz's hand and they follow Eddie.
It seems many hours by the time they stop. Both Max and Liz feel every stone through their shoes.
"We're here," he says.
Max and Liz see the small camp. There are several tepees erected, one set apart from the rest. Eddie leads them to the tent and opens the flap.
"Everything you need is inside. Running Bird will bring you some hot food."
Liz and Max enter the tepee and thankfully sit. Liz pulls off her sneakers and rubs her feet.
"Are you tired?" asks Max.
"A bit," she says. "I should probably call my mom on the cell so she won't worry."
Max nods.
"What will you tell her?"
"I'll just tell her I'm at Maria's. Maria will cover for me. Did you want to call Isabel?"
Max nods.
Running Bird comes in with some food as Liz talks with her mom.
"Just call me on the cell." She hangs up, then immediately calls Maria.
"Thank you," says Liz as Running Bird hands her a bowl of food. "Thanks, Maria." Liz hangs up her cell and hands it to Max. The food is good and hot. There's some fried dough, rattlesnake and rice. Max has already polished off half his food. He pours some water in a cup and passes it to Liz.
"Thank you," she says and takes several sips. He makes a quick call to Isabel, then returns the cell to Liz.
Liz watches Max untie his sneakers, removes them, then his socks.
"Max, what's the prophecy?"
"I don't know."
"Does it have anything to do with the book?"
"Maybe. I haven't read it all either. There's so much. ... Why don't you lie down and get some rest?"
"Are you coming?" she asks.
"Yes," he says, rubbing his eye, and they stretch out on the readied bedroll.
Sean DeLuca stuffs Liz's diary under his car seat. So Max Evans is an alien, for real. What a joke, he thinks. No wonder Liz is suffocating. It's an impossible relationship. The guy's not human! He can't possibly give her what she needs -- emotionally or physically. He feels better about breaking into Liz's bedroom. He feels even more justified in pursuing Liz. In his book, Liz is fair game. Sean checks his clock. Tess is late. When she finally shows, some 1/2 hour late, he starts the engine of his VW Beetle and pulls up. He's tired of waiting.
"You're late," he says.
"Something came up," she says getting into the car.
"Timing is everything," he says.
"So what did you find?" asks Tess.
"Nothing," Sean lies.
"You're kidding."
"Nope. Clean as a whistle. What were you expecting to find?"
Tess frowns.
"I don't know. Something."
"Well, I've known Liz a long time. She's not into hiding. She's pretty open and really decent."
"Oh, she's hiding something," says Tess. "She's just better at it than I thought."
"All I found were some photographs of her and Max, a couple of mementos. I even checked her computer. It's clean."
"Little Miss Perfect," says Tess.
"Huh?"
"That's what Isabel calls her."
"Well, Liz is something special."
"Yeah, right. I have to go."
"Don't worry. I have it under control."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Hey, Liz likes me. It's the DeLuca charm. I'll take care of my part. You just do yours."
"You can count on it."
Tess gets out of Sean's car.
As she does, Maria's Jetta turns the corner. Michael is with her.
"Hey, isn't that your cousin's car?"
Maria looks as Sean's car pulls away. She almost drives up on the sidewalk.
"Hey, watch it," says Michael.
She stops the car and turns to Michael.
"What IS Tess doing with Sean?"
"I don't know," says Michael, "but I don't like it. Come on, let's follow her, but stay back."
"I know what I'm doing," says Maria, putting her car back in gear.
"Yeah, right," says Michael.
Maria punches Michael's arm.
"What was that for," says Michael.
"Just to let you know I CAN hurt you." Michael rolls his eyes.
She turns the corner. Tess walks casually up the street.
Tired as they are, Max and Liz cannot sleep. Too many thoughts race through their mind -- their newfound intimacy, Tess, the book translation, the unknown prophecy and now another new danger.
"Liz, are you awake?" asks Max.
"Yes," she says. Achingly so. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, I just can't sleep."
"Neither can I, says Liz. "I just think I'm a little tense, you know. I mean, there's so much going on. Just when things seem to calm down, something else happens."
"Yeah, I know."
"We just don't seem to get a break, do we?"
"Well," says Max, a little mischief in his voice, "we have now."
Liz smiles coyly, raising her head.
"We do, don't we?"
"Where the hell is she going?" says Michael.
"Do you think she's on to us?" asks Maria.
"I dunno," he says. "Maybe I should follow her on foot. Pull over."
"No way, not by yourself."
"Come on, Maria. Were going to lose her."
She pulls over and gets out of the car. Michael gets out.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm coming with you. This is too dangerous, Michael. Maybe we should call Max."
"It'll be too late by then."
"What if she pulls her mind warpy thing again?"
"Okay, okay, but you stay out of sight."
They slip across the street, keeping a discreet distance between them and Tess.
They watch as she heads to the park.
"We can't follow her there," says Maria, "It's too open."
"Maybe we won't have to," he says, pushing Maria behind some bushes.
"What, what is it?" says Maria. Michael peers over the top as Maria struggles for balance, then slowly brings her head up to meet Michael's.
"OMG," she says.
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