Quarantine

1 SNAP.'

The thick red ribbon broke, its two ends fluttering down to rest on the ground in front of Meta-chem's main doorway. The petite blond woman who had cut the ribbon smiled and waved to the cheering crowd in front of the state-of-the-art building. Meta-chem's new headquarters had been designed by world-famous architects and fitted out with the latest laboratory technology money could buy. And Marts Wheeler knew it was all a sham. The new building, the company's move to Roswell, New Mexico… it was all a big show she was putting on to hide the real reason she was here. She was here to find one person, a person who lived in Roswell and who possessed extraordinary powers. The one person in all the world who would be able to heal her dying husband, Clayton Wheeler III. And today, at last, Mans would lay her trap for the Healer.

"Thank you!" Marts cried over the cheering. Half the city of Roswell seemed to be here for the Meta-chem ribbon-cutting. And why not? The giant pharmaceutical company

was prepared to offer hundreds of new jobs to the community, everything from business managers to research assistants to janitors. Roswell loved Meta-chem, and Maris would see to it that the feeling continued for as long as she needed it to.

"You're certainly making us feel welcome in our new home," Maris continued as the clapping quieted. "Now, as you know, Meta-chem is committed to giving back to the community. And we're going to begin that process today by announcing the winner of our new college work-scholarship program. We've chosen one Roswell high school student to become a research assistant here at Meta-chem. This student will not only receive the invaluable experience of working with our world-class scientists, but he… or she… will also receive a scholarship of ten thousand dollars toward the college of his or her choice."

"Got your thank-you speech ready?" Maria DeLuca teased, nudging her best friend.

Liz Parker smiled nervously. She glanced at the beaming faces around her… her parents, Maria and her mom, and Max Evans. Liz knew they were all expecting her to win this scholarship. And two years ago, she would have felt completely confident that she would. But her grades had been slowly slipping ever since she'd become involved with Max and his "family" of aliens… his sister, Isabel, his best friend, Michael Guerin, and, of course, his ex-girlfriend Tess Harding. The truth was, there were more important things on Liz's plate these days than winning scholarships. When she'd started high school, all she'd wanted was to excel in school, to continue her studies in science, and to get into Harvard University, her dream college.

But now, she just wanted to get through senior year without a major global crisis.

"Our scholarship student will be working with the director of research here at Meta-chem," Maris Wheeler was saying from the front of the crowd. "So I'll let him be the one to announce the winner. Please welcome Dr. Alan Sosa."

There was polite applause as Dr. Sosa, a wiry man in his fifties, made his way to the podium where Maris stood.

Liz shifted her weight uncomfortably. Her father had, insisted that they get to the ceremony early enough to find a place in the front… so she'd be able to get to the podium easily when her name was called. Liz didn't have the heart to tell him that she wasn't expecting to win. Jeff Parker had kept an eye on Liz's grades when she was younger, but it had been years since he'd felt the need to look over her report cards. Liz herself had always cared about her straight As enough for both of them. Right now Jeff was beaming at her proudly. Liz shuffled her feet and tried to stay calm.

Dr. Sosa was talking now, but Liz couldn't seem to follow his words. She didn't want to be here! So what if she used to be into science? She'd grown up, changed her mind about what was important to her! The problem was, she wasn't sure what she had changed her mind to. There was always some kind of alien crisis to take up her time, so she'd stopped thinking about herself, her own needs. She mostly just thought about Max's needs.

As if he could feel that she was thinking of him, Max

put his hand on the small of her back. Immediately, Liz felt calmer. Max was always a grounding force for her. He leaned over and spoke softly into her ear. "Take a deep breath, Liz," Max murmured. "Whether you win or not, you'll still be the most important thing to me."

Liz sighed. If only that were true. But she knew that Max's life was full of things… and people… that were more important than she was. And top on the list was his son, the baby he was having with Tess. Tess, still pregnant, had killed their friend Alex and then had left the planet. And even light-years away, she was still more important than Liz. Because as long as she had Max's son, Max would never be able to give up searching for them. He would never be able to put Liz first.

"So let's cut to the chase," Dr. Sosa's words broke into Liz's thoughts. "The winner of the first Meta-chem work-scholarship… and my new assistant… is Ms. Elizabeth Parker!"

Maria shrieked and threw her arms around Liz. "I knew it!" she cried. "I swear, I read my tea leaves last night and they told me you were gonna win!"

Maria's mother, Amy, pried her daughter off of Liz. "I think maybe Liz's parents want some hug time too," she remarked.

Nancy Parker held Liz tight, pressing her lips to Liz's forehead. Then Jeff gave her an affectionate push toward the podium. "You'd better get up there before they give your job to someone else," he joked.

Shocked at winning, Liz managed to walk over to where Dr. Sosa was standing. She shook hands with him and accepted a congratulatory kiss from Maris Wheeler, all

the while wondering how she'd pulled this off. Josh Faber from her AP biology class was going to have a coronary… he'd been beating her grades for a year now.

"Um, thanks," Liz said into the microphone at the podium. "I'm really… I'm thrilled. I can't wait to start working with Dr. Sosa…"

As she spoke, her gaze fell upon Max. He was watching her adoringly, but she knew he would leave her in a moment if he had a chance to find his son. He can't put me first, Liz thought sadly. So maybe it's time I put myself first.

"I've wanted to be a biologist since I was a little girl," Liz went on. "And right now, I feel more committed to that goal than I have in a long time." She took a deep breath. "This new job is my number one priority."

Michael sighed happily and gazed through the order window at the Crashdown Cafe. There were two old men having coffee at the counter, and a family of tourists at one of the booths. No Liz, no Maria, no Jeff Parker. Michael was in charge, and he liked it that way.

He made his way out of the kitchen and jumped over the counter… which was strictly forbidden when the boss was here. With a self-satisfied grin, he grabbed a pot of coffee off the burner and headed for the two men. "Hey, old-timer. More coffee?"

"You bet," the gray-haired man answered. "The wife won't let me drink it at home. She's got me on that decaf crap."

"That's not right," Michael commiserated while filling the guy's mug.

"These damn women," put in the other old man, pushing

his mug forward to be filled. "Why do they think they can run our lives for us?"

"We do just fine on our own," Michael agreed. "All they do is make sure we never have any fun."

The two old guys growled an agreement.

'Well, not me," Michael went on. "I am not gonna let a woman tell me what to do."

"I'll drink to that," the gray-haired guy said.

Michael grinned as the two old men sipped their coffee in his honor. This was the life… -just a bunch of guys hanging together. He leaned against the back counter and pulled a Motor Trend magazine from his jeans pocket.

"Michael!" a familiar screech broke into his quiet moment.

Maria burst through the front doors, long blond hair flying behind her. "Why didn't you call me last night?" she demanded as she stomped across the restaurant. "And clean up that coffee spill!"

Michael froze like a deer in the headlights. He glanced down at the counter, and sure enough, there was a ring-shaped coffee stain drying on the Formica. He looked up and met the amused gaze of the two old men. He would totally lose face if he didn't stand up to Maria. "Cleaning isn't in my job description," he said. He forced himself to begin reading his magazine again.

There was a moment of silence. Michael grimaced. Silence was bad. With Maria, silence was a very, very bad sign. He peeked over the top of the Motor Trend, expecting to see two furious brown eyes boring into his own.

But Maria was gone. Baffled, Michael stuck the magazine back in his pocket and glanced around the restaurant.

"She went in the back," one of the old men told him. "And 1 think you're in trouble."

With a sigh, Michael went around the counter… lifting up the end this time to walk through instead of jumping over… and pushed open the swinging door to the back room. If his girlfriend was too mad to even talk to him in public, he really was in trouble.

"Baby, I'm sorry I didn't call… " Michael stopped, shocked. Maria was curled up in a ball on the couch in the corner, and she seemed frightened. "What? Did something happen?" Michael asked, instantly on alert.

Maria nodded, her eyes wide.

"Well, what is it?" he demanded. "An alien crisis? Something with the police? What?"

"It's my mother," Maria whispered. "I'm hiding from her."

Michael rolled his eyes. This was Maria's idea of a crisis? The two DeLuca women spent most of their time bickering, as far as he could tell. "What did you do, dent the Jetta again?" he asked.

The door behind him swung open, revealing Amy DeLuca.

"There you are! How dare you storm out on me, young lady!" she cried. Michael took a step back. Maria had clearly inherited her shrill voice from her mom.

Maria leaped up from the couch and faced off with Amy.

"I had to get to work, Mom. Remember? What did you call it… my 'dead-end job that will never prepare you for any sort of real life'?"

"Your shift doesn't start for another fifteen minutes,"

Amy shot back. "So I expect you to finish the conversation we were having instead of running away like a five-year-old."

"You were the one having a conversation, Mom. I was there to be abused," Maria said.

"Urn, I gotta get back to work," Michael mumbled. He retreated to the kitchen, but since it was only ten feet away, it wasn't far enough to block out the sounds of their argument. Michael knew the fight would come around to him sooner or later. It always did. He knew Amy liked him, but she didn't exactly approve of his relationship with Maria.

"I'm not abusing you, Maria, I'm just concerned about your future," Amy was saying. "Watching Liz win that scholarship today got me thinking… "

"I'm not Liz," Maria snapped. "I'm not about to win any science prizes."

"I know that," Amy said. "But Liz is getting ready for life after high school… she's getting good work experience, starting to earn money for college. What are you doing?"

"I do earn money!" Maria shrieked. "I've had a job since I was fourteen!"

Michael wondered if the customers could hear them fighting. He snuck a look through the order window. Yup, they could hear. The two old men were listening attentively, while the tourist family looked nervous.

"You earn money and then you spend it on Michael," Amy said.

"I knew it," Michael muttered. "It always ends up being my fault."

"It's my money," Maria told her mother. "I can spend it however I want."

That means I'll be getting a lecture from Maria later about how she can't keep paying for dinner all the time, Michael thought.

"Look, honey, in a few months you'll be a senior," Amy said, putting on a calm voice. "I'm not saying you can't still goof off and have fun. I'm just saying that you have to start thinking about life after high school. If you're not careful, you'll end up a waitress in Roswell for the rest of your life."

"Not everybody wants to go to Harvard and become a biochemical-whatever scientist like Liz," Maria said. "Maybe I want to stay in Roswell and work."

Michael sighed. The last thing Maria wanted to do was stay in Roswell. He would have to hear about that later too.

"Great. Fine," Amy cried, throwing up her hands. "Stay in Roswell. Marry Michael, get yourself pregnant. Throw your life away just like I did!"

"Oooh, not good," Michael whispered.

Maria grabbed her backpack up off the couch. "I'm so happy to know that you consider marrying Dad and having me to be 'throwing your life away,'" she said coldly. Then she turned her back on Amy, walked into the bathroom, and closed the door.

Michael shook his head. Usually he was jealous of his friends, who, unlike him, all had parents. But on days like today, he felt like the lucky one.

"How about dinner at Senor Chow's tonight to celebrate your scholarship?" Max asked. He and Liz sat at one of the booths in the Crashdown just as the lunch rush started. Jeff Parker had given Liz the day off in honor of her big win.

Liz was quiet for a moment, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger.

"Just the two of us having a nice romantic dinner?" he prodded.

"I don't think so," Liz finally answered. "I start at Meta-chem tomorrow, so I want to get plenty of sleep tonight." She glanced up at him and smiled. "Don't want to be yawning my first day on the job!"

Max nodded, disappointed. Liz might be smiling, but her heart wasn't in it. He couldn't read her mind, but he was pretty good at reading her emotions. And for the past few days, she hadn't been happy. The worst part was that it was his fault. He knew his romance with Tess had hurt Liz's feelings, but after all, Liz was the one who had told him that he belonged with Tess. For months Liz had even let him believe she'd had sex with Kyle Valenti. Then, after Tess left the planet, Max had decided that it was time to start over… start over with life here on Earth, and start over with Liz.

Last week he'd planned a "first date" for them, and it was supposed to be the perfect evening. He knew the love he shared with Liz was strong enough to overcome the trust issues between them. But on their date, it had all gone wrong. While he was swimming in the lake, he'd gotten a mental flash… a vision of his son with Tess. It had seemed as if his son were calling out to him. At that moment, he knew he couldn't really start over. He could never rest until he found his son and rescued him from Tess.

"Hey, brainiac!" Kyle's voice broke into Max's thoughts. He turned to see Kyle entering the Crashdown along with

Isabel. Kyle headed straight for their booth to give Liz a hug. "Congratulations on the scholarship," he said, kissing the top of her head.

Max couldn't help feeling jealous of Kyle, even now. Liz had told him she didn't sleep with Kyle, but she'd never explained why Kyle had been in her bed all those months ago. Max had seen them there together, and he still couldn't get the image of it out of his mind.

"Thanks!" Liz beamed up at Kyle. "I can't believe I really won it. It's been so long since I even cracked a book."

Kyle sat down next to Liz, while Isabel slid into the booth next to Max. She grabbed one of his French fries, dipped it into the puddle of Tabasco sauce on his plate, and popped it into her mouth.

"I can't believe you're so excited about getting a full-time job," Isabel commented. "I mean, the money for college is great, but face it: For this summer, you're slave labor in the Meta-chem labs."

"But it's amazing experience," Liz pointed out.

"Isabel's right, though," Max said. "It's a full-time job. Plus you'll still have shifts here at the Crashdown. When are you ever going to have time for anything but work?"

When are you going to have time for me? he added silently.

Before Liz could answer, Kyle jumped in. "Well, I'll be right there with you," he told Liz. "Literally. I got a job at Meta-chem too."

"No way!" Liz cried. "That's great."

"Not so great," Kyle said. "You'll be working in the lab. I'll be cleaning the lab. I'm a janitor."

"So what?" Isabel said. "A job's a job."

"Yeah, well, I still have to put in time at Toby's Garage, too. At least until my dad finds some work."

Silence fell over the table. Max felt responsible for the fact that Kyle's father had lost his job as the sheriff of Roswell. He knew Isabel did too. If Valenti hadn't spent so much time trying to help the aliens, he wouldn't have been suspended. And Kyle wouldn't have to work two jobs trying to support them.

"Kyle…," Isabel began, reaching across the table to take Kyle's hand.

"It's fine," Kyle said shortly. He glanced up at Isabel's sympathetic face and forced a smile. "Really. At least I'll have Parker for company."

"Right," Liz said.

Too had I won't, Max thought miserably.

"I am calm, I am collected, I am in control." Maria stared at her reflection in the mirror over the bathroom sink. Through the door she heard the usual symphony of noises from the Crashdown. She was so not in the mood to work today. She took a deep breath and smiled at herself in the mirror. "I am calm, I am collected, I am in control," she insisted to her reflection.

A loud knock sounded on the door. "Yo, Maria, get out here!" Michael bellowed.

With a sigh, she pulled open the door and faced her boyfriend. "What?" she said.

"I need help," Michael told her. "You know I can't deal with customers bitching."

"And you think I'm in any shape to handle a confrontation?" Maria demanded. "Didn't you hear what my mother

said to me before? All I want to do is avoid any more arguing today."

"I know, baby," he said, kissing her quickly. "I just thought you might want to take out some of your aggression on this customer. And besides, I, uh, don't know what to do with her. She's at the counter."

Michael fled back into the kitchen. Maria rolled her eyes. She grabbed her antenna headband and forced it on over her hair, wincing at how tight it was. Then with one final calming breath, she headed out into the dining room. Michael really wasn't any good at dealing with complaints. This was probably that same little old lady he'd gotten into a yelling match with last week.

Maria stopped short when she saw the counter. There was only one person sitting there, and it was a little girl.

"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered. Then she pasted a smile on her face and walked over to the girl. As she got closer she noticed that the girl wasn't as young as she'd thought. She was probably around eleven, though she was tiny enough to pass for a nine-year-old.

"Hi. Is there a problem with your food?" Maria asked.

The girl spun around on her stool and stared at Maria. Her light brown eyes were wide, and her mouth hung slightly open, as if she was surprised. She didn't say anything.

Maria watched her for a moment, then tried again. "Urn, hi. Did you have a complaint?"

"Ohmygod," the girl said in a rush. "Are you Maria?"

"Yeah," Maria answered. "Why?"

The girl kept staring at her, almost as if she was studying Maria's face. "Your hair is long," she said.

Now Maria was starting to get freaked out. Who was this kid?

"Yeah, well…" Maria wasn't sure what else to say. She pushed her hair behind her ear.

The girl pushed a lock of her own shoulder-length blond hair behind her ear.

"Do I know you?" Maria asked.

The girl smiled widely. "Nope!" she chirped. "But I think you are the coolest girl ever!" Suddenly her hand shot out and grabbed Marias wrist. She stared at Maria's nails, then proudly held up her own hand. "We have the same nail polish!" she shrieked happily.

Maria winced. "Mm-hmm," she agreed, pulling her hand away. "We sure do. So, listen, uh…"

"Sadie."

"Sadie," Maria repeated. "Well, listen, Sadie. I have other customers to wait on, so was there something you needed?"

Sadie shook her head, still grinning at Maria.

"Didn't you tell Michael… the cook… that you have a complaint?" Maria asked.

Sadie finally seemed to snap out of her Maria-induced trance. "Oh, yeah," she said. "I asked for a banana split and he said there were no bananas, so I said he could make me a banana split hold the bananas, but he said there's no such thing as that because if there are no bananas then how can it be a split… "

"Gotcha," Maria interrupted. "You want a sundae in a banana boat."

"Yeah!" Sadie cried. "See? You totally get it. You and I must think exactly alike."

"Whatever," Maria muttered, turning away. This girl was starting to get on her nerves. It was nice to be hero-worshiped and all, but Maria just wasn't in the mood today.

"Maria?" Sadie called after her.

"What?" Maria asked without turning around.

"Can I wear one of those antenna headbands like yours?"

Maria couldn't help smiling. Maybe her day was starting to look up. She snatched the too-tight headband off and spun back toward Sadie. "Tell you what, you can have mine," she said, plopping it on the girl's head. "And you don't even have to give it back."

Liz pushed through the swinging door into the back room. Maria was sprawled on the couch, taking a break from her shift. She took one look at Liz's face and held out her arms. "Come to Mama," she said.

Liz threw herself onto the couch next to her best friend. "I had to get away from Max," she told Maria.

"Why?" Maria asked.

"Because he's all mopey about my new job at Meta-chem," Liz said. "He thinks it will keep me from spending any time with him, so he resents it."

"He said that?"

Liz sighed. Max would never say anything unsupport-ive. But she could tell what he was thinking. "No. But he doesn't have to say it. He's right."

Maria frowned in confusion. "About what?"

"About Meta-chem," Liz replied. "This job will take up all my time, so I won't be able to see him."

Maria studied her for a moment. "You don't sound too upset about that," she said. "I'm thinking you want the time away from Max. Am I right?"

Liz nodded miserably. She loved Max more than anything, but it was just too hard to be with him. "I need some space to think, you know? I need to figure out whether I should start dating Max again."

"I thought you'd already made that decision," Maria said. "We all assumed you two were back on again."

"We were," Liz said. "I mean, we had that one date… "

"And then Max went all freaky-alien on you and started obsessing over his son," Maria finished for her. "So we're back to the King Max and Queen Tess issue."

Liz sighed. "Max told me he wanted to start over, that he wanted to forget about Tess. But now that he knows his son has been born, he feels he has to go after him. It's his number one priority."

"And you think he should put you first?" Maria asked.

"No, of course not," Liz protested. "Max has a child out there, and he's in danger. He wouldn't be the Max I love if he didn't put his child's welfare above everything else."

"But…," Maria prompted.

"But I don't know if I want to be with someone who can't make me his highest priority," Liz admitted. "I love Max, but that doesn't mean it's healthy for me to be with him."

Liz put her head on Maria's shoulder, and the two girls sat in silence for a moment.

"So what are you gonna do?" Maria finally asked.

"I was thinking today that maybe I need to find my own

life," Liz said slowly. "One that's about what I want and not about some guy and his needs."

"Sounds like a plan," Maria said.

Liz sat up straight. "It is a plan. From now on I'm going to concentrate on my new job and my goals for the future. And the Max thing will just have to work itself out."

She met Maria's gaze. Her best friend was smirking at her.

"What?" Liz demanded.

"Your plan is to hide at Meta-chem so Max can't find you and make you all swoony."

Liz stood up and tossed her hair defiantly over her shoulder. "Exactly. Nothing bad can happen if I'm stuck in a lab all day."