ROSWELL EPISODE #109 - "THE BALANCE"

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(Liz and Maria are working at the Crashdown. Liz is in a really good mood, while Maria is having a bad day)

VOICEOVER: There are days when everything seems wrong, when little things just irk you for no good reason. And then there are days like today when the whole world just sings to you from the minute you open your eyes in the morning, till the minute you shut them again at night, days when you actually enjoy cleaning the milk shake machine.

MARIA: God, this day sucks. Table 2 says their bacon's not crisp enough. Isn't anybody ever satisfied?

(Max and Michael enter the Crashdown)

MARIA: Well, if it isn't Prince Charming and Quasimodo.

(Max and Michael sit down at their usual booth)

MICHAEL: Hey, do we have to eat here?

MAX: I'm, uh, really in the mood for a piece of Men in Black-berry pie. Reminds you of something, don't it?

MICHAEL: Compared to nuclear winter, no.

MARIA: What are you doing?

LIZ: Max likes cherry cola. What does Michael like?

MARIA: Cherry cola with arsenic?

MICHAEL: Can we please leave? All right? I'll buy you a whole one at the House of Pies.

MAX: What's your problem, Michael? I thought maybe you'd want to see Maria.

MICHAEL: We kind of broke up.

MAX: What? Why didn't you tell me?

MICHAEL: Look, I don't...I'm not sure if we did or didn't. I mean, it's confusing.

LIZ: Cherry cola. On the house.

MARIA: Yours is $1.25.

MICHAEL: Guess it's not really confusing anymore, is it?

(Michael gets up to leave and as he does so, he spills his glass of cola over the table. In the process, Max and Michael's books drop to the floor. Michael picks up Max's notebook and pulls out a sheet of paper that has hieroglyphic symbols from River Dog's cave drawn on it.)

MICHAEL: What's this?

MAX: Put that away.

MICHAEL: Now, I know this. This is from...

MAX: Not here, Michael.

MICHAEL: What are you hiding from me, Max?

(Opening credits)

(Maria is filling an alien doll with lots of needles)

ALEX: Anyone I know?

MARIA: Alex, where have you been? We've been looking for you the last couple of days.

ALEX: Oh, well, I've been feeling, you know, a little rocky about...things, you know? So I took some time, you know? A little personal reflection, a little research.

MARIA: So, um, where did you come out in all of this?

ALEX: Well, I've got 2 theories. One is that...uh, you and Liz have been brainwashed by a drug cult.

MARIA: Yeah?

ALEX: And the other is...I'm trapped inside some extremely long, extremely weird nightmare.

MARIA: Yeah, well, the first couple of days were pretty tough for me, too, but trust me, they will not hurt you...I mean, physically.

ALEX: What actually makes you believe in any of this?

MARIA: Well, I guess when Liz was shot and Max dissolved the bullet into nothingness and then repaired the damages inside of her that would have otherwise left her dead, I guess that kind of changed my thinking.

ALEX: Well, I guess maybe I should talk with one of them directly.

MARIA: Yeah.

ALEX: Maybe Isabel.

MARIA: Isabel. One piece of advice, ok? Don't get involved with them. I mean, look at me and Michael. Granted, the passion was outrageous, but in the end, they're pretty heartless.

(In Max's room at home, Michael and Isabel are asking Max about the symbols on the paper that Michael found in Max's notebook)

MAX: I just drew it from memory. It was painted on the wall of the cave that River Dog took us to. I don't even know if it means anything.

ISABEL: Of course it means something. Why else would we all recognize it? Just like the pendant, Max. It's like our language or something. It's familiar, but I can't seem to remember how to read it.

MICHAEL: What I want to know is how long were you planning on keeping this from us, Max?

MAX: Too much was happening, Michael. Topolsky was all over us, and I couldn't risk that...I just thought I should wait, that's all.

MICHAEL: No, no, no. Go ahead and finish that. You couldn't take the risk that what? I would go do something stupid?

MAX: That's not what I said.

MICHAEL: Well, you didn't have to.

ISABEL: I'm sure Max had his reasons, Michael.

MICHAEL: Yeah, that he couldn't trust me with that. But he could trust Liz.

MAX: She was there. I couldn't just...why am I defending myself? This is exactly why I didn't tell you. Because you would jump to some wild conclusion and go off and do something crazy without even telling us. I didn't think that was particularly wise with the FBI following us around.

ISABEL: You should have told us, Max.

MRS. EVANS: Max, honey? Liz is here.

MAX: We're just...going out.

MICHAEL: You're going out?

ISABEL: What? Like on a date?

MAX: No, not at all. We both just kind of felt like Chinese food. It's no big deal.

ISABEL: Then why are you changing your shirt?

MAX: I'm late. We'll figure out the questions we want to ask, and then we'll go back to River Dog together, ok? Please, Michael. Leave it alone for now.

MICHAEL: Fine. I'll wait.

MRS. EVANS: Max!

MAX: We'll talk when I get back.

MICHAEL: Do you ever wonder what else he tells Liz that he doesn't tell us?

ISABEL: Oh, please. You're one to talk. What have you been whispering in Maria's ear lately?

MICHAEL: At least I'm smart enough not to get attached. I can walk away from anybody if I have to.

ISABEL: What is that supposed to mean?

MICHAEL: It means I'm not gonna let Max's mistakes keep me from finding out what I need to know.

ISABEL: Oh, Michael, you promised.

MICHAEL: I promise I'll be as trustworthy as Max.

(Michael leaves out the window)

(Michael arrives at the Mesaliko Indian reservation)

MICHAEL: I'm looking for somebody named River Dog. River Dog.

EDDIE: She's not deaf. She's just not answering you. My name's Eddie. Who are you?

MICHAEL: Well, Eddie, I'm somebody looking for River Dog.

EDDIE: He's busy...in the tent. It's a sacred ritual. You can't go in unless somebody invites you.

MICHAEL: So invite me.

EDDIE: It's a sweat. It's a spiritual cleansing. It's intense.

MICHAEL: If that's where he is, then that's where I want to go.

(At the Crashdown, Alex and Isabel are sitting at a booth discussing humans and aliens)

ALEX: It doesn't add up. I mean, the human body is the most intricate and complex machine in the universe. No matter how sophisticated your race is, I mean, how could you possibly just take on human form?

ISABEL: Fine. I'm not an alien. Whatever you say.

ALEX: Ok, then let's just say it were possible, all right? Why on earth would...excuse the phrase. Why would you be sent here to begin with? I mean, what purpose could you possibly have?

ISABEL: To wipe out the world, one annoying teenager at a time.

ALEX: Sorry.

ISABEL: I don't know. When we came out of these pods, we looked just like normal kids. We've never been anything else but what you see. No green skin, no antennas. We have emotions, we feel pain, and we probably have more questions about ourselves than you do. I mean, haven't you ever felt different from everybody else? Like if you tried to reveal your true self to someone, they just would never understand.

ALEX: Yeah.

ISABEL: Well, that's what it's like to be us. We're just as human as you are, Alex...only we can manipulate the molecular structure of things.

ALEX: What?

(Isabel reaches for a bottle of ketchup and turns the ketchup into mustard, leaving Alex with an amazed look on his face)

(Michael and Eddie enter the tent)

MICHAEL: Is that River Dog?

EDDIE: Don't worry. He knows you're here. No talking right now. Just follow the chant.

(Eddie and Michael take part in the ritual, drinking water from a bowl that is passed in a circle to each person in the tent. River Dog throws something into the fire, causing the fire to crackle with life. Eddie and Michael leave after a short time in the tent)

EDDIE: I told you it was intense.

MICHAEL: What the hell was that?

(Back in the Crashdown, Alex and Isabel continue their conversation)

ISABEL: This is the closest we've ever come to any kind of connection with our...

ALEX: With your home...yeah.

ISABEL: Yeah. Look, the whole staring thing is making me very uncomfortable.

ALEX: What staring thing?

ISABEL: You haven't taken your eyes off me all night. It's like you're waiting for me to turn into something else.

ALEX: Oh, I'm...I'm sorry. I won't stare at you anymore. I'll just...I'll look at this.

(Alex looks over the paper with the alien symbols on it)

ISABEL: I think you've seen enough for one night.

(Liz and Max are on their date playing billiards. Liz is playing like a pool shark, making lots of different shots)

MAX: Very nice.

LIZ: Make sure it's lined up.

MAX: Like that?

LIZ: Ok. Oh!

LIZ: Ha ha. You have chalk on your face.

LIZ: Like that.

(Liz and Max finish their dinner and Liz cracks open her fortune cookie)

LIZ: Ok, this is my favorite part. It says, "this is the best night of your life."

MAX: Is that really what it says?

LIZ: Well, it's better than "a broken clock is still right twice a day."

MAX: You're right. I like yours better.

LIZ: Ok, let me see yours.

MAX: "Ask a girl to dance with you."

LIZ: Is that really what it says?

MAX: It depends on your answer.

LIZ: Yes.

MAX: Then that's really what it says.

LIZ: Ok.

(Max and Liz start dancing)

LIZ: My parents are away for the weekend. They're at a stargazing camp-out. Something about Venus being in the morning sky.

MAX: I thought she was right in front of me.

(Maria interrupts Max and Liz as they kiss)

MARIA: Max. Liz. You guys have to come back to the Crashdown. It's Michael.

(Max, Liz, and Maria arrive back at the Crashdown to see Michael lying on the ground with his head on Isabel's lap. Isabel is stroking Michael's forehead)

ISABEL: Something's wrong, Max. He's really sick.

(Michael seems to have recovered a little)

ISABEL: Here, drink some more water. It's helping.

MICHAEL: I feel better.

MARIA: Maybe he should eat, you know? Starve a cold, feed a fever?

ALEX: Echinacea always worked for me.

MICHAEL: I said I was better, all right? I feel perfectly fine.

ISABEL: You were burning up a minute ago, Michael.

MICHAEL: Well, whatever it was, it's over now, ok? I just want to go home.

MAX: I'll drive you.

MICHAEL: I wouldn't want to ruin your date.

ISABEL: We're leaving now. Alex, you need a ride?

ALEX: What I really need is a sedative.

(As everyone starts to leave, Max and Liz silently stare at each other for a moment)

ISABEL: Max?

(Max turns and leaves)

LIZ: So I guess I'm just gonna hit the hay. Thank you for... uh, locking up.

MARIA: Not so fast. You know what this calls for?

(Liz and Maria are discussing Max and Michael while eating ice cream)

LIZ: Nothing even happened. We kept getting interrupted.

MARIA: Nothing happened?

LIZ: Mm-mm. Well, yeah. The other night we um...we kissed.

MARIA: And?

LIZ: I don't think that we should talk about it.

MARIA: Are you kidding? We have to talk about it. We're the only 2 people in this world capable of having this conversation.

LIZ: That we know of.

MARIA: Don't complicate things, ok? Who wants to go first? Fine, I'll start. I'll start. It was...explosive.

LIZ: Yeah. Uh, that's a really good word.

MARIA: Right?

LIZ: Ok.

MARIA: It was like every cell in my body felt the same cell in his and started heating up.

LIZ: And I got really dizzy. Did you get dizzy?

MARIA: I get dizzy just thinking about it.

LIZ: Ok, you know like all of that time that I spent with Kyle...I didn't have any of those feelings that I did when I was with Max. What about you?

MARIA: Doug Sohn in the eighth grade?

LIZ: Yeah.

MARIA: Amateur. Michael is the real thing.

LIZ: Ok, now, here is the big question. Do you think that we feel like this just because of the fact that they're like...

MARIA: Oh, their non-human status.

LIZ: Right.

MARIA: What if they've like ruined it for us with anyone else?

LIZ: Yeah.

MARIA: Leave it to Michael to just wreak havoc on the rest of my life, even though he wants no part of it.

LIZ: Maria, he'll change his mind.

MARIA: I don't think so. And besides, I've come to the conclusion that it can never happen. I mean, human-alien relationships are bound to be disasters. Just don't think that you can enter into something with Max and expect not to get hurt in the end of it. I mean, me? I'm teflon, babe. Michael starts acting like a total loser...I just walk away. But you and Max, ah. You guys have got that whole...look-into-my-eyes soul mate thing.

LIZ: Um, yeah, you know, this...this whole thing is just, it's gonna work out. We just have to be prepared for anything that comes our way.

(Alex and Isabel go into the UFO Center)

ISABEL: This place gives me the creeps.

ALEX: Yeah, I can understand that now. There's something that I really have to show you. You know the drawing you showed me last night?

ISABEL: Stop talking about it so loudly.

ALEX: Well, it's been bugging me where I've seen something like it, so I came here. I looked around, and that's what I saw. It's this place. It's called Machu Picchu, right? It's in Peru, and it's full of stuff like this...I mean, exactly like in your drawing.

ISABEL: Yeah, well, next you're gonna tell me that spacemen came here thousands of years ago to share all their secrets with cavemen, right? Forget it, Alex. Don't you think we've checked all this stuff out? It's just some stupid rumor like those ridiculous crop circles and the rest of the lies people tell to make a buck. Just let it go, ok?

ALEX (out loud): Well, what if this could help you find your planet?

(Everyone becomes silent and shifts their heads to look at Alex. Milton walks over to Alex)

MILTON (to Alex): What did you just say?

MILTON (to Isabel): Evans' sister, right?

ISABEL: Yeah.

MILTON: I don't appreciate your attempt at humor, young man. We UFOlogists don't joke about things like that.

ALEX: Yes, sir. Of course not. I apologize.

(Milton has a pensive look on his face as he walks away)

ALEX: I'm sorry, I...

ISABEL: Do you understand what a mistake like that would do in front of somebody who really mattered?

ALEX: I'm sorry. I slipped. It won't happen again.

ISABEL: God, Alex.

ALEX: I'm sorry.

(There is some commotion somewhere else in the UFO Center)

MILTON: All right, let us through, please. We're in charge.

MICHAEL: Max. Get Max Evans.

MAX: I'm here. I'm here.

(Michael opens his eyes are they are cloudy white)

MAX: Keep them closed.

CUSTOMER: Someone call an ambulance!

MAX: No, no. I got him. I got him.

MILTON: It's your friend. The one that broke in here. What's going on, Evans?

MAX: Migraines. He gets really bad migraines.

ISABEL: Oh God. Oh, my God, Max.

MAX: Help me get him out of here, quick.

ISABEL: Michael.

ALEX: Here, let me help.

ISABEL: No. Just leave us alone.

(Liz and Maria are filling bottles with condiments)

LIZ: Ok, so, um, once you're done with the sugars, we just make sure that the salt and pepper shakers are filled.

MARIA: You are really letting this whole manager thing get to your head.

(Max comes in with a concerned look on his face)

MAX: Liz.

LIZ: Max, um, what are you doing here?

MAX: We came through the back. We need your help.

LIZ: Maria.

MARIA: Michael. Is he ok?

ISABEL: Does he look ok to you?

MARIA: What's wrong with him?

ISABEL: How should I know? Nothing like this has ever happened before.

MAX: We need to keep him someplace safe. Liz, can we keep him here?

LIZ: Yeah, uh, but let's just take him upstairs. It'll be safer there.

MAX: I'll have to carry him.

LIZ: Yeah, I'll go first.

(Isabel measures Michael's temperature with a thermometer)

ISABEL: It only goes up to 112.

MARIA: We're gonna need some ice and towels. We need to cool him down.

LIZ: Um, they're in the kitchen and then there's some in the bathroom, too.

MAX: Are you ok?

LIZ: Has this ever happened before? I mean, to you?

MAX: Never.

(Michael starts chanting)

ISABEL: What's he saying?

MAX: I don't...I don't know. It's some kind of chant. Michael, can you hear me? What are you saying? What are you trying to tell us? Michael, it's me, Max. Please let me help you.

(Michael opens his eyes and stares at Max with cloudy white eyes)

MICHAEL: River Dog.

(Liz and Max arrive at the Mesaliko Indian reservation in search of River Dog)

EDDIE: You're not welcome here anymore.

MAX: We just want to find out what happened.

EDDIE: You told someone what you found here! River Dog is really angry.

LIZ: It is really important that we talk to him about what he did to Michael.

EDDIE: He tested him. Your friend didn't pass.

MAX: What do you mean?

EDDIE: That's all I know.

MAX: That's not enough. I want to know exactly what River Dog did to him.

EDDIE: He wants nothing to do with you. You betrayed his trust, and that's something he won't forgive.

MAX: I don't want forgiveness. I want answers before my friend dies.

LIZ: Max...Max.

LIZ: Michael's really sick, Eddie. And we don't know what to do. We need River Dog.

EDDIE: I'm sorry, but he's gone.

MAX: I'm waiting here until he comes back.

(Isabel is watching over Michael. Maria enters the room)

MARIA: What are you doing?

ISABEL: Well, he's so cold, I...

MARIA: Are you kidding? He's burning up. Right before I had the chicken pox, I had a really high fever, and my mom had to put me in an ice bath.

ISABEL: This isn't the chicken pox, and he was fine.

ALEX: Knock, knock.

ISABEL: I thought you said you locked the door.

ALEX: The key's always under the mat. Hey, look, everything's going fine downstairs. I just wanted to come up...see if there's anything that I could do.

ISABEL: Yes, there's something you could do. You can get out of here, both of you! And let me take care of Michael. God, he needs me right now, not strangers.

(Max and Liz are walking around the reservation talking about Michael)

MAX: I remember the first time I saw Michael. It was in the desert the night we first came out of the pods. The sky was bright with stars and this full moon. Isabel and I found each other first. We didn't know how to speak, but we could communicate anyway. We walked for a while, but we could both feel someone else.

LIZ: Michael.

MAX: He said he saw us, but that he was afraid. So he just watched us for a long time. When he finally revealed himself, he was standing on this rock. Just like you'd expect from Michael. "Here I am. Deal with me." He said it was the hardest thing he's ever had to do...to trust us.

LIZ: So, um, how did you guys end up getting separated?

MAX: We all saw the headlights at the same time. Isabel took my hand. We knew we'd be safe as long as we stayed together. I held my hand out for Michael. I knew he wanted to. He just wouldn't take it. So we just looked at each other for a long time. Wouldn't see him again for 3 years. Isabel would cry every night, wondering where he was.

MAX: You all right?

LIZ: Uh, yeah, it...it's just kinda sad, you know? Thinking of being separated like that.

MAX: You're wondering if it could happen to me, aren't you? If I could get sick like Michael.

LIZ: No, mm-mmm.

MAX: I've been thinking about it a lot, too...whether this is just our life cycle. And maybe this is how we die.

LIZ: Max, it's...come on, it's not...

MAX: I can understand if you have doubts...about us...I mean, second thoughts. Because committing to someone is hard enough without having to wonder...if they're even gonna be here tomorrow.

(Maria enters Michael's room with a plate of food and a bottle of Tabasco sauce for Isabel)

MARIA: Hey. You should eat. Um, I didn't know how much you like, so...

ISABEL: Thank you.

MARIA: I care about him, too, you know.

ISABEL: I know you do. But Max and Michael are all I have. And if I lose them...

MARIA: You won't.

(Michael starts convulsing and slowly starts chanting softly)

MARIA: What's happening?

ISABEL: I don't know. I don't know! He's too strong. He'll hurt himself. Go get Alex. Michael!

(Liz is calling the others on her cell phone)

LIZ: They're not answering.

MAX: We should get back.

(Liz and Max hear a group of people chanting nearby)

LIZ: That's what Michael's been saying over and over.

MAX: It's coming from that tent.

(Liz and Max walk towards the tent)

(Back at the Crashdown, Maria and Isabel are trying to help Michael, who is still chanting)

ISABEL: Let's give him more water. That helped him before.

(Michael wakes up and finds himself in another place...he is standing next to the alien symbols which are drawn on the ground around him. Michael looks up and sees a constellation)

(Liz and Max peek through the tent to see Indians chanting and passing a bowl around the tent)

LIZ: What are they doing?

MAX: I'm not sure. But maybe what's happening to Michael isn't natural at all.

(River Dog appears)

RIVER DOG: Bring him here. We might not have much time.

(Max and Liz arrive back at the Crashdown. Isabel and Maria are sitting next to the bed that Michael is lying on. Michael is covered with webbing)

MARIA: Thank God you're here.

ISABEL: Oh, my God, Max.

ALEX: This is really happening, isn't it?

(Everyone has arrived at River Dog's cave)

RIVER DOG: Man who lived in this cave when I was a boy was not like us. Some of the elders believed he was an evil spirit, so they decided to test him. He was invited into the sweat, just like I invited your friend. His reaction was quick and severe. Within a minute, his eyes were white, and he developed a fever.

MAX: Just like Michael.

RIVER DOG: Only it took the symptoms longer to show up in your friend. That's why I dismissed him at first. But when you told me he was sick, I knew he was another visitor.

MARIA: That's an interesting way to put it.

RIVER DOG: Well, that's what he called himself. In my language, the word is "nasedo". So that's what I called him.

ISABEL: And you knew Nasedo well?

RIVER DOG: I saved his life. After the sweat, he ran out into the desert. And we were told not to follow him. But I was a boy, and I didn't listen. I found him in this cave, dying. He had to trust me with his secret so that I could heal him.

MAX: And now you'll do the same thing to heal Michael?

RIVER DOG: I'll try, but I'll need the help of all of you.

ALEX: Even me?

RIVER DOG: Healing requires energy. The more we have, the faster we heal. Now everyone take your place in the circle. There's a line for each of you leading to the center.

(There is a large circle drawn on the ground with 5 lines leading from the edge of the circle to the middle. Michael is lying in the middle with webbing covering him from head to feet. Max, Maria, Alex, Isabel, and Liz all walk towards a line)

RIVER DOG: Nasedo gave me these stones. They're from his place. And they carry an energy inside them.

MAX: You mean, these are from...

RIVER DOG: Wherever you are from. He said that his body carried the same energy that's in these stones. He called it the balance. He said that the heat from the sweat disrupted it in some way.

MAX: How?

RIVER DOG: He told me to hold the stones until my energy activated them. And the balance would be restored.

MAX: And if you didn't?

RIVER DOG: He would die.

ISABEL: So let's get going.

RIVER DOG: He warned me, though, there was a risk. The balance can pull you in. It's a force that can change both your body and your mind unless you navigate it properly. Now, clear your mind...and drink from the bowl. Don't change the way you feel about your friend, and you'll come out on the right side.

MAX: What is it?

RIVER DOG: Water. Something in common with all of us. By drinking from the same bowl, we begin the connection.

(The bowl is passed around the circle. Max is first, and passes the bowl to Isabel, who passes the bowl to Alex, then to Maria. Liz is the last one to take the bowl and appears hesitant to join in the ritual)

RIVER DOG: You're afraid...not of the healing. Your fear runs deeper. You fear for someone else, someone you care for a great deal. Take a step back. You cannot stop the flow.

LIZ: I'm sorry.

(River Dog starts chanting, and the others start chanting also)

(Maria appears stunned that Liz isn't participating in the ritual and River Dog softly comforts her)

RIVER DOG: She'll find her own path. You take yours.

(Everyone starts to chant softly. We see Michael wake up in another place and each of the participants in the ritual walk up to him and greets him. Maria kisses him. We see images of Max, Michael, and Isabel when they were in the desert. Max reaches out his hand to Michael who is hesitant to take it. In the end, Michael, Max, and Isabel walk away hand-in-hand. Back in the cave, Michael wakes up and pulls the webbing off of himself.)

MAX: You all right?

MICHAEL: I went someplace, Max, and I saw things.

MAX: But you came back. For good this time.

MICHAEL: Yeah, I came back.

(Max hugs Michael)

MICHAEL: Thank you, Maxwell. No more running. No matter what. Give me your rocks.

(Michael takes the alien rocks from each of the people who participated in the ritual. He walks over to the drawings that the 4th alien drew on the wall and inserts rocks at various places. After inserting the 5th rock, Michael steps back and the rocks slowly glow brighter and brighter, revealing a constellation of where the aliens are from)

MICHAEL: It's a map.

(Liz is on the roof of the Crashdown writing in her journal)

VOICEOVER: I've always been the one who comes through in the time of crisis. I do what's necessary, and I don't panic. But seeing Michael so sick and having no way of knowing what was wrong or how to help made me scared. Scared that one day something could happen to Max and I wouldn't know how to help this person who means so much to me, who means everything.

(Max climbs up the ladder as Liz is writing in her journal)

MAX: Is this a bad time?

LIZ: No, it's not. Hi.

MAX: Just wanted to see how you were doing.

LIZ: I'm fine. Yeah, um...how's Michael?

MAX: Same as ever.

LIZ: That's really good.

MAX: But I'm not, Liz.

LIZ: What do you mean?

MAX: I mean one day it will be me, and I can't keep pretending that I'm normal.

LIZ: Max, look...you know, I didn't...I didn't mean to have doubts. I didn't...I didn't mean to let you down in the cave.

MAX: I don't blame you. You had every right to feel that way, because what you felt is true. We don't belong together.

LIZ: Don't say that.

MAX: The other night, you know, when we went out...and the whole day before...ever since we kissed...I've been off balance. You made me forget that anything else existed, but that's not real.

LIZ: It is the only real thing that I've ever felt.

MAX: Sometimes you have to take a step back to see what's really going on. Maybe that's what we both really need to do right now...find our balance again.

LIZ: You know, Max, I thought that...I thought that we'd found it.

MAX: You don't know how much I wish that could be true.

LIZ: Max...how is it possible that I could be...I could be the happiest that I've ever been in my entire life...you know, and now the saddest all at...all at one time?

MAX: I think that's what being in love is.

LIZ: Yeah, I think so, too.

MAX: So we'll just take a step back...for a while.

LIZ: Well, uh...you know, if that's what...if that's what you want, I...

MAX: It's what I need...cuz I'm just as scared as you are.

(Max starts climbing down the ladder)

LIZ: No, wait, Max.

(Liz kisses Max)

LIZ: I just wanted...to remember.

MAX: Good-bye, Liz.

(Max climbs down the ladder)

LIZ: Good-bye, Max.

(Scene fades out as Liz gazes upward and sees the constellation that Michael saw in his vision)