Valenti turned the idea over in his head for the rest of his drive home. Music had always been an important part of his life in the past. In fact, there had been a time while he was in high school when it was even more important to him than going into law enforcement. Now that he was no longer sheriff, he considered that it could be time again to give music another try. All he would need to do is gather up a band… and maybe come up with a really good name for the group.

Feeling more motivated than he had since losing his job, Valenti started putting together his plans. He thought of some guys he could get in contact with who he knew liked to play. He also thought of a few local bars that were

always looking to showcase new talent. All they would really need was a place to rehearse, preferably outside of his own home so that he wouldn't have to tell Kyle until he was sure it was going to work out. The rest of the ride, he continued to build on his ideas for the band that would eventually become known as the Kit-Shickers.

17

Liz shuffled through the magazines in the doctors outer office, lamenting the fact that everything had a published date of at least a year ago. She was looking for something to take her mind off her concerns for Jason as he was being examined in the other room. He has to be okay. It's just a little bruise. But she couldn't help think of the bigger wounds that they couldn't see.

She should have realized that the changes in Jason had been caused by something serious, since he had totally shut her out. It was one thing for him to break away from his parents, since that was traditionally part of the process of growing up, but for him to shut himself off from a close, trusted friend was a real sign of trouble.

Liz blamed herself. Her own world had turned so crazy since Max had saved her life that day in the Crashdown that it was understandable she might have missed the warning signs. She could have been around more, considering Artesia had gotten a lot closer once she had obtained her drivers license. But she knew that the real person to

blame was George Lyles, and she would certainly have the time to deal with that.

Frustrated, she dropped the copies of out-of-date Time and Newsweek magazines back into the rack and settled on an old copy of Highlights magazine for children. Turning to the puzzle section, she intended to test her mind with harmless, easy-to-solve riddles as opposed to the difficult games she seemed to be stuck with every day lately.

«This isn't the first bruise like this I've seen on you," Dr. Sellers said as he examined Jason's shoulder.

As usual, Jason said nothing, sitting on the examination table staring down at his feet. Max noticed that he had shut down once again as soon as they had reached Dr. Sellers's doorstep.

«I guess he's an active kid," Max offered, not quite sure how much to say right then.

They had been lucky enough to find Jason's family doctor at home that Saturday. The affable older man was kind enough to open the office attached to his home to give Jason the once-over. Liz and Max explained that he had fallen off his ATV after having gone on a little unsuper-vised joyride, assuming that it would be best not to raise questions about why the two teens had let him go out on his bike without his parents around.

«I'm sorry, how was it that you know Jason?» the doctor asked, genuinely concerned for the child's safety. Max gave the man extra points for being so obviously protective.

«He's my friend.» Jason offered the first kind words to Max since they had met yesterday speaking through his locked bedroom door.

«He and Liz grew up together," Max added, since Liz had decided to stay out in the waiting room to give Jason some privacy. «In Roswell.»

«Okay," the doctor said both to the explanation and to indicate he was done with the examination. «You can put your shirt back on. Everything looks fine to me, but I'll want you to come back with your mom on Monday so we can get some X rays just to be sure.»

Jason nodded his head.

«We'll make sure he comes back," Max added.

«Good," Dr. Sellers replied. «Jason, do you mind if I speak to Max for a moment?»

Jason looked to Max to see if it was okay.

«Why don't you go out and wait with Liz," Max said as the boy hopped down off the table. «I'm sure I'll only be a minute.»

«Okay," Jason said softly as he left the room.

Once the boy was out of earshot, the doctor turned to Max. «I don't know exactly how close you two are, but Jason seems to trust you.»

«I hope," Max said.

The doctor continued. «Jason hasn't really trusted anyone for a while now.»

Max was confused at just how closely the doctor knew his patient, and apparently his face showed his bewilderment.

«It's a small town," Sellers explained. «People come to me with their medical problems and they open up about other things too. His mom's a good woman.»

«She seems to be," Max agreed. «I know she and Liz are very close.»

«Like I said, I've noticed these bruises before," the doctor continued. «I never really put it together.»

«We're taking care of it," Max assured him. «Jason's opening up to us. We're going to talk to his mom.»

«I'm glad to hear that," the doctor said. «He's a good kid. You did the right thing bringing him here.»

Max was pleased by the doctor's words. It was the first sign that he was doing the right thing in his role as guardian for the weekend. «Thanks.»

«Take my card.» The doctor handed him a small slip of paper. «Please call me no matter what happens.»

«Okay.» Max shook the doctor's hand.

He went out into the lobby and collected Liz and Jason, bolstered by the doctor's simple words. For the first time that weekend, he felt like he was in control. They had resolved Jason's attitude problems and were going to tackle the larger issue when his parents returned. Not only that, but they also had an adult on their side who happened to be a medical expert. This bolstered Max's confidence to believe that everything would turn out right.

«Jason said everything was fine?» Liz confirmed as they walked back out to the bikes. They had been so concerned about getting Jason checked out immediately that neither of them had even thought to stop back at the house and pick up Max's car.

«Looks that way," Max replied. «Dr. Sellers wants him to come in Monday for some X rays.»

They could both see the look of trepidation on Jason's face as he climbed aboard the ATV behind Max.

«I'll go too," Liz offered. «I can stay until Monday.»

«Are you sure?» Jason asked.

«I'll stay as long as you need me," she replied.

They rode the bikes back to Jason's home, carefully sticking to the road so as not to risk any more adventures. Max wasn't sure if ATVs were okay to ride on the street, but he honestly didn't care. It was only a short trip from the doctor's place, and they found themselves pulling back into the garage only a few minutes later. Placing the two remaining sets of keys on the rack, they made their way to the house.

Entering the Lyleses' foyer, the trio split into different directions. Jason went upstairs to change, since his clothes were torn and dirty from the fall. Max's clothes were a bit dusty as well, but hunger was his primary distraction, since he was the only one of them who had left the house without breakfast. He hadn't had a shower, either, but that could wait until his stomach stopped grumbling. Making his way to the kitchen, he left Liz to check the answering machine to see if Jason's parents had called while they were out.

Searching through the kitchen cabinets hoping for something to ease his hunger, Max was hopeful when he found a bottle of Tabasco sauce. Now he just needed something to pour it over. In the adjoining cabinet, he found what he was looking for in one of those incredibly sugary breakfast bars. True, it wasn't a lot of food, but it would hold him over until they could put together something for lunch. Pouring the Tabasco over the breakfast bar for just the right sweet and spicy snack, he had taken only one bite when Liz called to him from the living room. The tone of her voice implied that he should hurry