Merry Christmas Max (AU,M/L,TEEN) [COMPLETE]

[mary mary]

Title: Merry Christmas Max

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the show Roswell nor any of it's affiliates. I have simply borrowed the names of the characters because I like them.

Couples/Category M/L - A.U.

Rating: Teen (Some Lang.)

Summary: Max and Liz have only been married for eight months and Max is having a tough time adjusting...


*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter: 1

Liz was in the bathroom putting the final touches on the little Christmas tree she had purchased at the drug store while picking up a pregnancy test. The tree was so cute and just the right size for the guest bathroom. They were having everyone over for a dinner party the week-end before Christmas and she was so excited. She only wished she could get Scrooge to get in the spirit. He has been in a sullen mood for the past week and she can’t figure it out. This is the third time in the eight months of their marriage that he has acted like a real jerk. She couldn’t figure him out then and she can’t figure him out now.

The sound of the closet door slamming got her attention really quickly and she thought to herself…’not again!!!’

“Max, what do you think you’re doing? It’s after 9:00 o’clock and we have to go to work in the morning.”

Max ignored Liz completely and packed his overnight bag and headed to the front door. Liz grabbed her jacket out of the closet and her purse and followed right behind him. She just wished she could figure out what his problem was. Max got into his car and started the engine and instead of getting into her own car like she usually did and following him she jumped into the passenger seat of Max’s car and decided to try and find out what in the name of God got into him.

Max headed to his parents home, as he usually did, and Liz just rolled her eyes.

“Max, talk to me.” Max just kept on driving and Liz decided to just look out the window at the pretty Christmas decorations…this was getting to be too much.

She hadn’t taken the pregnancy test yet…she was going to wait until they were ready for bed and include Max…she was two weeks late and she was never late but she wanted to make sure before she said anything. If Max continued to act like this she wasn’t so sure she would be able to handle a pregnancy and him. He needed to talk to her and talk to her soon because she was ready to pack a bag and she certainly wouldn’t be going to her parents…it would be out of town and gone. The more Max drove the madder Liz got and she didn’t even know why.

Soon Max arrived at Philip and Diane’s and Liz got out first and headed to the front door…she rang the bell and Michael answered it…

“Hey Lizzie…what’s up?” He asked.

“Ask your brother Michael, I’d like the answer to that question too.”

Philip and Diane were in the living room decorating the Christmas tree and Diane looked over at Philip and said…

“Not again…what is wrong with that man?” Philip looked at Diane and said

“Maybe Michael can find out. He’s not aware that this happens on a regular basis. Maybe he can get it out of Max this time.”

“Philip, I know Liz and she won’t put up with these actions too much longer. I know they’ve been in love with each other for a lifetime but she won’t tolerate this behavior from anyone and that includes Max.”

“I know Diane, but unless he tells us what’s bothering him we can’t help him.”

“I know Philip, but something needs to be done and done quickly…look at her. She doesn’t look confused this time….she looks really angry. Do you think they had a fight?”

“Well, I can tell by looking at her that if they haven’t they certainly are going to.”

“Oh God Philip, what can we do?”

“We can mind our own business and see how this plays out Diane…Until we are asked we stay out of it. Michael won’t, you know that. Maybe he’ll get it fixed up.”

*~*~*

Max walked up to the door just as Michael was about to close it and as Michael looked at Max holding a suitcase he wanted to slam the door in Max’s face. He knew his brother and Liz well enough to know that whatever the problem was it was Max’s fault. Him and his damned closed mouth. He never talked about anything; he would just sit around and work himself into a fit of anger and walk away. Michael closed the door behind Max and walked into the reception hall and got a good look at Liz…’oh this isn’t good’ he thought to himself. Max has done it this time.

*~*~*

Liz turned around and looked at Max who tried to brush past her and head to his old bedroom and Liz grabbed the sleeve of his coat and stopped him dead in his tracks. Max got a good look at Liz and knew he was in big trouble…

“Just what is wrong with you Max Evans? One minute you’re watching television, just like you do every night, and the next thing I know you’re packing a bag and leaving. No ‘I, yes, kiss my ass, go to hell or anything else’…Max…I’m through with these games. This is insane, either you open your mouth and tell me what in the hell is wrong or you stay here this time. Philip, can you take me home? I need to get away from this immature idiot before I hit him with that suitcase.”

“Of course Liz. Just let me get my jacket…Diane would you like to take a ride?” Philip asked Diane with a hint of humor in his voice…he saw the look on Max’s face and he knew that Max realized he did a bad thing this time.

“Yes Philip, I’ll be right with you.” Diane grabbed Michael, who was a very good psychiatrist by the way, and asked him to talk to his brother.

“I’d rather punch some sense into him Mom.” Michael answered. “But, yes, I’ll talk to him.”

“Good.” Said Diane as she headed out the front door.

*~*~*

“Okay Max, what’s going on and what did Liz mean when she said ‘this time’?”

“I don’t know Michael…she has been coming home from work every night this week and decorating the house from one end to the other. I just sit there alone watching television and tonight I’d had enough of it and had to get away from it all.”

“Wait a minute Max. You’re telling me that Liz has been working all day at the hospital lab, coming home and fixing your dinner then decorating the house for a party that is coming up shortly while you sit on your ass and watch TV?”

Max got this startled look on his face and Michael just glared at him…

“Well Max, is that what’s happening every night? It’s not a hard question really…a simple yes or no will suffice.”

Max didn’t want to answer Michael’s question…he knew he was being a jerk when Michael put it that way so he just sat there and looked at the tree his mother AND his dad were trimming together and wondered why he hadn’t been helping Liz. Only he knew the answer to that one. Max looked over at Michael and said nothing.

“Maxwell, what is going through your head right now…you must have some kind of an answer…after all you do know everything, right? You have an answer and a solution to everything that goes on. Don’t you have an answer to this…yes or no Max?”

“NO.” Max answered

“Well, tell me Max…Liz hinted that this has happened before, how many times Max?”

Max just looked at Michael again and said nothing but his mind was churning, looking for answers. They planned a family bar-b-que for the fourth of July and Liz was busy for a week before getting ready and he got pissed and left…then there was the labor day celebration, same thing. Now she’s been busy getting ready for Christmas…What in the hell was wrong with him. She’s trying to make things nice for everyone and he’s acting like a jealous fool…jealous of his own family and a celebration. My God, how stupid he thought to himself.

Michael could see the wheels turning and the expressions on Max’s face change as recognition sat in. Michael only wished that Max would share what he was thinking…it would be interesting to see just what he was realizing all by himself.

Max’s mind continued to work on him…this is the first time she ever left. She usually followed him to his room and crawled in bed with him and the next day they would go back to their own home. She left! Oh God, I think I blew it this time. Then he looked over at Michael and wondered what he was doing here,

“Michael, where’s Maria?”

“She had to go to Santa Fe with her mom. Her grandfather is in the hospital and she didn’t want her mother driving because she’s so upset. But don’t think you are going to turn this around on me Max…we’re talking about your little escapade here and you’re not going to get off that easy. What have you done that would make Liz that angry. I have seen her upset many many times Maxwell but tonight she was livid, so you get busy and tell me what’s going on.”

“God Michael, I think I really blew it. You’re right, she’s been working all day, fixing dinner, cleaning it up afterwards and then decorating the house…alone. I do just sit on my ass and watch TV. But Michael, she sits and watches TV with me and we cuddle and talk and I look forward to that time we have together. I want her beside me, I want to hold her and talk to her and I love her so much Michael…I can’t stand not being with her.”

“God Max, will you listen to yourself…you can have her next to you, you can talk to her and you can grab a kiss or two while you’re helping her decorate…you don’t have to sit on the damned couch every night in order to be together. Put on some music and talk while you do other things. Don’t make her do all of the work, help her and then maybe she’ll have time to sit and watch TV also. Hell, I even bake cookies and although I wouldn’t admit it to everyone I must say that I enjoy it. Maria makes it fun Max and I am sure that you would have just as much fun…look at Dad and Mom…do you think Dad’s first choice is to decorate the tree? Hell no. His first choice, and it always has been, is to be with Mom. So he’ll decorate a Christmas tree or even dry the silver and crystal while Mom polishes and washes it. It’s called being together Max and it doesn’t have to be the same thing everyday.”


Max looked at Michael and found a new respect for his brother. He and Maria argue constantly but now he knows that it’s a form of communicating their love for each other and his mom and dad have this quiet kind of love. It’s just sort of there…you can feel it when you see them together and it’s comforting. He and Liz have a demonstrative love but it runs deep and he knows it does but he feels that he might have blown it tonight.

*~*~*

Philip was driving along the highway to Liz and Max’s when he decided to get off the main road and drive up and down the side streets. It was about 10:00 p.m. and a lot of the homes will have their lights off by now but it would give Liz a chance to cool off and he knew how much she enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations…maybe she would say something to give them an idea of what was going on. It wasn’t like Liz to share troubles with anyone…she was a lot like Max when it came to keeping personal things personal but it was worth a try. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw her looking out the window.

She never questioned Philip about the little side trip, she sat watching the various themes on all of the lawns and thinking. “What in the hell was wrong with him? This is the third time he’s pulled this on her and she was just about ready to strangle him. The first time was the 4th of July bar-b-que. He took off after dinner and went to his parents and she followed him, crawled in bed with him and just held him. They got up in the morning, he took his suitcase and they headed out the door and went back to their own home. He never said another word about it…never explained why he had done what he did or anything else. Just went home like nothing had happened. She didn’t think she had ever been so confused in her life. It was like he missed his old bed or something. Then another time was labor day…he did the same thing and things played out the same way. No explanation, just slept in his old bed and then went home with her the next day. Maybe they needed to bring his bed to their house for him. My God, that’s insane she thought.

Philip looked in the rear view mirror and saw the confused look on Liz’s face and he just had to ask…at least the anger was gone.

“Liz honey, what’s got you so confused?”

Liz giggled…”You know me too well Philip…I was just thinking how insane this all is. Maybe we need to move Max’s old bed to the house for him. It seems that when he gets in one of these moods he goes home, sleeps in his room and comes home the next day. Philip…I am so confused. I know Max isn’t nuts, but something is definitely out of whack here and I can’t figure it out. Do you think it’s possible that he misses his old room?”

Philip and Diane both started laughing and then Diane looked at Liz and asked her what made her think of that.

“I don’t know Diane…this is the third time he’s done this and every time I have followed him home…crawled into bed with him and the next day he picks up his suitcase and comes back to our home. He has never said why he does this…not even hinted at a reason. I am so confused that I don’t know what to do. I do know that he is going to talk about this or we’re through because I am not going to be going to your home every three months to spend the night without a damned good reason. I have to be on my toes in the morning and be prepared to perform an awfully lot of important tests and I can’t be running around all night wondering what in the hell is wrong with a perfectly healthy man.”

Diane and Philip both had to laugh at her again…they knew this was serious and they also knew that she meant what she said, but God this was funny…then Liz started to giggle with them as well. Whatever was bothering Max had to be brought out into the open, they all knew this but Liz’s analogy was truly funny…then Diane thought to herself…what if it’s true? Oh, he couldn’t possibly be missing his old bedroom…that is just too far fetched for anyone to even consider. Oh. My. God!!! She needed to talk Michael and quickly.

*~*~*

Back at the Evan’s home Michael was trying to convince Max to get his ass home and make up with his wife. Max wasn’t too sure that he was ready to face Liz with the truth…it all seemed so childish, which it was…

“I don’t think I can do that Michael…you saw how angry she was when she left. She needs time to calm down before I confess to her how stupid I am.”

“Yes Maxwell, you are stupid, I am so glad you recognize it but you have to do it now. The longer you wait the more angry she’s going to get because she doesn’t have a clue as to what your problem is and she is probably manufacturing all kinds of things in that pretty little head of hers. Now, get out of here and go home.”

“I don’t think I can do that Michael…Why don’t you come with me?”

“Max, you have asked me to do some pretty dumb things in our lifetime but this is , without a doubt, the dumbest. Now go home.”

“Maybe I’ll take her to lunch tomorrow and we can talk then; in a very public place where she won’t throw something at me.”

Michael started laughing…”Max, I can’t believe you are afraid of that little 5’2” brunette.”

“It’s not the physical Liz that I fear it’s the mental Liz. She will chew me up and spit me out without even saying a word. Michael, this is not going to be pretty.”

“No Max, it isn’t, and anything she throws at you you take because you deserve it. Now go home, PLEASE…”

So Max reluctantly picked up his bag and headed out the door looking like Linus dragging his blanket behind him…oh was he in trouble.
*~*~*

Liz finally convinced Philip that she was calm enough to go home now…she needed to get ready for work tomorrow and she would be fine. Philip told her that if she needed anything at all to be sure and call them and she said she would so Philip got back on the main highway and continued to Max and Liz’s home.

“Would you like to come in for some coffee or something. I baked an apple cobbler for dinner and there’s still a lot of it left.”

Philip looked at Diane and she nodded yes…she loved Liz’s desserts. The girl just had a knack for cooking. Must have been all of that exact measuring in those labs.

So the three of them went into the house and lo and behold there was Max sitting in the living room with a very sheepish look on his face. All Diane and Philip could think was thank God …Michael must have worked some magic on him. Liz looked at him and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She definitely intended to get to the bottom of this tonight or he could just go back to his old bedroom and rot.

She took Diane’s and Philip’s coats and hung them in the closet off the hallway and headed to the kitchen to warm up the cobbler in the microwave. She asked her guests if they would like tea or coffee with their cobbler and they both said tea. She didn’t have to ask Max…she knew he wanted milk.

She set the table with dessert plates, napkins, forks and spoons and put the teapot in the middle of the table with an assortment of teas to choose from. She put a large glass of milk at Max’s plate and put a glass of water at her place. When she went into the living room Philip and Diane were sitting quietly on the couch watching TV with Max. He wasn’t even talking to his parents, what in the hell was going on with him?

“Come on everyone the cobbler’s ready.”

Max looked at Liz with a puzzled look on his face and she just shrugged…”Are you going to join us?” she asked very frostily.

Max never said a word, he got up from the couch and took off his jacket that he was still wearing and followed her to the kitchen.

Philip, Diane and Liz talked non stop throughout the entire dessert and Max never said a word. The other three decided silently to just ignore him. They didn’t need to be playing any games with him and if he couldn’t conduct himself as an adult they didn’t need to acknowledge his presence. Max wasn’t really sure about all of this new treatment…he remembered what Michael had said and he knew he deserved it but it sure wasn’t easy.

*~*~*

It was about 11:15 when Philip and Diane bid Liz good night and nodded to Max who was on the couch again watching the news. Liz gave them both a hug and told them good night and drive safely. They smiled at her and then Diane said…”We can have Michael bring the bed over tomorrow if you think you need it.” They all started to laugh and Max looked over at the three of them and wanted to cry. What in the hell got into him anyway. He was even jealous of his parents. When did he become so damned possessive?
He was acting like a two year old and he knew it…this was awful.

*~*~*

Chapter: 2

“Okay Max, what’s your problem and you’d better make it quick because I’m in no mood for any bullshit.”

Liz stood in front of the couch between Max and the TV. She reached down and flipped the television off and continued to stand there. Max just continued to look at her waist which was in line of the TV screen and Liz continued to look at Max’s face. She wasn’t moving and Max knew it. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to just curl up and hide. What was she going to think of his confession? Well he’d better start somewhere so he started off with…

“Liz, I love you so much.”

Liz kept a straight face, holding back a grin, and said…

“I know you do Max but that’s not the problem here so you’d better tell me what is.”

“Well, the bottom line is ‘I’m jealous’.”

Liz got this horrified expression on her face…she couldn’t believe what she just heard.

“Jealous of who?”

“Not who Liz, what.”

“Okay your jealous of what…help me here Max because I’m not following this conversation very well.”

“Well, of Christmas this time.”

Liz wanted to laugh and cry at the same time…what in the hell was he talking about.

“Why are you jealous of Christmas Max?” Then she just had to add, “what did Christmas ever do to you?”

“Well, it’s taking you away from me.”

“Christmas is taking me away from you? How?”

“Well, you are spending every night fixing the house up and decorating and not spending any time with me.”

“You’re serious aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Then Liz couldn’t hold it back any longer…she sat down in the chair across from the couch and started to giggle…she had visions of Michael bringing Max’s bed to the house tomorrow and then she outright belly laughed. Max looked at her and didn’t know what to think. She thought this was funny and instead of telling him how wrong he was she just started to laugh. Max never expected this reaction and he didn’t know how to react. Then Liz saw the puzzled look on Max’s face and she had to tell him what she thought was wrong…

“Max, I thought you missed your old room and had to go home every once in a while and sleep there.”

Max looked at Liz like she had lost her flippin’ mind.

“You’re kidding right?” He asked…

“No. I am not kidding…it makes as much sense as you being jealous of Christmas or any other holiday for that matter.”

Max thought that over for a minute and then he said…

“Christmas is taking your time with me away and I really miss us. Michael pointed out the fact that you are doing everything alone and that we didn’t have to watch TV to be together, that I could help you and we could do things together besides sitting and cuddling. Did you know that he even helps Maria bake cookies?”

“Yes, I knew this…Maria loves it when Michael helps her do things around the house. She said it isn’t so lonesome when he’s there beside her. I’ve often wondered why you never offered to help me but I never dreamed that you were carrying a grudge because I wasn’t sitting with you. My word Max, these things don’t get done by themselves and if you helped me we would have more time to cuddle. Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“I never realized what it was until Michael pointed it out to me. Liz, I feel so stupid…will you forgive me? Please?”

“Of course I will Max, if you’ll forgive me. I should have asked you to help me or to join me in a project…I just never thought of it. Do you feel better now…I know I do.”

“Yes. Let’s get to bed…we both have a long day tomorrow. We have to finish up the house before the week-end and I missed our cuddle session this evening.” Max said…

Liz got up from her chair and went over and straddled her husbands lap and started kissing him like she hadn’t done in a very long time. If that test was negative it wouldn’t be for long.

After their make out session on the couch Liz went to the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher and the leftover cobbler in the refrigerator. She turned the lights off and followed Max upstairs. She went into the guest bathroom and removed the test from the bag it came in and proceeded to take the pregnancy test alone. After the allotted time she checked the results then she grabbed her stomach and smiled…She went into the bedroom and found Max laying there waiting for her.

*~*~*


When Diane and Philip arrived home they found Michael working on the Christmas tree with the stereo playing in the background. Michael looked at his mom and said…

“I hope you don’t mind…I needed to do something and this seemed like fun. I miss Maria but I know that this is important to her, I only hope her grandfather makes it. I don’t want her remembering Christmas time as the time her grandfather passed away.”

“Oh no Michael, why would I mind. It’s your tree too. We hope Maria’s grandfather gets well also. I see you talked to Max. Liz thought he needed to visit his old room every once in a while and that’s why he was coming home about every three months.”

Michael started laughing…”It makes as much sense as the real problem.” Michael said.

“Oh, what’s that son?” asked Philip

“Jealousy.” Said Michael.

“Jealousy? Who in the hell does he have to be jealous of?” asked Philip.

“Not who Dad, what. He was jealous of Liz spending so much time preparing for holidays. For instance, the fourth of July, memorial day and now she’s spending too much time getting ready for Christmas and not enough time with him. Come to find out he doesn’t help her with a damned thing and when she’s busy doing all of the prep work herself he gets mad because she’s not sitting and cuddling with him. Needless to say I think he understands now that there’s more to life than sitting on the couch cuddling to be together. There are other things he can do to enjoy his wife’s company.”

Philip and Diane both nodded at Michael and then they both picked up a box of ornaments and continued their conversation as they all worked on the Christmas tree. Then Michael started to laugh…”she really thought he missed his room?”

“Yep, she did.” Answered Diane and they all started to laugh.

*~*~*

“What took you so long Liz, I thought you were just going to turn off the lights?”

“Well, I had another little chore before coming in.” Liz crawled into bed next to Max and nuzzled into his arms, started to curl the hair on his chest around her finger and said “You’re going to be a daddy Max, and I hope you realize going in that a baby is going to be cutting into your cuddling time.”

Max looked at his little wife and had the biggest smile on his face than she had ever seen on anybody.

“I love you so much Max.” Liz said as she moved even closer…

“Oh baby you have no idea how much I love you…thank you, thank you, thank you and I really will share you, honest.” And Max held his little wife so close she could hardly breathe.


*~*~*

[mary mary]

Hi guys, Ken, Eve, pijeechinadoll and janetfl, thank you for your input and also for all of your help...


Chapter: 3

The next morning Liz woke up to the sound of the vacuum running somewhere in the house and she wondered what in the hell…who was running a vacuum sweeper at, she looked at the clock, 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday. She really liked to sleep in on Saturday, it was the only day of the week that she could. She grabbed her robe and headed to the bathroom before going downstairs.

After she took a quick shower and brushed her teeth and pulled her hair into a pony tail she wrapped her robe around her and headed to the kitchen. As she came down the steps she saw Max with a dust rag hanging out of his back pocket as he moved the couch away from the window in order to vacuum behind it. “What in God’s name are you doing Max?”

Max turned around and looked at his beautiful wife and smiled…”I’m helping so we can spend the rest of the day together doing something fun!”

Liz didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She really missed her ‘sleep in morning’ but this was too special for her to ruin with a complaint. “Oh God Max, honey, you didn’t have to do this so early…if you would have waited for me I would have helped you. We could have done it together.”

“I know, but I wanted to surprise you…don’t you want me to do it?” Max asked with a skeptical look on his face…

“Of course I want you to do it, I think. It’s just…well, you never have before and it really is a surprise. It’s a very nice surprise for sure, but I think I might feel just a little guilty about this. Max, I don’t know how I feel. I feel an awfully lot of love for you right now, but I am having a lot of mixed emotions as well. God baby, this is just so sweet of you.” And with that Liz walked over to her husband and stood on her tippy toes and kissed him very passionately on the lips…urging him to stop with his chores and pay some attention to her, she just wanted to go back to sleep. Max was very happy to oblige his wife and the next thing they knew they were sprawled on the couch that was sitting in the middle of the living room floor.

After a long and languorous make out session Liz fell back to sleep and Max just laid there on the couch holding her. This wasn’t so bad after all he thought to himself. Maybe he should do this every Saturday. It’s too bad Liz didn’t know what he was thinking because I am sure she would have tried to convince him to wait an hour or two before starting the vacuum sweeper on Saturday morning.

When Liz finally woke up from her nap it was well past 11:00 a.m. and Max was feeling very good about life in general. She opened her eyes and relished the feel of waking up in Max’s arms. She loved him more than life itself but he could infuriate her to the point of wanting to mutilate him but she loved him with every fiber of her being. He smiled down on her beautiful face and kissed her on the forehead and asked her if she had a nice nap to which she replied…”Great, just great…now how about I fix us something to eat and you can finish up the living room. After that we can tackle the upstairs together and maybe we’ll have time to catch an early show before dinner. How does that sound?”

“God Liz, that sounds great. We haven’t been to a movie in ages let alone in the afternoon. What shall we see?”

“Whatever is playing Max…like you said, we haven’t been to a movie in ages so we’ll just pick one.”

“Great!” Max was beside himself. Why did Michael have to tell him that he should help his wife. When did he become so stupid? Dad was always with his Mom when they were home. It didn’t matter if Mom was cooking a meal or cleaning the bathrooms…Dad seemed to be there with her. Michael was right, he certainly was a jerk. A spoiled jealous jerk. He had to tell Liz how sorry he was about the way he had been acting.

Max headed to the kitchen and asked with a sheepish grin…”can I help you get breakfast and then you can help me finish the living room?”

Liz looked up into her husbands beautiful honey colored eyes and smiled at him…”of course Max. You set the table and I’ll finish up over here.” Max all but bounced to the cupboard to retrieve a couple of plates, mugs and grabbed some napkins off the counter on his way to the table. Liz continued to watch the bacon sizzle as she braised the eggs and then when Max had finished with the table settings she told him to pop some bread into the toaster. He was like a kid in a candy store. As he took the bread out of the bread box he nuzzled Liz’s neck and planted a kiss on her temple before continuing to the toaster. Liz felt like a teenager again; it had been a long time since chores were fun and she was enjoying this as much as Max seemed to be enjoying this. It’s too bad she hadn’t lost it the first time he decided to run away from home. And then she started giggling at herself for thinking like that. Max looked at her confusedly and asked “Care to share the joke?”

“Oh Max, it’s not a joke…I was just thinking how much fun getting breakfast is today.” And she continued to smile.

Max looked at her and then said in reply…”You are so right sweetheart…it’s too bad I was such a jerk for all of these months. Look at the fun we’ve missed.” And he walked up behind his little wife and wrapped his arms around her waist and held on for dear life. He loved her so much and he never took the time to really tell her how much. That was all going to change starting right here and right now.

*~*~*

Chapter: 4

Liz was getting ready for work early Monday morning and she felt a sharp pain in her back, only for a second but it scared her none the less. She didn’t know whether to tell Max or not. Max was in the shower getting ready for his day at the office as well, Evans, Austin, Whitman and Assoc. Oh life was good and getting better everyday. He couldn’t wait until it was time to share the news with everyone. Liz had explained to him that they shouldn’t get too excited for the first three months but he couldn’t help it.

As Liz put her scrubs on she thought she would just stop into the ER and talk to her friend Maria, the OBGYN she usually visited, also Michaels wife. Then she remembered that Maria had taken her Mom to see her ailing grandfather. Oh damn, should she get concerned? She decided she should and took the time to text Maria while Max was still in the bathroom.

Maria immediately phoned her back…

“Liz, what’s going on?

“Maria, please, wait until Max is out of sight okay?”

“Well make it quick because you can’t just text me a message like, ‘think I’m pg and am having back pains’ Liz…it just doesn’t work like that.”

“Okay, I’ll call you soon…”

“And Liz, don’t go to work until we talk.”

‘Okay…geeeze…”

And so Liz continued to apply some lip gloss and fix her hair up off her neck while Max got ready for work. Breakfast consisted of some cereal and juice this morning and they were off…so Max thought anyway. He kissed his wife on the forehead as he headed for his car and told her to have the best day ever. Liz gave him a smile that really didn’t reach her eyes but Max didn’t notice as he opened the car door. As soon as he was around the corner Liz immediately called Maria back.

“So what’s up girlfriend? You think your pregnant and now you’re having pains? Just where are the pains and what makes you think you’re pregnant?”

“Well, I’m late so I took a pregnancy test and it was positive and then this morning when I was getting ready for work I had this sharp pain in my back. It wasn’t like any menstrual pain I have ever had but I’ve never been pregnant before either.”

Maria immediately went into doctor mode, “Liz, call in work and tell them you are going to my office for an appointment you forgot you had. See Charlotte, she’ll be expecting you and she’ll know what to do. I’ll call her as soon as we’re off the phone. And Liz, if she tells you to stay off your feet you stay off your feet, the hospital has back up people they can call in emergencies. Now, as soon as you leave my office you call me, I want to know everything you’ve done in the past couple of weeks and everything you’ve eaten in the past couple of days. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course I can Maria…how’s your grandfather doing?”

“He’s doing better. He’s just getting up in years and not taking care of himself the way he should. Not exercising enough, not eating properly and just plain lonesome I think. Mom is doing better now that she’s gotten to see him and she’ll be staying for awhile. I’m heading home later today and I will see you as soon as I get there. Liz, if anything happens you just remember that sometimes it’s God’s way of dealing with an unhealthy situation.”

“I know what you’re saying Maria but I already told Max and he’s walking three feet off the ground. I don’t want to disappoint him anymore than I want to lose this baby.”

“Oh sweetie, get those thoughts out of your head right now. Max Evans worships the ground you walk on and he will see this through to the end with you and you know it. It won’t have anything to do with disappointments it will be love. Liz, if this happens there is a reason. Be careful and go to see Charlotte right now.”

“I will Maria and I’ll see you tonight.”

“And you will call me as soon as you leave Charlotte’s office?”

“Yes, Maria, I’ll call you.”

“Good, now go…”

“Bye Maria.” And Liz hung up and headed over to Maria’s office.

*~*~*

When Max arrived at his office his father had left a note on his desk to come and see him…Max read the note and groaned as he scratched his head in typical Max fashion. He really didn’t want to see his dad this morning…he had a pretty good idea what he wanted him for and he and Liz had made up and things were great, he just didn’t want anything spoiling his mood. Oh well…so off to his father he went.

When he knocked on his father’s door Philip looked up and gave him a silly smile and told him to come in.

“How’s it going today Max?” He asked with a twinkle in his eye. He knew Max was feeling pretty ridiculous about his behavior Friday night and thought better of adding salt to the wound…it would be fun though he thought to himself.

“Pretty good Dad…what’s up?” Max still didn’t trust the situation…Dad was being too nonchalant.

“Oh nothing much…I was wondering how you were doing on that deposition I gave you last week? We need to add some more information to it and thought, if you had a minute we could go over it.”

“Oh, sure…give me a minute to see if Margaret made a hard copy yet…if not I’ll just e-mail it over to you and we can go over it.” And with that Max got up and left to see his secretary. ‘God, I hope that’s all he wants’ Max thought.

Margaret was her usual efficient self and had the deposition in a file already and reached out behind her and retrieved it from a lateral file cabinet behind her desk. Max was thrilled with his secretary. In the four years he had been with his father’s firm the woman had never let him down. He was going to ask Liz if it would be alright to invite her to the dinner party next week-end, she could even bring a guest if she wanted to.

And so he headed back to his father’s office, file in hand, and sat down to discuss the case he was working on. The subject of his little excursion never came up and Max was a very grateful young man. He knew his dad thought his actions extremely immature and childish, which they were, but he didn’t want to discuss it…ever again. He just wanted to move on and pretend like it never happened. He did make a promise to himself and Liz though…he would talk about his feelings more no matter how stupid or inane they seemed.

*~*~*


Chapter: 5

Liz called the lab and told them she would be arriving late this morning and apologized profusely for not having let then know sooner. She explained that she had a doctor’s appointment and things had been so hectic that it just slipped her mind until she listened to her messages this morning and one of them was a reminder of the appointment. She told them she would be there as soon as she could and they told her to take the day off because if they called in another tech. to fill in for her they would have to pay that person for four hours regardless so she just might as well take the day off. Liz thanked them and told them she would be in touch anyway. Dr. Aijian thanked her and told her to relax and he would see her tomorrow. She smiled and sighed in relief. She really was more anxious than she cared to admit and headed to Charlottes’ office for a check up.

When she arrived at the Doctor’s office Charlotte was there waiting for her in a pair of jeans, a sweat shirt and tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail and Liz took one look at her and knew immediately that she dropped everything to meet her.

“Hey Liz…what’s going on with you?”

“God Charlotte, I am so sorry you have to do this. I don’t know what’s wrong but I’m concerned…no, I’m scared. I took a pregnancy test last night and it showed positive and then this morning I got this sharp pain in my back and I’m concerned.”

“Well, here’s your little gown, everything off…open in the front and stick your nose out the door when you’re ready okay?”

Liz, Maria and Charlotte all went to Stanford together and graduated together. Liz is a doctor of microbiology and Maria and Charlotte are both OBGYN’s, they have all been friends for years.

Liz put the little gown on, why they even bothered to give you the damned thing was beyond Liz’s comprehension…it didn’t cover anything. So, after pondering the reason for the postage stamp sized garment Liz stuck her nose out the door and Charlotte was standing there waiting for her.

Charlotte had Liz up on the table and in the stirrups in no time and was asking Liz all kinds of questions as she did her exam. “When was your last period Liz?”

“I’m two weeks late so I need a calendar right now to figure that out…I keep track of when I’m due but I generally just count 28 days and circle it. I don’t pay too much attention to the actual date…just the circle.”

Charlotte smiled at that answer…most women don’t even do that. “Well you did a good job Liz…and yes, I can pretty much agree with the pregnancy test. You are pregnant, just barely, but you are. Everything looks fine but we’ll do some tests and make sure nothing else is going on in there. Okay?”

“Sure Charlotte, and thank you for coming in so quickly. I know Maria must have put the fear of God in you but I really was scared. I had forgotten that she was out of town when I called her or I would have waited.”

“Liz, please don’t apologize to me for this. We all go back a lot of years and I know you wouldn’t get hysterical over nothing. Not that I’m insinuating that you are hysterical, but you wouldn’t believe what some women are like.”

“Oh yes I would…I work in a hospital too you know.”

“Yes I know, but on a different level than Maria and me.”

Liz giggled, “You’re right Charlotte…I’m in and out of there, I only have to deal with people like you and Maria who, I might add, can be pretty hysterical as well.”

Charlotte laughed at her…”You know Liz, you’re right. There are a few doctors that I wouldn’t want to deal with either.” And with that, both our young doctors laughed.

“Liz, I want you to go over to the women’s imaging center and have a few X-Rays taken…we’ll do a sonogram here in a few more weeks unless something shows up on the other pictures I’m going to order. I want to check out your lower back, kidneys, gallbladder and a few other incidentals before proceeding…and I need some blood work and a UA…And Liz, I don’t want you running the tests on yourself, I know you are one of the best but I want someone else to do your tests…doctors don’t work on themselves just like lawyers don’t defend themselves. Is that agreeable?”

“Sure Charlotte. I don’t have a problem with that. Can I choose the tech.?”

“If you want to, but why?”

“Because I know some are better than others number one…and number two some draw blood better than others.”

Charlotte laughed at her…”okay, you choose the tech. but when I come in you do my blood work okay.”

“Anytime Charlotte, anytime.” And with that Liz got dressed and headed for the imaging center for X-Rays that Charlotte put a STAT order on. She had a mammogram, which she couldn’t figure out why, and then they did her entire back plus her internal organs.

After leaving there she headed to the hospital for some blood work and when she requested Raymond they all looked at her and wondered what in the hell was going on.

Raymond was up in the wards making rounds and drawing blood and when he got off the elevator everyone in the lab was giving him dirty looks … ’what in the hell has their panties in a wad’ he thought to himself.

He saw Liz sitting in a chair in the waiting room and walked by her as he headed into the lab and gave her a smile. They never socialized with each other…just a nod good morning and good night when their shift was over so he didn’t give it much thought. He wondered what she was doing on this side of the lab but that was the extent of his concern. Liz smiled at Raymond and continued reading her magazine.

When he sat his tray down next to his work station there was a note attached to his microscope. Dr. Evans blood and urine work order. Raymond picked up the order and looked at it and wondered why it was attached to his microscope in such a fashion. This wasn’t the normal way to do business he thought to himself so he went right to the top.

Raymond knocked on Dr. Aijian’s door, which was open, and Dr. Aijian looked up from his paperwork he was reading and motioned for Raymond to come in. Raymond explained to him that he found test orders attached to his microscope on Dr. Evans and wondered what was going on. Dr. Aijian explained that Dr. Evans requested that he, Raymond, do the tests on her. Raymond was floored.

“Why me? I hardly know the woman.” Raymond said.

“Well, her doctor called me early this morning and informed me that Dr. Evans was having some problems, she’s a few weeks pregnant and was having some serious back pains this morning, and that she requested that you be the one to do the tests because she feels that you are the best in the lab…next to her of course”…and then Dr. Aijian grinned … “I added that last part myself. Just an attempt at a little humor. She did request you though and Raymond, this is not for publication. Please keep this information to yourself.”

“I most certainly will and thank you doctor. I had no idea she felt I was any good at what I did. The woman hardly acknowledges the fact that I’m alive. As a matter of fact she doesn’t bother anyone.” Raymond said to Dr. Aijian.

“Well, you have to know Liz as long as we have. She takes her job very seriously and she absolutely loves that microscope and she is very good with it so we just let her alone and she does her work. She really is a kind and caring person and believe me, if she requested you then you should be proud because she really is observant and she knows what’s going on around her. This is quite a feather in your cap so treat her right.”

Dr. Aijian was not surprised that Liz’s co-worker had no idea what she thought of him…she just wasn’t one to verbalize on anything unless it upset her and then she could really let loose.

When Raymond left Dr. Aijian’s office he went back into the lab through the side door and headed to the waiting room. He asked Liz if she could come in now and she said sure with a smile on her face.

Raymond sat her down in the chair next to his table and put the tourniquet on her right arm and she looked up at him and smiled…”Is the other arm better Dr. Evans?”

“It doesn’t matter Raymond, I trust you implicitly.” Liz smiled at Raymond.

“Thank you Dr. Evans. I had no idea that you were ill.” Raymond said, he didn’t know what else to say.

“Oh, I don’t think I’m ill Raymond…I think I have an over zealous doctor. We have been friends for years…we went all through college and med school together and she takes everything very seriously…which is good I guess. She won’t rest until she’s absolutely positive that I am in perfect health.” Liz smiled and let Raymond do his job.

After Raymond had drawn all of the blood he needed for the various tests he handed Liz the cup. She looked at him and smiled…”I’ll do the best I can Raymond. Do you want me to put it in the cabinet?”

“No Doctor Evans…you bring it right over to me personally. Dr. Aijian already gave me strict orders on how I was to handle this.” Raymond said.

“Oh…I’m sorry Raymond, I didn’t know this was something special.”

“Oh. You did request me didn’t you?” Raymond just had to ask.

“Yes I did, as a matter of fact…but I never dreamed that it would cause so
much extra work for anyone. I just wanted to make sure that you were the one that did my tests because they wouldn’t allow me to do my own. I haven’t figured that one out yet but if I can’t do them then I want you to do them. I’ve watched how you work and you are very thorough so I want you to do them.”

Thank you Dr. Evans, that means a lot to me coming from you.”

“You’re very welcome Raymond…and will you call Charlotte and let her know the results. My regular Doctor is out of town today but she and Charlotte share an office. Doctor Maria Guerin is my regular doctor. And thank you Raymond, I’ll probably see you tomorrow, good bye.” Liz smiled at the technician and headed out the door.

Raymond just stood there shaking his head…he didn’t even know the woman knew his name. Would wonders ever cease? He promptly took the urine sample over to the test tubes and separated it into the number of tubes needed for the various tests and when he had those started he did the same with the four vials of blood. Dr. Evans was definitely pregnant and Raymond smiled then he continued on with the remainder of the tests and when all of the results were in he immediately called Dr Guerin’s office and talked to Charlotte and told her of his findings. And then he sat down at his microscope and started to reread the slide in front of him…He got up from his station and headed to Dr. Aijian’s office for a second opinion.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

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Chapter: 6

Liz got home and her answering machine was flashing her a warning that she had messages so she sat her purse down, took off her coat and grabbed a water out of the fridge before turning on the machine. She perched herself at the island with pen in hand ready to write down anything important. Soon she heard Charlotte’s voice asking her to give her a call ASAP. Liz took a drink of her water and wondered what in the hell that was all about and went to the phone and dialed the familiar number.

“Good morning…this is Liz Evans returning Dr. Crable’s call.” Liz said…the receptionist did not address any of their patients by titles.

“Yes Mrs. Evans, just one moment please.”

Liz held for only a second before Charlotte was on the line…”Liz, I got the results back from the lab and yes, you definitely are pregnant. We are all in agreement.” She kind of left that statement hanging and Liz picked up on it immediately…

“What else is going on Charlotte? I’ve known you too long, come on.”

“Well, your blood work left some unanswered questions. Can you go back to the lab and have a couple more tests done?” Charlotte knew better than to tell Liz any more than that and even the information she just gave her was too much for Liz but she had no choice.

“Okay, I’ll do that but you know damned well that I have a scope here and I will be checking things out before I go over there so you might just as well come clean with me right now.” Liz sounded very demanding and Charlotte knew she had to be honest with her….there was no choice.

“Liz, I’m going to be honest with you, we don’t know what the abnormalities are until we look further into it. The technician took his findings and slides into Dr. Aijian who is now going over all of it with a fine tooth comb but they would like another sample just to make sure there was no contamination of the equipment. We both know that sh** happens…so just go back over there Liz, please.” Charlotte was trying to remain calm, detached and professional but this was her friend and she was having a little difficulty dealing with this.

“I’ll go Charlotte, but not until I run a few tests here first. I’ll call you back if I see something strange…and when I get to the hospital I definitely will be looking at what Raymond was looking at. Now you relax and get back to your patients. I’ll call you.”

“God Liz, I’m supposed to be calming you down not the other way around.”

“Hey, we’ve been friends for a long time…who always stays calm?”

“You do Liz, always. Call me.”

“Will do.”

And so Liz hung up and called Dr. Aijian immediately…”Hey John, Liz here, what in the hell are we looking for?”

John had to smile into the phone…that was Liz…”Well, we aren’t really sure Liz…those red cells sure look blasty.”

“Oh. And are we sure that the slide was new…fresh out of the box as well as the vials?”
“Liz, that’s why we want more blood…we aren’t going into this headlong until we are absolutely sure.”

“Fair enough John…I’ll be in as soon as I draw some blood and check this out myself. I’ll see you in a few. Try to relax…whatever it is we’ll deal with it.”

“Thanks Liz, see you soon. Are you sure you want to be jabbing yourself?”

“It won’t be the first time John…take care.” And the two doctors hung up.

*~*~*


Just about the time Liz got to her office she heard the front door open…’oh hell, is Max home?’ she thought to herself.. she closed the office closet where she kept her supplies and went toward the door.

“Hi sweetheart, what are you doing home? Did you forget something?” Liz stood on her tiptoes and kissed her husband as he came through the kitchen.

“Liz? What’s wrong baby? Why are you home?” Max asked with concern in his voice.

“Oh, I had an appointment with Maria this morning and Dr. Aijian told me to go ahead and take the rest of the day off because they had to pay a temp. for four hours anyway...nothing big.” And Liz smiled at her husband…”What’s up with you? Why are you home?”

“Oh, I forgot some papers that I worked on over the week-end. I really should be more careful about packing my briefcase. Wish I could spend the day with you but I really do need to get back to work.”

So Max headed to his office and Liz went to the cupboard to get herself a cup for some tea. She was frowning a little as she waited for the water to heat up in the microwave when Max came back into the kitchen.

“What are you thinking so hard about love…you look like you’re a million miles away.”

Liz smiled up at Max and shook her head…”Oh nothing important…just work.”

“I see…is everything going okay there?” Max asked with concern in his voice.

“Oh, of course it is…I know I’m only a few weeks pregnant but I was wondering if I would want to be a stay at home Mom or a working Mom… just stuff like that. You know how your mind wonders when it’s idle.”

Max chuckled at his little wife and leaned over and kissed her cheek, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out sweet and whatever you decide to do will be fine with me. You know that, right?”

“Of course I know that silly…now go impress colleagues.”

Max laughed at her and headed on out the door to his car.

Liz immediately went back to her office and took out her microscope, a box of clean slides, a tourniquet and a sterile needle, some alcohol and other supplies. She assembled everything she needed on the kitchen counter and proceeded to draw some blood to take to the hospital to use for tests and then she cleaned her finger with some alcohol and jabbed it with a clean needle. She smeared a clean slide and stuck it on the table of the microscope and took a look. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary and immediately called Dr. Aijian.

“John, it’s Liz, what am I supposed to be looking at because I don’t see a damned thing on this slide that looks out of the ordinary. What did Raymond think he saw?”

“Hold on a second Liz…let me get Raymond in here and have him tell me what’s on this slide he gave me.” And John paged Raymond to his office STAT. Raymond was busy running tests on another patient at the time and when he looked under his microscope he discovered the same test results that he had seen on Liz’s slide. Raymond knew this patient because he had run some tests on him yesterday and they didn’t indicate anything that he was seeing now. He grabbed the slide and took it to Dr. Aijians office with him.

“Raymond, I have Liz on the other line and she’s telling me that she is looking at a blood sample that she took on herself and she doesn’t see any abnormalities.”

“Dr. Aijian, I don’t know what is going on here…look at this slide. I just drew this patients blood for a common white count and it is reading the same as Liz’s test. I drew this guys blood yesterday and there was no indication of any leukemia whatsoever, I don’t know what in the hell is going on to tell you the truth.” Raymond stood there in his bosses office totally puzzled and wondering what in the hell was happening. How many more tests were wrong that he had done since yesterday? He was one confused technician.

Doctor Aijian took the slide from Raymond and put it under his scope for a look and couldn’t believe his own eyes. “Raymond, I don’t know what’s going on here but we need to redo all of the tests you’ve done on patients. Something is contaminated in the lab and we have to find out what it is before we do anything else. Go shut down your station and call everyone in for a meeting.”

John got back on the phone with Liz and told her to ignore the test results from the lab…they definitely had a problem here and he would get to the bottom of it before the day was out.

“Thanks John, just be thankful that is was me and not someone up on the floor. Just what was it Raymond thought he saw?”

“He didn’t think he saw it Liz…he did see it. He brought the slide into me for a second opinion and then, while we were on the phone, he brought another patient’s slide in that had the exact same reading as yours but the same patient didn’t have those readings yesterday. It really looked like leukemia Liz…honest to God.”

“Oh my God John, how many false readings has he gotten…do you want me to come in. I can help weed this out with you.”

“If you feel up to it yes…we could certainly use your help. How are you feeling?”

“Well, I had a very sharp pain in my back this morning and I knew I was only a couple of weeks pregnant but I got concerned and called my doctor who insisted that I go in to see her immediately. So far the only problem was this damned blood test. I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m already dressed for work so I just have to get there. See you in a few…good bye.”

And Liz hung up, grabbed her purse and was out the door. She didn’t bother to put the supplies on the island away but she did grab the vial of blood to take with her. She still wanted to run her own tests. She called Charlotte on her way to work and told her what was happening and Charlotte was relieved to say the least.

“Liz, you be careful around the lab…if that place has a contaminate you make sure that you are careful.”

“Oh Charlotte, you know that I will…talk to you later.” And Liz hung up and headed on to work.

*~*~*
When Liz got to the lab the place was in mayhem…people were milling around, talking to each other trying to decide what in the hell to do. Raymond was over at his station checking out all of the blood orders he had logged into his computer for the last week trying to find similarities and abnormalities. It seems the only strange findings started this morning.

Liz checked in with Dr. Aijian and told him she would start out with helping Raymond try to locate any contaminations in his area and Dr. Aijian agreed that it was a great place to start. Liz walked back out into the lab and headed over to Raymond’s work area and noticed that Tess Harding was sitting alone at her station biting her nails. Liz wondered what her problem was… she was never a fan of Tess’s but she never showed her any ill will. ‘I wonder why she’s not trying to input some ideas here. This affects all of us and the patients need us.’ Liz was really concerned for everyone concerned with this problem, doctors and patients alike.

While Raymond was checking on his test log Liz donned some sterile gloves and grabbed a piece of sterile gauze and some alcohol and cleaned the lenses on Raymond’s microscope and picked up a blank slide and set it on the table of the scope. She leaned over and took a look to see if she could see anything and there it was…there was something on the slide…Liz took that slide and grabbed another one…same thing.

“Raymond, take a look at this blank slide.”

Raymond stopped what he was doing and took a look under the microscope and then looked at Liz. “What in the hell???”

“I don’t know Raymond…hold on.” And Liz went over to another work station and picked up a slide from that tech’s supply and stuck it under the microscope…nothing…blank. She headed to another tech and did the same, it was blank also. Then she went to her station…hers was contaminated as well. Then she turned on her heels and headed straight for Dr. Aijians office and had him come to the lab.

“John, Raymond’s and my slides are all contaminated with something that is giving us false readings on our scopes. Someone is messing around in here and I think we need to look at the security tapes for the past couple of days and see what in the hell is going on.”

John looked down at the determined little doctor that they all had so much respect for and smiled. “I see it didn’t take you long to figure out what was happening. Are you sure that you two are the only two that have been contaminated.”

“Well, I’ve checked out everyone else’s slides and scopes and ours are the only ones that have something on them. We could open all of the empty boxes and check them out and see if something came in from the manufacturer, but I think if we just check our slides before using them as we open new boxes we will know whether or not those boxes are safe. Right now I think we are dealing with a sicko…God knows why? But let’s just check out the security tapes first and see if we can come up with something. If the tapes don’t show anything then we will have to notify the manufacturer and they in turn will have to notify all of their customers. This could really get ugly before it’s over.”

John just stood there in deep thought. She was right…if the manufacturer had a sick bastard working for them or something was contaminating the slides at the factory the entire world could be treating people for things that they didn’t have. What a horrible thought. “God Liz, what a can of worms.” Liz just nodded and then noticed Tess was really getting fidgety…then Liz had a brainstorm and she didn’t know why.

“John, we need to have security in here to fingerprint Raymond’s and my equipment. Since nobody else is getting false readings then someone or something has done something to our equipment. Raymond, stop working and guard your station. Don’t let anyone come near it and if they do we will fingerprint that person as well.” And as she spoke she never took her eyes off Tess. John didn’t know what she was up to but figured she knew and she was rarely wrong. Raymond stopped checking out his computer and sat on his stool and waited along with Liz who stood her ground at her station. The rest of the technicians just sat on their stools and waited while Tess continued to fidget and chew her nails. Liz thought, ‘if she doesn’t stop chewing she’s not going to have any fingers.’ Liz knew Tess was behind this but she couldn’t figure out why…who in the hell would do something like this and put people’s lives in jeopardy.

Chapter: 7

About that time Tess went over to Dr. Aijian and asked if he would see her in his office…he looked down at the short little blond with the beautiful crystal eyes and said “Of course”.

Tess followed the Doctor into his office and she told him that she was the one that sabotaged the slides on Raymond’s and Liz’s work stations. Doctor Aijian looked at her in disbelief and shook his head. He knew he had to do something about this and do it quickly but he was beside himself.

“My God Tess, why would you do something like that? Do you know the harm that could have been done to our patients in the hospital? What were you thinking?”

Tess looked at the doctor for a minute and then said before she really thought about it, “I never could stand Liz Parker and now I am stuck here working with her. I have tried very hard to ignore her and do my job but when she requested that Raymond do her blood work it was just too much… we have known each other for years and for her to choose him over me, well it was just too much I tell you, too much.”

Dr. Aijian could not believe what he was hearing…”Tess, do you know what damage you have done to the integrity of our lab? How many tests have to be redone in order for us to rectify this situation?”

“Not that many. I tried to replace the compromised slides while Raymond was on the floor drawing more blood but I got called out to the ER and when I got back Raymond was already back at his station. He probably didn’t do more than one or two tests with the bad slides.”

“Well Tess, as much as I hate to do this I am going to have to relieve you of your duties. Security will see you to the door and I will have to discuss this behavior with the hospital administrators. I am sure you haven’t heard the last of this situation, but the fact that you came forward might help. Please wait while I call security to take you to your locker so that you can gather your personal belongings. Is it my understanding that only two of the boxes of slides have been tampered with?”

“Yes. Only the two. And I’m sorry for the trouble I have caused. I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”

“Well, I’m sure you didn’t and for your information the only reason Raymond did Doctor Evans’ tests was because she wanted to do them herself and her doctor would not allow it. When we called her to come back in she did a test on herself at home and phoned us back and told us nothing was out of the ordinary. So you see Tess, what you did was childish and criminal.”

The minute the doctor said criminal Tess looked horrified…and Dr. Aijian repeated “Yes, criminal Tess. I am sure you will be hearing from the hospital attorneys regarding this.”

Tess felt like someone had knocked her lights out five times…she couldn’t think and she wanted to throw up. What in the hell did she do? Boy, her Mom always told her she had a case of ‘green eyes’…she thought she meant the color of her eyes…now she understood…green with envy is what she was suffering from. That damned Liz Parker always came out on top no matter what she did.

Doctor Aijian could see the wheels turning around in Tess’s head and he sat her down and told her to learn to control her jealousy. If she ever applied herself half as hard as Liz did she would probably be ahead of her colleagues as well. Tess thought about that for a minute and she remembered how true that was. Tess always visited her fellow students during study hall while Liz always had her head in a book…and that Max Evans was always right there with her, studying just as hard. They deserved each other.

After security saw Tess out of the lab Dr. Aijian called Raymond and Liz into his office and explained that only their stations had been tampered with and that Raymond only had to repeat the tests he had done since drawing Dr. Evans blood this morning. There was no need to do anything with Liz’s station since no one used her station in her absence. Then Dr. Aijian excused Raymond and asked Liz how she was feeling.

“I feel fine actually…the pain that I had this morning didn’t recur and apparently everything is fine so far. We still don’t have the results of all of the X-rays they took this morning but all in all I feel great. I’m really hungry but I’ll live I’m sure.”

Dr. Aijian laughed at her and then he told her what actually happened in the lab. Liz looked at him with sad eyes.

“I am so sorry to hear that. Yes, we have known each other for years but we never socialized, not in grammar school, middle school or high school. I went to college back in Boston and Tess went to Las Cruces here in New Mexico so we really haven’t seen each other in years. I don’t know why she would do something like that.”

“I think it’s called jealousy Liz.”

“Of what…we both work at the same place doing the same things. Nothing is any different than it ever was.”

“Well, apparently you didn’t choose her to do your blood work and….”

Dr. Aijian didn’t get a chance to finish that statement, Liz became livid now…

“Do you mean to tell me that she compromised patients in this hospital because I chose the best tech out there to work on me? I’ll bet she wouldn’t have chosen me if the rolls were reversed.”

“Oh I think if she were in serious need of a good tech. she would have chosen you in a heartbeat. Liz, we all know you are working beneath your capabilities and we all know why. If Max Evans wanted to move to another planet you would be there with him. I don’t know of any doctor of microbiology that works in a hospital laboratory but you. You are so over qualified for this job but yet you are here everyday giving it your all. Don’t think for one minute that she wouldn’t have wanted you as her tech.”

“Doctor Aijian, you are right about me following Max to the end of the world and back, I would. But I don’t feel this job is beneath me or my qualifications. Peoples lives are at stake here and there is nothing about this job that I don’t like so never feel that I am working below my standards of expertise, it just isn’t true.”

The good doctor didn’t know whether to laugh or hug her, she was one of a kind that was for sure.

“Why don’t you go home, put your feet up and wait for your doctor to call you about your X-rays. If there are any problems give me a call and we’ll deal with them. Okay? Oh, and Liz, is there anyone at the imaging center that you’ve pissed off?”

Liz looked at the doctor and started laughing…”I don’t think so John. I will probably see you tomorrow…if not I’ll call. Thanks for everything.”

“No, thank you Liz…if it hadn’t been for you we probably would never have found out the truth.”

“Oh, sure you would…you just feel like spreading cheer. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, tomorrow Liz…goodbye.”

*~*~*

(A/N: I love to dislike Tess...)

Chapter: 8

After Liz left the lab she stopped by Max’s office to see if he was free for some lunch. Margaret looked up and gave the young doctor a great big smile and told her to go right in, Max was on the phone but shouldn’t be long. Liz smiled at her and then asked if she was coming to the party.

“Of course Liz, I wouldn’t miss it.” She smiled as she spoke.

“Good…I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in more comfortable surroundings.” And Liz headed into Max’s office.

Max looked up from the phone and gave Liz a huge smile and pointed to the couch and made a pinching signal with his index finger and thumb telling Liz he would be just a little longer. She nodded, sat and returned the smile. She certainly did love him, there was no doubting that. Liz started thumbing through the magazines on the table next to her and wondered why men only had “Field and Stream”, “See America” and “White Water Rafting”…God, what’s wrong with “Better Homes and Gardens” she thought to herself as she threw the books back onto the table and looked around the office. Max tried to stifle his laugh, he didn’t want to give the person on the other end of the phone the wrong idea but she sure was cute when she was bored. Soon he was finished with his conversation and as he hung up the phone he stood and headed over to sit beside his little wife.

“To what do I owe the honor?” He asked as he nuzzled Liz’s neck. She giggled and said…

“I have the rest of the day free and was wondering if my husband would like to take his wife to lunch?” Max smiled and walked over to his desk…he flipped the calendar over that was situated there and then looked at his watch…he called Margaret on the intercom and told her that he would be gone for the rest of the day. If there were any emergencies to call him on his cell otherwise he would see her tomorrow. Margaret smiled and said certainly Mr. Evans, tomorrow it is. With that Max held out his hand to Liz and she took it immediately and used it to pull herself out of the couch. Max looked down at her and chuckled…I hope you don’t gain too much weight with the baby Liz I don’t think I could handle much more. Liz gave Max a punch in the shoulder and headed out the door with her nose stuck in the air. Max followed her down the hall laughing at her shenanigans and she flipped him the bird. Now he really was laughing…the whole way to the car. When they were both seated and buckled in Max asked Liz where she would like to eat and she said…”Home!”

“Home? We have the entire afternoon to ourselves and you want to eat at home?”

“Mmmmhmmm!” Liz flirted…

Max looked at her and then he just had to know…”Why?”

“Because, I stopped in to see if you could have lunch with me because I was hungry and I wanted to see you…I never dreamed you would take the afternoon off with me so let’s go home and enjoy our afternoon. We have food and we also have a very comfy bedroom.”

Max’s eyes got really big…he looked at Liz and the next thing Liz knew they were on their way home…breaking all kinds of records getting there. She sat and giggled and Max kept driving like the devil himself was after him. Liz thought this was really cool...’thanks Tess’…not for the rotten trick but for the day off. This is great. She hoped all of her pregnancy hormones were like these. ‘Oh Goody Goody!’

*~*~*

After Max and Liz had their ‘lunch’ and took a little nap Liz decided to get up and work some more on the plans for the Christmas dinner. It was going to be catered but she still needed to complete a few things before Saturday and it would be a whole lot nicer to have them done sooner than later. Max heard her stirring in the bathroom and rolled himself over the edge of the bed to get up. Liz came out of the bathroom and saw Max putting his slippers on and she immediately apologized for waking him up.

“Don’t be silly Liz, we rarely take an afternoon nap and there’s a good chance that we will be roaming the house all night because we aren’t sleepy so it’s best to get up and get moving. Maybe we can tire ourselves out?”

“Well, I know one thing we can do that will make us tired.” And she looked at Max with a grin on her face.


“God Liz, if I would have known that a pregnancy would cause you to act like this it certainly would have happened a whole lot sooner than now.” And his eyes got really big as though he couldn’t believe what she was saying.

Liz laughed at her husband and told him that some things are best kept as secrets…that way the surprise is so much better. Max said “Well, I guess maybe you’re right sweet…this one’s a real winner that’s for sure.” And Liz just laughed at him.

“What are you going to do anyway?” Max asked.

“Oh I think I’ll get the silver out of the boxes and see if any of it needs polishing. I was really careful when I put it away the last time we used it but you never know what condition it’s going to be in.”

“Great, I’ll help you if you want me to?” Max offered.

“Max, that would be great.” As Liz smiled she reached up and kissed Max on the cheek…she was so pleased that he was trying so hard to be more in tune with what went on around the house.

They headed downstairs together and Liz went straight into the dining room and bent over to open the bottom of the china cupboard; she got that stabbing pain again…she turned and looked at Max with a horrified look on her face and Max froze.

“Liz? What’s wrong baby?”

“I don’t know Max…call Maria’s office.”

Max ran to the phone and checked for Maria’s office number on speed dial and found it right under Maria and Michael’s number…he hit the number and the phone immediately started ringing...

Max heard a cute little pleasant voice on the other end “Good afternoon, Dr. Guerin’s office.”

“Hello, this is Max Evans is Maria or Charlotte in?”

“One moment Mr. Evans…” and it wasn’t but a minute longer than he heard Maria’s voice.

“Max…what’s going on?”

“It’s Liz Maria; she’s bent over in pain.”

“Is it the same one she had this morning?”

“What? What pain this morning? Maria, what’s going on?”

Oh God thought Maria…”Max, nothing is going on okay…meet me at the hospital right now Max.”

With that news Max didn’t know whether to scream at Liz or to sit down and cry…He ran back to the dining room and Liz was sitting on a chair bent over and holding her side. Max reached down and picked her up and carried her to the car. He got her buckled in and was on his way to the hospital in record breaking time. He was wishing a cop would stop him so he could get an escort that’s how scared he was.

When they arrived at the hospital Maria and Charlotte were both there wearing scrubs waiting for them. They had a gurney there waiting for them and they put Liz on it immediately while Max parked the car. They told Max to come right up to surgery on the second floor and they would talk to him then.

Liz looked at Maria and asked in a very quiet and painful whisper…”Maria, what’s going on?”

“Liz, this is not serious and it isn’t going to hurt the baby but one of your ovaries is turned…we are going to try to turn it and if we can’t we will have to remove it. You’ll still be able to have more children but it just might take more practice if you know what I mean.”

“You’re sure it won’t hurt the baby?” Liz was terrified.

“No Liz, it won’t hurt the baby and you will be able to go home as soon as you’re out of recovery…if you want to. Dr. Aijian has Raymond stationed up there to take care of your labs. The X-rays just came in as I got back into the office this afternoon and I was just getting ready to call you to schedule this procedure when Max called. I’m sorry I spilled the beans about your pains this morning. I didn’t know you hadn’t told him. I should have known better…you never share your problems with anyone unless you have to.”

About that time Max came bounding into the room to see what in the hell was going on with his wife. Maria took one look at him and was tempted to give him a sedative as well.

“Liz, are you alright honey…what kind of pains did you have this morning and why in the hell didn’t you tell me. My God Liz…you have got to start sharing this shit with me or I am going to lose my mind.”

Liz looked at her beautiful husband who was so close to tears, she knew she was wrong in not telling him but what if nothing had been wrong with her, then they would have both worried needlessly. “Oh Max, sweetie, I am so sorry…I really didn’t think it was important.” She lied.

Max looked at her and knew in his heart and soul that she was telling him a story but he also knew that she was terrified and in pain. God, he just wanted to pick her up and take her home. Then he looked at Maria for some more answers…

“Max, one of her ovaries has turned and we are going to make a tiny incision in her belly and try and turn it over…if we can’t we will have to remove it. It won’t hurt the baby at all and she will be able to conceive again but as I explained to Liz…it will probably just take more practice. You should be able to handle that? Right?” Max looked at Maria and then he started to turn red…this was not the time for jokes.

Maria was trying to lighten the mood here because everyone was getting far too serious. Then she said…”Max, I’m really not kidding. If she only has one ovary she probably won’t conceive as easily so you’ll just have to try harder.” Now Max was really getting red.

“Maria, will you please stop talking about Liz’s eggs and our sex life.” And he was serious. All three women laughed, even Liz who was really hurting. The two doctors left for the operating room and allowed Max to visit with Liz for a minute before the orderly wheeled her away.

“God Liz, I love you so much and then you keep important secrets from me and I feel like such an ass anyway after the week-end. Can’t you please start sharing something with me besides your body?”

Liz got this horrified look on her face and then she looked up into those beautiful amber eyes and she wanted to cry, and not from the pain. He was right. She rarely shared feelings with Max. She shared the fact that she loved him but she would never tell him if she felt a little tired or sleepy or hurt somewhere. These things she shielded from him and she thought she was doing it because she loved him and that wasn’t fair to him. How would he know he was doing something that bothered her if she didn’t tell him how she felt? Now she realized that she was doing the same thing to him that he was doing with her.

“Max, I know we covered a lot of problems this week-end and dealt with them but it seems we have some more to deal with as well. I promise you that I will try just as hard to share with you as you are trying to be helpful with me. Sweetheart, I would give my life for you and I want us to be the happiest family on earth so please…help me and I will help you to make us be just that.”

Max bent down and kissed his wife on the lips very tenderly and told her he would be right here when she got back. She gave him one of her killer smiles and they wheeled her away. Max didn’t know whether he should call the folks or not. Then he knew…if Maria was operating on Liz Michael knew it and if Michael knew it his Mom and Dad knew it so he called Jeff and Nancy.

Soon the waiting room on the second floor was packed with Evans’, Whitmans’ and Parkers. They were all there and they all knew that Liz was pregnant. Maria had a very big mouth. Max wasn’t so sure that Liz was going to be happy about this but that’s what she gets for having the ‘Daily Gazette’ for a doctor. Max just sat and waited like the rest of them and it wasn’t too long before Maria and Charlotte came out and told them that everything went well, they turned the ovary back into position and put a couple little stitches in place until it settled in and then Maria looked at Max and Philip. She’s going to need around the clock help for a couple of days guys…Max, either you stay home with her or you hire someone. Nancy popped up and said she could take the day shift if Max had to go to work. “I’m the best choice anyway since I’m the nurse and her mother.”

Philip nodded to Nancy and told her that they would check Max’s calendar and see who could stand in for him for the next week and Max told his dad that he felt he could go into the office in the mornings if Nancy would come over and then he would take off as soon as he could and relieve Nancy. Isabelle said she could stay also and then Diane said she could help as well. Max looked at everyone and smiled…

”I know Liz is going to be pissed at me for saying this but could you ladies come over and polish the silver and put the crystal in the dishwasher for Saturday evening. I know she’s going to want to have that damned dinner party even if we make her sit in a chair all evening and that’s all she has left to do. That’s what we were going to do when this pain hit her.”

All of the women looked at each other and then at Max…

And Isabelle spoke, ”We won’t be there tomorrow morning because she’s still going to be groggy but we will be there Wednesday morning around 10:00 and we will have that silver so shiny you’ll have to wear sun glasses to get past it.”

They all laughed at that and then they saw the gurney head back into the room that Liz was in before. Maria and Charlotte both headed over there first and checked her vitals themselves.

When they got into the room they explained what they had done and Liz was very happy about the news. If she had to have this done then she was glad it was repairable and the baby was fine. But she would have to explain to Max that she felt they still needed to practice…just to see him blush. “I’ll call Max in for you honey…the entire family is out there waiting to see you…and yes, they know you’re pregnant. I had to tell Michael and he had to tell his mom and dad and I know I overstepped my boundaries as your doctor but…”

“Maria, you didn’t have to tell Michael so shut up. I knew you couldn’t keep your mouth shut. I don’t know why I told you not to say anything…it’s like spittin’ in the wind telling you a secret. The only way to keep a secret around you is to not tell you.”

Maria knew it was true but she still felt bad. It was Liz’s news to tell and she told it before Liz was ready and, Liz is her patient. I hope she doesn’t look for another doctor…that would really hurt.

Liz could tell by the look on Maria’s face that she wasn’t happy with herself and Liz, although she loved her friend, left her stew. She deserved to stew for awhile and although Maria was very good at what she did Liz thought she just might find another doctor, it wasn’t a good idea to have someone that close to you taking care of you medically…it was like family.

“Maria, can I see Max now?” Liz asked, just a little more curtly than Maria appreciated.

“Of course Liz…are you comfortable?” ‘Boy she’s really pissed at me…’ Maria thought to herself.

“Maria, I’m full of drugs! Why wouldn’t I be comfortable?”

Maria just nodded and headed out of the room to get Max, she knew she had screwed up royally.

Max walked in and saw his little wife laying there with her hair all in disarray and looking dopey as hell and he all but lost it. His eyes started watering and he walked over to her and took her hand in his and brought it up to his lips. “I missed you.” He said and the tears started running down his cheeks.

“Oh Max…come here love…I was only gone a couple of hours. I feel fine really. I’m sleepy as hell from all the dope they’ve given me but other than that I’m fine. Maria said the drugs won’t harm the baby and I hope she’s right. My mind isn’t as sharp as I would like so I don’t remember a whole lot about this part of my education…how does the saying go? ‘Use it or lose it’ I guess it’s true huh?”

“Oh Liz, please don’t keep secrets like this from me again. Honey, I didn’t know what in the hell was going on.”

“Neither did I Max. I only had that one sharp pain this morning and apparently it had nothing to do with this. They X-rayed me from head to toe and this was the only thing they found. Maybe that’s when the ovary decided to turn over…hell, I don’t know. If I hadn’t been pregnant I wouldn’t have given it a second thought.”

Max just stood there and listened to her…she was right. How many times did he get a cramp or a hitch and just ignored it and it never happened again. He shouldn’t be angry with her she was only concerned about their baby and then he smiled…He leaned over and kissed the top of head and went to the door to let the family in to say hello before they all headed home.

Liz was shocked to see all of them…my God, the entire clan was there. “How did all of you know about this?” she asked…

Isabelle popped up…”Maria called Michael.” And Liz tried to laugh…it didn’t hurt but it wasn’t comfortable. Soon they all said their goodbyes’ and Max asked Liz if she wanted to spend the night at the hospital…she said “No” so he got Maria on her cell and told her they were ready to leave.

“Are you sure Max?” she asked…

“Yeah, we’re sure. She wants to go home and that’s what we’ll do.”

“Okay, it will take a while to get her signed out but we’ll do it.”

“Good.” And Max took a seat next to his wife while she dozed off. He would give anything to trade places with her…he didn’t want her to hurt anywhere. God he loved her so much.

About an hour later a discharge nurse came in with a bundle of papers and instructions for Max which he took very seriously and when the nurse left he helped Liz into a wheel chair and put his coat around her and got her home safe and sound. He carried her into the house and up the stairs and then he sat on the bed and helped her into one of his tee shirts.

That was the most comfortable thing on earth to Liz. When she was extremely tired she just slipped on one of Max’s tee shirts and curled up with a good book and a down comforter. Max knew this so he didn’t even ask her what she wanted to put on he just went to his drawer and took out the oldest and softest one in there and gave it to her. Some of them should have been thrown out long ago but Liz would have no part of it. It had to be an old soft one so he would occasionally wear one of the old ones just to keep them cycled for her. She gave him one of her famous…only for Max…smiles and he just chuckled at her. “Is this okay?” He asked. “This is perfect Max. I love you.”

“I love you too baby. Would you like some soup or something?”

“Do you know what I would really like Max…some warm jello.”

“What?” Max looked really puzzled…

“Yeah, some warm jello. When I was little and would get sick mom would always make me jello but she wouldn’t put it in the refrigerator…she would put it in a glass and I would drink it. It always tasted so good and soothing. That’s what I would like Max…some warm orange jello.”

“Okay honey, but I might need just a little help with this.”

“Oh, we have orange jello…just follow the directions. Boil a couple of cups of water, stir in the jello and then add a couple of cups of cold water. Put it in a glass and I’ll drink it. That’s all there is to it.”

“Just how big of a glass of this do you want?”

“Oh, one of those twelve ounce glasses will do. Try some, I’ll bet you like it…and if you don’t put it in a casserole and stick it in the fridge…it will set up once it’s cold.”

“Okay…one glass of warm jello coming up.” And Max went downstairs, found the orange jello and was back upstairs in about 20 minutes with two glasses of warm jello. He tried some and was amazed…it wasn’t bad at all. He did put two little custard cups full in the refrigerator to set up since there was some left over. She certainly wasn’t hard to please, that’s for sure.

Liz smiled at Max when she saw the two glasses…”Not bad huh?”

“No, as a matter of fact, it’s quite tasty. Want to watch some TV?”

“Sure, anything good on?”

“Liz, you know I don’t watch TV anymore than you do, we’ll just have to channel surf and see what’s on.”

Pretty soon they came to a classic movie channel and “White Christmas” was on. “Oh Max, I haven’t seen this one in years…can we?”

“Of course, I’ve never seen it at all so it will be something new for me.”

“Maxwell Philip Evans are you telling me you have never seen White Christmas?”

“That’s right Liz; I have never watched this movie.”

“Oh Max, are you in for a surprise…it is so beautiful.”

So Max took his clothes off and crawled in bed next to Liz, they both polished off their jello and Max put Liz’s glass next to his on his night stand and pulled her in close to him and allowed her to get comfortable and he watched Bing Crosby and Rose Mary Clooney sing their hearts out while his little wife slept through the entire movie.

Max looked down at her beautiful face and adjusted their bodies until she was comfortably lying on her pillow then he got up and took the glasses to the kitchen and rinsed them out and put them into the dishwasher. He smiled the whole time he was doing this. This was the first time since they’d been married that he took the responsibility of locking it up for the night. He remembered Liz’s words before her surgery and she was right…there was a lot to learn about each other and they had to work at it. He just hoped she wouldn’t try to do anything before Saturday. If he knew their parents she wouldn’t have the chance. Thank the Lord for the families they have.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

*~*~*

Chapter: 9

The next morning Max got up an hour earlier than usual and Liz was lying there watching him…He looked over at his beautiful little wife and he wanted to reach out and bring her to him so badly it hurt. She looked ravishing! God, was he going to be able to last through this recuperating period? Of course he would…he knew he would…he just had to keep on convincing himself.

“Good morning angel, did you sleep well?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I did. What are we doing up so early?” She asked as Max leaned over and kissed her forehead.

“Well, I thought I would help you take a shower before I got ready for work. I’m not insinuating that you can’t shower alone but I would just feel better for the next couple of days if someone was in there with you and I would prefer that it was me.” And Max puffed out his chest and gave Liz a good case of the giggles which caused a little discomfort in her lower abdomen.

“Max…please honey, don’t make me laugh, it hurts.” She managed to get out.

Max got out of bed and went around to her side and sat on the edge of the bed. “God Liz, I would never hurt you intentionally…come here.” And Max picked Liz up and sat her in his lap and nuzzled her neck. Liz sat there and wrapped her arms around Max’s neck and nuzzled into his shoulder. ‘God he feels good’ she thought to herself. Then Max asked her if she was ready for the shower…

“Are you going to join me?” She asked coyly.

“God Liz, quit acting like that…yes I’ll join you but you have to promise me to bathe and nothing else. Okay?” Max pleaded with his wife.

“Okay Max, just bathing. Nothing else. Let’s go.”

So Max followed Liz into the bathroom and made sure she was able to undress herself and get into the shower before he did likewise. True to her word, Liz behaved herself but it didn’t help Max a damned bit. By the time he washed her back for her and bent over to do her legs and feet while she hung onto the shower fixtures he was rock hard. How was he going to get through this he thought to himself? It felt like an impossible situation.

When Liz turned around and saw the state her husband was in she felt awful…she reached down and started a little magic to relieve him and he just stood there and allowed her. This was better than nothing he told himself. “I’ll make this up to you Liz, I promise.”

“Oh honey, I know you will.” Liz answered in a very determined but sultry voice. Max looked down on Liz and grinned…

”You know that huh?”

And Liz answered…”Oh yeah, and I can hardly wait.”

Max replied “Me either baby.”

And he reached down and gave her a very nice good morning kiss…a lot nicer than either of them planned on at this particular time and he was almost in the state he was in not 15 minutes ago. They both started to laugh and besides the water was starting to get cold so they turned it off and got out of the little cubicle that was becoming the morning’s playground and dried each other off.

Max helped Liz to get dressed and sat her on the loveseat in the corner of their bedroom with the TV on while he got dressed for work. Liz kept switching channels and finally looked at Max and said…”How in the hell do people sit and watch this shit? I can’t believe this.” Max just continued to get his clothes on as she sat and channel surfed. I wonder what people did before TV and computers to entertain themselves and then he thought about his grandparents.

His grandmother was still up at the crack of dawn everyday getting breakfast while his grandfather slept. It wasn’t always like that. They had this huge dairy farm with employees and grandfather was out taking care of livestock before grandma ever got up. His mother often asked his grandmother why she still got up at that time and her answer was always the same, “It’s his turn to sleep in.” His mom would always walk over and give grandma a hug. His mom told his dad one time that she didn’t think she had it in her to be half the woman grandma was but he and his dad knew better. Liz reminded him of his grandma. Grandma had that kind of love that transcended time and so does Liz. Although Liz is capable of losing it…then again, I’ll bet grandma is too Max thought.

Soon Max was all suited up looking like something out of a men’s’ fashion magazine and Liz just sat and admired the man in front of her. She looked at Max in a very strange way and Max started to get uncomfortable and when he asked Liz if something was wrong she just smiled up at him and shook her head.

“Are you ready to head downstairs? Your mom will be here soon…do you think I should fix her some breakfast too?”

“Mom’s coming over here? What for?”

“Come on Liz…you can’t stay here alone and you know it. You’re going to get bored and start doing things you shouldn’t do and the next thing you know you’re going to be back in the hospital and Maria won’t be able to fix it again.” Max was on a roll and Liz didn’t even try to put up an argument. He was right…she probably would get bored and try to do something she shouldn’t. So she allowed Max to carry her down the steps and insisted he put her on her feet when they got to the bottom of the stairs. About that time they heard the doorbell and there was Nancy all bundled up like a snow bunny.

“Max, you need a warm coat today…that cold front we’ve been expecting finally got here. Good morning Liz, you look beautiful honey, how do you feel?” Nancy asked.

“Actually, if you people didn’t keep reminding me I wouldn’t even know that I had surgery.” Liz smiled as she spoke to her mother and reached over and gave her a hug.

“Wait a couple of hours sweetheart…you’ll remember.”

“Do you mean she’s going to start hurting again?” Max asked while his honey colored eyes searched Liz’s face.

“No, she probably won’t hurt, but she will be tired and sleepy. It’s the body’s way of healing itself.” Nancy told them as she hung her coat in the guest closet off the hallway.

Nancy was an RN, semi retired, and she worked as a temp now instead of full time. Since Liz was out of school she and Jeff no longer needed the added income. Liz knew her mother had worked to give her the education she had and she couldn’t thank her enough. When Liz graduated with her doctorate she didn’t have a single student loan and it was all her mother and father’s doing. Liz had worked after her under graduate study but not enough to pay for the education she had gotten. Liz looked at her mom and smiled…she really was happy that she came over this morning to keep her company. She would miss Max and her mom would be great company. The three of them headed to the kitchen and then the discussion started about what to have for breakfast. Liz wasn’t really hungry but both Nancy and Max said she was going to eat something so she relented and asked for a bowl of oatmeal. Both Nancy and Max laughed at her…every time Liz felt cozy and happy she wanted oatmeal. Nancy figured it was because she fed her oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar when she was little. Liz always loved it so Nancy went to the pantry and got a pan out while Max retrieved the oatmeal from the cupboard. Nancy gave him a look and he handed her the box of raisins and pointed to the plastic container in the pantry on the shelf above the pots and pans. Nancy grinned at Max and he smiled back at her knowingly. Liz just sat at the table playing with the sugar bowl. What in the hell was she going to do for the next couple of weeks besides go out of her mind. Then she got a brainstorm.

After everyone had their breakfast and Nancy had the kitchen cleaned up…she made Liz sit and watch…they both headed to the living room. “Mom, I want to learn to crochet.” Liz announced matter-of- factly.

“Okay honey, what do you want to make?” Nancy asked her.

“I don’t know…it doesn’t look that hard to do. Grandma just zips right along.”

Nancy smiled…her mother had been crocheting for as long as she could remember and she taught her. She also knitted but said it was boring so she preferred crocheting. Nancy learned when she was about 10 or 11 but Liz never seemed to be interested.

“When do you want to start these lessons Liz?” Nancy asked.

“I don’t know Mom…would it be okay for us to go shopping?”

“Sure…where’s your warm coat and boots?”

Liz thought for a minute…”All of my coats are in the closet but my boots are in the closet in my bedroom. My clothes are in the closet off the bathroom to the right. Max’s are to the left.”

“Got it…I’m going to bring down the warmest ones you have...which drawer are your socks in?”

“Top left hand dresser drawer.” Liz told her mother.

Soon they were off to the mall and Nancy pulled into a parking place closest to the yardage shop and stood guard next to her daughter to make sure no one bumped into her. Liz didn’t understand, although she felt great and only had a little incision, that she needed to be very careful. Soon they found a couple sizes of crochet hooks some yarn and also some thread. Liz decided that she wanted to make a lace tablecloth. Nancy just smiled knowingly and left Liz do her thing. She chose some very nice colors for an afghan and a simple pattern that would work out very nicely when finished. Liz was so pleased with herself and then Nancy spied some simple Christmas projects.

“Liz, why don’t you start on something like this? It won’t take very long to make, it will give you a chance to get used to using the needle and applying the tension so it will give you even stitches and besides that you will see the results of your work very quickly.” Nancy figured that once she started back to work she wouldn’t want to be bothered with crocheting. Liz looked at the various little angels, snow flakes and lace place mats and smiled at her mom…

“That’s a great idea…I can make tree ornaments.” Nancy smiled back at her and they purchased an instruction booklet, paid for all of their purchases and were back home within the hour.

Nancy took one look at Liz when they got back and saw the signs of fatigue immediately.

“Now, you let me help you out of those boots and get yourself comfortable on the couch. You need a little nap and when you wake up we’ll crochet.” Nancy smiled at Liz…that damned anesthetic; it takes longer to get that out of your system than it does to get over the surgery.

Liz looked at her mom and smiled…”You’ve been at this too long I think.” And after her mom took her boots off Liz curled up with a pillow and blanket that had magically been placed there and she was out like a light.

After she woke up Nancy took a seat next to her on the couch and proceeded to teach Liz to make a chain and much to Nancy’s surprise Liz took to it like a duck to water and by the time Max got home and 1:00 p.m. Liz had already made three snowflakes and two angels. Nancy couldn’t believe it. The stitches were all of equal size and each item was done to perfection. Maybe she would do this more often Nancy thought to herself. Max was as surprised as Nancy when he saw what she was doing. He never doubted that Liz could do whatever she set her mind to do but these things were really pretty and she just started working on them a few hours ago.

Max leaned over and gave Liz a kiss on the cheek and smiled at Nancy…he said he’d be down in a minute and headed upstairs to change his clothes. Nancy asked Liz what she’d like for lunch and Liz grinned at her mother.

“Oh come on Liz...you’re kidding right?”

Liz giggled at her mom and Nancy shook her head…”Max? Do you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich too?”

And from upstairs a chuckle was heard and then a very loud “No Thank You Nancy, I think I’ll find something when I come down. I can go get us something if you would like.” Max answered.

Nancy thought for a minute and then answered back…”I think I’ll be able to find something…maybe tomorrow you can bring us something from work, what do you think?”

“I think that’s a great idea.” Tomorrow Iz, Mom and Nancy would all be here he thought they can make a nice luncheon date out of it.

Soon they were all congregated around the kitchen table having their lunch, each enjoying their own meal. It was a sight to be hold. Nancy had a salad and bowl of soup. Liz had some soup with her peanut butter and jelly sandwich and Max had a salad with his ham and cheese on rye. It was like a regular smorgy in that kitchen…Liz looked around and started to giggle, “It looks like the ‘Crash’.” They all started smiling…”It does doesn’t it?” Nancy said. And Max agreed.

After lunch was all cleaned up Nancy bent over and kissed Liz on the top of the head and gave Max a hug. “See you two in the morning and if you need anything give me a call.”

“We will Mom and thank you for taking me to the store to get this stuff and showing me how to do it. I’m really enjoying this.” Liz said.

“You are so welcome honey…I think it’s born in you. You took to it like a duck to water. See ya!” And with that she was off.

“When did you go shopping?” Max asked.

“Between breakfast and my nap.” Liz grinned.


”You’re really making some nice stuff there Liz…when did you learn how to do that?” Max asked.

“This morning.” Liz answered. Max’s eyes got really big now…”You mean it’s that easy to do?”

“Well, I think it is, why?”

“Do you have another needle?” Max asked.

Now Liz’s eyes got really big…”Do you want to make some too?”

“Yeah, I think I do. Just don’t tell Michael or Dad.”

Liz giggled at the last part of that statement and reached into the bag of things her mother and she had purchased that morning and handed Max a needle in a little larger size than she was using and gave him a skein of thread. Then she proceeded to show him how to crochet a chain. Max looked at her and said…

”I used to do this in scouts, only we didn’t use a needle.”

Liz looked at him and said “Mom said it’s important to keep the same amount of tension on the thread in order to keep the stitches the same size…when you see an ‘s c ’ it’s stands for single chain and then there’s double, triple etc. Just wrap the thread around the needle once for single, twice for double and so on, and then pull off one thread at a time. Follow the instructions and see what happens. After a couple of snowflakes you won’t even need the directions.”

Max smiled at her and picked up his supplies and started reading, soon the two of them had crocheted snowflakes all over the couch and they started laughing. They both had the same idea at the same time…Max looked at Liz and said “Michael thinks he’s cool for baking cookies…wait til’ he sees what the hell I can do.” Liz busted out laughing and then grabbed her side…”Oh God Max, you have to stop making me laugh…it really hurts.” And Max dropped his work and reached over and lifted her up onto his lap.

“Come on sweet, it’s time to cuddle for a little while.” And Liz just snuggled down into Max’s lap and got ready for another nap. Boy, if recuperation was going to be like this she just might have to have more surgeries. This was okay!!! Max just wrapped his arms around her and left her sleep…he had a great big contented smile on his face…life was good and getting better.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Chapter: 10


The next morning all of the women showed up about the same time and Liz was in shock…nobody had told her that it was going to be a party! Max carried Liz downstairs although she tried to tell him she could do it herself but he wouldn’t hear of it. Nancy just laughed at him. It was easier to let him carry Liz than to try and explain to him that he didn’t need to. They all congregated in the kitchen and Nancy made oatmeal again and everyone else just had coffee while Max and Liz had their breakfast. Max asked all of them what they would like him to bring back for lunch and they all looked at each other and shrugged…Max looked at the table full of women and then told Liz “When they decide what they would like to have you call me at the office and I’ll stop and pick it up on my way home…okay?”

“Okay love…have a great day.” Liz smiled up at Max and he leaned over and kissed the top of her head before going out the door.

Nancy noticed all of the snowflakes and angels sitting on the counter drying from the starch they had been soaked in and she couldn’t believe that Liz had crocheted all of those yesterday. “Liz, did you ever go to sleep last night? My God, how fast do you crochet, you’re a regular machine. I can’t believe that you completed all of these.” Nancy was totally flabbergasted.

“Oh Mom, I didn’t do all of them and if you ever tell Michael or Philip Max will kill me. He wanted to do some too and he’s as good as I am with that crochet hook. He said he learned to do that chain in boy scouts but they didn’t use needles so, as soon as he got used to the needle he just whipped right along. We sat there half of the evening making snowflakes and angels while we watched or rather listened to the TV. We really had fun.” Liz was so happy that her mother liked the fruits of their labor and the crocheted items were really pretty.

Isabelle and Diane picked up one of the angels and couldn’t believe it. Isabelle looked at Liz and said…”You really made these?”

“Yes. Mom took me out yesterday morning and we bought some supplies at the yardage shop and then she showed me how to make a basic chain and I went from there. When Max saw what I was doing he said he’d like to try one so I pulled out another hook and showed him what Mom had shown me and he was a natural. Of course he knew how to do a chain already, like I said, so he just had to get used to using the needle. I think they’re turning out very nicely don’t you?” Diane and Isabelle couldn’t believe they made these. They were so darling and to think that Max would crochet snowflakes and angels was remarkable to say the least. Then Diane hugged Liz and said into her ear…”I guess he’s really trying.”

Liz’s eyes started twinkling and she shook her head yes…and said

“Yep, and is it fun!”

Diane looked at her and said “I can tell.”

And she gave Liz a great big smile and another hug. Isabelle and Nancy had no idea what the two of them were talking about and they weren’t about to share. So the three ladies got busy with silver and crystal while Liz crocheted more angels and snowflakes and then Liz decided to get brave. She had enough Christmas decorations and so she flipped through the book of instructions on the tablecloth and doily book they purchased and she found a beautiful pattern she liked. She opened it up and dug out a fresh skein of thread and started following the instructions while the rest of the group worked like well oiled machines cleaning all of the pretty serving dishes in the dining room.

About an hour later Liz had completed the first motif of the table cloth and she sat back and admired it. It would take her a very long time to make this for their dining table but it was going to mean so much more because she had made it and she just knew that Max would want to help. Maybe it wouldn’t take so long if the two of them worked on it together. Surprisingly their stitches were extremely close…you could hardly tell the difference between their work and with the same sized needles Liz was sure they would be identical. One motif was four inches square and the dining room table opened up to a full twelve feet…God it was going to take an awfully lot of these little squares to cover that huge table but how proud they would be of it when it was done.

About 11:30 Liz paddled her way into the dining room and got a good look at the silver and crystal. It looked beautiful and Liz told everyone as much and then she announced that they were going to have to decide what they wanted for lunch pretty quick because Max was waiting for her to call him. So they all made a choice and told Liz who in turn called Max and then she went to the living room and settled down for her morning nap. Nancy walked out into the kitchen to get a drink and saw the latest project sitting on the kitchen table and picked it up. She couldn’t believe how quickly Liz picked this up and she was tackling a tablecloth no less. One of the hardest crochet projects there was as far as Nancy was concerned. This was going to be beautiful. She picked up the piece of work and headed to the dining room.

“Look what she’s decided to work on now. My mother will be so pleased.” Nancy was beaming and then Isabelle and Diane both said they wanted to learn as well. Nancy smiled and said … “Let’s meet back here tomorrow and have a sewing bee.” They all smiled at each other in agreement and continued to clean silver.

Around 1:00 Max showed up with all of the food and the ladies cleared off the island of all angels and snowflakes and set up a buffet for lunch. Max went into the living room and kissed his little wife on the forehead and smiled and then headed up the stairs to change his clothes.

Nancy went in and woke Liz up and told her it was time for lunch and then helped her up. Soon they were all seated around the kitchen table laughing and talking and then Nancy told Max and Liz they would all be back tomorrow for a sewing bee. That Diane and Isabelle wanted to learn how to crochet. Liz and Max started to giggle. It’s addictive isn’t it?” Liz asked.

Isabelle spoke up… “I can’t believe what you can do with a hook and a spool of thread. It’s just beautiful.” Liz just smiled at her…it was beautiful.

“You should see some of my grandmother’s things Iz…they would blow your mind. I hope I can do as well as she does some day.”

“Oh I think you’ll be able to equal her Liz…look what you’ve accomplished in one day, your grandmother has had years of doing this and you’ll be able to do what she can do in no time, honest.” Nancy told Liz.

*~*~*

And so, on Thursday morning all of the ladies showed up for a sewing bee…they all brought instruction books, thread and needles with them and Nancy prepared herself to teach them how to crochet. Diane and Isabelle stopped at the yardage shop on their way home yesterday. Nancy just dug out a long forgotten project and made up her mind that she would finally finish it. When Liz brought out her project the three women gasped…there was one row completed on her tablecloth. The measurements would be about 44 X 154 inches and she had 4 inches by 44 inches done already and Nancy knew she didn’t do all of that herself but never said a word…’how cute’ she thought to herself.

So, when Max got home from work on Thursday afternoon he found his living room surrounded by hand crocheted items…it looked like the ‘thread’ gods dropped in and threw up all over the place. He looked at the four women engrossed in their projects and then he cheerfully went to the kitchen and put the pizzas on the island. He went in and gave his little wife a kiss on her head and started up the steps to change his clothes…Nancy discovered he was home after it dawned on her that she smelled pizza and looked up just as he was about to make his turn around the staircase and she gave him a great big smile. She knew he was a kind young man but she never dreamed just how kind and loving he was. Liz really knew how to pick them she thought to herself. Then she looked over at his mother and thought, no wonder her children are the way they are…look at this sweet woman sitting over there concentrating on a hand crocheted lace place mat. All of them were wonderful people she thought. Then of course, so were the Parkers! They were all lucky.

By Thursday night Max and Liz had practically redecorated their tree with all of the handmade items and it really looked quite nice…it looked very elegant in its simplicity. Both Max and Liz were surprised and proud of their accomplishment.

On Friday all of the ladies went back to the yardage shop before Liz got sleepy and purchased some craft items to finish off their trees and picked up some little beads and heads to put on some of their angels and there were a few other items that looked like fun as well. Soon they were all loaded down with all sorts of projects and Christmas was next Thursday. They all thought they were finished with their decorating and then Liz had to start all of this. Liz just laughed at them when they accused her of getting them into trouble. She was really having a fantastic recuperation. She was thinking that she really didn’t want this to end; she liked all of the company and fun they were having. She had never done anything like this before and she truly loved it, she was also seeing a side of her mother she had never seen before and Diane and Isabelle were wonderful.

Max came home at 1:00 as usual and brought Chinese with him today. He called and ordered dinner for 6 and there was enough food to feed an army. Everyone was enjoying it and then after the kitchen was cleaned up all of the ladies bid Max and Liz goodbye and told them they would see them tomorrow night around 7:00. Liz was beaming she was so happy and Max stood holding her next to him, hugging her for dear life, they bid everyone good bye and Max told her it was time for her nap. She told him she didn’t think she was that tired yet so he suggested they just sit on the couch and cuddle for awhile. They both knew she wouldn’t last 20 minutes before she was out but she agreed. Like her mother told her, it was her body’s way of healing itself, sleep was the best medicine on earth. Just as Max figured, she was sound asleep in about 20 minutes. He turned the news on the TV and settled in for a little bit of slumber of his own, which came as a big surprise when he woke up to Liz looking up into his eyes. He gave her a peck on the lips and asked her if she was hungry and she looked at him like he had lost his mind. “You’ve got to quit feeding me Max, I’m going to gain a hundred pounds and then you won’t be able to give me a hand up.” Max just looked at her and grinned…”That’s okay sweet, as long as you’re healthy.” And Max just pulled her in closer and hugged her tighter. After awhile they started back in on their tablecloth. “You know Liz, this is really fun and quite rewarding…I can’t believe that I’m actually enjoying this.”

“Me either Max…I agree.” And so the evening went…nothing earth shattering just a lot of love and companionship.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Thank you for the feedback...Ginger

*~*~*
Chapter: 11

By Saturday evening Liz had taken her two naps and was showered and dressed in her new maroon velvet evening dress and looking quite gorgeous by 6:30 p.m. Max helped her into her thigh high nylons; she was still having a little discomfort bending over. He had taken her shopping for some lower heeled dressy shoes earlier that day and the shoes didn’t give her the usual height she had when they went out so now she was about three inches shorter than he was used to.

The stilettos she had originally purchased for the dress were very tiring so she figured a lower heel dressy pump would be better. She was right and the new red shoes matched the red dress perfectly. It wasn’t bright red but more of a maroon and it looked beautiful on her. Max was so proud of her he could fly and the fact that the little one was safely tucked inside her made him happy enough to fly. Life just kept getting better and better.

The guests started arriving right at 7:00 and everyone looked so beautiful. The caterer’s passed out canapé’s and trays of champagne, there were plates and trays of food on every table and counter available and the entire home was decorated to perfection. Everyone was so happy to see Liz up and about and feeling okay. Maria told Liz she needed to talk to her later if she had a minute and Liz asked her if something was wrong. “No Liz, absolutely nothing, just a minute in private…okay sweetie?” Liz gave her a killer smile and said “of course.”

Dr. Aijian came over to wish her well and told her he was glad to see her up and about. She told him if her husband and relatives had anything to do with it she would be treated like an invalid. The doctor laughed at her and told her he was sure they wouldn’t do that to her and she insisted they would.

Max came over to her shortly and told her the head chef was ready to start serving dinner whenever she was. She smiled at Dr. Aijian and excused herself and headed to the kitchen to talk to Wayne who had everything on the island waiting to be plated. There were two waiters per guest and everything looked great.

Liz had moved the furniture out of the family room that was connected to the dining room and had put an extra dining table out there. Everything looked marvelous. Max was so proud of her and soon everyone had found their place and was seated for a marvelous sit down dinner and conversation. Liz had Alex, Isabelle’s husband, mix a special CD for the occasion and the soft music played on in the background.

After a dinner that lasted about 2 hours everyone retired to the living room while the caterer’s removed everything from the dining room and family room and collapsed the tables in the family room and left the chairs around for additional seating if needed. Everything was going just the way Liz had planned it and everyone was having a marvelous time.

Liz finally got Maria’s attention and both young women headed to the kitchen for a bit of a private talk. Liz sat down at the kitchen table and Maria took the seat across from her and smiled at Liz and then took both her hands in hers…Liz looked at Maria with big eyes, her heart suddenly started beating wildly in her chest and Liz just looked at her and said…”What?”

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Hi Carolyn...Here you go...


Chapter: 12

“Liz, Charlotte and I have gone over your X-rays to make sure we haven’t missed anything and honey, we need you to come in for a sonogram as soon as you’re feeling up to it. We think you might be pregnant with twins.”

To say Liz was shocked was an understatement. They figured she was about 4 weeks according to her calendar and calculations and they might be able to see what was on the X-ray by taking a better look with the sonogram. Liz just sat there looking at Maria for a minute and then she said, very seriously,

“Maria, I am seriously considering on getting a new gynecologist/obstetrician so if you can recommend someone to me I would be glad to take it under advisement. Please, don’t ever think this has anything to do with our latest episode but it did wake me up. It’s like having your sister for a doctor and I don’t think that’s a good idea Maria. We are closer than sisters and this is not a good thing and you know it as well as I do.”

Maria just sat at the table slack jawed…she couldn’t believe her ears and she didn’t know how to react. Her mind was telling her that Liz was correct in her thinking but she knew what had prompted all of this as well as Liz did. She really did overstep her boundaries when she told Michael Liz was pregnant and Liz was right about the fact that they were closer than sisters. God, what had she done? She knew Liz was a strong person but she never in a million years dreamed she would go through with something like this.

“Liz, are you sure you want to do this?” Maria was practically begging Liz and Liz knew it.

“Oh I’m sure Maria. Can you help me choose someone else?” Liz really didn’t want to bring this up before Christmas but she had to let Maria know that she wouldn’t be treating her as a patient anymore…nor would Charlotte. It was just to close to home. Liz knew they were both excellent doctors but she also knew that if she had been someone else that she would not have told the patients brother of her condition. Liz had made up her mind and it was final…Maria wasn’t only her friend but she was Liz’s sister in law and that was just too much.

“Sure Liz…the only one that comes to mind is Laura, you know her. We’ve been on a couple of committee’s at the hospital.” Maria offered…she had this huge lump in her throat and it was getting very difficult to sit here with Liz and discuss this during a happy occasion. God, why did she tell Michael?

“Laura’s good then?”

“Yes, Liz, she’s very good I’ll send your records over to her on Monday. Do you want me to call her or will you?”

“I can do it. I’m not doing much of anything else. I’ll still keep my appointments for the surgery though. I think you and Charlotte should see this to completion don’t you?”
Liz said as she smiled at her old friend. She really didn’t want to do this but she also knew that it was the best thing for all concerned.

“Of course I think we should Liz.” And then Maria looked at Liz and said through the lump in her throat…”Liz, I am so sorry. I never even thought.”

Liz hugged her old friend and said, “I know you didn’t think Maria, after all it was only me…right?”

And Maria stood dumbfounded and shook her head. Liz was right…Liz was always right dammit.

Liz stood up and hugged Maria and then Max poked his head into the kitchen and saw the two old friends engrossed in conversation and wondered if anything was wrong… Liz looked up into her husbands beautiful eyes and smiled…”No sweet… just settling in on next week’s appointment. Let’s just go in and join the party.”

And so the three friends headed to the living room for some Christmas karaoke. This should cheer Maria up Liz thought, it’s right up her alley and soon Maria and Jim were doing a duet and entertaining everyone. Liz looked over at Maria and gave her a killer smile and Maria nodded and smiled right back at her friend. She knew Liz’s decision was for the best.

After the last of the guests left Max carried his tired but happy wife back up the stairs, helped her to get ready for bed and then went down to make sure the caterer’s had everything under control and cleaned to their satisfaction before he went to bed. Max locked everything up and turned off all of the lights. He smiled as he passed the large Christmas tree in the foyer all decorated with hand made angels and snow flakes and then headed upstairs to join his wife. It was a beautiful party and Liz was ravishing. He was so proud of his little wife. Everyone seemed to enjoy her and he was right in among them.

When he entered their bedroom he was very quiet, he didn’t want to wake Liz up but he was surprised to find her lying there waiting for him.

“Sweetheart, what are you doing still awake…don’t you know you’ve had a really big day?” He said with concern in his voice.

“Of course I know I’ve had a big day and now I want my big day to end in perfection and the only way that can happen is when my beautiful husband is by my side in bed.”

“Ah, come on Liz, cut the bullshit…what’s up?” Max was turning beet red and it tickled Liz to see him blush.

“Nothing’s up Max, I’m serious. I really couldn’t go to sleep and I needed you to hold me.” Liz was pretty much being serious now. She really couldn’t go to sleep, she knew she was unwinding and it was all adrenaline and she knew that Max would have a calming affect on her, but this was becoming fun.

So, as Max undressed and got ready for bed he had to ask…”What were you and Maria talking over in the kitchen?”

“Oh, I asked her to help me find another doctor.” She kind of left the end of the sentence drag on a little and Max looked over to see what her face looked like. He could tell she was a little pensive about her last statement even though he knew it would happen after the events in the hospital. Maria had no right to announce their news and he knew that Maria was aware of it as well.

“Oh…how did she take it?”

Liz was surprised at Max’s reaction… “She didn’t ask me to reconsider if that’s what you mean?”

“No, I wouldn’t think she would after that faux pas at the hospital.” Liz was really shocked now…she expected a little bit of a chastisement from Max but it seemed that he agreed with her.

“Max, you don’t seem surprised by any of this? What do you really think of it?”

“Honey, I never in a million years thought that Maria would break a professional confidence to anyone and that included you but she did. There is no excuse for that. It wasn’t life threatening and she’s an excellent doctor but I’ll bet you anything that she would never do that to anyone else. What makes you less than a stranger? That was our news to share when we were ready and she had no business doing what she did. I am very proud of you…there is no second chances on this one Liz, she was very wrong. I am really proud of you for doing this.”

Liz just laid there and watched Max as he talked to her. She had no idea that he felt the same way she did and she told him so.

“Oh sweetheart, we had other things we were contending with at the time and that little episode was not number one on the agenda but I am glad it has been dealt with and now we can move forward. Are we still planning to go over there on Christmas Eve?”

“Of course, we’re still friends. Like I explained to Maria, we are too close to be involved in a doctor/patient relationship and this episode just proves it. I don’t think Maria was too happy about my decision but she understands. She also understands that she was wrong and I know she’s beating herself up over it but it is what it is and we can’t change it.”

Max just sat on the edge of the bed and grinned at his wife…God how he loved her and he really did think he was going to have to do some fast talking to convince her to change doctors. Just one more thing to admire her for and with that he went into the bathroom and turned the light off that he had on and came back and crawled into bed next to Liz. “Are you ready for sleep yet or do you want to watch some TV?” he asked.

“How about a movie?” Liz answered and Max grinned as he reached over to the nightstand to get the remote…

“Okay, but tonight I get to choose.” Max said as he stretched over his wife.

Liz giggled…”Didn’t you like ‘White Christmas’?”

Max laughed at her and said “It was lovely…but tonight I get to choose.”

“Okay…pick something and I’ll sleep through it okay.”

“Okay.” And Max got his little wife comfortable and found himself a nice manly movie while Liz snuggled up and went to sleep.

The next day was Sunday and Max asked Liz if she felt like going to church…she said she thought she would be able to handle it and so Max helped her get ready and they headed off for an early Sunday service and breakfast afterward. They ran into Michael and Maria on their way out of Mass and so the four of them went to early breakfast and then Michael and Maria wanted to know if they would like to join them for some shopping and Max looked down at Liz and saw the look on her face and said he thought they’d better get home.

“She looks like she’s ready for her morning nap.” Max said and Maria looked at her friend and had to agree.

“Are you feeling okay Liz?” Maria had to ask. She knew Liz would never complain unless she was really hurting.

“Oh yeah Maria, I feel really great as a matter of fact. I just get very sleepy about this time of the morning and then again later in the afternoon. Mom said it’s the bodies’ way of healing itself so I just take my naps and feel great after I get up.” Maria nodded her head in agreement and then told her to be sure and tell Laura if the symptoms persisted.

“Laura who?” Michael asked.

“Oh, Laura is one of my cohorts at the hospital.” Maria answered…she had not told Michael about their conversation in the kitchen yet.

“Why does Liz have to tell her anything?” Michael asked with a concerned look on his face.

Max piped up before things heated up and said…”Hey guys, we’re going to head on home and get Liz comfortable, see you Wednesday.” And Max led Liz to the car and got her settled in.

As soon as Max started the engine he could see Maria and Michael in the rear view mirror and Michael didn’t look to happy…oh well, shit happens Max thought and kept on driving. Maria was Michael’s problem and Liz was Max’s first concern.

*~*~*


“Boy, that didn’t sound too good back there did it?” Liz stated as Max drove.

“Not our problem Liz…she dug this hole and she has to deal with it…it isn’t going to change a thing where we’re concerned. At least she cares enough about you to make sure you do the right thing.”

“Oh Max, I never felt that she wouldn’t take good care of me I just feel that we should keep some things separate from family and our health issues are one of them.” Liz was starting to feel badly for Maria and Max could see this.

Max saw a small convenience store and pulled into the parking lot and reached over and took hold of Liz’s hand. “Sweetheart, don’t do this…she’ll be fine and so will Michael. This is not our problem. They love each other and it will be fine. Now let’s get you home and down for your nap…just think, I can take one with you today.” Liz looked up at Max and gave him a great big smile. “Sundays are great aren’t they?” and Max leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before moving back over to the driver’s side and taking off. “Hey, you didn’t tell her that I crocheted did you?”

Liz giggled and said “No…you know I know better.”

Max smiled and continued driving.
*~*~*

[mary mary]

Thank you so much for the feedback...I really appreciate your thoughts.

Ginger

Chapter: 13

(A/N: I stole a scene from behrsgirl77…Liz gives Max a picture of her sonogram in a frame as a gift…I got the idea from “Wings of an Angel”)

On Monday morning Liz woke up and found Max still in bed and wondered what the story was here. She reached up and started rubbing him under the chin and Max tightened his grip around her shoulders and smiled at her.

“What’s up sweet? Do you feel okay?”

“Yes, but why are you still in bed?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, I took this week off. All of our female relatives wanted to get ready for the holidays at their respective homes and Dad said to just stay home since the office was slow during this time of year anyway. I’m sorry…I forgot to mention it with all of the other stuff that was going on. Do you mind?”

“MIND!!! Are you kidding, God no I don’t mind…I am elated.” Liz gave Max a killer smile and then said she needed to go to the bathroom. So he got up and went around the bed to help her up…she told him to just pull the blankets back…that’s what seemed to pull on her stomach more than getting up. So Max pulled the blankets back and Liz managed to sit up and get out of bed very easily. Max was so proud of her. It was hard for him to realize that she had just had surgery a week ago she was doing so well.

After Liz came out of the bathroom Max went in and then he asked her if she was ready for breakfast. “Why don’t we shower and dress first and then we won’t have to come back up here.”

“Sounds good to me Liz…come on, I’ll help you with your slippers and then we can shower.”

And so they got busy getting ready for the day and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. While Max was busy cooking Liz got on the phone and made an appointment with Laura Holt’s office and the receptionist told Liz that the doctor wanted to talk to her privately and asked Liz if she could hold on for a minute. Liz of course said yes and soon the doctor was on the phone.

“Hey Liz, how are you? I just got off the phone with Maria earlier and she faxed some information on you over to me. It seems we need to do an ultrasound to find out what’s happening in there…can you come in early on Christmas Eve? I know that’s not the best day to have a doctor’s appointment but it’s the only time I have open until after the holidays. If we do it early it won’t get into our day too badly.”

“I’m fine Laura and Christmas Eve will be okay. I’ll see you then.”

Max overheard the conversation and he had already had an appointment on Christmas Eve with the jeweler who was making Liz’s Christmas present and asked Liz what time she had to be at the doctor. Liz told him 9:00 and Max winced.

“What’s wrong Max?”

“I have an appointment at 9:00 also, that’s all.”

“Oh, well why don’t you drop me off at Laura’s and then you can pick me up after you’re finished. How does that sound?”

“Well, I wanted to be there with you.”

“Oh Max, there’s going to be lots of appointments you can be with me it’s okay to miss this one.” Now Liz knew what she was going to give Max as his special gift. All she needed was a little frame…even if it wasn’t twins, which would really be special; she could put the picture of the ultrasound in his stocking. Oh this was going to be great she thought.

So the rest of the week went by pretty quickly and on Christmas Eve Max and Liz got ready for their appointments. By this time Liz was really getting around great and Max didn’t even feel uncomfortable allowing her to go into the doctor’s office alone. Max headed to the jewelers and Liz signed in for her exam.

“Good morning Liz…how do you feel, still recuperating okay?”

“Good morning Laura, sure am. Max even let me walk in here by myself, just like a big girl.”

Laura laughed at her remark and then handed her the little postage stamp sized garment to put on and Liz finally asked…”Why do you bother with these damned things…they don’t cover enough to even take the time to put them on.”

Laura was really laughing at her now and finally calmed down enough to get her on the table and ready for the test. She smeared the cold jelly on Liz’s belly and started moving the instrument around. Liz was watching the monitor as Laura worked her magic and then she saw what Laura saw and started to smile…barely visible but there…there were two of them and Liz couldn’t hold the smile off her face. Laura looked up at her and grinned.

“You can see them can’t you?” And Liz looked at the doctor through tear stained eyes and shook her head yes.

“Can I have a printout Laura? I want to give it to Max for Christmas.”

Laura smiled at Liz and pulled the paper out of the machine and handed it to her. “You know you aren’t the first one to do this but I think you’re the first one that’s ever given it as a Christmas gift. I think that’s priceless.” Laura was almost in tears as well.

“Oh, and Laura, don’t share this news with Maria or Charlotte please.” Laura looked at Liz with a surprised look on her face…”Liz, you are my patient… unless you tell me to share your information it stays here. Never think that I would share this with anyone including your husband unless you told me to.”

“Good, I just wanted to be sure that you understood that you are now my doctor and no one else is. Thank you.”

“Liz, it’s none of my business, but is this why you changed doctors?”

Liz looked at Laura and knew she did not need to know anything that transpired last week except that she had ovary repair. So she sort of manufactured a story for the good doctor…

“Laura, I had an emergency last week and I called my sister in law and best friend who took care of the emergency, and quite well I might add. But Maria and I are closer than sisters and we are also married to brothers. It isn’t a good idea to have family members in a doctor/patient relationship and when I asked Maria to recommend a good doctor for me she recommended you. I just didn’t want you to think that I was also seeing Maria as well as you and that you needed to share information. You are my doctor and privacy is very important to me.”

“I understand Liz and your privacy will be safe with me. Thank you for telling me that Maria recommended me…I had no idea she thought that highly of me. This was news.”

“Well she does so now you know.”

Laura handed Liz her picture which she put in her purse and Liz proceeded to get dressed. When she got out into the waiting room Max was sitting there waiting for her.

“Well, is everything alright?” He asked.

Liz stood on her tip toes and kissed him lightly on the lips and said “everything is perfect, just perfect.” And they headed out of the office.

Liz asked Max if they could go to the food court in the mall for something to snack on and Max said of course…She actually wanted to sneak into the card and gift shop and buy a small odd sized frame for her precious little gift in her purse. So Max headed to the mall so they could get a snack and Liz did manage to sneak into the gift shop next door while Max waited for their order. She knew the place would be packed and it would take awhile to get served…She really was proud of herself.

The rest of the day was spent very quietly, between naps and snacks they made it through until it was time to head over to Maria’s and Michaels’. Liz was hoping that Michael hadn’t been too hard on Maria. After all he was the only one she told, he was the one that blabbed to the rest of the family. It all worked out for the best anyway.

So Liz managed to get her own stockings on this evening along with her long skirt and beaded top and she looked lovely. Max was so proud of her and he was wishing she didn’t look so beautiful. He was sure going to be glad when the doctor gave her a clean bill of health. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep his hands off of her.

The evening was wonderful and everyone had a great time. None of them exchanged gifts with each other…they decided a long time ago that it was too much and the holidays were about family anyway. Of course…when children started coming along it would be a different story.

When Max and Liz finally got home Max lit a fire in the fireplace and Liz went to the kitchen and made some hot chocolate for them and brought it into the living room. Max had lit the Christmas tree in there and they both took a seat on the couch in front of the fireplace and Max went over to Liz’s stocking and brought it over to her and she in turn handed him his…it wasn’t on the mantle but sitting by Liz on the couch. She didn’t want Max to see the picture frame that was sticking out of the top of the stocking so she laid it on the couch.

Max waited for Liz to open her present that was in the stocking and she took out the jewelry box and opened it up and smiled. There was a platinum locket on a platinum chain and when she opened the locket there was a tiny replica of their favorite wedding picture on one side and on the other there was an engraving that said…”Togetherness” and Liz started to cry. She knew what Max meant by the engraving and she was so happy. There had never been so much togetherness in their entire relationship than there had been this past week. She leaned over and kissed her husband very tenderly on the lips and smiled at him…”Always, Max.” And he smiled at her…then she gave him his stocking to open.

Max pulled the frame out of the stocking and sat there for a second and then it dawned on him what he was looking at. There was two circles drawn around two very tiny little dots and Max immediately looked at Liz and said “Two?” And Liz nodded her head and smiled. Max reached up and scratched his ear and looked at Liz with the biggest grin on his face. He pulled Liz into his lap and kissed her cheek and hugged her for dear life. Liz looked up at Max …and with a great big cheeky smile she said….

“Merry Christmas Max.”

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Thank you everyone for all of your feed back and have a great New Year!!!!

Ginger



*~*~*

Epilogue.

And so, after the birth of Max and Liz’s first set of twin boys, Doug and Dave, Liz decided to be a stay at home Mom. Everyone in the family was pleased with her decision and they were the sweetest, happiest little boys the family had ever seen. They were in constant motion; they had two speeds…stop and go. They gave Liz a merry chase and she and Max loved them more than life itself and then, two years later Julie and Janet came along. Oh what little dolls they were and did they give their mommy and daddy some joy. Max just melted when he was with them.

After a couple more years, three to be exact, young Tom came along and Tom was his own person. With two five year old brothers and two three year old sisters Tom ruled the roost. It didn’t make any difference what he wanted he got because one of four kids saw to it that he was kept busy. Liz was beside herself thinking that he was going to be nothing but a spoiled brat but she was surprised that he really was kind, caring and willing to share anything and everything with all of the children.

Then two years later came the baby...sweet little Claudia. She was the last of the Evans children and she was as sweet as any child could be. She was loved by all of her siblings as well as the whole family. Max said she was so much like Liz it was as if she had been cloned. But this statement could have been made about all of their children. The boys were clones of their father and the girls looked exactly like their mom and all six of them were all honor students.

Max and Liz considered themselves to be the luckiest people on earth when it came to their family and for their twenty fifth anniversary the children had a portrait made for their parents.

Dave and Doug were both in graduate school while Julie and Janet were in their senior year at the university. Tom was a freshman at the university and Claudia was a junior in high school. Max and Liz liked the portrait so much that they put it on their Christmas Cards that year.