I must apologize for my extended absence. When I first took a break from writing this, it was with the intention of finding a beta to look it over and fix the grammar and spelling mistakes and make it easier to read because I had discovered a very embarrassing mistake that I didn't want repeated and wanted to make sure there were no others. No one has volunteered for the job, unfortunately, and instead of just doing it myself; I put the fic on hold for a few weeks. Real life decided to interfere and kick my a** and the few weeks turned into a few months.... and then some how or another, two years. I really didn't think it had been that long. Anyway, I'm back once again. I have a new part just about ready to post. I am going through and replacing parts 1-16 first. There isn't any major differences. I just tried to clean it up a bit. So if you don't feel like rereading 140 pages, you're not going to be missing anything new.
One of these days, I'll be able to post without a novel length author's note at the beginning... *sigh*
Okay I’ve never tried to write a fic before so please be kind. I’m going to try to write a fic starting right after the Pilot. I don’t know where it’s going to go or what all I’m going to include in the story or if it will even have much of a plot. There will be some things that are included from later on in the series but at this point I don’t know what. Tess and Nesado might exist but there will be no Tex/SPOT. Liz will develop powers but much sooner than she did in the series. Begins the night of the festival but I’m changing a couple of details. Before Liz meets Max, she meets with Kyle and breaks up with him and then goes off to where Max gives Liz the speech about not being able to be with her because they are different… this starts later on that night. Also I’m changing Valenti’s scenes a little too. Instead of calling in the Feds he covers up the shooting but still wants answers. He still has the dress but hasn't given it to anyone or done anything with it as of yet. So no FBI crawling around which means there won’t be any Topolsky or Pierce. I’m going to try for ADULT but it will be Teen for most of the fic.
Quick apology... Um, somewhere I got the date as Liz writing in her journal as September 24, 1999 but the other day I finally manged to download the pilot and watch it and it said September 23, 1999 so just excuse my ignorance and pretend that it was a day later than it was in the pilot.
Banner by Annie
http://photo.starblvd.net/anniepoo
Summary: Liz and Max start developing similar symptoms which they realize start to fade when they are in close proximity or touching. They discover there were more consequences to her being healed than they first thought.
Disclaimer: If I owned them Season 2 and 3 would have never happened.
Rating: MATURE - ADULT (I’m gonna try to write some smut but you never know. I don’t expect too much angst just because I don’t think I could do it justice.)
Couples: Mostly M/L and if I’m feeling brave a little of M/M and A/I
Italics denote flashes
‘’ denote thought
Bold denotes telepathic speech
Chapter 1
September 24, 1999
11:30pm – Liz’s bedroom
Liz finished writing in her journal and put it up. Sighing she got ready for bed wondering where she stood with Max and what the future held. ‘Why is it so hot in here?’ Liz thought to herself. Fanning herself she got into bed but was unable to sleep. Tossing and turning, but unable to get comfortable Liz wondered if she was coming down with something.
Her thoughts returned to Max. ‘I wonder what he’s doing. Duh! He’s probably sleeping which is what I should be doing. I doubt he’s over there obsessing about me. I just wish I could see him again. I wish he would give us a chance. How can I get him to give us a chance?’
Sweating, Liz tossed and turned wishing her body would get comfortable. Moaning softly, she felt like crawling out of her skin. She didn’t know what was wrong but it hurt.
Feeling something change, Liz looked at her window. “Max?”
11:30pm – Max’s bedroom
Max lay in bed thinking about Liz. Of course, that’s usually what he thought about but now thoughts of her were even more vivid. Liz now knew the truth about him and wasn’t horrified at what he was. He didn’t know what to do. His greatest dream had just come true. Liz knew what he was and hadn’t run from him… but now he had no idea on whether he should give them a chance or stay away from her. One part of him wanted to run as far away from her as possible. He didn’t want her to get hurt and he honestly didn’t know what would happen if they did get together. Another part of him realized that this was a dream come true and he wanted to explore it. He wanted to ask her out and be with her and see if something could happen between them. His thoughts were too jumbled to figure out anything.
Sweating, Max tried to get comfortable. ‘What’s wrong with me? I never get sick.’ Max thought to himself. He felt way too hot and felt like he was uncomfortable in his own skin. Something was wrong but he didn’t know what.
Getting up, Max dressed hurriedly and climbed out the window. ‘I just have to check on Liz to make sure she’s okay, and then I can get some sleep.’ Max told himself but even he knew that he just wanted to see her again. He walked to the Crashdown and just stood there staring for several minutes before making his way around to Liz’s balcony. Quickly climbing up he went to her window expecting to find Liz asleep. He was startled to realize she was tossing and turning quietly moaning. She turned and looked at him. “Max?”
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Liz opened the window and stood there looking at Max. “Max what are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I don’t know what’s wrong I just felt off. I had to see you. Are you alright?” Max said softly reaching out to touch Liz’s hair.
Liz sighed, closing her eyes, “I couldn’t sleep either. It’s too hot in here. Maybe I’m coming down with something.” Opening her eyes, she saw Max’s surprise.
“I felt the same way.” ‘Oh God, No! Did I hurt Liz by healing her? Is something wrong with her because of me? What about me? Why am I feeling the same as her?’ “Liz, I was feeling the same way. Did it feel like you were too hot and couldn’t get comfortable and where you felt like you were coming out of your skin?”
Nodding her head slowly, Liz stared at him with her big doe eyes. “Do you know what’s wrong with me?”
“No, only that’s the way I was feeling before I decided to come over here. I feel a little better now that I’m here. How about you?” Max continued to absently play with her hair watching her concerned. ‘What if I did something to her? How do I fix this? I can’t let Liz get hurt because of what I am.’ Already he could feel the guilt churning in his gut. He just knew this was his fault but he didn’t know how to fix it. How do you fix something when you don’t know what you’ve done wrong?
“I feel a little better now. Would you like to come in?” Liz stepped back to give Max room to enter. After he climbed in the window, Liz went and sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you think this has something to do with you healing me? Maybe this is a side effect of whatever you did.”
“I don’t know, Liz. I’ve never healed anyone before. Well, except myself, Isabel, and Michael of minor things like bruises and small cuts.” Pausing to think a moment Max tries to think of a way to fix whatever’s wrong. “Can I try something?” Max sat down next to Liz begging her with his eyes to trust him while hoping that he knew what he was doing.
Liz nodded her head instinctively trusting Max. Max reached out and cupped her face in his heads and initiated a connection. Trying to see if he could find what was wrong with her. This time they both saw flashes.
Liz breaking up with Kyle.
Max nearly being arrested by Sheriff Valenti.
Liz telling Maria the truth and chasing her down the alley.
Max being confronted by Michael and Isabel about Liz.
Unable to discover anything he broke off the connection. “Umm.. did you see anything when I connected with you?”
“Yeah, I did. Did you?” Max nods.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t find anything wrong but I’ve never really tried this before so..” he trailed off looking apologetic.
It’s okay Max. I feel better now.” Liz looked around nervously for a moment. “Could you maybe stay for a little while until I fell asleep? I’ll set the alarm in case so you can leave before my parents get up?” Liz rushed out feeling embarrassed but hopeful.
“Sure I can do that.” Max smiled. Taking off his shoes he laid down on the bed with Liz next to him. Max wrapped his arm around Liz’s waist and buried his nose in her hair. He loved the way her hair smelled. She snuggled into him and lay there listening to him breathe. For the first time that night, they both felt comfortable and drifted off to sleep.
September 25, 1999
5:00am – Liz’s bedroom
The alarm going off woke them both up. Stretching they lay there for awhile just content to lay in each other’s arms. “How do you feel this morning, Liz?” Max murmured in her ear.
“Good” Sitting up, she watched while Max got his shoes on. They sat in silence just staring at each for what seemed like forever before Liz suddenly jumped up. “Oh, maybe I could try something.” Going over to her desk, Liz pulled her microscope out and grabbed a slide. “Since you healed me I’ve felt, like, different somehow. I mean, you don’t know what healing someone does so maybe when you healed me you changed me.” Liz explained while preparing a slide with cells from her cheek. “I’m just going to check my cells and see if they look any different than they did before.”
“You mean, you think I changed you into an alien?” Max looked horrified that he might have done something to her.
“I don’t know. I’ve just felt different since you healed me. The feeling has gotten stronger and last night it felt like I was ill. Maybe that was, like part of my body adjusting to whatever you did.” Liz smiled softly, “Even if you did change me Max, you saved my life. I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you.” Turning back to her microscope she looked into it and gasped. “Look!”
Leaning over Liz’s shoulder, Max peered into the microscope. “Oh my God!” Max muttered looking at the cells. “They look more like mine now. They weren’t like this the other day when we looked at them were they?”
“I think whatever you did to heal me, changed me. Maybe I’m becoming an alien too.” Liz said softly. A part of Liz was scared at what that meant but another part was excited. She liked her life planned out but here was something that was definitely not in her plan. What was going to happen to her now? Was she going to die or was she just different now? Her scientific mind was already thinking of all the possibilities and problems while her romantic side was wondering if this meant that she and Max could be together. If she became more like him he wouldn’t be able to tell her they were too different.
“Oh God Liz, I’m so sorry.” Looking tortured he looked away feeling like a monster. “I did this to you.” Max felt like his world had just ended. He didn’t know what to do. Here was his worst nightmare come to life. Something he had done had harmed Liz Parker.
“Max… Max! Look at me!” Liz took his face between her hands. “Max, I would be dead if you hadn’t healed me. DEAD! If this means that I’m becoming an alien or maybe even part alien, I don’t care. Yes, I’m worried about what this means but I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you. Please don’t feel guilty. This could turn out to be something good.” Liz watched his face closely realizing that it wasn’t that easy for him to accept.
“I know… it’s just I didn’t want to hurt you. What if this kills you? Even if it doesn’t, if your cells remain like this it means your life is forever changed. You’ll have to hide like us. You’ll never be able to go to a doctor. You’ll always have to watch what you say or do around others. I just… I didn’t want your life to be in danger because of me.” He argued knowing that she was right too.
Before Liz could say anything else she heard her parents starting to get up. “Max, you have to go now. We’ll talk about this later, okay. Don’t worry about it. It’ll work out in the end.” Pushing him to the window, he turned and touched her face softly before climbing out and disappearing down the ladder.
Liz returned to her microscope looking at the cells for another moment before completely destroying any evidence that they existed.
Later that same day – Max’s bedroom
Michael, Isabel and Max were all gathered in Max’s room. “Okay, Maxwell, we’re here what did you want to talk to us about?” Michael demanded. Michael didn’t want to be here. He was still pissed off at Max and he wanted to find out more about Valenti and that picture he had in his office. Not sit here and listen to Max talk about Liz or continue with ‘we’ve got to act normal’ speeches.
“We’ve got a slight complication.” Max stared at the floor not willing to meet their eyes. The guilt eating at his gut was even stronger now that he had time to think about all the things that could go wrong. Just knowing about them put Liz and Maria in danger but now it looked like Liz would be a permanent part of their lives. He wondered how she felt about it and if she was really going to be okay.
“Spit it out Max. We haven’t got all day.” Isabel looked annoyed. She had better things to do than sit here watching Max stare at the floor like shopping or even reorganizing her make up.
“Liz may have been changed by me healing her.” Max rushed out quietly.
“WHAT?” Michael shouted.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY?” Isabel shrieked.
Flinching Max looked up at them. “Last night I was feeling horrible, like I was getting sick. So I went over to Liz’s just to check up on her. She was feeling the exact same way only when we got closer to each other we both felt better. Anyway, we fell asleep and this morning she tested her cells under a microscope. They look more like mine now. They don’t look the way did when she tested them the day after I healed her.”
“Oh, God!” Isabel collapsed on the bed. “How? What? I mean… How could this have happened?” Isabel muttered looking shell shocked.
Michael stared at Max. He wasn’t sure what to make of this. Was this another problem? Would Liz develop powers like them? Was she going to be able to handle this? How were they going to deal with this? “What do you mean her cells were changed? What is she an alien now? Does she have powers?”
“I don’t know Michael, okay. I just don’t know. All I know is her cells are different and until I showed up last night we were both feeling ill.” Max starts pacing shaking his head. “We were both feeling hot and uncomfortable and unable to sleep. I went over there and as soon as we were within a few feet of each other we started feeling better.” Running his hands through his hair Max stopped to stare out the window. “I tried to connect with her to see if I find out what was wrong but I couldn’t find anything. So we ended up falling asleep. This morning we got up early and she decided to look under the microscope. She said that since I healed her she felt different or changed somehow.”
Falling silent the three of them sat there looking anywhere but at each other. You could almost see them thinking. “Max, honey? Liz is here to see you.” Diane Evans called from down the hall.
“Okay mom, I’m coming.” Max yelled. “I’m going to go bring her back here. Are you guys sticking around or leaving?”
“I’m staying.” Isabel whispered.
“Me, too.” Michael sat down at Max’s desk. ‘This ought to be interesting.’ He thought.
Max hurried down the hall stopping when he caught sight of Liz. “Hi”
“Hi… I… um… Sorry to just drop in like this.” Embarrassed Liz looked down at the ground. “I… um… I can leave if this is a bad time.”
“No... um... don’t go. Come on back.” Max led Liz back to his room and showed her in. Liz nodded at Michael and Isabel before checking out his room.
“So, um, well… I thought I could like compare our cells under a microscope to see the obvious changes.” Liz pulled out her microscope blushing. She knew she sounded like a nerd but with everyone staring at her she felt really self-conscious. Setting up her microscope she turned to the others. “Okay, if you guys could just, um, give me a small blood sample.” Liz handed Michael, Isabel and Max a slide each.
Waiting for them to give her the sample, Liz nervously chewed on her bottom lip. She hadn’t really had time to process everything yet, but she knew that her life was irrevocably changed now. She wondered what this would mean for her future. Would she still be able to have a quasi-normal life or would she have to give up her dreams of going into science research? She didn’t know what the ramifications of change would be. Finally done, the others handed her the slides. She placed them in order and slowly compared each slide to the others and to hers.
After what seemed forever of watching Liz look in the microscope, make notes, and worry her bottom lip, Michael finally muttered exasperated, “Liz, would you just tell us already!”
“Oh, um… sorry. Well, it looks like you guys all have similar blood. Mine is still essentially human but it isn’t normal but it doesn’t look exactly like yours either.” Liz explained.
“So what exactly does that mean? Do you have powers now? Are you like half alien or something?” Isabel asked quietly.
“P-powers..” Liz stuttered, “Well, um, I don’t know. I haven’t even thought about it. I don’t really know what this means. I don’t even know if this is permanent or just a temporary side effect of Max healing me like the silver handprint. It’s not like I have a guide book for this. I’m just as clueless as you guys. I guess I could try to see if I have powers but I don’t even know if I would be doing it right or if they even exist for me to try..” Liz trailed off looking a little overwhelmed.
“We can get together later and try. It’s not like this is something that has to be figured out right now.” Max soothed her. “I’m going to take Liz home. I’ll see you guys later okay.” Max addressed the others. At their nods, he helped Liz pack up her stuff and guided her out of the house. Getting into the jeep, Max looked over at Liz. She hadn’t said anything since leaving his room and he was starting to get worried. She looked like she was about to have a breakdown. The guilt came crashing back down on him. Logically, he knew that if he hadn’t healed her she would be dead, but now because he had; her life would irrevocably be changed. Who knew what the long term affects of this would be. There were just so many problems that could arise from this.
“Stop it, Max! This isn’t your fault. We’ll figure it out as we go. Okay?” Max nodded at her. “So just stop with the guilt trip.” Liz scolded Max.
“I’m sorry. It’s just your life is being turned upside down because of me. I can’t help feeling like this is my fault even though I know if I hadn’t healed you, you would be dead.” With effort Max got his guilt under control. “I know we’ll figure it out. I’m just worried this is going to hurt you somehow. I couldn’t live with myself if something about what I am hurt you.” He fervently claimed. Starting up the jeep he drove back to the Crashdown.
“I know Max but I don’t feel sick at all. Who knows, maybe this will be a good thing.” Liz giggled softly.
“What?” Max looked over at her questioningly half smiling at hearing her.
“Well, now you can’t say that we are too different. Our cells a lot more alike than they were a few days ago.” Laughing out loud at the stunned expression on Max’s face, Liz couldn’t help but be a little excited about the possibility of not having to stay away from Max because of the different species aspect.
Max pulled the jeep into the parking lot at the Crashdown and just sat there looking at Liz completely stunned. Here he was nearly having a guilt ridden breakdown about ruining her life and she was sitting there thinking about being together. Granted he wasn’t against being together. It was literally a dream come true but he wasn’t sure what to make of her right now. “Liz…” Max sighed frustrated, “Liz, can we, um, just talk about that later after we’ve figured out the rest of this?”
Giggling at Max’s pained expression, “Sure, Max.” Getting out of the jeep, Liz whispered goodbye and headed inside.
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She had to work later so she went straight up to her room to get ready and finish some homework. After working on her homework for awhile, Liz gave up trying to study and pulled out her journal. After cataloging everything that had happened and what she felt about it, she sat there contemplating everything. Finally, giving into the overwhelming urge to find out if she did indeed have powers, Liz grabbed a pen and paper and sat on the bed. ‘Okay, what should I try to do? Hmm, well they all seem to be able to manipulate the molecular structure of things so I guess I should start there.’ Liz thought to herself. Writing on the paper her, she set up several columns and wrote down a few experiments she wanted to try.
Getting up, she went to her closet and found an old shirt that she never wore anymore. Returning to sit on the bed, she held her hand over the shirt and tried to make it do something. “Geez, I feel like a dork.” Liz mumbled to herself. Clearing her head, she clearly imagined the color of Max’s amber eyes. Feeling, a tingle in her hand she looked down to find the shirt exactly the color she had been imagining. “OH MY GOD!” Liz shrieked. “I did it.” Listening to make sure her parents hadn’t heard her she sat down and noted on her paper her success.
Looking at the clock, Liz realized she had to get ready for work or she was going to be late. Putting up her journal and her notes she got ready and went down to the Crashdown to get her shift started.
Hours later, Liz started feeling the same symptoms from the night before. She felt too hot and restless. ‘What is wrong with me? This is the second night in the row I’ve felt like this.’ Liz thought to herself. Wondering if Max was feeling the same way, Liz was grateful that her shift was almost over. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand to wait on customers and feel like this.
The minutes until her shift was over seemed to drag but finally she was free. Breathing a sigh of relief, Liz made her way upstairs. Taking a cold shower, she got ready for bed wondering if she was going to get any sleep at all. Thankfully, tomorrow was Sunday so she didn’t have to worry about getting up early. Sitting on her bed feeling terrible Liz tried to think of what to do. She didn’t know what was causing these symptoms but they just couldn’t go on. She needed to find something that would make her feel better. As if hearing her thoughts, she felt Max. Turning she saw him standing outside her window. Going over to the window and motioning him in, “Max, what are you doing here?”
“Are you feeling what you felt last night again?” Max asked reaching out to stroke her bare arm.
“Yes I was. I’m feeling better again. What about you?” Max nodded. “Max, how are we going to stop this? We aren’t going to be able to spend every night together. One of these days our parents are going to catch us.”
“I know.” He whispered softly. “We’ll figure it out, but right now I just want to hold you if that’s alright.”
Liz nodded. Taking Max’s hand, she led him to the bed. Laying down they got comfortable and just listened to each other breathe.
“It’s going to be okay, Liz. We’ll figure it out somehow.” Max whispered into her hair.
“I know. Goodnight Max”
“Night Liz”