Spring Break
Round 1 Winner
Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas
Valentine's Day 2002
The Fourth of July
Labor Day
Winner - Round 4
Happy Holidays, Everyone!
Before I post Part 1, I must take a moment to offer my most humble and heartfelt thanks for the Chameleon feedback. I asked readers to leave a little note when the story was done. What I got were 65 responses, some of them so poignant about how the story had become a staple in their lives--well, it made me cry. I printed out 35 pages of your wonderful thoughts, and I will cherish them forever. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. The whole experience will always be a treasured memory.
Also, in response to many inquiries (and complaints about broken links), I will try to make good on a promise to post my stories in one place on the authors' thread. I've never posted there, but I assume the same rules apply (10-page limits and such). I will get the Epiphanies trilogy up, all the Dreamer Holiday stories, and various bits, like Circles in a Pond and Acting Alien. Chameleon is so huge and is complete on the repost board, so I'll probably just provide a link to that one.
One final note: This time of year is crazy busy for many, myself included. I know I've fallen behind on my reading, so those who think I've abandoned your stories--not true! I'll be catching up this week!
Okay, now to the matter at hand. This story is not exactly fluff, but most of the Dreamer Holiday stories aren't, if you recall. It is however, guaranteed, so bear with me. I will post either 5 or 6 parts, with a new part every few days. The entire story is written, so you can rest assured, it won't go on hiatus!
DREAMER HOLIDAYS: New Year?s
Author: Carol000 (spacemom)
Category: AU M/L
Synopsis: Out of one?s loneliness and the other?s painful past grows a love for the ages. But is it real?
Rating: Teen
Disclaimer: Max and Liz don?t belong to me?they belong to an abusive Hollywood that doesn?t love or understand them. So I?ve borrowed them with no malice or apology, so that they live on in a world of hope and understanding.
Part 1
Something clenched inside his chest the moment he saw her. A flicker of recognition. A sense of finding something lost. His mother?s lifelong assurance that everyone had a soulmate?even a ?special? boy like him?echoed in his ears. He chuckled into his club soda. His mother had always been a romantic.
His eyes sought her out again. She was alone, but not on the prowl like so many of the other women at the conference. In fact, she didn?t look at all like one of the prepackaged professional women that lined the halls and restaurants of the convention center. She looked self-contained, removed, alone by choice.
?You?re a lucky stiff,? Alex said, sipping his Long Island iced tea. ?Two weeks in this place and you may decide never to come back to Albuquerque.?
Max smiled at his friend and colleague. ?You?re a lucky stiff, too. How many more weeks before the baby comes??
?Four, so they say, although Isabel thinks it might be sooner. She?s been having those Braxton Hicks contractions the last week or so. It?s a miracle she let me come out here. You can bet I won?t be going any further than the drug store for the next few weeks.?
Alex had the put-upon father-to-be act down pat, but everyone who knew him also knew that he was more excited than a little boy at Christmas about the daughter he was about to have. He and Isabel had met in college and married soon after graduation, but had put off children until Alex?s practice was established. Max and he had hit it off in med school, and now Drs. Evans and Whitman had a solid psychiatric practice in Albuquerque. Alex was cruising easily into the life he had always wanted. Max wanted those things, too, but, as he told himself every morning, he didn?t have the same options.
At least, he didn?t think he did. Adopted as a child back in Roswell, New Mexico, he had been raised as an only child by loving parents. After their initial shock at what Max was able to do, they were able to impress on the young boy that his gifts were not for public display . . . or even public knowledge. They had given him everything, including their trust, but they couldn?t give him what he wanted most?to be normal. With the exception of his best friend Kyle from high school and his partner Alex, no one else knew his secret.
What energy Max would have spent on a girlfriend, a wife, children, was focused on research, and it had brought him no small level of recognition, especially for one so young. There had been awards, a book, and some lucrative job offers. There had been women wanting to share his bed?and his spotlight. He?d disappointed them all. In fact, he would have traded his fame in a New York minute.
?Well, I?ll think of you while I lay on the beach and scope out the babes,? he teased his partner, wanting to keep the tone of the conversation light.
?You do and I?ll sign you on as a patient,? Alex quipped, then sobered. ?What will you do for Thanksgiving? Isabel is sure you?ll die of depression all by yourself over here.?
?Don?t worry about me,? Max assured him with a smile. ?Tell Isabel I?ll go out and eat a feast and then watch two football games, if it will make her feel better.?
?I think she?d rather you spent some time with that hottie you keep eyeing over in the corner.?
Max arched an eyebrow at his friend.
?Hottie??
Alex winced. ?I can?t really get away with talking like that, can I??
?I?d have to say, it?s not you,? Max replied with a grin. ?Besides, Isabel doesn?t understand what I?m up against. Just tell her to stop trying to set me up, okay??
?She worries about you,? Alex said quietly.
?I know, and I appreciate it . . . sort of.? He winked at Alex, who grinned in empathy. ?But I?m fine. This is what I want right now.?
The two men looked at each other, understanding flowing easily between them. Alex knew what his friend craved, and it saddened him to know he would probably never have it.
?At least enjoy some casual flirtations, my friend. You?ll have no trouble attracting the beauties on the beach, believe me.?
Max watched as the bubbles in the club soda rose determinedly to the surface of his drink, burst with an explosion of energy, and died. Just like his deepest desires, he thought.
?Will do,? he said absently.
They both knew he wouldn?t.
?I gotta git, man,? Alex said, rising. ?I?m taking the red-eye back to LA and I haven?t even packed. Enjoy your vacation, Max. You?ve earned it.?
?Give Isabel my love. Call me if anything happens.?
?I will.? With a pat on his friend?s back, Alex made his way out of the bar. As he disappeared, the loneliness slammed into Max, punching a dark hole in his mood. Suddenly the music was too loud, the atmosphere too stifling, and the glitz too brash. Until his gaze rested on her again, and that clench in his chest traveled lower to his gut. Something about her . . .
He picked up the club soda, his habit of solitude at war with his urgent need to speak with her, perhaps even to know her. She lifted her head and met his eyes.
?Dr. Evans! Here?s where you?ve been hiding. I have some people I want you to meet.?
He suppressed a grimace as the leggy redhead pulled him toward a table of dressed-for-success women, each with a drink in her hand and a speculative smile on her face. He felt their collective scrutiny of his 6-foot frame, their appraisal of his thick hair, broad shoulders, secretive eyes. Some even had the nerve to look lower, a glimmer of invitation already poised on their lips. He felt as if he were up for auction.
?Your paper on the effects of mono-directional therapy during coma was fascinating,? the redhead gushed. ?We?d love to hear more about the cases you?ve tried that with. So much more interesting than the statistics, you know.?
She beamed at him, a lioness flushed with the victory of finding and presenting the prey to the rest of the pride. With what he hoped was convincing graciousness, he turned on the professional charm and calculated how quickly he could escape. Only a few sentences into one of his standard anecdotes, a light touch on his arm pulled his attention away. The petite brunette smiled, leaned into him intimately, and with honeyed tones, rescued him.
?I do hate to interrupt, but we?re supposed to meet that publisher for drinks, aren?t we??
He gaped at her, confused and grateful all at once. Only when she looked at him directly did he see the twinkle in her eye. Clamping down on the grin that threatened to split his face, he nodded. ?Is it that time already? So sorry, ladies. I wish I had more time, but . . .?
With a tug from his angel of mercy, he gave an apologetic wave and left the room.
?I am forever in your debt,? he smiled, bowing formally. ?How did you know I needed rescuing??
?You?re not as subtle as you think.? She laughed lightly; it was musical, genuine. ?Besides, people-watching is a specialty of mine. I?m fluent in body language.?
Max could just hear Kyle jumping on that line, but he let it go. He didn?t want to do anything to put her off.
?Please let me repay you,? he offered. ?I?d love some company for dinner.?
She looked suddenly uncomfortable, glancing around . . . nervously, he thought.
?No, thank you. I have to be going.?
Spasms clawed at his gut. ?I shouldn?t be surprised that you have plans,? he said calmly, though the niggling sense of wanting to know her had expanded into a full-blown quest. ?Are you meeting your husband??
She looked up, startled. ?No. I?m not married.?
He relaxed slightly.
?I?m sorry. I don?t mean to be rude. I realize you don?t know me at all. I just . . .?
?I do know you, Dr. Evans. At least by reputation,? she said quietly. ?I work in the Conventions department at the hotel. And I?ve seen your name in the promotional materials and your picture on that poster outside Meeting Room D.?
?Really? Well, then, uh,? he stuttered, inordinately pleased, ?maybe you can trust me to be a gentleman. I promise, no groping, no lewd suggestions, just conversation.? He looked around quickly. ?We can sit in that café over there. All open and above board. My hands in plain sight the whole time.?
She laughed again. And again, it sent a little rumble through his system. She was lovely?long, dark hair; huge, expressive eyes; an elegant but understated dresser.
?I suppose I could spare a few minutes, but only a few. Thank you.?
He was almost giddy, but clamped down hard on his nerves. He?d had ?drinks? with women a hundred times. He?d never been nervous before, only resigned about the futility of it, and had eventually given it up as a depressing and hopeless exercise.
?Excellent. Consider it your good deed for the day. Or rather,? he smiled, ?your second good deed. I?ll just consider it a serendipitous gift.?
They found a table out on the sidewalk where they could feel the ocean breeze and watch the palm trees rising like studded lances toward their spiky burst of green. Max shed his suit coat and loosened his tie. A waiter wearing a lei appeared.
?Virgin?? he asked, looking at Liz.
Max opened his mouth in shock and leapt to his feet, ready to face off with the smart-mouthed waiter, but Liz?s throaty chuckle pulled him up short.
?Greg, you have to be careful with that question when I?m with someone you don?t know,? she laughed, and Max pulled his mouth closed with considerable effort, more than a little confused.
?Sorry. Do you want your strawberry daiquiri virgin today?? The guy was grinning.
?Yes, thank you.? Her whole body was alight with amusement, and Max sat back down, embarrassed.
?You, sir??
?Iced tea.?
The waiter disappeared, and Liz took pity on her new acquaintance. ?Sorry. I?m over here a lot since I work across the street. Greg knows my weakness for strawberry daiquiris, but he also knows I?m not much of a drinker.? She laughed again. ?You should have seen your face! It was priceless.?
Max chuckled now, too. She looked so relaxed and beautiful, and he began to relax as well. He bent one arm across the back of his chair and stretched the other arm forward to fiddle with the cocktail napkin in front of him ?I couldn?t believe he just asked you that. I?m pretty sure I was about to deck him.?
?My hero,? she grinned.
Max found he didn?t mind being called her hero at all, especially not when her eyes dropped to his arms and torso, making him flush with pleased embarrassment. He knew that his slim build, especially in a suit, was misleading. But he?d shed that suit coat when they?d sat down, which he also knew showed off his body in a much different way. He worked out, and it showed. He didn?t do it to attract women . . . that was pointless, he thought bitterly. But keeping fit, sticking to a challenging regimen?those were things he could control, and control was in short supply in his life. He wasn?t able to control what he was?whatever that was?so he kept tight control on whatever he could. Now, however, as he saw her eyes widen with appreciation, he knew she was telling herself that he could have taken that young waiter, and he saw her stir in silent appreciation. A shudder of pleasure ran through him.
?So have you lived here your whole life?? he asked, hoping his face hadn?t given away his thoughts.
?Half of it, at least. My parents moved here permanently after dad retired from the military. He?d been stationed at Pearl at one point and always swore he?d come back. Now they live like a couple of beach bums on the other side of the island and run a business taking the tourists out on day-trips to find whales. They absolutely love it.?
Their drinks were served and as Liz lifted hers to her lips, Max noticed a white line around the ring finger of her tanned left hand. His tea soured in his mouth and he set it down. Had she left the ring off today? Or was it gone for good? Either way, he found he was unreasonably jealous at the thought of the man who?d put a ring there. It was ridiculous, of course. Ridiculous, but very real.
?What?s wrong?? she asked, genuine concern on her face and in her voice.
?What? Oh, nothing. Tea needs sweetener.? He reached for the sugar, which seemed to satisfy her.
?Have you been to Honolulu before?? she asked.
?No, actually. This is my first time. I could use a guide,? he suggested with a smile. He watched her face warm with pleasure, then go blank.
?I?m not really available,? she said stiffly, ?but I can suggest some good tours.?
His disappointment must have shown on his face because she looked immediately contrite. ?I?m sorry, but under the circumstances, I don?t think it would be a good idea.?
?Circumstances?? He was not only disappointed but concerned as her expression closed and her eyes darted nervously.
?I, uh, I just have so much to do with the convention. I can?t really . . .? She bit her lip, and he frowned.
?Isn?t the convention over??
?Well, yes, but there?s always follow-up and another coming in after Thanksgiving. I really have to go.? She stood up, clearly all business, and he cursed himself for coming on too strong. It was out of character for him, and clearly uncomfortable for her.
?I?m sorry, that was inconsiderate of me. Sometimes a tourist forgets that people actually work in Hawaii. Please, stay and finish your drink.?
She eased back into her chair, looking slightly embarrassed at her abrupt reaction. ?No, I?m sorry. It was very flattering for you to ask, and I wish I could oblige you. How long will you be on the island??
?Two weeks. Any suggestions??
?Whale watching.? She was smiling again, and he relaxed. ?I happen to know someone who will give you a great day-trip.?
He tried to smile. ?I?d like that.?
?Is your family joining you for the holiday??
?Uh, no. I don?t have a family. Well, I do,? he amended quickly. ?My parents live in New Mexico, and they wanted me to join the big family gathering again this year, but . . .?
His voice trailed off before he could tell her what he was really feeling?loneliness, frustration, an ?is that all there is?? hopelessness. Being a . . . freak, he thought disgustedly, then pulled the anger back in. Being an anomaly, with little or no understanding of where he was from or why he could do the things he could, had led him to an emotionally solitary life. He found he wanted to tell her, felt instinctively that he could tell her, but it was too soon. Much too soon. Mentally shaking himself, he pasted on his casual smile.
?I decided I?d earned a little R&R in paradise.?
?So you?re a New Mexico boy. Still live there??
?Albuquerque. I have a practice there. So, tell me, what can I see here that I can?t see at home??
?Everything!? she laughed. ?There?s the coffee plantation, the pineapple plantation, and incredible scenery. Water sports of all kinds. And of course, the other islands. You can pick up literature on all that at the hotel.?
?Maybe you could help me weed through it over dinner.?
Shit! He hadn?t meant to push. It had just popped out, and again, her expression had shut down.
?I?d love to, Dr. Evans. But I can?t, really. I do hope you enjoy your stay in Honolulu, though.?
She stood again, and he knew he wouldn?t get her to sit down a third time. As she turned to walk away, the fluttering of panic in his chest took him by surprise. ?At least tell me your name!? he called after her as she merged into the crowd on the sidewalk.
?Elizabeth. Liz. Liz Parker.?
He watched her step into the street, almost breathless with desperation but not knowing why.
?Liz??
She turned, her smile questioning this time.
?Are you free for lunch tomorrow??
She shook her head with a wave.
?Breakfast?? he called even louder as the traffic noise escalated with the light change.
She turned again, a sadness in her expression this time. He wondered for a fraction of a second if she were changing her mind. The thought splintered before his eyes as the taxi?s tires squealed.
TBC
You freak me out with that polar thing every time!
It's just that RL took me by surprise this weekend--moving kid back to college, taking down the Christmas stuff, an unexpected ticket available to a sporting event--so I was exhausted by the time I could get to the computer last night. Sorry. 
