Roswell Fanatics

Hey guys! Thanks so much for the warm welcome back! I'm glad to be back!!!!

Now, I've been slacking on my writing... where the hell is Alex to keep me in shape when I need her?! *lol* But that doesn't mean that I don't have updates ready. I have at least 3 chapters after the one I'm posting finished, so you guys won't be left hanging.

It's great to be back and read all of your feedback. As for what the hell Isabel was thinking in the last chapter... Uhm... I'm really not sure. *LMAO* You'd think I'd have an answer to that, seeing as how I wrote it, but I didn't even think about it. Let's just blame it on the fact that it was her birthday, she was wrapped up in the craziness of her party, and had been drinking. Ok? Ok. *lol*

Ok, I'm shutting up. Thanks again for all the wonderful FB, I love it! Keep it coming, and I hope ya'll enjoy!!!

Chapter Ten

Liz slowly extracted herself from her comforter, which had tangled around her legs during the course of the night. She sat up and after a second or two, managed to pull herself out of bed. She made her way to the bathroom, turning briefly to check the time. The clock on the night stand read 11:48 AM. She groaned, chastising herself for sleeping so late when she had told herself that she would get up early and get some writing done.

She flipped on the bathroom light, mentally going over what she planned on writing today as she brushed her hair up into a ponytail and began brushing her teeth.

Yesterday had been her day to recover from the hangover she’d had after consuming way too many drinks at Isabel’s birthday party. She was told that she didn’t make a terrible impression on Max’s parents, but she couldn’t imagine that she’d made a particularly good impression either.

Max was supposed to be stopping by to hang out with her, hence the reason for wanting to get up early and get some work done. She didn’t understand how, no matter what time it was, Max always seemed to be awake, and full of energy. She mused that it may be due to the fact that he was often woken at odd hours to run into the hospital for a surgery or something.

She finished brushing her teeth and placed her toothbrush back in the holder. She thought briefly about jumping in the shower, but then decided against it. She wanted to go down to the study and get as much writing down as possible before she started doing anything else.

As she descended the stairs, she could hear Tyler, Tristan, and a video game making noises in the livingroom. She couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out what the hell those two would be doing up this early when it wasn’t necessary. She didn’t take the time to go into the livingroom and check it out. She simply went the other direction, towards her work.

“Hey! Be quiet in there, I’m gonna try to work!” She yelled down the hallway as she went into the study, closing the door behind her.

She made her way across the room, walking around her desk and dropping down into the leather chair on the other side. She began booting up her computer, and started her writing ritual.

She opened the bottom drawer of her desk, grabbing a lighter from underneath a stack of papers. She reached across her desk and grabbed the tart warmer that sat near the back of her desk, next to a picture of herself and the twins that she’d had taken two years ago.

After she lit the tea light candle that would warm the wax in the tart warmer, making the entire room smell of her favorite scent from Yankee Candle, she put the lighter back in the drawer and shuffled around the papers on her desk.

She glanced up at the computer screen as it finished booting up, opening her top computer drawer and pulling out her reading glasses. She hated them, and thankfully, she didn’t have to wear them all that often, but with all the staring at the screen that she did, it was necessary to wear them while she worked. Once they were in place, she opened her word document before pulling out her notes and setting them next to her on top of the desk. She stretched, popped her fingers and her neck, then poised her fingers over the keys as she consulted her notes again.

Just as her fingers were going to begin striking the keys, there was a knock at the door. She sighed, dropping back in her leather computer chair. “I’m trying to work.” She yelled in the general direction of the door.

She heard the doorknob turn and the squeaking and groaning of the door as it was pushed open. She tore her gaze away from the computer to glance at the door, then did a double take.

“Girls in glasses are very sexy.” Max smiled at her from where he was leaning against the doorjamb.

“What are you doing here?” Liz asked, getting up from her chair and crossing the room. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his lips down to her.

“Mm.” Max managed as he pulled away, finally looking down at her. “I came to see you.” He pulled her against his chest, dropping a kiss on top of her head. “You weren’t awake when I got here, but the boys were. We’ve been playing video games for the past half hour.”

Liz laughed into his shirt, pulling back and looking up at him. “I wasn’t expecting you to come over until later. I haven’t showered, I haven’t gotten any work done...”

“Well, then, by all means...” Max released her from his grip, giving her a little nudge in the direction of the computer. “You work, I’ll just...” He glanced around the room. “Look around and find something to read.”

“Are you sure?” Liz hedged, even though she was already making her way back towards the desk.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Max assured her, looking through the books that filled the bookcases around the room. “I’ve already found something to read. I’m fine.”

Liz watched as he walked to the other side of the study, dropping down on the chaise lounge and opening the book in front of him. She shrugged, putting all her focus back on writing.

After a minute or two of staring from the screen, to her notes, with nothing really happening, she was hit with an idea. The smile stretched bigger across her lips as the idea became more solid. She grabbed the phone off the cradle next to her, silently cursing when the cord got all tanged in her haste to use the phone. She made a mental note to get a cordless phone for the study before finally untangling the cord, and dialing in the number.

She saw Max looking at her from over the top of his book as she cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder and began working the mouse on her computer.

“Hello?” A chipper female voice met her on the other end of the line.

“Hello, this is Elizabeth Parker, I need to speak to Robert, please.” Liz said, leaning back in her chair and picking at her nails.

“Of course, Miss Parker. One moment please.” The women told her. Liz still wasn’t sure who the hell that was that always answered the phone. Girlfriend? Secretary? It was anyone’s guess at this point. Robert wasn’t one to talk about personal stuff, well, not his, anyway.

“Hey there, beautiful.” Roberts teasing voice came through.

Liz couldn’t help laughing. “Hey yourself, you sexy thang.” She could see Max’s head shoot up, she’d have to explain that one later. “I have a real quick question for you.”

“Ask away.” Robert said, his tone going back to professional. He always knew when playtime was done, and it was time to get down to business.

“Are you online?” Liz asked. She could practically see the confusion written all over his face. She had to admit, it was a rather random question, but he’d understand soon enough.

“Well, yeah...” He trailed off. “Why?”

“I’m going to shoot you an email real quick. I had an idea, and I was going to email it to you, but I wanted to make sure you were online to get it. I want to know what you think. As soon as you can, get your response back to me.” Liz sat up in her chair, and with a few clicks of the mouse, Robert’s email address was inserted into the email. All that was left was for her to actually type the email.

“I’ll be waiting for it.” He replied.

“Ok, talk to you later.” Liz said, before she placed the phone back on the cradle. Her attention immediately went to the email. She began typing out her idea, which happened to be the idea for a new book, and once she had explained that, she explained why she couldn’t just tell him over the phone.

“So... who was that?” Max asked, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing.

Liz’s fingers never stopped their quick, precise movement over the keys as she turned to answer him. “That was Robert, my agent. I had a new idea for a book, and I’m typing it out now and sending it over there. He’s been my agent since I started writing all those years ago, hence the playful banter.” She gave him a knowing smirk.

The tips of his ears gave away the tale-tell signs of his embarrassment over the whole thing, turning a light shade of red. He just nodded, going back to his reading.

Liz glanced back at the screen, reading over what she’d written. Once she was sure that she’d included everything, and that it all made sense, she sent it Roberts way. The only thing left to do now was wait.

She grabbed a piece of paper out of her desk, along with a pen and began making a rough outline of the idea she’d just proposed. If Robert liked it, he’d give her the go-ahead right away, and want to know some more details.

She began scribbling down notes, her writing such that it would make sense to no one else. She wasn’t doing it purposely to keep the story a secret, she just had so many ideas going on at once, she needed to get them out as soon as she could. She just hoped that when the time came, she could actually understand what she’d written.

Her heart did a little skip as her computer beeped, a pop-up appearing in the corner of the screen to let her know that she’d received an email from Robert. She quickly maneuvered the mouse around the screen and opened the email. The response only contained three words.

Love it. Go.

Robert always got right to the point. No one could argue that.

Liz opened a new document and rolled her neck, trying to decide exactly where to begin. She sent one last glance in Max’s direction before the words began taking shape on the page in front of her.

<center>****</center>

His eyes mesmerized her, hypnotized her. It was something about those eyes that had put a spell on her. They pierced into her own, looking straight into her soul. Her entire body hummed with an electric energy as she stared back, unable to look away.
His presence caused every cell in her body to begin buzzing. It was as if his aura had reached out, wrapping around her like a blanket. It warmed her, soothed her, comforted her. There was something about the man in front of her. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but the minute she’d laid eyes on him, she’d just known that he was special.

His hand was still encasing her own, radiating heat into her body. She wasn’t sure how long they’d been standing, simply staring at each other, their hands connected in front of them, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to ever let go. She feared a time when his touch, his eyes, his presence would be gone. She knew it was inevitable that he would leave; They had just met, after all.

She took to scanning every detail of him into her brain. His dark hair, neatly trimmed in the back, and sticking up in the front suited him. His tanned skin made her wonder if he’d just returned from some wonderful vacation on a tropical island. He was taller than her, literally towering over her. It didn’t intimidate her, however. It made her feel safe. He had a wonderful, warm smile, and perfect, pearly white teeth. He was a walking, talking Greek God, and she was struck-dumb by everything about him.

“Liz?” Max’s voice penetrated her thoughts, causing her eyes to snap away from the computer screen and over to where he was still sitting on the lounge.

“Yeah?” She asked, pulling her glasses from their perch on her nose and moving them to sit on top of her head.

“I asked if you were about done.” Max repeated. He’d been calling her name for a good five minutes, but she was obviously enthralled in the world of fiction she’d created on the computer screen. “You’ve been working for nearly two hours.”

“It couldn’t be that long...” Liz trailed off, her eyes immediately zeroing in on the clock in the lower right corner of the computer screen. “Oh. I guess it has been that long.” She saved her work, then closed the program. “I’m sorry I took so long.” She apologized, taking her glasses all the way off and dropping them into the desk drawer.

“It’s ok.” Max smiled, standing from the lounge and stretching. “I just wanted to spend as much time with you today as I can before I leave tomorrow.”

It took a minute for Liz’s brain to fully comprehend his statement. “Wait a minute... you’re leaving tomorrow?”

Max nodded. “I told you that yesterday. I have to go back to Roswell and finish up my two weeks at the hospital and pack and all that before I move up here.”

“Well, I know you told me all that... I just missed the part where you’re leaving tomorrow.” She pouted. “If you would have told me that, I wouldn’t have worked today at all.”

“You have to work, Liz. You can’t drop everything just because of me.” He reasoned.

She stood from her chair, groaning as she realized how sore she was from sitting that long. Once she’d stretched properly, she made her way around the desk and into his open arms. She banded her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. “I could have put off working until tomorrow, it really wouldn’t have been a big deal.”

“Well, it’s too late to worry about that, now.” He kissed the top of her head. “Why don’t you run and jump in the shower and I’ll wait with the boys?”

“What are we gonna do?” She asked, pulling back enough to look up into his eyes. His eyes mesmerized her, hypnotized her. That particular line that she’d written flashed into her mind as his eyes looked down into her own. She had no doubt that she’d hit the nail on the head with that description.

“Well, I was actually talking to the boys about this earlier... and we were going to see if you wanted to go play putt-putt.” Max reached up, brushing a tendril of hair out of her face.

“You want to go play putt-putt with me, Tyler and Tristan?” Liz asked, a big smile spreading across her face.

Max shrugged slightly. “Well, yeah. What’s wrong with that?”

Her smile got even bigger as she stretched up on her toes and sealed her lips over his. He was momentarily caught off-guard, but immediately reciprocated the kiss. One of his hands remained on her lower back, holding her body against his as the other came up and cupped the back of her head.

One of her arms made its way up around his neck as she slanted her lips over his, not surprised when she didn’t have to do anything to get him to open his mouth to her. Her tongue snaked into his mouth, slowly, teasingly playing with his.

He couldn’t stop the low moan that escaped his throat. The feel of her body against his, the taste of her mouth, the smell of her perfume... everything about her turned him on.

Somehow, ten minutes passed, and they found themselves tanged in each other on the lounge chair. Max pulled his lips away from hers, looking down at her flushed features and hooded eyes. He glanced around, chuckling a little at where they’d ended up.

“I thought you were going to get ready.” He smirked at her.

She shrugged a little. “You’re distracting.” She told him.

“Well, so are you.” He threw back.

“You’re a very fun distraction though.” She whispered, raising her head from the chair to press her lips to his again.

“Ditto.” He whispered once they’d broke apart. He rested his forehead against hers, content to be near her and look at her. “What was that for?”

“Because you’re amazing.” She said, reaching up to play with the front of his hair. “The fact that you would even think to ask Tyler and Tristan to spend the day with us means more to me than you will ever know.”

He nodded. He’d always gotten the vibe from not only Liz, but the twins as well, that Derrick didn’t really do all that much stuff with them. He had no doubt that Michael and Alex had been there to take the boys out for baseball games, or whatever... but he knew that when Liz was dating someone, the guys were all about Liz. Max wanted to be different, and it appeared that he’d managed to do it.

“Go get ready.” He finally said, pushing himself off the lounge, then helping Liz up as well. “I’ll be in the livingroom with the boys.”

“Ok.” Liz smiled as she watched him go. She couldn’t stop herself from sneaking after him and peeking around the corner into the livingroom.

She watched as Max dropped down onto the floor in between the twins, immediately becoming absorbed into the video game. Tears welled up in her eyes as Tyler groaned, throwing his hands up in the air, obviously upset about what had just happened. Tristan and Max started laughing, both giving Tyler a light shove before Tristan scooped up the controller and he and Max bent their heads together, conspiring over the video game.

As she made her way upstairs, she sighed. She had no idea how she’d managed to get so lucky.

<center>****</center>

Liz dropped back onto the couch, her butt hitting the cushion, before her feet plopped onto the cushion next to her. She threw her arm over her eyes as she let out a sigh. She was absolutely exhausted. After three rounds of putt-putt, she felt like she could sleep forever.

“Tired?” Max asked, picking up her feet and sitting down in the spot they had previously occupied. He grabbed hold of the bottom of one of her sandals, pulling it off her foot and tossing it towards the wall before doing the same with the other, and placing her feet back in his lap.

“Exhausted.” She muttered.

“Well, just keep in mind that it was you that insisted on that third round of putt-putt.” He teased.

“Well, what else was I supposed to do? You’re the one that said that it should be you and me against the boys. We won the first one, then they insisted on a rematch. When they won the second round, they were all gloat-y. They challenged us. What was I supposed to do?” She rambled.

“Alright, you got a point.” Max conceded. “Besides, we won that third round, so it all worked out.”

“Yeah, except that I’m exhausted.” She whined.

“Don’t you have to clean tomorrow, too?” Max asked, running his fingers up and down her calf, which was exposed due to the shorts she’d worn to play golf.

She removed her arm from her eyes to regard him with a confused look. She had absolutely no clue what he was talking about, and couldn’t remember saying anything about cleaning tomorrow. Sure, she knew that it needed to be done, but had she said she was going to clean tomorrow? She was too tired to think straight.

“Mom, I just checked the answering machine...” Tristan began, coming into the livingroom. Liz turned her head against the arm of the sofa to look at him.

“Yeah, and?” She prompted.

“One message from Aunt Maria saying she’d be over bright and early to help you clean and set up.” He paused and shrugged “And another from Pop-Pop saying that he’d see us all tomorrow night for the party.” Tristan finished before turning and leaving the livingroom.

“Oh, God.” Liz groaned, finally realizing what the hell everyone was talking about. “Tomorrow’s the party, isn’t it?!”

Max let a small laugh escape him. “You forgot that tomorrow was your birthday?”

“Yes.” She whined, throwing her arm back over her eyes. “I’d blocked it out.” She let out a long sigh. “I don’t want to clean tomorrow. I don’t want a bunch of people over here. I don’t want to celebrate my birthday. I don’t...” She trailed off, removing her arm from her and eyes and pulling herself off the couch enough to prop up on her elbows and regard him with narrowed eyes. “Wait a minute...”

Max’s eyes grew a little wide as he looked back at her. “Why do I get the feeling that I’m about to be grounded?”

“Didn’t you tell me earlier today that today was your last day here?” Max nodded his head, a small frown appearing on his face. “You’re not going to be here for my birthday?”

“I’m sorry, honey. I have to get back to Roswell. They need me back at the hospital. With me gone, they’re understaffed, and they’ve been stretched really thin.”

“So what are they going to do now that you’re transferring? You won’t be able to run back down there every time they need you, because you’re going to be working up here.”

“They’ve already found someone to replace me, she just can’t make it there until next week.” Max reached out and cupped one of his cheeks in her palm. “I’m sorry. I really tried to extend my vacation another day when I realized...” He trailed off, dropping his head slightly. “I just couldn’t make it happen.”

Liz plastered on a happy face. “It’s ok.” She half shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. We can do something together when you get all settled in up here.”

“You’re not mad?” He questioned.

“No.” She gave him a small smile. “I don’t like my birthday, anyway.”

He grabbed her around the middle, pulling her into his lap and banding his arms around her body. He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. “We’ll do something special when I get moved up here, ok?”

It took everything in her to withhold the disappointed sigh that desperately wanted to escape her body. She somehow managed to do it, simply nodding against his chest. “Ok.”

TBC...

See ya'll next Tuesday!

Hey guys! Now that I've watched 'Supernatural' and am sufficiantly freaked out... I can update. *LOL*

Its always nice to read everyones FB... thanks to every single one of you that took the time to leave me FB. I love hearing what you think, and I'm glad that you all are enjoying this.

I've been slacking on my writing lately... but I will get something written tonight. Don't worry, I'll definitely have an update ready by next Tuesday.

Now... Will Max be able to make it to the party, or not?? Hmm... you'll just have to read on to find out! Hope you guys like it!

Chapter Eleven

Liz glanced towards her bedroom door, hearing a knock radiate from the other side. She was reluctant to allow whoever it was to actually come inside. It was her birthday, and yet she’d been banished to her room, forbidden to leave for anything. When she’d tried to argue that she was thirsty and hungry, Maria had offered to bring her whatever she wanted. Since it was all just a ploy to be free, Liz declined and climbed back into bed, where she’d been pouting for the past half an hour.

“I’m asleep.” Liz groused, glaring at the door before lifting the remote from where it sat next to her on the comforter. She continued flipping through the channels even as she heard the door open. She had no intention of paying any attention to the twins, who she could see walking into the room out of her peripheral vision. It was only when she noticed someone walking in behind them that she glanced over.

“You probably shouldn’t have yelled that you were sleeping if you wanted to pull that off.” Derrick smiled brightly at her, walking over to the bed and setting down the tray he was carrying.

“What are you doing here?” She couldn’t help but smile at him before glancing down at the tray. “What’s all this?”

“I’m here to help Maria set up the party.” He sat down on the side of the bed, careful of the tray. “And this,” He motioned to what he’d brought her. “Is your favorite.”

“You made me an omelet?” Liz felt the anger she’d been holding in for the past half hour start to melt away. She let her eyes wander the tray; a picture perfect omelet sat in the middle of the plate, a glass of what she assumed was apple juice, her favorite, sat next to it. There was also a small white rose sitting in a tiny vase in the corner of the tray.

“I most certainly did.” He confirmed. “An omelet, made just the way you like it, and apple juice.”

“Thank you.” Liz giggled a little. “I’m still kinda mad that you guys won’t let me leave the bedroom, but I’m starting to forgive you.”

“We thought that you might be getting kinda bored up here…” Tyler started, making his way towards the bed, Tristan at his side.

“So we decided to give you your present early.” Tristan finished, handing Liz a large box, beautifully wrapped with a large silver bow on it.

She took the box from them, taking the bow off and setting it on the nightstand as she began to unwrap it. Once her eyes landed on the box, they got larger before shooting up towards the twins. “You didn’t!”

“We kinda did.” Tyler shrugged, his nonchalance completely blown by the huge smile on his face. “Do you like it?”

“Like it?!” Liz threw the wrapping paper on the floor before tearing the box open and pulling out the contents. “Are you kidding me?! I love it!”

“Now, the boys picked that out themselves.” Derrick pointed out. “Just so you know, it was all them.”

She managed to tear her eyes away from her present long enough to regard Derrick. “What? You didn’t get me anything?” She mock pouted at him.

“Please.” He gave her a look that screamed ‘I’m not that stupid!’. “Of course I got you something. You just have to wait until the party tonight to actually get it.”

“Fair enough.” Liz nodded at him before turning back to the boys, holding her arms open. “Hug mommy because she absolutely LOVES her present!” She grabbed them both into a hug, giving them each a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you. You two are the best boys I could have ever asked for.” She informed them as they pulled away.

Each lowered their heads, Tristan self consciously rubbing the back of his neck as Tyler scratched at his eyebrow. It suddenly dawned on Liz that Tristan had picked that particular little habit up from Alex, and Tyler had gotten his from Michael. “It’s nothing.” They both muttered.

“Nothing?” She raised an eyebrow at them. “Please. You guys got me a laptop!” She held it up to show them, as if they didn’t know.

“Well, we just figured that since you were always writing, this way you wouldn’t be cooped up in your office all the time.” Tyler shrugged.

“Yeah, mom. Get out. Go see the world.” Tristan smiled.

“I will most definitely have to do that now.” She opened up the laptop, running her fingers lightly over the black keys. “Look how pretty it is…” She breathed.

Derrick rolled his eyes before getting up from the bed. “C’mon guys, let’s leave her alone with her new toy.” They gave Liz a little wave as they made their way out the door. Derrick stopped at the doorway, turning back to Liz. “Try not to let that omelet get cold just because you got a super-cool new toy. I put a lot of effort into that thing.”

She obediently put her laptop to the side, carefully pulling the tray closer to her. “I’ll eat it right now.” She promised. He nodded, but she called him back before he could leave. “What are you doing here, anyway?” She asked, taking a bite of her omelet. “Ohmigod, it’s so good.” She let her head fall back into the pillow in bliss.

He laughed a little, leaning against the doorjamb. “Well, Maria called me last week and enlisted my help to get the house all ready for the party.” He shrugged. “I just showed up when she told me to.”

“Wait a minute.” Liz set her fork down on the tray, regarding Derrick with a disbelieving expression. “You’re trying to tell me that you and Maria are working together on this?” He nodded. “And you’re both still alive?” He laughed, but nodded again. “Huh, who’da thunk it.”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “Shut up, we’re not that bad.” Liz simply raised an eyebrow at him. “Ok, fine. We hate each other. You satisfied? I’d just like to point out that the only reason I dislike Maria is because she dislikes me.”

“Uh-huh.” Liz didn’t believe that for one single second, but she didn’t feel like arguing with him. “So, what does Malibu Barbie think about the fact that you’re going to be here all day and all night, first helping set up my birthday party, and then attending it?”

“Her name is Tess.” Derrick supplied.

“Honey, I know what her name is.” Liz informed him. “I simply don’t care enough about her to actually use it.” She gave him a fake smile.

Derrick rolled his eyes. “To answer your question… she’s pretty pissed. I slept on the couch last night.”

“That’s rough.” She raised one shoulder in half a shrug. “Maybe if you weren’t dating such a jealous, possessive, bit…”

“Hey, now.” Derrick cut her off. “I assume that you’re not going to have good things to say about her.”

“You assume right.” Liz immediately replied.

“Then she’ll just be something we don’t discuss, how about that?” He managed, barely containing the urge to pick a fight with Liz.

“Fine.”

“Good.” He replied, taking a deep breath.

“I’m sorry.” She said after a minute or so of silence. “I don’t like her, but I won’t say anything else.”

“That’s all I’m asking.” Derrick raised his gaze from his shoes. “It’s your birthday, Lizzie. You’re supposed to enjoy it.”

“I am enjoying it!” She laughed. “I got my favorite breakfast IN BED, and a brand new laptop. What’s not to enjoy?!”

“Well, then I’ll let you get to enjoying it.” He pushed off the door frame. “Just remember, you can’t leave this room because you’re not allowed to help clean, ok?”

“Aye, Aye Captain.” Liz saluted.

“Maria said she’ll be up in half an hour to get the dishes and stuff.” Derrick said before grabbing onto the door handle and pulling the door closed behind him.

Liz watched him leave before digging into her breakfast. Her only thought was that the sooner she got done eating, the sooner she got to play with her new toy.

<center>****</center>

True to Derrick’s word, Maria had been up half an hour after he left to get her breakfast dishes. It had taken ten minutes of pleading and begging on Liz’s part to get Maria to let her come downstairs before Maria had finally relented.

As excited as Liz was about her new computer, she didn’t feel like spending half of her birthday locked away in her bedroom by herself.

After getting Maria to break, Liz had jumped in the shower, then quickly dried her hair and gotready. She’d put on her favorite, comfortable jeans and a cute red tank top before making her way downstairs.

She made her way through the house, which Maria and the boys had meticulously cleaned. Upon her arrival in the kitchen, she’d learned that the house wasn’t as clean as she’d though it was, because dirty dishes were everywhere. She could only assume that some of them had been stashed away in the boys’ rooms because there was no way these were in the rest of the house.

Despite the promise she’d made to Maria that she wouldn’t help clean, Liz made her way over to the sink and began running the water to do the dishes. She’d only managed to clean a handful of silverware, two plates and a bowl before Maria had come in. It took Liz another ten minutes to convince Maria to just let her help, and it would all be cleaned a lot faster, since Derrick and the twins were currently outside mowing the front lawn, and sweeping off the porch and walkway.

Liz had been working on the dishes for half an hour, and she was still rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of having to convince someone to let her do her own dishes.

“I had the best idea just now!” Maria skidded to stop in the kitchen.

“Oh yeah?” Liz glanced over her shoulder at Maria as she let the dish water begin to drain. She had just finished the last of the dishes, all that was left to do now was dry them and put them away. “What was your brilliant idea?”

“Oh, you’ll see.” Maria promised, running back into the living room, then reappearing only moments later. “Get ready for it.”

“I’m ready for it.” Liz giggled a little.

Liz heard the sound of a piano being played, instantly knowing what Maria was talking about. She threw her head back and laughed as Bob Seger began singing.

Just take those old records off the shelf
I sit and listen to ‘em by myself
Today’s music ain’t got the same soul
I like that old time rock and roll
Don’t try to take me to a disco
You’ll never even get me out on the floor
In ten minutes I'll be late for the door
I like that old time rock 'n' roll

By the time Bob hit the chorus for the first time, the girls already had their system back. Back when the twins were kids, and Liz and Maria were still kids themselves, they used to put on music and dance around the house, singing and cleaning as they went. To them, it somehow made the monotony of trying to clean up after two very rowdy children a little more fun.

So, as the song continued on, Liz and Maria went about drying the dishes and putting them away. It was a more accurate description that they danced to wherever the dishes belonged and then put them away.

As the song ended and the next song on the mixed CD that Liz and Maria had made so long ago started, someone clapping in the entryway to the kitchen gained their attention.

Both of their jaws dropped as their eyes landed on the culprit who caught them in their cleaning routine.

“That was the cutest thing I’ve seen all day.” Max admitted, smiling brightly at both of them.

“Max!” Liz dropped the dish towel she was holding and ran across the room. She threw herself into his arms, breathing in the scent of him. “What are you doing here?” She asked, her words muffled against his shirt since she was still clinging to him.

“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I missed your birthday?” He asked, smiling down at her when she finally loosened her grip a little.

“I thought you said you had to work.”

“I did.” He confirmed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear before running his fingers through its length. “I made A LOT of calls last night when I got home until I finally bugged them enough and they extended my vacation another day.”

Liz let out a squeal, jumping up and down like a child before retightening her grip. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She pulled back to give him a proper kiss.

“Ok, still standing here.” Maria said when the kiss started getting a little more intense. She got slightly perturbed when neither of them paid her any attention. She cleared her throat loudly, but was once again ignored. “HEY!” She screamed, clapping her hands at them, and stomping her foot for good measure.

Sure enough, they broke free of their kiss, both glancing at her before putting a bit of distance between them.

Liz cleared her throat, smoothing out her hair. “Sorry.” She tried to sound sincere, even though she wasn’t the least bit sorry. She was far too giddy that Max was there to be sorry about anything.

“Just remember that your children will be in and out.” Maria raised an eyebrow at her. “Keep it clean, kids.” She turned back to the sink to finish putting the dishes away. Liz moved to help her, but Maria immediately went after her, wielding the dish towel as a weapon. “I will beat you senseless, Liz Parker!” Maria promised. “Go hang out with your man.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Liz smiled at her, reaching out and grabbing onto Max’s hand as she made her way towards the sliding glass doors that lead out to the back patio. “Let’s go sit outside, it’s a beautiful day.”

“It certainly is.” Max agreed, giving her hand a little squeeze as he followed.

<center>****</center>

Liz glanced across the room to where Max was in an animated discussion with her dad. She’d been anxious at first that the two of them wouldn’t get along. To her surprise, Max had no only managed to win both of her parents over, but he’d done it in record time.

“I wonder what they’re talking about.” Liz completely interrupted Isabel.

Isabel glanced over in her brother’s direction before looking back at Liz. “You know, there is a way you can find out…” She trailed off.

“No.” Liz shook her head. “Last time, they were talking, in detail, about the surgeries that Max has seen.” Liz couldn’t hold back a grimace. “I almost threw up just listening to it.”

Isabel also grimaced. “Yeah, Max gets pretty detailed when he’s talking about stuff like that.” She shrugged. “It’s kinda cute though, I guess. I mean, he absolutely loves his job, so you gotta admire that.”

“I do.” Liz smiled slightly. “There’s no way in hell I could ever do that. On the other hand though, I don’t really need to hear about in so much detail that I feel like I was there.”

“Got a point there.” Isabel agreed.

“I’m sorry.” Liz turned back to Isabel. “I totally interrupted you. What were you saying?”

“Oh.” Isabel waved her off. “Nothing of any importance, don’t worry. It’s not even worth me retelling it.”

“I’m sorry…”

“No. Don’t apologize.” Isabel pointed a finger at her. “This is your party. You don’t have to pay attention to anyone if you don’t want to.”

Liz laughed, but before she could reply back, her mom appeared at her side. “Honey.” Nancy Parker gained her daughters attention.

“Hey mom.” Liz gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, not having had any real time to talk since the party started. Everyone started arriving at a pretty steady pace right behind Nancy and Jeff, so Liz hadn’t gotten to say hardly anything to them. “Have you met Max’s sister Isabel yet?”

“No, I haven’t.” Nancy flashed Isabel a smile and shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Parker.” Isabel gave her a big smile. “You raised a wonderful daughter.”

“Oh.” Nancy was caught completely off guard by the comment. “Well, thank you very much.” Pride shown brightly in her eyes as she looked at Liz. “I’m pretty fond of her myself.”

“Did you finally decide you’d heard enough gory details about the adventures of surgery and break free?” Liz asked.

“Actually, I was coming over here to see if you’d come outside with your father and I for a minute.”

Liz narrowed her eyes at her mom. “Sure…” She reluctantly agreed as Nancy began guiding her towards the front door. She glanced behind her to find her dad, Max, Isabel, Michael, Alex, Maria, the twins, Olivia and Derrick all tagging along. “What’s outside?” She asked, knowing full well that she wouldn’t get an answer.

“You’ll see, sweetie.” Jeff promised, coming up next to Liz and opening the front door before leading her outside.

Her parents guided her off the porch and over towards the garage. “Are you kidnapping me?”

“No, we’re not kidnapping you.” Nancy rolled her eyes. She and Jeff both stopped, so Liz stopped as well. “Happy birthday, Lizzie.”

“I don’t get it. Why did…” Liz trailed off, her jaw dropping as she finally understood. “Are you kidding me?!” She shrieked.

“No, we’re not kidding you.” Jeff promised, pointing at the vehicle in front of them. “That’s for you.”

“You got me a car?!” She looked at both of them, and they simply nodded. “Well, are you gonna tell me what kind it is or let me guess?” She joked.

“It’s a brand new 2006 BMW SAV X5 4.8is” Jeff said, opening the driver’s side door so she could slip into the seat. “We got all the special little options and bonus crap they had to offer.”

“Dad, you’re supposed to get a sixteen year old a car for their birthday.” Liz informed him. “But I absolutely love it, so don’t even think for a second that you can take it back.” She giggled, jumping out of the car and hugging both of her parents. “Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome.” Nancy said, brushing Liz’s hair away from her face. “Jeff, tell her about all the special stuff.” Nancy told him, and then whispered to Liz. “I know nothing about this thing.” Liz could only laugh.

“It has everything.” Jeff said, thinking for a second before he began listing off the features. “Comfort seats, on board navigational system, retractable cargo floor, an aerodynamic kit, DVD rear entertainment system…”

“It had a heated steering wheel, too.” Nancy chimed in.

“Yes, because it gets so cold over here in New Mexico.” Liz teased, running her hands along the shiny silver exterior. “What is it, again?” Jeff repeated the name of the car, which to Liz was nothing more than letters and numbers thrown together. “Wait… did you call it an SAV? Isn’t it SUV?”

“Those are two different things.” Michael said, as everyone moved forward to check it out.

“SUV is Sports Utility Vehicle… so what the hell does SAV mean?”

“Sports Activity Vehicle.” Jeff shrugged. “I don’t know what the difference is; I just know what the salesman told me.”

Liz laughed. “Either way, I love it SO much! Thank you.” She told them again, giving them more hugs and kisses.

“You’re welcome.” Nancy smiled at her. “Now, let’s go back inside. It is your party after all; you can’t be gone too long.”

Liz gave one last loving glance in the direction of her new car before she began following everyone inside.

Max showed up beside her. “Hi.” He smiled at her. “I’ve missed you.”

She giggled, intertwining her fingers with his as he grabbed her hand. “You’ve missed me? I’ve been in the same room with you the entire time.”

“Still.” He said, coming to a stop on the porch before she could go inside. “Stay outside with me for a minute? I want to give you your present.”

She nodded, letting everyone know she’d be inside in a few minutes before following Max over to the wicker love seat on the front porch. She sat down next to him, never letting go of his hand. “You have me all to yourself.” She smiled.

Max seemed to be searching for the words to say whatever he was thinking, and Liz couldn’t help be fall a little more in love with him. He kept his eyes low, and he continuously licked his lips and swallowed, making her think that he was nervous.

“Max?” She questioned, his eyes finally rising to meet hers. “Are you nervous about giving me my present?” He gave her a small nod. “I’m sure that I’ll love it.” She leaned forward, giving him a soft kiss.

That seemed to be all of the courage he needed, because he turned more to face her on the loveseat. “Liz.” He began, clearing his throat a little. “We haven’t been seeing each other all that long.”

“No, we haven’t.” Liz agreed, running her fingers softly over his knuckles.

“Even with that…” He trailed off, his eyes boring into hers. “I’m falling in love with you.” She was unable to stop her jaw from going slack as she stared at him. She had no idea what she was supposed to say. “I’m not actually saying the words, because I don’t think that either of us is ready for that yet. I just wanted you to know what I was thinking with this.” He produced a small velvet box from his pocket.

Liz’s breathes were coming out in short harsh pants as he opened the box. The porch light caught on the diamonds of the ring as he turned the box towards her so she could see it. She stared down at the silver band that lay innocently on a bed of black velvet. Three princess cut diamonds sparkled brightly as he picked the ring up from the box.

“Now, before you get too excited… I’m not proposing.” Her eyebrows drew together in obvious confusion. “This is an ‘I’m not going anywhere’ ring.” He explained, holding it out to her. She reached out and took it, holding it closely to get a better look and run her fingers over the diamonds. “It promises that no matter where I am, whether it be here, or back in Roswell, that you’re always going to be on my mind, and I’m going to be counting the minutes until I’ll get to see you again.”

He took the ring from her, sliding it onto the ring finger of her right hand. He brought her hand up to his lips, placing a kiss over the ring. “I promise that I’ll come back, and that I’ll care more about you every day. I plan on being around a long, long time.” He smiled at her. “And someday, I’ll put a diamond ring on the other hand, but that day isn’t today.”

“You’re falling in love with me?” Liz managed, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“Yes, I am.” He reached out, swiping the tear away.

“I’m falling in love with you, too.” She smiled at him before leaning forward and sealing her lips over his.

He framed her face with his hands, running his tongue against the seam of her lips. They instantly parted, granting him the access he’d asked for.

When the need for oxygen became too great, they broke apart, their foreheads touching as they stared into each others eyes.

“I wish you didn’t have to leave tomorrow.” Liz pouted.

“I know, baby.” He whispered, giving her a quick kiss. “I wish I didn’t have to go either, but I promise that I’ll be back.”

“You better.” She whispered. “If you don’t… I’ll come hunt you down because you, Maxwell Evans, are stuck with me now.”

“Oh, am I?” Max chuckled.

“Oh yeah.” She nodded. “You give a girl diamonds, and you’re not getting rid of her.”

“So you like your present then?”

“You know… I’ve gotten a lot of wonderful things today. My boys gave me a laptop; my parents got me a car…” She trailed off. “But this,” She held up her hand so he could look at the ring. “This is the one that means the most to me.”

Max smiled as he leaned in and gave her another kiss. After a few seconds, he reluctantly stood up. “C’mon, beautiful. I gotta get you back inside before people start coming out here looking for you.”

“Promise you won’t spend the rest of the night talking to my dad?” She smiled up at him as she wrapped his arm around her.

“I promise. I’m not leaving your side again.”

TBC...

Hey guys! I've finally managed to free the next chapter from the confines of my laptop. The wireless internet is still being retarded, but I got the USB Memory Stick... thingy out of my husbands truck (God only knows what the fuck it was doing in there...) and so I can finally post!!!

I know its been awhile since I last updated, so just a little refresher... Liz got tons of wonderful things for her birthday. *LOL*

Once again... I have to thank you all for your nominations.. I still can't even believe it! Now... everyone be sure to go and vote, ya heard?!

Ok, you don't wanna hear me babble... you want to read the next part... so here we go!!!

Chapter Twelve

“You ready?” Maria asked, hanging on the doorframe as she leaned into the master bathroom where Liz was getting ready.

Liz nodded as she spit out a mouthful of toothpaste. She rinsed off her toothbrush and placed it back in the holder as she rinsed out her mouth. “Yes, I am.” She smiled at Maria as she walked out of the bathroom and turned the light off.

“MOM!” One of the twins yelled as Liz and Maria made their way downstairs.

“What?” Liz yelled back, making her way towards where the voice had originated from. As she turned the corner into the kitchen, she stopped short, a huge smile instantly appearing on her face.

Tristan looked mildly put out as he set a monstrous bouquet of white roses on the counter. “You got another one.” He sighed, glancing at the row of bouquets that Max had sent over the last week.

He’d left for Roswell the day after Liz’s birthday, and everyday since then she’d received a huge vase full of a dozen white roses. Liz walked over to where the newest dozen was, bending over to inhale the soft fragrance.

“He’s starting to make me sick.” Maria said, sounding disgusted.

“Why?” Liz balked, turning to regard Maria with wide eyes.

“Liz… you’re standing in front of a counter full of SEVEN dozen roses!” Maria yelled. “That’s just…” She trailed off, sighing and searching for the right word.

“That’s just what, Maria?” Liz questioned. “Sweet? Caring? Romantic?”

“I was gonna go more with unnecessary or ridiculous.” Maria shrugged. “But whatever you want to think.”

“You’re just mad because Michael never does anything cute for you.” Liz turned and stuck her tongue out at Maria before taking one final sniff of the flowers. “Ok, let’s go.”

Maria followed Liz outside to her new BMW, and they both hopped in. “Ooh. Still has that new car smell.” Maria smiled, inhaling deeply.

Liz giggled at her. “Yeah, that excites me, too.” She said, starting up the vehicle and taking it down the driveway. “So, what’s new?”

“Nothing much.” Maria shrugged, watching the houses go by as they made their way to the grocery store. They’d been talking on the phone earlier in the day, and when they realized they both needed to go grocery shopping, they decided to go together. Liz knew the twins didn’t care how the food ended up in the house, as long as it got there and Maria knew that Michael and Olivia were uninterested in going, so they decided to go together.

“Well, that’s exciting.” Liz rolled her eyes.

“Actually… there is something…” Maria trailed off.

Liz let the sentence hang for about ten seconds before she finally decided to say something. “Ok, are you going to extend on that, or did the thought train break down before it made it to the depot? I’m going to need more information if this conversation is going to continue.”

“I think Olivia has a boyfriend.” Maria blurted out.

Liz’s head whipped towards Maria. “Brad?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Maria shook her head. “Olivia said that Michael scared him too much, Brad’s not interested in being anywhere near Olivia for fear of losing life or limb.”

“What makes you think she has a boyfriend, then?”

“She’s just been acting different. She’ll be on the phone, and she’ll be talking all quiet… but then if she realizes that I’m within earshot, she’ll quickly tell whoever it is that she’ll talk to them later and hang up.”

“That could be about anything.” Liz reasoned.

“She has a hickey.”

Liz barely kept the car on the road, that shocking piece of information almost making her swerve into the ditch. “WHAT?!”

“I KNOW!” Maria finally lost it, dropping her face into her hands. “That’s my little baby girl!” She started blubbering. “She’s not supposed to have a boyfriend! She’s not supposed to be kissing boys and getting hickeys! She’s not even supposed to like boys yet!!!”

Thankfully, Liz had made it to the store, so she pulled into a parking space, moving the car into park and cutting the engine. She took a deep breath before turning to face Maria. “Have you tried talking to her about it?”

Maria shot Liz an exasperated glace. “Of course I have. I’m not totally stupid.” She shook her head. “She totally blew me off. I asked her what was going on and she told me that she had no idea what I was talking about.”

“Well…” Liz sighed. She’d never dealt with this kind of problem with the boys. Alex had given them the big sex talk, and Liz had made sure that they both knew they could talk to her about anything, and they did. If they were having a problem with the girl they were seeing, they’d come to Liz for advice.

Maria let out an agitated sigh before grabbing the door handle and jumping out of the car. Liz caught up with her just as she was striding through the automatic doors. Maria grabbed a cart and began making her way through the store.

Liz decided to just let her be angry, so she grabbed her own cart and followed Maria through the grocery store. After four aisles of silence, Liz finally couldn’t take it. “I could have the boys feel it out.” Liz suggested.

Maria seemed startled by the sudden start of the conversation but stopped and turned to regard Liz just the same. “What are you talking about?” She asked, leaning her elbow on the handle of her cart to appear nonchalant about the whole thing.

Liz bit back a smile. “Well, I could tell the boys your suspicions,” Liz began. “Or you could. Whichever. And then ask them if they know anything and if not we could see if they could find out something.”

“Would they?” Maria couldn’t help but ask. Not knowing what was going on with Olivia was driving her crazy.

“Well, that’s the thing.” Liz paused and shrugged. “I don’t know. But there’s no harm in asking. You know that they’re pretty protective of her, so if they don’t know anything, I’m sure the suggestion would stir up something in the two of them and they’d check it out anyway. They don’t want anything bad to happen to Liv.”

Maria nodded slightly, then turned back to her cart and kept pushing it through the aisle, obviously struggling with whether or not to go that way, or if she was just over-reacting… as Maria tended to do.

Liz began rummaging through her purse when she heard her cell beep. It only took a few steps, and almost knocking over a randomly placed display of Mrs. Dash seasoning to realize that multitasking wasn’t working. She stopped and continued to dig, getting agitated that it was just her luck that her cell was on the very bottom of her purse.

She flipped open the phone and checked the display screen. She began making her way to her inbox after she read that she’d received a new text message from Max.

Just saying hi in between surgeries. I miss you. I can’t wait to see you. M.

“Aww!”

Liz jumped, once again almost knocking over the seasoning display when Maria loudly sounded near her ear. “JEEZ!” Liz placed her hand over her racing heart. “Don’t sneak up on me then ‘Aww!’ in my ear!”

“Yeah, like I meant to.” Maria rolled her eyes before returning to her own cart. Liz put her cell phone away, smiling as she followed after Maria. “He’s cute.” Maria stated as she grabbed a package of paper towels. “I’m jealous.”

Liz’s smile stretched even further as she let out a school-girl-with-her-first-crush giggle. “As you should be.” She continued to beam, as Maria stuck out her tongue.

It wasn’t until they were standing in the check-out lane together that Maria finally went back to the original topic. “Yeah, I’ma talk to the boys when we get back there.”

She and Liz simply nodded to each other as the checker began scanning the groceries.

<center>****</center>

“We’re going out.” Tristan announced as he and Tyler stopped into the living room. They’d been over at James’ house when Liz and Maria had returned with groceries. Maria had left to go to her house and put the groceries away, but had shortly returned claiming that some sport was on TV and Michael got mad when she asked him questions, so she left.

Liz and Maria tore their eyes away from watching CSI: Las Vegas, both of them looking at the boys. “Where are you going?” Liz asked, turning the volume on the TV down a little bit.

“Date.” Tyler replied.

“With each other?” Maria scrunched up her nose at them. “That’s like, incest or something. Gross.”

The boys, and Liz both shot her looks of disgust. “Way too gross to be a funny joke, Aunt Maria.” Tyler shuddered.

“When will you be home?” Liz cut in before Maria could try to defend herself.

“Midnight?” Tristan ventured, a hopeful expression lighting up his face.

“Nope. Try again.” Liz smiled at him.

“Eleven?” Tyler whined out their regular curfew.

“Correct.” She nodded. “Have fun and be careful.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” They both muttered as they walked towards the front door.

Just as Liz heard it shut, she turned to Maria. “You forgot to ask them, didn’t you?” Liz questioned.

“OH SHIT!” Maria remembered, jumping off the couch and tearing down the hallway after them.

Liz couldn’t help laughing as she heard Maria yelling their names, and the door slamming behind her as she ran outside. She made a grab for the phone when it started ringing.

“Hello?”

“Hello to you, too, beautiful.” Max’s warm voice slid through the phone.

“What are you doing?” She cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she pulled the blanket she’d been cuddled under around her tighter. She settled back comfortably into the couch cushions, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

“Calling to see what my girlfriend is doing.” She could tell by the tone of his voice that Max was smiling too.

“She’s watching CSI with Maria, except Maria took off outside after Tyler and Tristan when they left for their dates because she thinks Olivia has a boyfriend and she wants them to see if they can find out anything for her.” She inhaled a deep breath after her long tirade. “Ya know, nothin’ much.”

Max laughed. “You and Maria are insane.”

“We know.”

“Wait…” Max backtracked. “We think Olivia has a boyfriend? That Brad kid?”

Liz couldn’t help but feel lucky that Max wanted to know about what was going on, not only with her, but with her children, her friends, and their children. “No, Brad got too scared. He won’t go near Liv.”

“Well, he shouldn’t. He’s too old for her.” Max immediately replied. She heard him sigh. “Drama, drama, drama.” He waited a beat, then tacked on another thought. “Keep me informed as the story unfolds.”

Liz giggled. “Will do.” She glanced over into the kitchen, seeing all the bouquets of roses. “So… some crazy guy keeps sending me a dozen white roses everyday…” She trailed off.

Max decided to play innocent. “Oh, really? Some crazy guy, huh?”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe it. There are so many roses, I can barely get into the kitchen at all.”

“Sounds like a predicament.”

“It really is… how do you suggest I get this crazy person to stop spending so much money sending me roses everyday?” She queried.

“I don’t think it’s possible. He really likes sending you those flowers.” Max replied.

She dropped the act, letting out a sigh. “Max.”

“Liz.” He shot back.

“Seriously! It’s so many flowers, and they must be costing so much and… you do know they’re just going to die, right? I mean, someone told you about that part?”

“Yes, I know they die.” Max laughed.

“Then why?”

“Because they make you smile.” He shrugged digging at his beeper when it started to vibrate against his hip.

“You can’t see me, so what does that matter?” She asked, figuring she’d finally made a valid point that he couldn’t dispute.

“Just knowing you smiled is enough for me.”

Liz squeezed her eyes shut and bit on her lower lip. When she’d finally calmed down a bit, she ventured to talk. “You’re absolutely perfect and it scares me sometimes.”

“Why?” Concern suddenly crept into his voice. “Why would that scare you? I scare you??”

“Well, not really you.” She tried to explain. “It’s just… You’re not just insanely close to being perfect. You ARE perfect. And you know what they say… something that appears too good to be true probably is.”

She waited for a response, but didn’t get one immediately. Right before she was going to make sure he was still on the line, his voice sounded through the phone. “I’m not Derrick, Liz. I’m not any of those other guys. I’m not too good to be true. I’m true. I’m real. The way that I’m acting and the things I’m doing are just part of who I am. I think you’re amazing and you deserve nothing but the best, so I’ll treat you the best that I possibly can. That’s all I can say.”

A ball of emotion caught thick in her throat as tears prickled her eyelids. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was getting so emotional, but she knew there was no way she could say anything back to him for a few seconds.

“Ok, baby… I gotta go, I’m being paged. I’ll give you a call when I’m on my way home.”

Liz took a deep breath, managing to somehow squeak out an ‘ok’ to him.

“Just… I meant everything I said, Liz. I’ll talk to you later.”

With that, the call was ended, and Liz could do nothing more than smile as she turned off the phone and returned it to the coffee table.

<center>****</center>

Maria had left after CSI, content that she’d talked to the boys, and Liz had immediately gone into her study. Her muse was definitely with her tonight, and it was impatient. She had her legs pulled up underneath her, a warm blanket wrapped around her. Her tart warmer was going, her glasses were in place, and she was scanning through the end of the first chapter she’d finished that night to make sure it slid smoothly into the next one.

The boys had returned home from their dates and had gone to bed hours before, but when Liz had finally decided to give up, she laid in bed for ten minutes before she’d had to go back downstairs to write more.

She rolled her neck to relieve some of the stiffness as her fingers continued to fly over the keys. She was oblivious to where she was, because she was too into the moment she was creating one the computer screen.

She stopped mid-sentence and snatched the phone off the desk as it began ringing. “Summer.” She stated, and then shook herself out of the scene. “I mean hello.” She corrected.

“Summer?” Max laughed. “Is that the new hip thing the cool kids are saying these days when they answer the phone?”

“No.” Liz took her glasses off, mentally telling herself that she was twelve kinds of stupid. “I’m in the study writing and I was in the middle of a sentence describing the beautiful summer day when I answered the phone.”

“You’re too cute sometimes.” He dropped down onto his bed, pulling the covers over him, letting out a small moan. “Oh, that feels good.”

“Whoa, should I leave you and yourself alone together?” She teased. “Are you two getting reacquainted?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter.” Max was slightly shocked at her insinuation. “I’m not… doing that. It’s just that…” He let out a sigh. “I’m so tired, and my bed is so comfortable after running from one surgery to the next all day long…”

“Aww, is da baby tired?” She cooed at him.

“Yes.” He pouted.

“I’m sorry, honey.” Liz said sincerely. “Just think… only a little while longer until you’re down here and you get to… well, you get to do the same thing everyday, but see me. So…. Yay!”

Max let out a tired laugh. “Ya damn right.” He confirmed. “I can’t wait.”

“Me either.”

“I hate to cut this short, but I really have to let you go. If I don’t, I’ll fall asleep on the phone, and I don’t want you to be scared off by my snoring yet.” Max informed her.

“Ok, get some rest.” She ordered. “I’m going to finish this scene, then I’m going to bed too. Muse be damned.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Max said, yawning after his statement. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow when I have some free time.”

“Ok, I’ll talk to you then.”

“Sweet dreams, Miss Parker.” He replied, his voice softening as if he were already half asleep.

“Sweet dreams, Mr. Evans.” Liz whispered back before ending the call. She turned her attention back to the chapter and quickly finished up the scene she was working on. She knew there was no way she was done writing for the night. Despite the ridiculous hour, she’d been re-inspired. It suddenly struck her that Max must be her muse for the new book she was working.

She smiled at the irony of writing about Mr. Perfect, when she was really writing about HER Mr. Perfect.

TBC…

I'll see ya'll next Tuesday!

Hey guys! I'm FINALLY back with the new part... OMG, it fought me REAL bad. However... I finally managed to get it onto paper, and out to you wonderful people.

As stated in my authors note the other day, I'm having an authors chat at DAS on Thursday, December 15th at 9 PM EST. If ya'll aren't busy, I'd love to see you guys there. I'd love to chat and answer any questions you might have for me, so try to swing by, ok? Heres a link:

Link To DAS.

Before I go any further... the last scene in this chapter is what took so long to get out. I wanted it to be perfect and after three days of wrestling with it... I've come to realize that it's never going to be perfect... and so it is what it is. I couldn't find a better way to write it, I'm not happy with it, but there it is. I apologize in advance for it.

On with the show. *sigh*

Chapter Thirteen

Olivia peeked her head into Liz’s room, noticing her standing next to the bed and folding clothes before placing them in a suitcase. She pushed the door open a little further and stepped into the room.

“Aunt Liz?” She announced her presence.

Liz jumped slightly, not having heard Olivia come into the room. She dropped the shirt she had just folded, placing her hands over her racing heart. “Olivia! You scared the crap out of me.” Liz blew out a breath, trying to calm herself down.

“Sorry.” Olivia giggled a little, walking over and dropping down onto Liz’s bed. “How’s the packing going?”

Liz groaned, picking up her dropped shirt and refolding it before dropping it into her suitcase. “I hate packing.” She announced, grabbing another shirt off the bed and folding it.

“How long are you gonna be gone?” Olivia asked, picking up a shirt from the bed and folding it. She figured that if she were going to be bothering Liz, she might as well be helpful.

“I’m not really sure.” Liz sighed. “I told them two weeks was the longest I’d be gone.”

“That’s not that bad.” Olivia placed the shirt in the suitcase. “It kinda sucks that you have to go off on some book promotional... thingy right after Max gets back, though.”

“Oh, trust me, sweetie.” Liz fixed her eyes on Olivia’s. “I know.”

Olivia laughed, twirling a strand of her dark blonde hair around her finger. “Are Tyler and Tristan going to be staying at Derricks while you’re gone?”

“No, Max is going to be staying here with them.” Liz told her, moving the suitcase onto the floor and dropping down onto the bed with Olivia. “I talked to Max about it a few days ago and since he doesn’t have a house yet, he agreed to stay here.”

“Where the hell was he gonna stay before? I mean, if he doesn’t have a house...” Olivia trailed off, hoping Liz wouldn’t catch the cursing that had slipped in.

“He was going to stay with Alex and Isabel.” Liz explained. “Isabel and her parents went out and looked at a few houses and found one or two they thought Max would like, but they didn’t want to do anything else until he was actually here to see the houses himself.”

“Makes sense.” Olivia nodded.

Liz glanced over out of her peripheral vision, trying to read Olivia’s face and figure out what in the world she was doing there. Liz didn’t mind Olivia stopping by, she loved spending time with her “niece”, but Olivia rarely just showed up. “What’s on your mind?” Liz finally asked.

“How did you...”

“I’m a mother.” Liz smiled at her. “Ok, so I’m not your mother, but I’m a mother, nonetheless. I know when a kid wants something. You, my dear, want something.”

“I was kinda hoping we could talk before the party tonight.” Olivia’s eyes practically pleaded for Liz to agree. Not that there was any chance of Liz blowing her off, but Liv was unsure of what exactly she was going to say, and was rather nervous about the whole thing.

“Of course we can.” Liz almost instantly replied, glancing at the clock. “Max isn’t even due in town for another hour or so. The party isn’t for another three hours, so we have plenty of time.” Liz scooted towards the head of the bed, arranging the pillows and finally leaning back comfortably as Olivia did the same. “Alright.” Liz said, once they were both settled. “What’s up?”

Olivia figured that she should just say what she wanted to say right out of the gate. “I have a boyfriend.”

Liz tried to control the smile that tugged at her lips. “I’ve heard that’s a possibility.”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “My mom has a big mouth.”

“Where do you think you got it from?” Liz rhetorically asked.

“Anyway, so I have a boyfriend, but mom and dad haven’t met him yet.” Olivia picked at a thread that was fraying on one of the rips in the knees of her jeans. “I’m too scared that daddy is gonna scare this one like he did with Brad.”

“Does ‘this one’ have a name?”

“Ryne.” Olivia couldn’t stop herself from smiling when she said his name.

“Like Ryan?” Liz’s eyebrows drew together.

“Yeah. But not.” Olivia tried explaining. “Anyway, I wanted to bring him to the party tonight, because I know that he’s eventually going to have to meet my parents. However... my parents are crazy people so at the same time I want to keep him as far away from them as possible.”

“Liv, he’s gonna have to meet your mom and dad eventually.”

Olivia let out a dramatic sigh. “I know.” She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest and dropping her head back against the pillow. “Why can’t my parents be normal?”

“I don’t know, sweetie.” Liz shook her head. “What I do know, however... is that Ryne probably doesn’t stand a chance in hell. I mean, your mom already suspects something. That hickey probably didn’t help any either.”

“She saw that?” The mortified expression on Olivia’s face made Liz giggle a little as she nodded her head. “I might as well just break up with him now and save him the trouble of getting threatened by daddy.”

“You want my advice?” Liz asked.

“Well, that is why I came over.” Liv smiled at her aunt.

“Talk to Ryne before the party tonight. Explain to him that your parents are overprotective and have an interesting approach of getting to know the guys you date.” Liz thought for a minute. “Do Tyler and Tristan know Ryne?”

“Yeah, that’s how I met him, through the twins.”

“Well, then he’ll have a few people on his side. Just have him stick close to Tyler and Tristan and keep him away from your father as much as possible and you’ll fair better.”

“That’s all?” Olivia pouted. “You don’t have anymore advice than that?”

“Sorry, that’s all I got.”

Olivia sighed, climbing off the bed. “Thanks for the pep talk, aunt Liz.” Olivia walked around the bed to give Liz a hug.

“Anytime.” Liz gave her a reassuring smile.

“I’m gonna head home, call Ryne and get ready for the party. I know you have a lot of stuff to do today.” Olivia made her way out of the room. “I’ll see you later tonight.” She called as she started down the hallway.

Liz waited until she heard Olivia retreating down the stairs before she grabbed the phone off the night stand and starting dialing Maria and Michael’s home number. She knew it would take a lot of convincing to get Maria and Michael to agree to be civil, normal people to Olivia’s boyfriend, but she felt the need to at least give it a shot.

<center>****</center>

“Tyler! Get off your ass and help your brother!” Liz yelled into the livingroom as she walked by and continued trying to pick up the house. It seemed that every time she picked up a room, one of the twins would come in behind her and mess it up again.

“Help him do what?” Tyler whined, leaning against the doorway of the study, which Liz was in the process of cleaning.

“Help him carry my suitcases out to the BMW, and then go get ready!” She turned just in time to see him roll his eyes and walk away.

She was beyond stressed, she didn’t understand why, for once, the twins couldn’t just do as they were told. She dashed madly around the study, making sure it was all neat and tidy before she did one last survey of the room and flipped the light off to make the rest of the house look nice as well.

On top of the normal stress of having to leave her boys at home and travel alone for two weeks, she also had the stress of this party for Max that she was stupid enough to agree to host at her house. Of course, she hadn’t anticipated going out of town the day after it, so she thought it would be a piece of cake.

She was still slightly pissed at Isabel for only telling her hours ago that Mr. and Mrs. Evans were going to be coming to the party. She knew she hadn’t made the best first impression, since she’d been three sheets to the wind when Max had finally introduced her to them at Isabel’s party, so she was hoping to make up for it tonight.

She stopped abruptly when she went to go into the livingroom and clean up the mess she anticipated the boys leaving behind. She took a deep breath, hoping to calm herself down a little as she walked fully into the livingroom and stood in front of the television.

Both of the boys let out shouts of protest from their respective seats on the couch, each leaning from left to right in hopes of being able to see around their mother. That idea was dashed when she reached behind her and hit the power button.

“Mom!” Tyler whined. “We were right in the middle of watching that!”

“You know I don’t like you guys watching stuff like that.” Liz crossed her arms over her chest, which was still clad in a plain grey t-shirt since she hadn’t had time to get ready yet.

“Why? It’s not like we’re too young to watch it.” Tyler threw back. Tristan remained silent, letting his brother take over this particular argument.

“It’s not that I think you’re too young to watch it, I just don’t like that you guys watch this stuff, and then you think you can do it, too.” When Tyler opened his mouth to object, Liz cut him off. “Don’t you remember when the first season of this... Ultimate Fighter thing aired, and you guys tried it out in the backyard? You, sir,” She pointed at Tyler. “Ended up with a broken arm.” She then swung her gaze to Tristan. “And you ended up with a concussion.”

“That was a total accident.” Tristan tried to defend them.

“Accident or not. The TV is off, and its staying off. Go get ready.” She ordered, walking out of the room and into the kitchen, where she began to put away the dishes she’d done earlier that day.

She was starting to rethink the whole... domestic mom thing. She liked it at first, and had refused to have a maid, even to help out when the boys were younger. Back then, she’d had Maria to help her, and even after Michael and Maria had moved in together and gotten married Maria would still come over and help Liz out if she needed it.

Now, though, Liz had to do it all on her own. Not that she really expected Maria to constantly come over and help her clean up the house. Liz was starting to realize that two teenage boys, and a full time career that involved travel, on top of all the football games, and school events she was expected to attend, all the cleaning that needed to go on and all the laundry that was constantly piling up was a bit too much.

When I get back from this stupid book tour, I’m hiring a maid. Liz told herself as she put the last of the dishes away.

She snatched the phone off the cradle when it started ringing. “Hello?” She answered, leaning back against the counter.

“Hey beautiful.” The deep timbre of Max’s voice immediately brought a smile to her face and made a chill run up her spine.

“Hey handsome.” She returned. “I can’t wait to see you!” She gushed.

“And I can’t wait to see you either.” He immediately replied. “I’m being held hostage over at Isabel and Alex’s place. I had to run to the bathroom to even call you.” He laughed.

“Just escape out the window, maybe they won’t notice you missing.” She smiled into the phone, toying with the diamond ring that sat on the ring finger of her right hand. She suddenly realized that she always seemed to play with the ring when she was talking to Max.

“My parents are here, too. I’m sure someone would notice.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I guess that won’t work.”

“However...” He trailed off, pausing a second for dramatic effect. “This little shindig you’re throwing for me starts in... what, an hour?”

“Yeah, that’s what time I told everyone to be here.”

“So I’ll get to see you in an hour.” He glanced at his watch, frowning at how slow the second hand appeared to be moving. “That seems way too far away.”

“Agreed.” She glanced at the digital clock on the oven. While it didn’t seem like enough time to get the house ready for people to come over, it was far too long of a wait to see Max. She’d already been forced to wait over two weeks, wasn’t that long enough? “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get this place clean by then.” She voiced her concern.

“I’m sure the place looks amazing and you’re just overanalyzing the whole thing because my folks are coming.” He hit the nail on the head. “Am I right, or am I right?”

“You’re right.” She rolled her eyes. She glanced into the livingroom where the twins had turned the TV back on and were sitting slack jawed in amazement of what was happening on the screen. She let out a groan. “I gotta go, baby. I have to get the boys off the couch and into the shower, and I have to get ready myself.”

“Ok, I’ll see you soon.” He promised. “Bye.”

“Bye.” She smiled as she turned the phone off and put it back on the cradle. She pushed off the counter and stalked into the livingroom. “What are you two doing?”

Her voice startled them, causing them both to jump a little. “Nothing.” The both immediately replied.

“Turn it off and go get ready.” She ordered, using a tone that they knew she only used when she meant business. “I want you both showered, shaved, dressed and back down here with both of your rooms clean in no more than an hour. Do you both understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am.” They both replied. Tyler reached over and grabbed the remote, turning off the TV before putting the remote on the small basket on the coffee table which housed the TV Guide magazines and the remote controls to call the different equipment around the livingroom.

“One hour.” She repeated, as she followed them upstairs to take a shower and get ready herself. “That’s all the time you have, so don’t go in there and sit down and screw around.”

“Mom?” Tristan caught her attention just as she was going into her bedroom.

She turned around, wanting to be mad at him for stalling, but the look on his face melted her heart. The boys both knew that ultimately, they had her wrapped around their little finger, and could get whatever they wanted if they flashed her a smile. “What, baby?” She asked, leaning against the doorjamb of her bedroom.

“Can Tyler and I spend the night at James’ house tonight?” He asked, giving her a smile.

She sighed, knowing she was going to cave in. “I’ll think about it while I’m getting ready, and I’ll call James’ mother before the party. If she says its ok, then its ok with me.”

“Thanks, mom.” He ran across the hall and gave her a kiss on the cheek before trotting back across the hall and shutting his bedroom door behind him. Liz knew that they both just wanted an excuse to cut out of the party early, but after forcing them to go to quite a few parties already this summer, she figured she’d give them a break.

“Don’t forget to clean your rooms!” She yelled before going into her room and glancing at the outfit she’d lain out on the bed earlier. After staring at it for a few minutes, she was satisfied that she still wanted to wear it, and headed into the bathroom to shower and get ready.

<center>****</center>

“Liz?” Max called out as he walked in the front door.

“I’m in the livingroom.” Liz replied, not bothering to move a muscle. She was quite comfortable with her lounging spot on the couch and had no intention of giving up that comfort.

She gave him a smile as he bent over and gave her a quick kiss before dropping down onto the other end of the sofa. “Parties are exhausting. Let’s never attend another one ever again..” He said, pushing around the throw pillows until he found the optimum level of comfort.

“Sounds good to me.” Liz replied.

The party had gone off without a hitch, and everyone had a wonderful time. They’d grilled out on the patio and sat around talking for hours until everyone had finally gotten tired and left. Max had left to take his parents home, promising to come back to spend more time with her before she left for LA the following day.

Liz let out a little whining noise, pressing her lips into a pout as she held her arms open. “Cuddle.” She stated.

Despite the fact that Max had just gotten completely comfortable where he’d been sitting, he immediately crawled down the couch and laid next to her, wrapping his arms around her and inhaling the soft scent of her hair. He dropped a kiss at her temple after she’d situated herself against him, using his bicep as a pillow. He twirled a strand of her hair around his finger, closing his eyes and enjoy the feeling of complete perfection he got from being next to her. “Everyone leave?”

“Mm-hmm.” She mumbled against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist a little tighter.

“Where are Tyler and Tristan?”

“They left right after you did. They’re spending the night over at James’ house.” She told him, pulling her face away from his shoulder to look up into his eyes.

“So we have the house all to ourselves?” He asked, a smile appearing on his lips.

Liz noted the mischievous sparkle in his eyes, wondering what he was up to. “Yes.” She finally answered.

She barely had time to blink before he vaulted over her and off the couch, scooping her up and tossing her over his shoulder. She let out a squeak at just how easy he could pick her up.

The first thing she registered was the soft black material of the back of his polo shirt as he carried her though the house.

“Max!” She giggled, trying to wiggle loose from his grip. “What are you doing?!”

“Stop squirming or I’m going to drop you.” He warned, not bothering to tell her what he was doing.

She had just began to lightly dig her fingers into his sides and tickle him when she was flipped over, landing on her back in the middle of her bed.

Max crawled onto the bed, laying his body over hers. His lips hovered dangerously close to hers, his breath ticking her face as he attempted to catch his breath. “That tickling thing was not nice.” He chided, leaning his weight on his forearms to keep from crushing her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She smiled up at him. She marveled at how at ease he made her feel; how carefree and young. She didn’t get to experience that feeling a lot with two children to worry about.

“I just wanted some alone time with you.” He said, bringing his lips to her cheek and kissing a path down to her neck.

“We were alone on the couch.” She pointed out, lolling her head to one side to give him better access to her exposed skin. “You’re not going to try to take advantage of me, are you?” She teased.

“Of course not.” He murmured against her throat, his fingers making dizzying circles on her stomach. He lifted his head from her neck, his eyes boring down into hers. She felt her heart start beating faster and her breathing pick up when she noticed that his eyes had seemed to darken. “Unless you want me to.” He whispered.

“Maybe.” She replied before his lips crashed down on hers. His tongue slid across her lips and she quickly granted him access.

They nibbled at each other’s lips, each kiss growing more intense than the last. Max cradled the back of Liz’s neck, his fingers tangling in her hair as he continued to assault her mouth. Liz’s hands bunched in the back of his shirt before running down his back to the hem of the garment.

She grabbed onto it and began yanking it upwards. As much as Max hated to, he removed his lips from hers, lifting off of her enough for the shirt to come off. It landed on the floor, quickly followed by the white tank top he’d been wearing underneath.

Liz looked up at Max hovering over her, his hair a bit tousled from his shirts. She ran her eyes down his torso, letting her fingers skim over the grooves of his abdomen. “I like this.” She whispered, meeting his eyes with a smile on her face.

“Yeah?” He breathed, lowering himself back down so that he was laying on his side next to her. He toyed with the hem of her tank top, his eyes never leaving hers. “We don’t have to do anything. You know that isn’t the reason I’m here, right?”

She nodded. “I know that.”

“Good.” Max smiled down at her. He was more than a little surprised, to say the very least, at her next move.

She whipped her tank top over her head, tossing it onto the floor near where Max’s shirts had landed. They were both shocked at the boldness of her next statement. “Just because you say that we don’t have to do anything doesn’t mean that I don’t want to.”

After that, words were no longer necessary between the two of them. They seemed to be communicating on a completely different level. Max sealed his lips over hers, letting his fingers skim over the skin she’d exposed to him. He couldn’t wait to taste every inch of her.

He pulled her front flush up against his while his fingers went to work on the clasp of her bra. A quick flick of his fingers and the hooks were undone, allowing him to pull the fabric away from her body. It was quickly forgotten and tossed onto the floor with the rest of their clothes.

He started kissing down her neck and across her collarbone, making his way towards her breasts. Her fingers fumbled with the button of his jeans, her focus severely sidetracked by what his mouth was doing.

“Wait.” He mumbled, his hand reaching down to stop her from undoing his pants.

“What?” She looked up at him, surprised that he’d stopped her.

“This isn’t right.” He shook his head. “It’s supposed to be special. There’s supposed to be flowers and candles and music and rose petals and all that. I mean, isn’t that what girls want?”

“That’s not what I want.” Liz shook her head. “It doesn’t matter to me what music is playing or what flowers are in the room... I want you, Max. I don’t need the ambiance.”

“Well, at least let me go downstairs and lock everything up and turn the lights out and stuff, and then we can be on the right end of the bed.” He smirked.

It took a moment of glancing around for Liz to realize that they were laying at the end of the bed. She giggled a little. “Alright. You go turn off the lights downstairs, and I’ll be waiting here for you when you get back.”

“Ok.” Max jumped up off the bed and began tearing down the hallway. He ran down the stairs and through the house turning off lights and locking doors as fast as humanly possible. When he’d finally ran back up the stairs and skidded to a stop in the doorway of Liz’s bedroom, the lights were already off, she was under the covers and there was a candle burning on the dresser.

“Enough ambiance for you?” She laughed, pulling her jeans out from under the comfortor and tossing them at him.

He watched them land on the floor before he yanked his pants down his legs and crawled into the bed with her.

“Nice bed.” He commented as he got under the covers and gathered her up in his arms.

“That’s enough pillow talk.” Liz stated, framing his face in her hands and crashing her lips down on hers. One of his hands ran down her side, grabbing her thigh and draping it over his.

He felt like he couldn’t be close enough to her. Her body pressing against his was driving him crazy and he wanted nothing more than to be inside her at that moment. He wanted their first time together to be special, and he didn’t want to rush it, but he was quickly giving up on that notion.

Liz pushed him fully on his back and moved so that she was on top of him, straddling his waist. She pulled away, sitting up fully. He moaned at the picture she presented. “You’re gorgeous” He whispered, running his hands up her thighs, up her sides, over her breasts and back down.

“These have gotta go.” She smiled down at him, toying with the elastic band of his boxers. She sat up enough so she could negotiate them down his legs. “Ya know...” She said as she tried getting his boxers off of him. “I’m not usually like this...”

“Me either.” He panted. God, she was driving him insane.

“The way you make me feel...” She trailed off.

“Is hard to describe.” He finished for her. “I know, baby.”

She just nodded. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was trying to say. She knew that he didn’t think she was a slut or anything, she just felt that she needed to say something, but words escaped her.

“These have gotta go.” He mimicked her earlier statement, running his fingers over the waistband of her thong.

Before she could respond, he flipped them so he was on top again. He hooked his fingers in the waistband and slowly pulled them down her legs. Once that obstacle was out of the way, he bent over and peppered kisses all over her stomach, slowly moving upwards.

“Max.” Liz half moaned, half whined.

“What, baby?” Max murmured against her skin.

“Stop teasing.”

“Just tell me what you want.” He told her.

“I want you.” She stated. “Now.”

“Your wish is my command.” He glanced up at her, sliding his way up her body, a sexy smirk firmly in place. He leaned off the side of the bed, grabbing his jeans and pulling his wallet out. He pulled a small silver package from inside, clamping it lightly between his teeth as he tossed his jeans and wallet onto the floor.

Liz pulled the package from his teeth, quickly tearing part of it off and pulling the contents from the wrapper. She handed him the condom, figuring that he could take care of all that.

She watched as he sheathed himself, then lowered himself back down on top of her. “Are you sure?” He whispered, pushing a piece of hair out of her face.

“Yes. I’m totally and completely sure.” She assured him.

He nodded, settling himself between her legs. He rubbed himself along her folds, enjoying the breathy moans he got in response. He finally positioned himself at her entrance and slowly began entering her.

He moved painfully slow, and Liz began lifting her hips, not only causing Max to moan, but causing him to become buried to the hilt. He let out a deep breath, praying to God that he would be able to last. He couldn’t remember anything ever feeling this good before.

They started rocking together, quickly falling into a rhythm that somehow felt so familiar to them. Liz clung to Max, never wanting the moment to end.

“Oh, God.” Max managed through clenched teeth. He let out a quick breath, resting his forehead against hers. “Liz?” He asked, never stopping his movement inside her.

“Yeah?” She panted.

“I ugh...” He trailed off.

“I know. Me too.” She read what he was saying. She wasn’t going to last long either, not with the incredible things his body was doing to hers.

Their pace picked up, and their moans grew louder. Liz dug her nails into his back, her body bowing up off the bed as her orgasm washed over her.

“Max.” She moaned, triggering him to follow her over the edge, her name tumbling off his lips as he did.

They fell against the pillows, still breathing heavy as they tried to recover. “Mm.” Liz moaned, giggling a little as she let out a content sigh.

“Ditto.” Max managed. He gave her a quick kiss before he crawled out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Liz couldn’t help but admire his very nice butt as he padded naked through her bedroom.

Liz let her eyes drift shut, only opening them when the other side of the bed dipped. Max pulled her against his chest, dropping a kiss on her shoulder. They laid there together, content with the silence and each others company.

“Liz?” Max finally said.

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Hmm?”

“I love you.” He stated, staring deep into her eyes. “You know that, right?”

A smile drifted onto her lips as she nodded. “Yeah, I know. And I love you, too.”

“I know.” He smiled back at her, moving just enough to give her a kiss. They settled into the bed and in no time at all, they were both fast asleep.

TBC...

I, once again, apologize for the last scene. It's terrible, but its the best I could get outta my muse. She's a bitch and refused to cooperate with me.

Hey guys! I'm back with the next chapter. I literally *JUST* finished it, so I haven't gone back over it and checked for mistakes or anything... *shrug* Oh well. *lol* I figured you guys would want the next chapter ASAP.

I'm still a little sick, my immune system apparently sucks, but I'm feeling much better. I'm hoping to be back with the next chapter a week from now, but I'm not making any promises. Not only have I not started the next chapter... I don't even know what the hell the next chapter is going to be about. *LOL* I'm such a friggin slacker.

Ok, so anyway... on with the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Chapter Fourteen

Liz let her eyes flutter open, her mind still foggy from sleeping. She chanced a look at the alarm clock, fearing that it would be time to get up. She was pleasantly surprised when the time only read 3:28 AM.

Shuffling on the other side of the bed drew her attention away from the clock. A smile drifted across her lips when a light snoring reached her ears. She turned over, coming face to face with Max.

She let herself drink in his features, the relaxation of sleep making him appear so much younger and boyish. She rested her palm under her cheek, not quite ready to go back to sleep yet. She just wanted to stay in the moment a while longer.

He let out a small moan, reaching up to rub at his nose before his hand fell back against Liz’s thigh. She tried her best to hold in a giggle as he continued to moan, groan and grumble in his sleep.

Finally, she couldn’t hold it in anymore and she ended up laughing out loud. She pressed her face to the pillow, hoping that would muffle the sound enough as to not wake Max up. She took a few deep breaths, praying that was enough to get composed again.

When she was finally confident that her giggles were gone, she moved her face away from the pillow. She was slightly shocked when she met Max’s gaze.

“Hi.” He gave her a smile, his voice still rough with sleep.

“Hi.” She returned, unable to keep from smiling. “You’re funny in your sleep.” She announced, turning over and squirming back until her back was pressed against his chest.

He dropped a kiss on her shoulder, wrapping one of his arms around her tightly. “Yeah?” He managed through a yawn. “Why’s that?”

“Well, you told me you snored, you didn’t tell me you moaned and talked in your sleep as well.”

“I do not.” He immediately replied.

“Yes, you do.” She giggled, trailing her fingers up and down his forearm. “Why would I just make that up at random?”

He shrugged slightly, rubbing her thigh. “I don’t know.” He ran his hand up her thigh, over her stomach and along the curve of her breast before brushing the hair away from her neck. “I don’t want to talk about my sleeping habits anymore.” He said, pressing his lips to her neck.

“No?” Liz questioned, letting her eyes fall shut against his assault. “What do you want to talk about then?”

“Talking is overrated.” He announced, kissing his way up her jaw line. “We could be doing much more constructive things with our time.”

Liz tilted her head away from his just as his lips were about to settle on hers. “I agree.” She snuggled back into the blankets. “We could be sleeping.” She turned back, giving him a quick peck before turning back over. “Good night, sweetie.”

Max pushed himself up so he was leaning on one of his elbows while he looked over her shoulder at her. He was trying to see if she was serious about all this. Sleeping was definitely not what he was referring to. “Baby?”

“Yeah?” She glanced over her shoulder at him, biting the inside of her cheek to stop from cracking.

“You’re really just gonna go back to sleep?” He was unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Well, yeah.” She shrugged, enjoying playing with him a little too much. “Why? Did you have something else in mind?” She asked, trying so hard to sound serious.

“Well, ugh…” He trailed off, scratching behind his ear. He racked his brain to find a tasteful way to phrase it. Finally, he gave up and just blurted it out. “You could give Daddy some lovin.” He said, a smile stretched from ear to ear.

Liz immediately started cracking up, rolling over and putting her arms around her neck. “Now, see. All you had to do was ask.” She informed him before fusing her lips to his.

Max used his body to push her onto her back before he moved on top of her. She spread her legs a bit wider so that he could stretch out on top of her.

“Mmm.” Max pulled back just as his body had almost settled over hers. “We may have a situation here…” He trailed off.

“Top drawer.” She pointed to the night stand.

He glanced at her before looking over at the night stand, and then looking back at her. “God bless you.” He leaned down, giving her a thorough kiss before diving towards the nightstand.

He rummaged around in the top drawer for a minute before he finally found what he was looking for. He closed the drawer and set the silver packet on the bed before he reclaimed his original position.

Their lips instantly sought each other out, enjoying the now familiar feel of the other pair of lips. Liz instantly opened her mouth to Max; he didn’t even need to seek permission anymore. They kissed like old lover, accustomed to the way the other kissed and tasted.

Max managed to pull himself away from her lips, intent on exploring more of her body. After kissing his way down her neck, taking a few minutes to suck and nibble on the spot that seemed to incite the most response, he moved further south.

He kissed along her clavicle, and along the swell of her breasts. He kissed down to her navel before making his way back up. He sucked on her skin, skipping around to different places so that she never really knew what to expect next.

He couldn’t help but smile at the little moans and squeaks she made. He pulled away for a moment, drinking in the sight of her. Her fists were bunched up in the pillows, holding on for dear life. Her hair was fanned out across the pillow, her eyes were shut, and her lips were slightly parted. Her breasts were already heaving when he finally lowered his mouth to one of her nipples.

He couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride at the way her back bowed up off the bed, the breathy moan that escaped her mouth doing nothing more than turn him on even more. He nipped, sucked, and licked at her breasts, taking mental inventory of what she seemed to like the most. He soon switched to the other breast to give it the same attention and treatment as the other.

Liz couldn’t even put a coherent thought together by the time Max finally started kissing down her body to explore some more. She knew that he was intent on figuring out what made her tick, she wanted to do the same to him, but she knew that wasn’t going to be happening right now.

She untangled her fingers from the pillowcase, reaching down and grabbing a handful of Max’s hair. She gave him a gentle tug, pulling him back up her body. “What?” He asked, concerned he’d done something wrong.

She simply reached over and blindly grouped for the condom he’d placed on the bed earlier. When she’d finally found it, she ripped the package open, tossing the wrapper in the general direction of the garbage can as the pushed the contents at him.

“I need you.” She breathed, when he didn’t seem to be getting a move on. “Now.” She reinforced.

That seemed to be all it took. Max leaned back, rolling the condom down his engorged member. He was about to lay himself back down on top of her when she put her hand against his chest, pushing him backwards.

“You were on top last time.” She smiled at him. “I can’t very well let you do all the work.” She pushed him onto his back and straddled his waist. She took him into her small hand, teasing him slightly by rubbing him against her entrance.

“Please…” He managed, his fingers digging into her thighs.

She didn’t make him beg anymore. She slowly slid down onto him, taking him in inch by inch. They let out a collective sigh when they were finally joined.

Liz sat up, reaching behind her and holding onto his thighs for leverage as she lifted off of him, only to impale herself again. She went slowly at first, letting herself become accustomed to the feel of that position.

Max’s eyes opened slightly, and he couldn’t stop himself from letting out a little growl at just how beautiful of a picture she made. He released his grip on her hips, one of his hands skimming up her back and cupping the back of her neck as the other hand went behind his back to hold him up in a sitting position.

He pulled her face to hers; kissing her like his life depended on it. She moved up and down on him faster, grinding her hips into his.

They broke their kiss, each moaning and panting. “Oh, God.” Liz started chanting, the fire in her stomach starting to spread through the rest of her body.

She screamed Max’s name as her orgasm took over, which caused him to quickly follow her into ecstasy.

They fell back onto the mattress in a tangle of limbs. They both let out content sighs, neither one really wanting to move.

“Good God.” Max finally manged. “We gotta do that A LOT more.”

“Hear, hear.” Liz mumbled into his chest, letting out a little giggle. “Hey, guess what?”

“Hmm?” Max mumbled back, too lazy to actually open his mouth and say the word ‘what’.

“I love you.” She told him, unable to stop the dopey smile from appearing.

A similar dopey smile appeared on Max’s lips not long after. “I love you, too.” He said, kissing the top of her head. “I need to get up before I fall asleep.”

Liz groaned in protest, but finally moved back to her own side of the bed so Max could go to the bathroom.

She was almost completely asleep when he returned and pulled her into his chest. It took a minute of renegotiating pillows and blankets before they were finally content with their sleeping situation.

A few seconds of silence passed before Max spoke up. “Do I really talk in my sleep?”

Liz let out a small laugh. “Yeah, you do.”

“What’d I say?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t make hardly any of it out. You did say ‘stat’ though.” She giggled a little more. “Apparently you can’t even escape the hospital in your dreams.”

Max snorted a laugh. “Figures.”

<center>****</center>

Liz glanced at Max over the top of her laptop, a newly permanent smile firmly in place. She was on top of the world and she wanted to shout it from the rooftops. She still wasn’t quite sure how she’d gotten so damn lucky, but she thanked the Heavens for sending her Max Evans.

She lifted the laptop a little, readjusting the small blanket she’d placed over her Indian-style crossed legs. She set the laptop back down and after another quick glance at Max, she returned her attention back to the screen.

Thankfully, the laptop was still new enough that the keyboard didn’t make hardly any noise when her fingers flew over the keys. Her soul dripped onto the page as she described the way Max had looked when he showed up to take her out on their first date. She easily described the plethora of emotions she had felt and the thoughts that had run through her mind. Of course, it was easy to be that candid about the whole thing since it was disguised as her new book.

Max shifted, the rustling of the sheets drawing Liz’s attention away from the screen again. Even though he moved around a lot and never seemed to really wake up, she still couldn’t stop herself from looking over. It was still weird enough for her to tell people that she had a boyfriend. She was sure it would take quite awhile to get used to someone else sleeping in her bed.

That thought rocketed Liz’s attention far, far away from her work. She hadn’t stopped to think what this newest development in their relationship would mean. Would Max still look for a house? Would he start staying at Liz’s place? Most importantly: What the hell would the boys think if Max started living there?!

Liz suddenly felt completely overwhelmed with everything. While she hated the fact that she had to leave right after Max had gotten back, she was kind of thankful as well. This way, it would give each other them time to process what had happened between them and what it meant for them. She didn’t like having weird relationship conversations and she certainly didn’t want to bring up the sentence that no guy ever wanted to hear: ‘Where is this relationship going?’

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Liz shook her head, clearing out everything as she turned her eyes to the bed. She immediately moved her fingers across the touchpad, saving her work and turning the computer off before moving it off her lap. She quickly moved across the bedroom and crawled back into bed, curling up beside him.

“You put clothes on.” He pouted. “I don’t approve.”

She giggled, giving him a quick kiss before she grabbed the hem of her tank top and whipping it over her head. Once she had removed all her clothes, she crawled back under the covers and formed her body against his. She inhaled deeply, getting a natural high from the scent of Max all around her.

“What were you doing?” He asked, twirling a strand of her around his fingers.

“I woke up and needed a glass of water about forty-five minutes ago.” She explained, reaching over and grabbing the glass off the table to take a drink. She offered him the glass, which he gladly accepted, gulping down the cool liquid. “When I got back in bed, I watched you sleep for a few minutes before I just had to get up and write.”

“Do I inspire you or something?” He joked, putting the glass down.

“Yes.” She said, not a hint of joking in her voice.

His gaze immediately met hers, and he realized the seriousness of her statement. He couldn’t stop a smile from tugging at his lips. “Really?” He asked, obvious not quite sold.

“Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes!” She dramatically replied, causing both of them to giggle. “Why don’t you believe me?”

He shrugged slightly. “I don’t know. It’s just kinda weird, I guess. I never thought of myself as being someone’s inspiration.”

“I write romance novels.” She told him, as if it were some highly guarded secret. “You think that I’m going to pass up the opportunity to use all the wonderful, caring, sweet and loving things you do in a book?” She scoffed at him. “You’re the basis for the guy in my new book. He just has a different name.”

“Is he good looking?” Max smirked.
“Of course.”

“Good in bed?” He immediately shot back, laying his body over hers, his mouth automatically going for the sensitive spot on her neck.

“I think so…” She trailed off. “A refresher would help me come up with a more definitive answer.” She flirted.

“Your wish is my command.” Max winked at her before his head disappeared beneath the sheet and Liz’s loud giggles sounded throughout the room.

<center>****</center>

“Is all your stuff in the car?” Max asked, coming into the kitchen and grabbing a coffee cup from the cabinet. He poured himself a cup of coffee before walking over to the table and taking a seat next to Liz.

“Hmm?” Liz asked, looking up from her papers. She’d printed off the email she’d gotten with her list of appearances and was just glancing over them. “Yeah. The boys put all my stuff in the car last night.” She absentmindedly answered as she went back to reading.

“Ok.” He said, unfolding the morning paper as he began reading through the articles.

Liz set her itinerary aside and turned her attention to Max. “Ok, so I have all the important numbers written on a piece of paper that’s on the fridge. Derrick’s number is there, if you should need to call him. I can’t imagine you needing it, but the number is there. Maria, Michael, Alex, Isabel, my parents... all their numbers are on there as well. They’ve all agreed to stop by periodically and check in on things. Well, all except my parents. They're on a different continent.”

“You think I’m totally incapable?” Max smirked behind his coffee cup.

“No!” She immediately replied. It only took her a second to realize he was joking, so she favored him with a mock-glare. “Shut up. You know you’re gonna be really busy at the hospital, working all kinds of weird hours and stuff. They’ll just stop by every now and then while you’re at work to make sure the house is still standing.”

“Also, since school is starting for them in a few days, I won’t be here. They have all their school stuff already... pens, notesbooks, that kind of stuff. I’ve already called their tutor from last year and arranged for her to start coming over on Wednesday nights. Her name is Marissa.”

“Marissa. Got it.” Max acknowledged.

“They have football practice every night after school, and probably won’t be home until around five, ok?”

“Alright.” He watched as she thought over everything she was supposed to tell him, trying to make sure she said it all. “Liz, you’re going to LA, not some third-world country. You’ll have a phone and you can always call and tell me anything you’ve forgotten.”

“I know.” She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. “I just hate leaving the boys home alone. It’s not that I don’t trust you. To a certain extent, I don’t trust them to not throw a keggar and end up in jail.”

“We would never do that.” Tyler announced, coming into the diningroom. “You know Mrs. Turner next door would call the cops on us, there would be no point. We wouldn’t even get to be drunk before the party was busted.”

“Thank God for Mrs. Turner, then.” Liz rolled her eyes. “I didn’t expect you guys back this early.” She checked her watch. “I didn’t know you guys got up before ten.”

“Haha. You’re so funny, mom.” Tristan deadpanned, dropping onto one of the chairs at the table, as Tyler sat down at the other end of the table.

“I just want you guys to know that Max knows the rules, so don’t try to convince him that you’re allowed to do stuff when you’re not.” She started into a lecture with them. “I’ve already told him about Marissa, she’ll be coming over on Wednesdays once school starts to tutor you in Trig, ok?”

“Mom, we don’t need a tutor.” Tristan sighed.

“Yes, you do.” She replied. “If you don’t do well in Trig, you’re ineligible to play football. How would it look if the quarterback was ineliglble?”

“You’re the QB?” Max asked Tristan, who simply nodded in reply. “That’s awesome.” He turned his attention to Tyler. “What position do you play?”

“Running back.” He said around a mouthful of toast.

“Ew. Tyler.” Liz sighed. “Don’t answer with your mouth full.” She rolled her eyes.

“Sorry.” He mumbled, only to shove more food in his mouth.

“Ok, we gotta get going.” Liz drained her coffee cup and looked at Max. “I need to get there early to check in.”

“I still don’t understand why you don’t just use Pop Pops private jet.” Tristan looked up at Liz as she stood from the table.

“Because Pop Pop, and his private jet, are in Italy.” She told him. “Besides, I don’t need a private jet. I’m perfectly happy just flying on a normal airplane with everyone else.”

“Did you get first class seats?” Tyler asked from the other end of the table.

“That’s neither here nor there.” Liz waved him off.

“That’s why she doesn’t mind not having the jet.” Tyler told Tristan, chuckling slightly.

Liz sighed, rolling her eyes at them. “You two are ridiculous. I have to go. Walk Mommy to the car and give her hugs and kisses.” She called out, already halfway to the front door.

Max made it to Liz’s car first, opening the door and waiting while Liz said goodbye to the twins.

“You two better be good.” She told them, standing on her tip toes to give them a kiss on the cheek.

“We will.” They said at the same time, both bending to hug her. “Love you, mom.” They said, once they’d given her a hug and righted themselves again.

“I love you guys, too.” She told them, turning and getting into the passenger seat as Max closed the cardoor behind her.

“I’ll be back in a little bit.” Max told them, rounding the front of the car.

“Later.” They said, both nodding at him. Liz couldn’t help but giggle at them. They went through little spurts where they’d always talk at the same time. Right now seemed like one of those times.

“Be good!” Liz yelled at them as Max made his way down the driveway.

“We will!” They yelled back, waving at her before turning to go back into the house.

“Will you just calm down?” Max laughed at her as he turned her BMW in the direction of the airport. “I’m sure we’ll be fine while you’re gone.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Liz reached over, patting the top of his hand. “You seriously underestimate just how destructive and troublesome those two are.”

TBC...

Hey everyone! Back with an update! I know, right?! Try not to die in shock! *lol* Ok, before we get to that, lemme get this long, boring, babbling authors note outta my way... *lol*

First and foremost: We all owe my friend Keith, who is currently deployed over in Korea a HUGE thank you. He's the one that got me inspired, as far as this part is concerned. Without his pushing, this still wouldn't be done. Thanks Keith... I owe you.

Next of all... I have to say a huge thank you to all you guys, my wonderful readers. I've had ALOT going on in RL, which some of you are aware of. It's been a rough year to say the VERY least, and I'm still in the process of trying to get things sorted out. Your wonderful and encouraging feedback is what kept me going, because, I'm not going to lie... I didn't think I was going to finish this. It's because of all you that I didn't give up. I love you all and I'm grateful to have you all as readers. You guys are awesome.

Last of all... we all know what today is. Please take a moment to remember all those people who lost their lives.

Ok, so... I know you guys want me to shut up, so I'm going to. I have absolutely no time frame as to when the next chapter will be done, which sucks, I know... and I apologize for that... but like I said, I'm still sorting RL out. I just wanted to give you guys... something. So, here's the newest installment. I hope you guys enjoy, and I'll try to be back as soon as I can. Thanks again, guys. I love ya!

Chapter Fifteen

Max let out a long sigh as he drove his car up the driveway, pulled into the garage and closed the garage door. He made a mental note to find out where Tristan was, since his car wasn’t in the driveway.

They boys had been in school for about a week, and Max was starting to settle into a routine at the hospital. He was slowly figuring out his way around, and was starting to develop a rapport with the twins. All in all, he thought that he’s done an all right job of taking care of them while Liz was gone.

Max turned the doorknob and let himself into the house, mildly surprised that he wasn’t immediately assaulted by loud, obnoxious music. He dropped his stuff by the stairs and headed in the direction of the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

He glanced into the living room, but found it empty. He continued on through the dining room, stopping to glance at the mountain of school books strewn all over the table. As he rounded the corner into the kitchen, he stopped dead in his tracks. He felt his mouth drop open, but he was powerless to pull it back up.

Suddenly, Liz’s words echoed back through his head. She’d warned him that the twins were capable of a lot more than he thought they were, but he still hadn’t expected it.

He was completely lost on what the hell to do. He knew he had to interrupt what was happening in front of him, he just didn’t know how the hell he was going to handle the situation from there.

“A-HEM!” Max cleared his throat loudly. He’d given no thought as to how to handle this, he just figured he could go off the cuff.

Tyler jumped about eight feet, quickly turning to regard Max with a look of utter terror. Max glanced over at Tyler’s partner in crime. She slid down off the counter, where she’d been sitting, and brushed her hands through her tangled curls. Her lips were red and puffy, and she looked directly at the ground, obviously embarrassed.

“Tyler.” Max said, pausing to sigh and compose himself. “I…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “What are you doin?” Max finally asked, throwing his arms up in the air.

“Well, we were studying…”

“Clever choice of words.” Max cut in.

“No, I mean we were really studying!” Tyler protested. “Our books are in the dining room.”

“Yeah, I saw the books in the dining room. I just don’t see how your tongue being in her mouth is helping you pass Trig.” Max crossed his arms over his chest. “Tyler, come with me into the livingroom, please. We need to have a chat.”

Tyler said nothing, just dropped his head and walked out of the kitchen and towards the livingroom. Max watched him go before returning his attention to the girl. “You’re Marissa, right? Their tutor?”

“Yes, sir.” She replied, still hesitant to look up from the floor.

“How old are you?”

“I just turned 18, but I’m in the same grade as Tyler and Tristan.”

“Right, right.” Max nodded a few times. “Where is Tristan?”

“I-” She stuttered. “I’m not really sure…” She trailed off. “Tyler just said that Tristan couldn’t make it.”

“Alright, well, as much as I appreciate all your help tonight, I think it’s best if you go ahead and grab your stuff and go, ok?” Max gave her a small smile.

She nodded and quickly headed into the dining room as Max made his way to the refrigerator. He grabbed a bottle of water out and uncapped it before drinking down a significant amount. He leaned back against the counter and took a few more sips.

When he heard the front door close, he pushed himself off the counter and walked into the livingroom. Tyler was sitting in the middle of the couch, staring down at his lap, trying his best to appear innocent.

Max dropped down into the chair across from him and waited for Tyler to look at him. It took awhile, but Tyler’s gaze finally lifted to meet Max’s.

“I just have to ask… what the hell were you thinking?!” Max yelled. “Would you have pulled something like that if your mom was in town?”

“No.” Tyler mumbled, looking back down at his lap.

“What were you thinking, Tyler? Honestly.”

“We were making soup!” Tyler blurted out, managing to have a look of confusion on his face that rivaled the one Max had on his face.

“You were making soup?” Max parroted. He thought on it for a minute, and then slowly shook his head. “I’ve never heard it called that before…”

“No, we really were!” Tyler insisted.

“No, you really weren’t!” Max threw back. “I saw what you were doing, Tyler. You were not ‘making soup’!” Max threw up little air-quotes. “You were safe at second base, and trying to make a play for third!”

“Ok, fine.” Tyler sighed. “You’re right. However, we had PLANNED on making soup! That’s why we were in the kitchen to begin with!”

“So you don’t throw all the girls you like onto the kitchen countertop and have your way with them right there?” Max asked.

“No.” Tyler shook his head.

“I’m not sure that makes me feel any better about this.” Max dropped his head into his hands. “Alright, look.” He said, finally looking back at Tyler. “I can’t punish you, because I’m not your father. And for you to get punished, I’d have to tell your mother, and I am most certainly not doing that.”

“You’re not?” Tyler asked, obviously surprised.

“No way.” Max vehemently shook his head. “I want her to think that while she was gone everything ran smoothly, and nothing bad happened. We’re keeping this to ourselves, but just so you know… I don’t encourage you doing that.”

“Noted.” Tyler said, heaving a giant sigh of relief. He knew that if Max told his mom that she would go absolutely ballistic and ground him until he was 30.

“I’m sure I’m going to regret asking this… but where’s your brother?”

Tyler slouched back into the couch more, able to lounge comfortably knowing he wasn’t in immediate danger of being in trouble. “I don’t know. He said he was going out, and he’d be back in like an hour.”

“And how long ago was that?” Max asked.

“About an hour ago.”

Max sighed, running a hand down his face. “Ok, I’m going upstairs to change out of my scrubs and you need to go finish your homework. Did you eat yet?”

“No.” Tyler groaned as he stood up.

“Pizza Hut sound good?”

Tyler’s mouth instantly started to water. “Sounds amazing!”

“Aright, I’ll get your order when I come back down.” Max called over his shoulder as he headed out of the room.

He scooped up the stuff he’d deposited by the door and headed upstairs. He immediately went to the bed, dropping down on it face first. He lay there for a minute before he flipped over onto his back and threw his arm over his eyes.

“Crisis averted.” He talked to himself. He thought back to what he’d just had to deal with, unsure whether to laugh or cry. “Oh well.” He said, pushing himself off the bed to get changed. “Things can’t get any worse.”

<center>****<b>Two Days Later</b>****</center>

Max glanced down as he ran, scrolling through the songs on his iPod. Once he’s chosen a Nirvana song, he lifted his eyes back to the road in front of him.

He pulled his shirt out of his back pocket, wiping the sweat off his face before it could run into his eyes. He’s taken his shirt off about twenty minutes prior; the New Mexico heat was just too much.

He tucked his shirt back into his pocket and focused on the beat of his feet hitting the pavement as he picked up the pace. He could see Liz’s house at the end of the street and he pushed himself a little harder knowing the end was within reach.

In the time he’d been there, he’d found himself a nice little running path. The whole run took him about 45 minutes to finish, which he thought was just about perfect. He ran and worked out as often as possible, he liked keeping himself in shape.

He’d also grown to love the neighborhood. All the neighbors were nice, all of them waved if he managed to squeeze in a run at a decent hour. He smiled and waved at a guy he’d met a few days prior. His name was John Roberts, he lived about five houses down from Liz, and he’d developed some kind of computer software. Max had feigned interest and nodded along when John tried to explain what the software did. Max still had no idea.

Max ran up the driveway, stopping on the front porch to stretch out a little bit. After a few minutes, he’d felt he’d done enough stretching and opened the door, welcoming the blast of cold air that hit him. He immediately went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. He took a few long drinks as he made his way upstairs to take a shower. He had the night off, so he figured he’d make dinner for the twins, make sure they’d studied and get to bed early. He knew it was a grandpa thing to do, but he worked so often, he was glad for any free time that he could catch up on his sleep.

He stopped in the middle of a drink, listening very closely. He was convinced that he’d just heard giggling coming from upstairs, so he strained his ears harder, swallowing the water that was still in his mouth.

He set down his water, letting out a long sigh. He began making his way upstairs, hoping that he wasn’t going to have to get into another lecture with Tyler about making out with girls all over the house. That was an incident that Max was ready to never deal with again.

As he neared Tyler’s room, Max stopped and listened carefully. He didn’t hear any noise coming from inside, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, or not.

Max knocked twice before opening the door and sticking his head in. He was greatly relieved to find Tyler sitting at his desk, his headphones on, working on his homework.

He slipped back out of the room unnoticed and closed the door behind him. He walked down the hall further and listened closely outside Tristan’s door. He heard no noise on the other side of the door, more certain that it was a good thing in Tristan’s case.

Knocking twice as he’d down before, he opened the door and stuck his head in. He was wholly unprepared for what he found.

Max let his jaw drop as he threw the door the rest of the way open. “Are you kidding me?” Max couldn’t help asking.

Tristan yanked his shirt back down over his head, smoothing his hands down the front of it, doing his best to avoid Max’s gaze. He looked up for only a second then looked back down at his feet, trying his best to get all the lipstick off his face.

Max pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, unsure whether to start screaming, or pulling his hair out, or both.

“Both of you. Livingroom. Now.” He stated, stepping out of the doorway.

The girl hurried out first, her eyes focused on the ground. Tristan moved a little more slowly, as if that would help avoid the confrontation.

Max followed directly behind him all the way down the stairs before he finally couldn’t help himself. Just as the two of them had gotten to the bottom of the stairs, Max reached out and slapped Tristan up the backside of his head.

Tristan immediately grabbed the affected area, turning around to regard Max with a look of shock. “What was that for?”

“Are you serious?” Max hissed. “What are you thinking!?”

“I don’t know…” Tristan drew out, opting now to hurry his steps to get away from Max.

Max followed him into the livingroom, the two of them taking the couch and Max taking the chair across from them.

He sat silently at first, alternating his gaze from one to the other. Both would immediately look away when they made eye contact, hoping he didn’t acknowledge them first.

“So, who wants to tell me what you two thought you were doing?” Max asked, knowing full well he wasn’t going to get an answer. “And I swear, if one of you tells me you were making soup, I’m gonna have to beat you to death with a throw pillow.”

“Making soup?” Tristan questioned.

“Nevermind.” Max sighed. He finally settled his eyes on the girl, and waited until she looked back at him. “I don’t think your parents would be too happy about this.” He stated.

Olivia immediately lowered her head again. “No, sir.” She mumbled.

“Every time someone’s in trouble, they call me sir.” Max ranted to himself. “Sir.” He scoffed. “What am I? 80?”

“Are you gonna tell my mom?” Tristan finally asked.

“I can’t.” Max replied.

“You… can’t?” Tyler questioned.

“If I told on you, I’d have to tell on your brother and I already told him I wouldn’t.” Max explained.

“So… you’re not gonna tell my parents either?” Olivia asked.

“No.” Max shook his head. “However, you two have to answer me something.”

“Ok…” Tristan drew out, glancing at Olivia.

“What are you guys doing? I mean, are you two dating, or just messing around, or what?”

“We’re dating, I guess.” Tristan shrugged, looking to Olivia for confirmation.

She scoffed, looking down at her shoes. “Yeah, like I know what’s going on? I asked you the other day if we were dating and you blew off the question.”

“I did not.” He threw back.

“You did, too!”

“Guys, please.” Max begged.

“Yes, we are.” Tristan firmly stated, causing Olivia to look over at him. “Olivia’s my girlfriend.” He said, letting a small smile tug at his lips.

“Yeah?” She asked, beaming back at him.

“Yeah.” He stated, leaning over to give her a quick kiss.

“Glad we’ve got that straightened out.” Max cut in. “The reason I’m asking is this… I’m not going to tell on you guys. However… I am going to force you to tell your parents that you’re dating.”

“NO!” Tristan screamed, causing both Max and Olivia to jump a bit.

“No?” Max repeated. “No, it wasn’t optional, Tristan. You will tell them.”

“Why don’t you want to tell him?” Olivia pouted slightly.

“It has nothing to do with you, baby.” Tristan soothed. “It’s just…” He sighed. “Your dad’s kinda terrifying.”

“Daddy is a big teddy bear and you know it.” She immediately threw back. “He loves you like you were his son, you know he wouldn’t care.”

“No, I do not.” Tristan shook his head. “I do not believe for one second that he’d just be cool with this. I know your dad, you can’t fool me.”

“Either way,” Max cut in again, trying to regain control of the situation. “You guys will tell him. I understand if you want to wait to tell Michael and Maria until Liz is back in town and you can do it all in one day, so I’m giving you a three day window. You have until three days after Liz gets back to tell them, or I’m going to force you to do it myself. Ok?”

“Fine.” They both mumbled.

“Good.” He nodded, letting out a long sigh. “Ok, class dismissed.”

Both sprung up and ran out of the room, while Max stayed on the chair. He leaned backwards, resting his head on the back of the chair. He closed his eyes, reopening them only after he’d heard the front door close.

He assumed that Tristan was taking Olivia home, so he got up and went upstairs to take his shower. He thought back over what the stress the twins had put on him with just these two antics. He suddenly felt the need to call his mother and apologize for once being a teenage boy.

<center>****</center>

“Ok, so let’s review.” Max said, for what felt like the twelfth time that day. “What did we do this week?”

“We hung out, we watched TV, we did our homework and we ate healthy meals.” Both of the twins obediently went through the spiel that Max had beat into their heads all day.

“Very good. And what did we <b>not</b> do?”

“We didn’t make out with girls.” They both responded.

“Or anyone else.” Max added, unnecessarily.

“Ew.” The both regarded him with a look of disgust.

Max chose to ignore them, focusing instead on making his way to the baggage claim area of the Albuquerque airport. Liz’s flight had arrived on time, and with any luck, she would just be getting her bags.

Max’s stomach did a little flip-flop every time he thought about getting to see Liz again. He rolled his eyes at himself for acting like a teenage girl, all the while still so excited he could jump out of his own skin.

“Ok, keep a look-out.” He told the twins as they came to a stop near the conveyer belt that was reserved for the airline Liz had taken.

He spotted her a few seconds later, watching the bags go by on the other end of the conveyer belt. She had her headphones on and was bobbing her head along with whatever song was playing on her iPod.

Max pointed her out to the twins, and the three of them began making their way over to her.

As soon as she spotted them, a huge smile lit up her face, and she immediately removed her headphones and placed her iPod in her bag.

“My babies.” She cooed, pulling Tristan down to plant a kiss on his cheek, before doing the same to Tyler.

“Welcome home, mom.” They said, both thrusting a white rose at her.

She looked up at both of them, a look of obvious shock on her face. “Thank you.” She smiled, taking both flowers and inhaling the scent.

She looked up at Max, her smile getting a little bigger. “Hi.” She giggled, moving to wrap her arms around his neck and place a soft kiss against his lips. “I missed you.”

“And I missed you.” He replied, handing her yet another rose.

“Ah-ha.” She said, taking the rose from him. “So you were the mastermind behind this.” She waved the roses at him.

“Maybe.” He shrugged, giving her a playful wink.

“I love them, thank you.”

“Anything for you.” Max said, dipping his head down to brush his lips against hers again. He wisely took a step back, knowing that her children were present. “Did you get your bags yet?”

“Still waiting for one.” She said, looking around the conveyer belt. “The really big black one.”

“It’s right there.” Tristan said, moving to grab the bag as it began rolling away.

“Finally, get me home.” Liz said, checking to make sure the twins had grabbed all of her suitcases. She’d learned from past experience that just because they grabbed a suitcase, didn’t mean they’d grab all the suitcases. “If I never see the inside of another airport again, it’ll be too soon.”

“How bad was it at LAX?” Max asked, pulling the car keys out of his pocket as they exited the airport.

“That place was absolutely bananas! I swear, every single person in that place was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. No one knew what they were doing, or where they were going, and it seemed that they all wanted to be in my way.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Max chuckled slightly, putting his arm around her and dropping a kiss on her forehead.

“So, how’d you guys get along without me?” She asked the twins as they began putting her luggage in the trunk.

“Fine.” They both responded, moving to get into the vehicle.

“Yeah? You didn’t do anything I wouldn’t approve of, did you?”

“Nope.” They shook their heads for emphasis.

Liz looked to Max for confirmation. “Did they behave themselves?”

“Yeah.” Max nodded. “They did their homework, went to school, didn’t kill themselves or anyone else… We did alright.”

“Good.” Liz smiled, turning to look out the window as they drove home.

Max glanced at Tyler and Tristan in the rearview mirror. The three shared a little smile at Liz’s expense.

Max returned his gaze to the road, confident in the progress he’d made with the twins. He loved being part of this little family, and was happy that it appeared he’d be sticking around for awhile.

TBC…