Roswell Fanatics

Part Nineteen

By the time Max returned to the pod chamber, the sun had already set and he had to use his flashlight to find a clean path on which to walk. Ducking through the opening of the cave, his eyes settled first on Isabel. He smiled and was about to greet her when she quickly put a finger to her lips. Max’s attention shifted to the sleeping bag, where Liz was lying on her side, her hands folded beneath her cheek, her eyes closed in sleep. Concern marred his handsome face as he looked back to his sister for explanation.

Rising and stretching at the same time, Isabel closed the magazine she’d been reading and silently pointed to the cave entrance, indicating he should go outside. Max obeyed, but as soon as they were in the open he turned to her.

“What happened? Is she okay?”

Isabel smiled. “She’s fine. I think I wore her out.”

Max’s eyebrows rose quickly. “Wore her out?”

She nodded, yawning. “Lots of catcuses met their deaths today.” She stopped for a moment, looking to the sky. “Is that the plural of cactus? It isn’t, is it?”

“Cacti,” Max corrected, rather impatiently, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Isabel grinned. “Yeah, that’s it.”

“What about them? What do you mean they met their deaths?”

“Well, it seems that Miss Parker was willing to test out the new powers a bit.”

Max’s face broke into a grin – he could hardly believe it. “Yeah? How did she do?”

“All right, all things considered. I think it’s a good sign that she can more or less control the urge to burn now. Before she went away, things just sort of blew up on her. If that were still the case, Michael would be toast.”

Max sighed, remembering that terrible debacle and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Isabel eyed him curiously. “Exactly what happened, Max? I’ve never seen Michael come home with his tail between his legs before.”

Max gave her a surprised look.

“Oh, yeah. He came in the door, mumbled something and then went to sit on the couch without another word. He was still there when I left. He looked like someone stole his ice cream money.”

Max ran a hand through his hair. “He said some pretty horrible things, Iz. He apologized and said that he didn’t mean any of them. I told him it wasn’t a problem.”

“Not so sure he let himself off the hook, even if you did say it was okay. He doesn’t let everyone see it, Max, but he’s a lot more sensitive than he’d have people believe.”

Max reflected on Michael’s sullen behavior that morning and could picture in his mind everything his sister was telling him. “Okay, Iz. When we get back, I’ll make sure I talk to him. And Liz, too.”

She stretched, pulling her arms high over her head. “Let’s sit down, okay? I’m pooped and I want to tell you what happened today.”

Max agreed and raised his hand to the fire pit he and Michael had constructed the night before. In moments, the dried brush he’d put in the pit earlier burst into flames, eerie shadows projecting across the sand and rock. He picked up his sleeping bag and shook the dirt from it, then laid it back down for them to sit on.

They sat Indian-style, facing one another, two alien life forms reflected in the flickering flames.

“So, what happened?” Max asked, anxious to hear the details.

“Well, I picked Liz up and took her to lunch. And then we talked about what was going on with her and how she could learn to accept what it was and try to deal with it.” She grinned. “I appealed to her sense of curiosity.”

“Good move.”

Isabel nodded. “So, then we came back here and spent the afternoon toasting cactuses – cacti. She’s actually a pretty good shot.”

Max felt a twinge of envy that he hadn’t been the one to help Liz. “Did she exhibit any other powers?”

“Exhibit?” Isabel laughed. “She’s not a lab rat, Max.” Before he could guiltily correct himself, she touched his arm in a gesture of truce. “The answer is – not yet. But who knows what will happen now that she’s stopped struggling against it?”

Yes, Max thought. Who knows?

Isabel yawned again and looked at her watch. “It’s late – I should go.”

“You could stay here,” Max offered.

She looked around at the sand and ashes and her brow furrowed. “You’re joking, right? Dear brother, I will stay in any seedy motel you want, but this is out of the question.”

He snorted a laugh, then reached over and hugged her. “Thank you, Isabel.”

She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Anytime.”

Max watched her leave, then looked into the flames, their dancing having a hypnotic effect on him. It felt good to sit here, soaking in the warmth of the fire, watching the flames licking the darkness. Mentally, he agreed to give Liz some time and space; he’d spend another night under the stars.

“You're my dream girl, Liz.”

“And what if I believe you tonight?”

“Then we live happily ever after.”

“And then what about tomorrow...when you go back to realizing who you really are, and all of your fantasies go away.”

“I'll still have you.”

“This can never be normal, Max.”

“What's so great about normal?”

Max awoke to the sensation of something soft slowly tracing the contours of his face. He cracked open his eyes and blinked a couple of times. The fire had gone out and above him he could see a million stars. Within those stars, he saw Liz’s smiling face. Her smile was one of awe, of discovery.

“It’s cold,” he said, lifting open his sleeping bag. “Get in.”

She obeyed and slid in beside him, her limbs shivering in the chilly desert air. When she was all of the way inside, she pulled the sleeping bag up over both of their heads, so that they were in total darkness.

“I want to show you something,” she said, her voice tinged with excitement.

“What?” Max asked sleepily.

He felt her hand on his arm and suddenly he could see her face, almost as though she had flicked on a flashlight under the blanket. Quickly, he looked to his arm as she moved her hand down it, a faint white glow following her trail.

“I can do it to you,” she said, a hint of pride in her voice, and Max was propelled back in time when once he’d made her skin glow and she’d sullenly pointed out that she couldn’t do it to him.

“You can,” he said in awe as her fingers trailed off his arm and the glow dissipated.

“What does it feel like?” she asked eagerly, and he had to keep from laughing at her scientific questioning.

“Um, kind of like static electricity, only better,” he said. “It tingles. It’s kind of warm and cool all at once.” He offered a little smile. “It’s kind of sensual.”

Liz returned his smile briefly, but then her expression fell serious as she reached out to touch his face. “I think you’re beautiful, Max,” she said softly.

Wordlessly, he took her hand in his and moved it away from his face, held it against his chest instead. His eyes were cautious, masking a pain deep within.

“I wish things could have been different,” he confided. “I wish that I could have saved you without this consequence.”

She gave him a bittersweet smile. “Everything has a consequence, Max. And I’m glad that you saved me, because if you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have you. And if I didn’t have this life, I’m not sure I’d want one at all.” She looked down at their hands bound together against his chest, his body warm against the back of hers. “I’ve hurt you,” she confessed.

“Liz, it doesn’t-“

She put a finger softly against his lips. “Shh, please let me speak. All of this time I’ve been struggling to deny what I’m becoming and pushing all of that away. And then today, after talking with Isabel, I realized that I was pushing away everything that you are, and that you’ve had to stand by and watch me reject everything you’re made of.”

Max turned his gaze downward, not wanting her to see in his eyes that she was speaking the truth.

“I didn’t consider that and I’m truly sorry,” she apologized, lifting his chin so he would look at her. “I’m sorry if I made you feel like there was something wrong with you. I just wanted so badly to be what I was before – I don’t think it would have mattered what the changes were. I think I would have reacted the same way about anything.”

“I understand,” he reassured her. “The things you’re going through are scary.”

One corner of her mouth lifted into a smile, remembering Isabel’s tale of Max’s powers gone awry. “You know because you’ve been there?”

He nodded. “Yeah, in a sense. It’s frightening to have something happen and know you did it but not know how. But I can tell you this – once you get a handle on it, sometimes it can be unbelievably fun.”

She gave a little laugh. “Tell me,” she prodded.

Max rolled his eyes upward. “Well, we have to lose the roof first.” He pulled the sleeping bag down so that their faces were exposed to the night air again. Squirming, he freed a hand, then pointed to the sky. “Do you know where Orion is?”

Liz looked at the millions of stars in the sky, trying to locate the constellation, then finally shook her head.

“Then I’ll draw it for you.” A fine beam of red light illuminated from the end of Max’s forefinger and he traced the outline of Orion.

Liz let out a delighted gasp. “It’s like a built-in laser pointer!”

Max smiled, retracted the light. “That one gets you in trouble in movie theaters, though.”

Liz laughed.

Chilly, he pulled his arm inside and tugged the sleeping bag over their heads again. “One time, Isabel and I were at the rock quarry when we were about twelve, I guess, and she was just feeling bummed out about everything. So, she reached into the water and turned it to ice.”

Liz’s eyes grew round. “Really?”

He nodded eagerly. “And then she and I spent what seemed like forever skating around on our sneakers, falling down, bruising our elbows and knees. It was ninety degrees that day, and Iz and I were skating.” Max shrugged. “Then Michael came along and wanted to try.”

“How did he do?”

“Well, being the evil creature she was, Isabel waited until he got about halfway across the quarry, then she turned it back to water.”

Liz laughed.

“Sure,” Max teased. “You can laugh – you weren’t the one who had to go haul his ass back to shore because he couldn’t swim.”

Liz’s smile was warm as she took his hand in hers. “I’m terrified, but I want to learn, Max. And I want you to teach me.”

He drew in a breath. “Are you sure? I mean, my methods of ‘helping’ have been anything but helpful so far.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. It’s one of the few things I am sure about.”

Max’s brow furrowed slightly. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know who I am or even what I am anymore. Everything about me has changed – even my appearance. And while I’ve been trying to find myself again, I lost track of one thing.” She turned his hand over and brought it to her lips, placing a soft kiss against his palm. “And that is that I love you, Max. No matter what or who I become, I’ll always love you.”

Max felt the first sting of new tears in his eyes.

“And that’s enough for me,” Liz said, releasing his hand and laying hers against his chest. “It’s enough for me to believe that for some reason this was all meant to be.”

Bridging a gap that had been between them for too long, Max took Liz into his arms and held her tightly, his tears falling silently from beneath his eyelashes. They remained that way until sleep overtook them, two alien life forms entwined together under the stars.

tbc

~~~~~
*Dialogue from "Blind Date"

Thanks for your comments, everyone

Yep, it's the nookie chapter I may have the ballpark wrong, but Josh Gibson did hit a home run out of a park that no one else ever has.


Part Twenty

When Max opened his eyes the next morning, his senses were filled with everything Liz Parker – the light breathing of her slumber, the feel of her body pressed to his, her scent. He watched her face for an immeasurable amount of time, studying each contour, each detail. Then his gaze shifted downward and he rolled away from her slightly, allowing space between them.

Delicately, he traced the curve of her breast, a smile coming to his lips at the fact that even in sleep her body reacted to his touch; her T-shirt thinly veiled her reaction to him. He laid his cheek against her chest and softly nuzzled her with his nose.

Overnight, the T-shirt had ridden upward, becoming a tangled mass around her waist. Max couldn’t help but notice her belly button, nothing but a small knife-slash against her perfect skin. He reached for it and touched it with his fingertip, circling it. Then he couldn’t help but notice how close his hand was to the treasure that belonged to him alone. Smiling to himself, he slid his palm down her flat stomach and into her panties.

Raising his head so he could watch her expression, he slid his hand farther and farther down her body. Liz’s eyes opened slightly and she blinked a couple of times. Then she closed them again, but opened her legs for him, granting him access.

He knew her body as well as his own – he knew exactly where to touch her to elicit the desired response. He knew when to speed up, when to slow down, when she was close to the point of no return. As his hand worked its magic, he kept his eyes fixed on her face. He found his breath quickening with hers, wanting her release as much as she did. She arched her back, driving his hand closer against her, until finally she gave a quiet shudder and a sigh of euphoria.

Max smiled and waited while her breathing slowed down and she opened her eyes. She smiled back at him, then put her arms around him and held him tightly. He kissed her throat tenderly, his hands roaming, caressing her body.

“Morning, love,” he whispered against her ear.

She gave a little giggle and nodded in return. It was a very good morning. After a respectable amount of tenderness, she gave him a wicked grin then slid out of his arms and into the depths of the sleeping bag.

From outside the bag, Max watched curiously as she moved down his body. He was about to ask her if she lost a sock or something when he heard and felt his zipper being pulled downward. Before he could even grin in response, his breath was taken away as her lips touched his sensitive skin.

Raw chicken, he told himself. Think of raw chicken. Cy Young won 511 games in his career. His license plate read C511Y. Nice, slimy, raw chicken, with the skin still on. Josh Gibson was the only player to ever hit a ball out of Ebbetts Field – although it didn’t “count” as he was a member of the Negro Leagues. In 1920, Babe Ruth hit…

Suddenly raw chicken and baseball statistics couldn’t do the trick. All Max could concentrate on was the sensation that was now running rampant through his body. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he prepared for the inevitable. And when it came and even though it was daylight, he saw stars.

Totally drained, Max lay flat and stared sightlessly into the clear blue sky, his heart knocking painfully against his ribs. Liz crawled up his body, a satisfied smirk on her face, and curled up against his chest. He felt too weak to even put his arms around her.

“Good morning to you, too,” she laughed, watching him take in a few deep breaths.

He nodded drunkenly.

“So, what are we going to do today?” she asked, anxious to begin her learning.

Max rolled his head in her direction. “Do?” he questioned. “I doubt I’m going to even be able to walk after that.”

Liz laughed and put her arms around him. “My poor baby,” she said against his chest.

“Oh,” he said as he sighed away the remainder of his breathlessness. “Don’t feel sorry for me.”

She giggled again and propped herself up on one elbow, her other hand caressing his chest. Unable to resist, she touched his face and gently kissed his lips. “I said it last night and I still mean it today, Max – you’re beautiful.”

He smiled lovingly at her. “Not half as beautiful as you are,” he said, putting his arm around her and holding her tightly against him.

As they lay together, enjoying a peaceful morning, Max’s eyes drifted to the top of the rock formation. He’d never been up there before. Silently, he wondered if there was a path or something to the top.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said.

Liz raised her head. “Yeah?”

“Isabel said you’ve pretty much got the flame thing under control.”

She nodded.

“If that’s the case, then I don’t see why we can’t go home.”

Liz’s face lit up. “Do you mean it?”

Max nodded, enjoying the delighted look on her face.

She started to move. “Now?”

He shook his head. “Not yet.”

Her expression fell and her lips curved into a small frown. “No?”

“We still have something to do,” he said, trying to keep the playfulness out of his tone.

Liz looked no less unenthusiastic. “What would that be?”

Without a word, Max looked up to the peak of the rock formation. Liz followed his gaze, then looked back to him with an astonished grin.

“Aren’t you curious?” he bated. “We’ve been through so much, Liz, and our time out here together hasn’t been much of a vacation – other than this morning, of course.” He let out a self-conscious laugh. “Let’s spend today trying to find a way to the top of the rock formation.”

One corner of her mouth lifted in amusement. “And then what?”

“And then we do what people who reach the top of Mount Everest never have the energy to do.”

******

Max reached down and took Liz’s hand, helping to pull her up to the next plateau. She smiled at him and continued to hold his hand as they foraged closer to the summit.

“What do you think my special gift will be?” she asked.

Max looked down at her, his brow slightly wrinkled. “Special gift?”

“I mean, Isabel can dreamwalk. You can heal. What do you think I’ll be able to do?”

He watched his steps as he walked, testing his footing before he took his next step. “I’m not sure.”

“It’ll be something cool, though, right?” she asked, her voice eager.

He couldn’t help but give her a bemused smile.

She wrinkled her nose. “It would suck if I got some lame power like the ability to clean my teeth without toothpaste or something.”

Max laughed, the thought of being cursed with a mundane power amusing to him. “What do you think would be a cool power to have?”

Liz looked up to the sky, watched a bird float weightlessly by. “To be able to fly.”

He followed her gaze and gave her a tender smile. Yes, flying would be a cool power, indeed. “What about being able to see the future?”

She walked silently for a few moments, mulling that over. Some people would jump at the chance to know what time held in store for them. Not Liz. How could one honestly live their life to the fullest if they already knew the outcome?

Squinting against the sun, she looked up into Max’s waiting face. “It would be a curse,” she said.

He raised his eyebrows, then realized she was right. “I can see that,” he agreed. He gave her hand a little squeeze. “I’m sure one of these days you’ll find out what your special power is.”

“How did you find out?” Liz asked curiously.

“Pigeon,” Max answered, wondering how Liz couldn’t know that. Then he remembered that when his mother rediscovered that taped evidence of his abilities, he and Liz hadn’t been seeing one another and he’d never told her the story.

“Pigeon?” Liz asked.

“When we first went to live with the Evanses,” he said. “I didn’t even know I could heal, but I picked up an injured bird in the park and sort of spontaneously healed it.”

Liz’s eyes were round.

“Worst part,” Max continued with a humorless laugh, “my mom caught in on tape.”

“No way!”

“She questioned me about it years later. After that kitchen fire.”

Liz nodded knowingly. “When you thought I was seeing Kyle again.”

Max cringed, recalling his juvenile jealous streak. “Yeah, then. And thanks for bringing that up again.”

She laughed and patted his arm. “Ah, it was cute, seeing you all jealous and stuff.”

He pulled himself onto another ledge and reached for her hand again. “Yeah, real cute.” He pulled her up beside him and together they looked ahead – the peak was a mere twenty yards away, and the path was clear.

They exchanged an excited glance, then started walking the steep incline to the peak. The closer they got to the top, however, the narrower the path became. Liz grabbed hold of Max’s arm as she looked at the rock becoming scarcer between her feet.

“Are you okay?” he asked, giving her a glance then returning to watching his steps.

She nodded. “It’s just a far way down,” she said.

“I’ve got you,” he said reassuringly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “I won’t let you fall.”

Liz’s eyes were round as she looked at the ground far below them. The Chevelle was but a small speck, catching the sun’s light.

“Don’t look at the ground,” Max advised. “Look at your feet, or look ahead, or just look straight out.” He stopped walking and took his own advice. They were up higher than he thought they’d be, and from this vantage point he felt like he could see for miles.

Liz tore her gaze from the relative safety of the ground and followed Max’s line of sight. “Wow,” she breathed.

“Yeah, wow,” he agreed. He took in their surroundings for a little while longer, then realized that they were within about two yards of the peak – close enough to still be safe. “We made it.”

Liz looked ahead and saw the peak a short distance ahead of her and smiled. In her chest, her heart was thumping from the physical activity, from the slight fear of being up so high, and from the anticipation of what was to come. She looked up into Max’s face and gave a grin.

“So,” he said.

“So,” she repeated.

“What do we do now?” he asked. “Want to turn around and go back down, or…” His voice trailed off as he couldn’t find a gentlemanly way to ask her if she wanted to try out Isabel’s cliff-hanger sex dream.

“Or,” Liz repeated, shrugging her shoulders and dropping her backpack to the ground.

Max’s face lit up as he watched her pull her shirt over her head. Taking her lead, he dropped his own pack and pulled out a blanket, which he spread on the hard rock surface. The ground was rather warm from the early-afternoon sun. Then he pulled his own shirt off as he watched Liz squirm out of her shorts.

A few minutes later, they were both nude, standing atop the rock formation. Max felt free, almost giddy in their little excursion. Liz bit her lip, her smile creasing her eyes at the corners, then lay down on the blanket, propping herself up on her elbows and motioning for him to join her.

Before he did, however, he reached down and pulled the magazine from his backpack. “I thought maybe you’d want to try some of the things in here,” he said tentatively, holding the magazine out to her.

Liz looked at it, grabbed it from his hands, and flung it over the cliff. “You don’t need it,” she said as she pulled him down to the rock with her.

Max watched the magazine flutter out of view, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“I didn’t buy that magazine to teach you how to please me,” she explained, looking into his dark eyes. “You already know how to do that.”

He returned her smile, then leaned in to kiss her. They tumbled together on the hard ground, being wary of the drop off of the cliff. Once they rolled a little too close for Liz’s liking and Max had to steady them. Her eyes were frightened as she looked over the edge, images of a search party finding her naked body filling her mind.

“I’ve got you,” Max said, his breathing short from the fright and arousal. “I’ll always catch you, Liz.”

His voice calmed her and she met his eyes. She brought her hand up to caress his handsome face, then they met in a lover’s kiss.

High atop the world, they were joined as one, moving in the natural rhythm of life. Around them were nothing but the sky and clouds drifting lazily by. The sun bore down heavily on them, making their bodies slick with sweat, making the experience all that more amazing.

It was more amazing than Isabel had described it to be.

tbc

Part Twenty One

As the old blue Chevelle pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building, Liz Parkers’ face broke into a wide smile – home. Max gave her a sideways glance and smiled with her – the last time he’d brought her home, she hadn’t even known nor cared where she was. But now, the look of unadulterated joy on her face made him feel warm and happy inside.

“Let’s leave the stuff and get it later,” she suggested as he pulled the car to a stop. “I want to go straight upstairs and into the shower.”

Max gave his armpit a sniff. “Oh. Yeah, you’re right.” Inside, he hoped they could ‘conserve water’ and take that shower together. He couldn’t stop the evil grin that came to his face.

“What are you smiling about?” Liz laughed as she climbed out of the car.

“Nothing,” he lied.

“Yeah, nothing. I’ve seen that look on your face before, Max Evans.”

He continued to grin as he put his arm around her shoulders and steered her toward the stairs. “And what look is that?”

“That…that…uh, that cliff sex look.”

Max laughed, then winced as he took the first step.

“Max, you okay?”

His cheeks flushed a little. “Yeah, I think I got a little sunburned.”

Liz’s eyebrows drew together in concern. “Where? Let me see.” She reached around him and started to pull up his shirt.

Max grabbed her wrist and shook his head. “Not there.”

She looked quizzical for a moment, then her face broke into a wide grin. “Ah, I see.”

He gave a nervous laugh and started slowly climbing the steps.

“Say, listen,” Liz said, following him closely. “You didn’t injure those boys, did you? Because I want a baby someday…”

Max stopped at the door and gave her a deadpan expression.

“Poor baby,” she said, rubbing his arm. “I’ll put some lotion on them for you later.”

“Thanks,” he said, knowing exactly what that lotion would lead to. He hoped his little burn problem wouldn’t get in the way. Using his powers, he flipped the lock and swung the door open for Liz.

Immediately, they were greeted with the sound of whistles and happy voices shouting, “Surprise!” They both took a startled step back, then started grinning at the sight before them.

The apartment had been decorated with a big “Welcome Home” banner and streamers. The smell of warm food filled the air, and before them stood Michael, Maria and Isabel, all of them smiling and holding noise-makers.

“Oh, my!” Liz exclaimed, falling back against Max’s chest.

Maria flinched and ducked involuntarily. When Michael looked at her with a lifted eyebrow, she gave a sheepish giggle. “Sorry – I thought maybe startling her was a bad idea. What with the whole busting into flame business…”

Liz laughed and stepped forward to pull Maria into her arms. “We fixed that, Maria. Thank you so much for all of this!”

Maria pulled back and wrinkled her nose. “You’re welcome, but damn, you smell.”

Liz only laughed. “Yeah, I know.”

“Michael made dinner,” Isabel announced. “And I rented some movies. So why don’t you two get cleaned up and then we can eat?”

“You go first, Liz,” Max offered, a smile a mile-wide on his handsome features.

“Okay,” she agreed. As she passed Michael, she gave him a little smile. “Thank you, Michael.”

He nodded and looked down at his shoes.

In the shower, Liz relished the feel of the warm water pouring over her hair and skin. She could stay there forever, rinsing away days of desert dirt, but she was anxious to get back to her party. The smell of Michael’s dinner was nearly driving her insane, making her belly growl with hunger.

She dried off hastily and dressed quickly in the bathroom. On her way out, she passed Max in the hallway, towel in hand. He gave her a quick kiss, then disappeared into the bathroom. Liz went to her bedroom and started to drag a brush through her wet hair. She paused when she thought she heard a startled yelp come from the shower. Poor Max. Poor Max’s burned jewels.

Liz was about to giggle at his predicament when she felt an overwhelming sense of remorse wash over her. It was a combination of regret, guilt and pain. – there was no mistaking it. Startled, she put her hand to her chest, trying to figure out why she was feeling this way.

Then she realized she wasn’t feeling that way. Someone else was. She lifted her head sharply and found Michael standing in the doorway, a small, flat package wrapped in tissue paper in his hand. Liz’s eyes were round – was she feeling Michael’s emotions?

“Hi, Michael,” she said, trying to recover quickly so he wouldn’t be suspicious of her behavior.

“Hi, Liz,” he said, his voice somewhat quiet and tentative. “I, uh, just wanted to apologize to you for those things I said and did out in the desert.”

Anxiety, a fear of being rebuked.

Liz shook her head. “It’s okay, Michael. I know why you did what you did. I should be thanking you.”

Surprise, cautious optimism.

“I mean it,” she said, putting down her brush and going to stand before him. “I don’t want you beating yourself up over it – without your help, I might still be out there denying what I am.”

A small smile from Michael. Relief.

“Here,” he said, holding out the package to her.

Liz took it, looked at it curiously. “For me?”

“Open it.” As she did, he explained the gift – a new journal. “I know you like to keep a diary – or a journal, as you scientists call it. And now that there are new things going on in your life, I thought you might like a new one.”

Liz touched the cover of the journal with her fingertips. It was leather, of fine quality. Smiling gently at him, offering forgiveness, she put her arms around his shoulders and gave him a warm embrace.

“Thank you, Michael,” she said. “It’s perfect.”

After he left her to finish her grooming, Liz looked silently at herself in the mirror. What had happened just now? Had she really been experiencing what Michael was feeling? She concentrated on others in the apartment and could feel nothing from them. Finally, she gave a mental shrug and wrote it off to strong intuition.

After Max finished showering, the five friends gathered around the small kitchen table. Michael had prepared a feast, enough food to feed twenty. He described each dish as he served it, told of how he’d learned to make it in culinary school.

As the conversation buzzed around her, Liz couldn’t keep her mind off what had happened in the bedroom. She happened to be looking at Isabel when it happened again – a feeling of joy, of sisterly love as she joked with Max. Liz swallowed hard. She really could read people’s emotions.

She looked at Maria, concentrated for a moment and was filled with a sense of nervous excitement. Attraction – aimed at Michael perhaps?

Liz’s gaze shifted to Michael and she received nearly the same feeling from him. Inside, Liz smiled – there was something very hot and sexual in their future.

Finally, Liz’s eyes settled on Max. Immediately, she was filled with so much love that her soul ached. She drew in a quick breath that no one appeared to notice. She’d known that Max loved her, but she hadn’t a clue how deeply until this moment. Silently, a tear streamed down her cheek.

Max turned to look at her, then tipped his head in surprise. Offering an understanding, tender smile, and knowing that her tear was one of happiness and not grief, he took her hand under the table and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Liz squeezed back, then let her mind wander over the meaning of this new “gift.” What purpose would being able to read someone’s emotions ever lend itself to?

Our enemies have come to the Earth. You will know them only by the evil within.

The words, spoken by Max and Isabel’s mother via the communication orbs, came flooding back to Liz in a hurry. What had she meant by that? And more importantly, whom had she been addressing?

In her chest, Liz’s heart started to pound a little quicker. Max, Isabel and Michael had never exhibited an ability to see inside of someone, to judge their character. It was Liz who had seen the darkness of Nasedo’s soul. It was Liz who hadn’t trusted Tess when she first came to town, who continued not to trust her after the others had welcomed her into the fold.

Was there some way that Max’s mother had known what events would transpire? Had Liz always been part of Max’s destiny more than they had ever realized?

Liz’s mind raced with the possibilities, with the evidence. She had always had a strong urge to protect Max, as evidenced by her reaction to Michael’s attack in the desert. Was it planned or destined long ago that this was the role she would play? Was a random bullet not so random after all?

Liz’s gaze shifted to the window – it was becoming dark outside. Our enemies have come to the Earth. She shivered with the thought that those enemies had yet to show themselves. All of these years, the hybrids had assumed that the Skins were the enemies their mother had referred to. But they’d also assumed all of her words had been addressed to them, and now Liz was doubting that. If the Skins weren’t the enemies, then were there still alien life forms out there waiting to ambush, alien life forms that she was supposed to see inside of?

“You okay?” Max asked, pulling her hand up against his chest.

Liz turned and gave him a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She leaned in and gave him a kiss. “I’ve never been better.”

“You sure? Because you looked a little spaced out there for a moment.” He shrugged one shoulder. “No pun intended.”

Liz laughed lightly and touched his face. “Yes, I’m fine.” She leaned in to hold him, and whispered against his ear. “Later – I have to tell you something.”

He pulled back, his eyes wide with curiosity, which he quickly masked. “Well, it better not be a real long story, because I still need that lotion you offered me earlier.”

She giggled again.

As Max returned to his conversation with his sister, Liz’s eyes settled on the journal Michael had given her. After she told Max of her new gift, she would document everything that was happening to her. With a sense of wonder, she realized that one chapter of her life was over.

And another was just beginning.

The End

~~~~~~~
*Dialogue from "Destiny"


So, there it is, folks - the end