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Thirty-One

“You got home late last night,” Maria commented when Michael walked into the kitchen.

Michael looked up. “Yeah I went for a ride to Roswell,” he replied.

“What for?” she asked.

Michael shrugged, “I like the desert out near the pod chamber. I think better out there”

“Oh, ok.”

“I ran into Max out there actually,” he admitted then.

Maria frowned. “What was he doing out there?”

“Same thing as me. It was good to talk to him actually.”

“Did you tell him?” Maria asked.

Michael nodded.

“What did he say?” she wondered. Surely Max wouldn’t tell Michael he couldn’t go with her to New York when he was going to New Haven all the time.

“He told me exactly what I needed to hear,” Michael said.

“Which is?” Maria asked becoming frustrated. Sometimes getting information from Michael was like pulling teeth.

Michael stood up and approached Maria then; he wrapped his arms around her from behind and leant his head down on her shoulder.

“He told me to follow my heart,” he whispered. “The rest I already knew. You’re my heart and home Maria so wherever you go, I go too.”

Maria felt tears fill her eyes. “Really?” she asked.

“Really Blondie.” He replied kissing her cheek before he pulled back.

“I love you Michael,” she smiled.

“I love you to,” he replied.

***

Max drove straight from Roswell to Cellcon the next morning.

Jerry looked up when he knocked on the door.

“Hey Max, come on in?” he waved him in.

Max walked in and took a seat across from him. “Hey Jerry,” he greeted him.

“What’s up Max?” Jerry asked.

Max took a deep breath. “Actually I wanted to tell you that I’ve decided to accept the transfer to New Haven,” he announced.

Jerry smiled. “I’m glad,” he said.

“Yeah, I’ve thought a lot about it and I think it’s the best decision for me,” he admitted.

“Excellent. Well I’ll put through all the paperwork. We’ll miss you Max but I think you’ve made the right decision.”

Max stood up. “Thanks Jerry.”

“When will you finish up with us?” he asked then.

“Its ok I’m just going to pack up my stuff and finish off today.” Max told him. “I want to get to New Haven as quickly as possible.”

Jerry could sense there was more to Max’s story then him simply deciding to take the transfer. He also hadn’t missed that Max hadn’t once spoke of his girlfriend.

“That’s fine. Make sure you say bye before you leave though,” he told him.

“I will and thanks for everything Jerry,” Max said before he slowly walked out of his boss’s office for the last time.

***

Tess hadn’t slept a wink the night before and she had been tempted that morning to ring in sick but she didn’t think she could stand the idea of sitting around the house waiting for Max to come back a second longer.

***

Max too a deep breath as he waited for the number he had just dialled to be picked up.

“Eddie Williams Office. Can I help you?”

“Yes, could I speak to Mr Williams please?” Max replied.

“May I ask whose calling?” his secretary asked.

“Max Evans,” he told her simply.

“No problem Max,” the secretary assured him already knowing who he was.

“Max how are things?” Eddie greeted when he came on the line.

“They’re good,” Max replied.

“What can I do for you?” he asked.

“Actually I wanted to talk to you about the promotion you offered me,” Max explained.

“Ok.”

“I’d like to accept it.” Max told him.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a second as Eddie considered whether he was hearing things.

“That’s great Max,” he finally replied.

Max almost breathed a sigh of relief, for a second he thought Eddie was going to tell him that the job was no longer available.

“I’ll be heading out to New Haven sometime this week and Jerry said he would send through all the paperwork for my immediate transfer,” he explained to Eddie then.

Eddie smiled, “I’m glad you’re finally going to join the team on a permanent basis. Obviously Cellcon will put you up until you have suitable living arrangements.”

“Thanks. I’ll let you know about all that,” Max said. He wasn’t sure if he already had suitable living conditions and he didn’t want to let on that to Eddie quite yet. Max just prayed that Liz would be able to forgive him for his stupidity yet again.

“Great,” Eddie replied.

“Oh Eddie, do you think you could do me a favour?” Max asked then.

“Sure,” he agreed.

“Could you not tell Liz or Serena yet? I’d like to tell them myself,” he asked.

“Of course,” he agreed. There was no reason he could see that they needed to be informed straight away anyway.

“Thank you.”

“No problem Max. We’ll see you next week.”

“Yeah you will. Bye Eddie.”

Max placed the receiver of the phone down and looked around the room that had been his office now for almost three years.

All that was left that showed signs of his residence was a box atop the desk filled with some of his books and awards, and a single photo of the group. It didn’t seem like much after three years.

Calling Eddie had been Max’s final job at Cellcon, Las Cruses.

Now he just had to go home, pack his bags and break the news to Tess. A job he knew would be the hardest of all.

***

It was still early as Max drove away from the office so instead of heading back to the apartment he shared with Tess he decided to stop off with Isabel and Alex.

Isabel was surprised when she opened the door to find him standing on the other side. She pulled him straight into a tight hug.

“I was so worried about you.”

“I’m sorry,” he said and he meant it. The last thing she needed in her condition was to be stressed out by him.

“Come in,” she told him.

“Is Alex home?” Max asked. He only wanted to have to go through this once so he would prefer it if Alex was there to support Isabel because Max had a feeling his sister would be dreadfully upset when he was finished.

Isabel frowned. “Yeah, he’s in the office working.”

“Do you think you could get him? I need to talk to the two of you,” he told her.

“Ok,” she nodded worriedly before she rushed off to get Alex.

Five minutes later, they both emerged from Alex’s office, concern etched on their faces.

***

“How are you feeling?” Serena asked Liz.

It was the first day in over a week that Liz had made it to work but Serena could tell that she still wasn’t well.

Liz smiled. “Its all normal,” she told her. “It will get better in a few weeks,” she added trying to appease her friend who continued to look at her in concern.

“Did the doctor tell you that?” she asked.

Liz chuckled. “No, I read it in a book I bought.”

Serena’s worry faded then and she smiled. “You bought a baby book already?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Liz smiled. “I also bought the cutest little jumpsuit too,” she revealed.

“Oh Liz,” Serena covered her mouth to hold in the sob.

It was clear as day how happy Liz was in that moment. Now if only she could convince her to tell Max too.

***

“What’s going on?” Isabel asked as they all took a seat.

Max shared a meaningful look with Alex and he instantly reached for Isabel’s hand.

“I’m going to New Haven,” he told them. “For good.”

“What!” Isabel gasped. “When did you and Tess decide this?”

“Not Tess. Just me.” Max said.

“Max what’s going on?” Isabel asked.

“I’m in love with someone else,” he whispered. “And I can’t pretend any longer. It’s not fair to her and it’s not fair to Tess.”

“What? How did this happen? Who is it?”

“Liz,” Alex whispered.

Isabel looked at Alex then to Max, who nodded his head.

“Liz Parker? You’re leaving Tess for Liz Parker. I didn’t even know you were in contact with her.”

“Liz works with me in New Haven.” Max revealed.

Isabel looked at Alex then. “Did you know this?” she asked.

“No he didn’t,” Max told her. “Liz didn’t tell him,” The last thing Max wanted was to cause trouble between Isabel and Alex because of his lies and deceit.

Alex knew that might be true but he did know all the same.

“So what, you’re just going to pack up and leave us, leave Tess?” Isabel cried.

“I’m sorry Izzy,” Max whispered painfully. “I don’t want to leave you but I have the chance to find the same happiness that you’ve found with Alex. You can understand that, can’t you?”

Reluctantly Isabel nodded.

“What about Tess?” Isabel cried. Even though she had seen the signs that their relationship had been breaking down for months, it didn’t stop her feeling sorry for her best friend.

“I haven’t told her yet,” he admitted. “I will tonight, so please don’t tell her before hand,” he asked.

Alex hugged a crying Isabel. “We won’t,” he agreed.

Max stood then. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I never meant to hurt anyone,” he told them.

“We know.” Alex answered.

“I should go. I have a lot of packing to do before Tess gets home.”

“When are you leaving?” Isabel asked him then.

“Tonight, maybe tomorrow,” he shrugged.

This only caused Isabel to sob harder.

“I’ll be back all the time Izzy,” Max whispered. “Did you think I’d leave you and my beautiful niece or nephew alone for too long?” he asked.

Slowly Isabel shook her head. Max moved towards her and kissed her cheek.

“I love you Isabel,” he told her.

“I love you too,” she sobbed.

“Look after her for me?” Max asked Alex.

“Always,” he promised.

Max nodded and smiled, “I knew I didn’t have to ask. Thank you Alex,” he said shaking his hand and then he turned and swiftly walked out the door.

Thanks everyone

Interlude (Previously the prologue)

Yesterday a clear horizon.
Now the clouds are rollin' in it's disappeared.
The one thing that I’ve always believed in.
It's strange how right now it all seems so unclear.

I consult my soul,
and it tells me that it knows
There's no doubt one day
I'm gunna fly.
Gotta stand up, dust myself off.
Just for now,
it’s the end of the road

When something ends something begins,
but now it's just the end of the road.
When someone loses someone wins
But now it's just the end of the road
Don't get to fix it if it doesn't break
But now it's just the end of the road
When you gotta leave
It makes you wanna stay
I know it's the end of the road
It's the end of the road

One line can change a story
So sometimes let the line just be unsaid
Pride only thinks about the glory

And just the right now
And not the days ahead

I've held my breath
Walked on shells hoped for the best
What the future holds
I don't know
I've gotta stand up, dust myself off
Just for now
It's the end of the road

When something ends Something begins,
But now it's just the end of the road
When someone loses someone wins
But now it's just the end of the road
Don't get to fix it if it doesn't break
But now it's just the end of the road
When you gotta leave
It makes you wanna stay
I know it's the end of the road

I've been travelin'
Get the dust right off the windshield
No one gets the road map to their life
'Cause life is so subjective
I'll take my pain and I wanna protect it
Never blinds me always reminds me
There's so much more to see
At the end of the road

When something ends Something begins.
Is this the end of the road? When someone loses,
someone wins,
is this the end of the road?

When something ends Something begins,
But now it's just the end of the road
When someone loses someone wins
But now it's just the end of the road
Don't get to fix it if it doesn't break
But now it's just the end of the road
When you gotta leave
It makes you wanna stay
I know it's the end of the road

Max sighed as he looked around the living room of the apartment that he had called home for the past three years.

His eyes settled on the framed photo of him and his girlfriend, they were both smiling at the camera dressed in their tuxedo and bridesmaids dress from Isabel and Alex’s wedding only a year earlier.

Everyone had always assumed they would be next to tie the knot. They had been together for five years and for the most part, they were happy.

Max looked over at his packed suitcases that were placed next to the door. It had only taken him a week to decide that this was what he needed to do but deep down he knew this had been coming for six months. He had tried to fight against it but in the end, it had been hopeless. He had always fought against the idea of destiny, or that you couldn’t help who you loved. He thought he had a choice in the matter. It had turned out he had been wrong about so many things.

He took a seat on the lounge and waited then, watching the door that she would walk through any minute from work. He suspected she would see the bags before she saw him; he was counting on it because otherwise he had no idea how he was going to find the courage to hurt the woman who had loved and been faithful to him for five years.

He sat up straighter when he heard the key in the lock and the handle turning.

This was it. The moment of truth.

A second later, it opened and she walked through.

She looked down when her leg pressed against the material of his suitcase and she frowned.

“Again?” She sighed to herself.

She looked up then and started when she saw Max sitting silently on the couch watching her.

“Gee you scared me,” she smiled at him.

“Sorry.”

“You’re going away again?” She asked a sad smile on her face.

Max nodded. “Kind of.”

“What do you mean kind of?” She rolled her eyes as she placed her keys and bag down before turning her attention back to him.

“Come and sit down,” he said then.

She frowned at the serious tone of his voice, and the look on his face but she did what he asked and took the seat across from him.

“Is everything ok?” She asked.

“You know that transfer to New Haven that has been on the cards?” He asked.

She nodded.

“Last week they asked me,” he admitted.

“Why didn’t you say something?” She asked surprised.

“Because I hadn’t decided whether I was going to take it or not.”

“Isn’t that something we should have talked about together?” She asked upset.

“Only if I intended on taking it,” he replied. “Which I have,” he added.

“Max…”

“I have a flight out tonight,” he continued.

“You accepted?” She asked the shock evident in her voice. Max had always considered her before making plans that affected both of their lives up until now.

Max nodded.

“Wow, I can’t believe you did that.”

Max remained quiet.

“Why do you have to leave so quickly?” She asked then. “I can’t just leave my job without any notice Max….”

“I know,” Max rushed to tell her. “Its one of the reasons I didn’t tell you,” he added then.

Confusion clouded her beautiful features. Why was Max acting so strange? Once upon a time she would have been able to read what was going on with him by the look on his face, the emotions in his eyes, but just like in the recent months Max’s face was blank, or she couldn’t read it anymore.

“I accepted the transfer, I’m going to New Haven…,” he whispered.

“I know,” she replied getting annoyed.

“I think it would be best if you stayed here,” he revealed then.

If she was shocked before, it was, nothing compared to how she was feeling now.

“What? I don’t understand,” she whispered.

Max took a deep breath then. “I’ve been lying to you,” he admitted then.

Her eyes filled with tears as dread settled in her stomach. Somehow she already knew what was coming, it all made sense now. How distant he had become over the past six months, his eagerness for the fortnightly trips to New Haven which had disrupted their lives.

“What did you do?” She asked.

Max licked his dry lips. Even though he had gone over this in his head, it wasn’t turning out the way he wanted.

“There’s someone else…,” he revealed.

Song is End of the Road by Matt Goss

I'll be back with a new part in a couple of days

Thanks guys, I have a new part for you, and i expect its the part you've all been waiting for. I hope you enjoy

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Thirty-Two

Today such a lonely day
I try to find my way
But you only you occupy my mind

And I try to understand the reason why
You’re pushing me away
And I try to understand the reason why

Tess felt her heart stop at his words. She had thought about the possibility on more than one occasion but she had never truly believed that Max would do that to her.

Tears filled her eyes, “That Serena girl?” she asked. Tess couldn’t for the life of her understand why Max would leave her for some human woman who knew nothing of his alien heritage or life. They had history together which she would never be able to compete with as far as Tess was concerned.

Max shook his head. “No,” he told her. “Serena is just a friend, actually she’s Liz’s best friend.”

Tess’s head snapped up, “Liz?” she whispered.

Max nodded. “Liz Parker,” he revealed.

“You’re cheating on me with Liz Parker?” she asked clearly shocked and upset.

How had she not seen that coming after all the talk about Liz Parker recently? Wasn’t it only a few months earlier that she had found out that the man she loved, and had thought had only ever loved her, had been in love with Liz too.

“Yes,” Max whispered.

Tess opened her mouth to yell but instead of harsh words or screams, a sob broke through.

Don’t let it end, cause I cant pretend
I’m not gonna cry if you do
Don’t let me go darlin you know
My heart is breaking in two
Don’t let it end why cant we mend
These wounds left open so long
Don’t let it end cause I cant pretend
To stop loving you

“Oh God how could you?”

“I’m so sorry,” Max whispered. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Then why were you sleeping with that slut behind my back?” Tess screamed.

She was on her feet now and although she was tiny in stature, Max found himself slightly scared.

“We didn’t mean for it to happen,” he told her honestly. It had never been his intention to treat either Tess or Liz the way he had, but he had regardless and now he had to fix things.

“You might not have but I bet she had it all planned,” Tess yelled. “She’s probably been stalking you since high school.”

Max shook his head. “We tried to fight our feelings,” he added ignoring her words.

“Obviously you didn’t try hard enough though, did you?” Tess spat.

Max looked up at Tess then, “I’m sorry.” he said again.

Today I heard you calling me
But its just the storm outside
And today I want you next to me
Your heart playing with my mind

And I try to understand the reason why
You’re pushing me away
And I try to understand the reason why

His words seemed to just break through Tess a little bit more and she sunk back into the couch sobbing.

“I thought we were happy,” she said.

“I thought so too,” he told her.

“Then why would you do this?” she asked. “As soon as you went to New Haven for work you ruined everything between us, it’s never been the same again.”

“I know,” Max admitted. “Because I think deep down I knew that things weren’t right. That you’re not the person I’m meant to share the rest of my life with,” he whispered.

“I was your wife, I’m your destiny,” Tess cried.

Max looked at her for a second, not quiet believing that she was bringing out the destiny story after all these years.

Don’t let it end, cause I cant pretend
I’m not gonna cry if you do
Don’t let me go darlin you know
My heart is breaking in two
Don’t let it end why cant we mend
These wounds left open so long
Don’t let it end cause I cant pretend

“Then why are Liz and I connected in a way that no one else is? Why can I feel her and see into her soul?” he asked her.

He didn’t say the words to hurt her, in a way he was trying to make her understand.

Tess’s mouth opened in shock. “You bonded with her?” she whispered completely shattered by his words.

“Is that what it is?” Max asked clearly confused. Tess had never mentioned anything about it before.

“I never stood a chance did I?” she asked then. “You’ve been harbouring these feelings for her this entire time just waiting for her to come back into the picture?”

I know its holding on too hard
Even if dreams have passed me by

“That’s not true,” Max denied. “I honestly thought that there was never going to be anything between Liz and me. I had put the feelings behind me and I committed to you for five years,” he argued.

“Did you ever love me or was that just a lie?” she asked.

“Did it feel like a lie?” Max asked.

“No,” she shook her head.

“Because it wasn’t,” he whispered.

“Then what changed?” she demanded. “You just don’t fall out of love with someone Max,” she cried.

“You’re right. You don’t,” He smiled sadly. “I do love you Tess but it’s just not the same as how I love Liz.”

Tess sobbed a little harder at his words.

Don’t let it end, cause I cant pretend
I’m not gonna cry if you do
Don’t let me go darlin you know
My heart is breaking in two
Don’t let it end why cant we mend
These wounds left open so long
Don’t let it end cause I cant pretend
To stop loving you

“She left you Max, she left all of you. How could you still love someone that did that?”

“She didn’t leave me Tess,” he said sadly. “I pushed her away.”

“Because it wasn’t safe? So what’s changed?”

“A lot has changed.” He shrugged. “But mostly my feelings have. I can’t be without her anymore,” he whispered.

It was those words that broke the last of the fight Tess had in her.

“But you can live without me?” she whispered. “Because if you choose her Max, if you go, there’s no coming back. I won’t be here when you realise that she’s not the one you’re meant to be with,” she told him.

“Tess…” Max whispered. He could see he was breaking her heart and he hated himself for that, for the person he had become.

“It should be an easy question Max if you love her like you say you do,” she pointed out and Max knew she was right and that was the worse part.

Max stood. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” he whispered.

He walked to his bags then and picked them up. “I’ll leave my details with Isabel if you need me,” he told her and then he disappeared through the door leaving Tess to collapse broken hearted into the couch.

She wanted to beg him not to go, that they could work it out if he would just let Liz go. She ran to the door and quickly opened it praying he would be on the other side waiting for her to say something to make him stay, but instead she was met with darkness, and in the distance she could see the tail lights of his 4WD as he drove away from her and out of her life.

***

Let it go, let it roll right off your shoulder,
Don't you know, the hardest part is over, let it in,
Let your clarity define you in the end,
You will only just remember how it feels.

Max wiped his eyes as he dropped his car off at the airports long term parking. He knew he would have to come back and get it eventually but right now, all he was concentrating on was getting on a flight and back to Liz before he lost her for good.

Telling Tess had been as hard has he had thought it would be, but it didn’t justify putting it off as long as he had.

Our lives are made, in these small hours, these little wonders
These twisted turns of fate, time falls away,
But these small hours, these small hours, still remain.

“Flight 566 to New Haven will be boarding in 10 minutes,” he heard the announcement just as he checked his bags in.

“Just in time,” the attendant smiled.

“Yeah,” he replied quietly.

Let it slide, let your troubles fall behind you, let it stand,
Till you feel it all around you,
And I don't mind if it's me you need to turn to, we'll get by,
It's the heart that really matters in the end.

Max knew that he was leaving a mess behind in Las Cruses. He had only gotten time to make a quick phone call to Michael telling him what he was doing. Michael had understood and without words, they had both known it wasn’t the end. That they’d see each other soon.

Michael and Maria would be leaving for New York the following week and it was the final sign that an end of an era had come to pass for them all.

Our lives are made, in these small hours, these little wonders
These twisted turns of fate, time falls away,
But these small hours, these small hours, still remain.

Max handed the attendant his ticket and took his seat on the plane ten minutes later.

He was relived to be on the flight. He had no idea what to expect when he showed up on Liz’s door step. He just prayed that she would hear him out and give him the chance to beg for her forgiveness, because one thing had become crystal clear to Max in the past week.

His life was nothing without Liz. He just wished it hadn’t taken him so long to admit it. It had been clear to him for months but he had been too big of a coward to fix things.

All of my regret, will wash away somehow,
But I cannot forgive the way I feel right now.

He planned to make everything right though. Liz still wouldn’t take his calls which scared him but he knew he deserved it.

In these small hours, these little wonders, these twisted turns of fate,
all these twisted turns of fate, these twisted turns of fate

He pulled out a photo of the two of them that Serena had taken from his pocket and he stared at it.

“Please hold on Liz, I’m coming for you. I’m finally coming,” he whispered.

Yeah, times falls away
But these small hours, these small hours, still remain.
They still remain, these little wonders, all these twisted turns of fate
time falls away, but these small hours, these little wonders
Still remain.

***

Liz looked up at the sky as she sat and wrote in her journal.

It was a beautiful feeling and for some reason Liz felt that something big was about to happen.

She placed her hand on her abdomen and smiled. Earlier that day she had seen her baby for the first time and now she was writing all about it in her journal. She was determined that she was going to capture every moment of her pregnancy with words and photos so if Max ever came back to her she would be able to share it with him.

“I love you baby,” she whispered.

Don’t Let It End by John Farnham & Litter Wonders by Rob Thomas

Ok, first can i say i'm totally confused? because i swear to go i updated this yesterday *huh* I have no idea where it is, i remember it clearly because i actually ended u posting it three times because i was having so much trouble. Anyway, i swear i wasn't drunk. So here is part 33 once again. I'm so sorry.

I also wantd to say a big thank you for this





Thirty-Three

Here we are,
staring straight into tomorrow's eyes,
what do you see?
Can you see the same as me?

We hold hands,
we take walks and talk,
and laugh about things.
I'll tell you what;
this could be the way,
that every day was meant to be.

I don't want to go;
I don't want to stay one night,
or one day.
So I’ll stay the rest of my life.

I don't want to leave;
I don't want to be one night,
or one day.
So I’ll stay the rest of my life

How 'bout that,
Waking up every morning with me.
Spend our time drinking coffee,
speaking softly as the days go by.

I don't want to go;
I don't want to stay one night,
or one day.
So I’ll stay the rest of my life.

The rest of my life
the rest of my life

Let's just let it start
Let's just let it start

I don't want to go,
I don't want to stay one night,
or one day.
So I’ll stay the rest of my life.

I don't want to go;
I don't want to stay one night,
or one day.
So I’ll stay the rest of my life.

The rest of my life...

Max was exhausted as he paid the taxi cab driver before he watched him drive off, leaving him standing on the kerb outside of Liz’s condo apartment.

Max felt as though he had been on a journey the past week and that it had led him back to the place he had always meant to be. With Liz. Now he just had to try to convince her that it was where he wanted to be for now and forever. He didn’t expect it to be an easy task.

He picked up his bags and headed for her door. He stopped when he reached it and considered whether he should knock or not. It was still early and even though Liz was an early riser normally, he didn’t think she would be up quite yet.

So instead of knocking he used his powers to open the door and slipped inside Liz’s dark apartment.

As soon as he was inside, Max inhaled the scent of her apartment. Oh how he had missed the smell of her.

He made his way straight to Liz’s bedroom. He stopped at the doorway and placed his bags down before he took a step inside.

It was dark in the room, the curtains were still drawn but instead of finding Liz asleep in her bed, the blankets were pulled back and it was empty.

Max looked towards the bathroom then and frowned. The door was open, the light off and he was almost ready to rule it out when he heard the faint sounds of coughing. He was about to walk in there when Liz appeared at the doorway.

Max felt like everything went into slow motion as Liz looked up and noticed him.

She was only wearing a pair of panties and a short tank top and Max found his eyes lingering on her body, especially her stomach. Max hadn’t seen Liz without clothing since Roswell, which was over a month, and instantly he could see the difference.

Liz covered the small bump, that had popped up almost over night, with her hand but she could tell it was too late, Max had already seen it.

“Max,” she whispered.

All of a sudden everything made sense to Max. Liz being sick so much, the small bump on her stomach, the strengthening of their connection.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him.

Max looked up then and met her eyes and Liz almost gasped at the emotion she saw. Her eyes drifted around the room then until they fell on the two suitcases propped up against the wall.

Before she knew what was happening Liz felt a sob erupt from her body and she wavered on her feet.

Max moved like lightening and his strong arms caught her before she could fall.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered pulling her as tightly against him as he could.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I love you so much,” he told her as Liz sobbed in his arms.

Liz stayed in his arms until the tears slowed down and she was sure she could stand on her own feet without falling.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him.

Liz knew what she hoped the two suitcases meant but she had to hear the words from Max’s mouth to truly believe them.

“I’m here to beg the love of my life to forgive me for my stupidity and to tell her that I know without a shadow of doubt that she’s the one for me,” he whispered. He had tears in his eyes and he was wearing his heart on his sleeve for her.

“That I’m pretty sure I’ve known it for most of life but I was too big of a coward to admit it to myself.”

“Max…” Liz whispered.

“I love you Liz Parker. I always have,” he smiled. “It scares the shit out of me sometimes.”

“Me too,” she agreed.

“Can you ever forgive me?” he asked.

“Why now?” Liz asked.

“Do you remember the night we spent out at the pod chamber in Roswell?” he asked.

“Of course,” Liz nodded. How could she forget? It had been one of the most romantic nights of her life.

“You told me that you wanted to get married in the dessert.”

“Yeah I remember,” Liz nodded.

“That was the first time I ever saw myself as a husband. I saw myself standing across from you becoming your husband, being the father of your children,” he told her.

“Max…” Liz cried.

“I don’t want to loose that Liz. I can’t loose you because I know that life just wouldn’t be worth living without you in it.”

Max took two steps forward then.

“And Tess?” Liz asked.

“I told Tess the truth, the whole truth.”

He moved another step forward then.

Liz nodded. “I told her that I could never love her the way I loved you. You’re the love of my life Liz, you’re my soul mate.”

One final step and Max was now standing directly across from Liz, so close that he could reach out and touch her but he held off.

“Pleas say something,” he pleaded.

Liz wiped her eyes as she stared at the man she loved standing across from her. He had just made every one of dreams seem like they could become reality with his words. She knew that words could not fix everything but she was positive that time and hard work could.

“I love you too,” she finally said.

Max smiled and was about to take the final step to her when she put her hand out to stop him.

“Max, did you mean what you said before?” she asked him.

“I meant everything I said to you today,” he told her. “But which part especially?” he smiled.

“About wanting to be the father of my children?” she asked.

Max’s eyes drifted down to the small bump on her stomach then. “I mean that with every fibre of my being,” he whispered.

“Good,” Liz cried and this time she let him close the distance between them.

“Baby are you pregnant?” he whispered.

Liz nodded, “Yes.”

“Oh God,” Max cried as he lifted her up and twirled her around. He had never imagined being as truly happy as he was in that instance.

“You’re ok with this?” she asked him when he put her back down.

“I’m so happy,” he assured her as he pushed a piece of hair out of her face.

“Me too,” she agreed.

Max pulled her towards the bed then. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap wrapping his arms tightly around her.

“Would you have told me?” he asked her then.

Liz looked at him then. “If I hadn’t come back would you have told me?” he asked then.

Liz got up then and walked to the small desk she had in the corner of the room and pulled out the journal she had only just begun and brought it back to the bed with her and handed it to Max.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Open it,” she instructed.

Max did as he was told and as soon as he saw was enclosed in the pages of the beautiful journal he felt tears spring to his eyes.

“Is this our baby?” he whispered staring at the sonogram photo Liz had only had taken a few days before.

Liz nodded. “He or she is almost 15 weeks,” she revealed.

“Oh Liz,” he whispered.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked then.

“Because I wanted you to choose me for me, Max,” Liz replied. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with the idea that you only picked me because I was carrying your baby,” she added.

“I’ll always choose you,” Max told her.

“Promise me we’re going to be a family Max?” she pleaded then.

“We are. You two are my forever and always,” he whispered as he pulled her back onto the bed. “I’m never going anywhere again Liz,” he added knowing that she needed all the assurance he could give her.

“Good because we need you,” she told him. “I need to know that from now on we’re going to come first.”

Max smiled at her. He knew that she was concerned about his past coming back to haunt him and he could hardly blame her.

“I promise you forever and always Liz. As long as it’s in my control I will never leave you,” he whispered his forehead leaning against hers.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” he replied.

***

Kyle frowned at the loud banging at his front door. It was extremely early and he had no idea who would have the gall to be so rude.

“I’m coming,” he yelled when the banging only increased.

He ripped the door open angrily. “What the hell you do want?” he yelled before he got a good look at the person on the other side.

“Kyle?” she cried.

Kyle stopped short when he finally realised it was Tess. He could barely recognise her from the state she was in. Her hair was plastered against her face from the rain outside and her eyes were red and swollen from crying, which she was still doing.

“Tess,” he replied.

Tess threw herself into his arms and sobbed harder then.

Kyle stood there in shock for a few seconds before it dawned on him. Max had finally found the balls to tell her the truth and it was obvious that she hadn’t come out in front.

He pulled her against him before reaching down and picking up her legs.

“Shh Tessie, it will be ok,” he whispered as he kissed her forehead and carried her into his house.

“Oh God Kyle. It hurts so much,” she cried against his shirt.

“I know it does,” he told her completely understanding what she meant.

“I know it does,” he said again.

Hi everyone,

Firstly, thanks so much for you feedback. You guyz rock.

A big wave to the lurkers, i hope you're liking my little fic.

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Thirty-Four

A week later

Max smiled as he rolled over and felt the small body lying in his arms.

“Morning,” she whispered.

“Morning,” he grinned back.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked down into her happy gaze. It occurred to him then that something was different from every other morning that week when he had woken up.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I feel good this morning, its weird.” she replied as she slowly sat up.

“That’s good, maybe the morning sickness is finally over?” Max suggested.

“I hope so,” she agreed.

It was hard to believe that it had been a week since he had shown up in her bedroom begging her for forgiveness, but it had been and he couldn’t remember a time when he was ever happier than he was when he woke up with Liz nestled in his arms.

Liz crawled out of bed slowly. “You should ring Isabel today,” she told him.

Max nodded. “I know and I will,” he agreed.

Isabel had been ringing every day since he had arrived in New Haven and it was obvious to Liz that they weren’t dealing with his departure very well.

“She’s pregnant and hormonal,” Liz reminded him. “If you don’t call she’s going to cry,” she smiled.

“Yeah I know.” Max grumbled.

It wasn’t that Max didn’t want to talk to his sister. It was more that he hated hearing from Isabel how well Tess wasn’t doing. He knew that she didn’t do it to make him feel bad but more because she was at a loss as to what to do. Now that Michael and Maria were also gone Isabel and Alex were left to take care of Tess.

Isabel had already tried to convince him to talk to her but Max just didn’t think it was a good idea, nor did he think that Tess would be ready for that yet.

“I’m going to grab a shower,” Liz said then. “Care to join me?” she added.

Max quickly pulled the covers back from the bed and jumped out. “Of course,” he agreed before he took off after a giggling Liz into the bathroom.

***

Isabel frowned as she continued to knock on Tess’s apartment door. She knew that she was inside but she couldn’t work out why she was trying to avoid her.

“Tess open up,” she called out.

For the past week, Tess had done nothing but mope inside the apartment, not even leaving to go to work. Luckily, she had plenty of sick leave since she never felt ill.

Isabel was shocked when the door finally opened and Tess stood on the other side. If possible she looked worse that she had two days earlier when Isabel had seen her. Tess, who normally had the perfect appearance, had donned a tracksuit and looked like she hadn’t brushed her hair in days. On top of that there wasn’t an inch of make up to be found on her face but her eyes were red and swollen her nose also red.

Isabel smiled sympathetically. “How are you doing?” she asked.

Tess sniffled, “As well as I was doing two days ago.”

“Well all this moping isn’t going to do you any good so go and have a shower, put some make up and jeans on. I’m taking you out to lunch.” Isabel ordered.

“I really don’t feel like it,” Tess said.

“Too bad.” Isabel replied. “You can’t go on like this Tess. I know it sucks and that it hurts like hell but you have to keep living and the first step is to get out of this rut you’re in and step outside.”

“Maybe I’m happy to be in this rut. Maybe life isn’t worth living if you can’t live it with the person you love,” she cried.

Isabel sighed sadly. What was she supposed to say to that? She couldn’t even imagine how she would feel if Alex didn’t love her anymore and had chose someone else. Isabel didn’t agree with what Max had done to Tess but for the same reasons that she understood Tess she also understood Max.

“I know,” Isabel hugged her. “But things will get better,” she promised.

Isabel didn’t want to even broach the subject with Tess about all the things in the apartment that still belonged to Max. Obviously, it was too soon. Max had mentioned something about packing it all up and shipping it to him, which Isabel had agreed to do but it was still definitely too soon and she knew that Max would understand that.

Tess looked at Isabel with disbelief in her eyes but nodded all the same.

“Go and have a shower. We’ll go somewhere nice,” Isabel said pushing her slightly in the direction of the bathroom.

“Ok.” Tess finally agreed.

When she was gone, Isabel sagged onto the couch. The apartment was dark and was starting to look messy. She rubbed her stomach as she closed her eyes, she was so tired and she wished she wasn’t alone to have to deal with all this.

“I wish Maria was here,” she whispered to herself.

Ten minutes later Tess emerged looking slightly better. She had pulled her hair back and put some make up on but she looked lost and sad.

Wrapping a hand around Tess’s shoulders, she directed her out of the apartment and down to her waiting car. “Come on Tess, this is exactly what you need,” she promised.

***

Liz ignored the whispers that immediately stopped as she walked into the ladies room.

“Hi ladies,” she greeted with a smile.

It was no news, and of no surprise, that she was the latest hot topic in the rumour mill. It had been expected when she and Max had walked into Cellcon holding hands a few days earlier. Now everyone knew that Liz and Max were officially at item. Liz wondered what they would be saying when it became obvious that she was pregnant.

When Liz came out of the cubicle, Serena was waiting for her.

“Interesting rumours today,” she commented.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, you home wrecker,” Serena grinned.

Liz rolled her eyes. “They know about Tess?” Liz asked.

“Only of the existence of a girlfriend from Las Cruses. Apparently you seduced Max, using your position since you’re too unattractive to score him any other way, to fall in love with you and dumped his long term steady girl.” Serena informed her.

“Great.” Liz sighed.

Why couldn’t these people find something more interesting to talk about?

“Don’t worry, it will all blow over when Eddie announcers your promotion today.” Serena said.

“Yeah I’m sure, they’ll probably all start saying I’m sleeping with Eddie too,” Liz grumbled.

Serena shrugged, “Probably.”

The rumour mill could be vicious sometimes. It wasn’t just a high school thing, it happened everywhere and it’s never nice when you’re the hot topic.

“I’ll just keep being the bigger person,” Liz told herself in the mirror.

“That’s right, and at the end of the day who cares what they think Liz? You’ve got the hottest guy that works here in your bed and in love with you, don’t let them bring you down,” Serena smiled.

“You’re right,” Liz agreed.

“Are we on for lunch?” Serena asked as they began to walk out of the toilets together.

“Yep I’ll see you then,” Liz agreed.

“Bye babe,” Serena waved as she walked off towards the labs.

***

Kyle was surprised when he pulled up in front of the apartments. He had followed Tess’s directions but he had expected her and Max to live somewhere showier than the modest apartments he was looking at.

Kyle had been surprised to hear from Tess that morning. After she had shown up on his doorstop the week before he had spent the night listening and caring for her but when he had woken the next morning she had been gone. No thank you, no see you later, nothing. So when she had called that morning and apologised for leaving and asking if he would like to come over for dinner, he hadn’t expected it, and taken off guard had said yes. Now he was questioning his decision. He didn’t want to be Tess’s rebound guy or the guy she used to stick it to Evans but he had a feeling that was what he was gong to end up being.

With a sigh, he exited the car and headed to her apartment.

***

Liz closed her eyes and sighed as the feelings of completion washed over her.

She was lying in bed and Max had his hand on her stomach while he was talking to their baby.

“Are you taking care of mummy?” he asked.

“I hope so, because mummy is very important to both of us so we need to make sure that she’s well looked after.”

Liz smiled and lifted her hand to go down and cover Max’s.

Max looked up into her beautiful eyes. “Hey you,” he said.

“Hey yourself,” she replied huskily.

“I thought you were napping,” he smiled sheepishly.

“I was until this little one decided he wanted to talk back to daddy,” she laughed.

Max’s eyes widened, “She’s moving?” he asked.

Liz nodded, “You might not be able to feel it yet but I can.”

“Oh, I can’t wait until I can feel it,” he said.

“Maybe there‘s a way,” Liz said excited.

“How?”

“Connect to me,” she told him. “You can feel what I’m feeling when you do that right?”

“Yeah I can,” he replied.

Quickly and effortlessly they connected. Their hands moved to cover the place their child was laying and they both smiled when they felt he or she call out to them too.

“Oh Max did you feel that? That’s our baby,” Liz cried.

“I know,” Max said awed.

Max made a mental note to ask Isabel about connecting with her baby next time they talked. He had called her earlier but she had been distracted and he could tell that she wasn’t in the best of moods so the call had been quick.

They laid together in silence for a while then.

“When are we going to tell people?” Liz asked.

She really wanted to tell her parents but she was unsure of how. She also knew that Max didn’t want to rush it because he knew how it would affect his friends and family.

“Soon,” he promised.

“Good because I want to celebrate this great thing between us, not hide it,” she told him.

“Me either,” he agreed. It wasn’t his intention to make Liz feel like he wasn’t excited but he didn’t think it was fair to his friends and family to dump on them this news after what he had just put them through. A bit of time is what they all needed.

“I’m so happy about this Liz; I want you to know that. I’ve never been this happy, never,” he whispered.

“Me either,” she agreed.

In the small world they had created together, everything was absolutely perfect. It was just too bad that small worlds couldn’t survive on their own for too long.

Thanks everyone, enjoy the new part

Thirty-Five

2 weeks later

“Hello?” Isabel answered breathlessly.

“Hey Iz,” Max greeted his sister.

He had made a point to ring her at least once a week since he had moved to New Haven. It surprised him sometimes how much he truly missed both her and Michael. They had been together most of their lives and it was hard adjusting to life without each other.

“Max hi!” Isabel replied excitedly.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I’m good.” she replied.

“And the baby?” he asked. He hated that he couldn’t be there to check on things for her but so far everything seemed to be going well, and Max made sure he checked in with Alex too knowing that Isabel left things out to avoid worrying him about things.

“Good too.” she grinned.

“Great,” he sighed in relief.

“How about you?” Isabel asked.

Max smiled. He wanted to tell Isabel about Liz’s pregnancy but they had agreed to wait until Liz and Max were able to share the news with their families, something they were planning on doing soon.

“I’m great,” he told her.

“I’m really happy for you Max. How’s Liz?”

“She’s good too; things are working out better than I ever dreamed. I know I made the right decision Iz, but it doesn’t mean I don’t miss you.”

“I know,” Isabel agreed. “I’m just sorry that it hurt Tess so much,” she admitted.

Max nodded. “How is she?” he asked.

Isabel sighed. “Truthfully, not good Max but at least she’s gone back to work. I don’t hear from her very much so I make a point to ring her and drop by.”

“Thanks,” Max told her.

“She’s my friend too Max,” Isabel reminded him.

“I hate to ask you this but has she said anything about my stuff?” he wondered. It wasn’t like he was in a big rush to get any of the things that belonged to him in the apartment but he figured the longer it was left the harder it would be when he finally got around to collecting them.

“No.” she replied.

“Do you mind packing my stuff up?” Max asked.

“I will but I think you should call her about it. It shouldn’t be up to me,” Isabel told him.

“You’re right,” He agreed. “I’ll ring her tonight,” he promised.

“What about your car?” Isabel asked then. It had been sitting in her driveway for the past three weeks but Max would have to decide what he wanted to do with it too eventually.

Max frowned. He loved his 4WD and he hated the idea of getting rid of it but it just wasn’t practical to keep it and he didn’t really want to drive it back to New Haven.

“I guess I will have to sell it,” he said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Do you think you could ask Alex if he could organise it for me? If not I can ask Dad.”

“No, I’m sure Alex won’t mind.” she assured him.

“Great. Thank you Isabel.”

“It’s ok.”

“Have you spoken to Michael recently?” Max asked then.

“Yeah actually he called last night,” she smiled. “I think he finally got the hint that if he didn’t ring and check in like he was supposed to he’d get an unwelcome visit.”

Max chuckled. “How are they doing?” he asked.

It had been a couple of weeks since he had spoken with Michael but he knew that things were going ok in New York. Michael had managed to get a job which he was enjoying and Maria was working hard on her album.

“Good. He said he doesn’t see Maria much but it’s not so bad,” she replied.

“Good, good.” Max smiled.

“Max I have to go.” Isabel said then, “but I’ll call you in a couple of days.”

“Ok Iz.”

“Thanks for calling,” she told him.

“I love you Iz,” Max whispered.

“I love you too little brother,” she grinned.

***

Max sat nervously with Liz in the Doctors office. This was the first appointment that he was attending with Liz and today they got to see the baby.

“You ok?” Liz asked.

Max smiled. “Just anxious.”

“It’s ok. Everything will be fine,” she said.

“I know, I guess I’m excited too,” he revealed.

“Me too,” she told him.

Liz knew it was too early to find out the sex of the baby. She suspected that Max could find out, or possibly even knew, but she thought she might like for it to be a surprise.

“Do you want to know the sex of the baby?” she decided to ask.

“I don’t mind,” he replied. “You?”

“I think I want to wait,” she told him. “Is that ok?”

Max chuckled. “It makes it a little hard but I’ll do my best not to stumble upon the information,” he promised.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Liz Parker?” the receptionist called then.

Liz and Max stood then. “The doctor’s ready for you,” she smiled at them.

“Thanks,” they nodded before making their way into the office.

***

Tess looked at the phone as it rang and contemplated whether to answer it. She knew it would only be Isabel or Kyle. They were the only ones who ever called her anymore and she didn’t want to talk to either of them.

“Hi. You’ve reached Max and Tess. Leave us a message.”

She felt the emotion build as she heard her voice. It was happy voice because it was taped during a time she was happy. But now thanks to Max and Liz Parker she would never be happy again.

“Hi Tess.”

Her eyes darted to the phone when she heard his voice.

“I wanted to talk to you but I guess you’re not home.”

She stumbled to the phone and picked it up.

“Hello?” she said breathlessly.

The phone was silent as Max contemplated what to say now that he was talking to her.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Lonely, sad. I miss you,” she replied.

“I’m sorry,” he told her.

“Are you coming home to me?” she asked.

On his end, Max closed his eyes. “No,” he whispered.

Immediately a sob erupted from Tess’s throat. “I’m so sorry,” he told her. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

Tess didn’t reply for a few seconds. “What do you want then?” she almost snapped at him.

“I wanted to talk to you about my stuff,” he told her.

“Oh,” she whispered.

“If it’s ok Isabel is going to come over and pack it up for me.”

“You’re not coming yourself?” she asked.

“No,” he told her. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” he added.

“Please Max, just come home. Whatever I did we can fix it,” she cried.

“I wish it was that simple Tess but it isn’t,” Max told her. “You can’t help who you love, and I love Liz.”

“What about me? You’re just going to cut me off?” she cried. “I haven’t heard from you since you left and now you ring me to tell me that you’re going to send your sister over to pack up your stuff?”

“I’m sorry,” he told her again. “But I think it’s for the best.”

Tess shook her head. “Best for you Max or me?”

Max sighed. “Best for both of us. I don’t want you to think that I’m coming back to be with you, because I’m not. I just think you need time to accept it and my presence would just confuse you.”

“Whatever you tell yourself to feel better Max,” she snapped bitterly.

Max hated this side of Tess. It wasn’t the first time he had been subject to it and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. He would accept her scathing words, and anger because he deserved it. He certainly deserved a lot more.

“I’ll tell Isabel to come by when you’re at work,” he informed her.

“What about the apartment?” she asked then.

“The lease is almost up, I’ll let the agent know I won’t be living there any longer and I’ll leave it up to you to work out a new lease.”

Tess shook her head sadly. It was silly to get her hopes up but when she had heard his voice, she hadn’t been able to stop herself. Hadn’t she known that this time would come; there wasn’t an awful lot in the apartment that she thought he would like but the idea of Isabel coming in and packing up Max’s life with her broke her heart.

“I’ll talk to you soon Tess. Look after yourself” Max whispered.

He waited for her to speak but when it was obvious, she wasn’t going to say anything he gently placed the phone down on the cradle.

***

Tess slowed as she pulled her car up out the front of Isabel and Alex’s house. Max’s 4WD sat in the driveway and she felt her excitement grow. She had known he would come back for her. He hadn’t been able to let go of her any more than she had been of him.

She was practically out of the car before she had pulled it to a halt and she took of in a run towards Isabel’s front door.

When Alex opened the banging door he was almost barrelled over when Tess pushed past him.

“Tess…what?”

“Where is he?” she asked excitedly.

Alex frowned. “Who?”

“Max,” she said. “I know he’s here. His car is in the driveway.”

Hearing the commotion Isabel made her way into the hallway and frowned as she watched the conversation between Tess and Alex unfold.

“I’m sorry Tess but Max isn’t here. He’s in New Haven,” he informed her.

“But his car!” Tess objected.

“Tess, Max left the car at the airport and Alex and I picked it up,” Isabel told her knowing she needed to step in.

“But…”

“Max asked us to sell it for him,” she added.

“NO…” Tess cried.

Alex and Isabel watched then as Tess sunk to the floor in a sob. They didn’t know what they could do for her.

A second later, as quickly as she had fallen, Tess rose and rushed towards the bathroom with Isabel hot on her heals.

“Tess are you ok?” Isabel asked after she watched Tess be sick in her porcelain toilet.

Tess shook her head. “I think I’m pregnant,” she whispered.


Thirty-Six

Isabel knocked on the apartment door with determination. Her encounter with Tess the day before was still fresh in her mind.

“Tess open up the door,” she yelled.

A minute later when Tess still hadn’t come to the door Isabel used her powers to enter. She knew that she was inside and she wouldn’t let her avoid her a second longer.

Once inside Isabel found the smaller blonde still in bed.

“Go away Isabel,” she said.

“Tess you can’t do this.” Isabel said as she pulled the covers back.

“Leave me alone,” she grumbled.

“Tess did you mean what you said yesterday, are you pregnant?” Isabel asked.

“I’m not sure, I think so,” she replied.

“How can you not know?” Isabel demanded.

“Yes ok Isabel, I am,” Tess sat up and cried.

Instantly Isabel felt bad. “Oh Tess I’m sorry. It’s just that if you really are pregnant then you need to tell Max, especially if you’re feeling sick.”

Tess cried harder now. “I think something’s wrong Isabel,” she said.

“Why what’s wrong?” Isabel asked.

“Something doesn’t feel right but I can’t work out why,” she replied.

“Tess you need to talk to Max,” Isabel stated.

“Why? He won’t care.”

“Of course he will,” Isabel insisted.

Tess covered her stomach with a hand then and smiled. “I always wanted to have a family with Max,” she admitted.

“I know,” Isabel said. She knew that the news of Tess’s pregnancy would shatter Max, and most likely his relationship with Liz. Max would feel obligated to be there for Tess and she knew it wasn’t where his heart lied.

“I really need him right now Isabel,” she cried.

“I know.” Isabel said. “Do you want me to call him?” she offered.

“No!” she cried.

“Tess you have to tell him.” Isabel insisted.

“I know.”

“You should ring him, especially if you think something is wrong,” she added worriedly. “He can help, you know he can.”

“You’re right,” she agreed.

Isabel sighed in relief, at least she gotten through to her.

“I’ll ring him,” Tess agreed.

Isabel opened her handbag then, pulled out a piece of paper, and jotted down Max’s work number for her. She thought it would be best not to give her Liz’s home number.

“Here’s his number at work,” she said.

“Thanks.” Tess smiled.

“Do you want me to stay?” Isabel offered.

“No, I’ll call him I promise. Just give me some time to work out what I’m going to say.”

“Ok,” she agreed. Isabel studied Tess then, she didn’t look well but there were no obvious signs that there was something seriously wrong with her or the baby but something had obviously convinced Tess that there was.

“Tess can you feel the baby, you know the connection?” Isabel asked.

Tess nodded. “That’s how I know something is wrong,” she said.

“Ok,” Isabel frowned. “Ring him Tess, if you don’t I will,” she added.

***

Liz giggled as Max kneeled down in front of her and pulled up her work shirt so that he could place butterfly kisses on her stomach.

Liz’s stomach had began to show a lot more in the past week and Max appeared to love it. Soon Liz knew it would be impossible to hide it from the people she worked with.

“Max,” Liz cried as his lips tickled her. “Stop it.”

Max grinned up at her. “I’m just saying hi to our little one,” he told her.

“I know and he or she says hi back,” she told him.

Lovingly Max cupped her stomach. “God I can’t wait to meet him,” he whispered.

Liz smiled back happily. “Me either,” she agreed.

Reluctantly Max rose to his feet and pulled Liz to him. “I should get back to work,” he said. They had just enjoyed another nice lunch together one of the things that they had learned to cherish in the past few weeks. Neither one of them took any of the time they spent together for granted anymore. It had taken them too much, and too much hurt for them to be together to not appreciate every second they now had.

Liz kissed him sweetly. “Ok,” she agreed.

“I love you Liz,” Max whispered. He often found it hard to believe that she had been able to forgive him for everything that he had put her through. For the months of waiting for him to make a decision. It astounded him that it had taken him so long, he was an idiot. He could have had months of bliss with her rather than only the one they had just shared. Max knew if it took every last breath in his body he would make it up to her; he would prove to her every day that he loved her and only her. He would show her that she and their baby were his life.

Liz’s smiled brightened, she would never tire of hearing it, and in fact, she was convinced that she needed to hear it from him so that she could be sure that it was real, that he really had picked her.

“I love you too.” she replied.

***

Tess picked up the phone and looking at the number Isabel had written down for her, dialled nervously.

Was she really doing the right thing?

Would Max even care?

There were a million questions going around her head but when the phone was answered, she knew that it was too late. Her decision had been made.

***

Max frowned as his phone rang again. It hadn’t stopped all afternoon and he was struggling to get any work done.

“Max Evans,” he greeted crisply.

The phone was silent.

“Hello?”

“Max?” the voice asked hesitantly and extremely quietly.

“Yes, who’s this?” he asked.

“It’s me, Tess,” she replied.

Max was surprised. “Hi Tess, what’s up?” he asked.

The phone was silent for a few more seconds and Max was just about to ask if she was still there when she finally spoke again.

“I’m sorry to call you at work. It’s the only number Isabel gave me.”

“It’s ok,” he said. “Is something wrong?” he asked. Her behaviour was erratic but according to Isabel, she had been like this since he had left her.

“I need you to come home Max,” she told him.

Max sighed, he didn’t need this today. “Tess you know I can’t,” he told her. “I’m sorry but…”

“I’m pregnant Max,” she interrupted him.

Max froze. “What?” he asked.

“The baby, I think there’s something wrong,” she cried. “I need you to come home.”

Tess was pregnant. No, it wasn’t possible he hadn’t been with her for months.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Tess resisted the urge to yell at him, angry that he would doubt her word.

“Of course I am,” she snapped. “It's yours,” she added just in case he had any doubt.

“Tess…”

“I’m sick Max, the babies sick,” she cried again. “You need to come home.”

Max felt like he was in an ocean and was being pulled under then, along with the world around him. How could this be happening just when he had finally gotten everything he had ever wanted, just when he had gotten Liz? Oh and Liz, she was pregnant. Of course, no one knew this but she would be heart broken when she found out that Tess was also claiming to be carrying his baby.

“I’ll make arrangements,” he choked out.

“Thank you Max,” she smiled happily.

“I’ll see you soon,” he said before he placed the phone down.

***

He had been quiet all afternoon and now Max was staring at her like something was very wrong.

“Are you ok?” she asked as picked up her drink and took a small sip.

“No,” he shook his head and tears instantly filled his eyes.

Alarmed Liz rushed towards him, it was a very rare occurrence to see a man, especially Max, brought to tears.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I love you Liz, so much and I love this life we have together.”

“Me too,” she agreed.

“I don’t want it to change, or for things to end.”

“It won’t,” she promised but her worry only increased. “What happened Max?” she asked.

“Tess called,” he whispered.

“Ok, what did she want?” Liz asked sinking into the seat next to him as she waited for him to talk to her.

“She says she’s pregnant,” he choked out.

Liz gasped and her hand covered her heart. “What? No that’s not possible,” she denied. “Is it?” she asked then.

Max looked at her guiltily. “In theory yes,” he admitted.

Max knew that including the last month he’d been with Liz, that it had been at least another 2 months prior to that the last time he had been with Tess intimately. So it was possible that she was pregnant what Max couldn’t understand was why it had taken her so long to work it out, or in fact to tell him.

Tears filled Liz’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry Liz,” he whispered. “She says the baby is sick, she wants me to come home.”

“Are you going to?” Liz asked choking back a sob.

“I don’t want to,” he whispered. “But I have to, if she’s sick, if the baby is really sick…”

Liz reluctantly nodded and her hand unconsciously moved to cradle the life growing inside of her.

“Does this change everything?” Max asked.

Liz looked at him surprised. “Do you want it to?” she wondered.

“No, I want to be with you and the baby; I love you, that hasn’t changed.”

“But now you have to look after Tess and her baby too,” she whispered hurt.

“I, yes,” he said his head falling.

Liz stood then. “You should go,” she told him, “make sure the baby is ok.”

Max nodded feeling completely defeated. “But I’m coming with you,” she whispered.

Max’s gaze snapped to Liz’s instantly. “You are?” he asked hopeful.

“We’re in this together now Max, remember? You promised me that me and the baby came first that hasn’t changed has it?” she asked.

“No,” he replied quickly. They would always be his first priority.

“Then I’m coming with you, we’ll go to Roswell and tell our parents about our baby,” she smiled thinking of how happy her parents would be, “then we’ll deal with Tess, and if she’s pregnant we’ll work something out,” she said.

There was no way that she was going to give up Max now, she and the baby both needed him, and she had her doubts about Tess’s claims. Hell she’d always had her doubts about Tess.

“I love you so much,” Max cried, crushing her body to his.

“Just promise me that it’s you and me, always me and you,” she pleaded.

“Always and forever, Liz, always and forever,” he whispered.

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Thirty-Seven

It was official. It was the worst week of Liz’s life. She looked over at Max, sitting next to her on the plane to Roswell and she truly wondered if it was all worth it. If all the pain and heartache that she had put herself through to be with him was worth it. Liz shook her head, of course it was, and she knew that every time he touched her, kissed her or simply whispered her name. He showed her it was worth it. That was why this impending trip hurt like hell. Liz hated the idea of Tess and Max sharing a child together. It was only supposed to be her that bore his children.

“You ok?” he asked squeezing her hand.

“Yeah,” she nodded.

Max was worried about her. There had been many tears shed over the last week, and Liz had yelled and thrown things in anger. He understood it, welcomed it even because he deserved it. He had promised her the world and only a month into it, something was threatening to take it away from them.

He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “We’ll be there soon,” he promised.

Their first stop in Roswell was Liz’s parents. The Parkers knew that Liz and Max had gotten back together, they didn’t know the circumstances but Liz was fairly sure they would figure it out quickly when they realised she was four months pregnant. Liz was prepared though; well she had been until the Tess’s bomb had been dropped on her.

Then they would go to the Evans, who basically knew everything, Liz knew that this would be the easier of the two.

After that, they would drive from Roswell to Las Cruses where they would stay with Isabel. From there they would work out how to deal with the Tess situation but first actually confirming that she was indeed pregnant.

Flash back

“Hello?”

“Hey Iz,” Max whispered brokenly.

Instantly, Isabel knew that Tess had indeed called.

“Hey how are you doing? I take it Tess called you.”

“Not so good.” he said.

“Understandable. How did Liz take the news?” she asked.

Max wanted to tell her desperately about Liz’s pregnancy then but didn’t because he knew Liz want to tell her parents first.

“She’s heartbroken and upset,” he replied. “But for some reason unbeknownst to me I’m lucky enough that she loves me Iz, and she isn’t going to leave me,” he told her.

Isabel sighed in relief. She didn’t know what Max would do if Liz broke up with him. It had become clearer and clearer in the past months how much he loved Liz which is why is confused Isabel that it had taken him so long to break up with Tess to be with her.

“Are you coming home?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Is she ok?” he asked.

“To tell you the truth I have no idea. This whole thing just kind of dropped like a bomb,” she admitted.

“She isn’t sick?” Max asked confused.

“She says she is, and she was sick the other day but I don’t know…”

“Do you think she’s lying about the baby being sick?” Max asked.

Isabel hesitated, it had crossed her mind that Tess was lying about the whole thing but it wasn’t her place to call her on it. “I really don’t know,” she admitted.

“I guess I’ll find out when I get there then.”

“I’m afraid so,” Isabel admitted.

“I’m scared Iz,” he cried then, “I’m scared that she’s pregnant and it’s going to ruin things between Liz and I.”

“Liz loves you, as long as you don’t loose sight of each other you’ll get through this.” she tried to comfort him. God she hoped she was right and that Liz would be able to stand by him.

“You’re right,” he agreed remembering Liz’s determination that he wasn’t going to Roswell without her.

“I’ll call you when I have all the details,” he told her.

“Ok, bye Max.”

“Bye Iz.” [/i]

“You look tired.” Max commented as he looked over at Liz.

“I didn’t sleep well last night,” she admitted.

Max felt his guilt increase, “I’m sorry I’m putting you through this.”

Liz nodded and tried to smile. “I’m scared,” she admitted then.

“Me too,” he agreed.

“Can we really do this?” she asked him then. “Do you really think it’s going to work out if Tess is pregnant too?”

“Yes,” He said seriously. “Because I can’t loose you, I won’t.”

Liz sighed, “That’s all I want to hear you say, but at the same time I have no idea how you’re supposed to be a dad to two babies when we don’t live anywhere near each other.”

Just another problem Max didn’t have the answer too.

“I’m sorry I don’t have all the answers,” he replied.

Liz nodded, “I know.”

“I do know that I love you, and I love our baby and that we’re going to be a family. It might just be that we’ll have some extended family that doesn’t live with us all the time.”

Could she handle that, Liz wondered? If it meant that the family she and Max wanted together was a reality, she was pretty sure she could handle anything.

***

“Hi Tess,” Isabel greeted her friend again.

“Hi Iz. I was just wondering if you knew when Max was coming home?” she wondered.

Despite what he had said on the phone he hadn’t phoned too tell her when he would be arriving, or if he even would be which left Tess to chase Isabel for information.

Isabel sighed. “He’s coming but I don’t know when,” she told her.

Max and Liz had decided not to tell anyone except Liz’s parents when they would arrive because they didn’t want any interruptions in sharing their news with their families.

“When I do I’ll call you,” she added wanting to make it clear that Tess didn’t need to keep ringing her.

“Ok,” she agreed.

***

Liz grinned as they pulled their rental car up out the front of her family’s restaurant.

“God it’s good to be home,” she told Max.

“I’ll bet,” he smiled at her, happy to see her happy.

“You nervous?” she asked him knowing that he was. She could feel it through their connection.

“Your dad doesn’t own a shot gun does he?” he half joked.

“Why would he need that? You only got his only daughter pregnant out of wedlock,” Liz teased.

“It’s not funny Liz. What if they hate me when they realise what I’ve done to you?” he asked.

“Gotten me pregnant with their grandchild?” she asked.

“Got you pregnant while being the biggest scum bag to walk the earth,” he clarified.

“Look if they figure it out, when they figure it, out we’ll deal with it. You weren’t the only one in the wrong ok. Besides what are the chances of my parents even knowing you were dating Tess?”

“True,” he agreed.

Jeff Parker looked up when they entered the restaurant and his face came alive at the sight of his only daughter.

“Lizzie,” he cried rushing forward to hug her.

Liz had chosen very carefully when picking her outfit that morning not wanting it to be obvious to everyone that she was pregnant straight away.

“Hi Daddy,” she grinned. “You remember Max right?” she asked when they pulled back.

“Sure. Hi Max,” he smiled and offered his hand.

“Good to see you again Mr Parker.” Max replied.

“Your mum is upstairs Liz, so let’s head up there,” he suggested.

They followed Jeff Parker up the stairs where a similar exchange took place with Nancy. Afterwards they all took a seat at the dinning room table for a cup of coffee, or tea in Liz’s case, and a piece of cake.

“So, not that it isn't great to see the two of you, what brings you to Roswell?” Nancy asked.

“Actually a couple of reasons,” Liz admitted, “but the most important is because Max and I have something to tell you and the Evan’s.”

Jeff and Nancy exchanged curious glances. They had always known that Liz and Max Evans shared something special, but they also knew that Max was the only boy who had ever been able to break their daughter’s heart. They didn’t hold it against him but that didn’t mean they weren’t cautious of the very new relationship Liz seemed to have with him.

“Ok,” Jeff said.

Liz took a deep breath before exchanging a look with Max. He squeezed her hand giving her the confidence she needed to tell them their news.

“I’m pregnant mum and Dad. Max and I are going to have a baby,” she said.

Both Parkers’ eyes went wide.

“How far along are you?” Nancy asked very confused.

“A little over four months,” Liz replied.

“What? How’s that possible? You’ve only been dating a month,” Jeff exclaimed.

“Actually Max and I have been seeing each other for about 7 months.” Liz admitted.

“Why didn’t you say something?” Nancy asked.

“We sort of weren’t really sure where we were going. Max was still living in New Mexico…” Liz trailed off.

“Four months Liz, don’t you think you could have told us before now?” Jeff asked.

“Liz really wanted to tell you face to face.” Max intervened.

Nancy smiled at her daughter then. “I knew you were glowing when you walked in here,” she whispered.

Liz blushed. “Are you happy? You’re going to be grandparents?”

“Of course we are baby,” Nancy assured her.

Liz breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Because Max and I are really thrilled about this,” she explained patting her stomach.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged then before Jeff Parker pulled Max aside.

Jeff Parker studied the boy with a stern face. “Do you love my daughter Max?” he asked.

“Will all my heart,” Max told him.

Jeff nodded seemingly happy. “Good, then I trust you’re going to do the right thing by her and your baby?”

Max grinned, “Actually I wanted to talk to you about that Mr Parker.”

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Thirty-Eight

Liz smiled as Max pulled the car up out the front of the rock formation. It was almost sunset and Max had insisted on a stop over before they made their way to his parents for dinner, and the second announcement.

“I thought we could watch the sunset,” he suggested as he walked around to her side of the car and helped her out.

“Sounds great,” she replied happy.

Things had gone better than she expected with her parents. They were extremely happy about the news and so far they hadn’t realised the truth of her relationship with Max. Liz knew it would come out in the end but she would prefer if it did on her terms.

Liz was also grateful for a few minutes together, and alone with Max, before they moved on towards Las Cruses the next day to face Tess.

They sat back on the bonnet of the car, holding hands in simple silence for a while as the sky began to change colours.

“Liz?” Max whispered.

“Yeah.”

“I love you so much.”

Liz smiled. “I love you too,” she replied.

Max’s face lit up with a smile and Liz could tell that he was happy about her words.

He reached into his pocket then and pulled out a small box.

“Max what…” Liz eyed the box confused.

“You told me a few months ago that you could see yourself getting married here,” he said. “In that very second I could picture you in your beautiful white dress, beautiful white lilies and roses in your hand, but most importantly I saw myself standing next to you, holding your hand and accepting your hand from your fathers,” he told her.

Liz felt tears spring to her eyes. What Max described was exactly what she had imagined when she had said those words to him.

“I want that day Liz, I’m so sorry it took me so long to find my way to you. I’ve spent my whole life feeling like I have an obligation, a responsibly to other people and because of that, and my cowardice I almost lost you. I don’t ever want to feel that way again. The only obligation and responsibility I want in my life is to you, and to my children as your husband and a father.”

“Oh Max,” Liz whispered.

“So what I’m asking you Elizabeth Claudia Parker is will you let me make your dreams come true? Will you be my wife?” he whispered and held out the beautiful ring for her to see.

Liz stared at the ring and back to Max. His words were beautiful and she really wanted to say yes but part of her was scared. They hadn’t been together officially for very long and then there was that voice in the back of her head that was telling her he was only doing it because of the baby. Couldn’t it all change if Tess was indeed pregnant?

Max saw her hesitation and his heart fell.

“I will love you with my whole heart Liz until the day I die,” he whispered passionately, almost pleading with her.

Liz locked eyes with her. “I want to,” she whispered, “but are you sure? Are you really sure Max? Because I don’t think my heart can survive heartbreak,” she cried.

Reaching out Max wiped away the tears falling down her face. “I have never been so sure of anything in my life. I want to be with you forever Liz, it might have taken me too long to decide, and I know I hurt you and I’m so sorry, but you can know with every fibre of your being that I will never regret my decision for a second.” He tapped his heart then, “It’s you and our baby in here and it always will be.”

Liz smiled then. ‘Yes,” she whispered. “Then yes Max Evans. I will marry you,” she agreed.

Max crushed Liz’s small body against his before pulling back to slide the ring on her finger. It slid on like it was made for her, which Liz suspected it was. “I’ve had this in my pocket since I came to New Haven for you.”

“Really?” Liz replied shocked.

“Yeah, I was just waiting for the perfect moment.”

“You scripted it perfectly then,” she replied gazing down at her finger.

They lay together on the bonnet again then exchanging loving kisses for endless moments both wanting to savour every second of their happy world, which they both knew could burst at any moment.

***

Hours later, it was a glowing couple who entered the front door of the Evans apartment. Their appearance made Dianne Evans stop in her tracks to greet them, her hand covering her mouth to stifle the gasp.

“Hi mum,” Max beamed.

“Max, Liz,” she whispered awed, “the two of you, you’re glowing.”

Max and Liz shared a glance then before turning back to Dianne and now Phillip who had joined Dianne.

“Well we’ve had an amazing day,” Max informed her.

Liz pushed a piece of hair back behind her ear then and the diamond on her finger sparkled clearly for Dianna and Phillip to see.

“Oh God!” Dianne gasped.

“Son, did you have something to tell us?” Phillip asked slightly surprised.

Arms wrapped around Liz, Max led them into the living room and took a seat before he replied. “Actually Liz and I have a couple of things to tell you.”

“Ok.”

“As you can see Liz is wearing my ring,” he grinned, “I asked Liz to marry me earlier and she said yes.”

“Oh that’s wonderful, congratulations,” Dianne, cried leaping off the lounge to hug and kiss them both. “Welcome to the family Liz,” she smiled at her.

“Thank you.”

Phillip although initially surprised was happy too. It was obvious from the first glance how in love the young couple were and how happy they were together. Phillip had already known that Max had felt something very special for Liz Parker and like any father; he just wanted his son to be happy.

“Congratulations both of you,” he agreed, “and Liz as Dianne already said, welcome to the family.”

“Thank you,” Liz grinned again.

“So do you have any idea when and where you’re going to get married?” Dianne asked excited.

Max chuckled, “We only got engaged an hour ago mum.”

“I know but you must have given it some thought.”

“Actually we know the where, here in Roswell, in the dessert,” Liz spoke up, “but as for when we might have to put that on hold for a few months,” she said. Liz had a pretty good idea of what she wanted for their wedding and it didn’t include not being able to fit into her dream gown because she was the size of a beached whale.

Dianne frowned in confusion, “Oh, ok well there really is no need to rush.”

“No that’s true,” Phillip agreed.

Liz shifted slightly on the couch then pulling her shirt tighter around her middle and drawing Phillip’s attention the small, but evident bump across her middle.

“Um you said there were a couple of things?” he asked then.

“Yes there is,” Max said again. He shared a look with Liz then who nodded in encouragement and squeezed his hand.

“Liz and I are having a baby,” he said.

At that moment, you could have heard a pin drop in the room. Dianne and Phillip exchanged shocked looks as they tried to think of something to say.

“Um how far along are you Liz?” Dianne finally asked.

“Four months,” Liz replied.

“Oh, well, are you well?” she asked.

“It’s getting better,” she admitted.

“I, well congratulations,” she finally smiled. “Isn’t it great Phillip?” she turned and prompted then.

Phillip was shocked, this was so unlike his responsible son, but then again he’d never thought Max would be one to cheat. He studied the couple then that were sitting on edge, waiting for him to react but it was evident that they were happy and he couldn’t see any reason not to be happy for them.

“It’s wonderful, congratulations,” he grinned.

Max almost sighed in relief. “Thank you,” he told them.

“It will be so wonderful that you and Izzy will be having children the same age, hopefully they’ll be able to grow up together and be as close as you and Isabel were.” Dianne said excitedly.

“We haven’t told Isabel yet.” Max said then. “She’s the next stop.”

“Well I’m sure she’ll be happy too. Shocked but happy.” Dianne chuckled.

“Yeah. We know it’s a shock for everyone given the circumstances Mrs Evans but Max and I are happy about this,” Liz spoke up.

“Did you tell your parents?” she asked.

“Yes, they’re excited.” Liz smiled.

“Do they know?” Phillip asked bluntly.

Liz’s smile faded slightly. “No, not yet,” she admitted, “but Max and I do intend on telling them everything eventually.”

Max and Liz had talked about it and both realised that it wasn’t feasible to keep their alien status a secret, especially if their baby turned out to have powers.

“That’s a smart decision,” Phillip agreed.

“Well with all this good news I think we should go out to dinner instead of staying in, what do you all think? Let’s go out and celebrate,” Dianne declared.

“Sounds good,” they all agreed.

***

“Isabel are you here?”

Isabel frowned when she heard the voice from her kitchen. It sounded like Michael had let himself into her house like usual but that was impossible because he was in New York.

“Isabel where are you?” she heard again.

She rushed towards the door and stopped short when she saw Michael standing in her doorway, suitcases around his feet and Maria standing behind him.

“Oh my God! What are you guys doing here?” she asked.

“Well Maria got a few days break so when you told me what was going on with Tess and Max we thought we should come back,” he shrugged.

Isabel moved forward to hug them. “It’s so good to see you,” she told them.

“Look at you Iz, you’re pregnant,” Maria grinned rubbing the bulge.

“I know, I’m so fat,” she groaned.

“Do you think you could put us up while we’re here?” Michael asked.

“Sure no problem. Max rang this morning and he’ll be here this afternoon,” she said then.

“Good,” Michael nodded, “we get this sorted out and get back to our lives.”

“If only it was that easy,” Isabel sighed.

“It never is when aliens are involved,” Maria rolled her eyes.

They moved to the kitchen then and Isabel offered them both a drink, “So how is Liz handling the news?” Michael asked.

Maria shifted at the mentioned of her former best friend’s name. The truth was she had had to stop herself a dozen times from picking up the phone and trying to call her since she found out about Tess. Maria knew that Liz would be devastated about the news just like she would be if their roles were reversed but she also knew that her phone call wouldn’t be welcomed. She wasn’t Liz’s best friend any more.

“She’s devastated understandably but for the moment it sounds like she’s going to stand by Max,” Isabel replied.

“Well that’s good.” Michael nodded, “And Max?”

“Stressed, I think he’s praying that Tess is lying.”

“Tess wouldn’t do that would she?” Maria spoke up.

Isabel and Michael exchanged looks, “I’m not sure, she’s been really messed up since Max left her, I think she’s pregnant but I’m not sure about he baby being sick.”

“Well I guess we’ll see when Max gets here,” Michael said.

“Yeah,” the girls agreed.

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Thirty–Nine

“Are you nervous?” Max asked Liz as they neared the street that Isabel and Alex lived in.

Although it had felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders after telling both sets of parents about the pregnancy, both Max and Liz weren’t naive. The hard part was still to come.

On top of dealing with Tess and Liz’s pregnancy news, Max hadn’t forgotten that this was the first time Liz was going to see Isabel and Tess in a long time.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “But are you sure you really want to tell them about the engagement and the baby all at once, haven’t they had enough news dropped on them lately?” she asked unsurely.

Max squeezed her hand over the gear stick. “I’m sure, they’ll be happy for us,” he told her.

“Ok,” she agreed. “What about Tess?” she asked then.

Although Liz was praying that Tess was lying, or that there was a mistake, she still felt for her and she knew that if the positions were reversed she would be devastated to find out that Max had moved on so quickly and was getting married and starting a family. She knew that no matter what, they had to be sensitive to Tess’s feelings.

They pulled into the driveway then and Max shut off the car. “I want to tell Tess too, she deserves the truth,” he said gently.

“Ok.” she agreed. “Whatever you think is best,” she added.

***

Inside the house, Isabel and Michael were sitting in the kitchen, Michael cooking and Isabel watching, while Maria was upstairs taking a shower. They both looked up when they heard the knock on the door.

“That’ll be Max,” Isabel stated.

“Does Tess know what time he’s getting here?” Michael asked as he followed Isabel towards the door.

“No. I thought it was best not to tell her. There is no way I would have got a second with him before she showed up if she had known.”

Michael nodded and waited as Isabel pulled open the door.

***

Outside Liz stood to the side clutching at Max’s hand as they waited for Isabel to answer he door.

When she did, Liz could tell straight away that she hadn’t noticed her standing off to the side. She quickly pulled Max into a hug and Liz smiled at the scene the sibling made.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

“Me too,” he agreed.

“I have a surprise for you,” she said then.

“Yeah?” Max asked surprised.

“Yep,” Isabel grinned she was just about to pull Max into the house when she finally noticed the small girl standing next to him.

“Liz!” she yelped in surprise wondering how she had missed her.

“Hi Isabel,” Liz nodded nervously.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were coming,” she said feeling stupid.

Liz cast a glance at Max wondering why he hadn’t mentioned it. “I’m sorry Iz. I just assumed you’d realise she’d be with me,” Max said.

Isabel shook her head.

“So what’s my surprise?” Max asked.

“Oh,” Isabel shook herself out of her shock and stepped aside so they could walk in.

It was there that Michael was standing and waiting for them.

“Michael!” Max grinned. “What are you doing here?” he asked letting go of Liz’s hand to share a manly hug with his best friend.

Liz watched awkwardly standing next to Isabel.

“Thought you could use some support,” he shrugged like it was no big deal. He looked at Liz then. “Hey Liz,” he greeted.

“Hi Michael,” she smiled.

“It’s good to see you,” he told her. She had changed from the girl he remembered, she was definitely a woman now and Michael could understand why Max had been unable to stay from her. She was more beautiful than the girl Max had fallen in love with all those years ago.

“You too,” Liz smiled happy that things seemed to be going better than she had expected.

Liz’s feelings were to be short lived though; no sooner than she had breathed a sigh of relief did Maria bound down the stairs.

“Is that Max?” she called.

Liz stiffened the second she head her voice and cast a pleading look at Max who quickly reached for her hand.

When Maria rounded the corner, she quickly stopped short when she didn’t just find Max, but Liz as well.

“Liz…” she whispered out in shock.

“Hey Maria,” Max greeted.

Maria stared at Liz, taking in every single change to her former best friend’s features and appearance. She had heard Alex talk about how different Liz was, in looks and personality but she was still blown away at what she saw. But the biggest shock was the obvious rounding of Liz’s stomach. She had done a good job at trying to hide it but Maria spotted it straight away. She had known Liz long enough to know that her waist had never been that thick.

“Hi Maria,” Liz finally spoke.

Maria looked up then. “Are you pregnant?” she choked out.

Both Isabel and Michael’s eyes widened at Maria’s words before turning to stare at Liz’s stomach.

Liz moved under their scrutiny and her face flamed in embarrassment.

“It is that obvious?” she tried to joke.

“Max?” Isabel gasped.

Max wrapped an arm around Liz and pulled her to his side. “How about we move this out of the foyer?” he suggested.

“Good idea,” Michael agreed.

“I should call Alex,” Isabel stuttered before heading off towards the phone.

Michael, Maria, Max and Liz made their way into the lounge room and waited for Isabel to join them.

“So how’s New York?” Max asked trying to break the awkward silence.

“Oh it’s good,” Michael nodded.

“How’s the album going Maria?” Max asked her directly.

Maria smiled, “Great, I got a few days off so we thought we come back; see if we could help with everything.”

“That’s good.” Max smiled. “Thanks for coming, I appreciate it.”

“What are you going to do Max?” Michael asked. “Have you spoken to Tess?”

Max sighed, typical Michael, blunt and straight to the point.

“Only the day she called. I thought I’d call her and organise for her to come over tonight.” Max said.

“That’s a good idea.” Michael nodded.

“What are we going to do if she’s telling the truth?” Michael asked. “I mean what if the baby is completely alien? How are we going to deal with that?”

Liz frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?” she had to ask.

“Well two aliens haven’t reproduced before how do we know what could happen?” he asked.

“Max and Tess are both half human too Michael,” Liz pointed out.

“So what’s wrong with the baby then?” Michael asked.

“I think we need to wait to talk to Tess,” Maria interrupted placing a hand on Michael’s arm to calm him down.

Isabel walked back into the room then. “Alex is on his way home, he’ll be about five minutes,” she said.

“Great,” Max nodded.

Liz couldn’t agree more. It would be good to have someone else in the room that didn’t look at her like she had two heads. Michael, Isabel and Maria wouldn’t stop staring at her and it was starting to get on her nerves.

It felt like only minutes later that Alex walked into the room.

He was surprised and happy to see both Liz and Maria and hugged them both.

“Now that Alex is here why don’t we get back to Maria’s question earlier?” Michael suggested.

Max sighed, “Michael.”

“What? It’s simple Maxwell. Either Liz is pregnant or she’s not.”

“You’re pregnant Liz?” Alex asked.

“Yeah I am Alex,” Liz smiled.

“Congratulations,” he grinned and hugged her tightly.

Apparently, Alex was the only one who felt that way though as the others continued to stare at Max and Liz in disbelief.

“How far along are you Liz?” Isabel asked a hand over her own baby.

“Four months,” she revealed.

“Four months? Don’t you think you could have said something sooner Max?” Isabel cried.

“I’ve only known since I got back to New Haven. Yes, I could have said something but I didn’t because Liz and I wanted, and needed some time to ourselves to get used to the idea of being parents,” he replied.

“Is this why you left?” Isabel asked then glaring at Liz accusingly.

“NO!” Max replied angrily.

“Great work Maxwell, only you could manage to get two women pregnant at the same time,” Michael replied sarcastically.

Liz felt tears spring to her eyes. Although she hadn’t expected the red carpet to be rolled out for her homecoming, she hadn’t expected Max’s friends and family to treat him so coldly.

“Michael that’s enough.” Maria said.

“What?” he asked. “It’s true. What the hell are you going to do if Tess really is pregnant?” he asked.

Holding Liz’s hand tight Max replied, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said.

“You should call Tess, Max,” Isabel said then.

She was upset with Max for not telling her about Liz being pregnant. She had thought they shared everything with each other, but obviously, that wasn’t the case anymore.

“I will,” he agreed.

He looked at Liz then, she looked tired and he could tell she was upset. “But first I think Liz and I could do with a nap,” he said.

“I’ll show you guys to your room,” Alex offered.

He was annoyed with his friends, mainly Isabel and Michael for the way they treated Liz and Max.

Max shook his head sadly, as he stood up. “Aren’t you even going to congratulate us Iz?” he asked hurt. “I’m going to be a dad,” he said.

Instantly tears sprung to Isabel’s eyes. “Of course,” she said and rushed towards him and engulfed him in her arms. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered.

“Thank you,” he said and pulled back.

Isabel turned to Liz then and hugged her too. “Congratulations Liz,” she whispered.

“Thank you,” Liz nodded. “The same to you,” she said gesturing towards her stomach.

Liz and Max followed Alex out of the room, leaving Isabel to sink into the chair in tears and Michael and Maria to feel bad about their own behaviour.