EYA Part 91
Real.
Liz released the panicked breath she had taken upon first waking in a soft sigh that could only be heard because of the utter silence that surrounded them. She watched her fingers tighten over Max’s bicep and felt his smooth skin under her cheek as she lay across his chest before she forced her fingers to relax. She didn’t want to wake him. His exhaustion was justified and he deserved whatever moments of rest his mind and body would allow him. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to convince her body to move away from him. It had to happen eventually, the bond was so strong, so overwhelming, and so exactly what they each needed. It was also exhausting them.
Her eyes drifted closed again and she almost floated back…but no. She snapped her eyes open as she realized what her struggle really was. The call of that numb, cold place inside herself was still strong. It pulled her, comforted her. Her reality had been skewed for so long that it was hard to believe that she didn’t need that place anymore. This was real. This was home and safe and good and love. That place inside could just fold away and hibernate back in the dark where it belonged, and hopefully, she would never have to drag it out in panic and terror again.
She swallowed hard and lifted her chin raising her arm off his body at the same time. The sun dappled their skin golden from the spaces between the curtain and she blinked in wonder as the light shifted and moved over them. Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she widened them and told herself not to cry. It was so stupid. Such a little thing as seeing the sunlight on her lovers skin, knowing it was morning and they were free to do whatever the hell they wanted could make tears come to her eyes. Her mind wrapped around that for a moment as she realized the scope of what she had lost for so long and appreciated the tiny things around her that she had always taken for granted.
My journal.
She had read once that writing things down was one of the best ways to expurgate the pain of what was inside. She sat up, reluctantly pulling away from Max’s warm skin. It felt unnatural to be voluntarily moving away from him, and Max obviously felt the same way as he moaned softly in his sleep and stirred restlessly toward her. She took his large hand in her much smaller one and scooted back until she was leaning against the headboard. He calmed immediately as he relaxed back into dreams, his hand holding hers tightly. She reached out with her free right hand and pulled open the drawer to her bedside table, suddenly panicked that it might no longer be there. The journal lay right where she had left it and she stared at it blankly for a moment before thinking, Of course it’s still there. Who would have moved it? She shook off the feeling of unreality that was trying to pull her back again, that haze of confusion had hung over her for too long, distorting what really was and replacing it with the much easier slide of oblivion. It felt like she had been gone for months. Years even. And they told her it was only weeks. And it scared her that she could feel so old now, so lost inside herself that nothing outside made sense as it used to.
Her fingers brushed over the smoothly textured cover of her journal before she scooped it out of the drawer and raised her knees to prop it open. The pen was still hooked over the cover and she removed the cap with her teeth flipping the pen in a familiar motion to slide the lid over the back end of the pen. She snugged it down and contemplated the blank page in front of her wondering when she had last made an entry. She didn’t look though. Somehow it seemed painful and wrong to look back over more innocent times when the biggest worry in a day was that Pam Troy was making a fool of herself over her husband. Things were darker now, less trivial. More real.
Her pen tipped to paper and she wrote just a single word before Max was moaning “No,” and rolling his head from side to side. Her pen dropped to the middle of the book, holding its place as she snapped it shut and set it to the side, immediately curling close to Max and offering her hands, her mouth, her softly spoken reassurances of his safety. Of their safety, because his worst nightmare was that he be safe and alive and healthy if she wasn’t. Images flickered to her of his dark dreams and she kissed him harder. His jaw, his stubbled cheek, his mouth all received her determined attention as she broke through his nightmare and replaced the terrifying images with thoughts of them together and happy.
It was working. Max was kissing her back suddenly with a desperation that matched her own as he raised his head up off the pillow to crush her lips harder against his own. His hands moved over her shoulders, one curling around the back of her head to pull her impossibly closer as the other worked down over her back to reach warm, smooth skin and revel in the freedom to touch.
Yes. Max understood. Real or nightmare, the line was shaky for both of them as they were wrenched back into life and left gasping for breath and feeling too young and too old at the same time.
He pulled back reluctantly, as if it pained him to do so and let his head fall back to the pillow. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair thinking, Sorry. Touch me. Too much. Love you. She’s okay now. Safe. And perhaps the most frustrating thought, Why? But he just opened his eyes and said simply, “Hi.”
Her gentle smile sent a wave of warmth over him. “Good morning.”
His hand smoothed over her shoulder and down her arm only to trace back up again. It felt so real. It grounded him and held his place and he knew she understood completely that they both needed that right now. Eventually it would be less intense. It had to be if they were going to function outside this room again. He trailed his fingers over her hip and across her abdomen. Hey, baby, he projected to Zan. Good morning. Mommy and Daddy love you. Her fingers slid over his, slipping between them and holding his hand tightly.
Her stomach growled loudly in the quiet of the room and they glanced at each other, startled, before bursting into laughter.
“Wait! Wait! I think I’m having a psychic moment,” he teased gently, one hand over his forehead as if it were an effort to try to read her thoughts. “Are you trying to hint at something?” Max rubbed his other hand over her tummy again.
“I think that was more than a hint, buddy, let’s go get some breakfast,” she teased back with a smile. She kept her hand firmly locked with his and pulled him up to a sitting position. The sheet pooled over his thighs and she paused for a moment, enjoying his naked form. She was leaning in for the kiss her body craved before remembering that she was still hungry. She pulled back and climbed over him to get off the bed. “Come on, Max. I need nourishment!” Her hand was on the door knob as Max bemusedly followed her before he remembered something important and pulled her back.
“Liz,” he started softly, waiting for her to turn around.
She looked up at him inquisitively, waiting for him to complete his thought.
“There’s um, well, there’s people out there.”
Liz blinked. People. The breath left her lungs. Why hadn’t she realized before that Max wasn’t the only one left with her here on this planet? People. People would mean Maria and Alex and Isabel and Kyle and Jim. Phillip and Diane. People who had worried and searched for them and would want to know if they were okay now. Oh my God, my parents! And she needed to sit down. She stumbled back to the bed and sat abruptly when the mattress hit the backs of her knees. She wasn’t ready. She could barely wrap her mind around Max and this room and now there were…people.
Max was kneeling in front of her warming her cold hands in his and saying things like, “I’ll take care of it. I’ll be here for you. We’re together now. We’re strong.” And she wanted to believe him desperately, and then she was nodding and making herself push him back away from her.
“I’m fine. It’s just, yeah, um,” and her eyes couldn’t seem to rise from the carpet.
Max understood. He glanced around the floor and grabbed a pair of shorts, pulling them on swiftly before retrieving a t-shirt from the bureau and donning it quickly. He scanned the room for his over-sized sweatshirt and found it crumpled in a heap at the end of the bed where they had hurriedly discarded it earlier. He snatched it up and lowered it over her head. She threaded her arms through the holes as he gathered her hair out from under the collar and let it spill through his fingers as he released it over her back. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lips gently.
“I’ll be right back with breakfast,” he promised, no trace of censure or disappointment in his tone. He turned and exited the room with a soft click of the door.
She stared at the closed door and felt shame rush over her briefly. She should be strong enough to face her friends. She stood on shaky legs and had taken only one step closer to the door before she heard the muted sound of voices. She froze in her place. There were other people out there, and maybe it was okay if she wasn’t quite ready yet. She crawled back over the bed until she was leaning back against the headboard again. Her breath came in labored gasps that she consciously tried to slow. Moments passed, filled with the quiet rush of conversation on the opposite side of the door and she just stared at it wanting Max back and at the same time knowing they would have to learn to stand independently again. Knowing it would have to be soon.
Her hand brushed over the journal that lay abandoned next to her. She wrapped her fingers under it and pulled it up to her chest, hugging it to her body for a moment. She opened it over her knees again and picked up the pen just as the door opened. Max stood framed in the light of the living room briefly before he completely entered the room and shut the door securely behind him.
He set a tray laden with food onto his bedside table and crawled across the bed to her. She reached out her left hand to cup his cheek and guide his mouth to hers for that brief, needed, contact.
“What?” Her voice was just a breath of air in the still room. Something was bothering him, making him anxious. The ripple in the connection was disturbing.
His brow furrowed in concern for her briefly before he released his breath and told her. “Your parents are on their way over right now.”
Her eyes widened and then shut completely as she processed the thought. It was coming sooner than she would have liked, but it had to happen. She opened her eyes and stared blankly at the one word she had written in her journal before she blinked and allowed herself to focus:
Real.
She closed the journal and capped the pen, putting both away in the bedside table. She would be ready.
TBC
.
Everything You Are (CC,M/L, Mature) AN PG 15 5/3/07 [WIP]
Moderators: Anniepoo98, ISLANDGIRL5, truelovepooh, Forum Moderators
EYA Part 92
They sat cross-legged on the bed facing each other, knees touching. The breakfast tray sat beside them, the food largely ignored except for the bites Max fed to Liz one-handed as they clasped their free hands. The sunlight flooded the room from the wide-open drapes and they each shared their joy at the simple pleasure of warm, natural light giving them a sense of time passing and freedom. They shared a small smile as the same reaction to the sun flashed between them.
A soft knock on the door startled them out of their absorption with each other and Max felt a flash of dismay as he registered how high they had both jumped in their seats at the unexpected intrusion. It was like they were both waiting for the other shoe to drop, or to wake up and realize that this was all just another one of the wonderful fantasies that had sustained them through the harshest times of their captivity.
Max looked to Liz for permission and received a brief nod before calling out, “Come in.” They braced themselves unconsciously and their hands gripped tighter as they watched the door slowly opening.
Michael peeked his head into the room briefly scanning them for nudity, fully prepared and more than half expecting to have to drop his eyes to the floor as they scrambled for clothes. His eyes widened as he saw their innocent positions on the bed. Liz clad in an over-sized sweatshirt that he recognized as Max’s and a pair of sweatpants and Max dressed in the same shorts and t-shirt he had appeared in this morning.
He opened the door wider and took a tentative step into their inner sanctum. “Is it okay if I…?” His voice trailed off as he gestured further into the room.
Max nodded and waved him inside turning back to the door as Isabel appeared. “Hi,” she murmured nervously. “Can I…?”
Max took a steadying breath and felt the flash of panic that was creeping up on Liz at the newest visitor. ‘It’s just them. That’s it, okay?’ His thumb massaged her palm and his other hand moved to her knee to rub over it lightly giving her the contact they both craved. Liz swallowed hard and nodded, her eyes wide.
Inside she was shaking, and of course Max knew that, but she was also exerting a strong effort into not retreating from their newest situation. Max felt her struggle and added his strength and support silently.
Liz cleared her throat and her mind blanked on what to say to them. It had been so long since she had been a part of a normal conversation. “Um, hey, guys,” she offered weakly summoning a tiny smile that she hoped looked normal.
Her smile widened naturally at the comical looks of shock that suddenly covered Michael and Isabel’s faces.
“She speaks,” Michael dead-panned before returning her grin.
Liz nodded shyly and focused on Max’s knees where they touched hers. “Yeah, um. I really never thanked you guys yet for…you know…for saving our lives in there and giving us back…” She met Max’s eyes and knew that he knew.
“Everything,” Max finished for her, not breaking eye contact. He looked to his friend and his sister. “You gave us back everything and we…we’re really grateful.”
Isabel’s eyes filled with her emotion and she moved automatically to the bed reaching out to hug him. Max’s eyes widened and he panicked inside briefly before bracing himself for being touched. She stopped just short of actual contact, suddenly remembering the shock, and stood awkwardly with her arms outstretched.
“I, um, why did you?” Max met her eyes, trying to convey his assurance that it would be okay. “It’s okay if…” He held out one arm to hug her and was puzzled when she still hesitated. “Okaay…” he drawled out looking back and forth between Michael and Isabel before dropping his arm and running his hand unconsciously over Liz’s thigh. “What’s going on, guys?”
Michael stepped up by Isabel and they shared twin looks of puzzlement. Didn’t they remember what had happened earlier in the living room?
“Are you being serious?” Michael asked and then immediately felt like an idiot. When was Max not serious? “Look, I don’t know how you could have not noticed, but every time one of us touches one of you it sets you off and shocks the hell out of us, which brings me to the reason for our little visit here this morning…” He trailed off at Max and Liz’s slack jawed looks of consternation.
“Wh…what?” Liz burst out, clutching Max’s hand in hers. “I’m touching Max and he’s not getting shocked…”
“It’s everyone else,” Isabel supplied. She turned to Liz. “Your parents are on their way. They were out of town yesterday when we brought you back, they thought they had a lead on where you were. They called into the police station this morning and just found out that you guys are back. They should be here within an hour and they’re gonna want to hug you and make sure you’re all right. We have to decide what to do. What to tell them. Can you control the shocks?”
Isabel turned back to Max as Liz paled visibly. Max put his hands under her arms and scooted her body around to sit in his lap while he cradled her there. He kissed the top of her head as his arms surrounded her. “Liz? What do you want to do? Are they ready to hear the truth?”
Liz’s eyes flew to Max’s in panic. ‘NO! We can’t tell them that! You know my Dad is going to freak out anyway. I’d lose them both and I just can’t handle that right now!’
‘It’s okay, Liz. We’ll make up something else.’ He thought for a moment, trying to come up with something they would accept as truth. Not the whole story, but with enough of the truth mixed in to make it believable. ‘We’ll say they thought you heard something that you shouldn’t have about their organization and wanted to make sure you wouldn’t talk. They took me later thinking you may have told me.’
Liz was nodding, ready to let Max make up the plan.
“Um, guys?” Michael interrupted. “We know your connection is really strong right now, but the rest of us still need to hear it out loud so we don’t mess up the plan, okay?”
Max flushed as he realized they had made up the whole plan in silence excluding their company without even realizing it.
“Yeah, sorry about that, we…”
“It’s okay,” Isabel interrupted, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed, still not touching them. “Just tell us what you’re thinking.”
Max was nodding. “Um, we think that they aren’t ready for the real truth.” Liz nodded her agreement and took up the story.
“We’ll tell them they were a disbanded government group that mistakenly thought that I found out something I shouldn’t have and were worried that I would talk, so they kidnapped me to find out what I knew and who I told.”
Max picked it up from there seamlessly. “And then they came back for me thinking I would be the logical one she would have told.”
Michael and Isabel agreed with their decision. “What about the shocks? What’s causing it? Can you control it?”
“Yeah, cause that would pretty much give away your alien origins if they get shocked by a blinding white light when they go to hug you,” Isabel added.
“I don’t know what’s causing it,” Max confessed. “We didn’t really even know we were doing it. We’ve been kind of in shock ourselves I guess, maybe if one of you touched us again? Just to see if we can control it now that we know…” Max looked from Isabel to Michael who was already stepping forward.
“I’ll do it,” Michael stated, noticing Isabel’s relieved sigh. He stood by the bed within reaching distance of Max. “Tell me when you’re ready.”
Max took a breath and pulled Liz closer with one arm as he reached his free hand out to Michael and nodded. Michael reached out and clasped Max’s hand. A flash of white light burst out around their hands and Michael jerked his hand back, cradling it to his chest.
“Jeez, Max! That’s not gonna work.” Michael winced, shaking his hand out. Isabel was standing now, her eyes were wide and worried. “I don’t think the shock was as bad as it was before but…”
“Bad enough,” Michael ground out through gritted teeth. The sting was fading, but the remembered pain was sharp. “What’re you gonna do?” He noticed how Max and Liz were clutching each other, lost in their communion. He waved his hand in front of them. “Hello? Trying to solve a problem here, so if we could have your whole attention?”
Max shook his head and focused back into the present. Liz and he had both been dismayed by this newest development, but had both felt the origin of the shock as it pulsed from Max to Michael. Their connection was protecting them, or more precisely they were protecting each other from anything outside of themselves. They were so connected, so bonded, that the energy was pulsing too strongly to control the physical stun that erupted to protect any disruption to the bond that was so necessary for their mental health. They both knew what they had to do. Doing it was harder.
“We have to release the bond,” Liz whispered lowly so Isabel and Michael had to strain to hear. “Not completely, of course, but it’s…too much.” She sighed and leaned her head back against Max’s chest. Her eyes closed as if doing so could block out what had to be done. She’d known the bond was too strong, that the level of connection was too high for them to function, but facing the reality that now was the time…she sighed again. It had to be done.
Max was running his hands up and down Liz’s arms to warm her. ‘We’ll still be together. Nothing will prevent that.’ Liz was nodding, her eyes still closed. She initiated the withdrawal, knowing Max would not start himself. As she began, he moved to help and with a wrenching jolt they were two again. Liz gasped and a tear rolled down her cheek. ‘I’m still here. Shhh, it’s gonna be okay.’ Max’s mental voice was the same as before, but he had to project it to her by force of will instead of having her just know practically before he even completed the thought.
“It’s done,” she said aloud for their audience, not willing to communicate silently just yet, knowing the extra effort would hurt her after the free-flowing communication they had previously enjoyed.
She held out a hand to Michael who was looking at her warily. He tentatively reached out the hand that had not yet been shocked and brushed his fingers with hers, fully prepared to yank them back. Nothing happened. He clasped her trembling hand in his and folded his other hand over it.
“Welcome back,” he whispered, emotions muting his voice.
TBC
They sat cross-legged on the bed facing each other, knees touching. The breakfast tray sat beside them, the food largely ignored except for the bites Max fed to Liz one-handed as they clasped their free hands. The sunlight flooded the room from the wide-open drapes and they each shared their joy at the simple pleasure of warm, natural light giving them a sense of time passing and freedom. They shared a small smile as the same reaction to the sun flashed between them.
A soft knock on the door startled them out of their absorption with each other and Max felt a flash of dismay as he registered how high they had both jumped in their seats at the unexpected intrusion. It was like they were both waiting for the other shoe to drop, or to wake up and realize that this was all just another one of the wonderful fantasies that had sustained them through the harshest times of their captivity.
Max looked to Liz for permission and received a brief nod before calling out, “Come in.” They braced themselves unconsciously and their hands gripped tighter as they watched the door slowly opening.
Michael peeked his head into the room briefly scanning them for nudity, fully prepared and more than half expecting to have to drop his eyes to the floor as they scrambled for clothes. His eyes widened as he saw their innocent positions on the bed. Liz clad in an over-sized sweatshirt that he recognized as Max’s and a pair of sweatpants and Max dressed in the same shorts and t-shirt he had appeared in this morning.
He opened the door wider and took a tentative step into their inner sanctum. “Is it okay if I…?” His voice trailed off as he gestured further into the room.
Max nodded and waved him inside turning back to the door as Isabel appeared. “Hi,” she murmured nervously. “Can I…?”
Max took a steadying breath and felt the flash of panic that was creeping up on Liz at the newest visitor. ‘It’s just them. That’s it, okay?’ His thumb massaged her palm and his other hand moved to her knee to rub over it lightly giving her the contact they both craved. Liz swallowed hard and nodded, her eyes wide.
Inside she was shaking, and of course Max knew that, but she was also exerting a strong effort into not retreating from their newest situation. Max felt her struggle and added his strength and support silently.
Liz cleared her throat and her mind blanked on what to say to them. It had been so long since she had been a part of a normal conversation. “Um, hey, guys,” she offered weakly summoning a tiny smile that she hoped looked normal.
Her smile widened naturally at the comical looks of shock that suddenly covered Michael and Isabel’s faces.
“She speaks,” Michael dead-panned before returning her grin.
Liz nodded shyly and focused on Max’s knees where they touched hers. “Yeah, um. I really never thanked you guys yet for…you know…for saving our lives in there and giving us back…” She met Max’s eyes and knew that he knew.
“Everything,” Max finished for her, not breaking eye contact. He looked to his friend and his sister. “You gave us back everything and we…we’re really grateful.”
Isabel’s eyes filled with her emotion and she moved automatically to the bed reaching out to hug him. Max’s eyes widened and he panicked inside briefly before bracing himself for being touched. She stopped just short of actual contact, suddenly remembering the shock, and stood awkwardly with her arms outstretched.
“I, um, why did you?” Max met her eyes, trying to convey his assurance that it would be okay. “It’s okay if…” He held out one arm to hug her and was puzzled when she still hesitated. “Okaay…” he drawled out looking back and forth between Michael and Isabel before dropping his arm and running his hand unconsciously over Liz’s thigh. “What’s going on, guys?”
Michael stepped up by Isabel and they shared twin looks of puzzlement. Didn’t they remember what had happened earlier in the living room?
“Are you being serious?” Michael asked and then immediately felt like an idiot. When was Max not serious? “Look, I don’t know how you could have not noticed, but every time one of us touches one of you it sets you off and shocks the hell out of us, which brings me to the reason for our little visit here this morning…” He trailed off at Max and Liz’s slack jawed looks of consternation.
“Wh…what?” Liz burst out, clutching Max’s hand in hers. “I’m touching Max and he’s not getting shocked…”
“It’s everyone else,” Isabel supplied. She turned to Liz. “Your parents are on their way. They were out of town yesterday when we brought you back, they thought they had a lead on where you were. They called into the police station this morning and just found out that you guys are back. They should be here within an hour and they’re gonna want to hug you and make sure you’re all right. We have to decide what to do. What to tell them. Can you control the shocks?”
Isabel turned back to Max as Liz paled visibly. Max put his hands under her arms and scooted her body around to sit in his lap while he cradled her there. He kissed the top of her head as his arms surrounded her. “Liz? What do you want to do? Are they ready to hear the truth?”
Liz’s eyes flew to Max’s in panic. ‘NO! We can’t tell them that! You know my Dad is going to freak out anyway. I’d lose them both and I just can’t handle that right now!’
‘It’s okay, Liz. We’ll make up something else.’ He thought for a moment, trying to come up with something they would accept as truth. Not the whole story, but with enough of the truth mixed in to make it believable. ‘We’ll say they thought you heard something that you shouldn’t have about their organization and wanted to make sure you wouldn’t talk. They took me later thinking you may have told me.’
Liz was nodding, ready to let Max make up the plan.
“Um, guys?” Michael interrupted. “We know your connection is really strong right now, but the rest of us still need to hear it out loud so we don’t mess up the plan, okay?”
Max flushed as he realized they had made up the whole plan in silence excluding their company without even realizing it.
“Yeah, sorry about that, we…”
“It’s okay,” Isabel interrupted, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed, still not touching them. “Just tell us what you’re thinking.”
Max was nodding. “Um, we think that they aren’t ready for the real truth.” Liz nodded her agreement and took up the story.
“We’ll tell them they were a disbanded government group that mistakenly thought that I found out something I shouldn’t have and were worried that I would talk, so they kidnapped me to find out what I knew and who I told.”
Max picked it up from there seamlessly. “And then they came back for me thinking I would be the logical one she would have told.”
Michael and Isabel agreed with their decision. “What about the shocks? What’s causing it? Can you control it?”
“Yeah, cause that would pretty much give away your alien origins if they get shocked by a blinding white light when they go to hug you,” Isabel added.
“I don’t know what’s causing it,” Max confessed. “We didn’t really even know we were doing it. We’ve been kind of in shock ourselves I guess, maybe if one of you touched us again? Just to see if we can control it now that we know…” Max looked from Isabel to Michael who was already stepping forward.
“I’ll do it,” Michael stated, noticing Isabel’s relieved sigh. He stood by the bed within reaching distance of Max. “Tell me when you’re ready.”
Max took a breath and pulled Liz closer with one arm as he reached his free hand out to Michael and nodded. Michael reached out and clasped Max’s hand. A flash of white light burst out around their hands and Michael jerked his hand back, cradling it to his chest.
“Jeez, Max! That’s not gonna work.” Michael winced, shaking his hand out. Isabel was standing now, her eyes were wide and worried. “I don’t think the shock was as bad as it was before but…”
“Bad enough,” Michael ground out through gritted teeth. The sting was fading, but the remembered pain was sharp. “What’re you gonna do?” He noticed how Max and Liz were clutching each other, lost in their communion. He waved his hand in front of them. “Hello? Trying to solve a problem here, so if we could have your whole attention?”
Max shook his head and focused back into the present. Liz and he had both been dismayed by this newest development, but had both felt the origin of the shock as it pulsed from Max to Michael. Their connection was protecting them, or more precisely they were protecting each other from anything outside of themselves. They were so connected, so bonded, that the energy was pulsing too strongly to control the physical stun that erupted to protect any disruption to the bond that was so necessary for their mental health. They both knew what they had to do. Doing it was harder.
“We have to release the bond,” Liz whispered lowly so Isabel and Michael had to strain to hear. “Not completely, of course, but it’s…too much.” She sighed and leaned her head back against Max’s chest. Her eyes closed as if doing so could block out what had to be done. She’d known the bond was too strong, that the level of connection was too high for them to function, but facing the reality that now was the time…she sighed again. It had to be done.
Max was running his hands up and down Liz’s arms to warm her. ‘We’ll still be together. Nothing will prevent that.’ Liz was nodding, her eyes still closed. She initiated the withdrawal, knowing Max would not start himself. As she began, he moved to help and with a wrenching jolt they were two again. Liz gasped and a tear rolled down her cheek. ‘I’m still here. Shhh, it’s gonna be okay.’ Max’s mental voice was the same as before, but he had to project it to her by force of will instead of having her just know practically before he even completed the thought.
“It’s done,” she said aloud for their audience, not willing to communicate silently just yet, knowing the extra effort would hurt her after the free-flowing communication they had previously enjoyed.
She held out a hand to Michael who was looking at her warily. He tentatively reached out the hand that had not yet been shocked and brushed his fingers with hers, fully prepared to yank them back. Nothing happened. He clasped her trembling hand in his and folded his other hand over it.
“Welcome back,” he whispered, emotions muting his voice.
TBC
EYA Part 93
The knock startled the two occupants in the living room into a nervous jump and they looked at each other, smiling anxiously, until Michael stood to answer the door. He paused there, one hand on the door knob and waited until Isabel knocked softly on the bedroom door and peeked her head in to let Max and Liz know that it was time. Isabel turned back to Michael and nodded briefly before resettling herself on the couch. Michael and Isabel planned to remain through the reunion to offer whatever support they could and to fill in any awkward gaps that might come up.
Michael took a breath to stabilize himself and sent a silent prayer that Liz’s parents would buy the story they had concocted. He pulled the door open and prepared to greet Nancy and Jeff, but he was the one that was startled when he found Deputy Hanson and another deputy standing outside the entrance.
“What are you doing here?” He felt like clamping a hand over his wayward mouth. What had he been thinking questioning the authority’s right to be there? Thinking about it now he realized he should be more surprised that they hadn’t shown up earlier. He suspected Valenti and Max’s parents had something to do with that.
Hanson shifted his weight from one foot to the other and tried to project authority. “Well, Michael, as I’m sure you know this town is very glad to have Max and Liz back safely after all this time, but we still need to find out what happened and catch the perpetrators.” Michael nodded mutely, but remained blocking the doorway. He could hear Max and Liz’s door open and then light footfalls approaching behind him.
“What’s going on, Michael? Why aren’t you…” Max’s voice trailed off as he took in the officers at his door. His face paled alarmingly and he took an involuntary step back, almost running into Liz, as his hand reached back to meet hers where he knew it would be waiting for him. She clutched his hand into both of hers and her eyes grew impossibly large. Lying to her parents was something that she hated the thought of, but she was prepared to do it to protect what they had. Lying to the cops was going to be harder. They knew how to ferret out the truth from the deception, and they could never hear the real story.
‘Max!’
‘It’s okay, it’s okay…we’ll tell them what we were going to tell your parents. It’ll work. They can’t prove otherwise. It’s okay.’ Max was thinking fast, trying to call up all his reserves of strength to face this new dilemma calmly and stay strong for Liz at the same time.
“Are you okay, son?” Hanson neatly stepped past Michael, who remained partially blocking the doorway, and moved toward Max. The boy’s pallor was alarming and it was clear he’d been through a major ordeal. He reached out a hand to Max’s shoulder in a friendly, steadying gesture and was surprised when Max flinched away from the contact.
Max saw the man moving closer and couldn’t stop himself from arching away from his touch. He stepped back and moved an arm around Liz, tucking her into his side. “Oh hey, Deputy, um, yeah, we’re fine now. It’s been a rough month, you know? We’re still trying to get back into the swing of things.” He moved over to the easy chair and sat down with Liz curling into his side. His other arm circled her protectively as her head tucked under his chin. He watched Hanson warily, hoping he wouldn’t try to touch them again.
Hanson watched their actions with a raised eyebrow and a million questions floated into his head, but he felt like he was out of his depth.
“Actually, it’s ‘Sheriff’ now, uh, Jim Valenti has been relieved of duty.” Sheriff Valenti stared at the floor, his hat in his hand.
“What?” From Michael and Max simultaneously. Isabel was the only one who wasn’t surprised.
“Well, yeah. There was some question of protocol in the way he went about…um, rescuing you two. So…”
Max just shook his head. One more thing on his conscience. They couldn’t even get rescued without consequences to their friends.
Being sheriff of Roswell should have been an easy job. Fining kids for speeding, breaking up the occasional rowdy party, a domestic disturbance here and there. This...whatever this was, was something unheard of in their town’s history. These kids had been violently taken and held for weeks without word or ransom demands, and now here they were, obviously scared out of their minds, but apparently unharmed physically in any way. He squared his shoulders and strengthened his resolve. It was his job and his duty to figure out what had happened to these kids.
“Why don’t you have a seat, Sheriff Hanson, deputy.” Isabel stood by the sofa and gestured for the two officers to sit. Michael had stepped aside and allowed the deputy to enter as well and now stood with his back to the closed door and his arms crossed over his chest.
The sheriff and deputy took the offered seats across from Max and Liz and shifted nervously in their chairs. All four kids were staring at them as if they were scared. Something was off. Wrong.
“Have you two seen a doctor yet? I know you only got back yesterday, but Sher…I mean Jim Valenti told us that you were checked out before you got back. Any problems we should know about?” Sheriff Hanson cursed his slip of the tongue. He still thought of Valenti as his boss and it was hard to break the old habit.
Max shook his head. “We’ve both got a clean bill of health, Sheriff.” He’d decided just to answer the man’s questions and not volunteer anything else.
Hanson nodded and glanced down at a notepad where he’d jotted down some thoughts. “I know this has got to be real hard to talk about right now, but…”
A knock at the door startled them and Michael whirled quickly to grab the knob. He opened it swiftly to find Nancy and Jeff practically jumping with excitement in the doorway.
Jeff placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder and moved him to the side as Nancy darted into the room. “Where is she?” Jeff was demanding, even as his eyes fell on his daughter curled up in Max Evans’ arms in a large chair in the living room. He stopped in his tracks as his eyes filled with tears. “I…I couldn’t let myself believe it until I saw you myself,” he whispered slowly.
Liz had sat up in Max’s lap at their entrance and she hesitantly moved to stand, bracing herself for physical contact. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she took in the exhausted, weary couple that her parents had become and knew that they looked that way because they had spent almost four desperate weeks searching for her.
Nancy rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter. There was an audible snap in the air and a tiny flash of white light burst between them. Nancy jumped back, startled for a moment, as Liz looked over her shoulder in panic at Max. Max stood and placed his hand over Liz’s lower back to steady her and help her center herself again.
Isabel laughed nervously and tried to salvage the situation. “Static. This garage apartment is full of static. We’re always shocking each other up here.” Hanson was nodding even as Nancy was embracing Liz again, this time with no shocking results. Max stayed behind Liz, touching her lightly, feeling the slight tremble that she couldn’t hold back and knowing she couldn’t take much more of this.
“Liz, baby…oh, Liz, we prayed. We’ve been searching for you every day. We had almost no clues. Oh, sweetheart, are you okay? Did they hurt you, honey? Where were you all this time?” Nancy framed Liz’s face in her hands and stared deeply into her eyes. What she saw broke her heart, because the little girl she had raised was gone, replaced by a scared, trembling woman who stared back at her with eyes that were too large in a pale, pale face, and she looked haunted by her experiences.
“Oh, sweetie, you’re home now.” Nancy engulfed her in another hug, her arm brushing against Max, who stood protectively close. She glanced up at him and put an arm around him as well. “You’re both safe.” She sighed, satisfied for the moment. The search was over, and the kids were home.
“Did you see a doctor? We can take you over right now…” Nancy trailed off as Liz shook her head.
“We’re fine, Mom. We’ve both been checked out thoroughly,” by Max, she added in her thoughts, “and we’re both fine.”
Nancy had a startling thought and moved her hand down to Liz’s stomach. Liz stepped back before she could make contact and turned into Max’s embrace. “Liz? What about…?” Nancy thought that Liz should be showing by now. At four and a half months, on such a tiny frame, Liz should be in maternity clothes by now.
“Zan’s fine. They…” she choked at the lie, “they didn’t hurt us.” They had no scars on the outside.
Jeff stepped up and hugged Liz close, pulling her out of Max’s arms. She hugged him back fiercely, remembering that the last time she had seen him he had been beat up and tied to a chair in his own home. “Daddy? Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you too bad, did they?” Her voice trembled, she knew what they were capable of.
Jeff was shaking his head. How could this child of his, this girl more precious than his own heart, be worried about him when she was the one who had clearly made it through much worse. “I’m fine, sweetie, nothing to worry about. What about you? How did you get away?” He turned to the sheriff. “Did you catch them yet?”
Hanson stood and shook his head. “We’re just here gathering details so we have someplace to start looking.”
Jeff’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. “The kids have been back since yesterday and you’re just now getting around to getting the details??” His voice rose incredulously and color suffused his face. He hugged Liz harder as if he’d never let her go. “Is this case not big enough for you? Did you have to stop a drunken brawl at the Pizza Pan before you could swing by?” His tone was scathing.
Hanson felt the color rising in his face before he could stop it. “No, sir. We were assured by Sh…, ahem, Jim Valenti that the kids were in no shape last night to be questioned and that they needed the time to recuperate. We called Diane and Philip and they wholeheartedly agreed that we should wait until this morning.”
Liz pulled back from her father and grabbed Max’s hand again. “It’s true, Dad,” she added softly, looking back and forth between her parents. “We were pretty out of it yesterday. It was hard to believe we were safe, and we needed some time alone to heal.” She could have kicked herself for her use of terms when the four visitors scanned up and down their bodies to make sure they were really okay. “I meant heal mentally,” she added hastily. She made a mental note to learn to lie better in the future. She was sure they could all see right through her.
Nancy was nodding and moved to Liz’s side. Liz took a deep breath and reminded herself harshly that this was her mother for goodness sakes, nothing to be scared of here. Max’s fingers tightened reassuringly around her own as he felt her swift stab of panic when her mother placed an arm over her shoulders.
Liz concentrated on regular breathing and tried to force tense muscles to relax so her mother wouldn’t realize anything was wrong. She couldn’t stop herself from shrugging away after a moment though and tried to make it look as natural as she could when she moved Max back to their seat and sat down in his lap again. She curled up under his chin and breathed deeply of his soothing scent. She didn’t care at the moment what it looked like to everyone else. This was what she needed. She glance up and caught the hurt look in her mother’s eyes and felt a brief flash of guilt, but she was sure her mother just couldn’t realize what all this was doing to her right now, how much she depended on Max for her next breath. She sighed against his chest when Max tightened his arms around her protectively and sent her soothing reassurances.
Nancy stepped back to stand by her husband, eyes locked on Liz. She looked so small and lost, so dependant on Max. They must be a great comfort to each other, she thought as she watched their tender interactions. They had endured whatever had happened to them together.
Max ran an absent hand through Liz’s hair and met the Sheriff’s eyes. “What can we answer for you?”
Hanson sat up straighter and tried to pull his professional act together. “Well, son,” he almost winced at that. It sounded better coming from Sher…um Valenti. He himself was too young to get away with calling teenagers ‘son’. He cleared his throat and forged on. “Do you know anything about the men who took you and Liz? We’re assuming it was the same group of people?”
Max nodded, kissing the top of Liz’s head. Her eyes were closed and he knew she was gathering her strength again. “It was the same group. We never found out who they were exactly. They’re dead.” He stated it flatly and heard the gasps around the room. Even Michael and Isabel appeared shocked. They hadn’t rehearsed that part of the story.
Hanson leaned forward eagerly. “Dead? I’m sorry, Max, but did you say they were dead? How did that happen? Why were they holding you and Liz? Where have you been all this time? Did you kill them?”
Max winced at the onslaught of questions, but met Hanson’s eyes calmly. “You heard me right. They grabbed Liz because she was walking in the park during some secret exchange they had arranged and they got jumpy and thought that she had seen something she shouldn’t have. We’ve pieced together that they were some disbanded government group, and they didn’t want anyone to know whatever it was that they were up to. She hadn’t seen anything, so they thought they’d grab me, thinking that I would be the most logical person she would tell about it, but I didn’t know anything either. They held us and questioned us every day, until Jim Valenti found us and helped us escape. As we were running out of there they were firing their guns and some oxygen tanks exploded and trapped them all inside. We watched them die.”
There was the soft sound of breath being released as everyone who had been holding it in remembered that oxygen was necessary for life. Hanson shook his head and stood up. “I’m real sorry you were put through that, Max, Liz, but I’m gonna have to go check out that site for myself. Would you happen to have an address?” He stood, pen poised at paper and looked at them expectantly.
Michael stepped up and supplied the address, knowing Max and Liz had had enough. Hanson nodded and stepped forward, holding out his hand to Max.
Max reached up and joined hands briefly, an electric flash erupting on contact. Hanson pulled back startled and shook his hand briefly. “That’s some static up here,” he mumbled, turning toward the door. The deputy followed him out, turning briefly to tell them they would keep them informed of what they found.
Jeff was shaking his head. “All that for nothing! How could they do that to our little girl over something she never even saw?” Jeff’s outrage was fresh. After hearing the story they had concocted he was left with no action. The bad guys were dead and his daughter had suffered needlessly. He wanted to hit something, if only to vent his frustration. He watched how his daughter tried to melt into Max’s arms. She should be with her family. She should be coming to him for protection.
He reached out for Liz. “Come on, honey,” he coaxed her gently. She didn’t stir from her spot. It was almost as if she hadn’t heard him. “Liz?” He raised his voice a notch to get her attention.
Liz peered up at him as if coming back from a great distance. “Daddy?” She questioned him slowly, as if it were an effort.
Jeff’s heart broke at the sight of his hurting daughter. She obviously needed her family. “Come on, sweetheart. We’re going home now.” Liz just blinked at him in confusion.
“Home?”
“Yes, honey,” he moved closer and took her arm, trying to pull her up. “Back to our place. Back to your room and all the things that are familiar to you…”
“Jeff…” Nancy interjected, knowing that this would not go well. Jeff shrugged off her restraining arm and pulled more firmly on Liz’s hand.
Liz was shaking her head and trembling. “No! Daddy, you don’t understand…”
“I think I do, Liz. You were safe with us. You had a normal happy life until you got tangled up with Max here. You just need to come home with us and let us help you and you’ll see.” He dropped Liz’s arm at a sharp sting of pain that pierced his palm. He shook his hand out and stared at his palm expecting to see a wound. It looked normal.
“No, Daddy, you don’t understand. I am home. Max is the only person I need right now to recover from this and I will not let you take that away from us. Not now and not ever. You need to accept that we are together. Max is not what caused this to happen, and please remember that he suffered too. He is the only person alive who could possibly understand what I’m going through right now, and if you can’t understand that then maybe you should leave!” Tears were streaming down her face and she burrowed into Max’s chest again. He gathered her body close and rose to stand with her in his arms.
“I think we need to rest for awhile,” he stated softly, meeting Nancy and Jeff’s stricken expressions. “Please understand that we’ve been through too much recently to be calm about this right now. Give us some time to work through this…Liz loves you both and needs you in our lives. We’ll call you soon.” With that, he turned and disappeared through the doorway into their bedroom. It clicked softly closed behind them, but they could still hear Liz’s sobbing cries and the comforting rumble of Max’s voice trying to soothe her.
Jeff took one step toward their door before Michael was blocking the path. “You heard what they said, Mr. Parker,” Michael put in quickly.
“Michael, move out of my way.” Jeff tried to step around him.
Michael moved to block him again. “They both told you to back off for now. They need to be together. None of us truly knows all they have been through recently, but it should be obvious that the one thing they’re relying on to make it through is each other. Can you not see that?”
“It’s not your place to…” Jeff started.
“No. It’s not your place anymore, Mr. Parker. Liz and Max are married. It’s legal, no matter how much you don’t like it, and you should respect that.”
“I should respect the biggest mistake of her life?” Jeff’s voice rose sharply as he stepped forward into Michael’s face.
“You should respect her choice. She’ll be the one to decide if it’s a mistake or not.” Michael and Jeff both turned in surprise to face Nancy.
“Nancy?” Jeff sounded lost. He’d expected her to be in his corner on this.
“Jeff, you’re acting like an ass. You know that she’s married, and you should be able to see how much they love each other right now. Ripping her away from the man she loves is not the way to help her now. You’re just pushing her further away when all you really want to do is pull her closer. Now let’s go home and we’ll figure out how you can make this up to your daughter.”
Nancy paced to the door, furious with Jeff for making things worse with their daughter. Jeff cast one final look at the closed bedroom door and followed his wife out of the apartment.
The door closed noisily and Isabel and Michael just stared at each other in shock.
“That went better than I expected,” Michael quipped with a half smile. Isabel threw a couch pillow at his head.
TBC
The knock startled the two occupants in the living room into a nervous jump and they looked at each other, smiling anxiously, until Michael stood to answer the door. He paused there, one hand on the door knob and waited until Isabel knocked softly on the bedroom door and peeked her head in to let Max and Liz know that it was time. Isabel turned back to Michael and nodded briefly before resettling herself on the couch. Michael and Isabel planned to remain through the reunion to offer whatever support they could and to fill in any awkward gaps that might come up.
Michael took a breath to stabilize himself and sent a silent prayer that Liz’s parents would buy the story they had concocted. He pulled the door open and prepared to greet Nancy and Jeff, but he was the one that was startled when he found Deputy Hanson and another deputy standing outside the entrance.
“What are you doing here?” He felt like clamping a hand over his wayward mouth. What had he been thinking questioning the authority’s right to be there? Thinking about it now he realized he should be more surprised that they hadn’t shown up earlier. He suspected Valenti and Max’s parents had something to do with that.
Hanson shifted his weight from one foot to the other and tried to project authority. “Well, Michael, as I’m sure you know this town is very glad to have Max and Liz back safely after all this time, but we still need to find out what happened and catch the perpetrators.” Michael nodded mutely, but remained blocking the doorway. He could hear Max and Liz’s door open and then light footfalls approaching behind him.
“What’s going on, Michael? Why aren’t you…” Max’s voice trailed off as he took in the officers at his door. His face paled alarmingly and he took an involuntary step back, almost running into Liz, as his hand reached back to meet hers where he knew it would be waiting for him. She clutched his hand into both of hers and her eyes grew impossibly large. Lying to her parents was something that she hated the thought of, but she was prepared to do it to protect what they had. Lying to the cops was going to be harder. They knew how to ferret out the truth from the deception, and they could never hear the real story.
‘Max!’
‘It’s okay, it’s okay…we’ll tell them what we were going to tell your parents. It’ll work. They can’t prove otherwise. It’s okay.’ Max was thinking fast, trying to call up all his reserves of strength to face this new dilemma calmly and stay strong for Liz at the same time.
“Are you okay, son?” Hanson neatly stepped past Michael, who remained partially blocking the doorway, and moved toward Max. The boy’s pallor was alarming and it was clear he’d been through a major ordeal. He reached out a hand to Max’s shoulder in a friendly, steadying gesture and was surprised when Max flinched away from the contact.
Max saw the man moving closer and couldn’t stop himself from arching away from his touch. He stepped back and moved an arm around Liz, tucking her into his side. “Oh hey, Deputy, um, yeah, we’re fine now. It’s been a rough month, you know? We’re still trying to get back into the swing of things.” He moved over to the easy chair and sat down with Liz curling into his side. His other arm circled her protectively as her head tucked under his chin. He watched Hanson warily, hoping he wouldn’t try to touch them again.
Hanson watched their actions with a raised eyebrow and a million questions floated into his head, but he felt like he was out of his depth.
“Actually, it’s ‘Sheriff’ now, uh, Jim Valenti has been relieved of duty.” Sheriff Valenti stared at the floor, his hat in his hand.
“What?” From Michael and Max simultaneously. Isabel was the only one who wasn’t surprised.
“Well, yeah. There was some question of protocol in the way he went about…um, rescuing you two. So…”
Max just shook his head. One more thing on his conscience. They couldn’t even get rescued without consequences to their friends.
Being sheriff of Roswell should have been an easy job. Fining kids for speeding, breaking up the occasional rowdy party, a domestic disturbance here and there. This...whatever this was, was something unheard of in their town’s history. These kids had been violently taken and held for weeks without word or ransom demands, and now here they were, obviously scared out of their minds, but apparently unharmed physically in any way. He squared his shoulders and strengthened his resolve. It was his job and his duty to figure out what had happened to these kids.
“Why don’t you have a seat, Sheriff Hanson, deputy.” Isabel stood by the sofa and gestured for the two officers to sit. Michael had stepped aside and allowed the deputy to enter as well and now stood with his back to the closed door and his arms crossed over his chest.
The sheriff and deputy took the offered seats across from Max and Liz and shifted nervously in their chairs. All four kids were staring at them as if they were scared. Something was off. Wrong.
“Have you two seen a doctor yet? I know you only got back yesterday, but Sher…I mean Jim Valenti told us that you were checked out before you got back. Any problems we should know about?” Sheriff Hanson cursed his slip of the tongue. He still thought of Valenti as his boss and it was hard to break the old habit.
Max shook his head. “We’ve both got a clean bill of health, Sheriff.” He’d decided just to answer the man’s questions and not volunteer anything else.
Hanson nodded and glanced down at a notepad where he’d jotted down some thoughts. “I know this has got to be real hard to talk about right now, but…”
A knock at the door startled them and Michael whirled quickly to grab the knob. He opened it swiftly to find Nancy and Jeff practically jumping with excitement in the doorway.
Jeff placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder and moved him to the side as Nancy darted into the room. “Where is she?” Jeff was demanding, even as his eyes fell on his daughter curled up in Max Evans’ arms in a large chair in the living room. He stopped in his tracks as his eyes filled with tears. “I…I couldn’t let myself believe it until I saw you myself,” he whispered slowly.
Liz had sat up in Max’s lap at their entrance and she hesitantly moved to stand, bracing herself for physical contact. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she took in the exhausted, weary couple that her parents had become and knew that they looked that way because they had spent almost four desperate weeks searching for her.
Nancy rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter. There was an audible snap in the air and a tiny flash of white light burst between them. Nancy jumped back, startled for a moment, as Liz looked over her shoulder in panic at Max. Max stood and placed his hand over Liz’s lower back to steady her and help her center herself again.
Isabel laughed nervously and tried to salvage the situation. “Static. This garage apartment is full of static. We’re always shocking each other up here.” Hanson was nodding even as Nancy was embracing Liz again, this time with no shocking results. Max stayed behind Liz, touching her lightly, feeling the slight tremble that she couldn’t hold back and knowing she couldn’t take much more of this.
“Liz, baby…oh, Liz, we prayed. We’ve been searching for you every day. We had almost no clues. Oh, sweetheart, are you okay? Did they hurt you, honey? Where were you all this time?” Nancy framed Liz’s face in her hands and stared deeply into her eyes. What she saw broke her heart, because the little girl she had raised was gone, replaced by a scared, trembling woman who stared back at her with eyes that were too large in a pale, pale face, and she looked haunted by her experiences.
“Oh, sweetie, you’re home now.” Nancy engulfed her in another hug, her arm brushing against Max, who stood protectively close. She glanced up at him and put an arm around him as well. “You’re both safe.” She sighed, satisfied for the moment. The search was over, and the kids were home.
“Did you see a doctor? We can take you over right now…” Nancy trailed off as Liz shook her head.
“We’re fine, Mom. We’ve both been checked out thoroughly,” by Max, she added in her thoughts, “and we’re both fine.”
Nancy had a startling thought and moved her hand down to Liz’s stomach. Liz stepped back before she could make contact and turned into Max’s embrace. “Liz? What about…?” Nancy thought that Liz should be showing by now. At four and a half months, on such a tiny frame, Liz should be in maternity clothes by now.
“Zan’s fine. They…” she choked at the lie, “they didn’t hurt us.” They had no scars on the outside.
Jeff stepped up and hugged Liz close, pulling her out of Max’s arms. She hugged him back fiercely, remembering that the last time she had seen him he had been beat up and tied to a chair in his own home. “Daddy? Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you too bad, did they?” Her voice trembled, she knew what they were capable of.
Jeff was shaking his head. How could this child of his, this girl more precious than his own heart, be worried about him when she was the one who had clearly made it through much worse. “I’m fine, sweetie, nothing to worry about. What about you? How did you get away?” He turned to the sheriff. “Did you catch them yet?”
Hanson stood and shook his head. “We’re just here gathering details so we have someplace to start looking.”
Jeff’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. “The kids have been back since yesterday and you’re just now getting around to getting the details??” His voice rose incredulously and color suffused his face. He hugged Liz harder as if he’d never let her go. “Is this case not big enough for you? Did you have to stop a drunken brawl at the Pizza Pan before you could swing by?” His tone was scathing.
Hanson felt the color rising in his face before he could stop it. “No, sir. We were assured by Sh…, ahem, Jim Valenti that the kids were in no shape last night to be questioned and that they needed the time to recuperate. We called Diane and Philip and they wholeheartedly agreed that we should wait until this morning.”
Liz pulled back from her father and grabbed Max’s hand again. “It’s true, Dad,” she added softly, looking back and forth between her parents. “We were pretty out of it yesterday. It was hard to believe we were safe, and we needed some time alone to heal.” She could have kicked herself for her use of terms when the four visitors scanned up and down their bodies to make sure they were really okay. “I meant heal mentally,” she added hastily. She made a mental note to learn to lie better in the future. She was sure they could all see right through her.
Nancy was nodding and moved to Liz’s side. Liz took a deep breath and reminded herself harshly that this was her mother for goodness sakes, nothing to be scared of here. Max’s fingers tightened reassuringly around her own as he felt her swift stab of panic when her mother placed an arm over her shoulders.
Liz concentrated on regular breathing and tried to force tense muscles to relax so her mother wouldn’t realize anything was wrong. She couldn’t stop herself from shrugging away after a moment though and tried to make it look as natural as she could when she moved Max back to their seat and sat down in his lap again. She curled up under his chin and breathed deeply of his soothing scent. She didn’t care at the moment what it looked like to everyone else. This was what she needed. She glance up and caught the hurt look in her mother’s eyes and felt a brief flash of guilt, but she was sure her mother just couldn’t realize what all this was doing to her right now, how much she depended on Max for her next breath. She sighed against his chest when Max tightened his arms around her protectively and sent her soothing reassurances.
Nancy stepped back to stand by her husband, eyes locked on Liz. She looked so small and lost, so dependant on Max. They must be a great comfort to each other, she thought as she watched their tender interactions. They had endured whatever had happened to them together.
Max ran an absent hand through Liz’s hair and met the Sheriff’s eyes. “What can we answer for you?”
Hanson sat up straighter and tried to pull his professional act together. “Well, son,” he almost winced at that. It sounded better coming from Sher…um Valenti. He himself was too young to get away with calling teenagers ‘son’. He cleared his throat and forged on. “Do you know anything about the men who took you and Liz? We’re assuming it was the same group of people?”
Max nodded, kissing the top of Liz’s head. Her eyes were closed and he knew she was gathering her strength again. “It was the same group. We never found out who they were exactly. They’re dead.” He stated it flatly and heard the gasps around the room. Even Michael and Isabel appeared shocked. They hadn’t rehearsed that part of the story.
Hanson leaned forward eagerly. “Dead? I’m sorry, Max, but did you say they were dead? How did that happen? Why were they holding you and Liz? Where have you been all this time? Did you kill them?”
Max winced at the onslaught of questions, but met Hanson’s eyes calmly. “You heard me right. They grabbed Liz because she was walking in the park during some secret exchange they had arranged and they got jumpy and thought that she had seen something she shouldn’t have. We’ve pieced together that they were some disbanded government group, and they didn’t want anyone to know whatever it was that they were up to. She hadn’t seen anything, so they thought they’d grab me, thinking that I would be the most logical person she would tell about it, but I didn’t know anything either. They held us and questioned us every day, until Jim Valenti found us and helped us escape. As we were running out of there they were firing their guns and some oxygen tanks exploded and trapped them all inside. We watched them die.”
There was the soft sound of breath being released as everyone who had been holding it in remembered that oxygen was necessary for life. Hanson shook his head and stood up. “I’m real sorry you were put through that, Max, Liz, but I’m gonna have to go check out that site for myself. Would you happen to have an address?” He stood, pen poised at paper and looked at them expectantly.
Michael stepped up and supplied the address, knowing Max and Liz had had enough. Hanson nodded and stepped forward, holding out his hand to Max.
Max reached up and joined hands briefly, an electric flash erupting on contact. Hanson pulled back startled and shook his hand briefly. “That’s some static up here,” he mumbled, turning toward the door. The deputy followed him out, turning briefly to tell them they would keep them informed of what they found.
Jeff was shaking his head. “All that for nothing! How could they do that to our little girl over something she never even saw?” Jeff’s outrage was fresh. After hearing the story they had concocted he was left with no action. The bad guys were dead and his daughter had suffered needlessly. He wanted to hit something, if only to vent his frustration. He watched how his daughter tried to melt into Max’s arms. She should be with her family. She should be coming to him for protection.
He reached out for Liz. “Come on, honey,” he coaxed her gently. She didn’t stir from her spot. It was almost as if she hadn’t heard him. “Liz?” He raised his voice a notch to get her attention.
Liz peered up at him as if coming back from a great distance. “Daddy?” She questioned him slowly, as if it were an effort.
Jeff’s heart broke at the sight of his hurting daughter. She obviously needed her family. “Come on, sweetheart. We’re going home now.” Liz just blinked at him in confusion.
“Home?”
“Yes, honey,” he moved closer and took her arm, trying to pull her up. “Back to our place. Back to your room and all the things that are familiar to you…”
“Jeff…” Nancy interjected, knowing that this would not go well. Jeff shrugged off her restraining arm and pulled more firmly on Liz’s hand.
Liz was shaking her head and trembling. “No! Daddy, you don’t understand…”
“I think I do, Liz. You were safe with us. You had a normal happy life until you got tangled up with Max here. You just need to come home with us and let us help you and you’ll see.” He dropped Liz’s arm at a sharp sting of pain that pierced his palm. He shook his hand out and stared at his palm expecting to see a wound. It looked normal.
“No, Daddy, you don’t understand. I am home. Max is the only person I need right now to recover from this and I will not let you take that away from us. Not now and not ever. You need to accept that we are together. Max is not what caused this to happen, and please remember that he suffered too. He is the only person alive who could possibly understand what I’m going through right now, and if you can’t understand that then maybe you should leave!” Tears were streaming down her face and she burrowed into Max’s chest again. He gathered her body close and rose to stand with her in his arms.
“I think we need to rest for awhile,” he stated softly, meeting Nancy and Jeff’s stricken expressions. “Please understand that we’ve been through too much recently to be calm about this right now. Give us some time to work through this…Liz loves you both and needs you in our lives. We’ll call you soon.” With that, he turned and disappeared through the doorway into their bedroom. It clicked softly closed behind them, but they could still hear Liz’s sobbing cries and the comforting rumble of Max’s voice trying to soothe her.
Jeff took one step toward their door before Michael was blocking the path. “You heard what they said, Mr. Parker,” Michael put in quickly.
“Michael, move out of my way.” Jeff tried to step around him.
Michael moved to block him again. “They both told you to back off for now. They need to be together. None of us truly knows all they have been through recently, but it should be obvious that the one thing they’re relying on to make it through is each other. Can you not see that?”
“It’s not your place to…” Jeff started.
“No. It’s not your place anymore, Mr. Parker. Liz and Max are married. It’s legal, no matter how much you don’t like it, and you should respect that.”
“I should respect the biggest mistake of her life?” Jeff’s voice rose sharply as he stepped forward into Michael’s face.
“You should respect her choice. She’ll be the one to decide if it’s a mistake or not.” Michael and Jeff both turned in surprise to face Nancy.
“Nancy?” Jeff sounded lost. He’d expected her to be in his corner on this.
“Jeff, you’re acting like an ass. You know that she’s married, and you should be able to see how much they love each other right now. Ripping her away from the man she loves is not the way to help her now. You’re just pushing her further away when all you really want to do is pull her closer. Now let’s go home and we’ll figure out how you can make this up to your daughter.”
Nancy paced to the door, furious with Jeff for making things worse with their daughter. Jeff cast one final look at the closed bedroom door and followed his wife out of the apartment.
The door closed noisily and Isabel and Michael just stared at each other in shock.
“That went better than I expected,” Michael quipped with a half smile. Isabel threw a couch pillow at his head.
TBC
EYA Part 94
“This sucks,” Maria groaned impatiently, her head in her hands.
“And not in the good way,” Alex quipped, saying the first clever thing that came to his mind. His eyes widened comically as Serena and Maria both shot him matching looks of astonishment as his meaning registered. He shook his head and held out his hands. “What? Not that I would know, uh, personally or anything.” He cleared his throat and reconsidered how that had sounded. He didn’t want Serena thinking he was completely clueless. “I mean, not that I haven’t ever…” okay, could he make it sound any worse? Time to cut his losses. “Um,” he began to fan himself with the magazine he found on the table and stood up nervously. “Is it hot in here or…” he noticed he was waving Cosmo Girl in his face and dropped it quickly to the floor rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans clad thighs. He backed toward the door to the kitchen feeling pinned under the girls’ gazes. “I’m gonna get a…Hey! Is anyone else thirsty?” Without waiting for a response he turned and made a hasty escape into the kitchen.
Maria met Serena’s dancing eyes and they burst out laughing simultaneously.
“Is he always that…?” Serena sputtered out between giggles, one hand clutched over her stomach and the other wiping at her streaming eyes.
Maria nodded her head and tried to get a grip. “Yeah, pretty much. We love him anyway,” she choked out. It felt good to laugh out loud again. Their laughter eventually petered out and Maria remembered what had started the whole thing. “This still sucks,” she moaned. “How much longer?”
Serena reached out a hand to comfort Maria and it hovered unnoticed over Maria’s leg for a brief moment before she retracted it. She felt curiously close to this tight group of friends, but she wasn’t one of them…yet.
“I don’t know,” she answered sympathetically instead. “You know Michael and Isabel thought it would be best to let them face the parents alone without overwhelming them with all of us too.” She bit her lip and wondered at her slip of the tongue on the word ‘us’. She hoped Maria wouldn’t catch it and tell her she was assuming too much.
Maria didn’t even notice. She rolled her neck from one side to the other on the back of the couch and reached her arms over her head in a big stretch. “But the Parker’s left like, almost an hour ago and…It just feels weird not to be included, you know?” She rolled her head to face Serena and could have kicked herself for saying that to this girl, because of course she knew. She’d shared a bit of her story with Maria, more with Alex, and Maria couldn’t imagine living the life Serena had been forced into. Always an outsider, never allowed normal friendships or a boyfriend. Always having to work three times as hard as anyone else just to please her overbearing father who didn’t even bother to acknowledge her effort. Yeah, Serena knew a thing or two about not being included. She reached out a hand and covered Serena’s fingers with hers. “I’m sorry. Of course you do,” she said softly, sympathetically.
Serena was overwhelmed by the gesture and the sympathy and blinked back tears, taking a deep breath so she wouldn’t make a fool of herself and sob all over Maria for simply being kind.
“Um, yeah, I guess I do,” she said simply, once she felt her voice would obey her and not crack.
“Hey, guys.” Alex poked his head back into the room and took in the charged atmosphere. He was sorry he had interrupted.
“What’s up, Alex? Not finding any action in the kitchen?” Maria’s teasing tone lifted the tension and they all smiled at each other widely.
“Ha ha, DeLuca,” Alex rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders at Serena in a ‘What am I gonna do with her?’ way, liking how Serena’s eyes sparkled at being in on the joke. “I just thought you’d be interested in knowing that Isabel says it’s okay to come up now.”
Maria was up and off the couch in an instant, ready to race up the stairs to her friends’ apartment, Serena followed behind a little more reluctantly, unsure of her reception. Alex grabbed Maria’s arm as she flew past him and she turned to him impatiently.
“What, Alex? I’m anxious to see Liz. Isabel said she was better earlier!” Maria crossed her arms in front of her body and tapped her foot rapidly.
“Yeah, um, Isabel just told me that it was really rough on them. Mr. Parker was being a jerk and they kinda got into a fight or something. Liz is upset right now, so…”
Maria nodded. Why was nothing ever easy? “I’ll talk to her. She’ll be okay.”
They all trooped up the stairs and let themselves into the apartment. Maria stood just inside the door, looking at everyone uncertainly. Michael stood and crossed the room to meet her, taking her hands in his. “Hey,” he greeted softly, giving her a chaste kiss on the lips in greeting. She felt a rush of warmth wash through her and saw the soft sigh that escaped Michael’s lips before he could contain it. It had been tense in the room and she felt good knowing that her presence made Michael more relaxed.
“Hey yourself,” she whispered back into the soft material of his worn shirt. “How is she?” She felt the muscles in his chest flex under her hand as he tensed again.
“Kinda fragile, but she’s got Max, you know?”
Maria nodded. “Is she up for visitors, or should we come back later?” She really hoped she didn’t have to leave right then.
“Maria?” Liz’s voice stretched across the room and Maria peeked around Michael’s chest to see Liz struggling to her feet from the depths of the large chair she and Max had been snuggled together in. Max’s arms steadied her on her feet and she took a couple hesitant steps towards Maria.
Maria sidestepped around Michael and closed the distance between her and her friend, stopping just short of touching her. “Liz, I can’t believe…” her voice choked off and tears gathered in her eyes. It felt so good that Liz had acknowledged her presence again. Maybe things could be okay now.
Liz held out her arms and that was all the invitation Maria needed to wrap her up in a huge hug. She almost flinched back at the last second, but decided the shock would be worth it to be close to her friend again.
Liz held on desperately and Maria swayed back and forth comfortingly as she held her friend. No shocks, just a current of restless energy. Definitely getting closer to normal!
“I missed you,” Liz whispered.
“You too,” Maria agreed. She leaned back and grinned at Liz. “It’s good that you’re home. It’s hard to be the ‘Dynamic Duo’ if you’re only one person!”
Liz laughed softly at their inside joke. When they were seven they pretended they had super powers and called themselves the ‘Dynamic Duo’ because it sounded impressive and made them feel like a team. Of course, after Alex joined their little clique they’d had to come up with a new name and had argued for months over the merits of ‘The Three Musketeers’ vs. ‘The Triumphant Triad’.
Maria wiped at the trail of tears streaming down Liz’s face. “Hey now. None of that. Everything’s good now, right?”
Liz nodded and smiled through her tears. “Yep. Good. That’s exactly right!”
Maria watched Liz’s lips tremble and saw how she couldn’t meet her eyes. She always knew when Liz was lying. “Well, almost everything, right?”
Liz nodded, her head still down. “My…my parents were here,” she said softly.
“I know, sweetie, I heard it didn’t go that well,” Maria encouraged, knowing Liz needed to talk.
* * * *
“Why is she here?” Michael asked rudely, jerking his thumb in Serena’s direction.
Alex stepped toward her protectively, wrapping one long arm around her slender shoulders. “She lives downstairs now, Michael. I think she’s entitled to see what’s going on around here, don’t you?” Alex’s voice was demanding and strong.
Michael arched an eyebrow and contemplated the couple in front of him before his lips quirked up in a semblance of a smile and he stepped aside. “Don’t upset them,” he warned lowly, his serious eyes never leaving hers.
She almost shuddered, would have if Alex’s steadying arms weren’t securely wrapped around her. She was rapidly figuring out what her father should have known long ago. You don’t mess with this group of people. Their circle only tightened when one of them was wounded or upset, and they protected each other fiercely. “I won’t,” she whispered back shakily. Alex moved further into the room, guiding her with him. Her eyes locked on Max, who had just noticed them in the room. He started to stand compulsively before forcing himself to sit back down. She almost flinched again as she realized it was because of his conditioning while he was detained. He’d always been forced to stand across the room when she entered and wait for her to direct his actions.
She glanced at her watch and blurted the time for him before blushing fiercely and dropping her eyes to the rug on the floor. Had it been that color when they were here before? Her brow furrowed in concentration and she tried to ignore everything around her. Maybe they would forget her for awhile and she could slip away…
“Serena?” Max’s gentle voice penetrated her concentration and she fought the urge to look up as she shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
“Serena,” Max persisted, moving toward her slowly as if she would spook…or as if he is scared of me, her mind added warily. He reached out and deliberately touched her arm and her eyes flew to meet his almost involuntarily as she shifted her feet. “You’re welcome here,” he told her in a voice filled with conviction. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and felt her eyes fill with tears again. What was with these people? She hadn’t cried this much since…well, maybe she shouldn’t think about all the times she’d cried or had to hold back her tears in the past.
“Do you, I mean…um, do you really mean it?” Her voice was trembling with hope.
“Yes,” he answered with assurance. “Without you we wouldn’t be here right now. You did everything you could to help us and we’re safe here today because of you.”
Serena swallowed a large lump in her throat and looked down again. “My father…”
“Is dead,” Max stated baldly. “You are not responsible for his actions.”
Serena pulled in a sharp breath and let it out again. Her father was dead and she wasn’t responsible for his actions. She replayed his words in her mind, trying to let go of the heavy weight of responsibility she had been burdened with. Could it be true? She met Max’s eyes and allowed herself to believe his words even as she drew strength from the direct gaze and his implied offer of forgiveness and acceptance. “Okay,” she answered finally, ready to believe.
“Okay,” he repeated, nodding to confirm it. They turned together to watch all the friends interacting, liking the sight of the people they cared about reaffirming their bonds and helping each other to heal.
Max took Liz’s hand and felt the slight tremble, but this time it was excitement. They were rejoining their world and picking up the pieces and it felt right.
It was time to get back to normal. Well, their version of normal!
TBC
“This sucks,” Maria groaned impatiently, her head in her hands.
“And not in the good way,” Alex quipped, saying the first clever thing that came to his mind. His eyes widened comically as Serena and Maria both shot him matching looks of astonishment as his meaning registered. He shook his head and held out his hands. “What? Not that I would know, uh, personally or anything.” He cleared his throat and reconsidered how that had sounded. He didn’t want Serena thinking he was completely clueless. “I mean, not that I haven’t ever…” okay, could he make it sound any worse? Time to cut his losses. “Um,” he began to fan himself with the magazine he found on the table and stood up nervously. “Is it hot in here or…” he noticed he was waving Cosmo Girl in his face and dropped it quickly to the floor rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans clad thighs. He backed toward the door to the kitchen feeling pinned under the girls’ gazes. “I’m gonna get a…Hey! Is anyone else thirsty?” Without waiting for a response he turned and made a hasty escape into the kitchen.
Maria met Serena’s dancing eyes and they burst out laughing simultaneously.
“Is he always that…?” Serena sputtered out between giggles, one hand clutched over her stomach and the other wiping at her streaming eyes.
Maria nodded her head and tried to get a grip. “Yeah, pretty much. We love him anyway,” she choked out. It felt good to laugh out loud again. Their laughter eventually petered out and Maria remembered what had started the whole thing. “This still sucks,” she moaned. “How much longer?”
Serena reached out a hand to comfort Maria and it hovered unnoticed over Maria’s leg for a brief moment before she retracted it. She felt curiously close to this tight group of friends, but she wasn’t one of them…yet.
“I don’t know,” she answered sympathetically instead. “You know Michael and Isabel thought it would be best to let them face the parents alone without overwhelming them with all of us too.” She bit her lip and wondered at her slip of the tongue on the word ‘us’. She hoped Maria wouldn’t catch it and tell her she was assuming too much.
Maria didn’t even notice. She rolled her neck from one side to the other on the back of the couch and reached her arms over her head in a big stretch. “But the Parker’s left like, almost an hour ago and…It just feels weird not to be included, you know?” She rolled her head to face Serena and could have kicked herself for saying that to this girl, because of course she knew. She’d shared a bit of her story with Maria, more with Alex, and Maria couldn’t imagine living the life Serena had been forced into. Always an outsider, never allowed normal friendships or a boyfriend. Always having to work three times as hard as anyone else just to please her overbearing father who didn’t even bother to acknowledge her effort. Yeah, Serena knew a thing or two about not being included. She reached out a hand and covered Serena’s fingers with hers. “I’m sorry. Of course you do,” she said softly, sympathetically.
Serena was overwhelmed by the gesture and the sympathy and blinked back tears, taking a deep breath so she wouldn’t make a fool of herself and sob all over Maria for simply being kind.
“Um, yeah, I guess I do,” she said simply, once she felt her voice would obey her and not crack.
“Hey, guys.” Alex poked his head back into the room and took in the charged atmosphere. He was sorry he had interrupted.
“What’s up, Alex? Not finding any action in the kitchen?” Maria’s teasing tone lifted the tension and they all smiled at each other widely.
“Ha ha, DeLuca,” Alex rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders at Serena in a ‘What am I gonna do with her?’ way, liking how Serena’s eyes sparkled at being in on the joke. “I just thought you’d be interested in knowing that Isabel says it’s okay to come up now.”
Maria was up and off the couch in an instant, ready to race up the stairs to her friends’ apartment, Serena followed behind a little more reluctantly, unsure of her reception. Alex grabbed Maria’s arm as she flew past him and she turned to him impatiently.
“What, Alex? I’m anxious to see Liz. Isabel said she was better earlier!” Maria crossed her arms in front of her body and tapped her foot rapidly.
“Yeah, um, Isabel just told me that it was really rough on them. Mr. Parker was being a jerk and they kinda got into a fight or something. Liz is upset right now, so…”
Maria nodded. Why was nothing ever easy? “I’ll talk to her. She’ll be okay.”
They all trooped up the stairs and let themselves into the apartment. Maria stood just inside the door, looking at everyone uncertainly. Michael stood and crossed the room to meet her, taking her hands in his. “Hey,” he greeted softly, giving her a chaste kiss on the lips in greeting. She felt a rush of warmth wash through her and saw the soft sigh that escaped Michael’s lips before he could contain it. It had been tense in the room and she felt good knowing that her presence made Michael more relaxed.
“Hey yourself,” she whispered back into the soft material of his worn shirt. “How is she?” She felt the muscles in his chest flex under her hand as he tensed again.
“Kinda fragile, but she’s got Max, you know?”
Maria nodded. “Is she up for visitors, or should we come back later?” She really hoped she didn’t have to leave right then.
“Maria?” Liz’s voice stretched across the room and Maria peeked around Michael’s chest to see Liz struggling to her feet from the depths of the large chair she and Max had been snuggled together in. Max’s arms steadied her on her feet and she took a couple hesitant steps towards Maria.
Maria sidestepped around Michael and closed the distance between her and her friend, stopping just short of touching her. “Liz, I can’t believe…” her voice choked off and tears gathered in her eyes. It felt so good that Liz had acknowledged her presence again. Maybe things could be okay now.
Liz held out her arms and that was all the invitation Maria needed to wrap her up in a huge hug. She almost flinched back at the last second, but decided the shock would be worth it to be close to her friend again.
Liz held on desperately and Maria swayed back and forth comfortingly as she held her friend. No shocks, just a current of restless energy. Definitely getting closer to normal!
“I missed you,” Liz whispered.
“You too,” Maria agreed. She leaned back and grinned at Liz. “It’s good that you’re home. It’s hard to be the ‘Dynamic Duo’ if you’re only one person!”
Liz laughed softly at their inside joke. When they were seven they pretended they had super powers and called themselves the ‘Dynamic Duo’ because it sounded impressive and made them feel like a team. Of course, after Alex joined their little clique they’d had to come up with a new name and had argued for months over the merits of ‘The Three Musketeers’ vs. ‘The Triumphant Triad’.
Maria wiped at the trail of tears streaming down Liz’s face. “Hey now. None of that. Everything’s good now, right?”
Liz nodded and smiled through her tears. “Yep. Good. That’s exactly right!”
Maria watched Liz’s lips tremble and saw how she couldn’t meet her eyes. She always knew when Liz was lying. “Well, almost everything, right?”
Liz nodded, her head still down. “My…my parents were here,” she said softly.
“I know, sweetie, I heard it didn’t go that well,” Maria encouraged, knowing Liz needed to talk.
* * * *
“Why is she here?” Michael asked rudely, jerking his thumb in Serena’s direction.
Alex stepped toward her protectively, wrapping one long arm around her slender shoulders. “She lives downstairs now, Michael. I think she’s entitled to see what’s going on around here, don’t you?” Alex’s voice was demanding and strong.
Michael arched an eyebrow and contemplated the couple in front of him before his lips quirked up in a semblance of a smile and he stepped aside. “Don’t upset them,” he warned lowly, his serious eyes never leaving hers.
She almost shuddered, would have if Alex’s steadying arms weren’t securely wrapped around her. She was rapidly figuring out what her father should have known long ago. You don’t mess with this group of people. Their circle only tightened when one of them was wounded or upset, and they protected each other fiercely. “I won’t,” she whispered back shakily. Alex moved further into the room, guiding her with him. Her eyes locked on Max, who had just noticed them in the room. He started to stand compulsively before forcing himself to sit back down. She almost flinched again as she realized it was because of his conditioning while he was detained. He’d always been forced to stand across the room when she entered and wait for her to direct his actions.
She glanced at her watch and blurted the time for him before blushing fiercely and dropping her eyes to the rug on the floor. Had it been that color when they were here before? Her brow furrowed in concentration and she tried to ignore everything around her. Maybe they would forget her for awhile and she could slip away…
“Serena?” Max’s gentle voice penetrated her concentration and she fought the urge to look up as she shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
“Serena,” Max persisted, moving toward her slowly as if she would spook…or as if he is scared of me, her mind added warily. He reached out and deliberately touched her arm and her eyes flew to meet his almost involuntarily as she shifted her feet. “You’re welcome here,” he told her in a voice filled with conviction. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and felt her eyes fill with tears again. What was with these people? She hadn’t cried this much since…well, maybe she shouldn’t think about all the times she’d cried or had to hold back her tears in the past.
“Do you, I mean…um, do you really mean it?” Her voice was trembling with hope.
“Yes,” he answered with assurance. “Without you we wouldn’t be here right now. You did everything you could to help us and we’re safe here today because of you.”
Serena swallowed a large lump in her throat and looked down again. “My father…”
“Is dead,” Max stated baldly. “You are not responsible for his actions.”
Serena pulled in a sharp breath and let it out again. Her father was dead and she wasn’t responsible for his actions. She replayed his words in her mind, trying to let go of the heavy weight of responsibility she had been burdened with. Could it be true? She met Max’s eyes and allowed herself to believe his words even as she drew strength from the direct gaze and his implied offer of forgiveness and acceptance. “Okay,” she answered finally, ready to believe.
“Okay,” he repeated, nodding to confirm it. They turned together to watch all the friends interacting, liking the sight of the people they cared about reaffirming their bonds and helping each other to heal.
Max took Liz’s hand and felt the slight tremble, but this time it was excitement. They were rejoining their world and picking up the pieces and it felt right.
It was time to get back to normal. Well, their version of normal!
TBC
EYA Part 95
The room was wrapped in a blanket of cozy darkness and Max sighed as he realized how comforting the dark could be after so long a time spent in glaring florescent light. Liz stirred restlessly against his body and he directed his full attention back to her. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes darted under the closed lids as her dreams threatened to take a darker turn.
Max, being well acquainted with the dark visions, knew he had to distract her away from the nightmarish images and his lips curved into a sly smile as he leaned over and licked a slow path up her neck toward the back of her ear. He let small puffs of warm air caress her skin and paused to kiss and suck the delicate skin he found there. Liz sighed deeply and he let her warm amusement wash over him in pleasurable waves as she instantly abandoned her dream world to join him in the present.
“Max,” she sighed softly, turning her face to meet his wandering lips.
“Hmm,” his answer was muffled against her lips, and it didn’t matter, really, what he had been meaning to say, because the connection flared around them and they allowed it to consume them completely again in times like these. This was their time, and they wouldn’t allow any distance to separate them. It was the way they both agreed they wanted it, which was a happy coincidence, because they had no choice. The bond surrounded them and swallowed them whole when they joined together, and they were so wrapped up in each other’s warm touch and sweet breath that they never even realized how deep they had fallen until they lay gasping together afterward, panting and feeling each other’s heart race against their skin and they were two again.
Max’s callused palm swept up her body to the delicate curve at the side of her breast. Liz arched her back off the bed in an effort to deepen the contact, but Max teasingly kept his touch light. He maneuvered his body to more fully cover hers as she lay back on the bed and he deepened their kiss. Tongues met and danced together playfully dueling for dominance and both were satisfied that they had each won. Liz widened her legs and Max slid naturally between them, unable to stop his hips from sweeping down to grind against her just once…or twice.
His hand tangled in her hair as he kissed down the side of her face and trailed a line of fire down her neck. His tongue lazily danced over her collarbone, pausing to nibble gently in the hollow there before he gave in to his urge to taste her breast. His mouth dropped over the hardened tip of her breast and he sucked in her nipple in a sudden move that left Liz gasping and arching up off the bed as she held his head to her chest in a desperate clinch that only magnified her pleasure.
“Uh, uh, …uh…” her head tossed against the pillow and all thought left her mind as Max closed a hand over the opposite breast and began kneading it firmly in his capable palm. “Ma…Max…ohhh!”
Her legs moved up to circle his lean hips as she sought a greater contact with his heated flesh. Max groaned against her breast as his hardness was pressed firmly against her taut belly. He fought the urge to grind against her again, he wanted this to last. His lips reluctantly left her aching nipples and he traced a new path down the center of her body, pausing to lay a cheek over the almost imperceptible mound of their baby, before pursuing his intended target.
Liz lay propped on a pillow and her heated gaze never left his mouth as he kissed and sucked his path down her body. Her breath hitched in her throat as his intention became clear and she struggled not to close her eyes against the gorgeous sight before her as Max settled more comfortably between her legs. Warm puffs of air teased her tender skin and a low groan escaped her throat as she tried not to thrust up towards his mouth.
Max’s hands held her hips down firmly as he nuzzled her inner thigh and sucked on a sensitive patch of skin. Her legs parted further for him and he marveled at her flexibility for a brief second before massaging one hand toward her other thigh and tracing over the quivering skin. He teased her relentlessly, until she was thrashing against his hold and mewling with need.
“Max…Max…ohh! Baby, please!” Her voice was husky with desperation and desire and Max’s body hardened in response to her yearning.
“What do you want, baby?” His voice was low and deep and he just wanted to hear her say it.
“You. I want…uh,” her hands clutched into the sheets on either side of her body as Max sucked on the skin that separated her thigh from her pelvis. “Your mouth…on me, Max. Uh, you feel so good.”
Max resisted the urge to crush his erection into the heated sheets as her desire-filled voice almost pulled him over the edge. He flattened his tongue and took a long swipe up the center of her womanhood and she cried out sharply as she arched herself into the touch. Her flesh quivered beneath him and her breath came out in harsh pants of want and need as she was rendered incapable of further speech. His tongue danced and darted rhythmically over her silky nub and he inhaled deeply to take in her aroused scent. He concentrated fully on her pleasure as he sucked her aroused flesh into his mouth and used his tongue to dart quick licks and slow swipes over the trapped mound. He could feel her release building within her body and pooling between her thighs. He increased his efforts, sucking rhythmically and increasingly harder until her thigh muscles clenched tight around him and her body arched up to his mouth as she clenched the sheets so tightly he heard a faint ripping noise under the sound of her moans. He continued his actions until she pulled him up her body and he knew that she’d had enough…for now.
Hypersensitive, she rolled them over until she rested against him chest-to-chest and lowered her head to capture his magical mouth in a deep kiss. She tasted herself on his tongue and his lips and it heightened her excitement even more.
“You taste so good,” Max breathed into her mouth before pulling her back for more. His hands roamed over her back as she arched into him and swept down to cup her hips and hold her firmly to his body as he ground his aching member against her sweet wetness. Liz parted her thighs and arched her neck back as Max lifted her over him with a practiced ease and settled her onto his thick erection. She hissed out a satisfied moan as she lowered down onto him and her sensitive womanhood brushed against the hair at his pelvis. Max rocked his pelvis up into her and held her hips more firmly as he established a sure and steady rhythm.
The bed squeaked softly with each motion of their bodies, but they were oblivious to the noise. The pants and moans that filled the air heightened their desire as they each let the bond wash the other’s pleasure back into them. Liz leaned down and kissed Max fiercely, sucking and licking at his lips and tongue, gently biting his lower lip before luring his tongue into her mouth and drawing on it hungrily. She placed both hands firmly against his chest and sat up suddenly, taking over the movement and quickening the pace as she rocked back against him.
Max hissed in a startled breath and tried to hang on to his sanity as her heated tightness moved quickly over him. His hips thrust up to meet her every downward move and then he rolled them over together on the bed. Her legs wrapped around him, high up against his back as their hips arched together desperately seeking release. The steady noise of their bodies slapping together and Max’s low growl that always signaled his impending orgasm threw Liz over the edge as she cried out and her body spasmed underneath his. The slick heat that surrounded him suddenly clenched around him in shuddering waves and Max felt her pleasure as his own as he spilled his own release into her eager body.
Max collapsed to her side, utterly spent, and thought that maybe now they could sleep and not dream of anything dark or unpleasant.
He brushed long strands of dark silky hair off of Liz’s dampened forehead and kissed her rosy, swollen lips softly before he burrowed his face into her fresh smelling hair.
“Sleep sweet,” he murmured huskily into the darkness of her strawberry-scented locks.
“You too,” she responded through an irrepressible yawn.
Their eyes drifted closed and they slept wrapped tightly around each other peacefully through the night.
TBC
The room was wrapped in a blanket of cozy darkness and Max sighed as he realized how comforting the dark could be after so long a time spent in glaring florescent light. Liz stirred restlessly against his body and he directed his full attention back to her. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes darted under the closed lids as her dreams threatened to take a darker turn.
Max, being well acquainted with the dark visions, knew he had to distract her away from the nightmarish images and his lips curved into a sly smile as he leaned over and licked a slow path up her neck toward the back of her ear. He let small puffs of warm air caress her skin and paused to kiss and suck the delicate skin he found there. Liz sighed deeply and he let her warm amusement wash over him in pleasurable waves as she instantly abandoned her dream world to join him in the present.
“Max,” she sighed softly, turning her face to meet his wandering lips.
“Hmm,” his answer was muffled against her lips, and it didn’t matter, really, what he had been meaning to say, because the connection flared around them and they allowed it to consume them completely again in times like these. This was their time, and they wouldn’t allow any distance to separate them. It was the way they both agreed they wanted it, which was a happy coincidence, because they had no choice. The bond surrounded them and swallowed them whole when they joined together, and they were so wrapped up in each other’s warm touch and sweet breath that they never even realized how deep they had fallen until they lay gasping together afterward, panting and feeling each other’s heart race against their skin and they were two again.
Max’s callused palm swept up her body to the delicate curve at the side of her breast. Liz arched her back off the bed in an effort to deepen the contact, but Max teasingly kept his touch light. He maneuvered his body to more fully cover hers as she lay back on the bed and he deepened their kiss. Tongues met and danced together playfully dueling for dominance and both were satisfied that they had each won. Liz widened her legs and Max slid naturally between them, unable to stop his hips from sweeping down to grind against her just once…or twice.
His hand tangled in her hair as he kissed down the side of her face and trailed a line of fire down her neck. His tongue lazily danced over her collarbone, pausing to nibble gently in the hollow there before he gave in to his urge to taste her breast. His mouth dropped over the hardened tip of her breast and he sucked in her nipple in a sudden move that left Liz gasping and arching up off the bed as she held his head to her chest in a desperate clinch that only magnified her pleasure.
“Uh, uh, …uh…” her head tossed against the pillow and all thought left her mind as Max closed a hand over the opposite breast and began kneading it firmly in his capable palm. “Ma…Max…ohhh!”
Her legs moved up to circle his lean hips as she sought a greater contact with his heated flesh. Max groaned against her breast as his hardness was pressed firmly against her taut belly. He fought the urge to grind against her again, he wanted this to last. His lips reluctantly left her aching nipples and he traced a new path down the center of her body, pausing to lay a cheek over the almost imperceptible mound of their baby, before pursuing his intended target.
Liz lay propped on a pillow and her heated gaze never left his mouth as he kissed and sucked his path down her body. Her breath hitched in her throat as his intention became clear and she struggled not to close her eyes against the gorgeous sight before her as Max settled more comfortably between her legs. Warm puffs of air teased her tender skin and a low groan escaped her throat as she tried not to thrust up towards his mouth.
Max’s hands held her hips down firmly as he nuzzled her inner thigh and sucked on a sensitive patch of skin. Her legs parted further for him and he marveled at her flexibility for a brief second before massaging one hand toward her other thigh and tracing over the quivering skin. He teased her relentlessly, until she was thrashing against his hold and mewling with need.
“Max…Max…ohh! Baby, please!” Her voice was husky with desperation and desire and Max’s body hardened in response to her yearning.
“What do you want, baby?” His voice was low and deep and he just wanted to hear her say it.
“You. I want…uh,” her hands clutched into the sheets on either side of her body as Max sucked on the skin that separated her thigh from her pelvis. “Your mouth…on me, Max. Uh, you feel so good.”
Max resisted the urge to crush his erection into the heated sheets as her desire-filled voice almost pulled him over the edge. He flattened his tongue and took a long swipe up the center of her womanhood and she cried out sharply as she arched herself into the touch. Her flesh quivered beneath him and her breath came out in harsh pants of want and need as she was rendered incapable of further speech. His tongue danced and darted rhythmically over her silky nub and he inhaled deeply to take in her aroused scent. He concentrated fully on her pleasure as he sucked her aroused flesh into his mouth and used his tongue to dart quick licks and slow swipes over the trapped mound. He could feel her release building within her body and pooling between her thighs. He increased his efforts, sucking rhythmically and increasingly harder until her thigh muscles clenched tight around him and her body arched up to his mouth as she clenched the sheets so tightly he heard a faint ripping noise under the sound of her moans. He continued his actions until she pulled him up her body and he knew that she’d had enough…for now.
Hypersensitive, she rolled them over until she rested against him chest-to-chest and lowered her head to capture his magical mouth in a deep kiss. She tasted herself on his tongue and his lips and it heightened her excitement even more.
“You taste so good,” Max breathed into her mouth before pulling her back for more. His hands roamed over her back as she arched into him and swept down to cup her hips and hold her firmly to his body as he ground his aching member against her sweet wetness. Liz parted her thighs and arched her neck back as Max lifted her over him with a practiced ease and settled her onto his thick erection. She hissed out a satisfied moan as she lowered down onto him and her sensitive womanhood brushed against the hair at his pelvis. Max rocked his pelvis up into her and held her hips more firmly as he established a sure and steady rhythm.
The bed squeaked softly with each motion of their bodies, but they were oblivious to the noise. The pants and moans that filled the air heightened their desire as they each let the bond wash the other’s pleasure back into them. Liz leaned down and kissed Max fiercely, sucking and licking at his lips and tongue, gently biting his lower lip before luring his tongue into her mouth and drawing on it hungrily. She placed both hands firmly against his chest and sat up suddenly, taking over the movement and quickening the pace as she rocked back against him.
Max hissed in a startled breath and tried to hang on to his sanity as her heated tightness moved quickly over him. His hips thrust up to meet her every downward move and then he rolled them over together on the bed. Her legs wrapped around him, high up against his back as their hips arched together desperately seeking release. The steady noise of their bodies slapping together and Max’s low growl that always signaled his impending orgasm threw Liz over the edge as she cried out and her body spasmed underneath his. The slick heat that surrounded him suddenly clenched around him in shuddering waves and Max felt her pleasure as his own as he spilled his own release into her eager body.
Max collapsed to her side, utterly spent, and thought that maybe now they could sleep and not dream of anything dark or unpleasant.
He brushed long strands of dark silky hair off of Liz’s dampened forehead and kissed her rosy, swollen lips softly before he burrowed his face into her fresh smelling hair.
“Sleep sweet,” he murmured huskily into the darkness of her strawberry-scented locks.
“You too,” she responded through an irrepressible yawn.
Their eyes drifted closed and they slept wrapped tightly around each other peacefully through the night.
TBC
Warning: Violence…
EYA Part 96
Late August
“It’s getting worse.”
Maria could only nod her head in agreement as she used a magazine to fan her flushed face. Michael was right. It was getting worse. Much worse.
“Maybe you should…” Michael’s voice trailed off as a loud thumping noise from the bedroom made him jerk his gaze to the closed door, interrupting his thought. “I’m not even gonna imagine…” he mumbled under his breath before taking a deep breath and trying to recapture his previous train of thought. His gaze wandered back to Maria dazedly and he was immediately arrested by her arousing beauty. Her lips looked so kissable, he took a halting step in her direction. Her smoky gaze was begging him to…
“No.” He wrenched himself away from the sultry fantasies his mind was conjuring and closed his eyes against the sight of her as his hands clenched into tense fists at his thighs. He turned to the side for good measure as he gritted out his request. “You should go downstairs until…well, you should just leave for a while, okay?”
“Michael, I…
“Go,” he gritted out harshly.
“It’s okay if…” She took a step closer, but stopped as every muscle in his body tightened in defense. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“It’s not okay.” Michael couldn’t stop the roughness of his tone. It was taking every ounce of self-control he had to keep his hands off Maria at that moment.
“I’ll go, Michael. But you should know it’s not all them. I really do want you too.” Maria grabbed her magazine off the coffee table where she had dropped it and made her way toward the door. Every step away from the closed bedroom door made the air noticeably cooler, and as she stepped into the New Mexico summer she breathed a sigh of regret and relief. The searing heat of desire that had been crawling through her body released its tight grip and she could breathe again, feeling refreshed.
She glanced back toward the apartment. Poor Michael. She knew he would stay there through the whole thing -again, no matter how it affected him personally. Max and Liz couldn’t help it that their need for each other was getting stronger as they developed their powers and the baby grew inside of Liz. It was new to all of them, and it wasn’t their fault that the desire they felt for one another consumed them so utterly now that their passion spiraled out to include every person within a fifteen foot radius. She turned her steps to the Evans’ kitchen and shook her head. She hated to imagine how bad it would be when Liz reached her third trimester.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Max brushed his lips lightly over Liz’s sleeping brow and eased gently off the bed so as not to disturb her slumber. She was always tired now, at the end of her sixth month, and after what they had just done…he smiled in remembrance. She deserved her rest. He followed the trail of clothes that led from their door to the bed and knew he had Michael to thank for making sure the door was closed. His brow furrowed in concern. Michael.
He tugged on his shorts and searched around for his shirt. Not finding it immediately, he just shrugged and left the room bare-chested. Michael certainly wouldn’t mind. He’d seen a hell of a lot more than that recently.
“Hey,” Max greeted quietly as he exited the room, closing the door silently behind him. Michael was slumped on the couch with his head resting back and his eyes closed. Max took a step forward and stumbled on something. Looking down he blushed lightly as he bent down to scoop up his shirt, even more embarrassed as Liz’s bra appeared under it. He hurriedly balled up the silk bra and stuffed it in his shorts pocket before tugging the t-shirt down over his head, feeling suddenly vulnerable.
“I, uh, guess we didn’t quite make it to the bedroom, huh?” Max’s eyes were riveted to the floor as his face flushed hot. It was hard to realize how out of control they got when…
“You don’t remember?” Michael dry voice was mockingly amused as he rolled his head on the couch to stare at Max.
“Um. No?” Max wasn’t sure what the proper response should be. He remembered a wave of incredible need had washed through Liz and crashed into him. He remembered turning her in his lap so she straddled his suddenly hard body. He remembered her hands, eager at the back of his head as his lips angled over hers and their bodies ground together in mutual desire. Yeah, he remembered all that, but how their clothes had ended up strewn across the living room floor, and how they had actually ended up in their own bed…no. That he did not recall.
“I guess we have you to thank for…” Max gestured vaguely toward the door.
Michael nodded, no longer amused. “Again.”
“Um, yeah. Well thanks.” Max moved into the kitchen area to get a cold glass of juice.
“It can’t go on like this, Max. It’s getting out of control.”
Max gripped the edge of the counter until his knuckles turned white. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He knew it was out of control, and the logical part of his mind was screaming at him to calm the hell down, this wasn’t Michael’s fault. But, damn it! This wasn’t his fault either!
“Michael…” his voice held a note of warning that he prayed Michael picked up on.
“No, Max. It’s affecting everyone around you now. Maria was in here with us when it all started this time and the same thing happened to her. What if it had been your parents? Or Liz’s mom? What then, Max? Because I wouldn’t want to be around when you tried to explain that to Nancy Parker!”
Max spun around to face Michael, his eyes blazing. “Look, Michael. I’m sorry this is affecting everyone around us, but don’t you think if we had any control over it that we would use it? This is so far out of our experience we don’t even know…” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Calm. “It’s out of our control. If it’s affecting you so bad you should just…leave. For awhile.”
Michael was shaking his head. “That’s not an option and you know it.” Michael stood and crossed the room to stand directly in front of Max. “I’m staying right here until I know you two are out of danger.”
Michael had pretty much moved in to their apartment, making arrangements for the others to watch over Max and Liz only when he had to work.
“And just when will that be, Michael? You can’t be here every minute!”
“Watch me, Maxwell. Whatever it takes until I see Tess’ cold rotting corpse, okay?” Michael fists were clenched in frustration at his sides. Didn’t Max understand?
“It’s not fair that you have to give up all your time. We’ll be just fine…” Max started.
“Just fine? Like how you were ‘just fine’ when Liz got herself kidnapped? When you went off by yourself and got yourself taken too?” The pain flashed brightly through Michael’s eyes. The dark memories wouldn’t leave him, and he knew Max and Liz still had occasional nightmares as well. He’d been awakened in the living room by their panicked screams often enough over the last weeks. “I’m not giving up anything, Max. I’m just doing my job.” He met Max’s gaze levelly, and they both knew it wasn’t just a job to him. Max grasped Michael’s shoulder in a tight grip.
“Thank you, Michael. We’ll try harder. It’s stronger now, and we haven’t figured out how to control it yet.”
“Figure it out, Max. It’s almost too much. Do you think it’s because Liz is getting so much more control over her power now?” They’d spent most of their free time since the couple had returned exploring and fine-tuning Liz’s gifts, and figuring out the range of her powers. She had amazing talents, and while it was exhausting, they all felt better now that she was gaining more control. She could now discern ‘when’ a vision took place; past, present, or future, and she had much more control over how strongly a vision gripped her, which was helpful when touching every day things.
“I don’t know. It might just be that Zan is growing.” Max’s eyes went soft and his gaze wandered back to his bedroom door. “He’s going to be so powerful. They said he would have ‘the power of all’. Do you realize what that means, Michael? He’s going to have every one of the special talents that we all carry with us. We can feel it starting. His power…it’s…” Max shook his head. “That’s got to be overwhelming. It’s really no wonder that he needs more ‘regular’ feedings now that he’s getting bigger and stronger.” By bigger Max was referring to the barely noticeable rounding of Liz’s belly.
Michael nodded, trying to figure out if there was really any solution to their current dilemma. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, not reaching any real conclusion. “I realize that you don’t have any control over it, Max. I just feel sorry for you two when school starts in a week!”
Max’s eyes widened in horror at the thought of what could happen in school and he felt a fresh sense of urgency wash through him to find a solution.
“Man, Michael you’re ri…” Max’s eyes snapped to the closed bedroom door and he was across the room in a flash before Michael had registered that something was wrong. He followed Max quickly and stood in the door as Max jumped on the bed and cradled a thrashing Liz in his arms.
Max’s body stiffened on contact with Liz’s shaking form and he was getting sucked down into her vision before he knew it. ‘Current vision’. Liz’s thoughts gasped into his mind. ‘It’s Tess!’
“Michael!” Max reached out a hand desperately toward his friend, knowing he should see this too. Michael quickly closed the gap and let Max take one hand as he placed the other on Liz. He was immediately swamped into the vision.
New York
“What the hell?” Rath yanked back the crappy door to their underground hideout to investigate the loud pounding in the corridor. “Ava?” His disbelief clearly registered in every line of his body.
Ava struggled under the weight of the body she supported. “Yeah, yeah, it’s me. Help me out here, would ya?”
“What’s goin’ on ova here, baby?” Lonnie darted to the door and stopped short in surprise. “Whatcha’ got there?” Her lip curled in disdain. “You ain’t bringin’ no human trash in here ta get nursed by us!” She tried to block the entry.
“It’s Tess!” Ava’s voice hissed at them as she attempted to barrel past them into the room. “She showed up in California, turns out she and I are kinda connected somehows. Anyways, she shows up at my doorstep and tells me she’s preggers with Max’s brat. Wants me ta help her, ya know?”
Rath stiffened in shock at the revelation, and, as Tess stumbled into him at Ava’s push forward, he reached down automatically to scoop the heavily pregnant girl into his arms. The girl’s face was contorted in obvious pain even though she appeared to be passed out cold.
“What’s wrong wit her?” He grumbled as he deposited her on the only piece of furniture in the room. The long couch sagged in the middle and smelled faintly of pizza and beer, but Rath figured the chick couldn’t be too picky right about now.
“I gave her some drugs. She was screamin’ like she was gonna die. I told her I couldn’t deliver the brat by myself. I tried to get her to go to Roswell, but that’s when she spills it that Max is dead and can’t help her now. I’m all, ‘If Max is dead, then how’s you pregnant wit’ his kid, yo?’ and she tells me some crazy ass story about how some FBI scientist had captured Liz Parker after Max died and told her that Liz would die without Max’s sperm or somethin’. Said he didn’t have enough. I didn’t really understan’ what she was ravin’ on about, but she blackmailed the guy into getting her a tiny little sample. I guess she used it.” Ava gestured to Tess’ writhing form on the couch.
“What’re we supposed to do about it?” Lonnie gestured angrily to the couch.
“Help her!” Ava screamed back, knowing Lonnie’s confrontational ways.
Lonnie moved across the room until she towered over Ava, attempting to intimidate her. Her hands were fisted on her hips and her eyes said they were determined to squash her unworthy opponent.
“Wait.” Rath’s voice cut through their argument. He sounded excited and that was rare for him these days, so Lonnie gave him her surprised attention. “Lonnie, don’t you rememba’ the last time the council met? They were goin’ on about some prophecy about Max’s son? He’s gonna be all powerful and shit.” Rath stood over Tess’ writhing body and just stared at her as her screams pierced the air. “This could be him!”
Lonnie’s eyes widened in realization and then narrowed as her quick mind began plotting how they could take advantage of this.
“Help me!” Tess’ quavering voice filled the room and her eyelids almost fluttered open. Her stomach heaved as another contraction ripped through her and her back arched off the couch.
Ava moved swiftly to her side and bent by her head, running one hand over her sweating brow as she murmured softly to her. Tess went still and quiet again.
“We gotta get it outta her,” Lonnie declared suddenly. She looked around the room, searching for anything they could use. Her eyes lit up as she found what she was looking for. She crossed the room and grabbed it in her hand, returning to Rath’s side quickly. She pressed the long sharp knife into his palm, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
She pulled his face down to hers and engaged him in a long, sloppy kiss. “Do it, babe,” she encouraged him, her breath husky with excitement.
“Aiight,” he knelt down next to the straining woman. Ava’s eyes widened as she saw what was in Rath’s hand. “You guys ain’t gonna…”
Rath used the knife to cut through Tess’ shirt and slice a long line down the front of her skirt. “Relax, Ava. Lonnie, why don’t you take Ava inta’ the otha’ room and get a snack. I’ll take care of Tess here.”
Lonnie grabbed a protesting Ava by the arm and dragged her away.
“No…” Tess’ weak protest was easily ignored by Rath as his hands raced over her swollen belly. “I’m not who…”
“Shut up, bitch! This baby is our ticket outta here. You and your boy Max screwed it up for us last time you was here, and we’s not gonna let that happen again!”
Rath let the sharp edge of the knife trail down Tess’ belly, contemplating where to make his incision.
“No! You’re makin’ a mistake!”
“I said: Shut. Up!” Rath placed a hand over Tess’ heart and a white glow pulsed into her body as she arched off the couch and then sank limply back into it. “I guess you won’t be givin’ us any lip eva’ again, huh?” Rath sneered at her dead form and decided that now it didn’t really matter where he cut.
He made a swift incision into her abdomen until it was gaping open in front of him and lifted out the squalling baby boy. He cut the cord and held the child out in front of him awkwardly. He was briefly distracted as the body on the couch began to disintegrate into ash.
“Shit! Lonnie! Get your ass in here now!”
Lonnie came running back into the room followed by an anxious Ava.
“What? What is it?” Lonnie skidded a halt, taking in the scene before her. “Shit, Rath. Did ya have to do it on the couch? What a freakin’ mess!”
Rath held the newborn at arms length away from his body. “Here! Take it!”
“Oh no!” Lonnie held her hands up in protest. “I ain’t no mama fer some screamin’ brat!”
Ava shook herself out of the shock at the sight before her. “Here. I got it.” Rath practically dropped the screaming baby into her waiting arms. She cradled him close to her chest, disregarding the blood that covered his now chilled skin, crooning softly to him as she tried to block out the disturbing but not unwelcome realization that his real mother was dead. “I’ll take care of you, baby. Don’t you worry.” A cold smile flickered briefly over her lips. “Don’t you worry. Mama’s got you.”
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
“Oh my God!” Liz was shaking and terrified by what she had seen. “How can this be true?” Her hands tangled with Max’s over their unborn child and her belly clenched in sympathy against the obscene birth they had just witnessed.
“It’s not...” Max couldn’t wrap his mind around it. “It can’t be true.”
Michael sat back and wiped his forearm over his sweating brow. “Tess is dead.” His voice was flat and Max and Liz’s startled eyes flew to him as they realized that he was right. The threat that had been hovering over them for so long was no longer a worry. Tess was dead, and the Dupes all thought that Max and Liz were dead too. “She had your baby.”
Michael was inevitably the one to ask the dreaded question. “What are we gonna do, Max?”
New York
“Hi, sweetie. I’m your mama,” Tess whispered softly to the boy sleeping in her arms. She kissed his freshly scrubbed forehead and tried to repress the memory of how her dupe Ava had died giving birth to the child Tess had tricked her into bearing. Her plan was working out just fine…
TBC
EYA Part 96
Late August
“It’s getting worse.”
Maria could only nod her head in agreement as she used a magazine to fan her flushed face. Michael was right. It was getting worse. Much worse.
“Maybe you should…” Michael’s voice trailed off as a loud thumping noise from the bedroom made him jerk his gaze to the closed door, interrupting his thought. “I’m not even gonna imagine…” he mumbled under his breath before taking a deep breath and trying to recapture his previous train of thought. His gaze wandered back to Maria dazedly and he was immediately arrested by her arousing beauty. Her lips looked so kissable, he took a halting step in her direction. Her smoky gaze was begging him to…
“No.” He wrenched himself away from the sultry fantasies his mind was conjuring and closed his eyes against the sight of her as his hands clenched into tense fists at his thighs. He turned to the side for good measure as he gritted out his request. “You should go downstairs until…well, you should just leave for a while, okay?”
“Michael, I…
“Go,” he gritted out harshly.
“It’s okay if…” She took a step closer, but stopped as every muscle in his body tightened in defense. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“It’s not okay.” Michael couldn’t stop the roughness of his tone. It was taking every ounce of self-control he had to keep his hands off Maria at that moment.
“I’ll go, Michael. But you should know it’s not all them. I really do want you too.” Maria grabbed her magazine off the coffee table where she had dropped it and made her way toward the door. Every step away from the closed bedroom door made the air noticeably cooler, and as she stepped into the New Mexico summer she breathed a sigh of regret and relief. The searing heat of desire that had been crawling through her body released its tight grip and she could breathe again, feeling refreshed.
She glanced back toward the apartment. Poor Michael. She knew he would stay there through the whole thing -again, no matter how it affected him personally. Max and Liz couldn’t help it that their need for each other was getting stronger as they developed their powers and the baby grew inside of Liz. It was new to all of them, and it wasn’t their fault that the desire they felt for one another consumed them so utterly now that their passion spiraled out to include every person within a fifteen foot radius. She turned her steps to the Evans’ kitchen and shook her head. She hated to imagine how bad it would be when Liz reached her third trimester.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Max brushed his lips lightly over Liz’s sleeping brow and eased gently off the bed so as not to disturb her slumber. She was always tired now, at the end of her sixth month, and after what they had just done…he smiled in remembrance. She deserved her rest. He followed the trail of clothes that led from their door to the bed and knew he had Michael to thank for making sure the door was closed. His brow furrowed in concern. Michael.
He tugged on his shorts and searched around for his shirt. Not finding it immediately, he just shrugged and left the room bare-chested. Michael certainly wouldn’t mind. He’d seen a hell of a lot more than that recently.
“Hey,” Max greeted quietly as he exited the room, closing the door silently behind him. Michael was slumped on the couch with his head resting back and his eyes closed. Max took a step forward and stumbled on something. Looking down he blushed lightly as he bent down to scoop up his shirt, even more embarrassed as Liz’s bra appeared under it. He hurriedly balled up the silk bra and stuffed it in his shorts pocket before tugging the t-shirt down over his head, feeling suddenly vulnerable.
“I, uh, guess we didn’t quite make it to the bedroom, huh?” Max’s eyes were riveted to the floor as his face flushed hot. It was hard to realize how out of control they got when…
“You don’t remember?” Michael dry voice was mockingly amused as he rolled his head on the couch to stare at Max.
“Um. No?” Max wasn’t sure what the proper response should be. He remembered a wave of incredible need had washed through Liz and crashed into him. He remembered turning her in his lap so she straddled his suddenly hard body. He remembered her hands, eager at the back of his head as his lips angled over hers and their bodies ground together in mutual desire. Yeah, he remembered all that, but how their clothes had ended up strewn across the living room floor, and how they had actually ended up in their own bed…no. That he did not recall.
“I guess we have you to thank for…” Max gestured vaguely toward the door.
Michael nodded, no longer amused. “Again.”
“Um, yeah. Well thanks.” Max moved into the kitchen area to get a cold glass of juice.
“It can’t go on like this, Max. It’s getting out of control.”
Max gripped the edge of the counter until his knuckles turned white. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He knew it was out of control, and the logical part of his mind was screaming at him to calm the hell down, this wasn’t Michael’s fault. But, damn it! This wasn’t his fault either!
“Michael…” his voice held a note of warning that he prayed Michael picked up on.
“No, Max. It’s affecting everyone around you now. Maria was in here with us when it all started this time and the same thing happened to her. What if it had been your parents? Or Liz’s mom? What then, Max? Because I wouldn’t want to be around when you tried to explain that to Nancy Parker!”
Max spun around to face Michael, his eyes blazing. “Look, Michael. I’m sorry this is affecting everyone around us, but don’t you think if we had any control over it that we would use it? This is so far out of our experience we don’t even know…” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Calm. “It’s out of our control. If it’s affecting you so bad you should just…leave. For awhile.”
Michael was shaking his head. “That’s not an option and you know it.” Michael stood and crossed the room to stand directly in front of Max. “I’m staying right here until I know you two are out of danger.”
Michael had pretty much moved in to their apartment, making arrangements for the others to watch over Max and Liz only when he had to work.
“And just when will that be, Michael? You can’t be here every minute!”
“Watch me, Maxwell. Whatever it takes until I see Tess’ cold rotting corpse, okay?” Michael fists were clenched in frustration at his sides. Didn’t Max understand?
“It’s not fair that you have to give up all your time. We’ll be just fine…” Max started.
“Just fine? Like how you were ‘just fine’ when Liz got herself kidnapped? When you went off by yourself and got yourself taken too?” The pain flashed brightly through Michael’s eyes. The dark memories wouldn’t leave him, and he knew Max and Liz still had occasional nightmares as well. He’d been awakened in the living room by their panicked screams often enough over the last weeks. “I’m not giving up anything, Max. I’m just doing my job.” He met Max’s gaze levelly, and they both knew it wasn’t just a job to him. Max grasped Michael’s shoulder in a tight grip.
“Thank you, Michael. We’ll try harder. It’s stronger now, and we haven’t figured out how to control it yet.”
“Figure it out, Max. It’s almost too much. Do you think it’s because Liz is getting so much more control over her power now?” They’d spent most of their free time since the couple had returned exploring and fine-tuning Liz’s gifts, and figuring out the range of her powers. She had amazing talents, and while it was exhausting, they all felt better now that she was gaining more control. She could now discern ‘when’ a vision took place; past, present, or future, and she had much more control over how strongly a vision gripped her, which was helpful when touching every day things.
“I don’t know. It might just be that Zan is growing.” Max’s eyes went soft and his gaze wandered back to his bedroom door. “He’s going to be so powerful. They said he would have ‘the power of all’. Do you realize what that means, Michael? He’s going to have every one of the special talents that we all carry with us. We can feel it starting. His power…it’s…” Max shook his head. “That’s got to be overwhelming. It’s really no wonder that he needs more ‘regular’ feedings now that he’s getting bigger and stronger.” By bigger Max was referring to the barely noticeable rounding of Liz’s belly.
Michael nodded, trying to figure out if there was really any solution to their current dilemma. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, not reaching any real conclusion. “I realize that you don’t have any control over it, Max. I just feel sorry for you two when school starts in a week!”
Max’s eyes widened in horror at the thought of what could happen in school and he felt a fresh sense of urgency wash through him to find a solution.
“Man, Michael you’re ri…” Max’s eyes snapped to the closed bedroom door and he was across the room in a flash before Michael had registered that something was wrong. He followed Max quickly and stood in the door as Max jumped on the bed and cradled a thrashing Liz in his arms.
Max’s body stiffened on contact with Liz’s shaking form and he was getting sucked down into her vision before he knew it. ‘Current vision’. Liz’s thoughts gasped into his mind. ‘It’s Tess!’
“Michael!” Max reached out a hand desperately toward his friend, knowing he should see this too. Michael quickly closed the gap and let Max take one hand as he placed the other on Liz. He was immediately swamped into the vision.
New York
“What the hell?” Rath yanked back the crappy door to their underground hideout to investigate the loud pounding in the corridor. “Ava?” His disbelief clearly registered in every line of his body.
Ava struggled under the weight of the body she supported. “Yeah, yeah, it’s me. Help me out here, would ya?”
“What’s goin’ on ova here, baby?” Lonnie darted to the door and stopped short in surprise. “Whatcha’ got there?” Her lip curled in disdain. “You ain’t bringin’ no human trash in here ta get nursed by us!” She tried to block the entry.
“It’s Tess!” Ava’s voice hissed at them as she attempted to barrel past them into the room. “She showed up in California, turns out she and I are kinda connected somehows. Anyways, she shows up at my doorstep and tells me she’s preggers with Max’s brat. Wants me ta help her, ya know?”
Rath stiffened in shock at the revelation, and, as Tess stumbled into him at Ava’s push forward, he reached down automatically to scoop the heavily pregnant girl into his arms. The girl’s face was contorted in obvious pain even though she appeared to be passed out cold.
“What’s wrong wit her?” He grumbled as he deposited her on the only piece of furniture in the room. The long couch sagged in the middle and smelled faintly of pizza and beer, but Rath figured the chick couldn’t be too picky right about now.
“I gave her some drugs. She was screamin’ like she was gonna die. I told her I couldn’t deliver the brat by myself. I tried to get her to go to Roswell, but that’s when she spills it that Max is dead and can’t help her now. I’m all, ‘If Max is dead, then how’s you pregnant wit’ his kid, yo?’ and she tells me some crazy ass story about how some FBI scientist had captured Liz Parker after Max died and told her that Liz would die without Max’s sperm or somethin’. Said he didn’t have enough. I didn’t really understan’ what she was ravin’ on about, but she blackmailed the guy into getting her a tiny little sample. I guess she used it.” Ava gestured to Tess’ writhing form on the couch.
“What’re we supposed to do about it?” Lonnie gestured angrily to the couch.
“Help her!” Ava screamed back, knowing Lonnie’s confrontational ways.
Lonnie moved across the room until she towered over Ava, attempting to intimidate her. Her hands were fisted on her hips and her eyes said they were determined to squash her unworthy opponent.
“Wait.” Rath’s voice cut through their argument. He sounded excited and that was rare for him these days, so Lonnie gave him her surprised attention. “Lonnie, don’t you rememba’ the last time the council met? They were goin’ on about some prophecy about Max’s son? He’s gonna be all powerful and shit.” Rath stood over Tess’ writhing body and just stared at her as her screams pierced the air. “This could be him!”
Lonnie’s eyes widened in realization and then narrowed as her quick mind began plotting how they could take advantage of this.
“Help me!” Tess’ quavering voice filled the room and her eyelids almost fluttered open. Her stomach heaved as another contraction ripped through her and her back arched off the couch.
Ava moved swiftly to her side and bent by her head, running one hand over her sweating brow as she murmured softly to her. Tess went still and quiet again.
“We gotta get it outta her,” Lonnie declared suddenly. She looked around the room, searching for anything they could use. Her eyes lit up as she found what she was looking for. She crossed the room and grabbed it in her hand, returning to Rath’s side quickly. She pressed the long sharp knife into his palm, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
She pulled his face down to hers and engaged him in a long, sloppy kiss. “Do it, babe,” she encouraged him, her breath husky with excitement.
“Aiight,” he knelt down next to the straining woman. Ava’s eyes widened as she saw what was in Rath’s hand. “You guys ain’t gonna…”
Rath used the knife to cut through Tess’ shirt and slice a long line down the front of her skirt. “Relax, Ava. Lonnie, why don’t you take Ava inta’ the otha’ room and get a snack. I’ll take care of Tess here.”
Lonnie grabbed a protesting Ava by the arm and dragged her away.
“No…” Tess’ weak protest was easily ignored by Rath as his hands raced over her swollen belly. “I’m not who…”
“Shut up, bitch! This baby is our ticket outta here. You and your boy Max screwed it up for us last time you was here, and we’s not gonna let that happen again!”
Rath let the sharp edge of the knife trail down Tess’ belly, contemplating where to make his incision.
“No! You’re makin’ a mistake!”
“I said: Shut. Up!” Rath placed a hand over Tess’ heart and a white glow pulsed into her body as she arched off the couch and then sank limply back into it. “I guess you won’t be givin’ us any lip eva’ again, huh?” Rath sneered at her dead form and decided that now it didn’t really matter where he cut.
He made a swift incision into her abdomen until it was gaping open in front of him and lifted out the squalling baby boy. He cut the cord and held the child out in front of him awkwardly. He was briefly distracted as the body on the couch began to disintegrate into ash.
“Shit! Lonnie! Get your ass in here now!”
Lonnie came running back into the room followed by an anxious Ava.
“What? What is it?” Lonnie skidded a halt, taking in the scene before her. “Shit, Rath. Did ya have to do it on the couch? What a freakin’ mess!”
Rath held the newborn at arms length away from his body. “Here! Take it!”
“Oh no!” Lonnie held her hands up in protest. “I ain’t no mama fer some screamin’ brat!”
Ava shook herself out of the shock at the sight before her. “Here. I got it.” Rath practically dropped the screaming baby into her waiting arms. She cradled him close to her chest, disregarding the blood that covered his now chilled skin, crooning softly to him as she tried to block out the disturbing but not unwelcome realization that his real mother was dead. “I’ll take care of you, baby. Don’t you worry.” A cold smile flickered briefly over her lips. “Don’t you worry. Mama’s got you.”
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
“Oh my God!” Liz was shaking and terrified by what she had seen. “How can this be true?” Her hands tangled with Max’s over their unborn child and her belly clenched in sympathy against the obscene birth they had just witnessed.
“It’s not...” Max couldn’t wrap his mind around it. “It can’t be true.”
Michael sat back and wiped his forearm over his sweating brow. “Tess is dead.” His voice was flat and Max and Liz’s startled eyes flew to him as they realized that he was right. The threat that had been hovering over them for so long was no longer a worry. Tess was dead, and the Dupes all thought that Max and Liz were dead too. “She had your baby.”
Michael was inevitably the one to ask the dreaded question. “What are we gonna do, Max?”
New York
“Hi, sweetie. I’m your mama,” Tess whispered softly to the boy sleeping in her arms. She kissed his freshly scrubbed forehead and tried to repress the memory of how her dupe Ava had died giving birth to the child Tess had tricked her into bearing. Her plan was working out just fine…
TBC
EYA Part 97
“Max? Answer me! What are we gonna do now?” Michael repeated his question almost desperately.
“Do?” Max was shaking his head, one hand running over his forehead and scrubbing at his temples where a new headache throbbed angrily. “I don’t…” he shook himself and looked from Michael’s inquiring gaze to Liz’s huddled form on the bed. “It’s not true,” he whispered, reaching for Liz. He tried to ignore the slight flinch she couldn’t suppress before she relaxed against his chest. “I would know! How could I not know?” His voice was rough and husky with pent up emotion. He felt Liz shaking with sobs in his arms and lowered his head to rest against hers. He took a deep breath and held back his own tears. There was nothing to worry about. Tess was dead and that baby wasn’t his. Couldn’t be. Because he would know. Right?
Michael stood shakily, his eyes glued to the couple on the bed. It was obvious they needed a few moments to compose themselves. He paused, one hand on the door and, without looking back at them, stated, “I’ll go get the others. They need to know what’s going on.” He didn’t wait for a response, just slowly shut the door behind him and made his way down to the Evans’ house.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
“Hey, guys, you need to get up to Max and Liz’s apartment. Now.” Michael stood nervously in the doorway to the living room shifting from foot to foot.
“What’s going on, Michael?” Isabel and Alex were immediately on their feet, prepared for anything.
“Is Liz in danger?” Maria scrambled up off the floor quickly and made her way over to Michael with Serena right behind her.
Michael curled his hand around Maria’s, taking a moment of comfort in her presence. “Where’s Kyle?” He scanned the room for their missing friend and settled his gaze on Isabel.
“Working. Again,” she answered shortly. “Now tell me what is going on! Are they in danger? Is everything alright?”
“Liz had another vision. About Tess.” He turned and led the way out the back door and up the stairs to Max and Liz’s holding Maria’s hand tightly and ignoring the gasps of surprise that followed his announcement.
Michael pushed open the front door and halted briefly in surprise when he saw Max and Liz already seated in the living room waiting for them. Liz sat cuddled in Max’s arms in the over-sized recliner. The gang filed into the room in complete silence, ranging themselves over the sofa and floor while casting concerned glances between Max, Liz, and Michael. Something was definitely wrong, and no one wanted to break the silence to shatter the calm before the storm.
Max’s eyes were closed and his head rested against the back of the chair while one hand ran up and down Liz’s back soothingly and the other clenched hers tightly. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes to see the concerned faces surrounding them. “Um,” he licked his suddenly dry lips nervously and cleared his throat. Emotions still clogged his voice and he blinked back tears before he could start again. “Liz had another vision…” He proceeded to tell them the entire story in great detail, pausing to gather strength as he re-told the child’s birth. He felt Liz shudder in his arms and tightened his hold. He lowered his lips to her hair and inhaled her clean scent.
“Oh my God,” Isabel breathed into the shocked silence that followed. “Tess had your baby!”
“NO!” Max denied vehemently. “It’s not mine. I would know.” His eyes blazed with conviction as he tried desperately to believe his own words.
“Tess believed it was Max’s,” Liz spoke softly for the first time. She met Max’s anguished eyes, regretting the pain she had just put there.
“Wait, wait, wait! I don’t get it,” Maria inserted in confusion. “How could that baby be Max’s? How could she have her baby so soon when Liz is pregnant for ten months? It’s gotta be a mind-warp or something! She’s just messing with you all!”
Alex and Isabel exchanged knowing glances and she nodded her head faintly to Alex, letting him know he should field that question. “Um, Maria? When Tess mind-warped me into translating that alien book it had a lot of stuff in it besides just how to fly the ship. It said that Tess and Isabel have only a one month gestation. The lab already had samples of Max’s sperm from the first time they took him.” Alex cast an apologetic look toward Max at the reminder. “That’s all it would take for…” he trailed off as Maria’s eyes widened in horror.
“They have the first-born son?” Her shock was complete. “We have to get him back! You said Rath knew about the prophecy,” she jerked her attention back to Max. “They’re gonna use that baby as a ticket back to Antar. They’re gonna corrupt him and raise him to be evil!”
“Wait! You’re remembering the prophecy wrong,” Liz interjected with more energy. “It didn’t say it had to be the first born son. It said that we found the communication stone because Max was fulfilling his destiny. He’d found me and we’d created a child together that was to become Antar’s savior. This child,” she spread her palm over her stomach, “is the only one that can fulfill the prophecy.” She paused and took a breath. “They just don’t know that yet.” And she prayed they never would.
Max let out a long breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding and tightened his grip around Liz. He was remembering the exact words of the prophecy now, and Liz was right. The child she carried was specifically stated to be the new leader of Antar.
An audible sigh of relief echoed around the room at the reminder. Isabel watched her brother closely and hesitated before speaking. “Max? What if it really is your son though? Can you really let Rath, Lonnie, and Ava raise him? Because I really don’t see how we can leave him in their hands knowing he might be a part of you. Of us.”
“I don’t feel any connection with him. Nothing! Wouldn’t I know?” His hand rubbed over Zan in Liz’s tummy. “I know I would feel Zan now no matter where Liz was. He’s a part of me…”
“You and Liz are connected though, Max,” Alex asserted, trying to understand.
“It’s more than that…It’s…” Max tried to explain, but Serena cut him off.
“Max is right. It can’t be his.” Her blunt statement shocked everyone into brief silence.
“What? How can you know that?” Michael questioned suspiciously.
She turned to face Michael squarely. He’d never really unbent enough to extend his friendship to her as all the others had. She didn’t really blame him. “I was in charge of the samples. As soon as it was found that we had them they were turned over to me. I would have known if one was missing.”
“Maybe they only took a tiny bit. It wouldn’t take much.” Michael was trying to find holes in her theory.
“I would have known. We didn’t know Max was alive at the time she got her sample. That’s why Tess still thought Max was dead when she went to Ava. We only had three samples, and it was my job to measure and meter out how much to give Liz when she needed it. I would have known right away if any were missing.” Her voice choked off as she saw how Max and Liz held each other tighter in the chair and no longer met anybody’s eyes. She realized how cold and unfeeling that last statement made her sound, but she couldn’t do anything about that now. It had been her job, and they deserved to know the truth. Warm hands folded over her shoulders and she leaned back into Alex’s supportive embrace with relief.
“Maybe someone took some before they gave the samples to you,” Michael continued, unable to let it go.
“I don’t know…they were frozen,” Serena denied the possibility.
“So you’re saying it’s not possible that they chipped a little off of one of the frozen samples and sent it to Tess?” Michael forged on, relentless.
“I’m not saying…” Serena started.
“Let it go, Michael,” Max interjected wearily.
“Max! How can you just sit there? Alien pregnancies take a month. That child Tess had is an alien, Max, whether you want to claim it or not! I don’t think…”
“That’s right, Michael! You. Don’t. Think! Now drop this for now, you’re upsetting Liz!” Max stood abruptly, Liz in his arms, leaving the room and closing their bedroom door behind him.
“Well I guess his Royal Highness has left the room,” Michael snorted out bitterly. “We haven’t resolved anything!” His frustration was reaching new heights.
“Michael, calm down,” Maria snapped at him. “We don’t have to decide right this minute what we’re going to do about it. Give them time to register what’s going on. No one will make any good decisions until we’ve had a chance to think it through. We just need to sleep on it.”
“Whatever. I’m tired of all of us sitting on our butts waiting for things to happen to us! We need a plan!”
“Michael, I swear you are so frustrating sometimes!” Isabel grabbed Alex and Serena and headed for the door. “I say we talk about this tomorrow after we’ve had a good rest! Maria? Are you coming?”
Maria nodded and followed Isabel to the door slowly. She was spending the week at the Evans’ while her mother was out of town. “I’ll be in my room downstairs if you want to talk later, Michael,” she offered quietly, knowing he needed a moment to cool off.
Michael nodded curtly and started pacing back and forth as the door clicked closed.
TBC
Note: Hope that answered a few questions. It is canon Roswell that Tess’ pregnancy was one Earth month. Whose baby is it? Max’s? Someone else’s? Muahahaha! Only I know right now! I believe chapter 24 has the prophesy in it if anyone needs to review…
“Max? Answer me! What are we gonna do now?” Michael repeated his question almost desperately.
“Do?” Max was shaking his head, one hand running over his forehead and scrubbing at his temples where a new headache throbbed angrily. “I don’t…” he shook himself and looked from Michael’s inquiring gaze to Liz’s huddled form on the bed. “It’s not true,” he whispered, reaching for Liz. He tried to ignore the slight flinch she couldn’t suppress before she relaxed against his chest. “I would know! How could I not know?” His voice was rough and husky with pent up emotion. He felt Liz shaking with sobs in his arms and lowered his head to rest against hers. He took a deep breath and held back his own tears. There was nothing to worry about. Tess was dead and that baby wasn’t his. Couldn’t be. Because he would know. Right?
Michael stood shakily, his eyes glued to the couple on the bed. It was obvious they needed a few moments to compose themselves. He paused, one hand on the door and, without looking back at them, stated, “I’ll go get the others. They need to know what’s going on.” He didn’t wait for a response, just slowly shut the door behind him and made his way down to the Evans’ house.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
“Hey, guys, you need to get up to Max and Liz’s apartment. Now.” Michael stood nervously in the doorway to the living room shifting from foot to foot.
“What’s going on, Michael?” Isabel and Alex were immediately on their feet, prepared for anything.
“Is Liz in danger?” Maria scrambled up off the floor quickly and made her way over to Michael with Serena right behind her.
Michael curled his hand around Maria’s, taking a moment of comfort in her presence. “Where’s Kyle?” He scanned the room for their missing friend and settled his gaze on Isabel.
“Working. Again,” she answered shortly. “Now tell me what is going on! Are they in danger? Is everything alright?”
“Liz had another vision. About Tess.” He turned and led the way out the back door and up the stairs to Max and Liz’s holding Maria’s hand tightly and ignoring the gasps of surprise that followed his announcement.
Michael pushed open the front door and halted briefly in surprise when he saw Max and Liz already seated in the living room waiting for them. Liz sat cuddled in Max’s arms in the over-sized recliner. The gang filed into the room in complete silence, ranging themselves over the sofa and floor while casting concerned glances between Max, Liz, and Michael. Something was definitely wrong, and no one wanted to break the silence to shatter the calm before the storm.
Max’s eyes were closed and his head rested against the back of the chair while one hand ran up and down Liz’s back soothingly and the other clenched hers tightly. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes to see the concerned faces surrounding them. “Um,” he licked his suddenly dry lips nervously and cleared his throat. Emotions still clogged his voice and he blinked back tears before he could start again. “Liz had another vision…” He proceeded to tell them the entire story in great detail, pausing to gather strength as he re-told the child’s birth. He felt Liz shudder in his arms and tightened his hold. He lowered his lips to her hair and inhaled her clean scent.
“Oh my God,” Isabel breathed into the shocked silence that followed. “Tess had your baby!”
“NO!” Max denied vehemently. “It’s not mine. I would know.” His eyes blazed with conviction as he tried desperately to believe his own words.
“Tess believed it was Max’s,” Liz spoke softly for the first time. She met Max’s anguished eyes, regretting the pain she had just put there.
“Wait, wait, wait! I don’t get it,” Maria inserted in confusion. “How could that baby be Max’s? How could she have her baby so soon when Liz is pregnant for ten months? It’s gotta be a mind-warp or something! She’s just messing with you all!”
Alex and Isabel exchanged knowing glances and she nodded her head faintly to Alex, letting him know he should field that question. “Um, Maria? When Tess mind-warped me into translating that alien book it had a lot of stuff in it besides just how to fly the ship. It said that Tess and Isabel have only a one month gestation. The lab already had samples of Max’s sperm from the first time they took him.” Alex cast an apologetic look toward Max at the reminder. “That’s all it would take for…” he trailed off as Maria’s eyes widened in horror.
“They have the first-born son?” Her shock was complete. “We have to get him back! You said Rath knew about the prophecy,” she jerked her attention back to Max. “They’re gonna use that baby as a ticket back to Antar. They’re gonna corrupt him and raise him to be evil!”
“Wait! You’re remembering the prophecy wrong,” Liz interjected with more energy. “It didn’t say it had to be the first born son. It said that we found the communication stone because Max was fulfilling his destiny. He’d found me and we’d created a child together that was to become Antar’s savior. This child,” she spread her palm over her stomach, “is the only one that can fulfill the prophecy.” She paused and took a breath. “They just don’t know that yet.” And she prayed they never would.
Max let out a long breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding and tightened his grip around Liz. He was remembering the exact words of the prophecy now, and Liz was right. The child she carried was specifically stated to be the new leader of Antar.
An audible sigh of relief echoed around the room at the reminder. Isabel watched her brother closely and hesitated before speaking. “Max? What if it really is your son though? Can you really let Rath, Lonnie, and Ava raise him? Because I really don’t see how we can leave him in their hands knowing he might be a part of you. Of us.”
“I don’t feel any connection with him. Nothing! Wouldn’t I know?” His hand rubbed over Zan in Liz’s tummy. “I know I would feel Zan now no matter where Liz was. He’s a part of me…”
“You and Liz are connected though, Max,” Alex asserted, trying to understand.
“It’s more than that…It’s…” Max tried to explain, but Serena cut him off.
“Max is right. It can’t be his.” Her blunt statement shocked everyone into brief silence.
“What? How can you know that?” Michael questioned suspiciously.
She turned to face Michael squarely. He’d never really unbent enough to extend his friendship to her as all the others had. She didn’t really blame him. “I was in charge of the samples. As soon as it was found that we had them they were turned over to me. I would have known if one was missing.”
“Maybe they only took a tiny bit. It wouldn’t take much.” Michael was trying to find holes in her theory.
“I would have known. We didn’t know Max was alive at the time she got her sample. That’s why Tess still thought Max was dead when she went to Ava. We only had three samples, and it was my job to measure and meter out how much to give Liz when she needed it. I would have known right away if any were missing.” Her voice choked off as she saw how Max and Liz held each other tighter in the chair and no longer met anybody’s eyes. She realized how cold and unfeeling that last statement made her sound, but she couldn’t do anything about that now. It had been her job, and they deserved to know the truth. Warm hands folded over her shoulders and she leaned back into Alex’s supportive embrace with relief.
“Maybe someone took some before they gave the samples to you,” Michael continued, unable to let it go.
“I don’t know…they were frozen,” Serena denied the possibility.
“So you’re saying it’s not possible that they chipped a little off of one of the frozen samples and sent it to Tess?” Michael forged on, relentless.
“I’m not saying…” Serena started.
“Let it go, Michael,” Max interjected wearily.
“Max! How can you just sit there? Alien pregnancies take a month. That child Tess had is an alien, Max, whether you want to claim it or not! I don’t think…”
“That’s right, Michael! You. Don’t. Think! Now drop this for now, you’re upsetting Liz!” Max stood abruptly, Liz in his arms, leaving the room and closing their bedroom door behind him.
“Well I guess his Royal Highness has left the room,” Michael snorted out bitterly. “We haven’t resolved anything!” His frustration was reaching new heights.
“Michael, calm down,” Maria snapped at him. “We don’t have to decide right this minute what we’re going to do about it. Give them time to register what’s going on. No one will make any good decisions until we’ve had a chance to think it through. We just need to sleep on it.”
“Whatever. I’m tired of all of us sitting on our butts waiting for things to happen to us! We need a plan!”
“Michael, I swear you are so frustrating sometimes!” Isabel grabbed Alex and Serena and headed for the door. “I say we talk about this tomorrow after we’ve had a good rest! Maria? Are you coming?”
Maria nodded and followed Isabel to the door slowly. She was spending the week at the Evans’ while her mother was out of town. “I’ll be in my room downstairs if you want to talk later, Michael,” she offered quietly, knowing he needed a moment to cool off.
Michael nodded curtly and started pacing back and forth as the door clicked closed.
TBC
Note: Hope that answered a few questions. It is canon Roswell that Tess’ pregnancy was one Earth month. Whose baby is it? Max’s? Someone else’s? Muahahaha! Only I know right now! I believe chapter 24 has the prophesy in it if anyone needs to review…
EYA Part 98
Max wasn’t surprised that Michael was still in his apartment more than an hour later. He carefully closed the bedroom door behind him and turned wearily to face him.
“Still here?”
“Where else would I be, Maxwell?” Michael’s voice was clipped and his posture rigid as he raked a hand through hair that had obviously been taking rough treatment for awhile.
“I don’t know, maybe downstairs patching things up with Maria?”
Michael leveled a glare at Max. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Maxwell.”
“Stop calling me that, Michael. It’s irritating that you only do it when you’re upset with me. Why don’t we just have it out already and you can tell me all the things I’m doing wrong? Because, heaven knows, I can’t seem to do anything right lately, right?” Max paced closer with every impassioned word until he was standing right in Michael’s face.
“Hey, you said it, not me!” Michael held his hands up in a gesture of innocence.
“Don’t start that, Michael. Just tell me what you want from me!” Max slumped down into a chair and scrubbed one hard palm over his eyes. He was too tired for this, but Michael could never let anything go anymore. He silently checked in on Liz. She was still sleeping. He was worried about her exhaustion lately. He didn’t know if it was normal or if it was just all the added stress of being who and what they were. If they just had a sane moment…one second in their lives when they didn’t have to think in strategy or look over their shoulders, but that was a dream that could never come true. Too much had happened to make them wary and suspicious. Too much work and responsibility lay ahead of them to relax now.
He straightened his spine and disengaged from Liz’s sleeping dreams. He didn’t want her to be disturbed by his confrontation with Michael.
“What I want is a plan of action, Max. What we need is some direction. We can’t let them raise your baby…”
“That is not my child!” Max stood up and glared at Michael. He moved swiftly toward the door. “Let’s take this outside, Michael. I don’t want to wake up Liz.” He stepped out and took the stairs two and three at a time knowing Michael would follow closely behind.
Max stopped at the bottom of the stairs, reluctant to move any further from Liz than he already had. The New Mexico night was warm, but Max was hot with anger and wouldn’t have felt a snowstorm.
Michael stopped close beside him. “Look, Max, I know you don’t want to think about…”
Max grabbed a handful of Michael’s shirt and pulled him close. “No, Michael, you look. I would know if that child was mine, okay? I don’t feel anything for him. For all we know Clark gave Tess a sample of his own sperm! I can’t imagine him giving up a single drop of what Pierce took from me!” Max’s eyes went dark with memory and his breathing rasped harshly in and out. The rush of memory of how those samples had been taken from him caused bile to rise up in his throat and he thought for sure he would be sick, right there, on Michael’s shoes.
He took deep breaths and stepped back, wondering why he couldn’t just get over it already. It wasn’t like he didn’t have enough on his plate already. It was over and done with and he thought he’d made peace with it when Liz still accepted him after finding out what had been done to him.
Michael stepped forward and clapped a supportive hand down on Max’s shoulder. “Hey. Hey! It’s over, Max. There’s nothing you could have done. I wish it had been me instead of you.” Michael’s voice was pitched low and reassuring and it registered through Max’s panic and sickness that Michael knew exactly where his thoughts had delved because he was that kind of friend. A good friend, who only wanted the best for all of them.
Max took one last deep breath and met Michael’s eyes. “I know, Michael. Thank you. I’m glad it wasn’t you. I would never want anything like that to happen to my brother.”
Michael inhaled a sharp breath and let the surprise and pride fill him up. Brother. It was how he felt too, of course, but it was good to hear. Max stepped forward and hugged him and Michael wrapped his arms around Max as well.
“I need you, Michael. I need my brother to be here for me right now, okay?” Michael nodded against Max’s shoulder and felt the slight trembling there. He hated that Max felt so weak sometimes, that he doubted himself now like he never had before. A raw anger boiled through him at all that had been done to Max to make him feel that way.
“It’s okay, Max. I’m here for you. Pierce and Clark and all the rest of the Special Unit are dead. We made sure of it. It’s over.” He felt Max stiffen and hoped that the damp spot he felt on his shoulder wasn’t tears.
Max pulled away and turned his back quickly, wiping at his eyes. Michael sighed softly behind him. It was tears. He’d made Max cry now and felt lower than dirt.
“I’m sorry, Michael. I feel like such an idiot! I know that they’re all dead. It’s just impossible to relax. It’s just…I mean, I know what they did to us…and, and Liz! For that alone they deserved to die, but…Was it really my place to punish them?” His tear-stained eyes met Michael’s, filled with pain and self-doubt. “I killed Clark, Michael. With my bare hands.” He stared at his open palms before clenching them tightly closed. “I should feel more guilty, or remorseful or something, you know? Maybe that’s my problem. I don’t care. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, and what does that make me? Inhuman.” He snorted a laugh, and Michael just watched him silently, knowing Max needed to get it all out. “I became exactly what he claimed we were all along. Inhuman takers of life. I had no regard for him or his underlings at all. Do you know what I regret the most? Do you, Michael?”
Michael shook his head and held back tears of his own.
“He didn’t understand,” Max stated in a deadly calm voice that was at odds with the tears still flowing freely down his face. “If I could go back…if I could do it again, I would, but…but I’d tell him this time. I’d tell him exactly what an inhuman piece of garbage he was while I made him suffer like we did. I’d make him understand as he gasped his last breath that he had no right. No right! To…to steal us away from our normal lives. To take us away from each other…from…from our destiny! He had no idea the scope of events he interrupted. He could have cost our people their lives, Michael. An entire planet would remain enslaved forever if our son hadn’t survived.” Max swiped angrily at the tears flowing freely down his face. “And do you know what the most frustrating part is, Michael?”
Michael shook his head again mutely.
Max slumped, seemingly becoming smaller before Michael’s teary eyes. “He wouldn’t have cared, Michael. That stupid fuck would have laughed and done it again. I know it.”
“Oh, Maxwell,” Michael stepped forward, his voice tender, and for once Max didn’t mind Michael’s use of his full name as Michael’s arms enveloped him in a brotherly hug. “You did what you had to do, and you can’t go back. None of us can. There are so many mistakes that we all made, but we’ve learned, and we’re stronger. So much stronger now, Max. You have to know that. We just have to stick together, Max. We have to be the team we were meant to be.”
Max nodded against Michael’s strong shoulder and held him close while he tried to contain his emotions. Things had been boiling just under the surface between them for weeks now and it was such a relief to let out so many bottled feelings. He stepped back eventually. “Thank you, Michael. You’re always there when we need you. And…and I know you’re right. We need to decide what to do about that child. Even if it’s not mine, we know it is half Tess and they shouldn’t be allowed to corrupt him. No child should have to grow up with Ava, Rath, and Lonnie as ‘parents’. I just…Can we just drop it for right now? Do we have to make a decision right this minute? That baby isn’t going to grow up overnight or anything. We’ve got some time, and they think he’s mine, so they won’t do anything to hurt him. They think he’s their ticket home.”
“Okay,” Michael soothed. “Okay, we can let it go for now. But soon, Max. We’ve got to decide soon what we’re gonna do.”
Max nodded. “I know. I do. I just…thanks. We need to just be ourselves for awhile and now that Tess is dead…” He actually smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. “She’s dead, Michael! Do you understand what that means?”
Michael shook his head, confused at the abrupt shift in Max’s emotions.
“We really are free again. No one’s going to come looking for us. At least not right now. The Special Unit is gone. Tess is gone. Pierce is dead.” Max sat down hard on a step. “Wow.”
Michael sat down beside him. “That’s a good thing, right?”
“Hell yeah, it is!” Max stood up and looked toward the top of the stairs. Liz opened the door and smiled down at him. “Hey, did we wake you?”
“No. I just missed you.”
Max started climbing the stairs with Michael right behind him. Max turned and stopped Michael with a smile. “You don’t have to…not anymore. You’re free too, Michael.” He turned Michael by the shoulders and pointed him back down the stairs. “Go see Maria. I’m sure she’s missed you.”
>>>>>>>>>
Michael made his way into the Evans house quietly, not sure who he would find. The gang all tended to hang out there at every spare moment and fall asleep wherever they landed. It was the only place where they could all speak freely. He quietly skirted past Alex, who had Serena wrapped tightly in his arms on the sofa and quirked an eyebrow at them. He didn’t entirely trust Serena, and couldn’t understand why everyone else had taken her in with open arms. True, she hadn’t really given him a reason to distrust her. Yet. He’d just wait and watch and make sure she wasn’t doing anything harmful to his friends.
He didn’t even know why she was still here, really. The police had investigated the kidnapping site and proclaimed all within dead. Serena had inherited a fortune, but she was still hanging out here, living with the Evans’ and leaching off his friends good natures. Of course, she had offered to pay rent, but Max’s parents claimed they didn’t need it and let her just stay there as long as she wanted.
He shook his head and kept walking. Maria was staying in Max’s old room, the sofa in there turned into a queen-sized bed. He stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath before knocking softly.
Maria opened the door in mid-conversation with Isabel and her mouth dropped open with surprise to see Michael there. Her eyes darted back and forth between Isabel and Michael. “Who’s with Max and Liz?” Michael never left Max and Liz unless Isabel was with them.
“Tess is dead.” His explanation made Maria’s eyes widen in realization.
“So you don’t have to…” she gestured up with her hands. “Anymore?”
“Nope. Max kicked me out a few minutes ago. I figured we could talk or something.”
Maria pulled Michael into the room. “Or something, for sure,” she answered with a wink and a smile. She turned to Isabel. “Are you going to be okay?”
Isabel stood and nodded. “Thanks for listening to me. I think I’m going to take your advice and go see him.”
“Good.” Maria nodded and hugged Isabel. “This hasn’t been easy on him. On any of us, really.”
“I know. I just…I miss him, you know?”
Maria nodded again. “Go. Tell him that. I bet he feels the same way.”
“Okay. See ya later, guys.” Isabel left the room and Maria turned her attention back to Michael.
“What was that all about?” Michael watched the door close behind Isabel before he took Maria into his arms.
“Kyle’s been working night and day. Mr. Valenti can’t seem to get it together and Kyle’s worried they’re going to lose the house. Isabel doesn’t know what to do for them. And she misses Kyle. They had something special going, and they haven’t had any time together so…”
“Are they…? Have they, uh, slept together yet?” Michael felt really weird asking about Isabel’s sex life.
“No. Not yet. They talked about it, but neither one of them wants to jump into anything after everything that’s happened with Max and Liz.”
“Good. Good.” Michael smiled in relief. They really did have enough to worry about already.
“Speaking of sleeping together…” Maria let her sentence trail off questioningly, smiling and pinching a bit of fabric in the middle of his shirt to use to pull him closer to her.
“Um. Yeah. About that. Maria, you’ve got to understand. I want it to be about us, not some by-product of Max and Liz’s undying passion. When we’re together…”
Maria cut him off with a kiss. Her tongue invaded his mouth and her hands grabbed the back of his neck to pull him in closer to her. She rocked forward into his pelvis and felt his immediate response to her. She pulled back, at last, with a small smacking sound and looked at him with glazed eyes.
“You are an idiot. But I love you anyway. When are you gonna get it that I want to be with you all the time, not just when Max and Liz are projecting their passion. What I feel for you is more than that. It’s real and I love you, Michael. Do you understand that?”
Michael’s breathing was heavy and he touched a trembling hand to his swollen lips. His eyes were wide as he nodded. “I love you too, Maria.”
“That’s all we need.” And she pulled him in again.
TBC
Max wasn’t surprised that Michael was still in his apartment more than an hour later. He carefully closed the bedroom door behind him and turned wearily to face him.
“Still here?”
“Where else would I be, Maxwell?” Michael’s voice was clipped and his posture rigid as he raked a hand through hair that had obviously been taking rough treatment for awhile.
“I don’t know, maybe downstairs patching things up with Maria?”
Michael leveled a glare at Max. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Maxwell.”
“Stop calling me that, Michael. It’s irritating that you only do it when you’re upset with me. Why don’t we just have it out already and you can tell me all the things I’m doing wrong? Because, heaven knows, I can’t seem to do anything right lately, right?” Max paced closer with every impassioned word until he was standing right in Michael’s face.
“Hey, you said it, not me!” Michael held his hands up in a gesture of innocence.
“Don’t start that, Michael. Just tell me what you want from me!” Max slumped down into a chair and scrubbed one hard palm over his eyes. He was too tired for this, but Michael could never let anything go anymore. He silently checked in on Liz. She was still sleeping. He was worried about her exhaustion lately. He didn’t know if it was normal or if it was just all the added stress of being who and what they were. If they just had a sane moment…one second in their lives when they didn’t have to think in strategy or look over their shoulders, but that was a dream that could never come true. Too much had happened to make them wary and suspicious. Too much work and responsibility lay ahead of them to relax now.
He straightened his spine and disengaged from Liz’s sleeping dreams. He didn’t want her to be disturbed by his confrontation with Michael.
“What I want is a plan of action, Max. What we need is some direction. We can’t let them raise your baby…”
“That is not my child!” Max stood up and glared at Michael. He moved swiftly toward the door. “Let’s take this outside, Michael. I don’t want to wake up Liz.” He stepped out and took the stairs two and three at a time knowing Michael would follow closely behind.
Max stopped at the bottom of the stairs, reluctant to move any further from Liz than he already had. The New Mexico night was warm, but Max was hot with anger and wouldn’t have felt a snowstorm.
Michael stopped close beside him. “Look, Max, I know you don’t want to think about…”
Max grabbed a handful of Michael’s shirt and pulled him close. “No, Michael, you look. I would know if that child was mine, okay? I don’t feel anything for him. For all we know Clark gave Tess a sample of his own sperm! I can’t imagine him giving up a single drop of what Pierce took from me!” Max’s eyes went dark with memory and his breathing rasped harshly in and out. The rush of memory of how those samples had been taken from him caused bile to rise up in his throat and he thought for sure he would be sick, right there, on Michael’s shoes.
He took deep breaths and stepped back, wondering why he couldn’t just get over it already. It wasn’t like he didn’t have enough on his plate already. It was over and done with and he thought he’d made peace with it when Liz still accepted him after finding out what had been done to him.
Michael stepped forward and clapped a supportive hand down on Max’s shoulder. “Hey. Hey! It’s over, Max. There’s nothing you could have done. I wish it had been me instead of you.” Michael’s voice was pitched low and reassuring and it registered through Max’s panic and sickness that Michael knew exactly where his thoughts had delved because he was that kind of friend. A good friend, who only wanted the best for all of them.
Max took one last deep breath and met Michael’s eyes. “I know, Michael. Thank you. I’m glad it wasn’t you. I would never want anything like that to happen to my brother.”
Michael inhaled a sharp breath and let the surprise and pride fill him up. Brother. It was how he felt too, of course, but it was good to hear. Max stepped forward and hugged him and Michael wrapped his arms around Max as well.
“I need you, Michael. I need my brother to be here for me right now, okay?” Michael nodded against Max’s shoulder and felt the slight trembling there. He hated that Max felt so weak sometimes, that he doubted himself now like he never had before. A raw anger boiled through him at all that had been done to Max to make him feel that way.
“It’s okay, Max. I’m here for you. Pierce and Clark and all the rest of the Special Unit are dead. We made sure of it. It’s over.” He felt Max stiffen and hoped that the damp spot he felt on his shoulder wasn’t tears.
Max pulled away and turned his back quickly, wiping at his eyes. Michael sighed softly behind him. It was tears. He’d made Max cry now and felt lower than dirt.
“I’m sorry, Michael. I feel like such an idiot! I know that they’re all dead. It’s just impossible to relax. It’s just…I mean, I know what they did to us…and, and Liz! For that alone they deserved to die, but…Was it really my place to punish them?” His tear-stained eyes met Michael’s, filled with pain and self-doubt. “I killed Clark, Michael. With my bare hands.” He stared at his open palms before clenching them tightly closed. “I should feel more guilty, or remorseful or something, you know? Maybe that’s my problem. I don’t care. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, and what does that make me? Inhuman.” He snorted a laugh, and Michael just watched him silently, knowing Max needed to get it all out. “I became exactly what he claimed we were all along. Inhuman takers of life. I had no regard for him or his underlings at all. Do you know what I regret the most? Do you, Michael?”
Michael shook his head and held back tears of his own.
“He didn’t understand,” Max stated in a deadly calm voice that was at odds with the tears still flowing freely down his face. “If I could go back…if I could do it again, I would, but…but I’d tell him this time. I’d tell him exactly what an inhuman piece of garbage he was while I made him suffer like we did. I’d make him understand as he gasped his last breath that he had no right. No right! To…to steal us away from our normal lives. To take us away from each other…from…from our destiny! He had no idea the scope of events he interrupted. He could have cost our people their lives, Michael. An entire planet would remain enslaved forever if our son hadn’t survived.” Max swiped angrily at the tears flowing freely down his face. “And do you know what the most frustrating part is, Michael?”
Michael shook his head again mutely.
Max slumped, seemingly becoming smaller before Michael’s teary eyes. “He wouldn’t have cared, Michael. That stupid fuck would have laughed and done it again. I know it.”
“Oh, Maxwell,” Michael stepped forward, his voice tender, and for once Max didn’t mind Michael’s use of his full name as Michael’s arms enveloped him in a brotherly hug. “You did what you had to do, and you can’t go back. None of us can. There are so many mistakes that we all made, but we’ve learned, and we’re stronger. So much stronger now, Max. You have to know that. We just have to stick together, Max. We have to be the team we were meant to be.”
Max nodded against Michael’s strong shoulder and held him close while he tried to contain his emotions. Things had been boiling just under the surface between them for weeks now and it was such a relief to let out so many bottled feelings. He stepped back eventually. “Thank you, Michael. You’re always there when we need you. And…and I know you’re right. We need to decide what to do about that child. Even if it’s not mine, we know it is half Tess and they shouldn’t be allowed to corrupt him. No child should have to grow up with Ava, Rath, and Lonnie as ‘parents’. I just…Can we just drop it for right now? Do we have to make a decision right this minute? That baby isn’t going to grow up overnight or anything. We’ve got some time, and they think he’s mine, so they won’t do anything to hurt him. They think he’s their ticket home.”
“Okay,” Michael soothed. “Okay, we can let it go for now. But soon, Max. We’ve got to decide soon what we’re gonna do.”
Max nodded. “I know. I do. I just…thanks. We need to just be ourselves for awhile and now that Tess is dead…” He actually smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. “She’s dead, Michael! Do you understand what that means?”
Michael shook his head, confused at the abrupt shift in Max’s emotions.
“We really are free again. No one’s going to come looking for us. At least not right now. The Special Unit is gone. Tess is gone. Pierce is dead.” Max sat down hard on a step. “Wow.”
Michael sat down beside him. “That’s a good thing, right?”
“Hell yeah, it is!” Max stood up and looked toward the top of the stairs. Liz opened the door and smiled down at him. “Hey, did we wake you?”
“No. I just missed you.”
Max started climbing the stairs with Michael right behind him. Max turned and stopped Michael with a smile. “You don’t have to…not anymore. You’re free too, Michael.” He turned Michael by the shoulders and pointed him back down the stairs. “Go see Maria. I’m sure she’s missed you.”
>>>>>>>>>
Michael made his way into the Evans house quietly, not sure who he would find. The gang all tended to hang out there at every spare moment and fall asleep wherever they landed. It was the only place where they could all speak freely. He quietly skirted past Alex, who had Serena wrapped tightly in his arms on the sofa and quirked an eyebrow at them. He didn’t entirely trust Serena, and couldn’t understand why everyone else had taken her in with open arms. True, she hadn’t really given him a reason to distrust her. Yet. He’d just wait and watch and make sure she wasn’t doing anything harmful to his friends.
He didn’t even know why she was still here, really. The police had investigated the kidnapping site and proclaimed all within dead. Serena had inherited a fortune, but she was still hanging out here, living with the Evans’ and leaching off his friends good natures. Of course, she had offered to pay rent, but Max’s parents claimed they didn’t need it and let her just stay there as long as she wanted.
He shook his head and kept walking. Maria was staying in Max’s old room, the sofa in there turned into a queen-sized bed. He stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath before knocking softly.
Maria opened the door in mid-conversation with Isabel and her mouth dropped open with surprise to see Michael there. Her eyes darted back and forth between Isabel and Michael. “Who’s with Max and Liz?” Michael never left Max and Liz unless Isabel was with them.
“Tess is dead.” His explanation made Maria’s eyes widen in realization.
“So you don’t have to…” she gestured up with her hands. “Anymore?”
“Nope. Max kicked me out a few minutes ago. I figured we could talk or something.”
Maria pulled Michael into the room. “Or something, for sure,” she answered with a wink and a smile. She turned to Isabel. “Are you going to be okay?”
Isabel stood and nodded. “Thanks for listening to me. I think I’m going to take your advice and go see him.”
“Good.” Maria nodded and hugged Isabel. “This hasn’t been easy on him. On any of us, really.”
“I know. I just…I miss him, you know?”
Maria nodded again. “Go. Tell him that. I bet he feels the same way.”
“Okay. See ya later, guys.” Isabel left the room and Maria turned her attention back to Michael.
“What was that all about?” Michael watched the door close behind Isabel before he took Maria into his arms.
“Kyle’s been working night and day. Mr. Valenti can’t seem to get it together and Kyle’s worried they’re going to lose the house. Isabel doesn’t know what to do for them. And she misses Kyle. They had something special going, and they haven’t had any time together so…”
“Are they…? Have they, uh, slept together yet?” Michael felt really weird asking about Isabel’s sex life.
“No. Not yet. They talked about it, but neither one of them wants to jump into anything after everything that’s happened with Max and Liz.”
“Good. Good.” Michael smiled in relief. They really did have enough to worry about already.
“Speaking of sleeping together…” Maria let her sentence trail off questioningly, smiling and pinching a bit of fabric in the middle of his shirt to use to pull him closer to her.
“Um. Yeah. About that. Maria, you’ve got to understand. I want it to be about us, not some by-product of Max and Liz’s undying passion. When we’re together…”
Maria cut him off with a kiss. Her tongue invaded his mouth and her hands grabbed the back of his neck to pull him in closer to her. She rocked forward into his pelvis and felt his immediate response to her. She pulled back, at last, with a small smacking sound and looked at him with glazed eyes.
“You are an idiot. But I love you anyway. When are you gonna get it that I want to be with you all the time, not just when Max and Liz are projecting their passion. What I feel for you is more than that. It’s real and I love you, Michael. Do you understand that?”
Michael’s breathing was heavy and he touched a trembling hand to his swollen lips. His eyes were wide as he nodded. “I love you too, Maria.”
“That’s all we need.” And she pulled him in again.
TBC
EYA Part 99
“Twice cursed piece of crap…Oww!” Kyle straightened suddenly, bumping his head on the hood of the car he was working on, shaking his hand furiously in front of him before popping his newly aching thumb into his mouth and sucking vigorously while rubbing the back of his head with the other oil-stained hand.
“Did I come at a bad time?” Isabel stepped hesitantly further into the room and sensed that maybe it wasn’t a good time to laugh out loud at the comical way Kyle jumped again, startled by her sudden appearance. His face was smeared with oil and his hair stood up around his head in disarranged spikes. Isabel thought he looked adorable.
“Is, what are you doing here?” He almost winced at the curt way the words escaped his lips. He stopped himself though, he had work to do and he couldn’t let her distract him.
Isabel leaned a casual hip against the side of the car Kyle was working on and cocked an eyebrow at his tone. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, and now Isabel was sure he had been avoiding her on purpose the last few weeks. It hurt. A lot. But…she was here to find out the reason.
“I came to see you,” she answered simply, willing him to meet her eyes. He didn’t.
“I’m busy.” He ducked under the hood of the car again and started reconnecting hoses and praying the stupid thing would start this time. It was late and he’d started work way too damn early that day.
“I see that. Anything I can do to help?”
Kyle almost looked at her, sure he knew what she was offering. He stayed under the car. It was easier to be distant if he didn’t have to look at her. “I don’t need any of your hocus-pocus crap, thank you anyway,” he drawled out sarcastically. Maybe she would get the hint and leave now.
She got the hint, but she didn’t leave. Straightening from the car she smoothed her slacks down over her hips and drew a deep breath. So that was the problem! She’d have to approach this carefully.
“You’ve been working a lot of hours lately, haven’t you?”
“Had to.” Why wasn’t she gone yet? Kyle was almost done with the hoses, and he was running out of reasons to remain under the hood.
“Yeah. Your dad hasn’t found another job yet?”
That was it. Kyle straightened and glared at Isabel. “My dad lost the only job he ever wanted. The only job he ever thought he’d be good at. It takes awhile to get over that. And all because of…” he paused before finishing that sentence and wiped his hands down the front of his coveralls nervously.
“Hocus pocus crap.” No reason to make him say it. Isabel knew what his problem was now.
“Yeah.” Kyle turned away and grabbed the car keys before sliding behind the wheel. He turned the key and the engine coughed twice before dying. He slumped back against the leather seat and scrubbed a tired hand over his eyes.
Isabel moved in front of the hood and peered under it curiously. She reached in and tightened a loose connection. “Try again, Kyle,” she called out.
He leaned out the open car door. “Look, I thought I told you I didn’t want any hocus pocus kinda intervention from you!”
Isabel stepped around to glare at Kyle. “For your information I happen to know what I’m doing under the hood of a car. I tightened a connection by hand and I don’t use my powers unless I have to, so chill out and just say it! Say that you don’t want to be around me any more. Say that you blame me for all the bad things that have happened in your life in the last couple of years. Because hearing it would hurt less than the silent treatment you’ve been giving me lately!” Isabel took a deep breath and turned her back on Kyle, not wanting him to see the tears that had sprung to her eyes unbidden.
Kyle stood, shocked, mouth hanging open. Was it possible that Isabel Evans was…crying? Over him? It just wasn’t right. In fact it was wrong on so many levels that he found himself moving toward her instinctively before he realized that maybe it was just the push he needed to keep his distance. He hesitated, torn and undecided.
Isabel’s shoulders shook slightly, and Kyle could see her take a deep breath followed by a surreptitious swipe at her eyes with one only slightly trembling hand before she turned slowly to face him.
“I came here to tell you I missed you. I came here to say that I want to be here for you. Support you. That I thought we had something…” she almost choked at the hurt look in his eyes, “special,” she whispered lowly. She turned away. “I guess I was wrong. I’ll get out of your way.” She walked toward the door, not daring to meet his eyes again before she left him.
“Isabel…, Is?” The words were torn from his lips with great effort and very little thought to what he should say next. Still, he was overwhelmingly relieved when she turned to face him. The look in her wet eyes destroyed him. “Oh, Is, I’m so sorry!” He stepped toward her and held out his arms, all the invitation she needed to rush close and hold him tightly. He closed his eyes and inhaled her fresh, clean scent. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I’m just…I’m scared, I guess. And dealing with it the only way I know how. Dad’s a mess and it’s all because of what happened and Max and Liz are a mess and I can’t do anything to help them, and I’ve got to work right now as much as I can. And…and what if I start turning into an alien? Huh? Who’s Dad going to have to count on then? And I don’t think I can go back to school next week, because I have to work or we’ll lose the house if Dad can’t pull it together, and…”
“Shhh,” Isabel ran a soothing hand up the back of Kyle’s neck and into his soft hair. She felt his muscles bunch and tense beneath her other hand and stroked up and down his back to comfort him. “I’m sorry too, Kyle. I didn’t realize what was going through your head, and I should have. We’ll figure it out. Together, okay?” She tried to lean back so he would look at her, but he pulled her in tighter and refused to budge. “I can take care of myself too, Kyle. You don’t always have to be the strong one that everyone leans on. You can lean on me too.”
Kyle was already shaking his head. “I like it when you count on me,” he confessed softly. He pressed a soft kiss just under her ear and thought about what he had almost thrown away.
“I like it when you count on me too.” This time they pulled back at the same time and their watery gazes met and held. Kyle reached out and ran a rough thumb over her smooth cheek and left a faint spot of oil. He gave her a half smile. “You’ve got something on your…” he leaned in and forgot the rest of his sentence as their lips met in a tender kiss to seal their new understanding.
Things would get better. They had to.
>>>>>>>>
Two Days Later
“I hate this part.” Maria shifted from one foot to the other again impatiently and Michael rolled his eyes.
“You’ll get through it,” he drawled sarcastically. He studied the course guide in front of him. He hated this part too.
“I love this part!” Liz was bubbling over with enthusiasm.
“We know!” Maria and Michael chorused together before turning to each other and grinning broadly. Liz’s excitement was a little over the top.
Michael turned to Max. “You need to take her out more.”
Max was nodding and studying his own course guide. “What about swimming? That wouldn’t put too much strain on you, would it?” Liz slipped under Max’s arm and took a look at the brochure with him. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. “That’s perfect!”
This was the first year of her high school career where she hadn’t had every course she wanted to enroll in highlighted and listed out on paper in the order of importance and class period preferred. It made the enrollment process more interesting somehow, but she’d felt weird that it wasn’t all decided yet.
The line inched closer and they all moved a half-step closer to the enrollment tables at West Roswell High. Liz craned her neck around to see how many students were in front of her, hoping her desired classes wouldn’t fill up before she got there. She only needed two more academic courses to graduate, and PE. She grimaced faintly. What a waste of time at school. She could exercise anywhere. It’s not like she wasn’t in shape. The thought of swimming perked her up a little though. She knew that it would be good for Zan.
Max kissed her temple and closed the course guide. “I’ll take it with you even.”
Liz turned her face up to him, startled. “But you don’t need a…”
“I want to. For you and Zan. It’ll be fun.” Liz threw both arms around her husband and almost squealed with girlish excitement before containing herself at the last minute. She leaned up on her toes and kissed Max’s mouth quickly.
“Thank you, Max. That means a lot to me.”
Max blushed faintly and nodded with a small smile. Liz turned around so she stood with her back to Max’s chest and leaned back on him as they inched forward once again.
“Where’s Kyle?” Maria craned her neck to look around the long line of students.
Liz’s brow furrowed in faint worry. “Isabel said something about him having to be at work. I hope he doesn’t miss registration.”
“Wish I was at work,” muttered Michael under his breath. He’d rather be doing almost anything else. Liz just shook her head, she hoped Kyle was going to make it.
“Are you going to see Brody after you drop me off for lunch with my mom?” Liz tilted her head back to catch Max’s answer.
“Yeah. I gotta tell him I’m ready to come back to work now. I can’t believe he held my job like that. It was really nice of him to let us have some time together after everything.”
Liz put her hands over Max’s on her stomach and moved forward another six inches in the line with him. “I wish you didn’t have to go back.”
Max intertwined his fingers with hers lightly and tried to sound cheerful. “We’ve got to get a bigger place. And another car for you so we can drive around with the baby. It’s not right that you’re the only one working in our family.”
“I know you don’t like it, but…it’s just…there’s gotta be another way.” Liz had gone back to work for Diane a couple weeks earlier, enjoying the time to do something productive that had nothing to do with their chaotic existence. She leaned her head back against his broad chest and tilted up to kiss the tender skin at his neck. She didn’t know if she was ready to be physically parted from him for hours at a time, they hadn’t even proven they could be parted yet, having spent virtually every moment since they’d been back within hearing distance with each other. But at the same time, Max deserved some time to himself too. Somewhere to go to take his own mind off of things. Max turned her in his arms, always sensitive to her moods, and held her close.
“You know I don’t want to be away from you either. I don’t need anything else but you and Zan. I just can’t think of another way,” Max stated as a fact. It wasn’t in question that his first choice was to stay by her side. “And if you ever need me I’ll…”
Liz cupped his face in her palm and caressed down to his chin. “I know.”
Maria interjected, “You could always take Serena up on her offer. You wouldn’t have to work so hard and…”
“No,” Max and Liz stated together, adamant as they turned to face Maria. Maria looked startled for a minute and then held up her hands in surrender.
“Okay, okay. I just thought I’d remind you. Geesh! She’s not a bad person you know. I think it was nice that she wanted to give you some of that fortune she inherited. It’s not like you don’t deserve it after what her psycho dad did to you guys.”
Liz was shaking her head. “There are so many things wrong with what you just said, Maria. It’s not about deserving it. It’s about earning it. We don’t want Serena to feel guilty about what her adopted father did to us. It wasn’t her fault. She couldn’t pick her parents. At the same time, we don’t want his money. We can make it on our own. Besides, I’m going to ask my mom today about my college fund and the account I put all my waitress money into for so long. She said that maybe I could use it to buy a car when I go to college one day, so I’m going to find out how much I’ve got in there and maybe we can use it now and Max won’t have to work all the time.”
Maria wrinkled her nose prettily thinking Max and Liz weren’t very practical. She’d take the offered money in a heartbeat and not feel bad about it for one minute! After everything Dr. Clark put them through…
“We’re almost to the front of the line!” Liz’s excited announcement abruptly broke Maria’s train of thought.
“Uhg! Liz? Do you know what this means? We’re just standing in line to voluntarily sign up for endless hours of boring lectures and impossible tests! Why do you get so excited?” Maria didn’t want to take that last step forward that would signify the end of summer and the beginning of being chained to a school desk for hours on end.
Liz just smiled happily and gave Maria an inspiring shove forward to sign the registration forms.
TBC
“Twice cursed piece of crap…Oww!” Kyle straightened suddenly, bumping his head on the hood of the car he was working on, shaking his hand furiously in front of him before popping his newly aching thumb into his mouth and sucking vigorously while rubbing the back of his head with the other oil-stained hand.
“Did I come at a bad time?” Isabel stepped hesitantly further into the room and sensed that maybe it wasn’t a good time to laugh out loud at the comical way Kyle jumped again, startled by her sudden appearance. His face was smeared with oil and his hair stood up around his head in disarranged spikes. Isabel thought he looked adorable.
“Is, what are you doing here?” He almost winced at the curt way the words escaped his lips. He stopped himself though, he had work to do and he couldn’t let her distract him.
Isabel leaned a casual hip against the side of the car Kyle was working on and cocked an eyebrow at his tone. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, and now Isabel was sure he had been avoiding her on purpose the last few weeks. It hurt. A lot. But…she was here to find out the reason.
“I came to see you,” she answered simply, willing him to meet her eyes. He didn’t.
“I’m busy.” He ducked under the hood of the car again and started reconnecting hoses and praying the stupid thing would start this time. It was late and he’d started work way too damn early that day.
“I see that. Anything I can do to help?”
Kyle almost looked at her, sure he knew what she was offering. He stayed under the car. It was easier to be distant if he didn’t have to look at her. “I don’t need any of your hocus-pocus crap, thank you anyway,” he drawled out sarcastically. Maybe she would get the hint and leave now.
She got the hint, but she didn’t leave. Straightening from the car she smoothed her slacks down over her hips and drew a deep breath. So that was the problem! She’d have to approach this carefully.
“You’ve been working a lot of hours lately, haven’t you?”
“Had to.” Why wasn’t she gone yet? Kyle was almost done with the hoses, and he was running out of reasons to remain under the hood.
“Yeah. Your dad hasn’t found another job yet?”
That was it. Kyle straightened and glared at Isabel. “My dad lost the only job he ever wanted. The only job he ever thought he’d be good at. It takes awhile to get over that. And all because of…” he paused before finishing that sentence and wiped his hands down the front of his coveralls nervously.
“Hocus pocus crap.” No reason to make him say it. Isabel knew what his problem was now.
“Yeah.” Kyle turned away and grabbed the car keys before sliding behind the wheel. He turned the key and the engine coughed twice before dying. He slumped back against the leather seat and scrubbed a tired hand over his eyes.
Isabel moved in front of the hood and peered under it curiously. She reached in and tightened a loose connection. “Try again, Kyle,” she called out.
He leaned out the open car door. “Look, I thought I told you I didn’t want any hocus pocus kinda intervention from you!”
Isabel stepped around to glare at Kyle. “For your information I happen to know what I’m doing under the hood of a car. I tightened a connection by hand and I don’t use my powers unless I have to, so chill out and just say it! Say that you don’t want to be around me any more. Say that you blame me for all the bad things that have happened in your life in the last couple of years. Because hearing it would hurt less than the silent treatment you’ve been giving me lately!” Isabel took a deep breath and turned her back on Kyle, not wanting him to see the tears that had sprung to her eyes unbidden.
Kyle stood, shocked, mouth hanging open. Was it possible that Isabel Evans was…crying? Over him? It just wasn’t right. In fact it was wrong on so many levels that he found himself moving toward her instinctively before he realized that maybe it was just the push he needed to keep his distance. He hesitated, torn and undecided.
Isabel’s shoulders shook slightly, and Kyle could see her take a deep breath followed by a surreptitious swipe at her eyes with one only slightly trembling hand before she turned slowly to face him.
“I came here to tell you I missed you. I came here to say that I want to be here for you. Support you. That I thought we had something…” she almost choked at the hurt look in his eyes, “special,” she whispered lowly. She turned away. “I guess I was wrong. I’ll get out of your way.” She walked toward the door, not daring to meet his eyes again before she left him.
“Isabel…, Is?” The words were torn from his lips with great effort and very little thought to what he should say next. Still, he was overwhelmingly relieved when she turned to face him. The look in her wet eyes destroyed him. “Oh, Is, I’m so sorry!” He stepped toward her and held out his arms, all the invitation she needed to rush close and hold him tightly. He closed his eyes and inhaled her fresh, clean scent. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I’m just…I’m scared, I guess. And dealing with it the only way I know how. Dad’s a mess and it’s all because of what happened and Max and Liz are a mess and I can’t do anything to help them, and I’ve got to work right now as much as I can. And…and what if I start turning into an alien? Huh? Who’s Dad going to have to count on then? And I don’t think I can go back to school next week, because I have to work or we’ll lose the house if Dad can’t pull it together, and…”
“Shhh,” Isabel ran a soothing hand up the back of Kyle’s neck and into his soft hair. She felt his muscles bunch and tense beneath her other hand and stroked up and down his back to comfort him. “I’m sorry too, Kyle. I didn’t realize what was going through your head, and I should have. We’ll figure it out. Together, okay?” She tried to lean back so he would look at her, but he pulled her in tighter and refused to budge. “I can take care of myself too, Kyle. You don’t always have to be the strong one that everyone leans on. You can lean on me too.”
Kyle was already shaking his head. “I like it when you count on me,” he confessed softly. He pressed a soft kiss just under her ear and thought about what he had almost thrown away.
“I like it when you count on me too.” This time they pulled back at the same time and their watery gazes met and held. Kyle reached out and ran a rough thumb over her smooth cheek and left a faint spot of oil. He gave her a half smile. “You’ve got something on your…” he leaned in and forgot the rest of his sentence as their lips met in a tender kiss to seal their new understanding.
Things would get better. They had to.
>>>>>>>>
Two Days Later
“I hate this part.” Maria shifted from one foot to the other again impatiently and Michael rolled his eyes.
“You’ll get through it,” he drawled sarcastically. He studied the course guide in front of him. He hated this part too.
“I love this part!” Liz was bubbling over with enthusiasm.
“We know!” Maria and Michael chorused together before turning to each other and grinning broadly. Liz’s excitement was a little over the top.
Michael turned to Max. “You need to take her out more.”
Max was nodding and studying his own course guide. “What about swimming? That wouldn’t put too much strain on you, would it?” Liz slipped under Max’s arm and took a look at the brochure with him. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. “That’s perfect!”
This was the first year of her high school career where she hadn’t had every course she wanted to enroll in highlighted and listed out on paper in the order of importance and class period preferred. It made the enrollment process more interesting somehow, but she’d felt weird that it wasn’t all decided yet.
The line inched closer and they all moved a half-step closer to the enrollment tables at West Roswell High. Liz craned her neck around to see how many students were in front of her, hoping her desired classes wouldn’t fill up before she got there. She only needed two more academic courses to graduate, and PE. She grimaced faintly. What a waste of time at school. She could exercise anywhere. It’s not like she wasn’t in shape. The thought of swimming perked her up a little though. She knew that it would be good for Zan.
Max kissed her temple and closed the course guide. “I’ll take it with you even.”
Liz turned her face up to him, startled. “But you don’t need a…”
“I want to. For you and Zan. It’ll be fun.” Liz threw both arms around her husband and almost squealed with girlish excitement before containing herself at the last minute. She leaned up on her toes and kissed Max’s mouth quickly.
“Thank you, Max. That means a lot to me.”
Max blushed faintly and nodded with a small smile. Liz turned around so she stood with her back to Max’s chest and leaned back on him as they inched forward once again.
“Where’s Kyle?” Maria craned her neck to look around the long line of students.
Liz’s brow furrowed in faint worry. “Isabel said something about him having to be at work. I hope he doesn’t miss registration.”
“Wish I was at work,” muttered Michael under his breath. He’d rather be doing almost anything else. Liz just shook her head, she hoped Kyle was going to make it.
“Are you going to see Brody after you drop me off for lunch with my mom?” Liz tilted her head back to catch Max’s answer.
“Yeah. I gotta tell him I’m ready to come back to work now. I can’t believe he held my job like that. It was really nice of him to let us have some time together after everything.”
Liz put her hands over Max’s on her stomach and moved forward another six inches in the line with him. “I wish you didn’t have to go back.”
Max intertwined his fingers with hers lightly and tried to sound cheerful. “We’ve got to get a bigger place. And another car for you so we can drive around with the baby. It’s not right that you’re the only one working in our family.”
“I know you don’t like it, but…it’s just…there’s gotta be another way.” Liz had gone back to work for Diane a couple weeks earlier, enjoying the time to do something productive that had nothing to do with their chaotic existence. She leaned her head back against his broad chest and tilted up to kiss the tender skin at his neck. She didn’t know if she was ready to be physically parted from him for hours at a time, they hadn’t even proven they could be parted yet, having spent virtually every moment since they’d been back within hearing distance with each other. But at the same time, Max deserved some time to himself too. Somewhere to go to take his own mind off of things. Max turned her in his arms, always sensitive to her moods, and held her close.
“You know I don’t want to be away from you either. I don’t need anything else but you and Zan. I just can’t think of another way,” Max stated as a fact. It wasn’t in question that his first choice was to stay by her side. “And if you ever need me I’ll…”
Liz cupped his face in her palm and caressed down to his chin. “I know.”
Maria interjected, “You could always take Serena up on her offer. You wouldn’t have to work so hard and…”
“No,” Max and Liz stated together, adamant as they turned to face Maria. Maria looked startled for a minute and then held up her hands in surrender.
“Okay, okay. I just thought I’d remind you. Geesh! She’s not a bad person you know. I think it was nice that she wanted to give you some of that fortune she inherited. It’s not like you don’t deserve it after what her psycho dad did to you guys.”
Liz was shaking her head. “There are so many things wrong with what you just said, Maria. It’s not about deserving it. It’s about earning it. We don’t want Serena to feel guilty about what her adopted father did to us. It wasn’t her fault. She couldn’t pick her parents. At the same time, we don’t want his money. We can make it on our own. Besides, I’m going to ask my mom today about my college fund and the account I put all my waitress money into for so long. She said that maybe I could use it to buy a car when I go to college one day, so I’m going to find out how much I’ve got in there and maybe we can use it now and Max won’t have to work all the time.”
Maria wrinkled her nose prettily thinking Max and Liz weren’t very practical. She’d take the offered money in a heartbeat and not feel bad about it for one minute! After everything Dr. Clark put them through…
“We’re almost to the front of the line!” Liz’s excited announcement abruptly broke Maria’s train of thought.
“Uhg! Liz? Do you know what this means? We’re just standing in line to voluntarily sign up for endless hours of boring lectures and impossible tests! Why do you get so excited?” Maria didn’t want to take that last step forward that would signify the end of summer and the beginning of being chained to a school desk for hours on end.
Liz just smiled happily and gave Maria an inspiring shove forward to sign the registration forms.
TBC
OKAY! That was it for the revised parts...Please take a second to let me know if you like the changes/additions!
Now….At LONG last!! A NEW chapter!
This follows later the same day after 99 ends…
EYA Part 100
“Okay, I’ll just be across the street.” Max kissed Liz lightly on the lips before leaning his forehead against hers. Her hands clutched at his waist tightly, fingers tangling in his belt loops and crushing the fabric of his t-shirt, unwilling and unready to let him go quite yet.
“I feel so stupid. I’m sorry.” Liz pried her fingers away from Max and took a deep breath as she willed herself to take a single step back.
“Don’t be,” Max reassured her, catching her hands in his, tangling her fingers with his before stepping back minutely himself, their arms stretched between them. “You know I feel exactly the same.”
Liz smiled, knowing it was true.
“Do you want me to walk in with you?” Max offered, gesturing toward the diner, hoping to delay their parting.
Liz wavered, glancing at the Crashdown behind her. She could see her mom waiting in a booth inside, watching them out the window. She hadn’t stepped foot inside since…
She shook her head. “No. You’ll be late. My mom is waiting for me. Go see Brody.” She squeezed his hands gently and let him go, backing slowly toward the glass doors.
‘I love you,’ Max mouthed as he too backed away. He almost stumbled over the curb, and caught himself from falling at the last moment, smiling sheepishly at Liz before he turned and trotted quickly across the street.
Liz smiled and waved before swinging the door open to join her mother for lunch.
Nancy had watched the entire exchange through the window, her heart hurting for her daughter. She knew that Max and Liz had been through much more than they had shared with her, and she just wished Liz would feel comfortable enough with her again to open up and let her in.
“Hey, Mom.” Liz slid into the booth opposite her mother, looking around at the smattering of customers seated throughout the restaurant and unable to stop herself from glancing out the window to watch Max enter the UFO Center across the street.
Nancy saw the aching longing in Liz’s expression. “You know, Max could join us for lunch,” Nancy offered helpfully.
Liz swung her attention around to her mother again. “Oh, it’s…He’s meeting Brody about starting to work again, so…I don’t,” she felt like a stammering idiot. She stared hard at the table. “We just haven’t really been apart since…” she picked at a groove in the table. “That obvious, huh?”
Nancy nodded sympathetically.
“Besides,” Liz added, trying to sound more stoic than she felt, “I’m sure Daddy wouldn’t really appreciate having Max here anyway.”
“Daddy can learn to deal with it, honey,” Nancy sighed. She was so tired of the open animosity that Jeff was still showing toward Max. She’d talked herself blue in the face and still Jeff was being stubborn, insisting that Max was the man who had ruined their daughter’s life; the start of all their troubles. Which, in a way, Nancy could agree with, but still…It was obvious Liz needed him.
“Where is Daddy?” Liz finally asked, looking around and not seeing her father anywhere.
Nancy sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. “He’s at the books again. I swear he just can’t tear himself away sometimes. He loses all track of time!”
Liz grinned at the familiar complaint. “Want me to go get him?” She got up, knowing exactly where she would find her father.
“I’ll come with you,” Nancy volunteered, sharing the grin, glad to see that Liz was smiling again. “I’ll just put in our order and we can eat upstairs. How’s that sound?”
“That actually sounds really good. There’s something I wanted to ask you and Daddy about anyway, and it might be better in private.” Liz waited with her mother for their order to be prepared and they juggled the bags of food between them as they passed through the swinging doors and went up the stairs to the apartment Liz had grown up in.
Nancy passed through the front door first, not noticing Liz wasn’t right behind her until she’d set her bags down in the kitchen and turned around to help Liz with hers.
“Liz?” Nancy was slightly concerned. Where had Liz gone? She walked back out through the living room, rushing to the front door when she saw a pale-faced Liz standing there, breathing hard and shaking, the bags of food fallen to her feet.
“Liz, honey! What is it?” Nancy wrapped her arms around Liz, frightened to find her daughter cold and still trembling in her arms. She slowly led her inside the room, one step at a time until they were seated on the couch.
Liz! Max was frantic inside her head. She shook herself and tried to answer.
Max, I…
I’m on my way, Liz. I’ll be right there!
No! Max, I’m not…it was just…I haven’t been in the apartment since…It was just a shock…I’m fine! Please, stay where you are! My mom is here. I think I’ve freaked her out. I’m…Mom’s taking care of me. Please don’t worry…I’ll try not to be such a baby!
You’re not…God, Liz…I didn’t even think about you going up there. Are you sure you’re okay?
Yes. It’s good to know you’re close though. Get back to what you were doing! I love you.
Love you too…
“Liz! Liz!” Jeff shook his daughter by the arms gently. “I think something’s wrong with her!”
The connection faded and Liz shook herself back to awareness, startled to find her father there now as well as her anxious mother hovering over her. She shook off their questing hands and rose to her feet shakily. She really didn’t need to be touched.
“Please don’t…touch me. I’m fine! I’m sorry about freaking out like that. It’s just…been awhile since I was up here and it sort of just…overwhelmed me for a minute.” Jeff and Nancy just stared at her, mouths open like they wanted to say something, but too shocked at her outburst to think of exactly what. They both looked as if they expected her to fall apart with her next breath.
“Just. Stop. Okay?” Liz scrubbed her hands over her eyes wearily. “I’m fine! I swear it. I’m stronger than you’d think.”
“Liz, sweetie, why don’t you sit down for a minute. You look really pale…”
“NO! I don’t want to sit. I just…” Liz whirled around so she wouldn’t have to watch her parents hovering over her, worrying and anxious. She spotted the fallen food bags in the doorway and crossed the room to pick them up. She held a bag out in each hand and turned back to smile at her parents. “Let’s just eat, alright?”
She moved quickly by them into the kitchen, before they could say anything and pulled down plates and utensils, the familiar actions calming her more than she’d have thought possible only moments before.
Nancy followed her in, taking her lead and helping her to set the table and distribute the food onto plates for each of them. Jeff slipped into his chair and watched them mutely.
Nancy and Liz seated themselves in their usual spots and started eating.
“Uh, so, Liz, did you go to registration this morning?” Nancy finally broke the awkward silence, knowing this was a subject that Liz would appreciate.
“Yeah. It was so great! Except Maria was grumbling, like usual, and this year Michael was backing her up. Oh! And Kyle had to work and didn’t get registered, I’m not sure what he’s going to do, but we got there early enough, no thanks to Maria, to get signed up for the classes we needed…” Liz could tell she was rambling on, but her parents were looking more relaxed now, so she kept going, telling them about their morning. “…and then Max suggested swimming, because I need the PE credit and that should be good for the baby and he even said he’d take it with me, even though he doesn’t need another PE credit so…” Liz trailed off as she noticed the sour expression on her father’s face.
“Mighty generous of him, huh?” Jeff couldn’t stop the sarcastic remark. He tore viciously into a roll and left it mangled on his plate.
“Daddy, please don’t…”
“Don’t what, sweetie? Don’t resent the fact that I’ve lost my daughter to an irresponsible punk who’s not even out of high school yet? Don’t be angered by the fact that he monopolizes all of your time and every word that comes out of your mouth, and every thought that you have to the point where we have to beg you to come see us for weeks before you can come by for one lousy lunch? After everything that you’ve been through…”
“That’s enough, Daddy!” Liz rose angrily from the table, her hands balled into fists at her sides. ‘Not now, she threw out in response to Max’s concerned query. “Max is my rock, Daddy. You have no idea what we’ve been through…what they did to both of us in there! How dare you resent the one person on this entire planet that knew how to comfort me, hold me through the nightmares, touch me when no one else could! In case it’s escaped your notice, I’ve been a wreck for the last few weeks, so I’m sorry if I couldn’t fit your lunch plans into my private breakdown schedule. And you should know that if it wasn’t for that ‘irresponsible punk’ I’d be dead right now. Deal with that!”
“If it wasn’t for him you wouldn’t be going through all this! He’s the one…”
“He’s the one that what, Dad? The one that loves me more than I ever thought I could be loved? The one that will always be there for me, no matter what? The one that has proven he’ll do anything for me, anything!, no matter how much it hurts him, to make sure that I’ll be okay? Do you know that they tortured him? The things…” Liz gasped, eyes dark and haunted, remembering Max’s pain. “…the things they made him do because they told him they were going to hurt me.” She shook her head and stared at her father, tears standing out in her eyes. “Yeah, Dad. He’s the one.”
She walked around the table and left the room, heading for the door.
“Liz, wait!” Jeff was blocking her path, turning her by the shoulders to face him again, but the remembered pain was too fresh and she shook out of his hold, resenting the touch of anyone but Max.
“Max is waiting. I’ve gotta…”
“Please don’t go yet, Liz,” Jeff pleaded. He couldn’t stand that he’d put the pain in his baby’s eyes. He shifted restlessly, every instinct wanting to reach out for her again, but he held back, knowing she wasn’t ready. “I’ll try not to…I won’t say anything else. I just miss you, okay?”
Liz watched the anquish filter over her father’s face and felt her heart tug. This whole situation was unbearable for all of them, maybe she was just blowing it all out of proportion. Liz nodded slowly and made her way over to the chair in the living room to sit down, watching her anxious parents sitting together on the opposite couch. She rubbed her cold fingers together and stared at them.
“You told me earlier, downstairs, that you wanted to ask us something in private, honey,” Nancy started slowly, glancing from Liz to Jeff. “Do you want to go ahead now?”
Liz glanced up, startled. She’d almost forgotten why she’d agreed to this luncheon after declining all the previous invitations. “Yeah, I guess I should…You know I’ve been working for Diane as a legal assistant, and now with school starting again and all I won’t be able to work so many hours, and Max is starting back to work at the UFO Center too, but…things are kinda tight right now. We’re going to need another car because of the baby and eventually a bigger place, you’ve seen our apartment, and so I was wondering if I could get the money out of my waitress fund a little early so that…” Liz trailed off as she saw her father wince and shake his head. “What?”
Jeff stood up, unable to remain seated any longer. Jeff had always deposited her wages into an account with his name on it and Liz listed as a minor. Her tip money had always been her own to do with as she’d wanted. “How about this. I’ll give you the money on one condition.”
Liz looked at her father hopefully. “What condition, Daddy?”
“I want you to quit your job and come move back home with us until after the baby is born.”
Liz could feel herself starting to shake again. “Me and Max, you mean, right?”
“No,” Jeff stated flatly. “Just you.”
“What?!” Liz stood to face her father, shaking almost uncontrollably. Had he listened to nothing that she had said to him?
“Jeff, I don’t think you should just…” Nancy stood too, glancing anxiously back and forth between the two, feeling everything fall apart again and helpless to stop it.
“No, Mom. He doesn’t get it,” Liz stated coldly.
“What?” Jeff shook his head, raking his fingers through his hair nervously. “It’s not unreasonable to want our daughter back under our roof, is it? It’s not like I’m asking for forever. I just want her to have a little time away from…everything…to think about all of this logically. Maybe she’s too close to…the situation…to make sensible judgments about things right now.” He turned to Liz. “Honey, if you just came back home…I’ll even let you see him sometimes, and you’d see each other every day in school. You wouldn’t have to work, so you won’t put any additional strain on yourself. We’ll take care of you.”
Liz was just shaking her head. “ ‘Let me’ see him sometime? You don’t understand, Daddy.”
“I’m trying, honey. Come back home. Tell me all about it. It’s just not natural the way you’re so close to that boy all of a sudden.”
Liz laughed through her tears. “ ‘All of a sudden’? Daddy, I feel like I’ve loved ‘that boy’ all my life. He is my life. We’ve created a baby together. We are a family now, Daddy, whether you accept it or not. And ‘that boy’ has a name. It’s Max.” She walked over to her father, hesitating for the barest moment before she reached out and touched his arm, the effort costing her more than she wanted to admit right then. “He’s my family. He’s more than that…he’s my life right now.”
“That’s what I’m talking about! He’s not your life! He’s just a boy who…”
“Jeff, please don’t…” Nancy was interrupted again by Jeff.
“Nancy, stay out of this! I’m just trying to put our family back together!”
“No, Daddy. You’re just driving me away,” Liz whispered almost inaudibly. She let her hand slip down his arm and made her way over to the door. “I won’t bother you about it again,” she stated, facing the door with her head down. She pulled it open and ran down the steps and directly into Max’s waiting arms. He held her shaking form closely running his broad hands through her hair and stroking long comforting sweeps down her back and up again. He looked over her head, pulling her trembling body tighter to his own, as Nancy and Jeff stood at the top of the stairs, staring down at the embracing couple. Max’s eyes promised pain to the next person who hurt his Liz.
Jeff opened his mouth to speak, but Nancy grabbed his arm and dragged him back into the apartment. Max leaned down and kissed the top of Liz’s head before leading her out the back door and down the alley to the waiting Jeep.
TBC
So…if you’ve been holding out for new parts to post feedback…Now’s your chance! I’m a little nervous posting all new material after so long, so let me know…
Now….At LONG last!! A NEW chapter!
This follows later the same day after 99 ends…
EYA Part 100
“Okay, I’ll just be across the street.” Max kissed Liz lightly on the lips before leaning his forehead against hers. Her hands clutched at his waist tightly, fingers tangling in his belt loops and crushing the fabric of his t-shirt, unwilling and unready to let him go quite yet.
“I feel so stupid. I’m sorry.” Liz pried her fingers away from Max and took a deep breath as she willed herself to take a single step back.
“Don’t be,” Max reassured her, catching her hands in his, tangling her fingers with his before stepping back minutely himself, their arms stretched between them. “You know I feel exactly the same.”
Liz smiled, knowing it was true.
“Do you want me to walk in with you?” Max offered, gesturing toward the diner, hoping to delay their parting.
Liz wavered, glancing at the Crashdown behind her. She could see her mom waiting in a booth inside, watching them out the window. She hadn’t stepped foot inside since…
She shook her head. “No. You’ll be late. My mom is waiting for me. Go see Brody.” She squeezed his hands gently and let him go, backing slowly toward the glass doors.
‘I love you,’ Max mouthed as he too backed away. He almost stumbled over the curb, and caught himself from falling at the last moment, smiling sheepishly at Liz before he turned and trotted quickly across the street.
Liz smiled and waved before swinging the door open to join her mother for lunch.
Nancy had watched the entire exchange through the window, her heart hurting for her daughter. She knew that Max and Liz had been through much more than they had shared with her, and she just wished Liz would feel comfortable enough with her again to open up and let her in.
“Hey, Mom.” Liz slid into the booth opposite her mother, looking around at the smattering of customers seated throughout the restaurant and unable to stop herself from glancing out the window to watch Max enter the UFO Center across the street.
Nancy saw the aching longing in Liz’s expression. “You know, Max could join us for lunch,” Nancy offered helpfully.
Liz swung her attention around to her mother again. “Oh, it’s…He’s meeting Brody about starting to work again, so…I don’t,” she felt like a stammering idiot. She stared hard at the table. “We just haven’t really been apart since…” she picked at a groove in the table. “That obvious, huh?”
Nancy nodded sympathetically.
“Besides,” Liz added, trying to sound more stoic than she felt, “I’m sure Daddy wouldn’t really appreciate having Max here anyway.”
“Daddy can learn to deal with it, honey,” Nancy sighed. She was so tired of the open animosity that Jeff was still showing toward Max. She’d talked herself blue in the face and still Jeff was being stubborn, insisting that Max was the man who had ruined their daughter’s life; the start of all their troubles. Which, in a way, Nancy could agree with, but still…It was obvious Liz needed him.
“Where is Daddy?” Liz finally asked, looking around and not seeing her father anywhere.
Nancy sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. “He’s at the books again. I swear he just can’t tear himself away sometimes. He loses all track of time!”
Liz grinned at the familiar complaint. “Want me to go get him?” She got up, knowing exactly where she would find her father.
“I’ll come with you,” Nancy volunteered, sharing the grin, glad to see that Liz was smiling again. “I’ll just put in our order and we can eat upstairs. How’s that sound?”
“That actually sounds really good. There’s something I wanted to ask you and Daddy about anyway, and it might be better in private.” Liz waited with her mother for their order to be prepared and they juggled the bags of food between them as they passed through the swinging doors and went up the stairs to the apartment Liz had grown up in.
Nancy passed through the front door first, not noticing Liz wasn’t right behind her until she’d set her bags down in the kitchen and turned around to help Liz with hers.
“Liz?” Nancy was slightly concerned. Where had Liz gone? She walked back out through the living room, rushing to the front door when she saw a pale-faced Liz standing there, breathing hard and shaking, the bags of food fallen to her feet.
“Liz, honey! What is it?” Nancy wrapped her arms around Liz, frightened to find her daughter cold and still trembling in her arms. She slowly led her inside the room, one step at a time until they were seated on the couch.
Liz! Max was frantic inside her head. She shook herself and tried to answer.
Max, I…
I’m on my way, Liz. I’ll be right there!
No! Max, I’m not…it was just…I haven’t been in the apartment since…It was just a shock…I’m fine! Please, stay where you are! My mom is here. I think I’ve freaked her out. I’m…Mom’s taking care of me. Please don’t worry…I’ll try not to be such a baby!
You’re not…God, Liz…I didn’t even think about you going up there. Are you sure you’re okay?
Yes. It’s good to know you’re close though. Get back to what you were doing! I love you.
Love you too…
“Liz! Liz!” Jeff shook his daughter by the arms gently. “I think something’s wrong with her!”
The connection faded and Liz shook herself back to awareness, startled to find her father there now as well as her anxious mother hovering over her. She shook off their questing hands and rose to her feet shakily. She really didn’t need to be touched.
“Please don’t…touch me. I’m fine! I’m sorry about freaking out like that. It’s just…been awhile since I was up here and it sort of just…overwhelmed me for a minute.” Jeff and Nancy just stared at her, mouths open like they wanted to say something, but too shocked at her outburst to think of exactly what. They both looked as if they expected her to fall apart with her next breath.
“Just. Stop. Okay?” Liz scrubbed her hands over her eyes wearily. “I’m fine! I swear it. I’m stronger than you’d think.”
“Liz, sweetie, why don’t you sit down for a minute. You look really pale…”
“NO! I don’t want to sit. I just…” Liz whirled around so she wouldn’t have to watch her parents hovering over her, worrying and anxious. She spotted the fallen food bags in the doorway and crossed the room to pick them up. She held a bag out in each hand and turned back to smile at her parents. “Let’s just eat, alright?”
She moved quickly by them into the kitchen, before they could say anything and pulled down plates and utensils, the familiar actions calming her more than she’d have thought possible only moments before.
Nancy followed her in, taking her lead and helping her to set the table and distribute the food onto plates for each of them. Jeff slipped into his chair and watched them mutely.
Nancy and Liz seated themselves in their usual spots and started eating.
“Uh, so, Liz, did you go to registration this morning?” Nancy finally broke the awkward silence, knowing this was a subject that Liz would appreciate.
“Yeah. It was so great! Except Maria was grumbling, like usual, and this year Michael was backing her up. Oh! And Kyle had to work and didn’t get registered, I’m not sure what he’s going to do, but we got there early enough, no thanks to Maria, to get signed up for the classes we needed…” Liz could tell she was rambling on, but her parents were looking more relaxed now, so she kept going, telling them about their morning. “…and then Max suggested swimming, because I need the PE credit and that should be good for the baby and he even said he’d take it with me, even though he doesn’t need another PE credit so…” Liz trailed off as she noticed the sour expression on her father’s face.
“Mighty generous of him, huh?” Jeff couldn’t stop the sarcastic remark. He tore viciously into a roll and left it mangled on his plate.
“Daddy, please don’t…”
“Don’t what, sweetie? Don’t resent the fact that I’ve lost my daughter to an irresponsible punk who’s not even out of high school yet? Don’t be angered by the fact that he monopolizes all of your time and every word that comes out of your mouth, and every thought that you have to the point where we have to beg you to come see us for weeks before you can come by for one lousy lunch? After everything that you’ve been through…”
“That’s enough, Daddy!” Liz rose angrily from the table, her hands balled into fists at her sides. ‘Not now, she threw out in response to Max’s concerned query. “Max is my rock, Daddy. You have no idea what we’ve been through…what they did to both of us in there! How dare you resent the one person on this entire planet that knew how to comfort me, hold me through the nightmares, touch me when no one else could! In case it’s escaped your notice, I’ve been a wreck for the last few weeks, so I’m sorry if I couldn’t fit your lunch plans into my private breakdown schedule. And you should know that if it wasn’t for that ‘irresponsible punk’ I’d be dead right now. Deal with that!”
“If it wasn’t for him you wouldn’t be going through all this! He’s the one…”
“He’s the one that what, Dad? The one that loves me more than I ever thought I could be loved? The one that will always be there for me, no matter what? The one that has proven he’ll do anything for me, anything!, no matter how much it hurts him, to make sure that I’ll be okay? Do you know that they tortured him? The things…” Liz gasped, eyes dark and haunted, remembering Max’s pain. “…the things they made him do because they told him they were going to hurt me.” She shook her head and stared at her father, tears standing out in her eyes. “Yeah, Dad. He’s the one.”
She walked around the table and left the room, heading for the door.
“Liz, wait!” Jeff was blocking her path, turning her by the shoulders to face him again, but the remembered pain was too fresh and she shook out of his hold, resenting the touch of anyone but Max.
“Max is waiting. I’ve gotta…”
“Please don’t go yet, Liz,” Jeff pleaded. He couldn’t stand that he’d put the pain in his baby’s eyes. He shifted restlessly, every instinct wanting to reach out for her again, but he held back, knowing she wasn’t ready. “I’ll try not to…I won’t say anything else. I just miss you, okay?”
Liz watched the anquish filter over her father’s face and felt her heart tug. This whole situation was unbearable for all of them, maybe she was just blowing it all out of proportion. Liz nodded slowly and made her way over to the chair in the living room to sit down, watching her anxious parents sitting together on the opposite couch. She rubbed her cold fingers together and stared at them.
“You told me earlier, downstairs, that you wanted to ask us something in private, honey,” Nancy started slowly, glancing from Liz to Jeff. “Do you want to go ahead now?”
Liz glanced up, startled. She’d almost forgotten why she’d agreed to this luncheon after declining all the previous invitations. “Yeah, I guess I should…You know I’ve been working for Diane as a legal assistant, and now with school starting again and all I won’t be able to work so many hours, and Max is starting back to work at the UFO Center too, but…things are kinda tight right now. We’re going to need another car because of the baby and eventually a bigger place, you’ve seen our apartment, and so I was wondering if I could get the money out of my waitress fund a little early so that…” Liz trailed off as she saw her father wince and shake his head. “What?”
Jeff stood up, unable to remain seated any longer. Jeff had always deposited her wages into an account with his name on it and Liz listed as a minor. Her tip money had always been her own to do with as she’d wanted. “How about this. I’ll give you the money on one condition.”
Liz looked at her father hopefully. “What condition, Daddy?”
“I want you to quit your job and come move back home with us until after the baby is born.”
Liz could feel herself starting to shake again. “Me and Max, you mean, right?”
“No,” Jeff stated flatly. “Just you.”
“What?!” Liz stood to face her father, shaking almost uncontrollably. Had he listened to nothing that she had said to him?
“Jeff, I don’t think you should just…” Nancy stood too, glancing anxiously back and forth between the two, feeling everything fall apart again and helpless to stop it.
“No, Mom. He doesn’t get it,” Liz stated coldly.
“What?” Jeff shook his head, raking his fingers through his hair nervously. “It’s not unreasonable to want our daughter back under our roof, is it? It’s not like I’m asking for forever. I just want her to have a little time away from…everything…to think about all of this logically. Maybe she’s too close to…the situation…to make sensible judgments about things right now.” He turned to Liz. “Honey, if you just came back home…I’ll even let you see him sometimes, and you’d see each other every day in school. You wouldn’t have to work, so you won’t put any additional strain on yourself. We’ll take care of you.”
Liz was just shaking her head. “ ‘Let me’ see him sometime? You don’t understand, Daddy.”
“I’m trying, honey. Come back home. Tell me all about it. It’s just not natural the way you’re so close to that boy all of a sudden.”
Liz laughed through her tears. “ ‘All of a sudden’? Daddy, I feel like I’ve loved ‘that boy’ all my life. He is my life. We’ve created a baby together. We are a family now, Daddy, whether you accept it or not. And ‘that boy’ has a name. It’s Max.” She walked over to her father, hesitating for the barest moment before she reached out and touched his arm, the effort costing her more than she wanted to admit right then. “He’s my family. He’s more than that…he’s my life right now.”
“That’s what I’m talking about! He’s not your life! He’s just a boy who…”
“Jeff, please don’t…” Nancy was interrupted again by Jeff.
“Nancy, stay out of this! I’m just trying to put our family back together!”
“No, Daddy. You’re just driving me away,” Liz whispered almost inaudibly. She let her hand slip down his arm and made her way over to the door. “I won’t bother you about it again,” she stated, facing the door with her head down. She pulled it open and ran down the steps and directly into Max’s waiting arms. He held her shaking form closely running his broad hands through her hair and stroking long comforting sweeps down her back and up again. He looked over her head, pulling her trembling body tighter to his own, as Nancy and Jeff stood at the top of the stairs, staring down at the embracing couple. Max’s eyes promised pain to the next person who hurt his Liz.
Jeff opened his mouth to speak, but Nancy grabbed his arm and dragged him back into the apartment. Max leaned down and kissed the top of Liz’s head before leading her out the back door and down the alley to the waiting Jeep.
TBC
So…if you’ve been holding out for new parts to post feedback…Now’s your chance! I’m a little nervous posting all new material after so long, so let me know…