This is set just as Liz, Maria and Kyle discover exactly what happened to Alex. I know it's sorta in the middle of the episode the departure but if you watched the series then you'll know exactly what's going on. I tried to keep the facts as close to the real thing but since it is my work not that of the original writers you must forgive me.

Enjoy

For a while Maria, Liz and Kyle just starred at each other. Liz had known that Tess was bad news, but she had never thought she could kill anyone, especially not Alex. Her heart ached with the knowledge, ached with the fact that she was going to lose the man she loved the most to someone that had killed her best friend.

"We have to stop them," Liz said, barely more than a whisper.

They gathered themselves then and headed for the front door just as Jim arrived.

"Hey kids, Liz I've just seen you mum she told me to give you this."

He handed her a large envelope that had been sent to her, having just arrived moments before Jim had stopped in the crash down for a coffee. As she took it from him her heart stopped, her fingers clenching arund the manila evelope. The writing on the front was so familiar her hand shook as she read it over, the writing was none other than Alex's. Shakily she undid the zip lock of the delivery bag and delved her fingers inside to pull out the contents. Inside was a large pad with symbols and writing, symbols Liz instantly recognised.

"Look Liz we have to go, we need to stop them. We could already be too late," Maria said frantically.

Liz knew how she felt; she wanted Michael away from Tess as soon as possible, just like she wanted Max away from her.

She nodded her agreement and follwed Maria soundlessley to the car, climbing into the front passanger seat and just securing her seatbelt before Maria screeched out onto the road.

As she sat there Maria's frantic mumbling punctuating the tense silnce she flipped through the pages on her lap, noting that someone had obviously been through them a few times since the sides were rolled inwards.

"I think this is a part of the translation Alex did. Something we haven't seen before."

Lifting the envelope it had all come in she shook it out to make sure she had everything and a small white envelope fell onto her lap and she could clearly see that in Alex's neat writing her name was scrawled across the front. She carefully slid the letter from inside the crisp envelope and unfoldied it holding her breath before she could read a word. Closing her eyes for a moment she stilled herself and then read each word carefully, her heart beating faster and faster with every line.

Dear Liz

If you're reading this then I wasn't able to stop Tess. I know what she's been doing to me and I can't let her get away with it. Inside is the rest of the translation, things I wouldn't let her have. I sent them to you as soon as I found them out, on a time delay if I didn't collect it.

Things inside these pages may shock you Liz but you need to read them. You have to know that you and Max are meant to be. Also know that Tess will stop at nothing to get Max back, she will do to you what she did to me. You have to think Liz, I know she warped your memory at one point; I arrived at yours as she was doing it, but she caught me before I could say anything. Please think I don't want you to end up the way I have.

Enclosed are instructions on what other things the granolith does, and how you can stop the ship if it is ever booted up, which I'm sure is where Tess is leading everything. The granolith is more powerful that even the four know, Tess had some inkling about it but even she didn't realise the extent, please make sure Max realises.

I hope this is of helpto you, make sure it stays in good hands. Know that I loved you and Maria like my sisters. Please tell Izzy I loved her with all of my heart and that if I can't be with her physically I will always be in her heart.

Alex

Liz couldn't breath. She couldn't feel anything. Not only had Tess messed with Alex's mind she had messed with hers, and probably all of them.

Liz began to concentrate, concentrate on everything that had never quiet sat right with her. Times she had ended up places that she hadn't even realised she was going to. Slowly but surely things started to pop into place. Flashes of memory started to pass through her mind, like when she and Max would kiss but even more intense since they were her own memories surfacing. Most of everything that had been taken from her had accrued after the prom. With horror Liz watched as flashes appeared in front of her of memories with Max. Memories where they had shared more than just a stolen kiss memories of a time when they had promised to be together no matter what. Then more memories came, times after Alex's death when Max had come to Liz, had kissed and held her and comforted her, and then finally one of the biggest holes in her memory fell into place and she gasped. Max and her had shared more than just kisses they had spent the night together once, only once but Tess had tried to take that away from them, along with something a million times more precious.

"Maria… Tess shouldn't be pregnant," she paused and Maria glanced at her frowning as she tried to understand what her friend was saying, "I should."

Maria looked at Liz like she'd gone insane and Liz knew what she was saying was insane but everything inside of her was telling her it was true. Liz grabbed her head and turned her face back to the road.

"What are you on about Liz?"

Flashback;

After the delivery guy had been to see Liz with the check she had disappeared to her room. She knew that something was really wrong then. It wasn't just that Alex was depressed, something had happened to him. Liz rang Max to ask him to come over, to be a friend to her since she had no one else to call. She hadn't wanted to upset Maria again with all of her strange ideas, and Max was all she had left, she trusted him with her life. Things had been strained between them yes, but even now when she knew she shouldn't all she wanted was him. She knew he was with Tess, and that they hadn't really connected in some time but with everything falling apart around her all she wanted was him.

Liz looked up as there was a small tap on the window, her stomach flipping in the all to familiar way. Max stood there completely drenched to the bone, his face turned away slightly giving her a perfect view of his profile. She had forgotten it was raining hard, and she knew he would have just headed straight there. Taking a breath she put her note book down on the bed next to her and slid off it padding across the room on bare feet. kneeling on the window box she pulled the window open for him and he turned to look at her his dark eyes showing the same swirl of emotions that she knew so well. She stepped back into the room and he climbed through the window to stand in front on the window box barely inside. She watched as he shrugged out of his beloved leather jacket and threw it onto the window box and then stood rubbing his hands over his bare arms. Liz remembered herself then blushing slightly over the fact that she had been staring and she turned to run to the bathroom to grab him some towels. Max perched on the edge of her window box not wanting to get anything else wet, and not wanting to intrude on her space now the lines between them had changed. When Liz returned from the bathroom she dove straight in to the explanation about the strange check, telling him that she was sure someone had messed with Alex's mind. Explaining that she was sure it was some alien out there, probably someone who wanted to hurt them, and that she really hadn't meant to hurt them before, but now she was sure.

Max sighed as he looked at her, "Liz I know you're hurt, really I know that, but you have to stop seeing things that aren't there."

Anger flashed in Liz's eyes then, how could he still be fighting her. How could he still say that Alex had killed himself?

"I know there is something going on Max!" she screamed at him, "I know and you hate that I'm right."

Max was at her side instantly his hands coming up to grip her by the shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh.

"Listen to yourself Liz; you don't know anything about my world, about our lives," his voice was angry but more than that it was desperate as well and that shook her to the core, "I thought you had finally given in and realised that we had nothing to do with it."

He shook her again and as his eyes locked with hers reading everything there. Suddenly he dropped his grip of her and stepped back as he realised the truth behind what she was saying. He scanned her face and all at once he could feel the pain she was in, see the unshed tears in her eyes. He realised then that it wasn't really what she had said to him that she wanted to talk about. She needed him but not as a friend, not as the strangled connection they had had in the last few weeks. She needed Max to be with her, to tell her everything was going to be alright and to hold her, to be the person she had been able to lean on from the moment this whole thing had begun.

As Max realised this, Liz felt the understanding ripple through her own body. She hated this; she hated the fact that she didn't have him to cry on, that Tess had him. Above all she hated that the most. She knew everything future Max had told her, knew the reality of them being together, but then she also knew that if something like Alex dying would have come up between them. She knew with all her being that Max wouldn't have allowed him to die, even in the future she couldn't see Max becoming so hard that he would have allowed that. So they had succeeded in changing the future, but not in any good way, not in a way she could cling to when she needed to remember the whole reason behind her giving Max up. She ached for him and watching him stood so close to ehr she knew he still felt the same way, that he was still very much in love with her.

Before either knew what was going on, Max had clasped her face in his hands and pulled her into a kiss. his lips crushed against hers stealing all sane and rational thought from her mind and she had no choice but to melt against that kiss. For a moment reality tried to interced, tried to tell her that this wasn't right but all nagging doubts were pushed from her mind as he kissed her. And it wasn't his normal soft kiss either, it was a strong and all consuming kiss. Liz felt all of her anger fall away and all that was left was him. She wraped her fingers into his hair pulling him tighter towards her.

Her body slammed into Max's chest feeling the rain water soak into her top. She felt his body shaking not just with anticipation but with the cold. At that thought she snapped back to reality, he was soaked to the skin and freezing.

"Oh Max," she stuttered as she pulled away from him, "I'll get you another towel," she mumbled as she stumbled into the bathroom the door banging closed behind her.

Stumbling forwards Liz clasped the sink trying to steady herself; she hated and loved the fact that he made her legs go weak. But she couldn't be doing this, couldn't do this in fact. He was with Tess now; she had to show him she'd moved on, she knew what depended on Tess and him being together. But she hadn't moved on and a part of her knew she never would. He was everything to her and she needed him. She pushed aside everything that told her this was wrong, she didn't want to live if she didn't have Max.

As Liz disappeared into her bathroom, Max collapsed back onto the window box. His lips were tingling with the lingering feeling of their kiss. He needed her; he ached for her, something he never felt when he was away from Tess. With Tess he just felt awkward like something was wrong, a tension that he never seemed to be able to get past. He always felt like he wasn't supposed to be kissing her, and he knew why. He was supposed to be kissing Liz, she was the one that his heart wanted and no matter how he tried to ignore it nothing had changed. He sighed to himself as he ran his hands over his wet top. He hadn't really realised just how wet he had been from the rain. Slowly he peeled of his top that was sticking to him like a second skin. He felt uncomfortable but he needed to get the coldness away from him.

Liz emerged from the bathroom at that point, two towels in hand, and smiled awkwardly at him. As she crossed the room to hand him the towels she could hear her heart beat in her head. She couldn't be so close to him with so few barriers. She needed to concentrate, Alex was dead and she needed his help, but her mind wouldn't budge from him. Her eyes took in his muscled chest as he stood to meet her. He was amazing, how she wished she could run her hands along his muscles. She snapped her head away from him knowing if she didn't she wouldn't be able to hang onto her convictions.

But as she did she felt Max's hand slide under her chin pulling her face back to his. Her eyes snapped into his and she felt her stomach flip. His large brown eyes held so much sorrow. Sorrow she knew at not just Alex's death, but at not being with her.

"Liz," he breathed and then she was in his arms.

She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him. He was just as passionate, but this time she felt the softness that she had missed.

They feel backwards onto her bed kissing as a strike of lightning streaked past the window. It must have hit a local fuse box or overloaded something because the lights went out at that point. Neither noticed though, all they could see was each other.

Max lifted his hand from her, hating to break the contact, and with one wave of his hand lit all the candles she had in the room. Candle light flickered over the walls, making all the shadows dance, and setting a more romantic mood.

Breathing heavily Liz pulled out of the kiss and looked Max deeply in the eyes, searching for any sign that he wasn't happy with what was happening. All she could find in the dark depths was the well of love that he had for her. It almost made her nervous seeing him striped bare with his emotions so raw. Was she enough to keep him happy, she knew she loved him with every single fibre of her being, and looking up at him then she knew he felt the same.

"I love you Max."

Without missing a heart beat he replied, "I love you to Liz."

The last of Liz's resolve melted then. She felt Max's hands sliding to her waist, felt his fingers dip beneath the hem of her top to dance across her skin. The heat of his fingers was amazing as they played over her bare ribs and skin and soon she felt him tug her top over her head but she didn't care. He threw her woolly jumper aside without a second thought and began to kiss her chest. Liz moaned at this driving him even crazier. He loved her more than anything and he wanted to make her fell good. He teased with the clasp at the front of her bra that was nestled between her breasts. He loved the fact she wore front opening bras, it meant he never had to break eye contact with her, or move her from under him to reach. With a dark smile he flicked the clasp and it pinged open. He lay there for a second just taking Liz in. Everything felt right, he knew he belonged there.

He kissed her breasts lightly, barely brushing the skin with his lips. Liz moaned louder, pushing herself up to him. God he felt so good, she needed more and she knew she was going to get it. He teased her nipple with his fingers as he slowly kissed down her stomach. He ran his other hand down between her thighs and just stroked over her jeans. Liz bit her lip knowing she would scream if she didn't have him. Her hands flew to his zipper and undid it, pulling down his pants. He kicked them off as he carefully pulled Liz's jeans down to.

They lay there for a second just gazing into each other's eyes.

"I need you Max," Liz whispered.

Max slid their remaining clothes away, marvelling at how soft her skin was and taking in ever curve of her. He loved this woman more than anyhting in the world and when she held him tightly in her arms nothing felt wrong. Every last worry he had carried fell away from him then. They would be there tommorrow, but for now it was just Liz and him.

"You never slept with Kyle did you," he whispered against her ear.

All she did was shake her head and it sent Max wild. She was his and no others, and suddenly he was possesive of her. No one else would ever lay a hand on her, just as he would never again be with anyone else. Liz would be his first and his last, there would be nothing that would ever come between them again.

Max carefully slid into her knowing it would hurt, moving slowly even as his body burned. She whimpered lightly as he pushed deeply into her, but he was there instantly healing her. As soon as he did the pain gave way to pleasure. Max sighed as he relaxed and let himself feel how tight she was around him.

As they grew accustomed to each others moves they sped up. Knowing he wasn't hurting her anymore Max gave way to the heat.

"Max," Liz cried as she felt the first waves of her orgasm grasping her.

He knew exactly what she was feeling because he could feel it to. But he needed the release faster; he could feel it happening but couldn't hold it back. He slid his hand between them and rubbed Liz causing her to moan louder.

"Oh god Max I love you," she cried as she arched her back into him feeling her orgasm take over her.

"Liz," Max howled as she tightened around him, pulling his orgasm from him.

Unknown to them though, being so lost in each other and the moment, a glow had surrounded them. It faded as quickly as it had come but for a moment the royal seal glowed on Max's chest, and a matching seal flickered to life on Liz's left hip under Max's grip.

Max sunk down then, not pulling away from Liz but preferring to lie there still inside her. At this point the glow had disappeared and they never knew it had happened.

"I love you to Liz," Max whispered against her neck.

She smiled and nuzzled into him.

They fell asleep there together, wrapped up in each others arms, content that they had each other. Tomorrow they would have to worry about what people would think and say, tomorrow reality would return but for that night they had each other and they were safe in eachother's arms, nothing could come between that.

Unknown to them Tess had gone to find Max, and finding him not home had headed to Liz's knowing that it would be the best bet on finding. She had had to fight continously to keep Max with her, just a look from Liz had him running back and she knew that would be where he was. Climbing the fire escape she had slipped onto the balacony using the shadows from the blackout to hide her presence from anyone who might be watching. As she slipped up to the window she discovered the couple entangled in the bed fast asleep. Max had curved himself around Liz in his sleep, even in slumber he was extra protective of her.

Tess felt anger boil through her body like lightening, and had to dive away from the window as her power flared. She tried to bite it back down but as she gripped the railing around the balcony it twisted and melted under her fingertips. Breathing deeply she tried hard to think past the anger. She knew that the scene she had discovered was the most disasterous thing that could have happened. She knew now that she wouldnt be able to come between Max and Liz, they were bonded forever. She turned to look through the window again and Max's peaceful face and could have screamed. Why couldn't he have just forgotten Liz what was so bad about her that he just wouldn't accept that they should be together.

Tess watched as Max left the next morning, kissing Liz goodbye and promising to return when he could. Tess had to use a touch of her power to keep Max from seeing her but he eventually disappeared down the fire escape leaving Tess behind. Tess watched for a while while Liz went about getting ready for the day. When Liz slipped into the bathroom to wash up, Tess took the opportunity to move through the still open window and hide in the cupboard to wait for the most opportune moment to jump her.

Liz emerged a few minutes later and Tess watched as she pailed and went dizzy slumping down on her bed with a frown. Tess could see the colour visibly draining from her face and she watched as Liz ran to the bathroom suddenly throwing up. At the same time she felt a flare of power hit her and the realisation of exactly what had happened rocked through her body. She knew then that Liz had conceived Zan's heir instead of her and she wasn't having that. Tess decided then what she would do, acting more on instinct then anything else. She let all of the training Nassado had given her filter through her mind and a plan formed faster than she could comprehend. Quickly she mind warped Liz, making her forget everything that had happened the night before. It wasnt easy to wipe something that was so precious to Liz, as she had to try and bury the emotions that their coming together had raised, but eventually she managed to lock them away and plant a boring night in its place.

While she still held Liz in a dream like state she had stolen her baby. Not an easily done thing, but Nasado had taught her how to do energy transferences. Since the child was barely formed yet it was easy. She had created a connection with Liz and channeled the baby into her own womb, she had to consiously fight the keep the baby in place at all times but it didnt matter for her plan, she would soon be far away from Liz.

As Tess climbed down the fire escape she was satisfied that Liz would never remember, never know she had stolen her man or her child.

End Flashback.

Liz looked away from Maria, starring out of the window as tears ran down her cheeks. Tess had her baby; she had stolen her love and her family. She needed to get them back, she needed Max to know that he should be with her. But above all she needed her baby back where it belonged. She patted her stomach absent mindly as she thought this, she had known she had lost something, but she had had no idea it could be something as big as this.