Part Two

"Fucking hell, it's cold!" exclaimed Liz as she stepped out of her office building and headed for the tube station at the end of the road, pulling her long, black coat tighter around her slim figure in an attempt to keep warm.

Despite the bitingly cold wind and grey skies above, she let out a sigh of relief that she'd actually managed to leave the office with enough time to catch the six-thirty-p.m. train to Bristol. It had taken a lot of effort, but she'd managed to persuade her boss to give her almost the entire Christmas holidays off work, which meant she had almost two weeks to relax and catch up with her friends from home… absolute bliss!

Liz let go of her coat and shifted her large overnight bag into the other hand, pulling her tube ticket out of her pocket as she entered the tube station. It was crowded and busy and for a moment, she wished she'd been able to leave work earlier. That way, she could have avoided the evening rush hour, but Harry, her boss, had insisted that she have her most recent edits for next month's issue on his desk before she left. Unfortunately, they seemed nowhere to be found, so instead of leaving in the early afternoon and missing the rush hour, she was forced to spend the time frantically searching her entire office space for the disk containing her latest article.

Two line changes and three tube stops later, Liz arrived into Paddington station with a sigh of relief. There had been delays on the Central line and she'd been worried she wouldn't make it, but as she crossed the platform and climbed aboard the train, taking a seat by the window, she let a smile drift across her face – she'd made it. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the headrest, glad to finally relax. The last couple of weeks at work had been extremely stressful, with last-minute meetings and deadlines in preparation for the New Year issue of their magazine, Modern Science.

Her moment of rest was short-lived, however, as her mobile, on vibrate mode, began buzzing frantically in her coat pocket. Without opening her eyes, she reached for the phone and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Hey, hon, it's me," came a cheerful female voice from the other end. Liz smiled; it was Serena Brady, her best and oldest friend from home. "You on your way back yet? We have a big night planned tonight and you can't miss it."

"Hey, Ser," grinned Liz. "I've just got on the train in Paddington, so I'll be home in a couple of hours. Why, what's going on tonight?"

"You, me, Alex, Kyle and a large amount of booze, that's what!" replied Serena enthusiastically. "We're meeting at the White Hart at nine."

"Sounds great. I can't wait to see you guys again – it's been ages!"

"Yeah, I know," muttered Serena pointedly, "especially since someone rarely comes home to visit."

"Hey, you know would have come back if I could, but life's just been too hectic lately and I haven't been able to take any time off," justified Liz good-naturedly, looking out of the window for a moment as the train began to move. "And you guys could have come up to London for a visit any time you liked."

"Yeah, yeah, I get your point, Miss Smarty Pants," retorted Serena with a chuckle. "Look, I have to go now, but I'll see you at the pub at nine, okay?"

"See you there," Liz responded, before ending the call.

She pocketed the phone and leaned her head back against the seat once more, only this time a contented smile graced her lips. It was almost Christmas and she would get to spend some with her family and her best friends.

"Here we are, sir," announced the friendly, middle-aged taxi driver, as he pulled into a quiet residential road and turned off the engine.

Surprised by the intrusion of sound after more than half an hour of travelling in almost complete silence, Max looked up from the script he was reading, "Excuse me?"

The driver simply looked over his shoulder at him, before nodding towards the house he'd pulled up in front of, "This is it, sir – Foxglove Crescent."

"Oh, okay," Max widened his eyes in understanding. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"Not a problem, sir," shrugged the driver. "I'll help you with your bags, shall I?"

"Thank you," replied Max, flashing a the driver a quick half-smile – the very same half-smile that frequently had teenage girls all across America falling at his feet – before climbing out of the large, black taxicab.

The driver opened the boot of the car and proceeded to pull out Max's suitcase and large holdall, placing them on the pavement before turning to Max, "That'll be thirty-two pounds, mate."

"Sure," Max smiled, reaching for his wallet and taking out two twenties. "Here you go. Keep the change."

"Thanks, mate," grinned the driver, as he pocketed the money and climbed back into the taxi. "Enjoy your trip."

Max glanced at the taxi briefly as it drove off, before turning to face the house he would be staying in for the next few days – the Parker's house. It looked to be a nice two-storey home in a nice neighbourhood, albeit much smaller than the homes he was used to seeing in LA, or even in Roswell, for that matter, but then everything was smaller in Britain, as he'd come to notice in the few days he'd been here.

There was a Christmas wreath fixed to the front door, and a beautifully decorated Christmas tree was visible through the large front window, making the house seem warm and inviting. Max picked up his bags and made his way towards the door. As he reached out to ring the bell, he paused for a moment to steady himself. He had to admit that he was a little nervous – he was about to spend the holidays with a couple he barely knew and who he hadn't even laid eyes on in almost twenty-four years.

However, he didn't have to wait long to meet them again, as he heard movement from inside the house and then a moment later, the door opened to reveal a slender woman in her early fifties. She had a kind, smiling face, framed by soft auburn curls with only a hint of grey.

"Hi, you must be Max," she greeted warmly, holding out her hand to him, "I'm Nancy. It's wonderful to see you again."

"Hi, Nancy," smiled Max, his nervousness quickly evaporating as he shook her hand. "Thank you for inviting me to spend Christmas with you."

"Oh, not at all," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. "It's our pleasure."

"Thank you," Max smiled, as he shifted slightly under the weight of the holdall on his shoulder.

Nancy noticed this and quickly waved him inside.

"Come in, come in," she instructed, "we can't have you standing outside in the cold all evening now, can we?"

Giving her a grateful smile, Max stepped through the front door into the warm, placing his luggage down on the floor as Nancy took his coat. He stood awkwardly in the hallway for a moment, unsure of what to do next, but Nancy saved him from embarrassment by calling out for her husband.

"Jeff, honey, Max is here! Come and say hello."

"I'm coming, dear, I'm coming," replied a somewhat hassled voice from another room. A moment later, a tall, dark-haired man holding a dishcloth appeared in the hallway. "Hi there, Max," he smiled, "it's great to have you here."

"Mr, Parker," Max nodded courteously, a little intimidated by the man who had once shouted at him for trampling his prized vegetable patch when he was little.

"Oh, please, call me Jeff," grinned Mr. Parker. "I'd shake your hand, but I'm in the middle of cooking dinner and I wouldn't want to get food all over you."

"Are you hungry, Max?" asked Nancy. "We haven't eaten dinner yet and you're more than welcome to join us."

"Thank you, that would be great… as long as it's not too much trouble."

"Don't worry about it, I'm cooking for three anyway," Jeff told him. "Our daughter's just informed me that she's going out tonight and won't be eating with us, so there's a free plate going."

Daughter, wondered Max. His mom had never mentioned that Nancy had a daughter, and apparently a teenage one, judging by Jeff's eye-roll over the fact that she was going out.

"Oh, well in that case, I'd love some dinner," he smiled.

"Wonderful," said Nancy with a smile. "Well, while Jeff's putting the finishing touches on the meal, why don't I show you to your room?"

She picked up Max's holdall and beckoned for him to follow her up the stairs.

"Okay, so this first room on the left is mine and Jeff's, then that's Liz's room next to ours. The bathroom is right in front of you at the end and you'll be in the spare room, here," Nancy opened the last remaining door to reveal a clean, modest room, with simple pale yellow décor.

"Thank you," he said politely as she gestured for him to enter.

In the centre of the room was a double bed, with small bedside tables located on either side; against the opposite wall stood a wardrobe and a chest of drawers and there was a small armchair placed in the far corner. Max placed his suitcase on the floor and then relieved Nancy of his heavy holdall, which he lifted onto the bed.

"I would leave you to unpack and get settled in, but I have a feeling that Jeff will have dinner on the table soon–"

"Nancy, Max, dinner's ready!" called Jeff from downstairs.

"Speak of the devil," chuckled Nancy, causing Max to smile too. "Come on, let's go and get something to eat."

Max followed Nancy back down the stairs and into the dining room, where Jeff was setting plates of steaming food down on the table.

"Dinner is served," he announced. "Please, take a seat."

Max obliged and slid into the chair that Jeff had gestured to. He had to admit that the food looked and smelled divine. He'd been living off hotel food for the last week and now the lovely home cooked roast dinner sitting in front of him seemed like heaven.

The meal began in relative silence as they all tucked in, but before long, Max found himself in conversation with his mother's friend and her husband as they asked him all about what he'd been up to for the last twenty-odd years.

"So, you're in the film business? Acting?" asked Jeff, as they were finishing off the first course. "That's got to be interesting."

"Yes, it is," replied Max. "At least, it is for me anyway. I love what I do, you know? Acting, making films, working with so many different and talented people – I love the challenge. Although I know a lot of people who wouldn't agree."

"In what way?"

"You know, some people have these preconceived notions about actors and Hollywood – like how we're all about the money and the fame. But that's not me. I act because I love to act, not because I can get paid a lot of money to do it or I can recognised in the street."

"I think it's great you've found a career that you love," spoke up Nancy. "It's much better than doing something you hate just to fit in or make other people happy."

"Thanks, Nancy. I really appreciate that."

"And your mum is so proud of you," she continued. "She couldn't stop gushing over your recent success and the new movie you'll be filming here when I talked to her the other day."

Max rolled his eyes and ducked his head in embarrassment at the unexpected praise, "I, uh…"

But Nancy just chuckled and stood up to clear the plates from the table.

"Let me help you with that," said Max, as he stood too and began to help her.

"Thank you, Max," she replied with a smile.

Max picked up the plates, following her out of the dining room and into the kitchen. But, as soon as he'd placed the dishes in the sink, Nancy gestured for him to return to the dining room while she fetched the dessert. He opened the kitchen door and stepped out into the hallway just as someone in a long, black, fitted coat and stiletto heels flew down the stairs and out of the house just as quickly as they had appeared, leaving Max standing open-mouthed in the kitchen doorway, the image of the girl's long, dark, luscious curls flowing down her slim back firmly lodged in his mind.

TBC…