A/N: Ok, so here's the thing. One of my reviewers called the last chapter boring. And after careful consideration, I came to the conclusion that the reviewer was right. In fact, the last two chapters have been pretty boring, angst aside. I could blame it on the fact that I'm busy with summer courses, but I loath excuses for mediocrity. I will however make sure the remaining chapters live up to your standards and mine. Enough said.

Disclaimer: The same.

Chapter: 7 Life's Bitch and Then…

Should have born on the Milky Way

I can't believe what I heard today

Life's a bitch and then you die…

Liz barely made it in the door of her two bedroom apartment before collapsing on the floor in a pool of tears. She had been able to hold them at bay the entire plane ride to Boulder, but no more. So she wept, for what was and what would never be. For her father and what all this would do to him. For Maggie who would learn only too late what she had done. But most of all she wept for Max, who would have to live with the consequences of it all. For herself Liz shed no tears. Self pity was for the weak.

She needed to be strong.

How else was she going to face what was ahead? Her indecisiveness of the past few months was nothing more than a fading memory. She now knew what she was going to do. More importantly she knew what she was not going to do. She was not going to seek treatment for her illness. There was no point.

She had nothing left to live for anyway.

One day earlier…

It was stupid to think it but Liz felt like a boulder had been lifted off her shoulder. Telling her father had solved nothing. But somehow sharing the news had made her load less heavy. Made her less afraid. More hopeful. So while she wasn't exactly perky as she entered the school building the following morning, she did feel as sense of optimism. A serenity of mind and body she had not felt in very long time.

Largely, though she loath to admit it, her new found peace had to do with the voice message on her cell phone this morning. Liz gave a tiny smile while unloading her lesson plans for the day onto her desk. She had been puzzled when first turning on her phone. The voice message logo had popped up immediately.

And see that was just weird. Cause Liz hadn't made any new friends since returning to Roswell. Nor had she renewed any old acquaintances. And as far as the people she'd associated with while living in Colorado well…they were just other teachers. Nothing more than colleagues really. She had pretty much lived a solitary existence there, having inherited major trust issues from the whole Tess and Max and Kyle debacle.

The only two people who had her cell phone number were her dad and Doctor Phillips in Colorado. So yeah, she had been less than hesitant to listen to the message. She'd been really shocked too as she listened to it.

"Um, hey Liz this is Max. I know our prior meeting didn't go very well, but I'd really like to talk to you. To see you. Not about Maggie either. Meet me for dinner at Senior Chow's. Tonight. Around eight. See you there. Beep…"

Liz was smiling dreamily as students entered the room. She quickly composed her features as they filed in. Max however, was still very much at the forefront of her mind. She could not believe he wanted to have dinner a Senior Chow's. It was their place in high school. Where they'd declared their love for the first time. While sharing a piece of honey cake. Liz smiled briefly in remembrance.

Why did Max want to have dinner there? What could it possibly mean? Now was not the time to dwell on the reasons, she realized. She had a class to teach.

"Class please take out your English text books. Today we are going to study sentence structure. More importantly, linking verbs. Can anyone tell me what a linking verb is?"

Maggie who sat center left, three seats from the front failed to raise her hand. It wasn't because didn't know the answer, but more because she didn't want to answer Ms. Parker. She'd seen the dreamy expression on her teacher's face when she first entered the room. She knew the reason why too.

She had listened to her dad's conversation while standing outside his bedroom door this morning. This was something she did often. Her dad didn't talk to her much, didn't talk much at all. At least when she listened to his voice she didn't feel so lonely.

Even if he wasn't talking to her.

Mostly she heard boring stuff. Like her dad prescribing medicine for old lady Hathaway's foot fungus, or Mr. Meehan's cough. Once, she'd overheard him talking with Dr. Stone about fifteen year old Valerie Wheaton's pregnancy test. It had come back positive. Valerie's brother Jake was in Maggie's class. This was the second year in a row they shared the same class.

Maggie sorta had a crush on Jake. Whenever he spoke to her she got all tongue tied and stupid. For a while she thought about asking him about his sister's pregnancy. When several months passed by and Valerie's stomach never got any bigger Maggie was glad she hadn't.

She was surprised though by her dad's conversation this morning. And not in a good way either. Why would he be asking Ms. Parker out to dinner? Did he still love Ms. Parker? And what would this mean for Maggie? Would she be pushed even further into the background of her father's life?

When her father's door suddenly sprung open Maggie had jumped guiltily. Always a quick thinker, she had asked her dad for lunch money. She'd told him it was hotdog and tatter tot day at school. Both of which she hated. Her dad had stared at her suspiciously before shrugging. He'd then gone in his wallet and handed her a five. Afterwards, she'd hurried off to catch the school bus. So yeah, she knew exactly why Ms. Parker looked so dreamy. But if left up to her it wouldn't be for long.

-&-

"How's it goin?" Dr. Stone asked a visibly subdued Max.

"About like you'd expect," Max glanced up from the file in his hand to address the statuesque beauty. She reminded him of his sister Isabel only with red hair, tilted cat green eyes, and a killer whit. She was about thirty. They'd been partners for about a year. Every since old Doc Hanson died. She moved to Roswell from L.A. Max never did get the full story.

"I suspect your meeting with the Henderson's did not go well," she said dropping elegantly into a chair opposite his desk.

"Understatement. You wanna know one of the worst things in the world. Almost as bad as diagnosing a terminally ill child?"

Dr. Stone merely listened attentively; she knew Max's question was rhetorical.

"Watching a grown man buckle to his knees and weep, while his dying dry eyed daughter consoles him."

"Max, Max, Max," Dr. Stone shook her head ruefully. "You gotta grow thicker skin. This profession will eat you alive if you don't."

Max stared at her for a few seconds before realizing she was serious.

"Tell me something Lacey. Why did you become a doctor?"

"That's easy. My dad's a doctor and his dad was a doctor and so on and so forth."

"So it wasn't a calling?"

"Not in the truest sense of the word. What about you?"

"That's a little more complicated."

"How bout we discuss it over dinner tonight?"

Stop. Pause. Rewind. Did she just ask me out to dinner? Max wondered blankly.

"It's not a trick question" Lacey said when Max failed to answer.

"Sorry, my mind was somewhere else." Yeah right! "As much as I'd love to have dinner with you I have a prior engagement," Max finished suavely.

"Another time perhaps?" Dr. Stone smiled as she rose to her feet.

"Yeah, sure," Max said offhandedly as he watched Lacey exit his office. What in the hell is going on? He wondered. Was there some type of cosmic shift that no one told him about. There had to be a reason his life was suddenly so complicated.

-&-

"Linking verbs are also used when …" Liz paused as the ten o'clock recess bell sounded. "Alright guys. Pass your exercises up on the way out. I should have them marked by the time recess is over. Then we can discuss what you got wrong and why."

Liz watched the children as they filed out one by one with Maggie bringing up the rear. She knew by the smirk on Maggie's face it was going to be one of those days. God do I hate being right, Liz thought as Maggie handed her a blank worksheet.

"Maggie stop right there," Liz said sternly as the child headed for the door. "I thought after my talk with your father this would stop. What are you trying to prove anyway? That you can fail? Because that is exactly what is going to happen if you keep up this nonsense."

"Whatta you care anyway?" Maggie spun around to ask angrily. "All you care about is getting into my dad's pants. What? You think I didn't know?" Maggie smirked at Liz's shocked gasp. "I know you and my dad used to date in high school. I can't imagine what he ever saw in you," Maggie looked Liz up and down. "I also know he dumped your sorry ass for my mother. She was ten times more beautiful than you'll ever be. My dad tells me all the time how much he really loved her."

Liz fought the need to clutch at her chest. Maggie's taunts were a direct hit. But she would never let her know this. Nor would she stand there and argue with a child.

"That's it. We are going to the Principle's office right now." Liz grabbed Maggie by the arm only to have her snatch away. She did however follow Liz down the hall.

"Good morning Cynthia," Liz spoke to the middle-aged office secretary. "Would you please let Principle Whitman know I need to see him right away?"

Cynthia glancing from Liz's visibly upset face to Maggie's nonchalant one immediately placed the call. "You can go right in," she said after a few seconds. Boy would I love to be a fly on that wall, she thought as she watched the unlikely pair enter the Principle's office.

"Please have seat ladies. What brings you two here on such a lovely day?" Alex asked in a warm and friendly manner. He was inwardly wincing though. As surely as the Earth rotated around the sun he'd known this day was coming. He listened calmly as Liz Parker spelled out everything that had been going on culminating with today's events.

"What do you have to say for yourself Maggie?" He turned to address the child. Alex and Liz were both startled when she burst into tears.

"She hates me Uncle Alex because of my mom. She always picks on me and makes me stay behind after class. She even hurt my arm today" Maggie rolled up her sleeve to show Alex the slight redness from where Liz had grabbed her arm. "I'm scared of her Uncle Alex." She began to shake. "I'm scared of her." Maggie cried harder.

Alex quickly rounded the desk to take the child into his arms. The look he leveled at Liz was part anger part disbelief.

Liz was dealing with a few shockwaves of her own. Uncle Alex? And what about the vicious lies that had fallen from that child's lips?

Maggie really was her mother's daughter.

Liz remained stone still and silent while Alex calmed Maggie. She barely blinked when he asked the child to leave the office so he could speak to her.

"I have no idea what to say right now." Alex ran an agitated hand through his dark hair before reseating himself.

"Do you believe her?" Liz asked calmly.

"I don't know what to believe. I can't fathom you mistreating a student, but I also know your history with her father. And while I know Maggie sometimes lies, I've never seen her cry like that before. I'm sorry Ms. Parker but I'm going to have to suspend you while I investigate this matter. It's nothing personal. I'd be negligent in my duty as a principle if I didn't investigate Maggie's accusations."

"I understand your position completely." Liz rose from the chair on autopilot. "You'll have my resignation by the end of the day."

"Liz wait…" Alex said as she walked towards the door.

"No. Its fine," she gave him a brief melancholy smile. "Me working here was never fated to work out anyway."

"Shit!" Alex cursed softly as he watched Liz exit the office. He picked up the phone and quickly dialed a number. "We need to talk," he said when his wife answered the phone.

Several hours later…

Max was away from the office when the call from Isabel came through. He was out on the Reservation making an emergency house call. One of the Indian chiefs, River Dog, had fallen and broken his leg. His native beliefs forbid him from utilizing the "white man's" hospital or in this case Max's clinic. Max being Max had driven out to the reservation to set his leg.

His cell phone had remained in the car. He was halfway back to the Clinic before he thought to check it. He was livid after listening to Isabel message. What the fuck? Max wondered bewilderedly while heading towards the Crashdown. Was he some kind of cosmic butt monkey? Every time it seemed that things were finally going his way…

Max shook his head.

Karma was a real bitch.

Parking across the street from the Crashdown, Max sprinted through the on coming traffic. We he reached the door of the cafe, he pulled the handle only to find it locked. That's when he noticed the closed sign. Peering through the window, he saw Jeff Parker sitting at one of the booths staring off into space.

Max's heart plummeted.

Knocking frantically at the window, he finally got Jeff's attention and motioned him to open the door. Once inside, he watched with growing fear as Jeff dropped lifelessly back into the booth where he nursed a bottle of rum.

"Where's Liz?" Max asked a slight tremor in his voice. Something was very wrong here.

Jeff stared at him blankly before saying, "Gone."

The finality in his voice had Max ready to piss himself. "Whatta you mean gone? Gone where."

"Back to Colorado."

"But why?" Max raked a tired agitated hand through his hair.

"Why?" Jeff suddenly shouted slamming his glass down. "You narcissistic little prick! I never thought you were good enough for my daughter in the first place. But she was so in love back then." Jeff's face crumbled briefly. "And what you and Tess did to her… it was unconscionable. All those years she stayed away from Roswell because coming home would have been too painful. And when she finally does come home," Jeff stopped to clinch his fist. "Your bitch of a daughter runs her off again."

"Hey! Wait a minute now." Max said angrily.

"No. You wait a minute." Jeff stood up to point a Max. "Do you even know why my precious daughter came home?"

Max merely stared at Jeff too angry to speak. Where did he get off calling his child a bitch?

"DO YOU KNOW WHY LIZ CAME HOME?" Jeff asked in a soft angry whisper.

Finally Max shook his head.

"Because she dying Max." Jeff's voice broke as he said the words. Three months ago she was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. My precious girl came home to die."

Jeff watched as Max's eyes widened in horror. The color disappeared so fast from his face he actually swayed. Jeff made no move to catch him. He watched as Max's lips moved several times but no words left his mouth. When Jeff was satisfied the full effect of his words had sunk in he said to Max, "Now get the fuck out of my diner."

A/N: Yeah, so no actual Max and Liz togetherness in this chapter either. Sorry folks I tried. But this was pushing twelve pages. Besides that, I think the chapter ended better where it did. I hope people are still interested in reading this. I took time out from a five page Sociology essay to write it. Special shout out to extingman. Your review inspired this chapter. You made me realize that in all my laziness I was leaving out a lot of important details. So thanks.