Disclaimer: I do not own Roswell, nor any of its characters. Wish I did though.

oOoOo

Chapter 36

After that talk with Max, Liz stayed over at his place upon his persistence. Nothing happened though, Max just wanted to savor the feeling of having Liz back in his life, being able to hold her in his arms as he sleeps and be the first thing he sees in the morning when he wakes up.

Liz wore an old sweatshirt of his and Max felt a wave of protectiveness sweep over him. He wondered what it would be like when they were married and living together. They were definitely moving in his house because when he bought it, he had a family life with Liz in mind.

Waking up the next day, Max found himself alone in bed. Panic instantly set in as he quickly got off the bed and ran to the bathroom in search of Liz. Finding it empty, he ran down the stairs and searched the den, the living room, his office and his entertainment area. He rushed back up to check the guestroom and the spare room. Still he couldn't find her. He rushed back down and went through the dining area until he reached the kitchen where he found Liz making breakfast.

As he leaned against the doorway, he took in the sight of Liz busying herself while he willed his heart to calm down. He could picture her living here with him, a wedding ring on her finger glimmering in the sunlight. And he'd watch her and take in her beauty.

He walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist as Liz reveled in his warmth.

"You scared me," Max mumbled against her neck.

"Why?"

"I thought it was all a dream."

Liz pinched his arm.

"Ow."

Liz turned around as Max pulled his arm back.

"Just making sure that you're wide awake now." Her eyes were shining with glee.

Max hugged her close. "I love seeing you this way. Here in my house, wearing my shirt."

"Getting a little possessive, are we?"

"With you? Always."

Max leaned down to kiss her, hard.

"Mmm, that's a good way to wake up in the morning," Liz said.

'It's going to be every morning if I have anything to say about it', Max thought.

"What do you have plans for today?" Max asked.

"Well, I'm supposed to go over and see how the construction is moving along."

"Can't you take a day off?"

"Why?" Liz asked slowly with a glint in her eye.

"I just want us to spend this day together. It's the first day I'll be spending with you as my girlfriend again," Max beamed.

"Hmm, okay, I'll make a quick stop over there and rush back here."

"No."

"No?" Liz raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm going with you."

"Don't you have work to do?"

"Not really." Max shrugged.

"Well what will we do all day?"

"We could look for some houses for Nancy."

"Okay. We can do that. Now come on, let's eat."

After seeing that everything was going smoothly, they left the construction site of Parkers' and headed toward Isabel and Alex's neighborhood. Liz thought of stopping over at Isabel's to say hi and Max reluctantly agreed.

"Why don't you want to go see your sister?" Liz was curious.

"It's not that. It's just…she's going to find out that we're back together and she won't let you leave. Then she'll call Maria to come over and they'll be hogging you all day," Max said with a pout.

Liz giggled, "Aww, don't worry. I won't let that happen." Liz touched Max's face.

Max looked over at her, took her hand and kissed it as they drove up the street towards the Whitman's house.

"Hi, you guys. What brings you here?"

"Hey Isabel, we were in the area looking for a house for me and my mom and I thought we'd drop by to see you," Liz spoke.

"How are you doing, Iz?" Max asked.

"Tired since my son keeps waking up in the middle of the night."

"I'm sure he'll adjust soon," Max said.

"I hope so." Isabel sighed. "So, you're looking for a house around here?"

"Yeah, we want to move somewhere closer to the restaurant."

"What about your grandmother's house?" Isabel questioned.

"Oh that's staying, we'll never sell that," Liz answered.

"Where's Xander?" Max asked.

"He's sleeping, Max. I just put him down. Maybe he'll wake up in a little while."

Liz reached for Max's hand and squeezed it as they shared a smile. That quickly got Isabel's attention.

"OHMYGOD!" You're back together!" Isabel gasped.

The two just grinned at her.

"Oh, I'm so happy for both of you." Isabel first hugged Liz then Max. "Wait till Maria hears this." Isabel quickly reached for a phone.

"No!" Max took the receiver from his sister.

"What? Max! Give me the phone." Isabel held out her hand.

"Isabel, please. If you call Maria, she'll come over and we'll never get out of here," Max said.

"You can call her after we're gone. We still have a busy day and we just wanted to say a quick hi," Liz told her friend.

"Alright, but you know she's going to want to get together right away," Isabel forewarned.

"Yeah, that's why we don't want you to call her just yet," Max replied.

"Anyway, we have to go. Tell Maria I said hi." Liz stood and hugged Isabel once more.

"Won't you stay for lunch?" Isabel offered.

"No, thanks anyway, sis."

Max and Liz waved goodbye as they drove off in his Porsche.

Isabel smiled and waved back. 'It's so good to see those two finally happy. Now, to tell Maria,' she thought as she picked up the phone and dialed Maria's mobile.

They went over to the model homes in the area and looked around. The cost was not a problem with Liz. She just wanted to make sure that it had everything they needed and the layout that she and Nancy wanted. They wanted it to have a huge kitchen, formal and informal dining areas, a sufficient living room, and an office that will all be found in the first floor, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths, and another office in the second floor and at least a two-car garage.

Liz liked one of the three model homes a lot. It had everything she wanted and one of the rooms had a huge balcony. She knew that this was going to be her room. So just like that, she told the developer that she wanted one like it.

"Oh you made an excellent choice. That is actually a great house to start a family in," the lady told them.

"What?" Liz threw a quick glance at Max then back at the woman. "Oh no. We're not…," Liz stammered, unable to make a comprehensible sentence.

"We already have a house. This is for her mother," Max stated.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure your mother will love this," the developer replied. "So where would you want to build it?" The lady asked as she led them to the site map. "We already have some homes built in the lots that we know would appeal to buyers so we could look at those too."

"I'll have my mom decide on that one. I'll bring her by tomorrow if that's okay with you," Liz answered.

"Certainly, I'll be here to show you around."

"Alright, I think we're set then. Thank you so much." Liz bid her goodbye as Max walked her out the door.

Max noticed an instant change in her once they were out of the office and back in the car.

"I'm sorry about what I said back in there." He paused. "I meant it though, about the house," Max said. "I want you to move in with me, Liz."

"I…I can't...not yet…don't you think it's too soon?" Liz was feeling nervous about this conversation.

"No. I've spent 10 years without you. I don't think I'll last another day. Not after experiencing what it's like to hold you in my arms as I sleep. I'm not trying to push you, Liz, that's the last thing I want to do. Just know that the offer stands, okay?"

Liz nodded, "Ok, I'll think about it."

"Thank you." Max leaned over to kiss his Liz on the lips.

As they drove back to Liz's house, she kept on asking Max about him hiding out during the Valentis' wedding.

"I can't believe I didn't see you. My mom didn't mention it either and she stayed longer than I did."

"I don't think she saw me," Max said. "I came in late and you were sitting in the church with the others. I also saw you during the bouquet toss. Kyle looked like he was dragging you out on the center to join the other women." Max chuckled.

"He was," Liz replied.

"I also saw how you looked when you caught it. It looked like you wanted to throw it back to Tess." Max laughed.

"I would have if I could." Liz laughed along with him.

"Why didn't you want it?" Max inquired on a slightly serious tone.

"You know what they say when you catch the bouquet," Liz answered softly.

"Don't you see yourself getting married someday?"

Liz bit her lower lip and slowly shook her head.

Max let it go for now. He realized that he still had some work to do, but he was happy with the progress he'd been having.

"So… when I saw you catch it, I practically begged Michael to catch the garter for me," Max spoke to break the silence.

"Why didn't you catch it yourself?"

"And risk you running away?" Max asked with a raised brow. "Nah, I took my chances with Michael. And trust me, he didn't want to do it at first because he knew Maria would question him about it. But I told her why and she agreed to lend her fiancée."

"Yeah, I saw how he lunged for it. I wondered why he did that. I just assumed he was out there to look after me, like he'd always done." Liz recalled the talk she shared with Michael when she and Max first got involved.

"Yeah, Michael is a good friend and an all-around great guy."

When they arrived at Liz's, they saw Maria's car and wondered what she was doing there for a brief moment. Both of them had the same thought when she rushed out the door.

"Isabel," Max and Liz said at the same time.

"It's true! Ooooh! This is so great!" Maria embraced the couple at the same time.

"Isabel told you?" Max asked as he pried Maria's arms away.

"Of course. Who else do you think it was?" Maria replied. "Ohmygod, I can't believe this. Well, I mean I can, but I just never thought…. Actually I did think it, plus hoped and wished for it since you two are my good friends, but it's still a surprise, a wonderful surprise! So here I am, I drove here straight away where I've been waiting for hours. Where were you two?" Maria finished with her hands on her hips.

"We were looking for a house," Liz quickly answered.

Maria stared wide-eyed, "You- you, a house? You're moving in together?" Maria pulled Liz's left hand to her to look for a ring.

Liz snatched her hand back. "No. It's for me and my mom," she answered with a scowl.

"Oh… well anyway, the reason I'm here is to invite you two to a pool party at our house. You know, like back in high school. It's this weekend, Saturday. We're all going to be there, so make sure to keep your calendars cleared because I expect you to be there too. And if you're not, I don't care if I have to search for you in the entire town, but you will attend my party." Maria demanded menacingly.

"O-kay." Max shot a look at Liz who was simply smiling at their friend's antics.

"Well then I better go and buy some supplies. See you two lovebirds on Saturday." Maria blew them a kiss as she got in her car and drove away.

"Gotta hand it to Hurricane Deluca. When she tells you to do something, you better do it or face her wrath," Max said in a low voice.

Liz just laughed as they went in to tell her mother about the house and the new development between her and Max.

As Saturday came, the entire gang was gathered in Maria's backyard. Michael was manning the grill, Max was helping Liz with the salad she was making, Alex and Isabel were setting the table, while Maria was preparing their drinks.

When the food was placed on the table, everyone sat down to eat and talk. The men were wearing their swim shorts and shirts while the ladies were wearing their swimsuits. Isabel had a red one-piece on since she still has some pounds to shed due to the pregnancy and a sarong that reached to her ankles. Maria was wearing an emerald green two piece bikini that complemented her eyes and a matching translucent skirt and Liz was sporting an original Calvin Klein two-piece that had black bikini bottoms and a printed floral top. She was also wearing a medium-length black sarong to match it.

Everyone was joking around, mostly teasing Max and Liz about their new relationship. They enjoyed their afternoon in the sun, recalling the old days and catching up on each other's lives as they weren't really able to hang out together ever since Liz came back.

"So when is the wedding finally, Maria?" Alex asked.

"We still haven't decided on a date yet," Maria answered.

"Goodness, you've been engaged for a year now," Isabel told them.

"So? What's your point, Iz?" Michael asked her.

"Nothing. I was just wondering." She glared at Michael.

"Waitaminute, weren't we teasing Max and Liz? How come we're on the hot seat now?" Michael was chomping on some ribs.

"Oh no, don't turn this back on us." Max shook his head.

"We haven't really talked about everything yet but we will. We're just busy. Once we've picked out a motif, I think everything is going to fall in place soon after," Maria said.

"See, this is what I like about this place. Even though our families have very high profiles, we can just lounge around without having to worry if our faces will appear on the society pages tomorrow." Alex sat back and placed his arm on Isabel's backrest.

"I totally agree with you there, Alex." Michael and Max commented.

"Can you imagine what it would be like if people were following us around?" Isabel shuddered. "I hate to think of Xander growing up in such an environment."

"That's true." Maria nodded. "If that was the case, I'm sure the paparazzi would have feasted on who's with who, our engagement." She looked at Michael. "Your marriage and Xander." Maria turned to Isabel and Alex. "And the latest would be you two, the hotshot lawyer Maxwell Philip Evans who's romantically involved with the owner of the famous restaurant that bears her family name, Elizabeth Anne Parker," Maria said mimicking a reporter's voice.

"It's a good thing you decided to stay here permanently, Liz," Isabel told her friend.

Liz responded with only a smile. However, it didn't quite reach her eyes and everyone failed to notice, including Max.