Chapter 32 – The Liz Correlation J
September 14, 2007 Friday
It was a long day without Max. Daniel was in her ear all day and she'd ignored him until he'd kept her awake. She needed to sleep but he kept pestering her, touching her. She knew what he wanted but Max was out of town. She couldn't let him drive while she was the only one with the kids. "What do you want me to do?"
"Have you even tried? I think you get off on having me here and unable to do anything about how you're destroying our family."
"It's my family. Mine. You're dead."
"I'm still here. I see my boys and my girl every day and I can't touch them. I can't hold them. If I sing to them, they cannot hear me but you can. So there's still some of me here."
"Stop." Liz covered her face with her hands for a long moment. When she put them down, he was right there, running his hands up her arm. "Stop it."
"I can touch you. I can't touch my kids, but you feel it when I touch you."
"I said stop."
"I can kiss you."
"Don't." She turned her face away.
"I've proven it. You and I have made love like this."
"You…. Are a hallucination." Liz ripped herself away from him. "That was just a memory."
"Do you think we could make another baby this way? I know my physical body is gone but it seemed like we had to be mentally linked while all the cells were in the right places to conceive. We are always mentally linked now."
"Get off me." Liz swatted him away and sank to the floor, crying. Her fight was dying. She was tired.
"I know you miss me. Miss loving me. It was easier, wasn't it? Simpler." His hands ghosted over her flesh. "You miss me taking you up against the wall in the shower, throwing you down on my desk, eating you out until you screamed. You remember my birthday last year when we fucked so hard, we broke that pearl thong you were wearing? Remember the sound of the pearls scattering all over that hotel room? You came so hard you blacked out for five minutes."
"Stop it." Liz whispered, his lips on her neck.
"You remember how that whole weekend was your idea? No one is that good a liar." Then the knock at the front door came. She rushed to answer it. It was Sheriff Valenti "Sheriff. Is something wrong? It's late."
"Mrs. McClasky." He said simply.
"I put up a bubble." She blurted out. "I talk to myself… It's how I'm… working my through some stuff."
"I figured. Her hearing aids are picking you up. I talked her into taking them out, but I suspect that's it's not the sound she's picking up… it's the…"
"Energy." Liz nodded to him. "I don't know how to turn it off."
"Figured I'd give you a heads up and also… you're doing great. I'd be surprised if you weren't having sleepless nights arguing with yourself."
"Did you hear?" Liz flushed suddenly that maybe he'd heard Daniel trying to seduce her.
"Just the crying."
"Okay." She nodded.
"Goodnight, Liz. Get some sleep."
"I'll try."
"And close your curtains. I can see straight through the house from the front yard and Mrs. McClasky has a stepstool in her kitchen that can see the other way. She's nosey."
"Yeah, she is." Liz laughed. "Sorry about the grief."
"Just take care of you and those babies."
Liz shut the door after him and Daniel was right there. "He's right about the curtains."
Liz shut them and fused them shut then went to the kitchen to close the blinds on the back window. She sat to her tea. Daniel knelt beside her. "Stop that. You kneel around me like I'm a queen."
"You are. Not only my Queen, but the queen of an alien race."
"I hardly think they would count me as their queen. If I'm their queen, then you recognize that Max chose me." She told him.
"He may have. His servants recognize you as their queen and that's good enough for me. They recognized you as queen even though you had my children. I don't think their standards were as high as the old English monarchy. Probably helps that the other king anointed you with powers that no other could possess." He was smug. "But I guess that makes me King consort."
"Prince Consort if we're following English precedence but not while Max and Zan live… which you do not." Liz took a breath and sat at the table once again.
He sat opposite her and the head of the table. "I remember the feelings you shared through our skin. I remember longing for something so simple. I remember that night we were so close, our hearts beating together. I remember going to sleep the next night with my family. My small and lovely family. I remember it so perfectly. We made three perfect human beings together." He took a deep breath. "Do you remember the story you told me, of how we could have met without them?"
"I remember." Liz nodded. Prophecy. Another gift appropriated from the Antarian queen.
"You defended me to strangers on the street. You could have kept quiet. Said nothing. You could have let me die when I took that blast for you in the beginning."
"Don't flatter yourself. We tried to make power while you were dying, and we couldn't. So, Zan brought you back."
"Wife. You are the one holding on to me. I don't see how I could be here any other way."
"Why are you so keen to have Max and I make love?"
"It's not… it's just fucking. You become powerful when you share his power."
"Whether you choose to believe it or not, I love Max. I did everything for him. Everything."
"You don't even want his children."
"That is not what I said. I said I was done having children but not because they would be his but because I have three very small children who need me and I'm trying to run a business, two of them! I am so much more than a baby-making machine."
"You act like you can't do both. You can. You are."
"Shut up." Liz stood from the table. "I will find a way to get rid of you."
"Good luck handling business without me."
"I'll figure it out."
September 18, 2007 Tuesday
Daniel was getting on her last nerve. She'd snapped at Tess who had just done an about-face and left the office. She'd sniped at Michael who had backed off with his hands up. Sean was getting on her nerves. She locked herself in the office and when Max wanted to bring her lunch, she put him off and then asked him to do a nothing errand so he could still be of use to her.
"Darling, honey, baby."
"Can you not?" Liz took deep breaths.
"You should tell him about me. It's only fair that he knows I'm here."
"Why on Earth would I do that?"
"So he knows the depth of our relationship. Make it easier. He tries so hard to please you and he just doesn't know how."
"Oh. My. God. Can you shut your face?"
"Liz." The speaker came on. Tess. Right.
Liz hit the button. "Yeah?"
"Max and Nate are here."
Liz rushed out and kissed each of their faces and took her flash drives. Nate was pouty but it was past his naptime. She waved them off and away they went. That made her feel better.
"Next time, I'll just schedule a visit from Max and maybe you'll behave like a human." Tess said, not very quietly.
"I'm going back into the lab."
"Sure, whatever makes you happy."
"Did you get your results back?"
"Almost two weeks ago, thank you for asking. I am fine." Tess flipped the page in her catalog too hard. "You know, I feel like… given you've been there when someone was shoving a speculum inside me that we've broken some boundaries. So, I would like you to know that you've been a raving bitch all week long. Maybe stop abusing your boyfriend and ride him like the stallion he is."
"I thought you said Max didn't know how to make love."
"Oh, he doesn't but he can ram it home and I feel like maybe that's what you need right now. Maybe his jackhammer method would knock the stick out of your ass."
"Did you ever think that maybe you were the problem? Because, let me tell you, Max does sex just fine. And take it from someone whose job it was to be an animal in the sack." Liz left the room and locked herself back in the lab. They needed to call a truce, but Liz was too prideful. She needed to get back to work but her mind was too full. Daniel had been creeping in and doing things with her powers. She knew it but she couldn't find the moments when he did it.
Once she calmed down, she got some work done. Her clean room was only for alien purposes and that included the little girl that Zan had taken an interest in. She had the blood defect. It was rare but it was out there. Laurie had it. Jolene had it. Todd did not have it. Stephen Morton had it. All his kids were turkey baster kids. Jolene said it just worked better that way for him. Liz's kids did not have it.
At home, it was quiet. Nate was asleep. She woke him up to eat dinner and he immediately started crying about how Max was mean. It was amusing to watch him tell the story with those crocodile tears when he knew good and well that he couldn't have ice cream before dinner. Liz got him cleaned up and to the table, ready to start negotiating for bites but he hiccupped and ate and didn't even try. He ate so much, he wasn't going to have room for ice cream but Max insisted since he promised. They walked down to the strip and got some for all the kids. Pete didn't finish his before he was asleep. Lucy blew raspberries and gnawed on her frozen banana. Liz watched Nate huff and eat his ice cream and then he threw himself on Max.
Her sweet boy was so attached to Max. Afraid Max was mad at him for being a brat. Then she felt it. The icy hand on her shoulder. "He could have made his point without making him cry."
They got home and got the kids in bed. Liz was cleaning and felt him hovering. "Stop it."
"Talk to him. Nate is so stressed out trying to please him."
"It's not like Max has high expectations. This is the brat you created."
"My son is not a brat."
"He's two and a half. He's a brat. He was trying to get one over on Max and got caught. He thought he could tell on Max and I would be on his side but I'm his mother. Max did the right thing, though I wouldn't have promised ice cream at all."
"You never take me seriously."
"You are a figment of my imagination." She rubbed at her temples.
"Hardly. You can tell yourself that but I am much more and you know it."
"Daniel, you aren't. You are a part of my guilty conscious because I had never killed a human being before."
"You feel guilty because you love me."
"I didn't love you." She jabbed her hand at him. "I don't love you. I have never loved you. It was an act of subterfuge that worked way too well."
"What was that?" He held his hand up. A noise from down the hall.
That's when Liz realized her bubble was up and lowered it. "Max? Everything okay?"
"Just picking up. Kids are asleep." Max stepped into view as he picked up a stray shoe and tossed it onto the pile by the door.
"How was Nate?" Liz shrugged Daniel's hand off her shoulder.
"Happier." He moved in close and pulled her to him. "He was scared of Pam this afternoon."
"Course he was." She wanted to pull him closer but he wanted to fight about who disciplined Nate more. She won. Of course. Then he wanted to play.
"We cannot wake them up." Liz told him, biting her lip as she pulled him to the couch.
"We're not having sex, remember? Just playing."
"Oh my God, Max." She growled as she shoved him and straddled his lap. "You are so… frustrating… Just for a bit and then we have to go to sleep."
Their hands joined and Liz felt his energy around hers and hers around his and then the fog slammed down. Dammit, Daniel. Liz fought to regain control. She came to in the shower. She finished up and toweled off. Her fingers shook as they fought to reach for a sexy nightgown but she grabbed one of Max's shirts instead. Max was already in bed, book on his stomach and he didn't look happy. Lucy was sound asleep in her crib. Liz touched her head and her little nose and her chubby little legs. She was getting so big.
"She looks like you."
Liz slid into bed and looked over at Max. Max was studying that book awful hard. "I'm sorry."
"No, you're not." Max kept his eyes on the book. "We're supposed to be trying this together but… you're not trying."
"Maybe we're putting too much pressure on us."
"Maybe." He sucked in a breath and set the book down, his eyes on the far wall. "I'm going to be busy next week. Dad's had some stuff come up."
"Okay. I'll find us a sitter." Liz found her To-Do list and scribbled it down.
"Mom would probably love it."
"All three of them? Is she up for it?"
"Maybe just the boys. Amy might take Lucy in the mornings. Maria, the afternoons."
"Maria has evening manager duty at the Crashdown."
"I'll be done by 4 most days."
"Mommy." Nate came trudging in with Bear. Liz reached down and scooped him up.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He hung on her. Liz rubbed his back and slowly slid down so they were laying on the bed.
Max got the lamp. "He had a rough day."
"Yes, he did." Liz kissed his head and gently moved him onto the bed between them. Nate was already asleep again. Max rubbed Nate's back and Nate let out a deep sigh. "Just for tonight."
"Yeah." Max nodded and laid his head down. Liz watched him not sleep for awhile with Nate wheezing between them. She grabbed the booger sucker and attacked it gently until it was less. Liz fought the urge to swat away ghost hands. She needed to be still. She needed to sleep. Three days later, she had no idea what all she had missed but Daniel was a lot quieter.
October 20, 2007 Saturday
Liz relaxed a little when she got the text from Laurie that Todd had shown up with the meds. He cut it close. Would have been out by the end of the day. Liz took Lucy outside to watch Max and Nate try to kick a ball around. Pete had some blocks on a blanket and that made him happy. Lucy was getting so big. She babbled and waved her hands at stuff. She looked so cute in the sundress her grandmother had bought her. Warm days were almost over.
Max tickled Nate until he begged for mercy. Then Nate ran to her for a kiss and then ran back to his ball kicking. Pete called for her. Liz and Lucy sat with him. Lucy crawled around and Liz kept her from vacating the blanket and eating things off the ground. Then it got hot. They had to take the troop inside and wash everyone up. Nate tumbled in the living room. Pete and Lucy got naps. The routine was working. Max escaped to get some work done. Liz and Nate watched a video on low volume while he organized his trucks. She had a busy week ahead of her and she wanted as many baby cuddles as possible. Daniel was being very, very quiet and it was disconcerting.
She got the ball rolling on Monday. Kinney called and gave a report on the week. She told him to just email it. She was losing her patience with the man. Todd sent her pictures of the remodel, which was going well. She needed security on site, and she didn't want to use her company resources on it, despite what Kinney said. He had his own agenda, she was sure of it. So she kept him busy so she could develop Mr. Sharpson and Ms. Galvez on her own, while still finding time to puree baby food for Lucy while she was at it.
When Max had to go out of town, it was hard to sleep alone. She usually ended up taking one or all the kids to bed with her. When Daniel did pop up, he was trying to sell her on a conspiracy but that was too much to keep up with. He was still swinging wildly between hating Max and encouraging her to be intimate with him.
November 9, 2007 Friday
Liz woke exhausted and Daniel was quiet. She got through the day and she had no energy for the woman who walked in with her resume and furtive glances around. She was absurd. The movie cliché of a lab tech. Tall, lithesome, great boobs, tinkling laugh and an amazing resume. Liz read over her resume and offered her a seat. Then Liz noticed the redhead watching Liz's hands as she read over the document. Entranced. Interesting. "She knows what's beautiful."
Liz fogged out and when she came to, she was home and hungry for touch. She kissed her kids and lingered on Max's mouth. She kept touching him and he kept sneaking glances at her. Then the fog came. She woke as Max was giving her the cold shoulder again. She took herself to the kitchen for tea. Daniel was there. "He doesn't know what he's saying no to. He can't. I think he's defective."
Liz laid into him, again, about seducing Max without her. Then Max was back, pulling her to their room, pulling her clothes off and she thought he was going to take control, but she had to. Had to beg him to give her what she needed and like a thirsty soul in the desert welcoming the rain, making love to Max fulfilled her soul.
She couldn't control the sounds she made. The bubble was up, she knew it, but she had to let it out. Had to hear what she did to him. When she came, the surface of the sun would have darkened in the shade of the light she felt. She caught her breath and woke under Max's passed out body. Alien men. She took herself to the bathroom to clean up. Fussed at her dead husband before going to bed herself.
Max was distant all the next day. They were supposed to be house shopping, but he was on another planet, it seemed. She impulse-whammied a few people to make sure that whatever bid Max put down would win. She just didn't know what kind of down payment Max had promised. "Max!"
She set down the phone and found him hanging the kids' clothes in their closet. "Max."
"Yeah?"
"50 percent down. You said you "just" had a down payment."
"I've been adding to it. Working jobs here and there and only the good ones." He shrugged.
"Well, we got the soft okay on this. The owners are already talking to the bank. Monday, I need you to go do your thing with them."
"That's good. We got it."
"Why are you so… this is exciting." Liz stepped toward him. "I am so happy but also very concerned about… are you not happy for us?"
"Just in a weird mood." He leaned over the rocking chair and gave her a kiss. "I'm happy. It's a good house." He went back to putting clothes away. "What kind of escrow do you think this will be?"
"Hoping for quick and dirty." She stepped around toys and pressed herself against his side. "And maybe to celebrate the same way."
"Liz…" He took a breath. "We didn't use anything last night."
"I thought that would have made you happy." She slid her hand up his arm.
"We have a lot going on right now." He cupped her face. "We need to… have our talk. Outline what… intimacy is going to look like for us. Prophylactics, noise, powers…"
"Oh come on, Max, didn't it feel good?"
"We're supposed to be sharing when we do it. We agreed."
"We're supposed to be limiting that sharing. Remember?" Liz kissed his hand and wrapped her lips around his thumb.
"No. The kids are only going to be asleep for about ten more minutes." Max backed away and blew out a breath. "We have stuff to do today."
Liz sat on the ottoman and finished folding the clothes. Put away, she heard the babies start their pre-awakening shifting on her bed. She loved it when they were just waking up. She rushed in and knelt by the bed next to Pete. He wiggled his tush and yawned and opened his eyes just a little bit. When he saw her, he smiled and snuggled into the bed. "Hi, baby." She brushed his hair off his forehead and he smiled really big. "Good afternoon. You ready to play?" His eyes weren't really open but he was so happy. He tried to push himself up but gravity fought him. "Come here."
Liz picked him up and got him washed up. Lots of kisses and happy baby breaths. Awake and ready to conquer the world. Liz got him to Max to get his share of attention while she returned for Nate, who was less ready to conquer the world. "Mommy?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"Okay." Nate nodded to her and reached for her. His hair was sticking up. She got him washed up and snuggled before returning for Lucy who was trying to make a break for the edge of the bed. Liz caught her and got her and Nate to the living room. Nate was clingy for a little while but Lucy was ready to play. Gnawing on some plastic keys, shrieking at her stuffed horse. Max hopped up to get at his phone when it started ringing. He looked so stressed out.
Liz kissed Nate and sent him in the direction of his toys. Pete toddled over to her. She kissed his chubby little face and he went back to his blocks. Max returned and sat with Nate to play dinosaurs. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, but um… you're right. We should celebrate tonight. I know it's not official until I sign my name on the deed." Max took a breath. "I think I can talk my mom into taking one or two kids."
"But not all three." Liz looked at her kids. "Okay. I got it. I'll ask Amy and I know which one she wants." After Liz got off the phone it was only 20 minutes before Sheriff Valenti pulled up to collect Lucy. "She sent you right away?"
"You know it. She loves the boys but she wants a granddaughter." Valenti took Max outside to situate the car seat.
Liz got Lucy's bag ready. Packed her bottles, recipe for formula mixed with the frozen breastmilk that went in the cooler with the pureed vegetables. Loaded her up in the cruiser. Kisses before she went to the Valenti's for the night. Max packed up Pete and Nate. They got into the car, off to an early dinner and then landed at the Evans where Diane was chomping at the bit to get her some grandson time. Max left them the car seats, just in case. The SUV felt very empty without her babies.
Liz enjoyed her shower, but she missed the noise. She stared at her closet for a very long moment and almost elbowed Daniel out of the way to put together a nice outfit for dinner with Max. She dried her hair with her powers, styled it a bit as she browsed her dresses. She ended up transforming a dress into something she thought would look nice standing next to her man. When Max saw her, he took a step back. "Wow."
"Bet you didn't think I had it in me."
"You look beautiful. Way too beautiful for Roswell." He dropped his sock on the bed and pulled her against him. "You sure you want to go out?"
"Oh, is this all it takes?" Liz kissed him. "You promised, though."
"Yes. Let me get myself together and we'll go."
"Do we have reservations?"
"I arranged something."
Liz adjusted her stockings and picked up some stray toys while Max got his shoes on. Max got them a table at a steakhouse. Liz ate and drank a bit. Max managed to keep their topics off the kids in general but did talk about some plans for the house. "There was a… a toolshed place in the garage. Like a workshop. I could convert that into my office. Put a door up, keep the files under lock and key. That way you could have one of the rooms in the house for an office and keep the lab and Pittsburgh in there."
"Maybe." Liz nodded. "I love that fireplace."
"I'll need to build a little fence around it."
"We won't light it."
"No, you'll want to light it and we'll need the fence to keep little fingers away from shiny and bright fire."
"You're right." She tipped her glass into her mouth. "That's a fancy bottle you bought me."
"You are accustomed to a certain lifestyle and I know we're not living it, but I still want you to have nice things."
"Max, you just bought me a house."
"Not the whole thing."
"A lot more than I expected. Did you even touch the wedding fund?" She looked at him and he shrugged. "Wow. You need… better… um… I don't even know what. You're very modest about how well you are doing as a PI."
"I get jobs done. Most of my work comes word of mouth."
"The house is amazing."
"Well… when I got my accounts ready to do this… I figured you'd want the house on the edge of town with the two stories and the six bedrooms and the two-car garage and the guest house and the shed."
"That house was just… too much. Gaudy. Did you see all the little places you could lose a child in that house?" Liz held his hand in hers. "I think we picked the perfect house for us and our kids."
"You want to get started on that paperwork? Dad's got it all ready."
"I do… but we promised a ceremony."
"Yeah…" Max made a noise in his throat. "But we can do the paperwork and it'll be legal, and they can have their ceremony whenever they want. The adoption papers take like… three months to process."
"Really?"
"Well, for regular people. We're Evans people and we know judges. But the judge will want us to be married first. He likes Dad but he is old school."
"Sure. We'll sneak into the office and sign the papers without your Mom finding out."
"You mean without your mom finding out." He teased back.
"They will murder us." Liz nodded.
The check came and Liz went to wash up while Max chatted with the waiter. Liz fought a fog off. Daniel was trying hard to take over, but she wasn't having it. Not tonight. Not with Max this easy going. "This is a trap."
"It is not a trap. We are having a good time. Stop it." Liz hissed at her reflection.
"We should pick up the kids and go home."
"No, I am going to get seriously laid tonight and I'm going to be driving." Liz shoved him into a corner of her mind and got back out to Max where he was waiting with a couple of mints. They walked a while in silence. As they were getting to the fountain, a troop of people saw Max and had to talk to him about something. Liz let him get to it and stared at the fountain. It was soothing. Then the fog started creeping around. She started to push it back but then it nudged her to look. The redhead was standing on the edge of the crowd. What was her name? Serena Caplan. Liz followed her gaze. She was looking Max. Max was placating whoever and didn't seem to notice at first but then Max got a look on his face and Liz felt her heart beat harder for a few moments. Panic flooded her system. Then the look was gone and Max was focused on his friend again.
"Oh my god! Is she okay?" A voice nearby called out. Liz turned and a pregnant woman was on the ground. Liz rushed over as she was pulling her phone out. Took a pulse. She was breathing. Liz had 911 on the phone before she recognized the woman on the ground. Max was next to her a moment later. "It's Glory Troy."
"I'll go get him." Max left her.
Liz rode in the ambulance so Glory wouldn't be alone when she got there. She told the doctors everything she knew but it wasn't much. She paced, feeling guilty but didn't know why. She steered Greg the right direction when he got there and found Max outside. She took his hand. "Is our night over?"
"No. We can still salvage it." He kissed her hands. "She okay?"
"She'll be fine." Liz nodded. "What did all those people want?"
"Dad… Isabel got the family roped into the holiday stuff in town and most years Mom would do it and Isabel would help. This year, I guess, no one signed up and everyone is freaking out."
"You signed up?"
"No, we're busy. I steered them all in the direction of some folks in town that need to spend some energy." Max tucked her into their car and headed to someplace quiet. Liz smiled as she recognized the sights. "We haven't been out here in years."
"No need to, now. We got two houses." She pointed out.
"It's beautiful out here." He pointed out as he pulled the car to a stop.
"Look at those stars." Liz peered up through the sunroof. Max reached over her and adjusted her seat so she could be more comfortable before fixing his seat to stare up with her. "We haven't done this in so long."
"I had plans for your birthday that year. We just… didn't make it that far."
"Well, things were hectic."
"We'll carve some time out. Make sure you can relax on your birthday." He rubbed her hand between his.
"Let's not make a big deal about it. So many things in the air." She groaned. "Soft yes on the house. Need a firm plan."
"Getting to the bank first thing Monday morning, which means…"
"I'm gonna be late for work. I know." Liz sighed. "I can probably pack the house in like… three days on my own. Thinking about sending the kids to my mom's so we can do that. Move. Then unpack before we pick them back up."
"That sounds genius."
"But… that's like… a week of them with my parents."
"Maybe… we alternate with my parents? Three days here, three days there. Then into their new place with all their stuff?"
"That's genius." Liz rolled to look at him. The fog started to roll in but Liz shoved it back. This was her time. "You know… we never got to be young and dumb out here."
"You think now's the time?" He laughed but sobered when she slid over the gearshift to his seat. "Liz…"
"Come on. Let's play."
"We're going to get caught and we're not teenagers anymore."
"Oh, pooh. I'll bubble us in, make us invisible." Liz slid her hand between his legs as she kissed his neck. "I'll play nice. I'll… make this good for us."
Max found the zipper on the back of her dress and eased it down. Groaned when he did not feel her skin. "What are you wearing?"
Liz sat up to shrug out of her dress and show him the teddy she'd bought for him. "I just wanted to look and feel good for you."
"I don't… need this but… it is…" Max swallowed hard as he eased her dress down. "Wow."
"I'm sure I don't… measure up to some women but… I'm good at packaging what I have."
"What?"
"Nothing." Liz unbuttoned his shirt so she could slide her fingers beneath the fabric. Disappeared his undershirt and looked him in the eyes as she ran her hand over everything she wanted to touch all day long, but had to keep her hands to herself because… society. Liz took over arranging their clothes and aligning their bodies but Max scrambled for a condom at the last moment. He'd bought some at some point in the day, she supposed.
Getting comfortable enough to get a rhythm took some doing but Liz was up for the challenge and Max let her do whatever she wanted. His hands traveled her body, snagging on lace and tugging here and there. When Liz got close, Max stilled her hips. "No, Max, no."
"Sh." Max sat up a bit, readjusting their positions so he could get a little more hands on. "Okay. Okay."
Liz had to rebuild what was started. The fog started to roll in but she couldn't fight it and orgasm at the same time. When the fog receded, she was peeing in the woods while Max aired out the car. He helped her back into her dress and she buttoned him back up. Made out a little with him before getting back into the car. Max had a ghost of a smile on his lips whenever he wasn't singing to the radio. Liz played with his hand and he tapped her knee. "Don't distract me while I'm driving, sweetie."
"Can we play more when we get home?"
"Yes, so you'll have to… cool off a bit." He flicked his fingers and the AC blasted on her side.
"Jerk." She smacked him and turned it back down.
"Thank you for sharing with me." Max kissed her hand at a stoplight. "I know it's hard but it means the world to me that you can."
Liz nodded dumbly. She'd missed it. That moment that made him so happy. Kissing his fingers, she tried not to panic about what Daniel had let him see. At home, they could take their time to make love. Kids were taken care of, no rush. Liz tried to get Max to take advantage of their situation and let him dictate their game plan but he wouldn't do it. He didn't want to run the show. That was frustrating. Daniel did not make a comeback and Max didn't want to… take control. Even after convincing him just a nip of whiskey wouldn't hurt.
Liz sorted through the flashes she got from him while he was washing up. Found the redhead. Found Serena. It was a blur. He'd been drunk. Drunk when he met her, drunk when he fucked her and drunk when he left her. When he was back and touching her hair and face, she pushed those buttons. "Why don't you just…?"
"Just what?"
"Don't you have desires to do things? I feel like all our lovemaking is my plans and my fantasies…"
"Yeah but… I…" Max kissed her hands. "I don't wanna be him. I want you to feel safe and loved and like… you matter."
Liz thought about that for a long time. "What did you… see from me?"
"That you… felt like an object. I don't want you to feel like I could love just anyone. I love you, Liz Parker… Pierce… future Evans."
"Ugh. I need to think about my legal name." Liz cuddled up close to him. "Let's sleep in tomorrow."
"Oh yeah." He nodded. "Sleep in is the plan. No 6 am poops."
"At least he's bonding with you." Liz cleared her throat. "When we move, I'm going to pack up everything that belonged to… him and put it back in Pittsburgh… including the picture."
"Really?"
"He's carrying it less and less. He's favoring your picture so I figure… if we give him two pictures of you, then he won't notice when I put them all away."
"Feels soon."
"Better to do it sooner than later." She shivered and got closer to him. "Maybe we pepper in some Dads and Pops or whatever you want to be called."
"Ooh, I get a choice." Max covered her up and thought about it. "I could be a Pop."
"Did you want to call your dad Pop?"
"I think I did but Isabel was the talker. She chose… but also… Dad is a traditionalist."
"Yes he is. I am so proud of his broad acceptance of how untraditional the family has become."
"No, no. He's still trying."
"I know but he's being quiet about it. My dad…"
"Your dad misses a bohemia that he never really lived himself."
"I know, it's so weird." Liz giggled. "I love him, though. Mom, too. We're… getting better."
"That's good. That's so good." Max rolled back a bit to rest his head on the pillow. "I like us when we're all getting along."
"Oh, the whiskey is hitting you."
"Maybe."
Liz waved a hand to the lamp to shut it off. "Tomorrow, we have lots of prep work."
"Tuesday. Tuesday. Let's not get a head of ourselves."
Liz kissed him and let their connection happen, just a bit because she was still curious as fuck as to what happened with that redhead. She couldn't really get anything off him without going all in and then he fell asleep. It was eating her up.
TBC
also, I put a poll link in my profile for this story.
