Notes: at
the end
Chapter
Twenty-Six: Together
"So," Maria said slyly, turning and
popping a French fry into Michael's mouth, "you all know what went on down here
while you were gone, but we know nothing about what happened up there." Tess shared a look with Michael. Isabel shrugged, taking Alex's hand and
wrapping it around her shoulder.
"Nothing much," she lied, "in fact, it was really quite boring." Kyle scoffed. "Boring? Yeah right. You guys were the Royal Family on an alien planet. How could that be boring?" "Max?" Liz questioned, craning her neck
around to look at him, "it's only fair."
He smiled softly, bending to kiss her forehead. "You're right," he said, "why shouldn't we
tell you what happened?" "Maxwell,"
Michael warned. Maria gave him a gentle
smack. "We want to hear," she scolded,
"go ahead, Max." "First of all," Max
began, "there was a war …"
**
Maria leaned back in her seat, her
mouth open in shock. "Maria?" Michael shook her arm. "You look like you're gonna be sick." "I think I am," she muttered, "you and Tess?" "Should I be offended?" Tess spoke up. Kyle couldn't take it any more and he burst
into laughter. "Oh, you think this is
funny? I should have known." He put a hand over his mouth, trying to
stifle his amusement. "You must admit,"
he said, "it is funny. I mean,
you and Michael? How many words did you
say to each other before you left?"
"Correction," Michael spoke, "Rath loved Ava. We're not them. After our memories came back, that all stopped immediately. There were no romantic feelings between any
of us." Liz looked up at Max with wide,
inquisitive eyes. "Really," he
whispered only to her, "even when I didn't know who I was, I remembered a
beautiful girl named Liz who I loved with all my heart." "Thank you," she whispered back, leaning
into his arms, "I really needed to hear that."
"I'm proud of you," Alex said softly
to Isabel, "And I told you. You could
never be a terrible person. You came
through for everyone. You saved them this
time." "Oh, Alex," she sighed, "I just
knew that a man that evil wasn't worth the love and trust of my family. He wasn't worth risking not coming home to
you." She shifted, facing him directly,
spontaneously changing the subject.
"What do you think about children?" she asked him. His eyes widened. "You, um, you just got back.
There's no way you be, I mean …"
She laughed. "Alex, I'm not
pregnant. And I don't plan on having
children any time soon." She watched as
he let out a breath of relief. "But
what do you think of the name Lara?" she wondered, "Lara Diane?" Max overheard her and threw her a
smile. Isabel looked at Alex expectantly. "I think it's beautiful," he answered, "if
we ever have a daughter, she'd be extremely lucky to have such a name." Isabel grinned, wrapping her arms around his
neck. "I was hoping you'd say that."
**
Max glanced around the table. Michael and Maria were exchanging
good-natured banter back and forth, pausing to peck each other's lips with a
tender kiss every few minutes. Kyle was
making disgusted faces as Tess poured more Tabasco sauce into her drink. She, in turn, shoved the straw in his mouth
and laughed as he gagged. Alex and
Isabel cuddled in the corner, probably still discussing their future family. And Liz.
His perfect, beautiful Liz, leaned her head against his shoulder,
playing with his thumb and forefinger.
Her other hand came up to catch a yawn in her palm. Max smiled, his arms pulling her
closer. His thoughts turned to Antar,
to Larek, his mother, and his people.
But as he looked around him – at his friends, his sister, and his lover
– he realized that he didn't miss that other life at all. This is where he belonged, where they
all belonged. This is home.
"Max?" He looked down at Liz. "Hmmm?" "Where were you?" she asked softly. He bent to kiss her mouth. "Nowhere," he told her, "nowhere but here."
The End
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'd like to thank everyone who contributed
feedback. Your comments really made me
push to get new chapters out to you as soon as possible. I'd like to do a sequel, but I don't
have a clue what the plot could be. If
anyone has any suggestions, feel free to share them. Who knows? I could like
one of your ideas and have a new story out soon. Thanks again. I really
enjoyed writing this for you as much as I hope you enjoyed reading it.
-
Star Jackson
starshine_416@yahoo.com
Sequel is up. Titled: 52 Days Of Hades