With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there's a time to change, hey, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey
Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated
Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And there did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there
Now that she's back from that soul vacation
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey
She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo
Reminds me that there's a room to grow, hey, hey
Now that she's back in the atmosphere
I'm afraid that she might think of me as plain ol' Jane
Told a story about a man who was too afraid to fly so he never did land
Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky Way
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind
Was it everything you wanted to find
And there did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there
Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you're wrong
Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance, five-hour phone
conversation,
The best soy latte that you ever had... and me
Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back toward the Milky Way
Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated
Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?
And did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And did you fall for a shooting star, fall for a shooting star
And are you lonely looking for yourself out there?
Part 9
Liz was numb as she watched Max destroy Tess's body. Part of her was relieved to know that Tess was gone for good. But this all seemed so surreal to her – like it was a dream. Truth was, Liz did have many dreams of Max returning to her. But then one day, she just gave them up and moved on. With Max in front of her now, things were complicated. But then again, matters concerning Max in any way were always complicated.
Without a word, Liz led Max to her dorm room and he followed without a question. Not until did they reach Liz's dorm room and locked the door did they really look at each for the first time in years.
"Liz." Max had longed to say her name to her for so long. His heart ached when there was no flicker of emotion on her face. "Liz?"
Her eyes turned to him and she asked, "Why did you come back?"
Forget about his heart aching, Max's heart was almost literally breaking with that question. Still, he was determined to talk to her and, hopefully, win her back somehow. "I came back for you." These words were so reminiscent of the words he had spoken to her that day at the Crashdown after she had come back from Florida. Liz's heart had leaped at those words and it jumped at these words. However, it quickly settled back down.
"I'm honored that you did, Max, but I don't know," Liz began. She searched for the words. "Too much time has passed. I'm a different person than the Liz you fell in love with and you're different too."
"You're right – too much has passed. Too many day and nights have gone by where you weren't with me. Where we both needed each other and we weren't there for one another. But, Liz, believe me, I want to make that up to you. I don't want to let you go."
"You haven't had me for a long time, Max," Liz replied softly. "But tell me everything that's happened."
Max hesitated. "Are you sure you want to know?"
Liz thought about that question. Did she really want to be dragged back into this whole alien conspiracy thing again? But then she realized that it was her own decision to become involved with Max and the others back in high school. She nodded.
"What do you want to know, Liz?"
"I want you to start at the beginning. Tell me everything, Max."
Max then went on and told Liz all the events that had occurred with him as king. He confessed to Liz all the insecurities he had felt when making his decisions and how he couldn't show it. He described the fear he had experienced his first time in battle and the pain afterwards knowing that he had killed so many lives.
"How did you ever survive?" Liz asked in wonder at the events that Max had to endure. She wasn't really expecting an answer but Max surprised her.
"It was you."
Liz laughed nervously. "Me?"
Max dug into a bag he had and pulled out a small notebook. "Every night before I went to sleep, I would read this. Every time before I went into battle, I would look at this. Your words gave me strength, Liz."
Liz took her old journal incredulously. "You kept this?"
"Of course," Max answered. "It was my only way to stay connected with you."
"Max…" Liz began, trying to warn him of where their conversation was leading to again.
"I know," Max said with a touch of sadness. "I know."
Silence filled the room before Liz hesitantly asked, "So how did you defeat Kivar? What happened with Tess?"
"Tess," Max began. The name on his tongue brought back a feeling of bitterness that he couldn't disguise. "I was such a fool, Liz. Such an idiot."
"What happened?"
Raising his eyes to look into Liz's, Max started. "Because I knew everything that you done for me, because I never let gave up on you – Tess … left. We had been there for a few months with the fighting and the war and carnage…" Max closed his eyes as images of horrific events flashed through his eyes. When Max's eyes opened again, Liz could see they were haunted.
"And during that time, Liz, Tess just kept throwing herself at me and I kept telling her that it wasn't possible for her and me to be together. But she just wouldn't, or couldn't, accept this. Finally, I don't know, she just stopped. I thought that maybe she had accepted that I didn't love her and that we could just be friends. Then, she left and joined Kivar. She told him everything she found out about our defense system and our strategies.
"This was a devastating blow to us. We fought for months at a time and Michael and I were out there everyday, doing things to people that I never thought I could do! I … I destroyed lives, Liz. I killed so many people without a single thought about their families! All because of Tess. We had been so close to peace before she left!"
Max continued on, finally finding a release to his pent up emotions that he had been unable to share before. "Because of Tess, we went on fighting for years! We changed our strategies, we adapted and slowly we fought our way back and soon Kivar was on the run. We chased after him and Tess and we cornered them. The two of them alone with just me. Michael and the rest of the forces were too busy with Kivar's last stringent of forces to help me.
"The two of them attacked me relentlessly. I fought back as best I could but they were so strong. I thought I was going to die there, alone. And I thought of you, Liz." Max then went to where Liz was sitting and sat on the floor at her feet so he looked up at her.
"I thought about you telling me that you loved me when I left. And I thought about all the strength you had when Future Max came to you. And I drew the power and strength from you, Liz. It all happened so fast that I'm not quite sure what happened. All I know is that there was a blast and rocks came flying down and there was pure pandemonium. When everything died down, the last of Kivar's men were defeated. We had to dig to look for Kivar and Tess. We found Kivar's body but never Tess's. But there was so much destruction we didn't think there was really any chance of her surviving. I guess we were wrong.
"After Kivar's death, it took time for us to get Antar back on track. There were so many things we had to do – rebuild whole cities, start aids, schools, hospitals. The planet was in shambles. Michael, Isabel, and I came back as soon as we could though. That was always our thought."
Liz let all Max's information digest through her. She looked at Max and knew that she loved him. She knew she hadn't stopped and she didn't doubt his love for her – she could feel it radiating off in waves from him. Gently, hesitating, she put her hands on his head and ran her fingers through his hair. The smile and hope that shone in his eyes when she did this sent chills down her spine.
"But how did Tess get here? What about that scar she has?" Liz couldn't help but wonder.
Max furrowed his brow and thought quietly for a minute. "Now that we're talking about this, I do remember a few months ago before I left, there had been a report of an authorized launch into space but we just dismissed it. That must have been Tess. As for the scars – even though our bodies are different on Antar, the wounds we receive transfer onto our human bodies."
Something in Max's voice caught Liz's attention. She asked softly, "And how do you know that, Max?"
A sad smile flitted through Max's face. "I know."
"Max?"
"You don't want to see it, Liz," Max said desperately. He couldn't let her see him like this. He knew that it would just cause her pain to see the reminders of war on him.
"Yes, I do," Liz insisted gently. She had to see this – she wanted to have some kind of grasp of how Max's life was. There was nothing about Max that would be ugly in her eyes.
Max somehow felt her need to see it so he took off his shirt and turned his back to her. Liz gasped at first to see Max's well-defined chest and abs but then when she saw his back, tears sprang to her eyes. Massive scars of cuts and abrasions littered his back. Liz dropped to the floor next to him and gently ran her fingers up and down the scars.
"Oh, Max."
Max's head dipped and his voice was low. "I know – they're hideous."
"No!" Liz quickly protested. "Nothing about you could ever be hideous. It just looks so … painful. Why do you keep them? Can't you heal yourself?"
"I could," Max replied. "And I probably will someday but for now, I keep them as a reminder that I have done something ten times worse than this to thousands of other people and that I shouldn't rid myself of all the pain just because I have the ability."
Liz's heart swelled with his words. Trying to steer the conversation away from wars and death, she knew that it was time to discuss them. "So, how much did you miss me?" she asked, trying to keep her voice light.
Max turned and faced her. Their faces were level and he looked into her eyes – as if looking into her very soul and core. "I missed you with every fiber in my body. I missed having my heart, my soul, my being because without you – I didn't have those things. Liz Parker, I missed you."
Liz was taken away with those words. "Good answer," she breathed.
"What about me?" Max asked, half-afraid of what the answer might be.
"I tried to move on – to forget. I even left Roswell for here in hopes that by increasing the distance from the memories, they would fade. And I made a new life for myself. But, Max, there wasn't a day that I didn't think of you consciously and unconsciously. You were always a part of me even if you weren't with me."
Max's smile grew at her words and when she finished, he swooped in for a kiss. Years apart made them savor each moment. "I love you" was whispered into each other's heads as a connection formed between them. Slowly they moved onto the bed and that night, they made love over and over as two soulmates should.
~*~Epilogue~*~
"Are you ready, Lizzie?" Maria asked her best friend.
"You know I've been ready for a long time, Maria," Liz answered with a sure smile.
"Ok, just let me help you put this on," Isabel said as she placed Liz's veil on her head. Isabel attached it securely and all three girls looked into the mirror and smiled broadly.
"You look so beautiful," Maria cried and all three women almost lost it there.
"Stop it!" Isabel commanded as a tear slid down her cheek. "Look, you're making our make-up run." She quickly waved her hand over their faces and they were restored to looking beautiful and glowing. It was Liz's wedding day and they were back in Roswell about to perform the ceremony.
"Okay, let's do this!" Liz shouted enthusiastically. It had been six months since Max's return to her and she was eager to become his wife. Maria and Isabel whooped along with her and the ceremony was soon on its way.
The wedding was to be held outside and Max stood at the end of the aisle, waiting for his beautiful Liz to come. Both Alex and Michael were his best men, just like both Isabel and Maria were Liz's maids of honor. "Aren't you nervous?" Alex asked. It amazed him to see how calm Max looked.
Max thought about it for a second and answered with a smile, "No. There's nothing to be nervous about. I'm going to be with my wife from this day on and I plan on feeling joy and bliss, not nerves, on this day."
Before Max knew it, Liz was walking down the aisle holding onto her father's arm. She looked marvelous – serene and glowing. The love in her eyes was reflected in Max's and the world disappeared as Liz got closer and closer. When she finally reached Max's side, they both knew of the happiness they were going to share forever.
~*~And the story goes…~*~
All the couples did marry and they all had children. Their children brought them a completeness that added onto the utter joy they already had. Love was never an emotion that they lacked in their households. Never was it questioned because they knew that love was something that was so imbedded within them, it could never be broken.
The End
To everyone who has left feedback, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You guys have made this experience wonderful and without you guys, I wouldn't have continued. Thank you. I am sorry about the long delay but I had finals and high school graduation! Woohoo!! Then, of course, I had a few parties that I just had to go to! ;)
I am starting a new fic so look for it in a week or so! Once again, thank you! I hope you've enjoyed this fic!