After
Isabel fled his room in pursuit of a dream, Max laid on his bed and stared
up at the ceiling, naming the shadows. It was an old childhood game of
his, similar to the one where you spotted the shape of a cloud. The tinge
of fear had always wound its way through Max's life and sometimes he'd
would wake up in the night, shaking after a nightmare of hidden enemies.
Those nightmares only got worse after Pierce. That's why he started the
game again. A familiar shadow didn't seem quite as threatening, more protective
than menacing.
When he
named them all, first and last names, he turned his thoughts to Liz.
He'd held her hand. There was a time when he felt comfortable holding more
than that, but for now, simple handholding was good. It was a step back
to normality. Things had been so strange lately, moving rapidly from one
direction to another in mere seconds. One day he was grieving over Liz,
the next he was impregnanting Tess. A Tess. Someone. Something?
He knew
now, why he saw what he saw that night. The depth of Liz's devotion to
him staggered him, knocked him back on his heels like a daisy buffeted
by the summer winds. That she would put herself through that, all the pain
and suffering, for him, for Michael and Isabel, it was unbelievable. Max
had thought that he managed to put Liz in his past, to accept his destiny,
but this new information broke the thin seal holding the emotion back.
He loved her. He'd always loved her from the first moment he saw her. But
he'd wasted his first time, had slept with...with the...with It.
The sky
outside his window lightened from a cerulan blue to powder blue. Remembering
that he promised to cover for Izzy and not wanting to face questions from
his mother, Max pulled on his clothes and headed into the kitchen to scribble
a quick note. He figured he'd drive around in the Jeep for a while, until
the Crashdown opened and then he'd get a chance to talk to Liz about what
they should do with the It. Suddenly, as he was creeping out of the house,
his cell phone started to ring in his hand.
Cursing
softly, he slipped outside, shutting the door behind him, as he answered
it. Isabel spoke in hushed, emotional tones. She was heading back to Roswell
with Maria and Michael. Her dream hadn't been a dream at all. She and Michael
had gotten them out. Alex and Tess were free. His legs wobbled and
Max sank down the grass, needing something solid beneath him. His breath
came in gasps as he realized that he had gotten an It pregnant and a friend
that he had grieved for was suddenly alive again. Isabel called his names
several times before Max was able to answer. After a few moments of conversation,
Max agreed to meet the Jetta at the Quarry.
Dismissing
the possibilty of calling the Valentis, as he didn't want anything to tip
off It, Max put the Jeep in drive with shaky hands and sped off down the
street towards Liz. He scaled the ladder with ease, having done it so many
times before. Liz was still curled up in bed, her dark hair covering the
ivory silk of her face like a veil. He pressed his palm against the cool
glass, spreading his fingers. He was reluctant to wake her, but he knew
she would want to know, would want to know that she had been right all
along. That the aliens were responsible for all the heartache she and Maria
went through. He shook it off, the self-pity, telling himself not to be
an ass. Liz had sacrificed so much for him; the very least he could do
was act like a man.
A bit
of power had Liz's lock clicking open and he twisted through the window.
Max knelt by the side of her bed and his breath caught in his throat at
the look of peace on her face. He watched her for a moment, noted how she
curled her fingers under her cheek, heard how every third breath was more
of a sigh. The scene etched itself onto his memory before he finally reached
out a gentle hand, shaking her awake. Her eyelashes fluttered open
and he found himself trapped by the melted chocolate of her eyes. Luckily
for them, she wasn't quite that poetic in the morning and Liz demanded
to know what he was doing there.
Max didn't
tell her then, not wanting to risk her parents waking up. Instead he told
her there was a meeting at the Quarry, and like a good soldier, she no
longer questioned, just got up to get ready. He grabbed the box of Kleenex
from her dresser on their way out, ignoring the curious expression on her
face. When they were three minutes past the borders of Roswell, he couldn't
stand it anymore and told her then about Isabel's dream. She
didn't interrupt him, letting him tell the entire tale. When he was finally
finished, she grabbed the Kleenex from the backseat and proceeded to burst
into wrenching, noisy sobs, the kind of sobs that only came when an emotional
dam had been torn down. He wanted to be able to pull over, but he couldn't
risk making the others wait. So instead he poured on the speed, trusting
that it was too early for any cops to be awake.
Liz could
tell Max was worried about her by the darting looks he kept shooting her.
How could she explain to him that she was crying because, for one brief
instance of time, the fear was gone? There were no more gaping holes to
be filled, to be ignored. Their family was whole again, the circle once
more complete. Alex was alive and Tess wasn't pregnant. Isabel's heart
was no longer broken and Max knew the truth now. Liz finally realized the
point of all the heartache she had experienced over the last year. If Future
Max hadn't come, the Roswell aliens would know so much less than they knew
now and the Skins might have figured out some other way to switch the Tesses.
If the Thing had never gotten pregnant, they might have never figured out
that something was wrong.
The Jeep
pulled into the Quarry, clouds of red dust poofing up. The tears were coming
under control now, but Liz still gratefully fell into Max's arms when he
pulled open her door, reaching for her. They stood together, in a tight
embrace, until the sounds of an approaching car caused them to spring apart.
Liz forgot to breathe as she watched the battered red Jetta squeal across
the dusty ground, heading directly for them. When it finally came to a
stop, Maria was the first one out, wrapping Liz in a giant hug. They shared
the Kleenex and then turned to watch as Michael walked around the Jetta,
leaning in to help the other backseat passengers out.
Michael
shot Max a grim look, which caused the other boy to walk quickly over to
the car. Liz watched as whatever Max saw made him curse softly under his
breath. He waved the passengers back, leaning into the car to perform his
healing. Through the back window, a gentle white glow filtered through
and despite what she wanted, Liz couldn't quite make her feet take her
over there. As long as she stayed here, what Max told her stayed the truth.
So instead, her eyes took in every detail as she saw how Max's knees buckled,
sending him to the ground where threads of the red dirt swirled around
him. Finally, the glow disappeared and Michael helped Max to his feet.
Liz came forward then, lending Max her strength. They backed up a few steps
as Isabel climbed out of the car, reaching into the car to help the others
out. Michael crossed over to wrap an arm around Maria and they formed a
loose semi-circle between the two cars.
They stood
there, the five of them, watching the two of their missing members blink
at the brightness of the sun. Tess was clinging to Alex, her fingers wrapped
around his arm, holding onto him like a lifeline. Alex pulled her close
to him, nestling her against his body. He looked down at her and then up
at his friends, a shadow of his former bright grin crossing his face. His
gaze met Isabel's eyes and the smile faded. Alex reached out his free hand
to her and she took it. His eyelids lowered at the feel of her skin against
his and his long fingers tightened on her hand. Alex looked down at Tess
and spoke to her in a hoarse voice,
"We're free, babe."
She stirred, pulling away
from him a little. Glancing up at him, she swallowed hard, her throat working.
Finally she asked, a thready whisper of sound,
"Free?"
His blue eyes scanned his
friends, all of them with their emotions displayed on their faces, even
Michael. He gathered his women closer, and replied,
"Yeah, we're free."
