This little trip to the carnival was certainly not in Max's itinerary for his 'active' social life. Usually he would have persuaded Jim Valenti to send one of the others to act as the police presence. The only reason he had agreed to come was to reassure his sister he had not been totally sucked into the realm of darkness. Still, it was a fairly large event with many attractions and he knew, if he tried, he could enjoy the break away from the tedium that was his life. But being here only served to bring home just how dull he had become.
Children swarmed the park, tugging onto their parents with laughter and excitement...it all represented something Max would never have. He blew his chance of being with the only woman he had ever loved when he put his obsession for 'Destiny' over her. Liz had always accepted him, one hundred percent and complete with skewered blood type, until he had pushed her one step too far.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Isabel asked.
She smiled as Kyle jogged up carrying an ice cream for her. Following nearby were Michael and Maria, too intent on each other to bother about keeping up with the others. God, was everyone paired up except him? Max didn't even have a damned dog for company.
Forever the deputy sheriff, Max just shook his head. "Would you believe I caught some kids drinking beer behind one of the stalls? Brought back some not-so-pleasant memories."
"You really look on the bright side of life, don't you, Max?" Kyle said, dryly.
Max smirked and just as he was about to reply, a small girl running a full speed plowed into him at such force he staggered and the child fell backwards to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Isabel asked in concern, supporting Max.
He shook off her hold. "Yes, just got bumped, that's all." He turned to the fallen child, holding out a hand to him. As he helped the little girl to her feet, he smiled faintly at her. "You're quite the runner."
The girl grinned and nodded. "Yeah...I'm sorry for bumping you..." She trailed off abruptly, scowling at him suspiciously.
Suddenly, sprinting up behind towards the girl, came a young boy with a mop of silky dark hair and wearing a pair of simple thin-rimmed glasses that seemed to enhance his intense hazel eyes. As he took in the boy's angelic features Max, for no apparent reason, was hit was a sense of deja vu the moment he set eyes upon the youngster. Familiarity washed over him the longer he gazed at the boy; the deputy sheriff wasn't sure how or why, but he felt some vague connection with this child.
For the boy's part, he didn't notice Max's shock and was more intent
on the girl, glaring at her reprovingly.
"That was real boneheaded running away, Nat," the boy said sarcastically.
"You can be such a goof. Wait 'til I tell Mom and-"
"Yeah, whatever...Come on, Lex," the girl said urgently, pulling
the boy away but keeping her dubiously blue eyes on Max. "We gotta find
Mom."
"Why?"
"Just come."
The two children dashed off leaving the five adults open-mouthed.
"Interesting children," Maria commented. She smiled coyly at her husband.
"Wouldn't mind a pair like that sometime soon."
Michael grinned. "It would be kind of neat."
It was then Isabel noticed Max's puzzled features. "Max? Max, what's
wrong?"
"That child..." Max muttered, his eyes on the path the children
had retreated off in. "The boy...there was something about him."
Kyle frowned. "What? They looked like normal kids to me. They weren't
Skins, or anything, were they?"
"No, they weren't Skins," Max replied, distractedly. "I just...I
don't know, it was probably nothing."
"Well, they didn't look like local children," Maria said, "they're
probably just passing through."
"Mmm." Max's attention wandered away from his friends.
For the next half-an-hour, Max moved around in an almost dreamlike
state looking for the little boy while trying to keep up with the others.
Abruptly, he wandered into a herd of kids eager to take their turn on the
ghost train and when the mob cleared it was then he found himself face-to-face
to one Elizabeth Parker, former star student of West Roswell High and long-lost
love...
To say he was stunned would be a major understatement; his jaw dropped
to the ground as he met her equally astonished gape. Despite all the turmoil
of skins and Tess and dealing with the fact he was a stranger to Earth,
he could not say he was more shocked than he was now.
Liz had not changed much in the last twelve years, rather her girlish
beauty had matured. Her eyes bore dignified solemnity of experience that
was lacking in her youth and there was a slight intensity to her rather
than the uncertain hyperactivity that once encompassed her. She was dressed
casually in jeans and a shirt which she wore confidence; her silky dark
hair was cut slightly shorter giving her a sagacity of the twenty-nine-year-old
woman she was rather than the seventeen-year-old girl he remembered
And she was also rapidly turning very pale as the blood had drained
from her face in complete and utter shock. The feeling was most certainly
mutual.
Twelve years was a long time- more than a decade- and no doubt,
there were aspects in each other's lives that had changed considerably.
Not to mention, they hadn't parted on exactly the best of terms. He had
never thought he would ever see her again…and here she stood not
ten metres in front of him.
Suddenly, after all the years of wondering about her and of dreaming to see her once more even for just one day, he was terrified she would not want him, that he had decided twelve years ago she was better off without him in her life. His fear of her rebuke eased as she smiled that gentle smile he thought he would never see grace her features in his presence.
Max should have known better, Liz was never one for grudges when she believed the cause was worth saving. Hesitantly, he closed the gap between them until only three foot separated them…three foot and twelve years long apart.
"Liz…" He trailed off as if not knowing what to say. He smiled bashfully. "Eh, how have you been?"
She shrugged. "Good…I've been good. And you?"
"Good too."
Her attention was drawn behind him and he turned to find Isabel and Kyle approaching. They were frowning at this new- or old- acquaintance. After a moment of awkward silence, Kyle smiled broadly at the woman that was once his high school sweetheart and, if Max was correct, still occupied a soft spot in his heart. Isabel's expression remained neutral but Max could see she was pleased to see an old friend
"Hmm, hi, Isabel, Kyle...How are you?"
"Fine," replied Isabel.
She was cut off when Kyle pulled the young woman into a hug. Liz
stiffened briefly then returned the gesture. "It's so good to see you,
Liz. *We* missed you." The emphasis on 'we' was not lost on Max.
Liz just smiled softly, taking in Max's police shield he carried
on his belt. "I like the badge."
"Well, I guess I found my calling," Max shrugged sheepishly, the
irony of his statement not lost on anyone.
"And I bet you make a great cop." Ever the observant one of small
details, Liz also instantly noticed the Isabel's wedding band. "So you're
married now, Is?"
Max could tell from her expectant glance around, she assumed Isabel
had given way to their supposed destiny and was now married to Michael,
so it was amusing when he caught sight of the surprise as Isabel nodded
in pride, putting her arm around Kyle.
"Yep, this is the brave guy willing to take on the bad guys from
both this world and others on my behalf," Isabel said.
Liz grinned. "Well, congratulations." She shared a secret smiled
with Kyle, confirming to Max that she had always known of his crush on
Isabel.
"So, Liz, what are you doing here?" Isabel asked, curiously, "Where
is it you live now? Nearby?"
"No, I'm now an Miami girl. My parents have gone up to Canada to
see to my Aunt Mary and so I said I'd come down for a while a look after
things saving them the bother of trying to arrange a sitter or something.."
"Why you?" Max asked, in surprise.
It was no secret in town that Jeff and Nancy Parker had shut their
cafe and left Roswell a few days previously in an unexpected rush, the
couple jumping on the first available flight to the home of Nancy's elderly
aunt, who had suffered a stroke. While the Roswell residents had wondered
who was going to manage things, the last thing anyone would expected was
the return of the prodigal daughter.
To the group's knowledge, Liz had never once set foot in Roswell
since her departure in her teens.
For the first time since meeting, the beginnings of a dark glower
passed across Liz's eyes. "Just because I left here, doesn't mean I would
never return. This place has been my home long before I discovered the
truth about the 1947 rumours."
She was clearly referring to discerning the truth about Max, Michael
and Isabel, and the effects their secret had on her life. Max felt a well
of guilt open up; albeit she wasn't the most popular kid in school but
because of him, her whole life changed irrevocably when she was shot that
day as a sixteen-year-old sophomore. When he had healed her, he had brought
her into their house of cards and the uncertainty of what lay ahead. They
had altered her life forever, her childhood dreams and beliefs lost to
the knowledge she now carried.
Still, however selfish it sounded, he was glad she was living close
by for now...closer to him.
"So what are you up to now?" Kyle asked. "Become a brain surgeon?" He added mischievously.
"Same occupation, different field." Liz paused. "I finished up my
MD course six years ago. I specialised in paediatricts, I now work in the
children's ward of the local hospital."
"So you did become a doctor?" Kyle smiled before shrugging. "That's
cool."
Of course, it was common knowledge to Max that Liz was far smarter
than she would ever have admitted. In fact, it was always one of his regrets
that he had never ensured she attended college when it was evident she
had surpassed the teachings of high school instead of allowing her to waste
her potential with him in tenth grade. But in those early days he had a
need to have her near him then later he had allowed her to drift away.
Still, Max was proud that she had managed to achieve her full capability,
and it was nice to know she had built on her interest in the medical arts.
Max felt vaguely out-of-place when Isabel and Kyle smiled at her.
They hadn't let Liz leave under such terrible circumstances. They didn't
feel such shame for destroying the best friendship they had ever had. Max
thought back to that fateful day twelve years ago, allowing the bitter
memories to pervade him.
*********************************
"Why can't you accept it, Liz? Alex killed himself, there *is*
no big conspiracy here. Maybe we missed the signs of just how depressed
he was but there is nothing else to it."
Max couldn't believe he had sounded so harsh but what he said was,
in essence, the truth. He wished Liz would stop trying to justify Alex's
death. He too couldn't even begin to contemplate why his friend had taken
his life but Sheriff Valenti had shown him the evidence and no matter how
much he wanted to dispute it, whatever led a person to suicide was not
a science.
And what hurt more than Alex being dead and watching his sister
cry for what might have been, was Liz's tenacity to believe otherwise.
That she could even blame his heritage for Alex was just cruel- did she
not see how such a statement would cut into Isabel?
Liz was nothing if not determined though. "There is a conspiracy,
Max, you just choose not to see it. Maybe if you spent less time oozed
all over Tess..."
Max jerked up at this. He admitted Tess was not the most easiest
person to know but she was his girlfriend and he wished Liz would come
to grips with that. Her jealousy over the fact that Tess was one of the
Royal Four, part of his true fate, was irritating. Besides, if it wasn't
for Liz and her little escapade with Kyle Valenti, he wouldn't even be
with Tess in the first place so for her to act all superior was so vexing.
"And maybe if you hadn't been so distant and gone off to shack up
with Kyle, you would might have more attentive to Alex in the first place."
At Liz's sudden bleached pallor, Max would have given anything to
recall those thoughtless words. The friendship Liz shared with Maria and
Alex was much akin to what he shared with Isabel and Michael, and for him
to suggest she held some blame for Alex's suicide was like saying he was
capable for harming his own sister or best friend.
Before Max could even open his mouth to apologise, Liz's dark eyes
narrowed back. "I was thinking of leaving Roswell for a while, get away
from all this junk here. I'll see you around, Max, and I just hope that
for your own sake one day you'll come to your senses and see the world
for what it is."
The boy watched as she walked off, not turning back once. If he
had known what she was planning, if he had known her little 'vacation'
was going to last for more than a decade, then he would have called her
back and begged for her forgiveness for as much as he liked Tess, it was
Liz who would forever hold his heart and his love.
But for all his supposed royal blood, Max was just a typical self-absorbed
teenage boy, and with his inflated dreams of leadership he assumed he knew
everything. So he let Liz walk off completely unaware that she was also
walking out of his life...
*********************************
Five weeks after the balmy March afternoon, Max learnt that Liz
had really quit the Roswell and her whereabouts were unknown. He tried
to persuade Jeff and Nancy Parker to divulge their daughter's location
after finding her bedroom bare and any hint of her presence gone, but they
were unwilling- determined to place their loyalty to their child above
his need for forgiveness. Liz Parker was gone, she did not want to be found
and he had no idea of where to look...until now. He wanted desperately
to take her in his arms and verify she was really here in front of him,
he wanted to erase these twelve years of misery and start off from that
day, determining to remain by her side. But from the slightly guarded expression
on her beautiful face, Liz wasn't ready for that.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Liz asked, clearly meaning
Tess though not bringing herself to mention his intended's name.
"Yes," he said sadly, "yes, I did." But at what costs was something
he would always ponder...
She let a smile pull at her lips. "Good."
Before another question could be voiced an auburn-headed man gamely
walked up to the small congregation. He was a handsome man, possibly in
his early thirties, and judging by Liz's wide smile of greeting, the pair
were very close though just how close was Max's guess.
"Found some old friends, huh, Bethy?" he said, smiling warmly.
"You could say that," Liz smiled back, not in the least bothered
by the nickname he bequest her.
"Good, that's good." He then gave Liz a resigned shake of his head.
"It seems we have a little situation."
"What's wrong, Nick?" Liz asked, frowning now.
"Nothing that hasn't been explained now." Nick's eyes shifted from
Max's badge to Liz. "Two junior FBI agents decided to wander off. I've
located them and they've just reported to me that they saw an 'evil-looking'
man in the crowd, carrying a weapon. I just wanted to check it out but
it seems they were referring to Max here."
At this, both Max and Isabel blanched. They hadn't heard of another
FBI team scouting in Roswell. The last time the FBI decided to grace their
town with their presence, the alien trio had been lucky to escape undetected.
Years of living in relative peace, they were not ready for another visit
and were caught literally with their pants down.
As numerous escape route flitted through Max's mind, Liz just sighed
at this information. "I want to talk to the junior FBI pair. We have much
to discuss, like spying. Come on out. Don't bother hiding, it won't do
you any good."
Now all the gang were puzzled as to what right Liz had to be disciplining
the FBI. But when she called, they understood.
From behind some nearby bushes, two children- the girl who had bashed
into Max and the glasses-wearing boy who was so familiar to him- sheepishly
stuck their heads out and inched forward. Liz gestured them forward and
sighed at them. As she did, Max then realized both children were wearing
holsters with a water pistol in place and plastic police badges hanging
from their belts. Even Max had to admit it was very cute.
Liz raised an eyebrow. "Well..."
"We weren't following them," said the girl. "I bumped him and I
saw he had a gun. I thought he looked like this evil guy I saw on 'America's
Most Wanted' the other day. We were armed so you don't have to worry."
She held up her water pistol.
"I tried to stop her running off," her brother said, once the small
girl had finished her spiel, "but he *did* have a gun and we thought
we should check him out before we told you and Uncle Nick."
"Had he been a real criminal, water wouldn't have hurt him," Liz
chastised the children. "And, Nathalie, I thought I told you not to annoy
strangers, you don't know they'll react."
The girl did not seemed fazed. "Water wouldn't hurt a felon but
this isn't water. It's a bleach mixture. I made it up this morning."
"We can take care of ourselves, we're not five years old anymore,"
the boy backed up. He then took in his sister and amended, "Well, *I'm*
not five years old. And it's our duty as good American citizens to
keep an eye out for suspicious things- Dad said so- and we thought *he*,"
the youngster pointed a condemning finger to Max, "looked very suspicious."
"Guys, this is Max, my..." Liz seemed lost for words for a moment,
"... an old friend, and he's carrying a gun because he's the local sheriff."
"Deputy sheriff," Max corrected.
"Okay, deputy sheriff so that means we don't arrest him."
The boy scowled dubiously. "You're a real cop?"
Max nodded. "Yes, that's right..." He wasn't always sure how to
act with children, but he found himself taken in by these two, wondering
what their connection was to his ex-girlfriend. "I take it you two are
the FBI team that 'caught' me."
"Yeah," the girl replied enthusiastically. "Me and my brother are
partners." The boy rolled his eyes in typical older brother derision but
said nothing to ruin his sister's game. "We're gonna catch lots of bad
stuff together when we grow up and join the real FBI, aren't we, Uncle
Nick?"
"That's right," Liz's male friend, who was apparently called Nick,
smiled.
"Well, you're well on your way," Max said, biting back a smile,
"and it was very observant of you to notice I'm carrying a gun. Maybe when
you guys are a little older I might let you join me."
"See, another cop said we're observant and we can bring in some
felons," the little girl beamed. "Cool, huh, Mom?"
Max nearly collapsed on the spot when he processed the words- or
more accurately word- the girl had said to address Liz. He had assumed
these children were maybe the offspring from one of Liz's friends or anything
but what they seemed to be. Had he heard correctly or did he need a hearing
test? Mom?! Liz- a mother?!
Liz's life centred around studies and the world of building a career,
she had never shown any inclination to wanting a husband any time soon
let alone a child. And the girl had said her young boy companion was her
brother...did that mean the boy he felt a bond to was Liz's *son*?
Fate could be so ironic at times.
Judging from the equally surprised raised eyebrows of Isabel and
Kyle, they too had not been expecting this revelation. But now as he really
looked at his former girlfriend and the children he could see how much
of her there was in them.
The little girl was like an encounter of what Liz might have appeared
like as a small child; she was a miniature version of her mother with soft
dark locks flowing down below her shoulders, although her sparkling cerulean
blue eyes were no doubt inherited from whoever her father was. In her features,
she carried Liz's sharp intelligence and considerate personality.
Then there was the boy...He too, was graced with his mother's raven
hair and olive complexion, making him a striking child well on his way
to growing into a man that would have the attention of many a women. While,
like Liz, the boy had brown eyes filled with the same astuteness of his
mother, his were of a slightly paler hazel colouring. Nonetheless, the
youngster was very much his mother's son in every other manner.
Kyle spoke first. "Liz, this...this is your daughter?"
On seeing their expressions, Liz seemed faintly amused. "Perhaps
I should introduce everyone."
"So, you found the brat?" interrupted a brash youthful voice.
Everyone turned to find another young boy approach them. The boy
spared a curious glance to the Evans siblings and Kyle then turning his
full attention to Liz.
"Want me to torture her, Mom?" the fair-headed youngster asked,
wiggling his fingers at the little girl threateningly. The younger child
squealed, not in fear but in delight.
"No, Josh," Liz smiled, "it's okay. I'll talk to your sister about
her wandering later."
"Are they all yours?" Isabel spoke up, finally.
"Yes," was her absolute reply.
Max himself was too stunned to even voice a grunt. Three children?!
Liz was the mother to three children? His mind couldn't even wrap itself
around the concept. The small girl he could come to terms with, she looked
barely five or six years old and Liz must have been in her early twenties
when she bore this child.
But what of the two boys...?
The features of dark-haired boy who had been chasing his sister
still carried the softness of mid-childhood and seemed a little too baby-faced
for adolescence leading Max to estimate his age to be around ten, perhaps
eleven. Stranger considering, they had only been separated for barely *twelve*
years. So when did this boy enter Liz's life?
There was the possibility youngster was in fact a tall eight-year-old,
or maybe Liz had flung herself into a relationship the moment she had quit
Roswell, though he couldn't see that happening. The third possibility,
one Max dreaded to allow to cross his mind, was that this boy was Kyle
Valenti's son and the reason why Liz had left Roswell in the first place.
Then there was the eldest child, the one whom was referred to as
Josh, was nothing like Liz. His dark blond hair and azure blue eyes made
him her opposite- his profile too fair in comparison to her bronzed complexion.
There was also the fact that the boy was a few inches taller than his brother
and nearly the same height as Liz, his developing breadth indicative of
the a child on the cusp of puberty.
However, Liz was only twenty-nine years old, she was just seventeen
when she left Roswell, so where the hell did she acquire a teenage boy.
Maybe during their school years together she had been keeping secrets from
him, namely a son born in her mid-teens, an explanation just too ridiculous
to consider.
God, Max hated mysteries. He had enough complications in his life
already.
Yet there was no denying these were Liz's children. She looked to
both of them with tenderness and devotion, love that was mirrored with
equal intensity in their young eyes. Max was inexplicably covetous- would
he ever get the chance to have a similar relationship with a child? He
didn't even know if he could father a child with a human woman.
Liz finally decided to put her childhood friends of their misery.
"Kids, this is Max, Isabel and Kyle. Remember how I said I used to live
here when I was a kid, well, these are my old friends who I went to school
with." Liz hesitated then gazed up at her old classmates. "...And this
is Nick, my brother-in-law, and my sons Josh and Lexie and my little girl
Nathalie."
"Yo," Josh greeted, relaxing slightly.
As the Roswell trio all digested this information, the little girl-
Nathalie- quickly scowled indignantly at her mother. "I'm not a little
girl, Mommy, I'm big."
Liz smiled at her. "Sorry, Nat, sometimes I forget how big you're
getting. You'll always be my little girl though." As she spoke in a soothing
manner to de-rail a potential tantrum, she smoothed Nathalie's raven hair.
Max watched, fascinated to see the only girl he had ever truly loved
in the role of the caring mother. He smiled wryly at the picture before
him. Liz smoothing the girl's hair, the boys standing by her side near
their 'Uncle Nick'. It was quite adorable and despite his own envy, he
was pleased for her to have created such a beautiful family.
That led him to the intriguing question: who was the children's
father? A surge of envy gripped him. Despite the control he had managed
to rein in over his temper through the years, he felt the familiar stirring
as he thought of this man who not only fathered three cherubic children
but also had Liz's love. A love that had lead Liz to marry him given that
she introduced Nick as her brother-in-law.
Where was this husband? Max was desperate to size him up as he allowed
a sense of extreme loss to envelope him inwardly. If Liz was married, he
had lost her. The finality of it was too much for him. He had always hoped
for a second chance with her, his aspirations going into over-drive the
second he found she was visiting. Those hopes now lay crushed and abandoned.
It wasn't fair. He couldn't even bear children and when he did have
Liz, he kept an physical distance from her, finally abandoning her in a
fit of irrationality. And now she was content after all these years from
him. He didn't want her to be miserable but Max did hope she would have
missed him a little more than she appeared to have.
"Lexie as in 'Alexander'?" Isabel asked, her eyes still wide from
all the revelations of the evening.
"Yes." Liz gazed fondly at her younger son. "I didn't think Alex
would mind."
Isabel smiled faintly at the boy and his mother (God, the concept
of Liz, someone he still saw as his teenage girlfriend, as a mother was
mind-boggling!). "No, I think he would be proud."
"Nobody calls me Alexander," piped up Lexie. "Only my witch first
grade teacher and Mom when she gets me into trouble. 'Alexander' is kind
of a geeky name."
"Then I'd say it fits," smirked Josh. "A geeky name for a little
geeky kid."
"You can talk, *Joshua*," was his retort, as Lexie self-consciously
fidgeted with his glasses.
"At least *I* don't look like I could star as Harry Potter's
twin brother."
"They're always like this," Nathalie said, matter-of-factly as the
boy began scuffling. "Boys always behave stupid though 'cause girls are
better." She glanced at her uncle and quickly corrected, "But not you,
Uncle Nick, you're not a *real* boy like them."
"Thank you, Squirt, I'll take that as a compliment."
"Liz?!"
The squabbling was interrupted at this shout and Max looked away
from Liz and her family to see Maria and Michael strolling towards them.
Maria, grinning from ear-to-ear, ran up and threw herself into Liz's
equally excited arms. The two women embraced, the action almost making
Max forget twelve years had passed as he was reminded so much of when they
were just a gang of seventeen-year-old kids.
"I can't believe it's you," Maria gushed, "you came home."
Liz, despite being happy to see her old best friend, was more collected.
"Visiting, I told Mom and Dad I'd look after the place while they were
in Canada."
"It's great to see you," Michael said, exchanging a quick hug with
her.
"You too, Michael."
"Mommy, who are they?" Nathalie interrupted, her question met receiving
a stunned silence at Maria and Michael stared at the three children then
at Liz.
At their frowns, Liz began a second round of introductions. Unlike
Max, Maria took this information in her stride, cooing over the children.
Michael flicked a glance at him to see how he was coping. Max just sighed
and gave him a discrete tight smiled. What could he say? Liz's life had
never revolved around him, and who was he to dictate what she did when
so much had changed between them.
"So, d'you all live here?" Josh enquired.
"Yes," Maria replied, "I've lived here since I was born. Your mom
and I were even in the same nursery class together."
"Have you ever seen any aliens?" Nathalie asked, in complete innocence.
The adults startled at her question and it was Isabel who responded
in a light-hearted tone, "Why do you ask that, sweetie?"
"I saw this programme on the Sci-Fi Channel about how loadsa aliens
came to Roswell years ago and I just wondered if you saw one."
"Don't be stupid, Nat," Josh said, with all the patience of any
elder brother. "There ain't no such thing as aliens."
"There's more chance of us winning the lottery than there is of
proving there is real alien life," agreed Lexie. "that's why they show
that junk on the *Sci-Fi* Channel in the first place. You're better
of sticking to catching bad guys, Nat."
The little girl rolled her eyes. "That's what the bad army people
want you to think. If space is so big, we can't be the only ones. That
would be too boring." After suitably chastising her brothers, she
focused back on the Roswell group. "Well?"
There was silence for a moment. For such a small child, Nathalie
was certainly a tenacious young girl with her mother's intellect to match.
Judging by Liz and Nick's indulging smiles, they were evidently used to
the girl's exuberance and vivid imagination. Max, not feeling up to lying
to Liz's child, wasn't sure how to respond to Nathalie's expectant gaze.
However, he was spared when, surprisingly, it was Michael who spoke
up. "Well, I heard a guy who saw an alien once. He was green and round."
"On this show it said that aliens are grey not green," Nathalie
said, suspiciously. It seemed this girl had inherited her mother's sharp
wit.
"Hey, maybe there's more than one type of alien out there," Michael
recovered quickly.
The others listened in amusement as Michael Guerin, social-outcast
and the epitome of paranoia, spin a whole tale of little alien princes
and nasty step-mothers to the awe-struck children. His story was a mix
of every fairy tale ever told and their real lives, and it was even enough
to keep the sceptical Josh and Lexie captivated.
Nathalie laughed when Michael was finished. "I know that wasn't
true but it was good."
Michael gave a gasp of feigned shock. "It wasn't true? And all these
years I was waiting for little green man to land in my back yard."
"I think you'll be waiting a long time," Lexie said, with a grin
tugging at his lips. "But that sure was a neat story, almost as good as
Dad's and his are the best."
A wave of resentment washed through Max as he watched the children
chatter away to Michael like any kids would with an uncle. It was a stark
contrast to the glowers of wariness the boys, Lexie in particular, would
occasionally shoot at him.
Isabel arched her eyebrow at Michael before turning back to Liz.
"So, when are we going to meet the lucky guy?" she asked.
"'Lucky guy'?" Liz repeated, not understanding the question though
Max could see where this was taking them.
His assumption was confirmed when Isabel reiterated the question.
"Yeah, the lucky guy who these cute little kids belong to?"
Liz paled slightly and Nick's easy smile fell away leaving him subdued
at the simple statement. Before Liz could reply her daughter interjected,
"Daddy's gone now, he got runned over by a drunk car so we don't have a
daddy anymore."
To Max's surprised, both Liz and Nick fidgeted nervously at the
child's abrupt statement. It was evident there was more to the story of
the children's father than what they had told the kids themselves.
"That's right, Nat." Liz shifted then not-so-tactfully changed the
subject. "Well, we should head home. It was a long drive and some of us
need their rest."
"Aww, do we have to?" whined Lexie.
"Yeah, we haven't bought any of those tacky alien toys yet," Josh
agreed.
Their young sister wasn't so keen on returning home either. "Can
we not just stay here and look for bad guys? Max can help me 'cause he's
a cop."
Liz scooped her daughter up. "Max can deal with it on his own. Plenty
of time for catching bad guys when you're older, until then it's bed for
all of you."
A flash of fear, not for the first time in the evening, washed through
Max. Though he knew it wouldn't be good for either of them to just plunge
into re-establishing their friendship, too much time had passed for that,
he wanted to spend more time with her. There was so much he wanted to ask
her, so many questions. He couldn't allow her to leave him, not now that
they've finally come together again.
"Liz," he said quickly, "you don't have to leave now, do you? Why
don't we grab a coffee or something first, maybe a milkshake for the kids?"
Isabel, already aware of his feelings towards their reacquainted
friend, spoke up. "Yeah, it'll be fun to catch up on old times."
"I can't wait to hear more about these little guys," Maria agreed,
already taken in by her best friend's children.
Nick looked questioningly at Liz, making it clear this was her call,
and it seemed she was not taken. "The kids have had a long day, they need
to get some sleep. And so do us adults, driving for four days from Miami
is not much fun."
"I understand." Max was proud of himself for keeping the pang of
woe from his voice, after all he could not just force himself into Liz's
life if that was not what she wished. He had hurt her enough to realise
that any chance of reconciliation rested upon her choices.
Nonetheless, Liz met his gaze properly for the first time- her dark
orbs fusing with his. Then she spoke, haltingly to begin with until confidence
once again bloomed. "Max, we're going to be in town at least until Mom
and Dad find someone else to take over. So, why don't you stop by sometime?
Maybe give me a run-down of what's up in this town. I'm kind of out of
touch with small-town life and it would be nice to go over old times."
He nodded swiftly, hoping he didn't look like an over-eager puppy
dog. "That would be great."
"Well, I take it you still know your way to the Crashdown," she
replied. "See you soon then."
She waved them off and Max watched the little family as they walked
away until they could no longer be seen in the mingle of people, Liz carrying
her daughter and the boys dangling from Nick's strong arms. Max wanted
more than anything to run after them, to join them, but at least he had
made a start in reclaiming the friendship that had once existed between
him and Liz so easily.
"I hope you're going to go on some of those rides, Maxwell," Michael
said with a mocking grin, breaking the silence. "You've become so dull,
you're rotting away."
"Lets go on the rollercoaster," Maria suggested, sounding like a
hyperactive child. "I've always loved riding the rollercoaster when I was
young."
Max just grunted in agreement, his mind no longer interested in
them. His only focus was his Liz.
It had been too early for her to stay for much longer in his company,
she wasn't ready for that yet. Still, Max was delighted she had agreed
to invite him to the cafe. It showed she too wanted to restore their frayed
ties. He knew for certain there was no way in hell he would let her go,
he had done that before and he was determined not to make that mistake
again.