Part 17
"Dad? Dad, are you awake?"
The first thing of which he became aware as he drifted back to consciousness was that his entire body felt like it was on fire.
The second was that there was a small hand pushing against his back impatiently. But, for some reason, the absolute last thing he wanted to do at the present time was open his eyes.
He realized why a moment later.
He was rapidly becoming aware of a soft pressure against his neck, where the heat seemed to be centered, although he was becoming increasingly aware that it was ranged all the way down his right side.
His entire body tensed immediately.
He was not going to open his eyes. If he opened his eyes the dream would end and Liz Parker would no longer be curled up against him, her lips somehow, miraculously, pressed against his neck.
"Dad?" The whine came again, more insistent this time. "Dad, I'm hungry."
Max groaned, tried to ignore the fact that his son was still tapping him on the back in a steady rhythm.
Apparently Ben was no longer in the middle of the bed. He was no longer creating a physical barrier between Max and Liz and apparently his disappearance had been all it had taken for them to somehow end up in each other's arms.
His right arm was completely numb, entirely due to the fact that Liz was lying on top of it. He felt goose-bumps rising along his neck. It felt like her arm, where it was flung across his chest, was scalding him right through his shirt.
Clothes. Was he actually wearing clothes? How could she be making him feel this way when they were both fully dressed?
"DAD!"
Max grimaced, let his eyes snap open. "Okay Ben! Be quiet! You're going to wake Liz."
He could not move. If he moved, she was going to wake up and she was going to realize what had happened and she was going to flip out.
There were other reasons that he didn't want to move, but he chose to ignore those at the moment.
Waking her - it was unacceptable. Especially considering the fact that she looked so peaceful.
He had managed to move his head so that he could look down at her. Her dark lashes teased her flushed cheeks, her breathing regular and even.
"I'm whispering!" Ben insisted from behind him. "But Dad, we missed breakfast! And lunch!" His voice was rising in outrage. "My stomach is growling! GROWLING!"
Max flinched as he felt Liz jump in her sleep, moan slightly. Her eyelashes began to flutter.
Oh hell.
And the next instant he was staring right into her dark eyes.
Damage control. He needed it - fast. He could see her eyes widening as she became aware of exactly where she was.
"Good morning." He said quietly.
"It's afternoon Dad." Ben complained from nearby. Max realized that his son was back on the bed and was crawling up towards the head of the bed on Liz's other side. "I checked my watch. I've been awake for a whole [I]hour[/I]! I tried to be quiet, but I'm too hungry."
But Max was not listening to his son. He was watching helplessly as panic began to cross Liz's expressive face.
And the next instant she was gone. He barely managed to control the shiver that ran down his frame at the sudden loss of her warmth. He sat up quickly, staring after her.
His entire body was screaming for her by now, was urging him to grab her by the hand as she threw herself off the bed, telling him to pull her back down beside him and give her a reason to stay.
A reason that preferably involved a lot of touching.
She stood at the end of the bed for one long, charged moment, her eyes locked with his. And then she turned - and ran.
"Is Liz okay?" Ben asked, apparently forgetting his stomach as Liz went stumbling out of the room. He sounded scared suddenly, as though he thought he might have done something wrong. "Is she mad because I woke you up?"
Max sighed heavily, ran his hands wearily through his hair as he swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood. "I'm sure she's not mad at you kiddo. Just let me go talk to her for a sec okay?" He moved towards the door, turning before he got there, remembering something Michael had told him before he left the apartment. "There are some chips and sandwiches in my bag. We'll get something better later."
"Okay." Ben still sounded unsure, but as Max left the room he could hear him begin to rummage around for the food.
Liz was not in the main dome area, nor was she in the office or the kitchen. He could see that the door leading to the small bathroom was closed and after standing there for a moment, he reached up and knocked softly. "Liz? Liz, are you okay?"
He frowned as he heard running water begin behind the door. He pounded a little harder. "Liz, please open the door."
There was a long pause. He heard the water shut off and then stepped back as she cracked open the door.
"I'm fine Max. Can I just have a second here?" Her voice sounded distinctly weird though.
"Liz, it was an accident." Max told her quietly. "It didn't mean anything. You were asleep."
Of course the fact that he was hoping that it [I]had[/I] meant something made his voice sound slightly less than convincing.
He heard Liz sigh. She opened the door wide, stood there staring at him. "I love my fiancé." She said.
"I know." He didn't know what else to say, had no idea [I]what[/I] to say to her to make her feel better.
Because after he had betrayed her by sleeping with Tess, nothing she could have said would have ever eased the guilt he had felt. Nothing [I]anyone[/I] could have said would have helped.
Nothing would ever erase the way he had felt when he had seen the look on her face when she had understood what had happened between he and Ben's mother. Or, at least, what he had [I]thought[/I] had happened.
He knew that [I]she[/I] was presently picturing Dan's face as he found out about this.
Dan, who had trusted her. Dan, who she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.
"Max..." She had closed her eyes, was leaning tiredly against the door-frame, looking for all the world like she was ready to give up.
But give up what?
"Yeah?"
And then she said something so completely off topic, he blinked.
"Can you even begin to understand how much I missed you when you were gone?" She whispered.
He didn't know what to say, just stared at her. He wouldn't have been capable of speech anyway. His heart was presently lodged in his throat.
"I don't think you can." She continued, as though not really expecting an answer. "Because I, myself, wasn't aware of how much until three minutes ago." She paused, opened her eyes and looked beyond him, unseeing. "Until I woke up in your arms and felt like I had come home, I had absolutely no idea."
"Liz..."
"No, just listen. Please." Liz cut him off urgently. "I [I]know[/I] you're about to say that you understand, that you missed me too." He swallowed, because that had been [I]exactly[/I] what he was about to say. "But you [I]can't[/I] understand, because, tell me if I'm wrong, but didn't you, in your heart, always know that if you stayed alive long enough, you would see me again?"
He had no idea what she was getting at, but nodded. "I knew."
"Which is why you expected me to wait for you," she added.
Max grimaced. It sounded bad, but it was true. He [I]had[/I] expected it, because he [I]knew[/I] that he would get back to Earth someday, that he [I]would[/I] see her again. And somehow he had expected that [I]she[/I] would know that too and that she would wait.
"But Max, the thing is, when you left, without even saying good-bye..." Her voice faltered. He could see tears beginning to form in her brown eyes. "I couldn't know if you were ever coming back. I [I]didn't[/I] know. And so the way I missed [I]you[/I]...It was like you had died. I had to let go. I had to, or I wouldn't have survived it."
He felt his heart crack. Because he suddenly knew exactly what she was telling him. But he let her say it anyway. She had the right, after everything, to at least say it. "I can't do it again Max. I let go of you once. I survived it. And, the thing is, I still love you. But we [I]don't[/I] belong together. I can't let myself feel everything I know I would feel because I would not live through it a second time."
"I'm not going anywhere Liz." He told her, despite himself. He had promised her that he wouldn't coerce her, wouldn't try and convince her. But he [I]had[/I] to. She was [I]Liz[/I]. No matter how hard he told himself that he had to let her go, had to let her live her own life, she was [I]Liz[/I] and they belonged together.
She smiled sadly. "Logically I know that Max. I understand that you're here for good. But, I just can't do it. Not again." Tears were gleaming unshed in her eyes. He could tell that she was only holding them back by the sheer force of her will, which was considerable. Had it not been [I]she[/I] who had convinced him all those years ago that they owed it to themselves to try and be happy together, in those wonderful days before Tess had ever showed her face in Roswell? And had it not also been Liz who had willed herself to stay away from him, so that he could pursue his so-called destiny with Tess?
And now she was willing herself [I]not[/I] to love him. Not to give in. Not to take another chance that he might somehow cause again the level of pain he was only now beginning to understand that she had experienced when he had left her.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I really am."
And with those words - those sad, unbending words - something within him snapped.
Because it wasn't good enough. It was not a good enough reason.
"You do know that you're always going to wonder if your life was just a little less extraordinary than it could have been?" He asked, knowing he sounded bitter and defeated, but unable to help himself.
Because, up until this moment, even with all of his protestations to the contrary, despite all of his conviction that he was going to leave her alone, allow her to live her life, inside, in his deepest heart, he had been sure that he was going to win her back. That it would only take some time and some patience and she would realize that they belonged together.
But that wasn't the problem. She already [I]knew[/I] it. She just wasn't willing to allow it.
And, in that instant, when his fortunes seemed to be at their lowest ebb, something like a light suddenly blinked on somewhere inside him.
Because he realized that she was not the only one who was stubborn. She was not the only one who was going to live a life less extraordinary because of this.
He was too.
Everything that had come before was going to have been in vain. Even though they belonged together, they weren't going to be. Because she was frightened. Simply because she was afraid.
She was as scared as he was.
It wasn't good enough.
"Max?" Liz had reached out her hand as though to comfort him. He glared at it, then up at her, backed up a step.
"I don't accept it."
She blinked. "What?"
"I said I don't accept it. It's not a good enough reason."
She shook her head slightly, as though she was convinced that she had misheard him. "I beg your pardon?"
"I refuse to allow this. You love me. You flat out just admitted it. You [I]know[/I] I love you. And so, I will not allow you to just turn your back on that."
Apparently she was beginning to understand him, because her eyes flashed angrily as she snapped, "I don't think you have much of a say in it Max."
"Yes I do." Max retorted. "Because we belong together. And so, if I have to convince you, I will. And I won't stop [I]until[/I] I convince you. I have waited two lifetimes to be with you and I'm not going to let a stupid thing like fear come between us now." He folded his arms across his front and stared at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Two lifetimes? What are you talking about?" She screeched at him. Max flinched but did not back down.
"I think that's up to you to figure out on your own." He replied, smirking at the expression of outrage that crossed her face. "But just be aware Liz. This is war. I am going to get you to give in if it's the last thing I do. I love you and I am not going to let you accept something less than what you deserve, which is to be loved down to the very furthest corner of your soul by the person [I]you[/I] most love." He paused, then added, for good measure, because he just liked saying it, "Which is me. So you're stuck with me."
She stared at him for another long moment, her mouth hanging open in shock, then screeched in outrage again, turned on her heel and marched back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
"Come out when you get hungry." He called out cheerfully. "Ben and I'll try and save you a sandwich."
Max made his way back out into the main dome area, jumped when he realized that Ben was standing just within, pressed up against the wall, a sandwich hanging forgotten in his hand. His blue eyes stared at Max accusingly. "You made Liz mad."
"Yup." Max replied. "I think she's going to be a lot madder before I'm done with her," he added.
Ben looked perplexed for a moment and then he asked, "Are you supposed to make girls you like mad?"
"Not generally." Max answered, returning to the bedroom to get his cell phone, Ben trailing after him. "But this was a special case."
"But you [I]do[/I] like Liz, don't you Dad?"
"Yes Ben. I like her a lot." Max sighed patiently.
"I don't think [I]she[/I] likes [I]you[/I] anymore." Ben shook his head.
"Not right now." Max agreed. "But that's okay. She will."
He grabbed his phone and went outside. Ben drifted away, appeared to be creeping towards the bathroom, as though he was worried about Liz.
Max wasn't worried. He could hear her crashing around in the other room, apparently trying to let him know just how angry she really was.
It wasn't until he had stepped out of doors that Max realized just how late it was. He had left his watch sitting on the dashboard in the Cherokee, having removed it at some point during the long drive.
But when he saw how far the sun had already traveled in its trajectory across the sky, his heart started to thump unevenly.
Michael should have arrived with Isabel and the others long before now. Max glanced down at his phone, wondered if he should try contacting his friend.
But if they had been captured, calling them might lead their enemies right to Ben.
Something had obviously happened. His heart skipped a beat at the sudden flash of imagination that conjured up Isabel and Jesse's house under attack, Nicholas with little Alexandra under his arm, preparing to blast the child, Michael and Izzy and Maria lying in pools of their own blood, dying.
He never should have left them alone.
Max was just making up his mind to go inside to tell Liz that something was wrong when the cell phone in his hand rang abruptly. He almost dropped it he was so surprised.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to get it together. It had been a long time since he had felt this exposed, this threatened - in fact, not since he and Ben had managed to evade the Antarian fleet in their flight from the star system of his original birth.
But the adrenaline was beginning to pump through his veins just like in the old days as he hit the talk button on the phone and brought it up to his ear.
"Hello?" He almost expected to hear Nicholas's grating little voice on the other end. Strange, that after all these years, he [I]still[/I] remembered that voice.
But it was Michael. Max felt his heart start to return to its normal pace, along with a stab of healthy annoyance that Michael was clearly taking his sweet time arriving. But Michael's opening words after replying to Max's greeting, thrust his irritation out of his mind. "Maxwell, I know I'm not supposed to call, but I am slowly losing it man."
"Michael, where are you? What's wrong?" He could hear a lot of noise in the background, including, he thought, a baby crying.
"I'm at a truck stop on 285 South." Michael replied wearily. "We've been here for close to three hours."
"Did the car break down?" Max demanded. "Who's with you?"
"I have Maria and Izzy and the baby. Kyle's on his way. I called him too. I think I need the law Max. I'm about ready to kill him and it's going to take Deputy Dawg to stop me. I [I]barely[/I] managed to escape him to come call you. I'm on a pay phone." He added unnecessarily as Max listened to the sound of a semi's horn in the background.
"Who?" Max scowled, simply wanting confirmation that his worst fears had been realized, and inanely wondered why Nicholas was holding the others at a truck stop of all places.
"Liz's idiot fiancé." Michael snapped back. "Did I [I]ever[/I] tell you that he was nice guy?" He asked rhetorically. "Because I was so wrong."
"Dan?" Max was flabbergasted. It was the last thing he had expected. "Why is [I]Dan[/I] there?"
"Because he thinks you kidnapped Liz and he followed us after we left Isabel's." Michael sounded impatient. "Izzy noticed him and we stopped immediately. And now we're stuck here because he won't go home and I know that the last thing we need to do is lead him right to Liz. There is [I]no[/I] way she's going to be able to explain this to him. Did she give him some lame-o story about Ben being sick by the way?" Michael added. "Because he didn't buy it."
Max rubbed his hand across his face. This was bad. Very bad. The last thing they needed right now was a jealous fiancé. Especially considering the fact that Max had just decided that he had every intention of stealing Liz back from said fiancé.
"Where's Jesse?"
There was a pause. And then Michael replied quietly, obviously not wanting Isabel to overhear him. Max thought he could hear her voice and so she was apparently nearby. "He's disappeared Maxwell."
"What?" Max yelled. "Did Nicholas get him?"
Oh God. Isabel's husband. Max had come back and had thrown everyone back into danger and Isabel had lost her husband because of it. She was never going to forgive him!
He was never going to forgive himself.
"Calm down!" Michael ordered. "It wasn't Nicholas. When we went to get Iz, he was already gone. She said that he got a phone call right after you left with Liz and he went out after that, saying that he had to go back to work for something important. She fell asleep on the couch waiting for him to get home. I woke her up when we got there and she found a note on the kitchen table telling her to take Lexi and leave - that he [I]knew[/I] that either you or I was going to show up to take her away, and that she [I]had[/I] to go."
Max frowned. "What the hell is going on here Michael?" He asked, not really expecting his friend to answer him. "That is the weirdest thing I have ever heard."
"I know." Michael sighed. "But that isn't all Maximillian."
What else could have possibly gone wrong in the few short hours since Max and Liz had left Michael and Maria on their way to Isabel's? Max grimaced, braced himself for the worst.
"What?" There was another long pause. "Michael, just tell me!" Max insisted.
And then Michael said the absolute last thing Max expected. "Maria and I are engaged."
To be continued...
"Dad? Dad, are you awake?"
The first thing of which he became aware as he drifted back to consciousness was that his entire body felt like it was on fire.
The second was that there was a small hand pushing against his back impatiently. But, for some reason, the absolute last thing he wanted to do at the present time was open his eyes.
He realized why a moment later.
He was rapidly becoming aware of a soft pressure against his neck, where the heat seemed to be centered, although he was becoming increasingly aware that it was ranged all the way down his right side.
His entire body tensed immediately.
He was not going to open his eyes. If he opened his eyes the dream would end and Liz Parker would no longer be curled up against him, her lips somehow, miraculously, pressed against his neck.
"Dad?" The whine came again, more insistent this time. "Dad, I'm hungry."
Max groaned, tried to ignore the fact that his son was still tapping him on the back in a steady rhythm.
Apparently Ben was no longer in the middle of the bed. He was no longer creating a physical barrier between Max and Liz and apparently his disappearance had been all it had taken for them to somehow end up in each other's arms.
His right arm was completely numb, entirely due to the fact that Liz was lying on top of it. He felt goose-bumps rising along his neck. It felt like her arm, where it was flung across his chest, was scalding him right through his shirt.
Clothes. Was he actually wearing clothes? How could she be making him feel this way when they were both fully dressed?
"DAD!"
Max grimaced, let his eyes snap open. "Okay Ben! Be quiet! You're going to wake Liz."
He could not move. If he moved, she was going to wake up and she was going to realize what had happened and she was going to flip out.
There were other reasons that he didn't want to move, but he chose to ignore those at the moment.
Waking her - it was unacceptable. Especially considering the fact that she looked so peaceful.
He had managed to move his head so that he could look down at her. Her dark lashes teased her flushed cheeks, her breathing regular and even.
"I'm whispering!" Ben insisted from behind him. "But Dad, we missed breakfast! And lunch!" His voice was rising in outrage. "My stomach is growling! GROWLING!"
Max flinched as he felt Liz jump in her sleep, moan slightly. Her eyelashes began to flutter.
Oh hell.
And the next instant he was staring right into her dark eyes.
Damage control. He needed it - fast. He could see her eyes widening as she became aware of exactly where she was.
"Good morning." He said quietly.
"It's afternoon Dad." Ben complained from nearby. Max realized that his son was back on the bed and was crawling up towards the head of the bed on Liz's other side. "I checked my watch. I've been awake for a whole [I]hour[/I]! I tried to be quiet, but I'm too hungry."
But Max was not listening to his son. He was watching helplessly as panic began to cross Liz's expressive face.
And the next instant she was gone. He barely managed to control the shiver that ran down his frame at the sudden loss of her warmth. He sat up quickly, staring after her.
His entire body was screaming for her by now, was urging him to grab her by the hand as she threw herself off the bed, telling him to pull her back down beside him and give her a reason to stay.
A reason that preferably involved a lot of touching.
She stood at the end of the bed for one long, charged moment, her eyes locked with his. And then she turned - and ran.
"Is Liz okay?" Ben asked, apparently forgetting his stomach as Liz went stumbling out of the room. He sounded scared suddenly, as though he thought he might have done something wrong. "Is she mad because I woke you up?"
Max sighed heavily, ran his hands wearily through his hair as he swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood. "I'm sure she's not mad at you kiddo. Just let me go talk to her for a sec okay?" He moved towards the door, turning before he got there, remembering something Michael had told him before he left the apartment. "There are some chips and sandwiches in my bag. We'll get something better later."
"Okay." Ben still sounded unsure, but as Max left the room he could hear him begin to rummage around for the food.
Liz was not in the main dome area, nor was she in the office or the kitchen. He could see that the door leading to the small bathroom was closed and after standing there for a moment, he reached up and knocked softly. "Liz? Liz, are you okay?"
He frowned as he heard running water begin behind the door. He pounded a little harder. "Liz, please open the door."
There was a long pause. He heard the water shut off and then stepped back as she cracked open the door.
"I'm fine Max. Can I just have a second here?" Her voice sounded distinctly weird though.
"Liz, it was an accident." Max told her quietly. "It didn't mean anything. You were asleep."
Of course the fact that he was hoping that it [I]had[/I] meant something made his voice sound slightly less than convincing.
He heard Liz sigh. She opened the door wide, stood there staring at him. "I love my fiancé." She said.
"I know." He didn't know what else to say, had no idea [I]what[/I] to say to her to make her feel better.
Because after he had betrayed her by sleeping with Tess, nothing she could have said would have ever eased the guilt he had felt. Nothing [I]anyone[/I] could have said would have helped.
Nothing would ever erase the way he had felt when he had seen the look on her face when she had understood what had happened between he and Ben's mother. Or, at least, what he had [I]thought[/I] had happened.
He knew that [I]she[/I] was presently picturing Dan's face as he found out about this.
Dan, who had trusted her. Dan, who she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.
"Max..." She had closed her eyes, was leaning tiredly against the door-frame, looking for all the world like she was ready to give up.
But give up what?
"Yeah?"
And then she said something so completely off topic, he blinked.
"Can you even begin to understand how much I missed you when you were gone?" She whispered.
He didn't know what to say, just stared at her. He wouldn't have been capable of speech anyway. His heart was presently lodged in his throat.
"I don't think you can." She continued, as though not really expecting an answer. "Because I, myself, wasn't aware of how much until three minutes ago." She paused, opened her eyes and looked beyond him, unseeing. "Until I woke up in your arms and felt like I had come home, I had absolutely no idea."
"Liz..."
"No, just listen. Please." Liz cut him off urgently. "I [I]know[/I] you're about to say that you understand, that you missed me too." He swallowed, because that had been [I]exactly[/I] what he was about to say. "But you [I]can't[/I] understand, because, tell me if I'm wrong, but didn't you, in your heart, always know that if you stayed alive long enough, you would see me again?"
He had no idea what she was getting at, but nodded. "I knew."
"Which is why you expected me to wait for you," she added.
Max grimaced. It sounded bad, but it was true. He [I]had[/I] expected it, because he [I]knew[/I] that he would get back to Earth someday, that he [I]would[/I] see her again. And somehow he had expected that [I]she[/I] would know that too and that she would wait.
"But Max, the thing is, when you left, without even saying good-bye..." Her voice faltered. He could see tears beginning to form in her brown eyes. "I couldn't know if you were ever coming back. I [I]didn't[/I] know. And so the way I missed [I]you[/I]...It was like you had died. I had to let go. I had to, or I wouldn't have survived it."
He felt his heart crack. Because he suddenly knew exactly what she was telling him. But he let her say it anyway. She had the right, after everything, to at least say it. "I can't do it again Max. I let go of you once. I survived it. And, the thing is, I still love you. But we [I]don't[/I] belong together. I can't let myself feel everything I know I would feel because I would not live through it a second time."
"I'm not going anywhere Liz." He told her, despite himself. He had promised her that he wouldn't coerce her, wouldn't try and convince her. But he [I]had[/I] to. She was [I]Liz[/I]. No matter how hard he told himself that he had to let her go, had to let her live her own life, she was [I]Liz[/I] and they belonged together.
She smiled sadly. "Logically I know that Max. I understand that you're here for good. But, I just can't do it. Not again." Tears were gleaming unshed in her eyes. He could tell that she was only holding them back by the sheer force of her will, which was considerable. Had it not been [I]she[/I] who had convinced him all those years ago that they owed it to themselves to try and be happy together, in those wonderful days before Tess had ever showed her face in Roswell? And had it not also been Liz who had willed herself to stay away from him, so that he could pursue his so-called destiny with Tess?
And now she was willing herself [I]not[/I] to love him. Not to give in. Not to take another chance that he might somehow cause again the level of pain he was only now beginning to understand that she had experienced when he had left her.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I really am."
And with those words - those sad, unbending words - something within him snapped.
Because it wasn't good enough. It was not a good enough reason.
"You do know that you're always going to wonder if your life was just a little less extraordinary than it could have been?" He asked, knowing he sounded bitter and defeated, but unable to help himself.
Because, up until this moment, even with all of his protestations to the contrary, despite all of his conviction that he was going to leave her alone, allow her to live her life, inside, in his deepest heart, he had been sure that he was going to win her back. That it would only take some time and some patience and she would realize that they belonged together.
But that wasn't the problem. She already [I]knew[/I] it. She just wasn't willing to allow it.
And, in that instant, when his fortunes seemed to be at their lowest ebb, something like a light suddenly blinked on somewhere inside him.
Because he realized that she was not the only one who was stubborn. She was not the only one who was going to live a life less extraordinary because of this.
He was too.
Everything that had come before was going to have been in vain. Even though they belonged together, they weren't going to be. Because she was frightened. Simply because she was afraid.
She was as scared as he was.
It wasn't good enough.
"Max?" Liz had reached out her hand as though to comfort him. He glared at it, then up at her, backed up a step.
"I don't accept it."
She blinked. "What?"
"I said I don't accept it. It's not a good enough reason."
She shook her head slightly, as though she was convinced that she had misheard him. "I beg your pardon?"
"I refuse to allow this. You love me. You flat out just admitted it. You [I]know[/I] I love you. And so, I will not allow you to just turn your back on that."
Apparently she was beginning to understand him, because her eyes flashed angrily as she snapped, "I don't think you have much of a say in it Max."
"Yes I do." Max retorted. "Because we belong together. And so, if I have to convince you, I will. And I won't stop [I]until[/I] I convince you. I have waited two lifetimes to be with you and I'm not going to let a stupid thing like fear come between us now." He folded his arms across his front and stared at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Two lifetimes? What are you talking about?" She screeched at him. Max flinched but did not back down.
"I think that's up to you to figure out on your own." He replied, smirking at the expression of outrage that crossed her face. "But just be aware Liz. This is war. I am going to get you to give in if it's the last thing I do. I love you and I am not going to let you accept something less than what you deserve, which is to be loved down to the very furthest corner of your soul by the person [I]you[/I] most love." He paused, then added, for good measure, because he just liked saying it, "Which is me. So you're stuck with me."
She stared at him for another long moment, her mouth hanging open in shock, then screeched in outrage again, turned on her heel and marched back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
"Come out when you get hungry." He called out cheerfully. "Ben and I'll try and save you a sandwich."
Max made his way back out into the main dome area, jumped when he realized that Ben was standing just within, pressed up against the wall, a sandwich hanging forgotten in his hand. His blue eyes stared at Max accusingly. "You made Liz mad."
"Yup." Max replied. "I think she's going to be a lot madder before I'm done with her," he added.
Ben looked perplexed for a moment and then he asked, "Are you supposed to make girls you like mad?"
"Not generally." Max answered, returning to the bedroom to get his cell phone, Ben trailing after him. "But this was a special case."
"But you [I]do[/I] like Liz, don't you Dad?"
"Yes Ben. I like her a lot." Max sighed patiently.
"I don't think [I]she[/I] likes [I]you[/I] anymore." Ben shook his head.
"Not right now." Max agreed. "But that's okay. She will."
He grabbed his phone and went outside. Ben drifted away, appeared to be creeping towards the bathroom, as though he was worried about Liz.
Max wasn't worried. He could hear her crashing around in the other room, apparently trying to let him know just how angry she really was.
It wasn't until he had stepped out of doors that Max realized just how late it was. He had left his watch sitting on the dashboard in the Cherokee, having removed it at some point during the long drive.
But when he saw how far the sun had already traveled in its trajectory across the sky, his heart started to thump unevenly.
Michael should have arrived with Isabel and the others long before now. Max glanced down at his phone, wondered if he should try contacting his friend.
But if they had been captured, calling them might lead their enemies right to Ben.
Something had obviously happened. His heart skipped a beat at the sudden flash of imagination that conjured up Isabel and Jesse's house under attack, Nicholas with little Alexandra under his arm, preparing to blast the child, Michael and Izzy and Maria lying in pools of their own blood, dying.
He never should have left them alone.
Max was just making up his mind to go inside to tell Liz that something was wrong when the cell phone in his hand rang abruptly. He almost dropped it he was so surprised.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to get it together. It had been a long time since he had felt this exposed, this threatened - in fact, not since he and Ben had managed to evade the Antarian fleet in their flight from the star system of his original birth.
But the adrenaline was beginning to pump through his veins just like in the old days as he hit the talk button on the phone and brought it up to his ear.
"Hello?" He almost expected to hear Nicholas's grating little voice on the other end. Strange, that after all these years, he [I]still[/I] remembered that voice.
But it was Michael. Max felt his heart start to return to its normal pace, along with a stab of healthy annoyance that Michael was clearly taking his sweet time arriving. But Michael's opening words after replying to Max's greeting, thrust his irritation out of his mind. "Maxwell, I know I'm not supposed to call, but I am slowly losing it man."
"Michael, where are you? What's wrong?" He could hear a lot of noise in the background, including, he thought, a baby crying.
"I'm at a truck stop on 285 South." Michael replied wearily. "We've been here for close to three hours."
"Did the car break down?" Max demanded. "Who's with you?"
"I have Maria and Izzy and the baby. Kyle's on his way. I called him too. I think I need the law Max. I'm about ready to kill him and it's going to take Deputy Dawg to stop me. I [I]barely[/I] managed to escape him to come call you. I'm on a pay phone." He added unnecessarily as Max listened to the sound of a semi's horn in the background.
"Who?" Max scowled, simply wanting confirmation that his worst fears had been realized, and inanely wondered why Nicholas was holding the others at a truck stop of all places.
"Liz's idiot fiancé." Michael snapped back. "Did I [I]ever[/I] tell you that he was nice guy?" He asked rhetorically. "Because I was so wrong."
"Dan?" Max was flabbergasted. It was the last thing he had expected. "Why is [I]Dan[/I] there?"
"Because he thinks you kidnapped Liz and he followed us after we left Isabel's." Michael sounded impatient. "Izzy noticed him and we stopped immediately. And now we're stuck here because he won't go home and I know that the last thing we need to do is lead him right to Liz. There is [I]no[/I] way she's going to be able to explain this to him. Did she give him some lame-o story about Ben being sick by the way?" Michael added. "Because he didn't buy it."
Max rubbed his hand across his face. This was bad. Very bad. The last thing they needed right now was a jealous fiancé. Especially considering the fact that Max had just decided that he had every intention of stealing Liz back from said fiancé.
"Where's Jesse?"
There was a pause. And then Michael replied quietly, obviously not wanting Isabel to overhear him. Max thought he could hear her voice and so she was apparently nearby. "He's disappeared Maxwell."
"What?" Max yelled. "Did Nicholas get him?"
Oh God. Isabel's husband. Max had come back and had thrown everyone back into danger and Isabel had lost her husband because of it. She was never going to forgive him!
He was never going to forgive himself.
"Calm down!" Michael ordered. "It wasn't Nicholas. When we went to get Iz, he was already gone. She said that he got a phone call right after you left with Liz and he went out after that, saying that he had to go back to work for something important. She fell asleep on the couch waiting for him to get home. I woke her up when we got there and she found a note on the kitchen table telling her to take Lexi and leave - that he [I]knew[/I] that either you or I was going to show up to take her away, and that she [I]had[/I] to go."
Max frowned. "What the hell is going on here Michael?" He asked, not really expecting his friend to answer him. "That is the weirdest thing I have ever heard."
"I know." Michael sighed. "But that isn't all Maximillian."
What else could have possibly gone wrong in the few short hours since Max and Liz had left Michael and Maria on their way to Isabel's? Max grimaced, braced himself for the worst.
"What?" There was another long pause. "Michael, just tell me!" Max insisted.
And then Michael said the absolute last thing Max expected. "Maria and I are engaged."
To be continued...