Part 21
"You're angry with me?" Liz frowned when Dan stared at her in amazement, obviously completely shocked. "I was worried about you! Clearly something peculiar is going on around here Elizabeth and you won't be open with me. I had little choice."
"You had a choice." Liz replied evenly. "You could have trusted me."
"I couldn't. Because I [I]knew[/I] you were lying to me." He exclaimed. "You have [I]never[/I] lied to me - not once in our entire relationship. And because you've never lied to me I know how dangerous it is for you to be around that...that..."
"Max?" Liz sighed, laid her hands on the table. "Dan, you have to say his name. And I'm not the one creating Max into some monster. You are. He's no threat to you - or he wasn't until you started acting like a jealous maniac! This isn't [I]you[/I] Dan! What is this about?"
Dan just stared at her, appearing astounded that she didn't understand why he was so upset. "He broke your heart. It took you almost five years to get over it. I waited patiently for you almost that whole time and I'm not going to let him waltz back into your life and do it again." Dan's voice was low, urgent. "Elizabeth, he's [I]going[/I] to. Why can't you see it?"
Liz swallowed, frowned again. His use of her full name struck her as absurd suddenly, for the first time ever. She wondered why it had never irritated her before now. Because it [I]did[/I] - annoy her that was. Why had she ever let him call her that? She was not [I]Elizabeth[/I], had [I]never[/I] been Elizabeth.
"Dan, I've told you. I was with him because Ben is sick." Liz explained patiently.
"But this child, he's [I]his[/I] son. He's using him to get to you." Dan told her, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
She eyed him for a moment, unsure how to proceed. She had told Maria earlier that she still intended to marry Dan. And moments ago, she had decided that she had to break up with him. But, now, as he spoke to her, as he gave her all these logical arguments, as he explained why he was angry and jealous and upset - rightfully after all - she didn't know [I]what[/I] to do.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. She knew what she [I]wanted[/I] to do. She glanced towards Kyle, who was still seated at the counter, flipping through a magazine as he waited for her, apparently doing his best not to eavesdrop.
All she wanted to do was stand up and ask Kyle to take her back to Ben. And she owed it to Dan to explain why, to give him the chance to understand.
Because of who he was, of what he was to her. He had been the one secure person in her life since Max had left - the one person she could count on, even if he didn't make her entire soul come alive when she was with him.
He was not her soulmate, but he was a good man, and he deserved and explanation.
Because he was right. He had waited a long time for her. She [I]knew[/I] that he loved her.
The problem was, she didn't know if he even really loved [I]her[/I], because she was beginning to understand that he didn't really know her at all.
She had been open with him over the years, had explained all about Max, about how he had broken her heart, but Dan had never really understood - had never understood than it had been far more than just a break-up. Because [I]she[/I] had never been fully able to understand it herself - until now that she had spent time with Max again.
Max Evans was her heart and soul. He always had been. The only reason that he had been able to so completely destroy her when he had gone was because, when he left, he had betrayed the fact that she was the same thing to him. His departure had ripped them apart, in a way that had never been supposed to happen. And they were suffering the consequences of it, even now.
He had had no right to do it. To either of them. He had betrayed the essence of what they were about, Max and Liz. They were supposed to be [I]together[/I] through thick and thin, through danger and despair...and they never [I]had[/I] been. Every time something bad had happened, it had torn them apart. Tess's arrival, Future Max's visit, Alex's death...Every single time they should have been able to deal with these things, if they had stayed true to each other. But they never had.
And it was not entirely Max's fault either. They had [I]both[/I] done it. She was just as much to blame as he was. But his leaving without her for Antar, heading off into danger alone, when he [I]known[/I] that she wanted to be with him, no matter what, it had been the final straw.
They were not strong enough to be together, to accept the gift that had been granted them in each other.
But she was also wrong to be trying to replace the gift with someone else. Dan felt that he knew her, that she had opened up to him, but she had [I]never[/I] fully done so. It was impossible. Because no one could replace her soul.
Liz loved him, [I]knew[/I] that he loved her, but she could not subject him to a life with someone who would never fully be his.
Even if she never got back together with Max, which she fully expected might not happen based on the way she felt right now, she had no right to stay with Dan. He was safe, she would be content with him, but he deserved more.
"Elizabeth?" Dan reached out, took her hand gently in his. "Please. I can feel you slipping away from me and I don't understand it. We're supposed to be getting married in two days! Why are you letting this happen?"
Liz closed her eyes briefly. "Dan, I'm sorry. I'm a horrible person." She heard her voice crack. He squeezed her hand. "You just don't understand...about Ben, I mean." She could at least explain to him about that, tell him about Alex. "He's so special to me because..."
Dan cut her off though, only having heard the first part. "You're not! He's doing something to you."
"No, you don't understand. Max isn't doing [I]anything[/I] to me. It's [I]Ben[/I]. He's not really..."
"Your dad told me that there was something not quite right about him and I understand what he meant now." Dan wasn't even listening to her now. It took her a moment for his words to penetrate because she was trying to tell Dan that Ben was Alex's son, but she stopped talking when she realized what he was saying.
Liz pulled her hand away abruptly. "What are you talking about?" She demanded. "What else did my father say to you?"
Dan narrowed his eyes. "He told me some interesting stuff when I was in Roswell while you were teaching with Isabel." He paused, seemed to be searching for the right words. "About there having been a shooting at your restaurant when you were a teenager..."
Liz blinked. "I told you about that. That was when Max saved my life. It was what brought us together." She could feel her heart beginning to beat irregularly. What on Earth had her father told Dan? What did her father think he knew?
"I'm going to ask you something Elizabeth, and I hope you'll be honest with me." Dan swallowed, hard. "I know it's impossible, but I heard something the night we were at Jesse and Isabel's for dinner. I tried to put it out of my mind because I [I]know[/I] it's impossible. I'm a biologist for God's sake! But I heard you say it and I have to know what you meant. Because what your dad said about Max made me wonder even more."
Liz could tell that this was going to be bad. And she had a feeling that it was also going to explain why Dan had suddenly turned into someone he had never been before - possessive, overbearing, difficult.
"What?" She whispered. "What do you know?"
He frowned again at the fear he must have picked up in her voice. "See! This is what I'm talking about. You [I]are[/I] keeping something from me, and I [I]know[/I] it has something to do with Max Evans!"
Liz reached out, grabbed his hand across the table. "Dan, just [I]ask[/I]!" She insisted.
He bit out the words. "The other night, when we were at Jesse and Isabel's, you totally lost it when you saw their baby. I didn't understand it at first, but when I met Max, I knew why."
"I don't understand." Liz shook her head. "I was surprised Lexi looked so much like Max, but what are you getting at?"
"I let you go off with Isabel upstairs, even though I could see that you were [I]extremely[/I] upset." He continued. "Needless to say, [I]I[/I] was upset too, because I didn't know what was wrong with you. I went to speak with Jesse and Maria in the kitchen, maybe to send Maria up to see if you were okay, because obviously you didn't want [I]me[/I] then." He sounded bitter as he continued. "Well, they weren't in the kitchen. I looked out the window and they were in the back yard doing something, taking out the garbage I think."
"Dan!" Liz exclaimed in frustration. "I don't care what they were doing! What happened?"
"It doesn't matter, you're right. The point is, I was in the kitchen, by myself, and I realized that the baby monitor was sitting right there." He grimaced. "I can't explain my actions to you Elizabeth, other than to say that I was worried about you." Dan swallowed, but Liz already knew what he was going to say. She was already trying to frantically remember her conversation with Isabel in Lexi's bedroom. Her horror was mounting as she thought about all that they had said to each other. "I turned it on."
"Oh my God." Liz gasped. "Dan!"
He wasn't even looking at her now, was gazing past her. "The first words I heard were something about it being impossible for Alexandra to look like Max."
"Dan..." Liz tried to break in. She already knew what he had overheard, didn't want him to say it out loud.
But he continued anyway. "But then you started talking about cloning and human donors and some place called Antar..." He closed his eyes. "Elizabeth, it scared the hell out of me. I thought you had literally lost your mind."
"Dan!" He looked at her finally, his expression completely controlled now. Liz glanced around the restaurant, terrified that someone was overhearing their conversation. Fortunately it was virtually empty at this late hour. Kyle's head had snapped up at her tone though. He whirled around and stared at her across the café.
"Liz?" He called out. "Are you okay?" But she couldn't answer him. Her head was spinning in a million different directions.
Dan knew. He [I]knew[/I] the truth about Max. No wonder he had been acting like a complete psycho.
"But Isabel didn't seem to think so." Dan was saying, his eyes narrowing. Now that he was talking, he seemed unable to shut up. "And I knew that there was something more to this than you were letting on. I didn't want you to go back to Isabel's the next day, but I didn't know how to stop you and it gave me a chance to do some investigating."
She brought her hands down off the table and clenched them in her lap and just waited. "Your dad told me about the shooting. I read about it in some old newspapers at the library too - about some unexplained aspects of it - how the bullet was never found for example. I also dug up an old story about some FBI agent named Pierce being reprimanded by the government for secret dealings in Roswell, having to do with aliens. I found the report and there was something in it about the shooting at the Crashdown."
Liz watched Kyle hurrying towards her, just let Dan talk though.
"I [I]knew[/I] that there is something off with him Liz. I wanted to know the truth." Dan finished simply. "I [I]know[/I] that there's no such thing as aliens, but all evidence is pointing towards the fact that Max Evans is, in fact, something not quite human. Because the hold he has on you is...I don't know...[I]unnatural[/I]."
She didn't have time to say anything though. Kyle was standing over them now, a fierce expression on his face.
"Liz, what's wrong? Dan?"
"Kyle..." Liz swallowed. She had to fix this - immediately. "Everything's fine. Dan's just getting a little...paranoid."
"Paranoid?" Dan stared at her, dumbfounded. "I know what I heard you say Elizabeth."
"Liz?" Kyle's eyes were wide, questioning.
She forced a laugh. "He thinks Max is an alien." She shook her head. "He thinks it's why I can't stay away from him. That's he's put some kind of force on me or something." She was now truly giggling, hysterically as a matter of fact, but it sounded like she was just amused by a good joke. Thank God.
"ELIZABETH!" She could see Dan's face beginning to turn an interesting shade of scarlet.
Kyle's mouth was hanging open in shock. "Liz?" He practically croaked. She could read his eyes perfectly. This was dangerous. Dan was angry, confused and jealous. If he went off spouting his theory to anyone with a half-knowledge of what had really transpired in Roswell ten years ago...
Ben and Max would never be able to live in their hometown in peace. Ever.
Not to mention, Dan [I]had[/I] inadvertently stumbled upon the truth. He was [I]right[/I]. He was a molecular biologist, a scientist. He would not just allow a discovery of this magnitude to go. It would [I]make[/I] his career, to be the first to truly publish the truth about aliens on Earth, about cloning and what could be achieved through technology.
The last thing she could allow to happen was for him to believe it.
"Dan, I don't know what you thought you overheard between Isabel and I, but I was just confused and upset. I always thought that Max and Isabel weren't genetic siblings, so I didn't understand why Lexi looked like him. Isabel told me that they found out that they [I]were[/I] actually related after Lexi's birth."
Kyle had collapsed into a nearby chair, a completely flabbergasted expression still on his face. He was beginning to listen with interest though, wondering how she was going to talk her way out of this one.
"I know that I've been acting really weird ever since Max showed up again." Liz continued quietly. She stood up, went around the table and joined him in his booth. Putting her arm around him, she smiled into his eyes. "But it really has nothing to do with Max Dan. You have to believe me. It's Ben."
"Why?" Dan asked, still looking suspicious.
"Because he's really my friend Alex's son." Liz told him simply. "My friend who died. The one I told you so much about. Max found the girl that he thought he had gotten pregnant and it turned out that it wasn't even him at all."
Dan looked like he had been punched in the stomach. He swallowed, shook his head. "Elizabeth, what kind of friends do you have? They didn't even know who fathered the baby?"
Liz exchanged a glance with Kyle. "Well, Tess..." She paused.
"She had some problems." Kyle finished for her, looking sad.
"But...but what about the shooting?"
"It's like I told you. I was shot at and Max pushed me out of the way." She shrugged. "You can talk to Kyle's dad about it if you really want to. He was the sheriff then. The bullet hole never showed up, but it was just one of those things."
Dan still did not look convinced. "Elizabeth, I [I]heard[/I] you. You said something about Max and Isabel not being human."
"I don't know what you thought you heard Dan, but I don't think I would have ever said that." She looked him right in the eye. "I was overwrought, but I'm [I]not[/I] crazy. There are no such thing as aliens." She continued firmly.
Liz forced another giggle. "My God. Dan, you must have thought that [I]you[/I]were going crazy over the past few days." She kissed him lightly. "I am so sorry Honey! I should have just told you the truth about Ben, but it was still such a shock to me, I don't think it had fully registered when I spoke to you on the phone last night."
She could feel Dan relaxing under her. She looked over at Kyle, who looked resigned, but unimpressed at the ease with which she lied.
But she had no choice. She had to protect Max, and Ben too.
Because she knew her fiancé. If she allowed him to know the truth, he would never let it go. He would feel compelled to pursue it, to investigate, to try and convince Max to come forward.
He would ruin their lives.
And the worst part of all of it was that she knew that there was only one way to make sure that that never happened.
She was going to have to marry him.
"You're angry with me?" Liz frowned when Dan stared at her in amazement, obviously completely shocked. "I was worried about you! Clearly something peculiar is going on around here Elizabeth and you won't be open with me. I had little choice."
"You had a choice." Liz replied evenly. "You could have trusted me."
"I couldn't. Because I [I]knew[/I] you were lying to me." He exclaimed. "You have [I]never[/I] lied to me - not once in our entire relationship. And because you've never lied to me I know how dangerous it is for you to be around that...that..."
"Max?" Liz sighed, laid her hands on the table. "Dan, you have to say his name. And I'm not the one creating Max into some monster. You are. He's no threat to you - or he wasn't until you started acting like a jealous maniac! This isn't [I]you[/I] Dan! What is this about?"
Dan just stared at her, appearing astounded that she didn't understand why he was so upset. "He broke your heart. It took you almost five years to get over it. I waited patiently for you almost that whole time and I'm not going to let him waltz back into your life and do it again." Dan's voice was low, urgent. "Elizabeth, he's [I]going[/I] to. Why can't you see it?"
Liz swallowed, frowned again. His use of her full name struck her as absurd suddenly, for the first time ever. She wondered why it had never irritated her before now. Because it [I]did[/I] - annoy her that was. Why had she ever let him call her that? She was not [I]Elizabeth[/I], had [I]never[/I] been Elizabeth.
"Dan, I've told you. I was with him because Ben is sick." Liz explained patiently.
"But this child, he's [I]his[/I] son. He's using him to get to you." Dan told her, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
She eyed him for a moment, unsure how to proceed. She had told Maria earlier that she still intended to marry Dan. And moments ago, she had decided that she had to break up with him. But, now, as he spoke to her, as he gave her all these logical arguments, as he explained why he was angry and jealous and upset - rightfully after all - she didn't know [I]what[/I] to do.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. She knew what she [I]wanted[/I] to do. She glanced towards Kyle, who was still seated at the counter, flipping through a magazine as he waited for her, apparently doing his best not to eavesdrop.
All she wanted to do was stand up and ask Kyle to take her back to Ben. And she owed it to Dan to explain why, to give him the chance to understand.
Because of who he was, of what he was to her. He had been the one secure person in her life since Max had left - the one person she could count on, even if he didn't make her entire soul come alive when she was with him.
He was not her soulmate, but he was a good man, and he deserved and explanation.
Because he was right. He had waited a long time for her. She [I]knew[/I] that he loved her.
The problem was, she didn't know if he even really loved [I]her[/I], because she was beginning to understand that he didn't really know her at all.
She had been open with him over the years, had explained all about Max, about how he had broken her heart, but Dan had never really understood - had never understood than it had been far more than just a break-up. Because [I]she[/I] had never been fully able to understand it herself - until now that she had spent time with Max again.
Max Evans was her heart and soul. He always had been. The only reason that he had been able to so completely destroy her when he had gone was because, when he left, he had betrayed the fact that she was the same thing to him. His departure had ripped them apart, in a way that had never been supposed to happen. And they were suffering the consequences of it, even now.
He had had no right to do it. To either of them. He had betrayed the essence of what they were about, Max and Liz. They were supposed to be [I]together[/I] through thick and thin, through danger and despair...and they never [I]had[/I] been. Every time something bad had happened, it had torn them apart. Tess's arrival, Future Max's visit, Alex's death...Every single time they should have been able to deal with these things, if they had stayed true to each other. But they never had.
And it was not entirely Max's fault either. They had [I]both[/I] done it. She was just as much to blame as he was. But his leaving without her for Antar, heading off into danger alone, when he [I]known[/I] that she wanted to be with him, no matter what, it had been the final straw.
They were not strong enough to be together, to accept the gift that had been granted them in each other.
But she was also wrong to be trying to replace the gift with someone else. Dan felt that he knew her, that she had opened up to him, but she had [I]never[/I] fully done so. It was impossible. Because no one could replace her soul.
Liz loved him, [I]knew[/I] that he loved her, but she could not subject him to a life with someone who would never fully be his.
Even if she never got back together with Max, which she fully expected might not happen based on the way she felt right now, she had no right to stay with Dan. He was safe, she would be content with him, but he deserved more.
"Elizabeth?" Dan reached out, took her hand gently in his. "Please. I can feel you slipping away from me and I don't understand it. We're supposed to be getting married in two days! Why are you letting this happen?"
Liz closed her eyes briefly. "Dan, I'm sorry. I'm a horrible person." She heard her voice crack. He squeezed her hand. "You just don't understand...about Ben, I mean." She could at least explain to him about that, tell him about Alex. "He's so special to me because..."
Dan cut her off though, only having heard the first part. "You're not! He's doing something to you."
"No, you don't understand. Max isn't doing [I]anything[/I] to me. It's [I]Ben[/I]. He's not really..."
"Your dad told me that there was something not quite right about him and I understand what he meant now." Dan wasn't even listening to her now. It took her a moment for his words to penetrate because she was trying to tell Dan that Ben was Alex's son, but she stopped talking when she realized what he was saying.
Liz pulled her hand away abruptly. "What are you talking about?" She demanded. "What else did my father say to you?"
Dan narrowed his eyes. "He told me some interesting stuff when I was in Roswell while you were teaching with Isabel." He paused, seemed to be searching for the right words. "About there having been a shooting at your restaurant when you were a teenager..."
Liz blinked. "I told you about that. That was when Max saved my life. It was what brought us together." She could feel her heart beginning to beat irregularly. What on Earth had her father told Dan? What did her father think he knew?
"I'm going to ask you something Elizabeth, and I hope you'll be honest with me." Dan swallowed, hard. "I know it's impossible, but I heard something the night we were at Jesse and Isabel's for dinner. I tried to put it out of my mind because I [I]know[/I] it's impossible. I'm a biologist for God's sake! But I heard you say it and I have to know what you meant. Because what your dad said about Max made me wonder even more."
Liz could tell that this was going to be bad. And she had a feeling that it was also going to explain why Dan had suddenly turned into someone he had never been before - possessive, overbearing, difficult.
"What?" She whispered. "What do you know?"
He frowned again at the fear he must have picked up in her voice. "See! This is what I'm talking about. You [I]are[/I] keeping something from me, and I [I]know[/I] it has something to do with Max Evans!"
Liz reached out, grabbed his hand across the table. "Dan, just [I]ask[/I]!" She insisted.
He bit out the words. "The other night, when we were at Jesse and Isabel's, you totally lost it when you saw their baby. I didn't understand it at first, but when I met Max, I knew why."
"I don't understand." Liz shook her head. "I was surprised Lexi looked so much like Max, but what are you getting at?"
"I let you go off with Isabel upstairs, even though I could see that you were [I]extremely[/I] upset." He continued. "Needless to say, [I]I[/I] was upset too, because I didn't know what was wrong with you. I went to speak with Jesse and Maria in the kitchen, maybe to send Maria up to see if you were okay, because obviously you didn't want [I]me[/I] then." He sounded bitter as he continued. "Well, they weren't in the kitchen. I looked out the window and they were in the back yard doing something, taking out the garbage I think."
"Dan!" Liz exclaimed in frustration. "I don't care what they were doing! What happened?"
"It doesn't matter, you're right. The point is, I was in the kitchen, by myself, and I realized that the baby monitor was sitting right there." He grimaced. "I can't explain my actions to you Elizabeth, other than to say that I was worried about you." Dan swallowed, but Liz already knew what he was going to say. She was already trying to frantically remember her conversation with Isabel in Lexi's bedroom. Her horror was mounting as she thought about all that they had said to each other. "I turned it on."
"Oh my God." Liz gasped. "Dan!"
He wasn't even looking at her now, was gazing past her. "The first words I heard were something about it being impossible for Alexandra to look like Max."
"Dan..." Liz tried to break in. She already knew what he had overheard, didn't want him to say it out loud.
But he continued anyway. "But then you started talking about cloning and human donors and some place called Antar..." He closed his eyes. "Elizabeth, it scared the hell out of me. I thought you had literally lost your mind."
"Dan!" He looked at her finally, his expression completely controlled now. Liz glanced around the restaurant, terrified that someone was overhearing their conversation. Fortunately it was virtually empty at this late hour. Kyle's head had snapped up at her tone though. He whirled around and stared at her across the café.
"Liz?" He called out. "Are you okay?" But she couldn't answer him. Her head was spinning in a million different directions.
Dan knew. He [I]knew[/I] the truth about Max. No wonder he had been acting like a complete psycho.
"But Isabel didn't seem to think so." Dan was saying, his eyes narrowing. Now that he was talking, he seemed unable to shut up. "And I knew that there was something more to this than you were letting on. I didn't want you to go back to Isabel's the next day, but I didn't know how to stop you and it gave me a chance to do some investigating."
She brought her hands down off the table and clenched them in her lap and just waited. "Your dad told me about the shooting. I read about it in some old newspapers at the library too - about some unexplained aspects of it - how the bullet was never found for example. I also dug up an old story about some FBI agent named Pierce being reprimanded by the government for secret dealings in Roswell, having to do with aliens. I found the report and there was something in it about the shooting at the Crashdown."
Liz watched Kyle hurrying towards her, just let Dan talk though.
"I [I]knew[/I] that there is something off with him Liz. I wanted to know the truth." Dan finished simply. "I [I]know[/I] that there's no such thing as aliens, but all evidence is pointing towards the fact that Max Evans is, in fact, something not quite human. Because the hold he has on you is...I don't know...[I]unnatural[/I]."
She didn't have time to say anything though. Kyle was standing over them now, a fierce expression on his face.
"Liz, what's wrong? Dan?"
"Kyle..." Liz swallowed. She had to fix this - immediately. "Everything's fine. Dan's just getting a little...paranoid."
"Paranoid?" Dan stared at her, dumbfounded. "I know what I heard you say Elizabeth."
"Liz?" Kyle's eyes were wide, questioning.
She forced a laugh. "He thinks Max is an alien." She shook her head. "He thinks it's why I can't stay away from him. That's he's put some kind of force on me or something." She was now truly giggling, hysterically as a matter of fact, but it sounded like she was just amused by a good joke. Thank God.
"ELIZABETH!" She could see Dan's face beginning to turn an interesting shade of scarlet.
Kyle's mouth was hanging open in shock. "Liz?" He practically croaked. She could read his eyes perfectly. This was dangerous. Dan was angry, confused and jealous. If he went off spouting his theory to anyone with a half-knowledge of what had really transpired in Roswell ten years ago...
Ben and Max would never be able to live in their hometown in peace. Ever.
Not to mention, Dan [I]had[/I] inadvertently stumbled upon the truth. He was [I]right[/I]. He was a molecular biologist, a scientist. He would not just allow a discovery of this magnitude to go. It would [I]make[/I] his career, to be the first to truly publish the truth about aliens on Earth, about cloning and what could be achieved through technology.
The last thing she could allow to happen was for him to believe it.
"Dan, I don't know what you thought you overheard between Isabel and I, but I was just confused and upset. I always thought that Max and Isabel weren't genetic siblings, so I didn't understand why Lexi looked like him. Isabel told me that they found out that they [I]were[/I] actually related after Lexi's birth."
Kyle had collapsed into a nearby chair, a completely flabbergasted expression still on his face. He was beginning to listen with interest though, wondering how she was going to talk her way out of this one.
"I know that I've been acting really weird ever since Max showed up again." Liz continued quietly. She stood up, went around the table and joined him in his booth. Putting her arm around him, she smiled into his eyes. "But it really has nothing to do with Max Dan. You have to believe me. It's Ben."
"Why?" Dan asked, still looking suspicious.
"Because he's really my friend Alex's son." Liz told him simply. "My friend who died. The one I told you so much about. Max found the girl that he thought he had gotten pregnant and it turned out that it wasn't even him at all."
Dan looked like he had been punched in the stomach. He swallowed, shook his head. "Elizabeth, what kind of friends do you have? They didn't even know who fathered the baby?"
Liz exchanged a glance with Kyle. "Well, Tess..." She paused.
"She had some problems." Kyle finished for her, looking sad.
"But...but what about the shooting?"
"It's like I told you. I was shot at and Max pushed me out of the way." She shrugged. "You can talk to Kyle's dad about it if you really want to. He was the sheriff then. The bullet hole never showed up, but it was just one of those things."
Dan still did not look convinced. "Elizabeth, I [I]heard[/I] you. You said something about Max and Isabel not being human."
"I don't know what you thought you heard Dan, but I don't think I would have ever said that." She looked him right in the eye. "I was overwrought, but I'm [I]not[/I] crazy. There are no such thing as aliens." She continued firmly.
Liz forced another giggle. "My God. Dan, you must have thought that [I]you[/I]were going crazy over the past few days." She kissed him lightly. "I am so sorry Honey! I should have just told you the truth about Ben, but it was still such a shock to me, I don't think it had fully registered when I spoke to you on the phone last night."
She could feel Dan relaxing under her. She looked over at Kyle, who looked resigned, but unimpressed at the ease with which she lied.
But she had no choice. She had to protect Max, and Ben too.
Because she knew her fiancé. If she allowed him to know the truth, he would never let it go. He would feel compelled to pursue it, to investigate, to try and convince Max to come forward.
He would ruin their lives.
And the worst part of all of it was that she knew that there was only one way to make sure that that never happened.
She was going to have to marry him.