Part 27
Max stood near the door, waited for Liz and Dan to climb the slight incline that lead up to Atherton's front door. He was trying not to stare at Liz, but this was made more difficult by the fact that she looked like she wanted to be sick. Max could almost [I]feel[/I] her nervousness, her fear that she was doing the wrong thing by allowing Dan to join them here.
For one brief moment Max felt doubt. Maybe this [I]was[/I] a mistake. They could still change the plan, could still construct some elaborate tale to spin for Dan, could still keep the secret. If Liz was so concerned that Dan was not going to be able to handle the truth...
And, yet, Max knew they were doing the right thing. Even if [I]Liz[/I] didn't trust her own instincts, Max did. Because he knew her. He knew that she would not be engaged to someone that she didn't trust. She might not [I]know[/I] that she trusted him anymore, but Max knew that, deep down, she did.
It was convoluted logic, but in Max's mind, made perfect sense. He was never going to doubt Liz again. He had made that mistake once in his life and he had paid for it every day since. His instincts where she was concerned - about trusting her, about [I]believing[/I] in her - had always been right.
One look at Dan's expression and Max knew it was far too late to back away now anyway. He looked like he had been kicked in the stomach - hard...several times. Max frowned slightly. What the heck was going on?
Liz turned to Dan, spoke quietly to him. He nodded, turned away and stared out across the desert, his back tense.
And then she was standing right in front of him, her expression unreadable. "Hi."
"Hi." Max replied, looking towards Dan. "What's going on? I thought that he would have been chomping at the bit for answers by now."
"I told him the truth Max."
Max blinked, swallowed. "Oh." He frowned again, glanced behind him. He knew that Michael and Isabel were both lurking near the doorway, listening, ready to take Dan down at his slightest word. It was making him supremely uncomfortable. "How did he take it?"
"I don't think it was quite what he was expecting to hear." Liz admitted, shaking her head, a guilty expression on her face. "But I had to tell him. He needed to know. It was the only way he was going to understand."
The way Liz said that, Max knew that they weren't talking about the same thing at all. "Liz, what did you tell him?" He asked, confused.
"That I'm still love you." Liz replied simply. "He had to know."
Max stared at her. "You told him that?" He managed to croak, almost unbelieving. His heart was beginning to beat erratically, and for the first time since he had made his decision about Dan, he was terrified. "Why?"
Because, the worst part of it was, even though those words coming from her lips were what he had most wanted to hear since he had first laid eyes on her a couple of days before, he knew that everything had just become extraordinarily more complicated.
"Because it's true Max." Liz sighed. "He needs to know, [I]deserves[/I] to know. I love him and you were the one who said that I shouldn't be keeping secrets from him."
"I just don't get what good it was telling him that." Max shook his head, in total confusion. "Liz, he's going to freak out."
"Probably." Liz agreed. "But he needs to know the whole truth Max. He needs to [I]get[/I] why he can't turn you in. He needs to understand why I would never forgive him, but also why I know that you're not dangerous. Because I'm beginning to think that's his biggest issue with you."
Max just stared at her helplessly. "Liz, are you still planning to marry him?" He demanded finally.
Liz looked away for a long moment. "I don't know anything anymore Max." She swallowed, sighed. "I was going to you know. To protect you. To protect your secret."
"WHAT?"
"I would have stayed with him for the rest of my life to protect you." Liz smiled sadly. "In spite of everything, I can't let anything happen to you." Her voice lowered. "Max, that dream I had last night..." He saw a shudder pass through her slender frame. It took all of his control not to reach out, not to pull her into his arms comfortingly. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you...or Ben," she added unnecessarily. He knew that the two of them were becoming interlinked in her mind.
It was what he had been afraid of - that she was going to be drawn to him because of her desire to be close to his son. And, yet, it was not nearly as horrible as he had imagined it might be. Ben was a part of him now. Even if he wasn' t his biological child, the bond they had formed, the desire he had to protect the child...he was [I]glad[/I] that Liz trusted him enough to want him to do it.
Because that trust was the first step towards being able to trust him with [I]her[/I] heart again. Ben was important to her and it had never even occurred to her that Max shouldn't raise him.
And the love he had for Ben was closely tied to the love he had for Liz, for how important he knew that he would be to her. He understood suddenly that the boy did not detract from the way they felt about each other - would always feel about each other. He just [I]added[/I] to it. That they felt exactly the same way about the child, the miracle that was Ben, was a gift.
He realized that Liz was still speaking, was beginning to look at him strangely. "...tell him."
He shook his head, focused on what she was saying. "I'm sorry. What?"
"I think you're right that we can tell him." Liz repeated, frowning slightly. "I haven't been fair to Dan at all over the past couple of days. I've been so desperate to protect you both, I'd forgotten that he [I]is[/I] trustworthy. When I think about all he's done for me..." She trailed off. She bit her lip. "But it still doesn't explain why [I]you[/I] trust him."
Max smiled slightly. "Liz, you just answered your own question." He reached out, gently brushed aside a piece of hair that was teasing her face in the warm mid-afternoon breeze. "He helped heal you too. And you [I]let[/I] him in. That's good enough for me. After what I did to you, that you were still able to open up, even at all, to anyone..." He shrugged. "He's a good man. He has to be."
Max glanced over her shoulder, saw Dan had turned back around, was staring at them now, his expression unreadable. "It's time Liz. Tell him. He can speak to me after if he has any questions."
She shuddered slightly, but moved back towards Dan. She spoke to him quietly for several minutes. Dan listened to her intently, glancing up once, to stare right at Max, his gaze piercing. Max stared right back, not challenging, not threatening, simply trying to convey that he was not afraid of the other man, but that he was also taking a big chance on him.
Because, he was, quite literally, placing his life - and the life of his son - in Dan Riley's hands.
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Liz approached Dan, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. "Dan? Are you okay?" She began tentatively.
He had not said a word to her since she had dropped her bombshell upon him - that she still loved Max, but that she loved him too, still wanted to marry him if he wanted her.
"Am I supposed to be?" He asked, causing her to flinch. The bitterness in his tone...It was not a good sign. She looked back towards Max, who was watching them, looking so calm, it made Liz's breath catch.
He really trusted her judgment so completely, he was willing to have her tell her fiancé the truth, was willing to put his entire existence, the existence of his [I]son[/I] at risk because he believed in her.
"I really don't understand how you expect me to react to the news that you are still in love with another man Elizabeth." Dan continued. "And I also don't understand why you think I would even consider still marrying you."
Liz blinked, felt her heart drop. "What?"
"I will [I]not[/I] share you." Dan told her seriously. "I love you but I will not be second best."
"Dan, you're [I] not[/I]!" Liz exclaimed. "You just don't understand!"
Dan pressed his lips together, looked past her and up at Max. "Why is he standing there so smugly?" He demanded. "What does he expect you to be telling me?"
Liz closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, Dan was focused on her again. "I have to tell you what really happened between Max and I Dan. If you're going to understand at all how I can still love Max, feel connected to him, but still love you too, then you're going to have to hear it all."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't understand what you think you can tell me that is going to change anything." But his tone had softened slightly. He appeared ready to listen.
Liz swallowed, felt like she literally had to force the words out. "I told you that Max saved my life. I told you just last night that he was in my father's restaurant when someone shot off a gun, that he pushed me out of the way. I told you that I would have been shot if he hadn't."
Dan nodded impatiently. "Fine. I understand that you had a major life experience with him. But he [I]hurt[/I] you Elizabeth. How can you still love him?"
"Dan, I [I]was[/I] shot that day." Liz blurted. She stared at him, hard. "What you suspected, what you overheard...you were right. Max isn't...he's not like...he's not [I]human[/I]."
She saw Dan take a deep breath. He wasn't looking at her at all. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Dan?" Liz tried tentatively, after what felt like hours. "Say something!"
"He healed you." Dan finally said quietly, like the whole story was finally coming together in his mind. "He's an alien and he healed you."
"Yes."
"Why? Why are you telling me this now?" Dan asked. "I wouldn't have asked again Elizabeth. It was enough for me that you stayed with me last night. You wanted to come back here, desperately, and you chose me. That was enough."
Liz stared at him. Because, somehow, she knew that he was telling her the truth - that he would have let it drop. But she [I]couldn't[/I]. Not now. "Dan, I lied to you. I couldn't have a lie of that magnitude standing between us."
He shook his head, his expression angry. "No, I don't think that's it at all. I don't think you would have ever told me." He looked over her head, stared up at Max for a long moment. "I think he wanted you to tell me the truth. Why? What does he want from me? Does he want me to give you up? He wants me to be scared of him, because of what he is?"
"NO!" Liz grabbed his arm as he made to move past her, as though he wanted to go pound Max into the ground. Max had turned away to give them some privacy, was sitting on a rock near the open door, his head back against the wall as he gazed up at the sky. She felt desperation to get Dan to believe her, to get him to trust Max. "He trusts me. He wants me to tell you because he wants me to be happy and he knows that I won't be happy unless I'm with [I]you![/I] That I can't be happy unless you know that truth about me!"
Dan paused, looked back at her. "He told you that? That he knows that you won't be happy unless you're with me?"
"Well, not in so many words..." Liz admitted. "Listen, I haven't told you everything. About why I think I'm still in love with Max." She paused, searching for words, intimidated by the unreceptive look on Dan's face. "When he healed me...we made...a connection. Something beyond this world. He had to see my [I]soul[/I] in order to save my life. And I saw his. It was beautiful Dan! He is such a good person!"
"This is supposed to make me feel [I]better[/I]?" Dan demanded incredulously. "How do you know he wasn't doing some weird alien mind trick?"
Liz just closed her eyes in frustration. As she had suspected, the whole alien issue did not seem to be the problem here. Dan appeared perfectly willing to accept that Max was not of this Earth. What he was [I]not[/I] willing to deal with was the fact that she could not get Max out of her heart. "Dan, he [I]wasn't[/I]. He could do a connection with you too even! To show you."
" I think not." Dan snapped back. "If you made this wonderful [I]connection[/I] as you call it, how could he have betrayed you with that other girl...that Tess? I don't understand how him being an alien excuses that!"
Liz brought her hands up to both sides of her neck, rubbed, trying to focus. "I told you that I couldn't lie to you anymore. Well, there's a reason for that too. Because I once lied to Max. And it destroyed us. Completely. I [I]drove[/I] him to Tess."
"What?" Dan whispered, sounding amazed. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him that I didn't want to die for him." Liz replied softly, tears filling her eyes. "It was the biggest lie I had ever told - is [I]still[/I] the biggest. I drove him away by pretending to sleep with Kyle and it almost [I]killed[/I] him."
"Why would you do such a thing Elizabeth?" He looked up at Max, who was now standing talking to Michael, who had come out of the house and was glaring down at them, his arms crossed over his chest. Dan's voice was almost sympathetic, like he could understand how devastated Max must have been, especially after what he had done for her.
Liz glared back at Michael. She could see Dan tensing up nervously at the sight of him. "What is that guy's problem?" He asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"He's protective of Max." Liz told him simply. She and Max had agreed that telling him the truth about Michael and Isabel really wasn't necessary after all.
More lies.
"So...you [I]all[/I] know the truth?" Dan asked, turning away. "Even your parents?"
"My parents don't know." Liz told him. "And they can't. They don't need to and it would put them in danger." She placed a hand on his arm. "And I'll tell you why I drove Max away. Because it's important, will just go to show you even more why you can't tell [I]anyone[/I] about him."
And she proceeded to tell her fiancé all about Future Max, about the end of the world, about Max being a king, about Tess and Ben and Alex and Khivar and the cloning and [I]everything[/I], only leaving out details that involved Michael and Isabel. She even told him about her summer of crime in Max's company before he had returned to his home planet in search of his son. Dan's expression became increasingly dumbfounded as she continued. She knew that it all sounded like some crazy science fiction television show spun out of control, but it had been her [I]life[/I].
Until Max had left her. It was only then that everything had returned to normal, that her life had become safe and steady and planned.
And that it had become completely, totally unfulfilling.
Not that danger was particularly fulfilling either, she reflected wryly. But at least having her life in danger again was helping her to realize what was really important: the people she loved and possibly looking for a job she enjoyed and [I]living[/I] each day to the fullest.
The only problem was, the person she loved most in the world, she couldn't trust. In spite of it all, she could not trust that Max was not going to break her heart again, and so she would never be completely fulfilled.
But as she managed to catch his eye, even from across the distance that separated them, she knew that these were all just becoming words. That the more time she spent in his company, the more she wanted to take the chance on him again.
He was her soulmate. He had returned to her from across galaxies. He had come back for [I]her[/I]. Wasn't it enough?
There was a long silence after she finished talking. She could see Isabel had joined the two guys up near the door.
Liz wondered briefly where Ben was, felt disappointed that he hadn't rushed out to see her when she'd arrived. Maybe having Maria around to fulfill his Alex curiosity had been enough for the little boy. After all, just because she felt close to him, already loved him like he was her own child, it didn't mean that he felt the same way. He was just a kid - one who had had very few people to believe in over his short life. What had seemed like a significant connection to her might have just been another example of an adult making promises she wouldn't keep to him. Because maybe he had found out that she hadn't been planning to come back. She cursed herself mentally for the stupidity of that decision. It had made no sense at all.
"Elizabeth?" She blinked, refocused on Dan. He didn't look nearly as upset as he had before she had started her story. In fact, he looked shell-shocked, as though he was incapable of emotion.
"Dan, are you okay?" Liz asked sympathetically.
"I'd like to speak to him." Dan told her quietly.
"Okay. I know he wants to talk to you." Liz replied. "I know I've given you a lot to digest. I don't expect you to make any decisions right now - about me I mean - but I can't stress to you enough how important it is that you keep this a secret. I've trusted you more than I've ever trusted anyone today Dan. Because it's not just Max who's in danger. Ben is too. And he is more precious to me than anyone."
Dan didn't answer, just looked away, a strange expression appearing on his face. "I understand." He looked up the hill at the three Czechs standing there waiting for him, unaware that two of them were even aliens and Liz felt a pang of guilt.
They climbed the hill together, Liz slightly ahead of him. Her eyes met Max's immediately. "He knows now." She tried to tell him with her eyes that she still wasn't sure what his ultimate reaction was going to be.
Max nodded. "Good." He looked beyond her at Dan. "I'm sorry that you had to be brought into this Dan. I really am."
Dan didn't say anything for a long moment. He just stared at Max. Liz could almost hear the wheels spinning in his head. "Thank you for letting Elizabeth tell me the truth." He finally said, sounding a little uncertain. He glanced over at Liz, who could feel her heart pounding anxiously. "I don't quite know what to say to you. It's not every day that one finds out that aliens really exist."
Max smiled slightly. "I know it's strange. But I'm more human than anything else. And like any human, I just want to live in peace. All I want is to keep my son safe and lead a normal life."
Dan tilted his head slightly, studying Max. He glanced warily at Michael and Isabel, then said, "You appear to have inspired loyalty in a lot of people. That has to mean something." Liz frowned slightly. She could see a faint flush rising on Dan's neck. "I didn't expect that you would ever let her tell me the truth," he admitted.
"I trust Liz's judgment." Max replied simply. Liz felt her heart beating a little faster at the way he said it - as though it was a given, that there would never be any question that it should be that way. She swallowed, tried not to show how moved she was by his words.
Dan's hands were in his pockets. He glanced up when Kyle emerged from the dome, looking around curiously. "So, is it resolved then?" Liz frowned at him slightly, a little annoyed at the cavalier way he said it, as though he had always expected that it would work out. But then, Kyle was a firm believer in the truth. He liked Dan, had felt that he would do the right thing. And he was going to be smug if he was proven right too. Which it appeared he was.
"How many people know about this?" Dan asked suddenly, as though seeing Kyle had prompted the question.
"Not many." Michael spoke up gruffly, sounding slightly threatening to Liz's ears. "And no more after today," he added.
"What about your wife Kyle?" Dan asked, sounding a little strange. Liz looked at him curiously.
"Nah. Never saw any need to tell her. My association with aliens has always been a little...different." Kyle shrugged. "I was never truly in the inner circle, you might say." Liz glanced at him sharply, saw Max do the same. It was a half-truth, of course. While Max and Kyle had never really bonded on any deep level, Isabel and Kyle had been close ever since high school and there had been Tess...
And Liz understood. Kyle had not wanted to explain to Sarah about Tess. He had wanted to forget. She could understand that. Because hadn't she tried desperately to forget Max? Hadn't Dan been a way to help her to do so?
Of course, it had not worked. Not really.
"Why do you ask?" Kyle continued.
Dan closed his eyes briefly, as though contemplating Kyle's question. When he opened them, he put out his hand to Max. "I want to thank you for saving Elizabeth's life. Truly. Without you, I never would have even met her. And she has made me so happy. Thank you for that. We both thank you." He put his arm around Liz, pulling her against his side.
She knew that she was supposed to be happy to hear his words. They were exactly what they had all hoped he would say.
But Liz felt her heart stop. Max was staring down at Dan's hand in shock. Because the way Dan had said that...it had almost undermined the healing - made it seem like it had been something simple, something uncomplicated.
It implied that Max would have done it for anyone. It acknowledged Max as a good person, but it did not establish that Dan believed that it created any sort of special bond between Max and Liz. It told them that Dan was not going to turn him in, was not going to create problems for Max or Ben.
But he was not going to give Liz up either. Nor was he going to accept that Max had any sort of connection to her at all.
Max appeared to force himself to shake Dan's hand, but he did not look at him. He stared right at Liz, his eyes dark with pain.
Because she knew exactly what Dan was doing. He was making it seem like that was what Liz had told him, that she had downplayed the seriousness of what Max had done for her, what he had given up to save her.
And she could not say a word. Not in front of Dan. She could not hurt him like that, could not tell them all that she was torn about her fiancé, that it was really Max she wanted, but that she could not trust Max and so was sticking with Dan, who she did love, just not quite as much or in quite the same way.
Not in the way that she would throw away her entire life to keep him safe. Not in the way that she would willingly give up her life for him.
Even if she didn't trust him, she would still do it.
Max would not believe it anyway, would not believe that she had told Dan the truth in such a way. He could not think that she would actually tell Dan such a thing, that she would downplay their connection. She had just told him a few minutes ago that she had admitted to Dan that she still loved Max after all.
"I'm glad too." Max managed to mutter. Liz ached to reach out to him, to scream that it wasn't true, that she had tried to explain to Dan...Because, apparently he [I]did[/I] believe it. How could he? He knew the truth!
"You should go in to see Ben Liz." Max looked directly at her then, his eyes cold. "He missed you. Dan should meet him too." He turned away. "I'm going for a walk." He told Michael curtly. "Watch over things."
"Wait!" Dan intervened, placed his hand on Liz's shoulder, as though knowing that she was going after Max, even though she hadn't taken a single step.
Max paused halfway down the slope, didn't turn around.
"I was trying to tell you. I'm afraid...well, I did something that I don't think is going to be easy to repair." He turned Liz around, looked guilty. And Liz truly believed that he [I]was[/I]. He might be trying to break the connection between Max and Liz, but Liz truly did not think that he had it in for Max anymore. "Kyle, you might have to tell your wife the truth too." He continued.
"Why?" Kyle's face blanched as Liz watched. Everything was moving in slow motion suddenly.
"Because..." Dan paused, grimaced. "She's on her way here. And she's bringing Vick with her."
"Vick?" Michael stepped forward menacingly. "As in Victoria the reporter?"
"Dan!" Liz rubbed her temples in horror. Max had turned around, was staring right at her, his face an emotionless mask. "Why would you do such a thing?"
"I felt that I needed support." He looked at Liz guiltily. "I knew you were lying to me about Max. I knew that I was right. And I thought that if I confronted you all about it in front of Vick...well, she would expose him and this would all be over."
"Who cares?" Max said quietly. "It's not like we'll tell them. They don't have to know anything. We'll just send them home. Kyle can take them. We're leaving later today anyway."
"We are?" Liz glanced at Isabel and Michael, who both looked as surprised as she felt.
Max didn't look at her when he replied, "You have a wedding tomorrow Liz. I think you need to go back to Roswell. You should [I]all[/I] go back. I'll take Ben somewhere safe until it's over. Nicholas doesn't care about any of you. I'll deal with him and then come home."
"Max! That's crazy!" Isabel exclaimed. "We're not just going to leave you! And Jesse wants me to stay with you too!"
"I don't particularly care what Jesse wants." Max snapped back. "I've told you what's happening and that's it."
"Nicholas is out there Maxwell! He's not just going to let us go back to our lives." Michael spoke softly, as though understanding that Max's stubbornness was stemming from anger at Liz, rather than because he truly meant what he was saying.
But Max was already walking away. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he called over his shoulder.
"Liz!" Isabel's voice penetrated the fog surrounding her. How had everything spun so completely out of control? How could she actually be marrying Dan in less than twenty-four hours? Wasn't it exactly what she wanted? And was Max really losing it so completely that he was going to send everyone he cared about back to the one place Nicholas would be able to find them with ease? "Go after him!" Max's sister ordered, as though not understanding why she was still standing there.
"Elizabeth, he clearly wants to be alone." Dan spoke softly to her. "I don't blame him. He must understand now that we're still going to be married. I would be hurt too, if I lost you."
Liz wrenched away from him. "I have to go after him. He's not behaving rationally." She looked at Dan, could feel tears filling her eyes. "How could you do that to him? I told you what it was like between us!"
Dan stared at her, as though he truly did not understand. "What are you talking about?"
But Liz was already racing down the slope after Max, unable to resist what she really wanted to do a moment longer.
To be continued...
Max stood near the door, waited for Liz and Dan to climb the slight incline that lead up to Atherton's front door. He was trying not to stare at Liz, but this was made more difficult by the fact that she looked like she wanted to be sick. Max could almost [I]feel[/I] her nervousness, her fear that she was doing the wrong thing by allowing Dan to join them here.
For one brief moment Max felt doubt. Maybe this [I]was[/I] a mistake. They could still change the plan, could still construct some elaborate tale to spin for Dan, could still keep the secret. If Liz was so concerned that Dan was not going to be able to handle the truth...
And, yet, Max knew they were doing the right thing. Even if [I]Liz[/I] didn't trust her own instincts, Max did. Because he knew her. He knew that she would not be engaged to someone that she didn't trust. She might not [I]know[/I] that she trusted him anymore, but Max knew that, deep down, she did.
It was convoluted logic, but in Max's mind, made perfect sense. He was never going to doubt Liz again. He had made that mistake once in his life and he had paid for it every day since. His instincts where she was concerned - about trusting her, about [I]believing[/I] in her - had always been right.
One look at Dan's expression and Max knew it was far too late to back away now anyway. He looked like he had been kicked in the stomach - hard...several times. Max frowned slightly. What the heck was going on?
Liz turned to Dan, spoke quietly to him. He nodded, turned away and stared out across the desert, his back tense.
And then she was standing right in front of him, her expression unreadable. "Hi."
"Hi." Max replied, looking towards Dan. "What's going on? I thought that he would have been chomping at the bit for answers by now."
"I told him the truth Max."
Max blinked, swallowed. "Oh." He frowned again, glanced behind him. He knew that Michael and Isabel were both lurking near the doorway, listening, ready to take Dan down at his slightest word. It was making him supremely uncomfortable. "How did he take it?"
"I don't think it was quite what he was expecting to hear." Liz admitted, shaking her head, a guilty expression on her face. "But I had to tell him. He needed to know. It was the only way he was going to understand."
The way Liz said that, Max knew that they weren't talking about the same thing at all. "Liz, what did you tell him?" He asked, confused.
"That I'm still love you." Liz replied simply. "He had to know."
Max stared at her. "You told him that?" He managed to croak, almost unbelieving. His heart was beginning to beat erratically, and for the first time since he had made his decision about Dan, he was terrified. "Why?"
Because, the worst part of it was, even though those words coming from her lips were what he had most wanted to hear since he had first laid eyes on her a couple of days before, he knew that everything had just become extraordinarily more complicated.
"Because it's true Max." Liz sighed. "He needs to know, [I]deserves[/I] to know. I love him and you were the one who said that I shouldn't be keeping secrets from him."
"I just don't get what good it was telling him that." Max shook his head, in total confusion. "Liz, he's going to freak out."
"Probably." Liz agreed. "But he needs to know the whole truth Max. He needs to [I]get[/I] why he can't turn you in. He needs to understand why I would never forgive him, but also why I know that you're not dangerous. Because I'm beginning to think that's his biggest issue with you."
Max just stared at her helplessly. "Liz, are you still planning to marry him?" He demanded finally.
Liz looked away for a long moment. "I don't know anything anymore Max." She swallowed, sighed. "I was going to you know. To protect you. To protect your secret."
"WHAT?"
"I would have stayed with him for the rest of my life to protect you." Liz smiled sadly. "In spite of everything, I can't let anything happen to you." Her voice lowered. "Max, that dream I had last night..." He saw a shudder pass through her slender frame. It took all of his control not to reach out, not to pull her into his arms comfortingly. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you...or Ben," she added unnecessarily. He knew that the two of them were becoming interlinked in her mind.
It was what he had been afraid of - that she was going to be drawn to him because of her desire to be close to his son. And, yet, it was not nearly as horrible as he had imagined it might be. Ben was a part of him now. Even if he wasn' t his biological child, the bond they had formed, the desire he had to protect the child...he was [I]glad[/I] that Liz trusted him enough to want him to do it.
Because that trust was the first step towards being able to trust him with [I]her[/I] heart again. Ben was important to her and it had never even occurred to her that Max shouldn't raise him.
And the love he had for Ben was closely tied to the love he had for Liz, for how important he knew that he would be to her. He understood suddenly that the boy did not detract from the way they felt about each other - would always feel about each other. He just [I]added[/I] to it. That they felt exactly the same way about the child, the miracle that was Ben, was a gift.
He realized that Liz was still speaking, was beginning to look at him strangely. "...tell him."
He shook his head, focused on what she was saying. "I'm sorry. What?"
"I think you're right that we can tell him." Liz repeated, frowning slightly. "I haven't been fair to Dan at all over the past couple of days. I've been so desperate to protect you both, I'd forgotten that he [I]is[/I] trustworthy. When I think about all he's done for me..." She trailed off. She bit her lip. "But it still doesn't explain why [I]you[/I] trust him."
Max smiled slightly. "Liz, you just answered your own question." He reached out, gently brushed aside a piece of hair that was teasing her face in the warm mid-afternoon breeze. "He helped heal you too. And you [I]let[/I] him in. That's good enough for me. After what I did to you, that you were still able to open up, even at all, to anyone..." He shrugged. "He's a good man. He has to be."
Max glanced over her shoulder, saw Dan had turned back around, was staring at them now, his expression unreadable. "It's time Liz. Tell him. He can speak to me after if he has any questions."
She shuddered slightly, but moved back towards Dan. She spoke to him quietly for several minutes. Dan listened to her intently, glancing up once, to stare right at Max, his gaze piercing. Max stared right back, not challenging, not threatening, simply trying to convey that he was not afraid of the other man, but that he was also taking a big chance on him.
Because, he was, quite literally, placing his life - and the life of his son - in Dan Riley's hands.
****************************************************************
Liz approached Dan, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. "Dan? Are you okay?" She began tentatively.
He had not said a word to her since she had dropped her bombshell upon him - that she still loved Max, but that she loved him too, still wanted to marry him if he wanted her.
"Am I supposed to be?" He asked, causing her to flinch. The bitterness in his tone...It was not a good sign. She looked back towards Max, who was watching them, looking so calm, it made Liz's breath catch.
He really trusted her judgment so completely, he was willing to have her tell her fiancé the truth, was willing to put his entire existence, the existence of his [I]son[/I] at risk because he believed in her.
"I really don't understand how you expect me to react to the news that you are still in love with another man Elizabeth." Dan continued. "And I also don't understand why you think I would even consider still marrying you."
Liz blinked, felt her heart drop. "What?"
"I will [I]not[/I] share you." Dan told her seriously. "I love you but I will not be second best."
"Dan, you're [I] not[/I]!" Liz exclaimed. "You just don't understand!"
Dan pressed his lips together, looked past her and up at Max. "Why is he standing there so smugly?" He demanded. "What does he expect you to be telling me?"
Liz closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, Dan was focused on her again. "I have to tell you what really happened between Max and I Dan. If you're going to understand at all how I can still love Max, feel connected to him, but still love you too, then you're going to have to hear it all."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't understand what you think you can tell me that is going to change anything." But his tone had softened slightly. He appeared ready to listen.
Liz swallowed, felt like she literally had to force the words out. "I told you that Max saved my life. I told you just last night that he was in my father's restaurant when someone shot off a gun, that he pushed me out of the way. I told you that I would have been shot if he hadn't."
Dan nodded impatiently. "Fine. I understand that you had a major life experience with him. But he [I]hurt[/I] you Elizabeth. How can you still love him?"
"Dan, I [I]was[/I] shot that day." Liz blurted. She stared at him, hard. "What you suspected, what you overheard...you were right. Max isn't...he's not like...he's not [I]human[/I]."
She saw Dan take a deep breath. He wasn't looking at her at all. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Dan?" Liz tried tentatively, after what felt like hours. "Say something!"
"He healed you." Dan finally said quietly, like the whole story was finally coming together in his mind. "He's an alien and he healed you."
"Yes."
"Why? Why are you telling me this now?" Dan asked. "I wouldn't have asked again Elizabeth. It was enough for me that you stayed with me last night. You wanted to come back here, desperately, and you chose me. That was enough."
Liz stared at him. Because, somehow, she knew that he was telling her the truth - that he would have let it drop. But she [I]couldn't[/I]. Not now. "Dan, I lied to you. I couldn't have a lie of that magnitude standing between us."
He shook his head, his expression angry. "No, I don't think that's it at all. I don't think you would have ever told me." He looked over her head, stared up at Max for a long moment. "I think he wanted you to tell me the truth. Why? What does he want from me? Does he want me to give you up? He wants me to be scared of him, because of what he is?"
"NO!" Liz grabbed his arm as he made to move past her, as though he wanted to go pound Max into the ground. Max had turned away to give them some privacy, was sitting on a rock near the open door, his head back against the wall as he gazed up at the sky. She felt desperation to get Dan to believe her, to get him to trust Max. "He trusts me. He wants me to tell you because he wants me to be happy and he knows that I won't be happy unless I'm with [I]you![/I] That I can't be happy unless you know that truth about me!"
Dan paused, looked back at her. "He told you that? That he knows that you won't be happy unless you're with me?"
"Well, not in so many words..." Liz admitted. "Listen, I haven't told you everything. About why I think I'm still in love with Max." She paused, searching for words, intimidated by the unreceptive look on Dan's face. "When he healed me...we made...a connection. Something beyond this world. He had to see my [I]soul[/I] in order to save my life. And I saw his. It was beautiful Dan! He is such a good person!"
"This is supposed to make me feel [I]better[/I]?" Dan demanded incredulously. "How do you know he wasn't doing some weird alien mind trick?"
Liz just closed her eyes in frustration. As she had suspected, the whole alien issue did not seem to be the problem here. Dan appeared perfectly willing to accept that Max was not of this Earth. What he was [I]not[/I] willing to deal with was the fact that she could not get Max out of her heart. "Dan, he [I]wasn't[/I]. He could do a connection with you too even! To show you."
" I think not." Dan snapped back. "If you made this wonderful [I]connection[/I] as you call it, how could he have betrayed you with that other girl...that Tess? I don't understand how him being an alien excuses that!"
Liz brought her hands up to both sides of her neck, rubbed, trying to focus. "I told you that I couldn't lie to you anymore. Well, there's a reason for that too. Because I once lied to Max. And it destroyed us. Completely. I [I]drove[/I] him to Tess."
"What?" Dan whispered, sounding amazed. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him that I didn't want to die for him." Liz replied softly, tears filling her eyes. "It was the biggest lie I had ever told - is [I]still[/I] the biggest. I drove him away by pretending to sleep with Kyle and it almost [I]killed[/I] him."
"Why would you do such a thing Elizabeth?" He looked up at Max, who was now standing talking to Michael, who had come out of the house and was glaring down at them, his arms crossed over his chest. Dan's voice was almost sympathetic, like he could understand how devastated Max must have been, especially after what he had done for her.
Liz glared back at Michael. She could see Dan tensing up nervously at the sight of him. "What is that guy's problem?" He asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"He's protective of Max." Liz told him simply. She and Max had agreed that telling him the truth about Michael and Isabel really wasn't necessary after all.
More lies.
"So...you [I]all[/I] know the truth?" Dan asked, turning away. "Even your parents?"
"My parents don't know." Liz told him. "And they can't. They don't need to and it would put them in danger." She placed a hand on his arm. "And I'll tell you why I drove Max away. Because it's important, will just go to show you even more why you can't tell [I]anyone[/I] about him."
And she proceeded to tell her fiancé all about Future Max, about the end of the world, about Max being a king, about Tess and Ben and Alex and Khivar and the cloning and [I]everything[/I], only leaving out details that involved Michael and Isabel. She even told him about her summer of crime in Max's company before he had returned to his home planet in search of his son. Dan's expression became increasingly dumbfounded as she continued. She knew that it all sounded like some crazy science fiction television show spun out of control, but it had been her [I]life[/I].
Until Max had left her. It was only then that everything had returned to normal, that her life had become safe and steady and planned.
And that it had become completely, totally unfulfilling.
Not that danger was particularly fulfilling either, she reflected wryly. But at least having her life in danger again was helping her to realize what was really important: the people she loved and possibly looking for a job she enjoyed and [I]living[/I] each day to the fullest.
The only problem was, the person she loved most in the world, she couldn't trust. In spite of it all, she could not trust that Max was not going to break her heart again, and so she would never be completely fulfilled.
But as she managed to catch his eye, even from across the distance that separated them, she knew that these were all just becoming words. That the more time she spent in his company, the more she wanted to take the chance on him again.
He was her soulmate. He had returned to her from across galaxies. He had come back for [I]her[/I]. Wasn't it enough?
There was a long silence after she finished talking. She could see Isabel had joined the two guys up near the door.
Liz wondered briefly where Ben was, felt disappointed that he hadn't rushed out to see her when she'd arrived. Maybe having Maria around to fulfill his Alex curiosity had been enough for the little boy. After all, just because she felt close to him, already loved him like he was her own child, it didn't mean that he felt the same way. He was just a kid - one who had had very few people to believe in over his short life. What had seemed like a significant connection to her might have just been another example of an adult making promises she wouldn't keep to him. Because maybe he had found out that she hadn't been planning to come back. She cursed herself mentally for the stupidity of that decision. It had made no sense at all.
"Elizabeth?" She blinked, refocused on Dan. He didn't look nearly as upset as he had before she had started her story. In fact, he looked shell-shocked, as though he was incapable of emotion.
"Dan, are you okay?" Liz asked sympathetically.
"I'd like to speak to him." Dan told her quietly.
"Okay. I know he wants to talk to you." Liz replied. "I know I've given you a lot to digest. I don't expect you to make any decisions right now - about me I mean - but I can't stress to you enough how important it is that you keep this a secret. I've trusted you more than I've ever trusted anyone today Dan. Because it's not just Max who's in danger. Ben is too. And he is more precious to me than anyone."
Dan didn't answer, just looked away, a strange expression appearing on his face. "I understand." He looked up the hill at the three Czechs standing there waiting for him, unaware that two of them were even aliens and Liz felt a pang of guilt.
They climbed the hill together, Liz slightly ahead of him. Her eyes met Max's immediately. "He knows now." She tried to tell him with her eyes that she still wasn't sure what his ultimate reaction was going to be.
Max nodded. "Good." He looked beyond her at Dan. "I'm sorry that you had to be brought into this Dan. I really am."
Dan didn't say anything for a long moment. He just stared at Max. Liz could almost hear the wheels spinning in his head. "Thank you for letting Elizabeth tell me the truth." He finally said, sounding a little uncertain. He glanced over at Liz, who could feel her heart pounding anxiously. "I don't quite know what to say to you. It's not every day that one finds out that aliens really exist."
Max smiled slightly. "I know it's strange. But I'm more human than anything else. And like any human, I just want to live in peace. All I want is to keep my son safe and lead a normal life."
Dan tilted his head slightly, studying Max. He glanced warily at Michael and Isabel, then said, "You appear to have inspired loyalty in a lot of people. That has to mean something." Liz frowned slightly. She could see a faint flush rising on Dan's neck. "I didn't expect that you would ever let her tell me the truth," he admitted.
"I trust Liz's judgment." Max replied simply. Liz felt her heart beating a little faster at the way he said it - as though it was a given, that there would never be any question that it should be that way. She swallowed, tried not to show how moved she was by his words.
Dan's hands were in his pockets. He glanced up when Kyle emerged from the dome, looking around curiously. "So, is it resolved then?" Liz frowned at him slightly, a little annoyed at the cavalier way he said it, as though he had always expected that it would work out. But then, Kyle was a firm believer in the truth. He liked Dan, had felt that he would do the right thing. And he was going to be smug if he was proven right too. Which it appeared he was.
"How many people know about this?" Dan asked suddenly, as though seeing Kyle had prompted the question.
"Not many." Michael spoke up gruffly, sounding slightly threatening to Liz's ears. "And no more after today," he added.
"What about your wife Kyle?" Dan asked, sounding a little strange. Liz looked at him curiously.
"Nah. Never saw any need to tell her. My association with aliens has always been a little...different." Kyle shrugged. "I was never truly in the inner circle, you might say." Liz glanced at him sharply, saw Max do the same. It was a half-truth, of course. While Max and Kyle had never really bonded on any deep level, Isabel and Kyle had been close ever since high school and there had been Tess...
And Liz understood. Kyle had not wanted to explain to Sarah about Tess. He had wanted to forget. She could understand that. Because hadn't she tried desperately to forget Max? Hadn't Dan been a way to help her to do so?
Of course, it had not worked. Not really.
"Why do you ask?" Kyle continued.
Dan closed his eyes briefly, as though contemplating Kyle's question. When he opened them, he put out his hand to Max. "I want to thank you for saving Elizabeth's life. Truly. Without you, I never would have even met her. And she has made me so happy. Thank you for that. We both thank you." He put his arm around Liz, pulling her against his side.
She knew that she was supposed to be happy to hear his words. They were exactly what they had all hoped he would say.
But Liz felt her heart stop. Max was staring down at Dan's hand in shock. Because the way Dan had said that...it had almost undermined the healing - made it seem like it had been something simple, something uncomplicated.
It implied that Max would have done it for anyone. It acknowledged Max as a good person, but it did not establish that Dan believed that it created any sort of special bond between Max and Liz. It told them that Dan was not going to turn him in, was not going to create problems for Max or Ben.
But he was not going to give Liz up either. Nor was he going to accept that Max had any sort of connection to her at all.
Max appeared to force himself to shake Dan's hand, but he did not look at him. He stared right at Liz, his eyes dark with pain.
Because she knew exactly what Dan was doing. He was making it seem like that was what Liz had told him, that she had downplayed the seriousness of what Max had done for her, what he had given up to save her.
And she could not say a word. Not in front of Dan. She could not hurt him like that, could not tell them all that she was torn about her fiancé, that it was really Max she wanted, but that she could not trust Max and so was sticking with Dan, who she did love, just not quite as much or in quite the same way.
Not in the way that she would throw away her entire life to keep him safe. Not in the way that she would willingly give up her life for him.
Even if she didn't trust him, she would still do it.
Max would not believe it anyway, would not believe that she had told Dan the truth in such a way. He could not think that she would actually tell Dan such a thing, that she would downplay their connection. She had just told him a few minutes ago that she had admitted to Dan that she still loved Max after all.
"I'm glad too." Max managed to mutter. Liz ached to reach out to him, to scream that it wasn't true, that she had tried to explain to Dan...Because, apparently he [I]did[/I] believe it. How could he? He knew the truth!
"You should go in to see Ben Liz." Max looked directly at her then, his eyes cold. "He missed you. Dan should meet him too." He turned away. "I'm going for a walk." He told Michael curtly. "Watch over things."
"Wait!" Dan intervened, placed his hand on Liz's shoulder, as though knowing that she was going after Max, even though she hadn't taken a single step.
Max paused halfway down the slope, didn't turn around.
"I was trying to tell you. I'm afraid...well, I did something that I don't think is going to be easy to repair." He turned Liz around, looked guilty. And Liz truly believed that he [I]was[/I]. He might be trying to break the connection between Max and Liz, but Liz truly did not think that he had it in for Max anymore. "Kyle, you might have to tell your wife the truth too." He continued.
"Why?" Kyle's face blanched as Liz watched. Everything was moving in slow motion suddenly.
"Because..." Dan paused, grimaced. "She's on her way here. And she's bringing Vick with her."
"Vick?" Michael stepped forward menacingly. "As in Victoria the reporter?"
"Dan!" Liz rubbed her temples in horror. Max had turned around, was staring right at her, his face an emotionless mask. "Why would you do such a thing?"
"I felt that I needed support." He looked at Liz guiltily. "I knew you were lying to me about Max. I knew that I was right. And I thought that if I confronted you all about it in front of Vick...well, she would expose him and this would all be over."
"Who cares?" Max said quietly. "It's not like we'll tell them. They don't have to know anything. We'll just send them home. Kyle can take them. We're leaving later today anyway."
"We are?" Liz glanced at Isabel and Michael, who both looked as surprised as she felt.
Max didn't look at her when he replied, "You have a wedding tomorrow Liz. I think you need to go back to Roswell. You should [I]all[/I] go back. I'll take Ben somewhere safe until it's over. Nicholas doesn't care about any of you. I'll deal with him and then come home."
"Max! That's crazy!" Isabel exclaimed. "We're not just going to leave you! And Jesse wants me to stay with you too!"
"I don't particularly care what Jesse wants." Max snapped back. "I've told you what's happening and that's it."
"Nicholas is out there Maxwell! He's not just going to let us go back to our lives." Michael spoke softly, as though understanding that Max's stubbornness was stemming from anger at Liz, rather than because he truly meant what he was saying.
But Max was already walking away. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he called over his shoulder.
"Liz!" Isabel's voice penetrated the fog surrounding her. How had everything spun so completely out of control? How could she actually be marrying Dan in less than twenty-four hours? Wasn't it exactly what she wanted? And was Max really losing it so completely that he was going to send everyone he cared about back to the one place Nicholas would be able to find them with ease? "Go after him!" Max's sister ordered, as though not understanding why she was still standing there.
"Elizabeth, he clearly wants to be alone." Dan spoke softly to her. "I don't blame him. He must understand now that we're still going to be married. I would be hurt too, if I lost you."
Liz wrenched away from him. "I have to go after him. He's not behaving rationally." She looked at Dan, could feel tears filling her eyes. "How could you do that to him? I told you what it was like between us!"
Dan stared at her, as though he truly did not understand. "What are you talking about?"
But Liz was already racing down the slope after Max, unable to resist what she really wanted to do a moment longer.
To be continued...