Part 11 - Another Time, Another Life Continued
[b] Late February - Las Vegas, Nevada [/b]
"Oh my God! Max! Someone's coming!" Liz gasped against his lips, turning her head so abruptly, she heard him sputter when he got a mouthful of hair. She tried not to laugh when he tickled her lightly on the ribs in punishment. This resulted in a muffled scream, half-snort.
But she was right. She could hear voices, knew that if they didn't stop it immediately, they were going to be caught and the jig would be up. Everyone would know, which meant that Tess would know and it was still unclear what that would mean.
"Shhhhhhh!" Liz felt Max bring his forehead down to rest against hers. She could still hear him breathing heavily, could feel his heart beating rapidly against her chest. They were so close, she actually felt her own slow down, starting to beat in time with his. Liz pinched him, since he was the one who had almost made her shriek. She felt him trying desperately not to laugh.
They were both so tense, it almost made Liz start to giggle hysterically too. As though he could feel it, Max cupped her head gently and rested her cheek against his chest, stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down.
Liz had known it had been a mistake when she had allowed Max to pull her into the bathroom of the hotel room they were sharing with all their friends, but it had been too hard to say no. Everyone had been down in the casino anyway. Besides, since they had arrived in Las Vegas to spend the money Michael had inherited, he had been all she had been thinking of.
Totally alone. No parents anywhere. There was no question that "cementing," as Future Max had dubbed it, was definitely on her mind.
It had been so long since they had had a moment alone. The entire Laurie Dupree affair, which had almost resulted in the end of the world, had made it so there was barely a minute to spare, let alone time to revel in the fact that they were back together and more deliriously happy than either of them had ever been in their entire life.
They had actually been discussing whether maybe it was time to tell everyone the truth when they had been distracted by their close proximity to each other in such a small space. After all, Tess and Kyle were closer than ever. Liz had even begun to bond with the other girl a little during the time they had been trying to dig Alex and Kyle out of the ground. Both Max and Liz were almost positive that she had no intention of leaving Roswell, and since she had been anything but aggressive with Max since their return from New York, Liz had even begun to hope that perhaps she had given up - that maybe she was falling love with Kyle and had no intention of being with Max, ever.
Yet, they were still waiting, stealing moments together here and there, both craving more, but knowing that caution was the better part of valour. The chance to actually be together was too precious to jeopardize by revealing it too soon.
This was why Liz was currently straining her ears to hear who had come into their suite. If it was Maria, Alex or even Michael or Isabel, the danger was not great. They might be able to brazen out the fact that they were up here alone together. Liz was almost positive that Maria knew they were back together anyway - she had practically orchestrated it herself after all. Liz didn't doubt that she had maybe spilled some information to Michael or Alex too. She knew her best friend. She could keep a secret when it really counted, like the Future Max one, but she was likely too happy contemplating the possibility that Max and Liz had reunited not to at least speculate about it with either her boyfriend or her other best friend.
But if it was Tess or Kyle...Well, that didn't bear thinking about. The proverbial cat would be out of the proverbial bag in that instance. And they still weren't sure that Tess was ready for it. Keeping her in Roswell at all costs - it was what Liz had given Max up for in the first place, it was the reason she had been willing to hurt him so badly. They could not risk it.
"I think it's Tess." Liz heard Max whisper against her hair. "I can feel her presence." That comment sent a shiver down Liz's spine. Max felt it, tightened his arms around her. "Through the Four Square." He added, trying to reassure her.
But Liz did not have time to reflect on why this upset her so. She had recognized the other voice. It was Alex.
"Why are Alex and Tess up here together?" Liz murmured. She felt Max shrug.
"I don't care, as long as they leave." Liz heard a door shut, the voices disappearing.
"I think they went into one of the rooms." Liz frowned slightly. "What's going on?"
"I'm sure its nothing." Max replied. Liz felt him moving away from her, towards the door. The bathroom was in complete darkness, no lights having been necessary for what they had been up to in there. Liz watched as light filtered into the small room as Max opened the door, poking his head out. "No one." He turned back, shutting the door again.
Liz frowned to herself. "Max, we need to get out of here." She whispered urgently, moving towards the door.
"Liz, I want to tell her the truth." He told her firmly. "She has to accept this someday. I want it to start now." Liz could tell by the tone of his voice that he no longer found this scenario amusing. In fact, she could hear an underlying frustration that had been building between them for a couple of weeks now.
Liz sighed heavily. "We can't. Not yet. Not until I feel sure." The panic she had felt at the though of being caught. It had only reinforced to her that it was not yet time.
"Liz..."
"Max, you promised me that we would do this when I felt ready. You don't know what Future Max told me would happen." She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth.
There was a long pause. Liz wished that they had turned the lights on. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't see his face. She knew that he was still angry about the fact that the future version of himself had come back in time, telling her that she needed to make him fall out of love with her. She hadn't told him the whole story though. He had been so angry at himself over the whole situation, even though he, of course, had had nothing to do with it, she had only told him that they needed to keep Tess in Roswell at all costs -even at the cost of their own happiness.
"Are you ever going to tell me?" He finally asked quietly.
"I can't. Max, he almost couldn't tell [I]me.[/I] It screws up the timeline too much to know. The only reason he finally told me was because I wasn't going to help him." She felt herself tensing up when he didn't reply for a long time again.
"This is coming between us Liz." He said firmly. "I don't want anything to come between us."
"I don't either." Liz replied. "You know that. But I can't tell you!"
"You might not want it to." Max told her, "But you're letting it." There was another long pause. "I haven't had one single flash from you since we've been back together."
The night they had gotten back together, she had told him only half the truth. After she had thought about it, it had seemed like the wisest course of action. Future Max had warned her that this was a "different world," but he had also told her that telling too much could seriously affect future events. The fact that she had gotten back together with Max at all was a big enough risk.
And, still, Liz felt like she had been punched in the gut. Max sounded so hurt, all she wanted to do was throw her arms around him and comfort him. Because she knew it was true. She had not allowed him to see into her soul at all, afraid that he would find out the truth about Future Max. And he couldn't know. He couldn't know that they had been responsible for Michael and Isabel's deaths and for the end of the world.
She was afraid of how he might react, afraid how he would feel. She knew him. His guilt might cause him to do the one thing she dreaded more than any other. He might actually decide that he had to pursue his destiny with Tess.
She knew it was selfish, knew that it was completely against everything her nature was telling her to do, but she couldn't give him up again. She just could not do it.
And so she kept it from him, tried to determine Tess's state of mind on her own, tried to figure out if the right moment had come.
The irony was, she was losing Max anyway.
She knew this as she watched him open the bathroom door. He had been waiting for her to say something, ANYTHING, to fix this rift that was beginning to open between them. When she didn't, he left, without another word.
Liz knew that he would be back. He couldn't stay away from her after all. But this time, something had irrevocably changed.
A shiver descended her backbone. She wondered why she felt like she had just made the SECOND biggest mistake of her life.
To be continued...
[b] Late February - Las Vegas, Nevada [/b]
"Oh my God! Max! Someone's coming!" Liz gasped against his lips, turning her head so abruptly, she heard him sputter when he got a mouthful of hair. She tried not to laugh when he tickled her lightly on the ribs in punishment. This resulted in a muffled scream, half-snort.
But she was right. She could hear voices, knew that if they didn't stop it immediately, they were going to be caught and the jig would be up. Everyone would know, which meant that Tess would know and it was still unclear what that would mean.
"Shhhhhhh!" Liz felt Max bring his forehead down to rest against hers. She could still hear him breathing heavily, could feel his heart beating rapidly against her chest. They were so close, she actually felt her own slow down, starting to beat in time with his. Liz pinched him, since he was the one who had almost made her shriek. She felt him trying desperately not to laugh.
They were both so tense, it almost made Liz start to giggle hysterically too. As though he could feel it, Max cupped her head gently and rested her cheek against his chest, stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down.
Liz had known it had been a mistake when she had allowed Max to pull her into the bathroom of the hotel room they were sharing with all their friends, but it had been too hard to say no. Everyone had been down in the casino anyway. Besides, since they had arrived in Las Vegas to spend the money Michael had inherited, he had been all she had been thinking of.
Totally alone. No parents anywhere. There was no question that "cementing," as Future Max had dubbed it, was definitely on her mind.
It had been so long since they had had a moment alone. The entire Laurie Dupree affair, which had almost resulted in the end of the world, had made it so there was barely a minute to spare, let alone time to revel in the fact that they were back together and more deliriously happy than either of them had ever been in their entire life.
They had actually been discussing whether maybe it was time to tell everyone the truth when they had been distracted by their close proximity to each other in such a small space. After all, Tess and Kyle were closer than ever. Liz had even begun to bond with the other girl a little during the time they had been trying to dig Alex and Kyle out of the ground. Both Max and Liz were almost positive that she had no intention of leaving Roswell, and since she had been anything but aggressive with Max since their return from New York, Liz had even begun to hope that perhaps she had given up - that maybe she was falling love with Kyle and had no intention of being with Max, ever.
Yet, they were still waiting, stealing moments together here and there, both craving more, but knowing that caution was the better part of valour. The chance to actually be together was too precious to jeopardize by revealing it too soon.
This was why Liz was currently straining her ears to hear who had come into their suite. If it was Maria, Alex or even Michael or Isabel, the danger was not great. They might be able to brazen out the fact that they were up here alone together. Liz was almost positive that Maria knew they were back together anyway - she had practically orchestrated it herself after all. Liz didn't doubt that she had maybe spilled some information to Michael or Alex too. She knew her best friend. She could keep a secret when it really counted, like the Future Max one, but she was likely too happy contemplating the possibility that Max and Liz had reunited not to at least speculate about it with either her boyfriend or her other best friend.
But if it was Tess or Kyle...Well, that didn't bear thinking about. The proverbial cat would be out of the proverbial bag in that instance. And they still weren't sure that Tess was ready for it. Keeping her in Roswell at all costs - it was what Liz had given Max up for in the first place, it was the reason she had been willing to hurt him so badly. They could not risk it.
"I think it's Tess." Liz heard Max whisper against her hair. "I can feel her presence." That comment sent a shiver down Liz's spine. Max felt it, tightened his arms around her. "Through the Four Square." He added, trying to reassure her.
But Liz did not have time to reflect on why this upset her so. She had recognized the other voice. It was Alex.
"Why are Alex and Tess up here together?" Liz murmured. She felt Max shrug.
"I don't care, as long as they leave." Liz heard a door shut, the voices disappearing.
"I think they went into one of the rooms." Liz frowned slightly. "What's going on?"
"I'm sure its nothing." Max replied. Liz felt him moving away from her, towards the door. The bathroom was in complete darkness, no lights having been necessary for what they had been up to in there. Liz watched as light filtered into the small room as Max opened the door, poking his head out. "No one." He turned back, shutting the door again.
Liz frowned to herself. "Max, we need to get out of here." She whispered urgently, moving towards the door.
"Liz, I want to tell her the truth." He told her firmly. "She has to accept this someday. I want it to start now." Liz could tell by the tone of his voice that he no longer found this scenario amusing. In fact, she could hear an underlying frustration that had been building between them for a couple of weeks now.
Liz sighed heavily. "We can't. Not yet. Not until I feel sure." The panic she had felt at the though of being caught. It had only reinforced to her that it was not yet time.
"Liz..."
"Max, you promised me that we would do this when I felt ready. You don't know what Future Max told me would happen." She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth.
There was a long pause. Liz wished that they had turned the lights on. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't see his face. She knew that he was still angry about the fact that the future version of himself had come back in time, telling her that she needed to make him fall out of love with her. She hadn't told him the whole story though. He had been so angry at himself over the whole situation, even though he, of course, had had nothing to do with it, she had only told him that they needed to keep Tess in Roswell at all costs -even at the cost of their own happiness.
"Are you ever going to tell me?" He finally asked quietly.
"I can't. Max, he almost couldn't tell [I]me.[/I] It screws up the timeline too much to know. The only reason he finally told me was because I wasn't going to help him." She felt herself tensing up when he didn't reply for a long time again.
"This is coming between us Liz." He said firmly. "I don't want anything to come between us."
"I don't either." Liz replied. "You know that. But I can't tell you!"
"You might not want it to." Max told her, "But you're letting it." There was another long pause. "I haven't had one single flash from you since we've been back together."
The night they had gotten back together, she had told him only half the truth. After she had thought about it, it had seemed like the wisest course of action. Future Max had warned her that this was a "different world," but he had also told her that telling too much could seriously affect future events. The fact that she had gotten back together with Max at all was a big enough risk.
And, still, Liz felt like she had been punched in the gut. Max sounded so hurt, all she wanted to do was throw her arms around him and comfort him. Because she knew it was true. She had not allowed him to see into her soul at all, afraid that he would find out the truth about Future Max. And he couldn't know. He couldn't know that they had been responsible for Michael and Isabel's deaths and for the end of the world.
She was afraid of how he might react, afraid how he would feel. She knew him. His guilt might cause him to do the one thing she dreaded more than any other. He might actually decide that he had to pursue his destiny with Tess.
She knew it was selfish, knew that it was completely against everything her nature was telling her to do, but she couldn't give him up again. She just could not do it.
And so she kept it from him, tried to determine Tess's state of mind on her own, tried to figure out if the right moment had come.
The irony was, she was losing Max anyway.
She knew this as she watched him open the bathroom door. He had been waiting for her to say something, ANYTHING, to fix this rift that was beginning to open between them. When she didn't, he left, without another word.
Liz knew that he would be back. He couldn't stay away from her after all. But this time, something had irrevocably changed.
A shiver descended her backbone. She wondered why she felt like she had just made the SECOND biggest mistake of her life.
To be continued...
