I think this is the end. I'm not sure...there may be an epilogue, but i'm leaning towards not. And so, our journey has ended. Thanks to all of you for all the great feedback!
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Sacrifice
A Sequel to Quietly into the Night
Conventional Couples
Rating: PG-13

Chapter Forty-Six

Earth – Roswell, New Mexico

The family room in Max and Liz's house filled with a vibrant blue light as Max, Liz and the others materialized in the house. Liz's eyes swept around the room, taking in the décor and she smiled.
"So, this is our house, huh? Pretty nice job decorating, Max." Max smiled and looked down at his wife.
"I found the file folder you had," he answered, his hand caressing her hair. "The one with all the furniture layouts and decorating plans. It wasn't hard, Maria and I just shopped and picked out things that matched what you had in your folder."
"Well, as beautiful as it is," said Liz. "I'll look around later, right now, I need to see my babies

Max pulled Liz close to him and pressed his body to hers, reveling in the joy of holding his wife in his arms once again.
"Well, as much as I agree with you, Liz, we can't leave yet. We need to get cleaned up, and changed into Earth clothing, and we need to come up with cover stories for Jereon and Saranara, not to mention explaining where you have been for the past few years."
"Damn," grumbled Liz. "I hate it when you are right. What are we going to do about clothes?"
"Well, I have my luggage here," said Isabelle.
"And I have a ton of stuff over here as well," admitted Maria. "I'd watch Lexie a lot for Max, and we were forever getting dirty, so it just made sense to keep some stuff here. Between my stuff and Isabelle's stuff, I'm sure we can come up with something for you and Saranara to wear."

"Maria, why don't you take Saranara upstairs and show her how everything works," said Max. "Kyle, why don't you Jereon start working on cover stories for him and Saranara. Michael, do you feel like grabbing some food for everyone?" Michael and Kyle nodded, and Max grabbed Liz's hand and led her out of the room. She followed him down into the basement where he pointed to several boxes.
"Those are all yours," he said. "I couldn't get rid of them, but it was so hard to look at them hanging up in our closet. I packed them up and moved them down here. I knew you'd be back, and that you'd need them again."

"Max, I- I'm so sorry for everything I put you through," said Liz.
"Don't be Liz. I finally get it. You did what you had to; there wasn't any other choice. I can see that now. Your first responsibility was to protect our children, and you did that to the best of your ability. Kam grew up loved, and you kept him as safe as you could. Lexie was safe with me on Earth. And you were right Liz. If you had told me the truth, I wouldn't have let you stay there alone, and both our children could have grown up without parents. At least this way, they each had one of us. Now, stop worrying about it and dig into those boxes, I'm sure you find something to change into," Max concluded with a laugh.

Liz eagerly tore into the boxes and rummaged through her old life holding up various articles of clothing that caught her eye. With a smile, she selected some clothing for herself, and a selection of items she thought might suit Saranara. She followed Max up the stairs, and from there followed the sounds of female laughter to the upper level of the house. Maria and Isabelle wielded a blow dryer over Saranara's long wavy locks of hair.
"I don't understand," said Saranara. "Why don't you just use your powers to do this?"
"Well, first off, because we have to hide our powers here on Earth," said Isabelle.
"And secondly," added Maria. "There is something immensely satisfying about turning yourself into a goddess with nothing but your bare hands."
"Besides," said Liz, joining the conversation. "Kyle is going to flip when he sees you. You look totally hot! Here, try this on, I think it will fit you." Liz passed the emerald green tank, and black jeans to Saranara. "I'm going to hit the shower."

Liz slipped into the bathroom and turned the shower on full blast, causing the small bathroom began to fill with steam. Liz half-heartedly began to undress, but stopped, and sat down on the edge of the tub and put her head in her hands and began to cry. Through her tears, she heard a click as the bathroom door opened. She looked up and saw Maria standing there watching, with a look of concern on her face.
"Are you all right chica?" Maria asked. "What's the matter?"
"I don't know," whispered Liz. "Nothing. Everything. I just don't know. I mean, I'm home, my children are safe, everything is perfect, and I'm falling apart. I was out there playing DRESS-UP, for crying out loud. I should be with my children, not wasting time here!"
"Liz, sweetie, relax. You know we can't just barge in there. We needed to clean up and change and like Max said, we had to come up with some cover stories to explain where you've been."
"I know," Liz said with a sigh. "But I just want my babies."
"I hear you on that one girlfriend. Remember, you're not the only mom in the room."
"Oh God Maria," said Liz shamefaced. "How whiney and stupid can I be? Of course you want to see your daughter too. I am such an idiot."
"No, you are my best friend and you've just been through a stressful couple of years. You are entitled to a freak out. I'm just sorry I gave the last of my cedar oil to my otherme. Now are you going to take that shower, or are you just hoping the humidity in here will make my hair frizz?"

Liz laughed and hugged her friend; her equanimity restored, and after Maria left the bathroom, climbed into the shower. She made short work of showering and dressed quickly and hurried downstairs to where the rest of the group had gathered. She surveyed the group quickly, noticing that Kyle couldn't keep his eyes off of Saranara in her new Earth clothing, and that Jereon looked really hot in an old rugby shirt and jeans that used to belong to Max.
"Liz, I'd like to introduce you to Serena Andrews. Kyle met her last year while he was down in Texas. It was love at first sight, and they've been together ever since. And this," he said pointing to Jereon, "Is Jeremy Miller, he's a college friend of Isabelle's from back east. It seems they've been dating off and on, and when she came back home, he found that he really missed her, and followed."
"Great," said Liz. "And where have Kam and I been all this time?"
"Well, actually, that works out really well," said Max. "You and Kam have been in Florida, with your mom's sister who has been very sick. Lexie and I flew down there frequently to see you. The reason why we split the kids up was because you didn't think I could handle the twins on my own, and we both agreed it would be too hard for you to care for your aunt and two babies at once."
"You've been busy, I see," said Liz, looking around. "Sounds great. Now what?"

A car door slammed close by, and the pounding of feet alerted them to the fact that the what was close at hand. The back door slammed and the pounding grew louder.
"Mommy, Daddy, where are you?" shouted two little voices as Kam and Lexie came into view. Max and Liz knelt down and scooped their children into their arms. Liz looked up, and saw her parents, followed by Max and Isabelle's parents, and Jim and Amy, with a baby carrier. She smiled and hugged her children tighter, she was finally home.

~The End~