[u]Part 2[/u]

[I]Roswell, New Mexico - Two Days Later[/I]

"Max? Max, I know you're in here! Will you please answer me?"

Tess Harding marched down the steps into the UFO Center, stopped abruptly as she reached the bottom, Max still nowhere in sight. She set her hands on her slender hips and looked around the large area, a frown marring her pretty face. "Max! Where are you?"

"I'm up here!"

Tess turned her head toward the muffled sound of Max Evans's voice. She narrowed her eyes, tilted her head back and felt her mouth fall open at the sight that greeted her. Max was up in the rafters of the building, almost completely covered by a gigantic, deflated alien balloon. Tess rolled her eyes. "What are you doing up there? Maria said she guessed that you might actually be contemplating suicide, but I thought she was kidding!" She could feel her heart beating rapidly as she watched Max's feet - the only part of him that was at all visible - inching their way along the causeway above.

She grimaced and flinched as an abrupt movement seemed to herald Max's impending doom. Tess jumped as the balloon began to inflate abruptly and then floated down gently so that it hung from the rafters by a thin rope. She glared up at Max, whose calm face had suddenly popped into view with the descent of the balloon. "Get down from there! Are you crazy?"

"Someone has to do these things," Max replied, inching his way back to the ladder Tess now noticed was leaning against the wall far to their right. "I can't exactly ask my employees to risk their necks Tess. I don't have enough insurance."

"Right. Because a giant alien balloon is [I]really[/I] necessary," Tess complained as she strode towards the spot where Max would momentarily alight. "Are you sure this isn't some death wish after all?"

Max turned from the ladder, rubbed his hands together thoughtfully and then frowned slightly. "It's really dusty up there. I think I better go back up with a broom."

"Don't move buster!" Tess exclaimed, grabbing him by the arm. "You - high places. No more today."

Max eyed her, one eyebrow raised. It was only then that she noticed his twinkling eyes. "Why Tess, one might actually think you were [I]worried[/I] about me!"

She slapped him lightly with the newspaper that she had pulled out of her large handbag. "I shouldn't be when this is what I get up to this morning?" Tess held up the front page of [I]The Roswell Daily Record[/I] and watched Max carefully as he nonchalantly read the headline. When his face remained expressionless, Tess knew for certain that he had already seen it. He had been practicing that stone face for hours. Tess just [I]knew[/I] it.

"So, this isn't affecting you at all, huh?" She demanded when the silence stretched out beyond what otherwise might have been normal.

Max tilted his head. "It should?"

"I would think that the fact that your ex-wife is apparently engaged to someone else might be expected to affect you, yes," Tess replied, feeling like she was talking to a three year old.

He had already turned around by the time she was finished speaking, carefully avoiding her eyes. He headed towards the admissions desk, started fiddling with the cash register before he finally looked up and said, "Well, I can't say that I'm surprised. I knew she was dating him. It was bound to happen sometime."

"Max!"

"Tess!" He retorted, grinning slightly. Tess was not fooled though. She had seen the flash of pain in his eyes before he had quickly lowered them again.

"Max, please, you can't lie to me about this. I know you're hurting. Talk to me."

He raised his head abruptly, his eyes flashing. "You don't know anything about me and Liz Tess. You never did. Which is probably why you don't see that you're the last person I can talk to about this."

She took an involuntary step backward, felt her heart plummet into her shoes. "Whoa. Where did [I]that[/I] come from?"

Max sighed, moved around from behind the counter, his hand outstretched. "I'm sorry. Really." She could tell that he was. While he hadn't seemed at all upset by the headline, he clearly was by the fact that he had snapped at her. Typical Max. She wasn't even really upset though. At least, for once, he had let what he was truly feelings out. She just hadn't known that Max still blamed her for what had happened with Liz. Even though she knew that intellectually [I]he[/I] knew that none of it had been her fault, somewhere within him, he still held her responsible.

It didn't upset her. Really. Because she blamed herself too. And the absolute worst part of it all was that she had never done anything to fix it. She had always been a coward. She knew it. [I]He[/I] knew it. He had always just been too polite to say so.

They both knew that she could have fixed this years ago. But she had been frightened and so she hadn't. Because the fear that had always existed within her that Liz Parker would take her place in his life.she had never been able to see past it enough to do what she knew in her heart was right. She had convinced herself that soon she would go to New York and set everything straight, that she would make Liz come back, would make her return and clean up the mess she had left behind when she had run off.

But tomorrow had always seemed soon enough. Tess had had her own life to straighten out before she could start dealing with Max and Liz's. Once again she had put herself first and now her best friend had lost any chance of ever being with the only person he had ever - would ever - love forever.

Tess felt a lump enter her throat as she turned the newspaper and gazed at the headline again. Tears filled her eyes, her heart ready to weep for Max, even if he wouldn't do it for himself.

[I]Local Success Story to Marry Wall Street Wizard's Heir[/I]

"Max, how can she do this to you?" Tess demanded, swiping angrily at her eyes. "How?"

"She's not doing anything to me Tess," Max replied quietly, moving back behind the counter and pulling out a box of tissues. He used one to gently wipe the tears off her cheeks. "I did it to myself. I could have told her the truth but I chickened out. What else was Liz supposed to do? She had to get on with her life."

"But Max, it's not too late!" Tess exclaimed, taking his hand and pressing it firmly. "You can still go there! You can still stop her. Until she says [I]I do[/I], you still have a chance."

He had to fix this. He just [I]had[/I] to. Because if he didn't, she was never going to be able to live with herself. She would never be able to forgive herself that while she was having every single one of her dreams come true, all Max had ever wanted was floating completely beyond his reach.

"I'm not going anywhere," Max replied firmly, turning away again and returning to the daily routine of getting the Museum ready for its first customers.

"Max! If you don't go, I will! Liz has the right to know the truth."

"Liz could have found out the truth anytime she wanted to," Max told her, his voice cold. "I haven't gone anywhere. Maria hasn't. Alex hasn't either. She chose to shut us all out."

"Max!"

Max's expression softened slightly. "Tess, you don't know Liz like I do. This is what's best for her. We never belonged together. She belongs in the world. I'll always be stuck in this small town. She left and she never looked back and she pursued the destiny that she was always meant to have."

"Don't say that word!" Tess pleaded. "I [I]hate[/I] that word!"

[I]Destiny[/I]. It was what had caused all this heartache in the first place. She wished sometimes that Nasedo had never told her anything about it. Because if he hadn't, she might never have returned to Roswell, might never have finally accepted that she had to face hers.

Liz never would have left Roswell if it wasn't for destiny.

"I know. It's not my favorite either." Max's tone was wry. "But, unfortunately, no one can run from what's meant to be Tess. You found your destiny here. So did I. Liz found hers in New York. That's just the way things are." He turned away and started to add up some receipts from the day before. "I'll talk to you later," he told her dismissively, not turning back. The fact that he was being rude only showed her once again how upset he really was and how hard he was trying to pretend he wasn't.

Tess could feel tears fill her eyes again as she stared at his back. She absolutely [I]hated[/I] when Max got like this - all stoic and accepting. It was enough to make her want to force him to drink a pint of bourbon. At least when he was drunk he took matters into his own hands. Or so Kyle had told her once anyway.

Well, [I]she[/I] wasn't willing to just accept it! She wasn't willing to watch her best friend throw away the woman he loved without a fight. If she had to fight for him, she would do it, if only so that she could know that she had done everything in her power to fix this.

Tess didn't even try and say good-bye as she turned to leave. What Max didn't know wouldn't hurt him. At least not yet. If nothing came of trying to finally get a hold of Liz, then he would never need to know any of it.

"Tess!"

She jumped guiltily as Max's voice caught her before she was halfway up the stairs. She turned. "Yeah?"

"Don't go to New York."

"I wasn't." She began, trailed off as her eyes met his. His expression was affectionate but knowing.

He really did know her too well. Damnit!

"Max, please! Let me do this for you!" Tess pleaded.

"Tess, it's really okay. It's not necessary."

"How can it not be necessary?" She flared, suddenly angry with him. She wondered if shaking him would do any good. A good shaking always made Kyle do what she wanted him to. Well, a good bed-shaking that was. But since she wasn't prepared to rip off her clothes to convince Max to allow her to get his wife back for him, that wouldn't work.

Besides, it was Liz thinking that Tess wanted to rip off her clothes for Max that had gotten them all into this mess in the first place. She almost snickered. She was clearly losing her mind. Obviously her guilt was driving her bananas on top of everything else.

Yet [I]another[/I] reason she had to be allowed to fix this. Damnit! Why did he know she was planning to go to New York?

What he said next though shocked her so completely though, all thoughts of guilt and anger fled instantly.

"Because Liz is coming here."

"What?" She demanded, dumbfounded. "You talked to her?"

"No," Max said, a slight grin on his face. "But I know she is."

"How?" Tess felt her eyes widen. "Did you connect with her?"

"Nope."

"Max!" Tess exclaimed, frustrated beyond belief again. "How do you know?" He sounded so sure. Had he convinced himself somehow that Liz would never really marry someone else? Was [I]that[/I] why he was taking this whole thing so calmly?

She never expected the real reason. Not in a million years.

"Because we're still married. If my wife intends to marry someone else, then she's going to have to divorce me first."

Liz leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window. Thank God for air-conditioning! She had forgotten how warm it could still be in New Mexico at this time of year. It was already early fall in New York, but the sweater she was wearing was too heavy for Roswell in October. She'd have to change when she reached the Crashdown.

"It's [I]really[/I] the desert here, isn't it?"

Liz moved her head, glanced at Serena, who was behind the wheel. "Do you want me to drive so you can look around?" Liz asked as she felt another rush of affection for her best friend. Liz had been so thrilled that Serena had wanted to accompany her to Roswell. She really didn't know if she would have been strong enough without her. This was going to be hard - facing everyone she had run away from four years ago. Because with every mile the car drove, Liz remembered the faces of all the people she had left behind when she had run away.

It had never been just about she and Max after all. In the end, that's what she had made it. She had been forced to give up her entire life when she had left him, but she could not regret it. They had been all wrong for each other, despite all the attempts they had made to pretend otherwise.

It had hurt that Maria had ended up siding with Max, but at least she had Serena now. And because she hadn't wanted to make him choose between them, Liz had made the choice for Alex herself. She hadn't talked to him since she had left either.

While her parents had visited her in New York, they had understood that she didn't want to talk about anything going on in Roswell. They were still confused by exactly what had gone down between she and Max, but because they had never been thrilled by the fact that she had married so young anyway, Liz knew that deep down they had been willing to support her with whatever she had decided.

She had decided to leave it all behind when she left Max. And it wasn't until this very moment that she realized how very much she had missed Maria and Alex. While she knew she had done the right thing for herself, she couldn't help but wonder if she could have somehow maintained the connection with the two of them.

But, as they passed the mile marker on the highway that once upon a time she had known as the spot to turn to head for the pod chamber, she knew that there had never been any way that she could have gotten over Max while still maintaining ties in Roswell. To hear about he and Tess.It would have been impossible. And because both Maria and Alex were still lost in the alien abyss the last time she had heard, she knew that she [I]would[/I] have heard about them, if only by accident. Maria couldn't help herself sometimes and even Alex would have found it difficult to not talk about the Czechoslovakians at all.

She had made the right decision.

Liz ignored the fact that her eyes were scanning the horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of the rocks where, for one precious moment, she had truly believed that all of her dreams were coming true.

Dark eyes, filled with love and desire, seemed to appear in the hazy late- afternoon sky over the spot where she knew the pod chamber lay.

[I] "Liz, I once told you that whether I did tomorrow or fifty years from now, my destiny is the same - it's you. It's always been you Liz. There could never be anyone else. I love you. We belong together. I know that we're too young and I know it's crazy, but I just don't see the point in waiting. I want our official life together to have started yesterday. Say you'll be my wife. Please, marry me Liz."[/I]

"Liz?"

Liz blinked, shook her head as Serena's voice cut through the sound of Max's soft voice.

What was that? Had that been a flash? She realized that her heart was beating, hard. She felt a tremor of fear descend her spine. Suddenly she knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was not going to be anywhere as easy as she had envisioned.

He was haunting her already. Just being back [I]near[/I] Roswell was bringing it all back. All of it - the joy, the pain, the highs, the lows.

She realized that the car was stopped. She stared blankly at Serena.

"You said you'd drive? I am kind of tired."

"Oh. Right." Liz ignored the concerned look on her best friend's face as she opened her door and switched sides with her.

"Liz?" Serena's quiet concern came only moments after they had pulled back onto the highway. "You don't have to do this. I can take him the papers. And I guarantee you, I will make him sign them."

Liz laughed slightly. "I'm okay, really. I [I]need[/I] to do this Rena. I need to exorcise him once and for all."

Serena did not look entirely convinced, but they settled into comfortable silence again as Liz followed the all too familiar highway into Roswell. 285 North. Of course. Because [I]everything[/I] had to remind her of Max.

It was why she had had to leave Roswell. There was no way she ever could have survived any of it by staying here. Running into him would have been bad enough, but Max knew how to make himself scarce when he wanted to. No. It would have been the memories she wouldn't have been able to escape. She had needed to get as far away as possible.

But, as she pulled the rental car to a stop in front of the Crashdown, Liz couldn't help be feel slightly sorry. This was her hometown. Good and bad memories be damned. She loved it. She grinned slightly at the blinking sign of her parent's restaurant. Could anything be more quintessentially [I]Roswell[/I] than the Crashdown?

Well, except maybe the UFO Museum, she reflected wryly as she gazed across the street at Max's former place of employment.

"Is this [I]really[/I] where your parents live?" Serena was asking, sounding amazed as she stared up at the space ship crashing through the front wall of the Café.

"Yup," Liz nodded, grinning. "But that's not the best part. Look what's across." She was raising her hand to bring the Museum to Rena's attention when she suddenly felt her blood run cold. Later, she wondered if it had been a premonition that her past was about to smack her right in the face, no preparation allowed. Because the doors of the UFO Centre were opening as she pointed and as Liz watched in horror, she abruptly found herself staring across the street at the blonde nightmare she had hoped never to have to lay eyes on again.