[u]Part 15[/u]

"I can't marry him, Tess," Liz whispered, panic evident in her voice. "What am I going to do?"

Tess looked at Liz, and shook her head. "I can't tell you what to do, Liz. All I know is that you should go with what you feel."

"What I feel is a panic attack coming on! What am I going to say to him? 'Sorry, I can't marry you, because I'm still in love with my husband. Surprise! Bet you didn't know I had one of those did you'?" Liz demanded, talking without taking a breath. She stared at Tess, her eyes wide with anxiety, silently pleading with her for an answer.

"You'll figure out what to say, Liz. Just start talking. You'll know how to do it when the time comes."

Liz groaned, and then wailed, "Why me, Tess? Why do I always hurt the people I love? Why do people get hurt just by being a part of my life? It's not fair. People should have to sign a waiver just to love me!"

It wasn't fair. It seemed everyone she'd ever loved had been hurt by her in some way or other. Maria. Alex. Max. Now Sean. Why couldn't anyone just be happy for once? Why did hurt always have to be part of the package?

Watching Liz, Tess fought hard to suppress a giggle. If someone had told her two days ago that she'd be sitting next to an hysterical Liz Parker, offering her advice on her love life, she'd have laughed in their face. But, now, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Because sitting next to the one person in the world she thought she'd never be friends with, Tess felt nothing but compassion, and an odd sense of companionship for the other woman.

"Love is always a risk, Liz. But it's a risk people are willing to take and it's worth it. Hurt is part of that risk. But it's not what matters. Love is what matters. In the end, love is stronger than anything. Hurt, heartbreak, broken trust, none of it matters. Love is the one thing that's stronger than it all."

And Tess knew it was true. Four years ago, when Liz Evans had left town, she'd left nothing but shattered hearts and broken trust behind. But when she'd come back home they'd opened their hearts and their lives to her once again. The hurt and suffering had been forgiven. Because they loved her.

Well, maybe not Isabel, Tess amended with a slight grimace, then suppressed another giggle.

Liz was stifling a laugh too, when she turned towards Tess. "I never thought I'd be asking you for advice," she said flatly, explaining it.

"Well, that makes two of us," Tess replied. "Cause I'd never thought I'd be giving it to you."

Liz moaned, putting her head between her hands.

After a minute of silence, Tess leaned in closer to Liz. Liz was scared. She needed some motivation. "You love him, that's clear enough. And he still loves you, you know. He always will."

"Why?" Liz asked. "All I've ever done is hurt him. Why does he still love me?"

Tess shrugged. The answer was simple. "Because you're Liz."

Liz heard Max's voice echoing Tess words in her ears. [i]It was you.[/i]

It seemed like an eternity had passed since she'd heard him say that. Things had been so easy for them back then, in spite of the sheriff and the questions about who should be let in on the secret.

But when it came to the two of them, they'd never needed any other explanation. How could she have forgotten?

Liz raised her head, and looked at Tess through watery eyes. "Where did things go so wrong, Tess? Why did things have to turn out this way? Why do they have to be so.so complicated?"

"That's what we'd all like to know, Liz. We'll find the answers. But right now I think you have other problems to resolve," Tess said, tilting her head in the direction of Liz's obviously angry fiancé.

"Right," Liz said reluctantly. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes to gain her composure, stood up from the step where she was sitting, and brushed her hands down the front of her jeans. She started to walk away, but as an afterthought, turned around to offer Tess a small smile of gratitude. She was surprised that she felt no hate or animosity towards the girl who'd all but taken her place when she'd left Roswell. "Thanks, Tess. For giving me advice. You know, even though I'm your worst enemy and all." Liz stopped briefly and waited for a response, but got nothing but a shocked look from Tess's icy blue eyes. She offered another small smile, and turned to walk towards Sean.

"Liz?"

Liz spun around to see Tess standing up on the steps, a cautious look guarding her features. "You were [i]her[/i] enemy. I don't consider you mine."

Liz smiled again, nodded her head, and headed back to Sean, feeling as if part of the weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Tess's words seemed so.right. She had once considered Tess her enemy, when the blonde had first arrived in Roswell and had tried to steal Max away from her. Her opinion had not been revised when the future version of Tess had visited her four years ago. But it was clearly obvious that the Tess she'd come to hate for causing her to leave behind everything she loved was not the same Tess that she'd found when she'd arrived back in Roswell. And for some strange reason it was natural to feel an odd sense of companionship to her.

Liz Evans couldn't help but smile again, in spite of the trial in front of her. Because for the first time since she'd arrived back home, something had gone right.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tess stood watched Liz walk towards Sean, a smile gracing her features. Was it possible that she and Liz Evans would be friends in the future? When she'd almost been run down by Liz in the middle of the street a couple of days ago, Tess had been flooded with feelings of panic, anxiety, curiousity, and even hatred. But now, she couldn't help but feel something akin to friendship for the wife of her best friend. This was definitely a jumping off point to resolving the questions that had plagued her mind for the last four years. And she knew that Liz would be more than happy to help her find her answers.

She turned and headed up the stairs, where she knew Kyle would be waiting for her. She reached the top step, and saw him leaning against the wall outside, his deputy's hat tilted back, as he watched two small children play around the tables arranged outside the Crashdown across the street.

"Hey you," she said, pushing through the glass doors.

"Hey yourself," Kyle replied, pulling his hat off, and taking a step towards her. "So that's Liz's fiancé, huh?"

"Afraid so," Tess said. "Looks like she's got a full day ahead of her. He's gonna ask about Max."

"You told him?" Kyle asked incredulously.

"Of course not, Kyle. He asked me if they were related. The fact that they had the same last name didn't slip by him."

"Oh."

Kyle and Tess stood staring at each other, each shifting from foot to foot in the awkward silence.

After a minute, Kyle took a deep breath, and fiddled with the silver star pinned on the brim of his hat. "Sooo.is everything.I mean.are we.all right?" he asked, watching her uncertainly.

Tess smiled, and walked up to Kyle, taking one of his hands. "We're good, Kyle," she said. "I'm sorry about last night. I just.I needed time to think."

"And did you?" Kyle asked, taking Tess's free hand into his other one.

"Think?" She nodded her head. "Yeah. And I came to the same conclusion I always come to. I love you. You love me. As long as that's true, we'll always be okay. No matter what."

Tess looked at Kyle and saw relief flood his features. She had known that walking out on him, even though she told him she just needed some space, would be hard on him. She knew that as she walked out the door, Kyle would be kicking himself, running the night's events through his head time and time again. Last night she had been sure that it served him right. He'd said and done some things that made her want to think about where she stood and where her life was going. Wasn't it only fair that he did the same thing? But now, watching his shoulders relax, and his eyes reflect his smile, she wanted nothing more than to make sure he knew just how much she loved him.

"I love you, Tess. You know I always will," he said, leaning down to give her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Kyle Valenti, I don't care about that 'not while I'm in uniform stuff'. If you don't give me a proper kiss right this minute, you'll be sleeping outside tonight!" Tess chided lightly, a sly smile on her lips.

Kyle chuckled, and reached up to tip up the brim of his hat. "Yes ma'm," he said. "Your wish is my command."

Tess smiled, and brought her mouth up to meet his. She closed her eyes, and reveled in the familiarity of the action, knowing she'd never get tired of feeling Kyle's lips on her own. It didn't matter what else came their way, what other problems life would throw at them, what unforeseen circumstances fate would force them to deal with. It would always come to this. To Tess and Kyle. [i]This[/i] was where she belonged. And all the time in the world would always bring her back here.

Breaking apart, Kyle pulled her against his chest, stroking her hair. "So, you and Liz survived your little moment in there all in one piece?" he asked, beginning to sound amused.

Tess took a deep breath. "It's weird, Kyle. I have every right in the world to think of her as my enemy. And she has every right in the world to hate me. But I don't. And she doesn't either. We're like, the same, me and Liz. We've both been through this traumatic experience, and it's made us.different. Then we would have been I mean."

She wondered briefly whether this was what Future Tess had wanted all along. Maybe she didn't have to hate herself quite as much as she had over the past two days. Because maybe this was exactly what was supposed to have happened when that other version of herself had changed the future. And even if Future Tess hadn't known it, it had still turned out okay.

Tess and Kyle together, Max and Tess close. And Max and Liz reunited. Hopefully. Tess grimaced slightly, thought about how strangely Max had been acting earlier. Her best friend was up to something. She was so glad that he wasn't giving up, even if he had told Liz he was. He deserved his happiness.

"You and Liz? You guys are like friends now or something?" Kyle asked, sounding surprised.

Tess let the feel of Kyle's words sink in.

Friends.

They were still far from friends. But Tess knew that the things she had in common with Liz would prove to be a sturdy stepping stone towards building some sort of civil relationship between them. And if it wasn't enough of a stepping stone, the fact that they both loved Max would be enough to urge them forward.

"I'm not sure what you'd call it, Kyle. But we're definitely not enemies. In fact, I think we'll be able to help each other. There's some things in the past that don't make sense. Things we both thought to be true that don't agree with what we now know [i]is[/i] true. I think that Liz and I will be able to find the answers. "

"I'm glad you don't hate her, Tess. She's still my friend."

Tess looked at Kyle and couldn't help but ask. "You aren't mad at her? For leaving? For hurting you guys?"

She knew that Kyle hadn't had a chance to talk things over with Liz. After all, their first encounter since she'd been back had centered around other.issues. She'd never talked with Kyle about Liz. It seemed that Liz was the one subject no one ever talked to anyone about. She had often wondered how Kyle felt about her. She knew he'd been hurt by her, and had naturally assumed that like the others, he didn't talk about her because it hurt. Because he still held it against her. But now, she wasn't so sure.

Kyle shrugged, and put his hat back on, after running a hand through his hair. "I've forgiven her for running away. I've forgiven her for hurting me. Forgiveness sets you free from the bonds of hatred, anger and resentment."

Tess raised an eyebrow. "Buddha?"

"No," Kyle said. "Dr. Phil. But he's just as good."

Tess looked at Kyle and couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Kyle demanded, putting up his hands. "I can't help it. He's on Oprah all the time.

Tess laughed again, and covered her mouth with her hand. "You do not watch Oprah," she accused.

"What?" Kyle said, holding out his arms. "Michael watches The View!"

"Oh, this is classic," Tess exclaimed, stepping up on her tip-toes to kiss Kyle on the cheek. "If I ever need to blackmail you or Michael, I know what to use."

Kyle growled and kissed her again. All thoughts of Dr. Phil flew from her mind. "You won't tell Michael I told you," he whispered against her lips a few moments later.

"Okay," Tess agreed. "If you promise me more of that later." But in her mind she was already devising some way to tease Michael about The View. She wondered if Maria knew what her husband did when she wasn't home.

"I better go before they send another unit out here to see what's holding me up," Kyle said, as he slipped on his sunglasses, backing away from the UFO Center to his waiting truck "See you tonight?"

"Yes. I'll be at Isabel's for a while doing wedding stuff, but then, I'm all yours," Tess replied.

"Tonight it is," he said. He smiled one last time, blew her a kiss, and got into his car, driving off down the street.

"Well," Tess said to herself as she turned back around and pulled open the door behind her. "One down, one to go."

She walked down the stairs, calling out to Max, wondering where he'd gone. "Max, where are you?"

"In the back, Tess, at the souvenir counter," came his muffled reply.

Tess headed towards the opposite corner of the room, and stopped along the way to pick up a small plastic "I Believe" button that Max must have dropped. Max had acted strange around Liz and Sean earlier, and she knew something was up. He was acting odd, to say the least.

"What's gotten into you?" Tess asked, as she turned the corner and saw Max standing behind the counter.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Max retorted as he placed handfuls of the small buttons into a plastic container near the cash register.

"You're.different. What was up with you back there?"

Max shrugged his shoulders. "Back where?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Max. What's going on?"

"Tess, listen," Max said, glancing up towards the stairs when he heard the front door open, signaling that he had customers. "I can't talk right now. I'm working."

Max put the cardboard box under the desk and slipped on his UFO Center vest.

Tess looked at Max strangely when he donned the familiar orangey yellow vest. Max hated that vest. He only made the employees wear it at convention time, so people would know who to ask for information. He never wore his. Something was definitely up.

"Max," Tess said firmly. "I want to talk to you. You have some explaining to do, and we [I]will[/I] finish this talk."

"Okey dokey!" Max said, stepping from behind the counter and towards the front of the center.

"Okay dokey?" Tess asked amusedly. "Where is the Max Evans that I know and love? The Max Evans that hates that vest and laughs at people who use words like okey dokey?"

Max turned and smiled at Tess, as he walked backwards. "He's gone, abducted by aliens" he replied, tossing Tess a small blow up alien doll and laughing out loud. "This Max Evans is a new man," he said.

Tess let out a sigh, putting the doll on the counter behind her. Max was losing it. And she was determined to get an explanation.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Liz, do you mind telling me what is going on here?" Sean asked, taking Liz by the arm.

"I don't mind, Sean, but now is not the time."

"Who's that Max guy? Why do I get the feeling that I'm missing out on something here?"

"Sean, please, we need to do this someplace else. Let's just go back to the hotel, okay?"

"Fine, let's go," he said hurriedly, walking towards the stairs.

Just as Liz and Sean reached the bottom of the steps, Max came around the corner, a blow up alien doll hanging from one hand, and a small cardboard box in the other. He stopped when he saw Liz and Sean.

Liz stared at Max, felt her blood beginning to boil again. "Max Evans, this is not over!" she huffed.

"Of course not, Liz. But it looks like you've got another discussion to tend to. So we'll finish later." He winked at her, and turned his attention to Sean. "It was nice meeting you, Sean. I've heard so much about you."

"Right," Sean said, narrowing his eyes. "Wish I could say the same about you."

Liz was sure her face flushed a hundred shades of crimson. Could this get any worse?

On her left was a very angry, confused fiancé who just wanted to know what was going on. He'd come to Roswell simply to find her, and had unwillingly placed himself smack dab right into the middle of what Liz could only classify as a soap opera.

On her right was her very annoying, hardheaded husband who only wanted to.wait a minute. What the heck [i]did[/i] he want anyway? He was being way too nice and way too charming to someone who he'd done nothing but insult since she had seen him again.

Liz put on hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes at Max. He was definitely up to something.

"Oh, I'm sure Liz will tell you all about me," he was saying to Sean, sounding like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.

"I will," Liz flared. "As soon as we leave." She glared at Max once more before turning on her heel and stalking away.

"Oh, Sean," Max called after them, causing Sean to turn around to look at him. "Ask her about that time we went to Vegas. You ought to get a real kick out of that."

Flabbergasted, Liz's mouth fell open, but she couldn't think of anything to say.

Las Vegas? Max told Sean to ask about Las Vegas? She and Max had only been to Vegas once. They'd returned no longer Liz Parker and Max Evans, but, rather Mr. and Mrs. Max Evans. They'd run away, followed their hearts, and had made the ultimate commitment to one another.

What right did Max have to tell Sean about that? Sean was [i]her[/i] fiancé, and she would tell him about Vegas when she was good and ready to tell him.

"Aggghh!" She cried, stomping her foot angrily. She picked up a small, pin- on button that had fallen out of the box in Max's arm and threw it at his retreating figure, becoming even move angry when the small plastic object widely missed its intended target. Huffing once more, she turned on her heels, and pulled a surprised Sean along behind her.

Forty minutes later, Liz and Sean were back at the hotel. They were in Sean's room, and he was sitting on the bed, watching Liz pace back and forth in front of him.

"Liz, you've been pacing for the last 5 minutes. I want to know what's going on. And I want to know now!"

Liz flinched at Sean's raised voice and angry demeanor.

"Fine." Liz stopped pacing and pulled a chair from next to the night stand, sitting down so that she was face to face with Sean. She grabbed his hands in hers, and took a minute to gain her composure. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, willing herself to do this without crying.

"You know, when I came to New York four years ago, I had no idea as to what life held for me. I didn't know where I was going, what I was going to do, or how I was going to do it. I had a few hundred bucks in my pocket and some clothes. For hours I walked around, tears running down my cheeks, and my heart thudding in my chest. I started to think that maybe life wasn't such a good idea. You know, that it was over-rated. That all it had to offer was lost love and broken hearts. But then I stumbled into Serena, and she gave me a new lease on life. And then I met you. You were so patient with me and you were everything I'd left behind when I left home. You were someone to share things with, someone to love, someone I'd thought I could build a new life with. In you, I saw my chance to start over," Liz said quietly.

"Someone you [i]thought[/i] you could build a new life with?" Sean asked disbelievingly. "That.that's changed?"

Liz shook her head as she felt her tears slip past her eyelids to roll down her cheeks.

This was the worst part of it all. Telling the people you love that you're sorry, but it's going to hurt. She'd never understood her mother all those years ago when she'd used the same words on her, when she was going to punish her for some childhood transgression.

This is gonna hurt me worse than it's going to hurt you.

She'd heard those words countless times, when she was getting in trouble, being reprimanded, grounded, or spanked by her parents after getting into trouble. And she'd never believed her mother when she'd said them.

She'd heard those words as a little girl. When she was Liz Parker, lover of science and of discovering the world. When she was just the little girl with the braids, who lived at the Crashdown. When she'd thought of herself as nothing more then best friend to Alex and Maria, 1/3 owner of the clubhouse in the Whitman back yard.

But now she was Elizabeth Evans. Famous New York fashion designer, and fiancé to one Sean Deveraux, admired by millions of adoring fans. She was Liz Evans, long lost friend and beloved daughter to the residents of Roswell.

But, in the end, the way she thought of herself was the way that mattered most. She had pushed it aside for too long. Because she was Elizabeth Parker Evans, all of those things, but also wife to one Max Evans, King of Antar, and captor of her heart.

She was all grown up and she had to stop running. And she now knew all too well exactly how true her mother's words had been all those years ago.

As she stared at the face of the man that just a few days ago she'd thought she wanted to marry, she knew she was going to hurt him. She could only hope that he knew how much this was going to hurt her too.

He didn't deserve this. But she had to do it anyway. Because he also deserved [I]more[/I] than she could give him.

"I can't marry you, Sean," Liz blurted. "I'm already married." She spat the sentence out, before she lost her nerve.

Liz flinched when she felt Sean pull his hands from her grasp. She held her breath as she watched the emotions play across his face.

"You're kidding me, right?" He scoffed, looking desperate for her to say she was, so they could both have a good laugh.

She shook her head sadly. "That's why I'm here. I came to get Max to sign the divorce papers."

"Max? That guy from the UFO Center? No wonder that Tess friend of yours acted so weird when I tried to ask about him. How could you lie to me, Liz?" Sean demanded. He stared at Liz, waiting for a response, and after not getting one, he stood up and went across the room, to pace the stretch of carpet Liz had abandoned only minutes ago.

"Tess and I have never been friends," Liz said. [i]At least we never were before,[/i] she heard a voice in her head say.

"Liz! That should be the last thing on your mind right now! I can't believe this is happening," Sean muttered to himself.

"Sean, let me ex-"

"You must think I'm some kind of fool! What, do you and your friends laugh at me behind my back? Huh? Snicker because because Sean Deveraux is about to be taken for the ride of his life?" Sean stopped pacing, and threw his arms out to his sides, his breathing heavy in his angry excitement.

"No! Sean! It was never like that!" Liz pleaded desperately.

She had to make him understand. She had to make him see that when she'd begun a relationship with him, she'd had nothing but purely good intentions. She had thought she was ready to move on with her life. And she had wanted to do it with him. She hoped that after she explained things as best as she could, that he wouldn't hate her. After all, she did love Sean. It was only a few hours ago though that she had realized that she wasn't [i]in[/i] love with him. She'd been tricking herself into believing it, but she wouldn't do it any longer.

"Tell me what it [I]was[/I] like then, Liz. You have some big plan to take me for all I'm worth? You decide you'd make me love you, and offer you my heart, then turn around leave me high and dry? You wanted to sell your story to the tabloids?" Sean shouted angrily, clearly about to completely lose control.

Liz wasn't scared though. Sean was probably the most gentle person she knew. It was one of the reasons she had thought herself in love with him in the first place. He was so wonderful, so caring, so.

Oh Lord. The truth hit her so squarely, she flinched. He was so much like [I]Max.[/I] Or at least like the Max she used to know.

This was bad. Very bad. How could she not have seen this before?

She realized that now was not the time though. Sean was staring at her still, his face red, waiting for her to expain herself.

"Sean, please, calm down. I need you to understand where I'm coming from." Liz stood up and walked towards Sean, reaching a hesitant hand out to touch his arm. "Sean, please, if you care anything about me, you'll hear me out."

"Sure," Sean said sarcastically. "Play on my emotions. After all that [i]is[/i] what you've been doing the last couple years, isn't it? Why stop now?" Sean stomped over to the bed, and sat down on it, crossing his arms and looking at Liz to continue.

"I never meant to hurt you, Sean," Liz said quietly. "Things, they're just.complicated. There are things in my past that you don't know about. Things I can't ever tell you about," she said. Liz paused for a moment, and sat back down in the chair she'd pulled up earlier. "I thought I was through with that. I thought I wanted a clean slate. I was ready to be a new person. I thought I was ready to put everything behind me. I thought I was ready to put [i]Max[/i] behind me.

"I never expected things between you and I to go this far. When you asked me to marry you, I accepted, because that's what I though I wanted. I thought I could come here, get the divorce papers signed, and go back to New York, with no strings attached." Liz stopped talking, and chuckled to herself. "But I should have known things aren't that simple. Things for me are never simple. Especially when it comes to Max.

"The minute I passed the Roswell city limits sign, I knew I'd made a mistake. I knew that leaving here again wasn't going to be easy for me. All the feelings I thought I'd left behind came rushing back to me. Everywhere I turned, I saw Max. There isn't one single place in Roswell that doesn't hold a memory of our time together." Liz smiled softly, letting her mind drift back through her remembrances.

"Tell me about him," Sean said softly.

Liz was too caught up in her emotions at the time to realize that the tone in Sean's voice had changed. She didn't notice the way he'd suddenly forgotten that he was angry at her. But by the end of the night, she'd realize that it should have tipped her off. That if she'd only caught the wistful look in his eyes, she would have known that she wasn't the only one who hadn't been entirely honest.

Liz sighed dreamily and formed her story in her mind, careful to leave out any of the otherworldy details. "Max and I, we started out like any normal teenage couple does. Shy, unsure, anxious. We were nervous around each other and didn't know how to act, or what to do. But the first time he ever kissed me, I knew that what we had wasn't normal. What Max and I had was deeply passionate, and real, and.magical. It was amazing. It was the kind of stuff people write about. I mean, sure we had our share of ups and downs. We've traveled our share of rocky road. But our trials only made us stronger. We always ended up where we started. Together.

"When noone but our friends believed in us, we never lost hope. Our parents didn't approve, but we didn't let that get to us. And when things started to get bad, we decided to show them all that we were serious. After we graduated, we just up and left one day. We eloped."

"Vegas?" Sean asked, realization dawning in his eyes.

Liz giggled softly. "Congratulations, kids," she said, snarling her lip to imitate the Elvis impersonator that had married them. "Married by Elvis. We had our wedding picture taken by Marilyn Monroe. People laughed about it at the time. But that night, Max and I, we stopped at some little roadside bar, and danced all night long. Max's sister Isabel and our best friends Michael, Maria and Alex came to meet us. Then we came back to Roswell and broke the news. Our parents were furious, but it made them realize we were serious.

"We were so happy. We got our own apartment and built a life for ourselves. We loved each other and even the simple little things about our life. We didn't have a lot, and our parents helped us out here and there, despite their reluctance. But Max and I, we were too proud to accept their assistance very often. There were times when we didn't know how we'd make it from one week to the next. Sometimes all we had was a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread. But we couldn't have been happier. We had each other. And to us, that was all that mattered."

"What happened?" Sean asked.

"Max and I, we had a lot of dreams. But one shone a bit brighter than the others. We wanted a family. You know, a boy, a girl, maybe two. We loved each other so much. What more ultimate way to express our love than to have a child together? We'd look through catalogues and pick out baby furniture. We'd go shopping, and Max would stare at the baby clothes, whispering how he couldn't wait until we had a reason to buy some."

Liz stopped talking, lowering her head, as she felt her chest constrict. She let out a soft sob, and clasped her hands together. "We thought we were invincible. We were wrong."

Sean reached out and took Liz's hands in his own, pulling her up out of her chair, and onto the bed next to him. He put his arm around her shoulder. "What happened?"

This is where it all gets fuzzy, Liz wanted to say. "I found out one day that I couldn't have Max's children. You already know that about me. I was heartbroken. All our dreams about having a family wouldn't come true. I couldn't bear the thought."

"And Max just let you leave?" Sean sounded outraged. "What kind of bastard."

Liz wiped a tear from her cheek and shook her head. "No! No! Max fought tooth and nail for me. But in the end, I had to leave. I wouldn't tie him down. He tried to tell me that we could adopt, but it didn't change things. I'd seen him talk about having children of his own. I'd seen the sparkle in his eyes and I loved him too much to deny him that. So I just left. I took some money from my parents, packed a few clothes, and headed off to New York. You know the rest."

"So many things make sense now," Sean said, nodding his head. "God." They sat in silence for several moments, as Sean seemed to process this information.

And, then, he did the absolutely last thing Liz had ever expected he would. Her fiancé started to laugh.

Liz pulled away, stared at him. "You think this is funny?" She demanded in shock.

"NO!" Sean exclaimed, still laughing softly to himself. "I'm just reflecting on the complete lunacy of this whole situation. I think the gods are trying to tell me something." He didn't really seem to be talking to her at all anymore though, instead was obviously thinking about something else.

"What?" Liz could feel herself starting to get angry.

"Liz," Sean said, framing her face with his hands. " I'm so sorry things happened like that for you. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be with the person you love. You deserve Max."

Hearing these words, Liz realized that Sean was being way too calm now. She'd just told him that she couldn't marry him, had spent the better part of the time telling him about her husband and the life she'd had that he knew nothing about. And he wasn't even mad. Something was wrong with this picture.

Liz looked at him suspiciously. "Why aren't you mad?" she asked.

Sean looked surprised by her question, then tried to cover it up. "I'm furious," he said nervously, his eyes looking anywhere but at Liz.

"Sean, you're acting weird. I know you. Something's up with you. You were apopolectic when we first got here. Why are you being so nice?" Liz persisted.

Sean stared at her. "I lied about not wanting children," he said quickly, looking away again.

"What?" Liz demanded again.

"I want kids. I just never thought I could have them either." He sighed heavily. "The reason I barely spend any time with my brother and his family is because it just makes me jealous. I'm never going to have that."

Liz stared at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she finally admitted. "Sean, you [I]can[/I] have that! Why on Earth are you with me if that's what you want?"

Sean took a deep breath, and fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling above him. "I have a confession to make too. I never intended to tell you this Liz. I never intended to tell [I]anyone[/I].

"I can't be mad at you, Liz. I have no right. When you talk about Max, your eyes light up. Your face glows. Do you know how long I've wanted to feel that way about someone?"

Liz turned sideways, to look down at Sean through narrowed eyes. "What are you talking about, Sean?"

"I have secrets too, Liz. Things that no one knows about me. Not my friends, not even my parents. Certainly not you. I promised myself I would be a good husband, that if I made this move, you would never know. You were so reserved when we first met that I didn't think you'd really care anyway. I thought we could find companionship together and you could help me to get my mother off my back about marriage too. You're everything she wants for me after all." He said this last part with an underlying bitterness that made Liz even more confused.

Her heart was starting to thump in her chest. "What was I never supposed to know about?" she asked.

"Why did you never question the fact that I didn't want to have a sexual relationship with you?" Sean asked abruptly, completely changing the subject.

"Maybe because I was the one that suggested it?" Liz replied, even more confused. She had absolutely no idea where he was headed with this.

"Right, right, I forgot," Sean said, sitting up. "Well, why didn't you question me when I agreed so readily?" He asked. "I mean, didn't you think that was kind of weird? I'm a thirty year old guy. Not that I care about this, but I could have any woman I wanted. Didn't you think it was a little strange?"

"I guess I was just so relieved that you agreed. I couldn't bear the thought of sharing a bed with anyone but Max, and in this day and time, a relationship with no sex is almost unheard of. I just.when you agreed, I didn't want to push. We've been engaged for such a short time, I guess I haven't really thought in any great detail about how things would have changed." She paused, shaking her head. "Sean, where are you going with this?"

"I'm just going to say it," he said. "Before I lose my courage. When I'm done, you can ask all the questions you want. I'll give you all the answers." He paused, shook his head. "God, this so hard to say. I mean, I can't believe I'm telling you this. But now that you've been so honest with me, I feel like I owe you this. So you won't feel like you're absolutely murdering my heart or something." He again seemed to be talking more to himself than to her. But at last he looked up and stared right into her eyes. "Plus, I trust you. I know that you'll keep this to yourself until I figure out what I want to do about it."

"Sean, what?" Liz demanded, drawing the word out. "Whatever it is, it can't be as bad as what you have swirling through my brain right now." [I]My first husband is an alien. Nothing can shock me now,[/I] Liz reflected a bit hysterically. [I]I mean, unless he's a murderer or something. Oh my God! What if he's a murderer![/I] She was momentarily worried that she'd said that out loud, but even if she had, she didn't think Sean would have noticed. He was really sweating now. He looked about ready to pass out.

"Liz, this is going to come as a shock, considering everything. You know, the Most Eligible Bachelor thing and so forth."

Liz cut him off impatiently. "Sean!"

He took a deep breath. "Okay. Here it is. I think.I think that I might be gay."