Disclaimer: You know the drill…the characters aren't mine. A lot of stuff in the beginning is taken from End of the World. God knows THAT'S not mine. Anything that makes sense and makes it all better, now that's mine. Seriously, Roswell and all characters belong to Jason Katims, 20th Century Fox etc. I'm just borrowing them.

Rating: PG-13 – possibly to R

Love Changes Everything

Chapter Eleven – The Day After

The sun peeked over the horizon, lighting the city of Roswell with a dusty pink glow. Liz sighed and snuggled into her bed, allowing her body to relax underneath the warm covers. Slowly the fact that her mattress was rock hard penetrated her sleep-fogged brain.
"Max, move over, the bed isn't very comfortable," she mumbled. A few seconds later she sat upright, knocking the covers from both herself and Max.
"Max, Max, wake up," she whispered urgently. "Max, come on, it's morning. You can't be here!"
"Shit," said Max, coming awake. "I didn't mean to fall asleep like that."
"I know, me either, but you have to get out of here before anybody realizes where you are," Liz whispered, urgently.

Max pressed a quick kiss to her lips and swung over the side of the roof and climbed back down to the street. Liz quickly climbed back into her room and crawled under her covers. There was a soft knock on her door, and her mother stuck her head in.
"Liz, are you awake?"
"Hunh? Oh, yeah Mom, what's up?" asked Liz, feigning sleepiness.
"Nothing Sweetie, I know it's your day off, but I was wondering if you could come down and help me set up for breakfast? Agnes called in sick again, and Maria can't do it all by herself."
"Oh, sure Mom," said Liz. "Just give me five minutes to shower, and I'll be right down."
"Thanks Liz," said Nancy. She reached down and took Liz's hand in hers. "You are a such a good daughter. Liz, what's this?" she asked looking at the ring on Liz's hand.
"Oh, uh, I was missing Grandma Claudia a lot last night, so I was just going through her stuff. I guess I forgot to take it off."
"Oh Liz," said Nancy, pressing Liz's hand to her cheek. "I know you miss your grandmother. We all do, she was a wonderful, vibrant woman. But she wouldn't want you to spend your life mourning her."
"I know," said Liz. "It was just a one time thing."
"Okay Sweetie. Don't forget to put the ring away before you come downstairs. It's old, and very valuable."

Liz waited until her mother was out the door, and jumped out of bed. Rummaging through her jewelry box, she found a silver chain. She put the ring on the chain and fastened it around her neck. She showered quickly and put on her uniform and ran down the stairs. She passed through the kitchen where Michael was frying rashers of bacon on the grill.
"What's up with Maria?" she asked.
"She and Isabelle are going on a platinum shopping spree when the jewelry store opens," he said softly. "She'll be as soon as she can, with stuff for all of us."
"Great," said Liz. "I just got busted for wearing my Grandma's ring."
"Yeah, Maria figured you wouldn't want to wear that on an everyday basis. Shit, what's she doing here?"
Liz turned around and saw Tess sitting down at the counter.

"Hi Tess," she said, walking over to the counter. "Um, we're not quite ready to serve yet. I guess we all slept in."
"That's ok, Liz," she said. "I don't mind waiting. Is there any juice or something I can have while I wait?"
"Sure, hang on," said Liz. She poured Tess some juice and placed the glass on the counter in front of her.
"On second thought," said Tess. "I think I want some bacon and eggs, right away." As she spoke, her face scrunched up. Liz looked at her, and smiled. "Sure thing Tess. That will be just a second."

Liz slipped back into the kitchen and passed the order to Michael. "It worked," she whispered. "She's trying to mind warp me into serving her bacon and eggs before the grill was ready."
"Well, we can't disappoint the little bitch now can we," said Michael passing his hand over the bacon. He quickly added two eggs to the grill and used his powers to cook them. He placed everything on a plate and handed it to Liz.
"Here you go," said Liz. "Fresh off the grill. Sorry you had to wait."
The bell over the door rang as the door opened and Max Evans stepped inside. Liz started to move forward to greet him, but quickly stopped herself, remembering that they were not supposed to be together any more.

     "Liz," he said brusquely, nodding in her direction. He pushed past Liz and sat on the stool next to Tess. "Morning," he said, smiling at her. "Hi Max," Tess practically simpered. "I had a great time last night."
"Yeah, me too," said Max. "At least some parts of it were more enjoyable than others," he added, looking at Liz.
"Max, you really should just forget about her," said Tess, her face contorting slightly.
"Forget about who?" asked Max with a smile. "I already have, Tess. I started forgetting about Liz the first day I met you. I've always felt drawn to you, but I tried fighting it for a long time, but you were right all along. We belong together. Michael!"
"What Max," said Michael, his disgust at Max's behavior evident on his face.
"Tell Maria," he began.
"I'm not your freaking messenger service," snapped Michael. "Tell her yourself."
"Fine," ground out Max. He grabbed Tess by the arm and escorted her out the door of the CrashDown.

     "Hang on," he said to Tess as they walked to his Jeep. "I left my keys inside. I'll be right back." He turned and jogged back into the CrashDown.
"Liz, are you alright," he whispered as he made a show of looking for his keys.
"Yeah," she whispered. "I love you."
"I love you too. Tell Michael. We all need to meet tonight at the UFO Center. I'll come up with some really lame reason, but it's really to give us a chance to interact together with Tess and see if she's on to us."
"Okay, look, you better go, she's watching through the window." She knelt down and pretended to pick up Max's keys and hand them to him.
"Max, did you mean it, last night I mean?" she asked, referring to his proposal
"With all my heart. Did you?"
"You are my heart," Liz replied.