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 Twenty – Kiss and Tell

Liz looked around to make sure she wasn't being observed and then climbed quickly into the unlocked vehicle. She hunkered down on the floor of the back seat and waited. The minutes dragged on interminably. After what seemed like an eternity, she heard the car door open. The driver climbed in, placed some packages on the passenger seat, slammed the door and started the vehicle. The car drove down the street, stopping occasionally for what Liz could only assume were red lights. Suddenly, the car swerved sharply. Liz muffled a gasp as her weight shifted and she banged her head against the back of the passenger seat.

Liz heard the brakes squeal as the vehicle came to a sudden stop.
"Alright," said the voice from the front seat. "Get the hell out of my car before I kill you. Liz felt a hand reach back and grab her roughly and pull her from the back of the car. The driver reached his arm back and prepared to punch her when he realized whom he held.
"Liz?" Max asked, incredulously.
"Sorry," said Liz, with a small laugh. "I couldn't resist when I saw your Jeep parked outside of Senor Chow's. It seems like we never get any time alone lately, and so I saw an opportunity, and I grabbed it. Besides, I've had this feeling all afternoon that you were really upset. I wanted to see you for myself and find out if you were okay."
"I'm fine," said Max, pulling Liz to him so he could kiss her.

Several minutes passed as Liz and Max kissed passionately in the front seat of his Jeep. Liz leaned into Max and deepened the kiss. Her tongue slowly crept into his mouth, thrusting seductively back and forth. She withdrew her tongue and bit his lower lip lightly. Max groaned with desire and kissed her deeper. As he did, the images he received when he kissed Tess transmitted themselves to Liz's open mind.
"Oh my God, Max. What was that?" she cried, ending their embrace.
"Damn," swore Max, softly. "I didn't mean for you to see those."
"But Michael, Isabelle, God Max, are they okay. We have to do something. We have to find them!" Liz cried frantically.
"Liz, relax," said Max, holding her down. "It wasn't them."
"But I saw them, it was them. Michael, he's dead, and Isabelle, my God, she's better off if she's dead.

"Liz, it isn't them. It's not Michael and Isabelle. You're seeing Rath and Vilondra. It's how they died on Antar, or at least I think it is, anyhow. That's what this meeting tonight is about."
"What's going on, Max? I'm afraid," said Liz, her face white.
"Tess came by for a surprise visit today," began Max. "She wanted a favor. She tried using her powers on me to convince me to give her the book. After I agreed, she kissed me. The first thing I saw was the images she had created in my head of Antar, Jell-o beach, green sky, the works. But then, I began to see other things. They were horrible."
"Max, don't, you don't have to tell me what you saw," said Liz. "I saw it too.
Max smiled at Liz, her thoughtfulness making him love her all the more, but he wasn't able to suppress the images that filled his brain. Swallowing deeply, he continued his story.
"After I got rid of her, Michael showed up. I was able to let him see the visions, and he sketched them out. We're going to show them to Ava tonight to see if she recognizes anything."

Liz dropped her head into her hands and rubbed her face wearily.
"We have to stop her Max. We can't let her take over our lives like this any more."
"I know, Liz, I know. Right now, we have to go with what we have, and that isn't much."
"Well, then, let's get this food to Michael's and start brainstorming," said Liz.
"You know," said Max, looking at Liz reflectively. "I picked up the food kind of early. I was just going to hang out at Michael's, so we have some time to kill."
"Oh, so we could, oh, maybe take a ride out to say the quarry or something?" said Liz, suggestively.
"Yeah," said Max. "Or something." He turned the key in the ignition, and the Jeep roared to life. He checked quickly to make sure there was no traffic and he pulled the Jeep out onto the road. Fifteen minutes later, Max pulled the Jeep off of the road and parked it behind a large outcropping of rocks. Taking Liz by the hand, he led her up a small incline. He paused for a moment, and passed his hand over one of the rocks, and a glowing handprint was revealed, and a door slid open to admit them to a hidden chamber.

"Here Max?" Liz asked, questioningly. "Are you sure?"
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life, Liz. This is where my life began, and it almost ended, thanks to Tess and her stupid mind warps. If we hadn't found out the truth, we all would have gone on believing that Tess and I were destined to be together. I want to be with you here." Liz said nothing; she simply took Max's hand and pulled him to the ground. The couple made love passionately, but with a desperation as well. Max was desperate to erase the images he had seen earlier, and Liz was desperate to keep him safe.

"Max, that was incredible," said Liz, her breath coming in short gasps. "I mean, the last time was incredible, as well, but this was a different kind of incredible. I feel so alive inside. It's like I can feel you inside my cells, moving around." Max propped himself up on one elbow and played with a strand of Liz's hair.
"Do you think it has to do with the changes from my healing you?"
"I don't know, and I don't care," said Liz, a blissful smile on her face. "This is the most wonderful feeling I have ever had, and I don't want it to end."
"You're what's wonderful," said Max, kissing her on the nose. "I wish we could just stay here, forever. Locked away from the rest of the world."
"We'd get pretty hungry if we were locked in here forever," said Liz, playing along.
"We have Chinese food out in the car. We can live on Alex's double order of General Gau's chicken."
"Alex!" cried Liz, while at the same time Max said "Chinese food!"
"Oh God! How long have we been here?" asked Liz, scrambling into her clothes.
"Only a couple of hours," said Max. "We're not too late. If we hurry, we should be able to get there before they all start freaking out completely."

The couple quickly left the pod chamber and climbed into the Jeep. On the outskirts of town, Liz climbed into the back seat and hunkered down on the floor again in case Tess was around anywhere. She shifted position, trying to find a comfortable place to sit, while holding the bags of now cold Chinese food on her lap. Outside of Michael's apartment, Max looked around to make sure they were unobserved. He opened the Jeep door and allowed Liz, still holding the bags of food to rush up the steps to Michael's apartment. She knocked on the door and walked in, followed by Max.
"Hi," she said to the room in general. "Sorry we're late, we got held up."
"Don't worry," said Michael, reaching for the bags of food. "Man, this smells great, and it's still hot too, good!"