Make sure you get both 24 and 25 or you'll be a little lost on this post. I seem to not post as often on this site so you'll get two in one day! Thanks for sticking with it!

chapter 25

"I'm sorry, Miss Harding, but you're not what we're looking for.

The thought floated through her head a dozen times. If it wasn't for that stupid brat she had, she wouldn't have the stretch marks, and she'd be what they were looking for.

She stood looking in the mirror for a while longer wondering what she could do about them.

"Tess, you have mail." Her mother called. "It's from Max."

Speak of the devil. "What could he want?"

"How should I know, sweetie, last we heard from him was over a year ago."

She opened the envelope.

"Oh, Mom, look." She held it to her. "He got married and wants his new wife to adopt my daughter."

"Now why would he want that?"

"I don't know, it doesn't say." She shrugged. She didn't care one way or another about the kid, but she could make him suffer for the stretch marks she acquired while pregnant with his baby.

She grinned. There was always laser removal, but that cost money.

Money was something the Evans had. Putting the papers back in the envelope, Tess smiled to herself. If the Max Evans wanted custody of the kid, they'd have to pay.

Liz shuffled through more papers, while Max studied. He was much better at this law stuff than she was but he needed to pass the final tomorrow. Her last final had been the day before. She looked over the rim of her glasses to see if Lily was still working on what she was supposed to be. Satisfied she pushed them back up and went back to work.

"I show Daddy?" She asked holding up a picture a few minutes later.

"Yeah, go ahead sweetheart." Liz dismissed her. She had settled down some, and outgrown her bad stage. At almost three she was starting to settle down and act a little less insane.

Liz, on the other hand, wasn't so sure of her sanity. Aidan's adoption had gone through a week after the wedding. Lily's wasn't even really in the process yet. Tess Harding hadn't been gone long enough for it to be abandonment and she wasn't deceased. Max had explained to her the possibility of Tess giving up her rights was slim to none, but she had a little faith. She had held her breath when they had mailed the papers asking her to.

Were the just opening a can of worms?

Lily walked past the front door which was open to let in cool air. Despite it being January, they were having a heat wave. She stopped to look out, wondering when Oma and Opa would bring Aidan back.

Someone was walking up the front steps. Three people to be exact. She could now count up to twenty, three was easy. She stared at the woman who had the same curly hair that she did. She backed away from the door.

"Never open the doors to strangers, Lilybird, always find me or Mommy." Her dad made that very clear.

"Hi, there, sweetheart, what's your name?" Sweetheart, that's what her mommy called her.

"Never talk to strangers" her mother's voice.

"Mom, that's Lily." The one that looked like her said. She knew her name! She'd never seen these people before but they frightened her.

The paper forgotten on the floor she stared. She was normally very open with people, but she couldn't be with these people. Something about them made her feel wrong.

"Is your daddy home, Lilybird?" The young woman asked.

That did it, no one called her that except her father, not even her mother. She was scared and she was going to let the whole house know it. "Mommy!"

The people at the door jumped backward at the volume.

"She remembers me." Tess said thrilled. "Open the door."

"Daddy!"

Looking up, Liz dropped what she was doing. She had heard Lily yell before but never with that tone of voice, never sounding that scared.

Max came running too.

"Lily, what's wrong, Mommy's here." Liz picked her up, not noticing the door.

She clung to Liz and sniffled, still trembling.

"Tess." Max skidded to a halt. Stepping in front of his wife and daughter he looked at the woman he had hoped never to see again.

Liz looked up at the name and clutched Lily tighter to her.

Liz's heart was racing. This was the other woman's child. No, Lily was hers. Shaking her head she stepped around Max.

"Don't look surprised, Max." She grinned and then her gaze drifted towards Liz. Straightening, Liz met her look for look. "This must be your wife. I'm surprised at you; I always thought you had a thing for blondes."

He stiffened before turning to Liz. She seemed to have taken no offense to the remark. "You must be Tess, Max invite them in." She was severely polite, throwing the entire party off guard.

Still hiccupping from her tears Lily stuck a thumb in her mouth. Liz soothed her back as she walked to the living room, very aware of the daggers being thrown at her back. She settled Lily on her lap as she sat on the couch where she knew Max would soon join her.

He did, as soon as the Hardings were seated, he sat beside Liz. Lily crawled into his lap, and shot glaciers at the family across the way.

"So she already calls you mommy?" Tess said looking at the child she had given birth to. She had tear streaks down her cheeks, and her eyes were red and swollen. Her hair mussed. "You'd think she'd be better kept."

Deadly calm, insulted at the woman's jab inferring she didn't take care of her children, Liz looked back at her. "If she hadn't felt threatened by you, she wouldn't have cried, if she hadn't cried, than she'd be perfectly well kept."

"Well she shouldn't feel threatened by her mother." Tess pointed out.

"She isn't." Both Max and Liz answered together.

"But you just said...oh...I understand." She gave a mirthless laugh. "No matter what she calls you, I will always be her mother on that paper. You can't sign a legal document, ever, until I give up my rights."

Liz's face drained when she realized what power this woman had over her. "Legalities don't matter, she's mine."

"No, she's really not. All I would have to do is waltz into court and demand visitation rights or joint custody, and where would you be, Mrs. Evans?" She sneered. "Up the creek without a paddle, because there's jack squat you could do."

Frustrated and furious, Liz stood up. "Come with Mommy, Lily."

Lily took her hand and hopped down from Max's lap. Staying as close to Liz as possible she settled into the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Anna?"

"Yes, Liz." Aidan's Oma picked up the phone.

"Where are you?"

"About a block away."

"Look, I'm sorry to ask this of you, Anna, but I need something." She bit back tears and took a calming breath.

"What is it honey, Will and I will do everything in our power to help." Anne sensed her distress.

"Lily's biological mother is here, with her parents." She said fast into the phone. "I don't want the children here, but I don't want the Hardings to know I'm sending them away. Especially Lily."

"Oh." She was stunned for a moment, "just a second."

The phone was muted and she heard muffled voices. "Will and I will come around the back through the kitchen, pack the kids an over night bag they'll stay at our hotel with us."

"Thank you so much, Anna, you don't know how much I appreciate this."

"Oh, honey, we don't want to lose her either."

With their backs to the walkway the Hardings completely missed Liz and Lily going to the back bedrooms to get their bags. Max recognized the bags when they walked back through. He trusted Liz knew what she was doing.

Sitting Lily on the counter she strapped her shoes on. "Oma and Opa are coming to get you. You and Aidan are going to spend the night with them, at their hotel. Mommy needs you to be a good girl, alright Lily, I'll call Nana and tell her you were bad if you don't."

Lily nodded. She didn't understand but felt her mother's fear.

Hugging Lily close to her she kissed her hair smiled. She whispered assurances of her love once more before William knocked on the door.

Signaling Lily to be quiet, Liz handed her to him. "I love you, sweetheart." Liz waved.

"Love you, Mommy."

Liz almost broke down into tears. "I'll see you tomorrow."

William hugged Liz and was out the door.

"Alright." Liz checked herself in the mirror.

Rejoining Max on the couch, Liz looked at the Hardings. "Where were we?"

"What'd you do with Lillian?"

"Don't worry about it." Liz told them smug. "What we need to discuss does not require her presence."

"Tess, I know you don't want Lily." Max held Liz's hand to present a united front. "I don't understand why you're holding out on forfeiting your rights."

"I gained twenty four pounds carrying Lily. Before that pregnancy I didn't have any scars or stretch marks, now I do. It has damaged my career as an actress, and you need to pay for that. I'm willing to sign her over as long as you pay me."

"Did it ever occur to you that you're just a bad actress?" Liz said before she could stop herself.

"I will not have you slandering my daughter." Mr. Harding stood up to her. "You will take that back."

"And I won't have you speak to my wife like that." Max shot back. "She was just telling the truth, and she was not done speaking. Finish what you had to say, love."

"Thank you." She smiled at Max. "I gained thirty pounds with Aidan, which gave me a few stretch marks of my own, do you see me cursing John or taking it out on Aidan? I look at it as a small sacrifice to have someone I love and who loves me so completely."

Tess crossed her arms. "Once you have one of Max's brats you'll change your mind."

"I don't see how you're upset that you carried Max's child." She said quietly. It thrilled her that one day she would too. "And Lily would not take kindly to being called a brat, and I take it less so. Please stop."

"You wouldn't understand." Tess shook her hands. Ignoring the latter comment.

"Alright." Max held up a hand. "Let's get back to the task on hand. Tess, I'm not going to pay you for my daughter."

"Sure you are. You're desperate for her to be Liz's."

"Not that desperate." Liz shook her head. It didn't have to be legal. What was in her heart was all that mattered. Or so she told herself.

"I can make your life hell. School reports, drivers' license, passports. You would never be able to leave the country with her. You need both parents' consent. She's mine and she'll remain that way until you pay me."

"We could take you to court. You forget I'm in law school, lots of friends and connections that could tip the scales in my favor."

"You would never sink so low." Tess smirked.

"He slept with you didn't he?" Liz said before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened. She had not just said that. She was on a mean streak today. Then again, there were those sayings warning against getting between a mother and her children.

Tess sat stunned. So did Mr. and Mrs. Harding. Max blinked at his wife.

Mrs. Harding recovered first. "It would take you more money to take us to court than to just pay her off."

"How much do you want?" Max asked out of curiosity.

"Fifty thousand."

"Are you crazy? We're college students raising two kids, where are we gonna get that kind of money?" Max exclaimed.

"You have parents, and I'll take it in installments." Tess folded her hands satisfied with their reactions.

"No." Liz shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"Liz." Max stroked her hand with his thumb.

"Max." She looked up at him. "If we just take her to court, it will be better. There is no way that would give her custody, Max." She said with a confidence she did not feel. "Your father would help us and I'm sure he has a few friends that are capable of helping us, if Tess really wants to go to court, we'll go to court."

Smiling down, in awe, at his wife Max answered Tess. Her voice had been steady even though he could feel her hand trembling in his. "You have your answer. Since you are going to make this difficult, we'll go to court. I would say though, the loss of a child in a court custody case would not look good for an aspiring actress." He was looking at Tess now.

All color drained from Tess' face. He had hit home.

"Think of the publicity. Tess Harding gives up only child in the child's best interest. She didn't want a custody battle to deeply scar the baby. It would all be very good for you, Tess. But to have your rights taken away, that would signify that there is something wrong with you. That would lead to investigations and soon enough it would come up that you abandoned your poor nine-month old daughter, leaving her with her young father, who eventually remarried and has a stable home. Which stories do you like better, Tess? You decide."

"That's not fair!" She cried clearly upset.

"Neither is what you're asking of us. No one would ever know you had a child. If you wouldn't say anything no one would ever have to know."

Her faced turned a deep shade of red, surprisingly looking nothing like Lily when she was upset.

"Ah. Even better now. If you don't give over custody, and you do—by some miracle—manage to make it big someone, somehow would find out about it, and it would not be very pretty and then we'll be back at the beginning."

"This isn't the Max Evans I remember." Tess shook her head in disbelief. She had thought he would have been a pushover.

Max gave her a smile that would have frozen over the entire Pacific Ocean. She was right, Max thought. This Max Evans had his family to think of and it had been threatened, he wasn't going to let anyone hurt his family. He had worked too hard, too long to get where he was. He was happy and she was sitting here threatening that happiness. It wasn't going to happen, he'd do anything to keep his family exactly the way it was.

tbc