Chapter 7: Merry Christmas and secrets revealed.

Zan was sitting in his playpen, playing with his rattle, amusing himself; he had woken up when Max had woken up. Max had changed him and fed him before placing him in his playpen that was in their bedroom and placed some of the toys in with him before giving him his dummy and pressing a finger to his lip, telling him to be quiet because mummy was sleeping. Zan had smiled up at his father as Max kissed him on the forehead before getting dressed and kissing a sleeping Liz on the forehead before leaving the apartment to go and visit Michael.

Liz stirred and smiled when she rolled over onto Max's side of the bed, she buried her face into his pillow, inhaling his scent before resting the side of her head on it and smiling at her son.

"Morning Zan." Liz teased, watching Zan give her his slow sweet smile from behind his dummy, one that was so much like Max. Liz got out of bed and walked over to the playpen. "Christmas time Zan." Liz greeted as she bent over the playpen, smiling. Zan smiled back, holding out his arms when he saw his mother.

XXXXX

Max and Michael are walking down the street talking.

"So did you and Maria officially break up?" Max asked, curiously.

"I thought so, but the more she says, the more confusing it gets. She wants space, but she still wants me in her life. All I know for sure is I'm not getting any. Let's grab a burger. " Michael explained and Max looked at him.

"That's not exactly giving her space." Max stated and Michael shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not gonna starve because I have a weird girlfriend." Michael remarked as he opened the door and both boys entered, smiling when they saw Kyle, Maria, Liz, Tess, Isabel, Jesse and Zan, all surrounding their usual booth.

"Hey baby." Max greeted when he and Michael entered the Crashdown. He kissed Liz's cheek and took Zan into his arms.

"So this is how it's gonna look. It's gonna be, like, white lights and clear ornaments and white candles." Isabel stated as she handed them a list while looking at her folder and Michael rolled his eyes.

"Hail the Christmas Nazi." Michael muttered and Jesse looked up at him.

"What?"

"Hi, Michael. Shut up." Isabel glowered at him.

"Hey." Michael greeted.

"Hey." Maria greeted back.

"So what's going on? Are we hanging today after your shift?" Michael asked.

"Uh...Today? Uh, no. I have some stuff to do today." Maria explained and Michael shrugged.

"Whatever." He muttered; Liz shook her head sadly before turning to Tess, Tess rolled her eyes and shrugged and Liz nodded in agreement. Both girls were getting annoyed by Maria and Michael but didn't know what they could do. "So what? Christmas... It's a... Load of crap." Michael stated and Jesse smiled.

"Are you kidding me? It's a great time. Just mellow out, watch a little football." Jesse exclaimed.

"Oh, you'll be watching lots of football." Michael stated knowingly.

"What does he mean by that?" Jesse asked Isabel.

"Nothing." Isabel jumped in and closed her folder. "We gotta go, honey. We gotta make sure the senior Christmas dinner is still on schedule. I still haven't found the proper Santa for Santa village, and, oh, you know what? You gotta change the lights on the windows of our apartment." Isabel started rifling off her list.

"Enjoy mellowing out." Michael smirked.

"You know, Michael, I, too, was miserable around the holidays until I found my calling." Isabel stated.

"Making other people miserable." Michael jumped in, Max ducked his head to stifled his laugher, Tess had buried her face into Liz's shoulder, giggling while Maria shook her head, amused and Kyle was looking around the room, biting his lip and Jesse laughed. Isabel glared at Michael while Liz rolled her eyes and handed Zan his dummy.

"Volunteering... Helping the elderly, children less fortunate find joy and happiness through the holidays." Isabel snapped back in defence then she turned to the girls. "Elves." She stated and Liz shook her head.

"Leave me out of it." Liz exclaimed. "Tess and I are going Christmas shopping together and we will have Zan with us." Liz explained.

"I'll be an elf, I'm sure I can find someone else to help us." Maria jumped in and Isabel nodded agreement before turning to the boys.

"Yes, we'll go and look for the 'perfect' Christmas tree this year again." Max sighed and Michael shot him 'are you mad?' look before agreeing grumbling.

"I'm with my dad, we are getting the house ready for Christmas." Kyle explained and Isabel nodded, satisfied with the answers.

Max was playing with Zan and laughing.

"Where are you going?" Max asked Liz.

"Down town, there are some good toy shops down there and we thought Zan might want to go and see them." Liz stated, Max pulled out his keys.

"Here, take the Chevelle and take my card." Max stated, handing her the card and the keys.

"Max…" Liz started but Max shook his head.

"No argument Liz, cause I'm not gonna listen." Max teased and Liz rolled her eyes playfully.

"Fine." She stated, smiling at him and Zan.

XXXXX

"Who do you think Santa is going to be?" Tess asked as they walked over to Santa's Grotto while Liz pushed Zan's pram.

"I don't know, knowing Isabel, she will rope one of the guys into being Santa." Liz stated and they both smiled as they entered the area, they saw kids queuing up, waiting for Santa while Maria was looking harassed.

Tess and Liz made their way over to Maria. "What's wrong?" Liz asked.

"Isabel had arranged someone to be Santa but they haven't shown up and the kids are getting restless!" Maria exclaimed as she patted her pockets. "Where the hell are my Cedar oils?"

"Here you go." Liz stated as she pulled out a small vial from her purse and handed it to Maria. She shrugged at Tess's bewildered look. "Just in case."

They all heard a roaring sound and they saw Michael dressed as Santa heading toward the trio. Liz and Tess cracked up laughing as Maria just stared at him in a stunned shock.

"No way!" Maria blurted out shaking her head in denial as Liz picked up Zan and turned him around to see Santa.

"Look Zan, it Santa." Liz stated, Zan looked at Michael and burst into tears of fright causing Liz to let out a sympathy laugh as she turned him around so she could comfort him.

Max had seen the lot of them and walked over to them.

"Hey guys." Max greeted as he walked up behind Santa, Zan turned his head at the sound of his father's voice only to burst into tears when he saw Santa once more.

Max hurried over to Liz's side and placed a hand on Zan's back, comforting him. "Hey, what's with the tears?" Max asked.

"Santa scares him." Liz whispered to Max and he let out a soft chuckle as he took Zan into his arms, soothing him.

Liz watched with a fond smile at her two boys together before turning to Michael. "So, how did you get into this state?" Liz asked.

"Isabel." Michael muttered as he walked over to the chair, not before patting Maria on the buttocks. "Get me a brat snowflakes."

Maria just followed him, spluttering in anger while Tess just laughed her head off at the two of them.

"Tis the season to be jolly." Tess stated and Liz laughed as she handed Zan his dummy.

"Here you go baby." Liz soothed Zan and kissed his cheek while Zan just looked around at the sight before him with wide eyes.

"He's just so adorable!" Tess squealed and Liz laughed once more as Max rolled his eyes. He had been hearing that since Zan was born and he was beginning to feel sorry for the kid. "Wonder why he doesn't like Santa though." Tess remarked thoughtfully.

"Some kids just don't like meeting Santa as he is quite big." Max offered as an explanation as he rocked Zan gently.

Zan laid his head on Max's shoulder, burying his forehead into Max's neck as he closed his eyes and went to sleep. Max kissed his forehead as he wrapped and arm around Liz, bringing her into his body as they watched as Maria lead the kids up to Michael.

"It's weird to know that this is our first Christmas without Alex." Tess stated and Max nodded. "If I hadn't…" Tess started but Max cut in, knowing what she was going to say.

"If you hadn't, things would have been a lot worse." Max stated and Tess nodded.

"What?" Liz asked.

"I had a visitor a while ago and they told me about our future, you were the one to die by Khivar's hand instead of Alex. So I changed a few things around so you would live but we didn't foresee about Alex." Tess explained.

"Who was it?" Liz asked.

"Madam Vivian." Tess lied smoothly, she wasn't going to tell Liz that she was raped by Khivar before dying, especially after she was nearly raped by him in their past life.

"The one that Maria goes to?" Liz asked and Tess nodded in confirmation.

"Maria told me she was very good, apparently just a bit cryptic with her messages." Liz informed and Tess giggled.

"You're right there, she told Maria she had two days to live but it was actually her relationship, don't ask." Tess stated with a shake of her head. "So Maria was convinced that she was going to die and started living her life to the full." Tess explained and Liz shook her head.

"Why do future tellers have to be so cryptic?" Liz asked and Tess laughed in agreement.

"I totally agree with you." Tess stated and laughed at Max's offended look but Liz was busy laughing at the scene in front of her, Maria was arguing with Michael as all the kids were staring at Santa and snowflake with amusement shining in their eyes, even the parents were shaking their heads at the sight in front of them. Only they could make visiting Santa amusing for the kids.

XXXXX

Max had woken up first and smiled down at Liz, she was cuddled into his side, her head resting on his chest. He lifted his hand and stroked back her hair, his eyes filling with wonder and love as she moved closer to him, she moved her head slightly and opened her eyes, she looked up at him and smiled when she saw him.

"Merry Christmas." Max whispered and Liz kissed him gently on the lips.

"Merry Christmas." She whispered back, they both laid there for a while, enjoying the comfort and feeling being with each other.

"We better get up, Zan will be getting up soon." Max whispered and Liz nodded as Max kissed her once more and got out of bed, Liz rested on the bed for a little while longer before hearing Zan gurgled. She smiled as she got out of her bed and headed over to the cot.

"Merry Christmas Zan." Liz stated as she leaned over the cot, smiling down at her son. Zan gurgled as he lifted up his arms, wanting to be held. Liz leaned down and picked him up, she held him close to her chest as they moved into the living room.

Max was standing at the kitchen doorway with a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. Zan smiled when he saw his father and waved. His gaze swung over to the big tree that was standing in the corner, all lit up and decorated, his eyes grew wide when he saw all the presents under the tree, causing Max and Liz to smile at the image.

"Look at all the presents Zan." Liz whispered as she pointed to the presents, the three of them moved over to the tree and settled themselves around the tree; they were about to open the presents when a knock at the door came.

Max groaned with amusement as he stood up and headed over to the door, he opened it only to step back in shock as the gang pushed their way through door and headed into the living room.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" They all cheered, causing Liz and Max to laugh as Zan looked at them wide eyed, startled from the noise.

Soon the gang settled themselves around on the tree and started passing presents around, enjoying the hot chocolate Max had made for them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Max asked.

"It's the little buddy first Christmas isn't it?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, we wanted to make it a family Christmas, being here for his first time." Maria agreed, causing Max and Liz to laugh, they knew how much the gang loved Zan and enjoyed spending time with him.

Soon, most of the gang went home except from Tess and Tommy, they wanted to stay a while longer to spend time with Zan as Max looked around before looking at Liz.

"Liz, do you want to come a walk with me?" Max asked.

"Sure, Erm…" Liz stated and Tess smiled.

"We'll look after Zan." Tess assured as she took Zan from Liz and played with one of the cuddly toy, distracting Zan from the leaving of his parents.

Max and Liz found themselves at the ice-rink once more, Max looked at Liz and she smiled as they rented skates before pulling them on. They slid onto the rink and skated around for a little while, Tess and Tommy were laughing as Zan played with his teddy. Isabel and Jesse having dinner while Maria and Michael were staring at the stars having hot chocolate. Kyle and Tammy were dancing at the party.

Max pulled Liz to the middle and pulled out a small black box.

"Merry Christmas." Max whispered as Liz took the box and opened it; she gasped at the sight.

"Oh my…" Liz whispered, in it was a white gold ring, nestled in the middle of the box with a white diamond in the middle.

Max took the ring out and lifted up her left her as he looked into her eyes.

"Liz Parker, you have been the constant sane thing in my life since you've entered it, you make me whole and you balance me. You are the mother of my child and my soul mate along with my queen in another planet. Will you do me the honour of marrying me?" Max asked and Liz smiled up at him with tears running down her face.

"Yes." Liz replied with a huge bright smile. Max let out a breathless laugh as he slid the ring on her left hand, ring finger and kissed her on the lips.

They were going to get married!

XXXXX

Max and Liz found themselves at their apartment, the whole gang was there minus Tammy, everyone looked over to them and Liz smiled as she held up her left hand.

"We're getting married!" Liz exclaimed, all the girls squealed as they hurried over them and hugged the pair of them.

"When's the wedding?" Maria asked and Liz laughed.

"Maria, we only just got engaged, we're hardly thinking of the wedding right now." Liz teased and Maria rolled her eyes.

"I'm on hyper at the moment so sue me." Maria teased back before pulling Liz into a hug. "I'm so glad you are getting married." Maria stated.

"Same here!" Tess joined in, hugging the girls and laughing as Isabel joined them too.

"What kind of wedding are you planning?" Isabel asked and Liz rolled her eyes in amusement.

"I haven't even thought about it!" Liz exclaimed and giggled. "I was thinking maybe a summer wedding but I'm not so sure yet." Liz admitted and everyone nodded.

Soon they all settled themselves down, Zan had managed to find his way into Liz's arms, much to her amusement. She bent down and kissed him on the forehead as she lifted him up, making sure that he was comfortable, she looked around for his dummy and noticed that it was sitting on the table next to Jesse.

"Can you hand me Zan's dummy please Jesse?" Liz asked and Jesse handed her the dummy. Liz froze when a flash came to her.

'When are you going to leave Isabel?' a woman with red hair asked.

'Soon, give me time to draw up the divorce then I will tell her.' Jesse replied, both of them were in bed, naked.

Liz gasped as she came back to the present and saw everyone was looking at her, worried, Jesse was confused.

"Sorry, I'm fine. I was just a little dizzy." Liz explained and everyone nodded, accepting the answer apart from Tess and Max, they knew better but kept quiet.

Liz looked at Jesse then looked down at Zan who was staring up at her with his dark eyes. She smiled softly as she gave him his dummy and brought his head closer to her heart, lulling him to sleep.

XXXXX

"Okay, Liz you completely suck at lying so tells us the truth." Tess warned, worried for her best friend.

Liz sighed as she dropped into her seat and placed her head into her hands.

"I got a flash of Jesse in bed with another woman, he is planning on leaving Isabel for her." Liz explained. Tess sat down next to Liz and pulled her into a hug while Max punched the wall in anger.

"That bastard!" Max hissed out then turned to Liz. "Did you see the lady?" he asked and Liz nodded.

"I know her but don't know why, she had long red hair and green eyes." Liz described, Max and Tess looked at each other, stunned. "What?" Liz demanded.

"She's the secretary." Tess explained and Liz rolled her eyes.

"Very original." She muttered; then it hit her. "Wasn't she the one who verbally attacked me when I entered the office to see Jesse?" Liz asked and Max nodded.

"Why would he cheat on Isabel?" Tess demanded and Liz shrugged.

"I don't know, but we sure are going to find out the answer one way or another." Liz replied as she stood up.

Max phoned everyone and told him or her all to meet at their house, as it was an emergency while Liz picked up Zan and rocked him until he calmed down from all the tension. The gang showed up and settled themselves around the house.

"What's going on?" Michael demanded.

"Liz has found something out." Max explained and Jesse sighed.

"Can't we have one normal day where nothing goes wrong?" Jesse demanded.

"This has something to do with you." Max stated and Jesse scoffed.

"Like anything with you aliens have anything to do with me." Jesse stated and Max lost it.

"You are cheating on Isabel!" Max shouted at Jesse, stunning the gang.

"What?" Isabel demanded.

"I got a flash when Jesse handed me the dummy, he was in bed with another woman." Liz explained and Isabel turned to Jesse with heartbreak and disbelief shining in her eyes.

"You were cheating on me!" Isabel demanded.

"Isabel…" Jesse started as he took a step forward but she took a step back, shaking her head in denial. "It was a mistake."

"Can't have been unless you were faking about the Divorce." Liz shot at him with anger flaring in her dark eyes.

Everyone gasped and looked at Jesse, who was looking at Liz with rage in his eyes.

"You bitch!" He snarled as he stormed over to her only to be prevented by a turquoise shield. Everyone looked at Max, who was stunned. It hit them and they turned to Zan, who was sitting in his playpen with his hand out.

"Damn!" Kyle muttered in awe. "At this age?"

"Zan let the shield down." Liz stated, not once taking her eyes off Jesse. Zan shook his head. "Zan, now!" Liz stated more firmly.

Zan cried as he let the shield down and Jesse went flying backward into the wall, thank to Liz using her powers. She walked over to the playpen and picked Zan up, she rubbed his back to sooth him. Zan, instantly, calmed down and buried his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling the scent of her while one hand played with her hair.

Jesse stood up and Liz turned to him with a warning glare in her eyes. "Don't even think about it." She warned as she walked over to the chair and sat down before regarding Jesse once more. "What do we do with him?" Liz asked.

"Kill him." Maria suggested with a shrugged, not caring.

"Castrate him." Michael jumped in.

"Gut him." Tess added in.

"Whoa!" Jesse jumped in, holding his hands up. "You can't go round killing people!"

Liz stood up; her eyes had turned pitch black.

"Do you have any idea what the penalty is for cheating on a princess?" she demanded.

"Liz?" Jesse asked, confused.

"Lilly has taken over Liz." Tess explained.

"She's more dangerous than Liz is though." Michael added in, helpfully, causing the rest to roll their eyes and Jesse to blanch.

"What are you going to do to me?" Jesse asked, fear making his voice wavers. Lilly looking at him before turning to Max and lifted one hand, palm up toward him.

"That's up to Zan, he is the king after all."

Everyone turned to Max, wondering what he was going to do.

"Lilly, I'm not Zan." Max stated and Lilly rolled her eyes. All of a sudden, Max gasped as his eyes turned black and he stood up straighter.

"Now, that's Zan." Michael stated.

"What is going on?" Zan demanded and looked at Lilly. "Lilly?" he asked.

"Hi Zan." Lilly whispered; they both embraced.

"God, I can't believe I'm seeing you all over again." Zan whispered and Lilly tucked her head under his chin.

"I know, I missed you so much Zan." She whispered and Zan kissed her.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caught their attention and they turned around to see Michael looking at them with a pointed glare.

"You know, it's great to see you getting all acquainted but could we please focus on the issue." Michael growled out, causing Maria to backhand him.

"Will you be quiet, the last time Zan saw Lilly was when she was dying for god sakes and you want them to figure out what to do with Jesse?" Maria hissed.

"It's okay, we promise to continue this later." Zan stated and Michael nodded. "Why am I here?" Zan asked.

"Jesse is married to Isabel, Vilandra's body and he cheated on her." Lilly stated causing Zan to look at Jesse with furious eyes.

"You dared to cheat on my sister." Zan grounded out and Jesse swallowed.

"I didn't mean to, I just fell in love with Sarah." Jesse meeped out.

"You're in love with Sarah." Isabel demanded, tears filming her eyes and Zan held up his hand.

"Relax Vilandra, it will not do you good to be stressed." Zan soothed her and Isabel nodded as she stepped back and walked into his arms.

Zan held Isabel close to his body, he had missed his sister so much after she died; he knew that she was trying to avenge Lilly's death and bring peace to the world but she ended up dying because of her good heart.

"It's great to see you again my sister, you are more beautiful in this life and you look so much like mother." Zan whispered; Isabel's eyes filled up with tears of happiness.

"Thank you, how is mother?" Isabel asked and Zan shook his head.

"Last time I saw her, she was crying at your death, I have no idea if she is still alive or not." Zan admitted and Isabel nodded.

"What do we do?" Michael asked Zan, Tess had taken baby Zan from Lilly so that Lilly's hands were free to protect her family if needed to.

"The punishment for cheating is death." Zan stated.

"Yet we can't kill him as he'll be favourable to us later in the future." Lilly stated and Zan looked at her.

"What do you see?" Zan asked.

"I see danger if he dies, if he lives then they have hope." Lilly explained and Zan nodded as he turned to the gang to give them his orders.

"He's not to be killed, you will need him then you will let him live his life, get Liz to erase his memory of what you are if you wish but my order are, you've not to kill him." Zan stated before becoming Max once more. "Whoa, was that a rush or what?" He gasped out. Max shook his head and looked around. "What the hell happened to me?"

"Zan took over, he told us that we weren't to kill Jesse." Michael explained and Max looked at him weirdly.

"Did he say why?" Liz asked as she walked over next to Max, holding Zan close to her.

"Something that we will need him then we have to let him live his life. We could get you to erase his memory of what we are if that would make us feel safer." Isabel informed and both of them nodded.

"Why did Zan put up the shield?" Michael asked.

"And how did he do it?" Kyle added.

"He put up the shield because he is protective of me, he was trying to protect me. He can do it because Max passed it on to him." Liz explained

"So what do we do with him?" Michael asked and Max shrugged.

"I don't know, Zan said he wasn't to be killed." Max muttered as he took Zan into his arms and rocked him slowly.

"So, we've not to kill Jesse?" Liz asked, making sure and everyone nodded.

"Zan order us to keep him alive, apparently Lilly saw something that would be better if he was alive." Michael explained and Liz nodded as she placed her hand on Isabel's shoulder in sympathy and comfort, only to gasp and closed her eyes.

Soon Liz broke away and opened her eyes, breathing heavily causing concerns from the gang.

"What's wrong?" Isabel demanded; Liz looked at her.

"Alex's alive!" Liz gasped out before fainting, leaving the gang stunned.

Now I told you back in season two that not everything was what it seemed. Now, is Alex alive or is it just wishful thinking?

Find out in the next chapter. Later.