Part 5

Building Bridges

Benjamin Franklin could quite easily be considered one of the greatest men of all time. After all it was him who discovered that handy little thing called electricity. He also once said 'Never leave that till tomorrow, which you can do today'

His words now played on Liz's mind as she handed Max a mug of steaming coffee and sat down in her favorite chair. For the last three years, Liz had carried around with her the heavy weight of the lie that had made Max leave Roswell for good. She had never thought in her wildest dreams that he would leave Roswell and the guilt had eaten away at her.

She had never meant to cause him so much pain nor had she wanted to hurt Isabel or his parents. Isabel had refused to talk to Liz for a year, rightfully blaming her for Max leaving Roswell and it wasn't until Alex had refused to talk to either of them again that her and Isabel patched things up.

And now she had a second chance with Max. It wasn't the way that she had thought it would be, she had always dreamed that Max would reenter her life, declaring his undying love for her and that they would live happily ever after.

But it hadn't happened like that. Max had arrived with a wife and Liz wasn't about to ruin their happiness for a chance of her own. Instead, she was going to be Max's friend. It was going to be hard, just being his friend but it was all he could offer and she wasn't willing to let him disappear from her life again.

And if they were going to be were going to be friends then they needed to start afresh with a clean slate. Now all she had to figure out was how to broach the subject.

"Thanks," Max murmured with a unsure smile as he accepted the mug. His eyes drifted around the room "This place is really nice."

"Thank you," Liz said.

The apartment was her first home and she had taken a lot of care in making sure that it was perfect and that it suited her. The living room, which was where they were sitting, was her favorite room in the whole the apartment. The décor was simple, the soft earth tones she had chosen gave the room a calming feel and the couch was the most comfortable couch in the world. She had spent many an hour sat on that couch, loosing herself in a book or a cheesy movie.

And now Max was sat on her couch, sipping coffee from a mug that declared that Brunettes had more fun.

There was something about the moment that seemed unreal.

It was so strange to have him here in her apartment. There had been so many times over the last three years that she had longed to have him here with her, to be able to tell him all the things she had never been able to say before he left but now that he was finally here, she couldn't think of the words to say.

"Do you ever miss Roswell?" She asked, she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. It was a safe enough topic and it was something she had always wondered. Roswell, New Mexico might not have as much to offer as San Diego, California but it had been his home first and there must have been a part of him that had missed it.

Max nodded ever so slightly, "Sometimes, I'll get a wave of nostalgia, mainly because I miss my parents or Izzy. Or because I miss hanging out with the gang but I love living in San Diego. Its so different from Roswell. Its home, you know. I feel like I belong there."

"But don't you ever wish you were closer to your family?" Liz asked. There was a frown on her face as she thought about his words. How could he feel like he belonged in San Diego?

"Of course, I do but I built a new life in San Diego." Max stated. "And I've got Serena and Jonathan. They are my family as well."

"Does Serena know about your…" Liz lowered her voice out of habit, "Other worldly status?"

"Umm, yeah. She knows everything." Max said. He looked a little sheepish as he sent her a pleading look. "I haven't told the others that she knows yet."

"I won't say a word," Liz said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Her heart ached a little, Serena had a part of Max that she would never have. There seemed to be no secrets between the couple and although Liz knew that she should feel happy for her friend, she couldn't help feeling heartbroken. "How did she find out?"

"Uh, she kind of…caught me using my powers."

Max flushed with embarrassment as he remember the incident that had changed his and Serena's friendship. He got drunk after having one shot of Jack Daniels and been careless. Serena had looked after him and ended up blonde much to her utter dismay and confusion. Once he had sobered up, he had had no choice but to tell her the truth about everything.

"How did she react?" Liz asked, remembering her own reaction to being told the truth about Max Evans.

"She didn't believe me." Max grinned slightly and seemed to relax. "I told her I was from Antar and she asked if it was in a place in Canada and then threatened to beat me if I didn't change her hair back to brunette, which I did and then she believed me about the whole alien thing and then she attacked me!"

"She attacked you?" Liz gasped while Max laughed.

"Yeah with a pillow. I think she may have been trying to smother me but she denies it." He was now fully grinning at the memory. "She freaked out and then went all quiet and serious. Something that is rare for Serena and we talked about everything."

"And she was okay with it?"

"She said that she didn't care that I was different, I was her best friend and that was all that mattered." Max said running a hand through his hair. "And that was that,"

Liz hesitated for the briefest moment before deciding that this was her chance to be open with Max about what had happened before he left. "Max, I want to talk you about what happened before you left. I want to explain about what happened that November when you saw me and Kyle…"

Max didn't wait for her to finish her sentence, "Its doesn't matter now,"

"I want us to be friends, Max and I think that we should start with a clean slate,"

"We really don't need to talk about," Max stated, his body language quickly changing and the easy grin had disappeared from his face. "Its in the past and that's where it should stay."

"But Max…"

"Hey Parker, you here?" Sean's voice rang from the front door cutting Liz's sentence short.

"Um, in here." Liz called back, her eyes darting between Max and the entrance of the living room. Sean wasn't normally home until much later in the day and his surprise visit home had put a halt to Liz's plans.

"Did you get my lucky charms? I'm starving." Sean asked as he entered the room. He eyed Max with uncertain when he saw that he was there. "I didn't realize that you had a guest."

"Max, you remember Sean right? Maria's cousin." She said before explaining. "Sean is staying with me until he can get a place of his own."

Max nodded in acknowledgement towards Sean before turning back to Liz, "I should get going."

"You don't have to go yet," Liz said quickly.

"No, I do." Max said getting to his feet. "I should be getting back to Serena. She's not feeling well."

"Oh," Liz said. "Oh right, you should go. I hope that its nothing serious."

Leading to the front door, Liz couldn't help but feel disappointed. She tried to look on the bright side. At least they were friends now. That was more then what they had been yesterday.

"Thanks for the coffee," He said, hovering next to the door.

"It was the least I could do after you saved me from a nightmarish bus ride," Liz clutched onto the door handle for support. There was so much that she wanted to tell to him, so many things that would be forever left unsaid. "Tell Serena that I said hi and that I hope that she feels better soon."

"I'll be sure to pass on the message. I don't think its anything serious, she was feeling a little sick this morning." Max smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, bye." Liz said, a numbness washing over her as she processed Max's words. Morning sickness? Was Serena pregnant or was Liz jumping to conclusions?

Not for the first time since Max had arrived back in Roswell, Liz realized that he was completely lost to her. He had moved on with his life, he had a wife and maybe a baby on the way. What did she have? Her life suddenly seemed empty.

"You okay, Liz?" Sean asked, his eyes were filled with concern and pity. It was the pity that pushed Liz over the edge as she fell into Sean's arms and cried.

"Well, you're a jerk and I think that is much worse then what I am. I only did it because I was trying to help." There was a brief pause. "Hey! Don't you shout at me, buddy otherwise I'll make sure that you can never have children. And I don't like you too much either so there!"

The sound of Serena's voice greeted Max as he entered the hotel room. She was sat on the bed wearing one of his shirts and a pair of jeans, her hair pushed back from her face into a messy bun as she talked on the phone. She looked up and smiled at him.

"Max is back. Do you wanna talk to him or what?" Another pause. "Okay, fine whatever, I will. Yeah, yeah, yeah I love you too. And remember to behave. The safest sex is no sex at all. After all you don't want to break a leg or something. No, wait you already did that." She giggled and Max looked at her questioningly. "Hmm, okay. Miss you too. Bye!"

"Who was that?"

Serena shrugged, "Wrong number!"

Rolling his eyes, Max tossed her a chocolate bar and the small bottle of Pepto Bismol. "What did Jonathan have to say for himself?"

"Ooh, you wanna know the gossip from back home?" Serena asked, her face lighting up with amusement. "Well, Jonathan has broken his leg. Yeah, uh huh. Its broken in two places. He was doing some bedroom gymnastics with Kimber and kinda fell or something. I didn't want all the graphic details, I told him that he could save those for you.

"Kimber? As in Kimber Lawson?" Max asked. Kimber was one of the girls that he had briefly dated. He had had no idea that there was something between her or Jonathan.

"Yeah apparently she came out of her Max induced haze and finally noticed what an awesome guy Jonathan is but don't be sad, Max. There's still all those other poor, sad girls who are Max-aholics." Serena teased before asking, "Are you mad about her and Jonathan hooking up? Jonathan was worried that you were going to freak out."

"No, I'm glad for them." Max said honestly. His and Kimber's relationship had never been serious. Changing the subject slightly, Max asked "What were you and Jonathan fighting about?"

"He was telling me off." Serena said, her face flushing with embarrassment. "And for once what he said made some sense. Max, I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have interfered with things between you and Liz. I was wrong and an idiot. You're a grown man, you don't need me telling you how to live your life. I'm so sorry. Forgive me?"

He was taken back for a second as Serena embraced him tightly.

"Does that mean I can have that chocolate back?" Max asked with a grin. It went without words that she was forgiven. He pulled back and noticed that glow that now surrounded her. "You look better."

"Yeah, I feel it." Serena said. "Some idiot put mushrooms on my pizza last night and I didn't realize til it was too late. I hate mushrooms, they always make me feel like crap. Anyway, what took you so long at the store? And where is my Colin Farrell?"

"They were sold out," Max joked. He briefly considered not telling Serena about his encounter with Liz but quickly dismissed the idea. "I saw Liz at the store."

"Really?" Serena asked, pretending disinterest. Her eyes flicked down to the chocolate bar in her hand. "You wanna talk about it?"

"There isn't really much to say. I apologized for being a jerk, gave her a ride home and then we had a coffee together."

"There isn't really much to say," Serena mimicked. "Can I please get the long story instead of the cliff notes? And don't leave out any details."

"Serena, I'm a guy. I don't like sharing details and gossip unless it is the details of a soccer match."

"Oh please, I've seen you watching E! You love gossip like Jack McFarland loves men, like Karen Walker loves alcohol and money, like…"

"You watch too much Will and Grace." Max stated with a playful roll of his eyes. Settling back on the bed, he stole a square of Serena's chocolate before telling her about what had happened at Liz's apartment. Serena listening intently, every now and again interrupting with a question or a murmur of agreement.

"So, she wanted to talk about her and that guy? Aren't you even curious about what she was going to say?" Serena asked causing Max to raise an eyebrow at her. "What? I would want to know if I was you."

"I think I heard enough about the whole thing before I left. I want to leave it in the past now." Max said. "Liz and I are kind of friends now."

"And that's great. I just think that you should listen to…" Serena paused, realizing that she was being pushy again. "You know what? Its your choice and I fully support you."

"Good," Max said as he flicked on the television. His attention focusing on the soccer match that had just started.

"But now that you are friends, would it be okay if I invited Liz on our run tomorrow?"

"I guess that that would be okay," Max said, not taking his eyes off of the game.

"Excellent," Serena smiled, her eyes lighting up as she reached for the phone. "We are going to have so much fun here in Roswell. I can feel it in my bones!"