Mysticvysqiyi – Your name is really difficult to spell... :) Thank you so much for the feedback!!!

Chapter 21

"I-I have to go," Max said into the receiver.

"Well...okay," Kira said, his voice etched with insecurity.

Max put down the receiver and sank back in the couch.

"Daddy, daddy," Emma cried and jumped up onto the couch, bouncing beside Max. "I'm finished."

"That's good, honey," Max said, his voice emotionless.

Maria, walking in behind Emma, took one look at Max and knew that something was wrong.

"Emma, why don't you go and see if you can find some ice-cream in the freezer," Maria said.

"Yay!!" Emma yelled and bounced up and down on the couch before hopping down and running towards the kitchen.

Maria kneeled in front of Max.

"Max, what's wrong?" Maria tentatively asked. "Oh no, is something wrong with Liz?"

Max looked at Maria and slowly - like a zombie - nodded his head.

"What?" Maria said, fear spreading throughout her whole body.

"I've killed her," Max murmured, oblivious to how that really sounded.

"Max..." Maria said slowly, her voice slightly trembling, "what are you saying?"

"When I healed her, I probably triggered the process that is going to be her death," Max said, his voice empty.

"Who told you this?" Maria asked.

"Kira."

"Is he sure?" Maria asked.

Max shook his head.

"But then you can't blame yourself," Maria said.

"She's sick and I couldn't heal her," Max said. "I can heal all human diseases."

"You couldn't heal grandma Claudia," Maria pointed out.

Max sadly nodded his head.

"Yes I could, but it wasn't meant to be."

"But we don't know for sure what's wrong with her," Maria said. "Maybe Nasedo did something to her."

"She was sick already before Nasedo attacked her, remember," Max said.

"But that was nothing like now. She only had headaches...and dizziness."

"Right, the same symptoms as she suffers from now - they are merely heightened."

Just then Liz stepped into the living room. Max and Maria looked up at her and Liz eyed them suspiciously. She had heard them discussing her and the tone of their voices didn't bode good.

"What's up?" she asked, trying her best to act casual.

"Nothing," Maria said quickly and rose. "I'm just going to see what your daughter is doing."

Maria disappeared into the kitchen and Max and Liz were left alone.

Max was avoiding Liz's eyes and Liz felt fear building inside of her. He was pulling away from her again.

"What were you talking about?" Liz asked suspiciously. Liz stepped closer to Max and were just about to sit down on the couch beside Max when Max quickly rose and walked away from her. It was almost as if he was afraid of her. Liz stared at him, trying to control her emotions.

"What are you doing, Max?" she asked.

"I'll just...uhm...go and see what Emma is up to," Max stuttered and started for the kitchen.

"Maria has already taken care of that," Liz pointed out to Max's back and his body came to a halt. Not turning around, Liz could feel the tension in the air. This was not good. Not good at all.

"Max, you're going to tell me what's wrong and you're going to do it right now," Liz said, unconsciously stepping closer to him. As her hand touched his shoulder he practically jumped and stepped away from her turning towards her in the process. Liz wrinkled her forehead. What the hell was he doing?

"Stay away, Liz," Max said warningly.

Liz tried to catch his eyes that kept darting around the room.

"Max, look at me," she demanded. Max didn't obey. "Max...Look. at. me."

Max slowly rose his eyes and meet hers. Liz flinched back at how much hurt and guilt she could see in his eyes. Instinctively she stepped closer to him, intending to comfort him.

"No, Liz," Max said, his voice a little harder. "Don't touch me. I'm only hurting you."

"What are you talking about?" Liz asked, hurt.

"Look what I've done to you. You're sick, Liz and you're probably going to die," Max said.

Cold infested itself in her heart. She had known for a long time that she didn't have a long time left of this life - but to hear someone else say it made it more real. To hear Max say it, the one person she thought would be the last to give up on her, made her heart stop.

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

"I couldn't heal you-"

"Max, I've already told you," Liz said, her voice mechanical since she knew that Max knew something that she didn't know, "you did your best."

Max shook his head.
"When I healed you the first time, I killed you."

With Max's words hanging in the thick air, Liz sank down on the couch.

"I don't understand," she said.

"I'm so sorry, Liz," Max said, his voice filled with hurt and guilt. "I never meant to hurt you. I couldn't just let you die."

"You aren't making any sense, Max," Liz said, her voice stronger now.

"I asked Kira what was wrong with you," Liz didn't even care who the hell Kira was, she only wanted to know what the heck was going on, " and he said that I had probably changed molecular structures inside of you, damaging the normal functions of your cells and that's what's making you sick. That's what killing you."

Liz closed her eyes and leaned her back against the couch. That frightened her. That frightened her so much because it made more sense to her than any of the expert opinions that the professional doctors had ever given her on her condition. Of course it had to be something alien.

"I'm so sorry, Liz," Max whispered. "I'm so sorry."

She didn't blame him. He had no chance of knowing what healing her would result in. The only thing she could blame him for was saving her life - and that she could never hold against him. By saving her he had showed her true love, he had given her a daughter. She couldn't blame him - she loved him so much. She needed him. She rose and stepped up to Max, and flung her arms around him.

It all happened so fast that Max hadn't the chance to pull away from her. As he felt her body pressed up against his and her smell surrounding him, all fears and insecurities were washed away. This was Liz - his Liz.... But then it hit him again, he had signed her death-note. He was going to lose her again - this time for good - and it was all his fault. He couldn't live without her. He would rather kill himself. He could feel Liz small, yet so strong, arms clutching him to her. She had trusted him. She had trusted him with her life and he had blown it. And still, here she was, hugging him, still trusting him. Not screaming at him, not hitting him, not running away, not crying. However, he wished that she had done all of the above. Perhaps then he wouldn't have felt like such a low scum. Max's arms naturally encircled Liz's body, pulling her even closer to him. His heart and body was pulling her towards him, while his mind was pushing her away.

Liz felt the conflict Max was experiencing.

"Max," she whispered and stroke the nape of his neck. That's when she realized he was crying. Soon his whole body shook with sobs. She had never seen Max cry like that - she had never seen any man cry like that. She released her grip on him and tugged on his hand, while leading him towards the couch. Max was sobbing, his hand repeatedly running over his face to take away the tears. But they were falling too fast. She pulled him down on the couch beside her and pulled him towards her. He folded his arms around her and rested his head on her chest - crying for her. Crying for the loss and grief he had experienced when he had thought that she had died, crying because he had finally found her again, crying because he was going to lose her again. Liz slowly stroked his hair. She couldn't cry, she didn't know what she felt. She was afraid that all her emotions would suffocate her, so she pushed them away - focusing all her energy on Max. As she sat there, Max holding on to her for dear life, she felt the feeling of nausea coming over her again. "No, not now," she thought as she was suddenly hit with the overwhelming need to vomit. She swallowed hard, trying to push the nausea back. If she could just concentrate, she would be able to stop it from happening, right?

Even though Max was on the verge of a breakdown, he was still so in tune with her that he immediately noticed when she tensed up.

"Liz?" he whispered against her chest.

"Shh, don't talk, Max," Liz said.

Max rose his head and looked at her. His eyes were read and puffy and his cheeks were wet.

"What's wr-" but Max never got the chance to finish that sentence, because before he knew it Liz had effectively released herself from his grip and was running towards the bathroom. Seconds later her retching could be heard in the house.
Maria poked her head out from the kitchen. Her concern was immediately peaked as she saw Max's distraught appearance and found that Liz was nowhere in sight. Max sobbed as he looked at her.

"What's happening?" Maria asked, not sure she even wanted to know.

Max buried his head in his hands and didn't answer.

"Oh my God," Maria murmured as she made her way to the bathroom. "This is not good. This is not good."

She opened the door and found Liz kneeling on the floor hunching over the toilet. Maria kneeled down beside her and pulled away Liz's hair from her face.

"Babe, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Liz said as she slowly rose. "I have to take care of Max."

Liz opened the tap in the sink and splashed water in her face.

Maria watched Liz in confusion. She couldn't really say that she was surprised that Liz's first thought after she had emptied her entire stomach content was of Max and his well being.

"Maybe you should sit down a bit...or drink some water," Maria said.

Liz turned around and looked Maria straight in the face.

"I have to take care of Max. He needs me. He's always there when I need him, and I'm not going to disappoint him. I've probably messed everything up now because I once again confirmed to him that I'm sick."

What that she brushed past Maria and left the bathroom.

Liz was right. Max's conscience was slowly devouring him. Liz kneeled in front of Max and prized his hands off his face. He had stopped crying, but he still looked bad - really bad.

"Max," Liz said, her heart breaking at the sight of him. "Thank you...for saving my life. Thank you for giving me at least six more years to live. Thank you for giving me the best friendships in the world. Thank you...for giving me you... Don't you understand, Max? You're everything to me. I've loved you for so long...I still love you. Nothing can ever change that. What you did...healing me...was amazing and I'm grateful everyday that you did it. If you hadn't done it I might never have known you. I'm even in some way grateful for the men shooting me. If they hadn't, I wouldn't have seen the real you. The real Max Evans. It's always been you, Max. Even when I wasn't consciously aware of it myself...it has always been you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to raise our daughter with you. I want to die in your arms - even if it means that I might die tomorrow."

At this Max closed his arms around her and pulled her to him.

"I love you so much," he murmured. "I don't know what I'll do without you."

"You have to promise me that you'll live on Max," Liz said. "You have to promise me. You can't leave our daughter alone. You have to take care of her, be there for her. Promise me, Max."

Max heart was falling apart. She was saying goodbye to him. This proved that she knew that she was going to die.

"I don't know if I can live without you..not again," Max whispered.

"You have to, Max. Please, take care of our daughter."

Max loved Emma already - with all his heart. He didn't want to leave her alone in this world - where someone probably sooner or later would put a price on her head. If it wasn't their alien enemies it would be the FBI or some other nutcase wanting fame and fortune - ignoring the lives he destroyed in the process. But did Max possess the strength to go on without Liz? Without the love of his life. Without his soulmate? Well, he just had to. If that was what Liz needed, he would do it.

"I promise," he said. With that promise Liz's barrier broke and she started crying.

TBC...