Hi everyone!!

I'm so happy right now! I just found out that I've been accepted to a university I've applied to in Australia!! It's my dream coming true!! So, I just thought that I would stop by and give you a new chapter! =D

Mysticivysqiyi – That's so cool! Your name is native American? And connected to astrology? Thank you so much for the fb!!! =D

Renee – Hi! Thank you for leaving feedback! Now I can welcome you properly to this story! Welcome!! =D

Ames – Thank you so much for the fb!!

NATZ – Hi! Welcome to this fic!! I'm so happy that you're enjoying it! To put your mind at ease, I'm not planning on killing Liz – no way! Even though I have a tendency to write somewhat angsty, I am a sucker for good endings. And that's where this story will eventually end too... Thank you for the feedback!! =D

Saloir Vamp – Hi! Welcome!!! So glad to have you here! And thank you sooo much for the feedback!! What's going to happen to Liz? Well, you just gotta read on to find out ;-)

Btw, for those of you who are interested I'm starting a new fic. It's a Roswell fic (of course) and is M/L (duh?). It's called "Love By Any Other Name" and is an AU (Alternate Universe) fic. Here's the summary;

Max Evans has been married for two years. He and his wife are blissfully happy and have a beautiful two-year-old, but this all changes one fateful night. Liz Parker has a serious heart condition and without an immediate heart transplant she will die. Max and Liz's lives are about to change irreversibly by the actions of one drunk driver.

It's based on a challenge by a very talented writer called Deejonaise (you might have heard of her).

Please check it out...

Chapter 22

"What did Kira say to him?" Michael demanded. Maria had called him on his cell, on the verge of hysterics. She had been rambling something about Kira making Max believe that Max had made Liz sick and that Liz was going to die. And then Maria had been going on about Max crying and Liz vomiting, but that hadn't made any sense to Michael at all.

"I don't know," Maria answered truthfully. "Max only told me that he was killing Liz, that it was his fault that she was dying."

"Damnit!" Michael said and frustrated pulled his hands through his hair. Why did that alien dude have to mess everything up? Wasn't Liz and Max bad of as it was already? He looked at the couple sleeping on the couch. Maria had told him that they had fallen asleep about twenty minutes ago. Probably, all the emotions had worn them out. Max was laying on his back and Liz was draped over his chest, one of her legs between Max's. Michael shook his head at the sight - somehow Max and Liz made such an uncomfortable position look comfortable.

"I'm calling Kira," Michael said, taking control over the situation.

"Is that so wise?" Isabel asked. She was sitting on the floor, laying puzzle with Emma. Maria never thought she would live to see the day when the ice-queen played with kids - sitting on the floor. But wonders never ceased...

"He has created this mess, and he's gonna clean it up," Michael said firmly. "I'm calling him."

Maria gave him the phone and he dialed.

"Yes?" Kira answered.

"This is Michael. Get your ass over here now!" Michael said, his voice remorseless.

"Michael?" Kira asked, confusion in his voice.

"We're at Liz's place," Michael said.

"What's going on?" Kira asked, but no one was listening. Michael had already hung up.

Michael's angry voice had woken Max up. He looked at Michael, pacing the room (Michael never paced the room!), while he threaded his fingers through Liz's dark hair.

"Michael, what's wrong?" Max asked, his voice low and calm.

Michael turned towards Max's voice, and found him awake. He had not moved at all from his position, since Liz was still sleeping, but Michael knew that Max's brain was already put into highest gear.

"I've just summoned a meeting," Michael declared simply.

"You did?" Max asked, disbelief in his voice.

"Michael wants to teach Kira one thing and another about how to treat the king," Maria said.

Max narrowed his eyes, but Michael beat him to it and spoke before Max had even the chance to open his mouth.

"No one gets you and Liz that worked up and expects not to deal with the consequences."

"Aha," Max said slowly and nodded. "Michael, there's nothing wrong here, Kira told me the truth - that's all I ever asked for."

"He could have done it a little smoother," Michael said sulkily. Max was once again disapproving of his decisions.

Max eyed Michael. He could feel the tension radiating off Michael, so he backed off. It was not a good idea to push this any further.

"When should he arrive?" Max asked.

"In about half an hour," Michael said.

Max nodded and closed his eyes again, clutching Liz closer to his chest.


By the time Kira arrived, Max and Liz were sitting on the couch, fully awake. Maria was now playing 'house' with Emma on the floor, while Isabel sat in one of the armchairs. At Kira's knock Michael crossed the floor and opened the door.
Kira stepped in, giving off a somewhat breathless appearance.

"So, what's up?" Kira asked casually. Isabel was sitting in one of the armchairs, looking a bit...angry. Michael was standing in front of him....looking pissed. He saw his former king sitting on the couch, holding an unhealthy-looking girl tightly by the hand. There was something different about his king. Even though he seemed tired and sad, his aura had changed. He was calmer, more self-confident - more like a king.

"You must be the famous Liz Parker, I presume," Kira said and nodded towards Liz.
Liz looked him straight in the eye. No one had ever dare to meet his look that way, except Max Evans. He knew instinctively that he had a brave and strong-willed girl in front of him.

"And you must be Kira," Liz stated.

"Why have I been summoned, your Hi-...Max?"

"You can't just blurt out whatever you feel like," Michael answered in Max's place. "What you say have great ramifications."

Kira turned to the second-in-command.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You telling Max that he is making Liz sick," Isabel explained.

"Oh that," Kira said, thinking that it was not such a big deal. However, he didn't know Max Evans as well as he thought he did. If he had, he would have known that Max would kill himself rather than see Liz suffer from something he had caused. Max wasn't only the king of a far-away planet, but also the master of self-guilt.

As Kira looked around the room, the ramifications of what he had told Max started to sink in.

"Ehh, I wanted to talk to you about something anyway," Kira said, effectively side-tracking the conversation away from the accusations against him.

"About what?" Max asked.

"About Liz's condition," Kira answered. It only took the mentioning of Liz's name in a sentence and you had Max's fullest attention.

"I'm listening," Max prompted, when Kira didn't continue right away.

"As I was driving here, one of my men told me something that got me thinking. I haven't thought of it since I automatically didn't see it as a reality, because she was human."

"Go on," Isabel said when he quieted.

"Right. You mentioned this connection that you had with Liz."

Max nodded.

"On our planet those kind of connections existed. When a man had connected with a woman they were bound together forever."

"Like a marriage?" Maria asked from her corner. She was keeping thirty percent of her attention on the play with Emma, while the other seventy percent were focused on Kira.

"Well, no. If your marriages had worked I guess you could say that. But your marriages here on Earth are treated far too casually. A connection is forever - it binds two people together forever." Liz leaned further into Max, seeking his warmth. Max took her hand with his other hand and draped an arm around her shoulder instead, pulling her closer to him.

"What has this to do with anything?" Michael asked impatiently.

"When a man connect with a woman, he's giving her a part of him...of his heart if you like. When they are together they feel complete. When apart, they feel like they are missing something. I have never been connected to anyone, so I'm not really sure how that feels like," Liz and Max knew exactly what that felt like, "and connections are not as common in our world as you might think."

"Would you consider them rare?" Isabel asked.

"I would consider them special," Kira answered. "You see, just like on Earth, we want to find the right one to spend our lives with. However, if we make a mistake, here on Earth that is, we can solve it by divorce. When you have connected with someone you can't make it undone. The two persons are, as you would say it, 'stuck with each other'. Therefore I hope that you understands the importance of making the right decision in our world. Not many people dare to do that."

"Wow, sounds heavy," Maria murmured, thinking that she would probably never be able to give a part of herself to anyone - and then have to be stuck with that person for like...eternity.
"If two people have connected," Kira continued, "they feel empty if separated."

"But are they sick?" Max asked.

Kira shook his head.

"I cannot remember any connection where that was the case. The most serious is that they don't feel whole. How would they otherwise survive the death of the....'soulmate' as you call it. But I was thinking....The circumstances are different here. She's a human. Perhaps her body can't handle a connection..."

"Or being separated," Maria pointed out.

Kira seemed to consider that for about thirty seconds before he uttered himself again.

"Have you've been separated after the connection?" Kira asked.

"Of course they have, they were separated for five years," Michael said.

Kira shook his head. "No, I mean before that. Were you ever separate then?"

Liz squeezed Max's hand, sending him comfort.

"Yes," Max said. "We were separated." He was very careful not to go into the specifics.

He didn't really want to relive everything that had happened with him and Liz and the whole Kyle incident.

"How did Liz feel then?" Kira asked.

"Liz did not feel so good," Liz answered, somewhat annoyed that Kira was acting like she wasn't even in the room. Kira looked at the strong girl with the weak-looking exterior.

"Which were you're symptoms?" Kira asked.

"Dizziness, headaches..." Liz said.

"Did they get any better when you were with Max?" Kira asked.

Liz thought about that for a fraction of a second and then her eyes widened.

"Yes. Yes, I did," she said.

"But why aren't you feeling better now?" Kira said, mostly to himself.

"Well," Max said and Kira looked at him. "Liz is blocking the connection."

"Why would you do that?" Kira asked, a hint of accusation in his voice.

"She isn't doing it on purpose," Max said, immediately stepping into defensive mode. "We've tried to remove it, but we can't..."

The disappointment was evident in Max's voice.

"Wait here a minute," Isabel said. "Max have connected with Kyle too - he have healed him too. Does that mean that Kyle and Max are connected as well?" Maria looked disgusted, while Michael grinned - totally enjoying the embarrassed look on Max's face.

"No," Kira answered, and Max seemingly relaxed. "There must be the want to connect with someone. Otherwise Max wouldn't be able to heal anyone without being afraid that he bonded with more people."

"You mean Max claimed Liz as his?" Maria said, somewhat offended by the caveman vision her mind conjured at Kira's words.

"You can say that," Kira said. "As I explained earlier. When someone connected with another, that person must give a part of himself. Max possibly did that when he healed Liz - but not when he healed Kyle."

"That makes sense," Liz murmured.

"Now that I think about it, it's very likely that it is the connection that is the root to the problem here. Max and Liz's inability to reach each other through the connection might be what's causing the sickness," Kira said.

Liz looked up at Max. Could it be that simple? But it was better than that Max had changed vital functions inside of her. Perhaps they could do something about this.
Max met Liz's eyes, and hugged her closer to him.

"What have you done in order to lift the blocking?" Kira asked.

"I have connected with her," Max said. "But I couldn't enter her mind, I couldn't reach her. It's like she's put up a wall, making it impossible to enter."

"It seems as if she have put up the block in order to protect herself," Kira said, thoughtfully.

"Why would Liz want to protect herself from Max?" Maria asked.

"No, not from Max," Kira said. "Liz, what really happened when everyone else thought you were dead?"

"I was attacked by Nasedo and Tess. Nasedo put his hand on me...and my interior started to heat up and then I lost consciousness," Liz said.

"Have you used any of the powers through the connection?" Kira asked.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"Doesn't Liz have any powers on her own?" Isabel asked.

"No...she's still human. The only possibility I can come up with is that she can tap in on Max's powers through the connection and use them. Max probably changed her so that she was able to use Max's powers. People who are connected on our planet, can often utilize each other's powers through the connection."

"Cool," Maria said. "Hey, Michael! Why haven't you shared any cool powers with me?"

"You're not seriously suggesting that I shall be bonded with you?!" Michael snorted.
Maria looked offended.

"And why - Mickey G - wouldn't you want to be bonded with me?" Maria asked.

"Okay, here we go again," Isabel murmured.

"Guys, stop it!" Liz demanded. Both Michael and Maria quieted at the authority in her voice. Kira looked at Liz in amazement. She certainly was bonded to Max, she was already acting like a real queen.

"So how would me tapping in on Max's powers cause me to block the connection - isn't that a bit illogical. To use powers through the connection to close the very same connection?" Liz asked.

"Maybe something backfired...or you were trying to protect Max from getting hurt," Kira said.

"How would she do that?" Max asked.

"You can feel her feelings through the connection, right?" Kira asked.

Max nodded.

"Perhaps she wanted to protect you from experiencing all that pain too," Kira said.
Max turned to Liz.

"Did you do that?" he asked her.

Liz shook her head.

"I don't know, Max. I don't remember exactly what I did during the...uhm..burning. The pain was too..consuming for me to be able to have any clear thoughts."

"But she can have done it unconsciously, right?" Isabel asked.

"The connection between Max and Liz must be very strong if she is to be able to do that without focusing...but yes, it's possible," Kira answered.

There were some minutes of silence as everyone pondered the information. The only sound around them, was the low and soft voice coming from Emma's playing with the dolls beside Maria.

"In the beginning, did you connect with each other easily?" Kira asked. When Max and Liz looked a little confused, he elaborated. "By connecting I mean, did you get images, feelings and thoughts from each other already in the beginning?"

"No," Max answered. "I saw images of Liz's life when I healed her...but it wasn't until we..uhm..kissed, that I saw images again."

"And Liz saw these flashes too?" Kira asked.

Max and Liz nodded their heads in unison.

"Then that's probably it," Kira said and grew silent, as if that phrase had explained everything.

Michael shook his head in confusion.

"What's it?" he asked. Kira eyed each member of the group and it dawned on him that they didn't know what he was talking about.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "You have to kiss. You haven't kissed yet, since you were separated, right?"

With red ears in embarrassment Max shook his head.

"Well, if you kiss then the connection will probably open again, since that's how you opened the connection in the beginning before it became permanent."

"Now?" Liz asked, her voice trembling with nervousness.

"Well, why not?" Kira said. Kira, being a man from another planet, didn't see a problem in that. "I need to see if it works."

Michael chuckled, amusement spread over his whole face. This was really funny. Maria was looking pissed. Isabel tried to figure out if Kira was joking or not. Max and Liz had been separated for five years, and now Kira just demanded that they should kiss - just like that. Max and Liz looked...well...

Max cleared his throat.

"Can we at least have some privacy?" he asked, his voice strained.

Now it was Kira's turn to look confused.

"Ehh, as you wish," he said.

"Okay," Liz said, trying to stop herself from laughing. This was really ridiculous, and Max embarrassment was just sooo cute. She stood up, taking a firm grip on Max's hand and tugging him into the direction of the bedroom. "Come here, Max."

TBC...