Chapter 31


Kira put down the receiver.
"So, what did they say?" Michael asked him. They had not heard a word from neither Liz nor Max in the whole evening and it was getting late. Emma had fallen asleep in the bedroom. Max had wanted an evening alone with Liz, and they all had agreed that it was a good idea. Liz had seemed to be getting even worse, and Maria was worried that she didn't have much time left.
Kira turned around and looked into the worried faces of two of Max's best friends.
"They have fallen asleep on the roof," he said.
"What?" Maria said, confused. "What were they doing on the roof? I thought Max was the romantic type, why did he take her up on the roof?"
Michael chuckled.
"That dog!" he said with a smug on his face. "He's getting busy with Liz up on the roof. I gotta hand it to him, not even I would have come up with that!"
"Michael, stop it! Max isn't getting busy with Liz anywhere! Haven't you seen Liz lately? Do you really think she has the energy to do anything more than kissing?!"
"Well..."
"Forget I asked," Maria said and turned towards Kira. "Then when are you going home?" She brought up her hand and stifled a yawn. "I need to get some sleep. I have two exams tomorrow."
"Well, if they are asleep, then they're probably finished with whatever they were doing," Michael said, trying to keep serious but failed in keeping his voice stable as his mind conjured up all weird things you could do on a roof in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. He had to try that with Maria sometime.
"Michael...," Maria said in a warningly tone.
"I didn't say nothing," Michael said, and turned to walk into the kitchen to get a snack.

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Kira opened the passenger door and carefully unbuckled the sleeping princess. When he had thought about the future, he had never seen himself with a child - at least not baby-sitting the king's child. He put his arms under her legs and gently lifted her out of the car. He pushed the door close with his foot and walked towards the warehouse. The silence out here in the middle of nowhere was deafening to say the least, and due to the moon's absence the darkness was much thicker. However, the sky was clear displaying millions of twinkling stars. One of his men met him at the door.
"Zan and Liz are sleeping in their bedroom, sir," he said.
"Did you wake them?" Kira asked.
"No, sir. They came down by themselves about ten minutes after your call, sir."
"And everything was clear tonight...nothing out of the ordinary? Nothing suspicious?"
"No, sir. Everything's clear, sir."
"Good. Call someone to change shift with you, and you can get some sleep."
"Yes, sir. I'll do that."
"Great work. Now I'm heading off to bed with this little girl."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

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Kira opened the door to Max's and Liz's bedroom.
"Who is it?" he heard Max's voice ask. His voice was marked with sleep, and Kira realized that he had probably waken up the second Kira opened the door. Max was always on his guard, almost like a watch dog - sleeping with one eye open.
"It's Kira," Kira answered in a hushed voice.
"Do you have Emma with you?" Max asked, matching the level of his voice with Kira to not disturb Liz in her sleep. Kira didn't fail to notice the small hint of concern in his voice.
"Yes, she's sleeping," Kira said as he walked towards the bed. Max was laying on his back, his chest bare. Liz was sleeping with her head on his chest, one of her arms on Max's shoulder and the other slung over Max's chest.
"Is she okay?" Kira asked and nodded in Liz's direction. A smile spread across Max's face as he looked down at his soulmate sleeping soundly on his chest, the warmth of her body seeping into the cold lump of guilt inside of him - slowly dissolving it into nothingness.

"Yes," he answered, and Kira wondered how much there really was behind that answer. Liz looked different - healthier, and more alive. Something had happened, and then he didn't mean the thing that Michael had so happily alluded to earlier. But it was neither the right time nor place for that conversation. Kira gently lowered the sleeping form of Emma down beside Max. Emma sighed lightly and then snuggled up to her father's warm body. Max reached out and pulled the covers over her as well. He put his arm around her and planted a loving kiss on her forehead. He turned his head towards Kira again, that looked very misplaced, and appeared utterly uncomfortable with it.
"Kira, thank you," Max said, with emotion and emphasis in his voice that Kira had never before experienced.
"Don't mention it," Kira said. "Good night, Max."
"Good night," Max said and listened to Kira's retreating steps and to the sound of the closing of the bedroom door. With a satisfied smile on his face, and Liz's feelings floating around him through the connection, he closed his eyes and surrendered his body to the world of dreams.

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Liz awoke, feeling the sunlight brush against her eyelids - teasing her to open her eyes. She felt the warmth radiating into her body. Warmth coming from another body laying beside her. She felt his arm wrapped securely around her, holding her close. She felt the air flow easily out and in of her lungs. She felt the heart pump the blood through her veins. Fresh blood, clean blood - healthy blood. Her head felt light, free from the tension, the aching and the thudding. Her joints did not ache, her eyes did not sting, her stomach didn't burn. She drew a deep, cleansing breath - relishing in the feeling of the fresh air in her lungs, tasting the air, living it. She slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head slightly and with no effort to look at him.

Him.

The most humble and caring man she had ever known. The man who couldn't hurt a fly...but still was destined to fight a long line of battles. The king of a planet he had no memory of. Her king. The man who had showed her love, and taught her what real love was. The man who she based her whole existence on. The man who had given her life in more ways than she could count.

She stretched up and gentle grazed his smooth, hard and warm chest with the touch of her unparched lips. She took another deep breath, breathing him in. She felt him waking through the connection, reaching for her. She felt herself being bundled up in warmth and love. She felt his whole essence filling her, scaring all insecurities and demons away. She smiled as he opened his eyes slightly.


She was so beautiful. The life floated out of her eyes, sparkling with energy. And she was smiling. For a second or two he wondered if he had died and gone to heaven. He could feel her all around him. He was wrapped up in her, wrapped up in something far older than just Liz Parker. Her soul was reaching out for him, filled with humbleness, care, gratitude and love. The very core of her being. No words were necessary as they lay there, a conversation older than time being transferred through their eyes, into their souls. She couldn't stop smiling. He brought one of his hands up to her face and felt the soft touch of one of her strands of hair between his fingers. His hand left her hair, only to move to her forehead tracing each of the small wrinkles that had formed there as a consequence of time and hardships.

His hand traced the soft texture of her eyebrow to continue down the bridge of her nose, tracing every small detail of her features. His hand lingered on the top of her upper lip, only to slowly move to her right cheek. With a small smile he gently traced the blush on her cheek - a sign of health. He continued down to her chin, his touch as light as the wing of a butterfly. The travel of the hand turned north, lightly tracing her bottom lip with his index finger. Her beautiful mouth - the doors of breath and life. He slowly withdrew his hand from her face, closing his eyes as he did. He wanted to experience her with all his senses. He felt her scent - the scent that was so typical her. Not anything artificial, but natural and pure. He brought his hand up to her face again, cradling her soft cheek against his palm. With his eyes still closed, he leaned closer to her his whole being anticipating the moment his lips would be able to taste hers.

He could feel her lips on his even before they were actually melting together. Her softness, her warmth, and her love fused with him as their lips met in a kiss that signified so much more than just a kiss. It was a kiss of promises, a kiss of eternity, a kiss of completion. They broke apart slowly, both still with the tingling on their lips, the electricity running through them. She sighed in contentment and put her head back on his chest, her eyes never breaking communication with his. She could feel the presence of their daughter, the child of love, beside him and she smiled again. She had never felt any happier. She didn't even own the words that could describe what she felt. Her heart seemed too small to hold all the feelings so they seemed to pour out of her, out of her every pore. She gave a new meaning to the concept of radiating with happiness.

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Kira looked up as the door opened to the bedroom. It was late in the morning, and for a while he had been worried why they all had slept so long. Not even Emma had woken up. He had to take a closer look at the...energy that was walking out of the bedroom. That was the only way he could describe her. Energy. She was not only a human any longer. She was an essence of altruism and love. She was a queen. She smiled at him, and her whole face shone up from the inside.

"Morning, Kira," she said softly.
Kira cleared his throat, suddenly finding himself out of both the ability to use his voice and out of breath.
"Uhm..morning...Liz," he said and watched as she walked closer.
"Did Emma have a good time yesterday?" Liz asked, as she started to search the cabinets after something to eat. She was famished.
Kira watched her in awe as she moved about the room. Her every movement was filled with gracefulness, and he once again shook his head trying to clear his mind.
"Kira?" Liz's voice reached him and he shook his head again.
"I'm sorry, Liz. What did you say?" he asked.
"Emma. Did she have a good time yesterday?" Liz repeated, retrieving milk and eggs from the refrigerator.
"Uhm...yeah, she had a great time I think," Kira answered.

"That's really good," Liz said, and Kira noticed how a smile spread over her face and then the bedroom door opened and Max walked out, dressed in sweat pants and T-shirt. And Kira was once again dumbfounded. There was definitely something different about Max too. His body was straighter, his shoulders were held high as if tons of lead had been removed from them. But what struck Kira as the biggest change about him was his face. Kira couldn't quite put his finger on what actually was different. The only word he could find was peaceful. Max looked like he had found peace. He didn't seem....lost any longer. His movements were assertive, his eyes strong and determined, yet tender and gentle.

"Morning, Kira," Max said, and gave him a small nod of recognition.
"Mo-morning Max," Kira stuttered and followed Max as he made his way over to Liz. He stepped up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her, his hands coming to rest - to peace - at her stomach. He leaned his chin on her shoulder, and so they stood. It was a mystery to Kira how they could stand like that as Liz continued making pancake batter and then making the pancakes on the frying pan, without separating from Max. They were like two pieces made to be together, and as they were together they worked the best. Completely in tune with each other.



And so the day elapsed. Kira found himself to be mainly a spectator to whatever wonder Max and Liz were. They didn't talk much - there didn't seem to be any need to do so. There were gentle smiles, small loving touches and caresses. They always seemed to be touching in some way. Even Emma seemed to notice the difference. She was quieter than usual, and Kira realized that she too seemed more at peace. A calmness had settled itself over the warehouse, and Kira went about the day feeling dazed. He couldn't ignore the love that was vibrating through the house - a frankly he didn't want to ignore it either.

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Liz had positioned herself on the couch, laying on her back and staring at the ceiling - her thoughts busy miles away. Max had left to tuck Emma in. He had insisted on doing that every night since they had moved to their isolated home. He saw it as one of the things he wanted to do to spend as much time as he could with his daughter. She heard Kira seat himself in the armchair and she angled her head a bit to be able to look at him as he spoke.
"Liz?"
"Yeah," she answered.
"There is something I would like to talk to you about," Kira said.
"Sure, what is it?"
"I can see that something is definitely different here," Liz smiled a secret smile ,"and I was just wondering how you're feeling today."
Liz smiled warmly at him.
"I'm great, Kira," she answered.
"So..all of the symptoms are gone?" Kira asked.
Liz nodded.
"That means...that the connection is open again?" Kira asked.
Liz nodded again.
"How- I mean, was it because of...uhm..."
Liz blushed.

"Yes, it was because of that," she answered softly.
"Okay," Kira said and leaned back in the arm-chair. He cleared his throat. "That's really good, Liz."
Liz nodded, and then her eyes diverted to the bedroom door. Kira turned in the arm-chair, following here eyes. First he only saw the closed door, but two seconds later it opened and Max appeared.
"She's asleep?" Kira asked.
"Yeah, she was pretty tired," Max asked and walked up to the couch. Without a word, Liz straightened up from her horizontal position and left room for Max to sit down. Then she lay down again, now with her head in his lap.
"Maria asked me something yesterday," Kira said.
He saw interest and attention settle over Liz's beautiful face at the mention of her friend.

"What did she ask?" Liz asked. Even though she had never felt better, living with the love of her life and their common daughter, she missed Maria. She missed the girl talk... She was practically stuck with only men around (if you exclude Emma, since she fail to register as a potential girl talk participate). She hadn't met Maria since they moved in here, and cut themselves off from the outside world, which was about a week ago.
"She was wondering if she and Michael could come and visit," Kira answered.
Liz's face shone up, and her eyes sparkled. She looked up into Max's eyes, and he nodded with a small smile on his face - needing a little man to man talk himself with Michael.
"Tell them that it's okay," Liz said.
"When do you think that we should do it?" Kira asked, directing his question at Max.
"You decide. You know how the situation is with the guards and everything and you know more about organizing trips that aren't to be discovered," Max said. He hadn't really put himself into the part of a leader yet. He had just got his soulmate back, and a child. All he could think about and concentrate on was their love and protecting them. Keeping them save. From the inside. The outside, and all the rules and leadership stuff he had left to Kira to take care of.
"Okay," Kira said and nodded. "I'll check it out."



Two days later

"Max! Max!"
Liz used the connection as a compass, tracing his presence to the bathroom. She lightly knocked on the door before she opened it slightly and poked her head in.
"Are you decent?" she asked, with a smirk on her face.
Max turned and looked at her.
"If I wasn't, then it would already be too late, wouldn't it, since you're already half-way in here."
Liz walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, and took in the sight in front of her. Max was standing in front of the bathroom mirror - shaving. He was only wearing sweat pants - his upper body glowing in the soft daylight seeping through the high located small windows. She had tried to find Max in order to tell him something, but that was forgotten as soon as she laid her eyes on him.
"You're right," she said absent-mindedly as she traced the details of his chest with her eyes. His undressed state did funny things to her.
"But I guess you wouldn't mind too much if I wasn't decent," Max asked, smiling too himself. He could feel her eyes on him, but he could also feel her increasing feelings of desire through the connection.
"Why do you use a razor?" Liz asked, as she stepped up behind Max's back and unconsciously licked her lips as she now had an up-close and personal sight of Max's back.

"What do you mean?" Max asked, somewhat confused. He lowered the razor in the water that he had tapped up in the sink, and cleaned of the lather before putting the razor back against his cheek. He could see Liz's face in the mirror. He could see how she lifted her hand only to see the hand disappear behind his back. He gasped as he felt her light touch on his back.
"Uhm...why don't you just like...wave your hand over your face and shave that way instead? Isn't that less painful..and a much better time-saver?"
Actually, waving his hand over his face would make things so much easier right at this moment, because Liz's touches on his back was making it very difficult for him to concentrate on not cutting himself with the razor. He was glad that he was nearly done shaving, because he had some other things in mind now than the removal of hair growth on his face.
"I found it better to learn how to shave properly - the human way, to avoid weird suspicions. And than I've just stuck with it..it's become like brushing your teeth."
"Really?" Liz said, her voice huskier than it was just a few moments ago. "You mean you can avoid brushing your teeth as well and use some alien magic instead?"
"Y-es," Max said, his voice pitching a little higher at the end of his answer due to the feel of Liz's lips on his bare shoulder. She was leaving soft feather-like kisses like a trail of fire along his shoulder, moving up towards his ear.
"Well," Liz said, her soft lips reaching his ear. Max put down the razor, realizing that it was a security risk to have razors in his hand as Liz was slowly driving him nuts. "I think it's good that you do those things the human way," she started nibble his ear, and Max took a firm grasp on the sink at the sensations that rippled through him at her innocent touch, "'cause I think you look really sexy when you're shaving."

Max closed his eyes, and tried to hold on to the control he was quickly losing. But it was Liz he was fighting against here. Liz and her lips, and they were like poison to his self control. It did not take many nanoseconds before Max lost it and turned around with such swift movement that even Liz was startled. But before she could really register what was happening, his lips were crashing down on hers with a fierceness and passion unlike anything she had ever felt before. But she was gradually learning that Max had a million ways of pleasing her, and most of those methods involved his lips. He could kiss her in so many different way, but each kiss was always amazing in itself. He never stopped filling her with desire, passion and love. His lips were claiming hers, and his movements were fast. He pressed his body against hers and his lips traveled down her throat. Without stopping what he was doing he stretched out his hand towards the bathroom door and locked it. Moans of pleasure were erupting deep in her throat, and Max pined her against the wall, his lips never stopping in the exploration of her skin. She arched her head back at the emotions he was causing in her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting him even closer. The outside world and all its problems was a long time ago forgotten, and they were once again drowning in each other.

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"So, where's Liz?" Kira asked, not able to contain the smile that was tugging at the corners of his mouth from erupting, at the sight of a disheveled Max walking out of the bathroom. His hair was even more tousled than it had been when he stepped out of the bedroom an hour ago from a long night of sleep, and his cheeks were flustered.
"Oh, she's taking a shower," Max answered, and walked up to the kitchen table and took a bun. He took a bite from it and walked into the kitchen area to make some coffee.
"Did she tell you?" Kira asked.
Max poured water into the coffee machine while he looked at Kira.
"Tell me what?"
"I guess you got distracted, huh," Kira said.
Max turned his back to Kira to take out the coffee from one of the cabinets, but not before Kira got the chance to see his smile.
"Uh huh," Max said casual, his voice telling nothing but the posture of his body completely giving him away.
"Maria and Michael are coming here today," Kira said.
Max put down the coffee on the counter and started to fill the coffee machine with the powder.
"That's great," he said. "When?"
"I'm sending a man to pick them up at 6:30 sharp," Kira said.
Max pressed the on-button on the coffee machine and walked back towards the table. He sat down across from Kira and looked him straight in the face. Max's face had been transformed in a matter of seconds to the face of a leader.

"Kira, you have to make sure that no one, no one is following your man - neither on the way out of here and especially not on the way back here. This is a good hiding place, and I would like to keep it that way. I don't want to rip Liz and Emma up by the roots again."
"I assure you Max, we are taking extra precautions."
Max held his gaze, and Kira didn't look away. He knew that Max trusted him by now - otherwise he wouldn't let him be anywhere near Emma or Liz, and especially not live under the same roof as him. But Max needed to trust him on this special matter.
Max's eyes left his after some moments of pondering and he started to spread butter on his bun. Silence lowered itself over the table, as the men were lost in their separate minds.

A few minutes later Kira looked up at Max, as he suddenly gasped.
"Max?" he asked.
Max closed his eyes, his forehead creased in concentration and pain.
"Liz," he murmured and bolted up from his chair. He run towards the bathroom, and ripped the door open. He could hear the water running in the bathtub, and he wasted no time on removing the shower curtain. He found her sitting at the end of the bathtub, her legs pulled up to her chest, the water running down her body.
"Liz," he breathed, his voice marked with the hurt of seeing her like that. Without a second thought he climbed into the bathtub, turning off the water with his powers as he kneeled down beside her and put his arms around her. He could feel tremors cursing through her body, and she had her eyes closed.
"Liz," he said again, but she didn't react to him. She was completely unresponsive to his voice, his touch, him. All he could feel through the connection was fear and pain, and it was slowly destroying him. He couldn't get through to her.
"Daddy?" he heard Emma's small voice.
"Honey, go out to Kira," Max said, his voice strained as he tried to break through to Liz.
"But mommy..." Emma started to protest. She too could feel the pain and the fear through the connection she had with her mother and it frightened her.
"Honey, mommy will be fine. Go out to Kira," Max said gently.

Emma hesitated with her hand still on the doorknob, but then Kira came up behind her.
"Max, what's going on?" he asked, and then he saw the naked form of Liz in the bathtub, cradled in Max's arms. Even from where he was standing he could see the tremors cursing through her body.
"Kira, take Emma and get out," Max ordered. That was the first time Max had ever given him a direct order and he took it without questioning. He took Emma by the hand.
"Emma, let's go out," he said.
"But somebing's wrong with mommy," Emma said, her eyes tearing up.
"Daddy is going to make her all right," Kira said, "but we have to leave them alone."
"Okay," Emma sniffed and let herself be lifted up by Kira. She trusted her daddy to make her mommy okay again. Kira pressed her sobbing body close to his and closed the door, his heart racing in his body. He hoped with his whole alien heart that nothing was wrong with Liz. She had been so happy the last two days and he hated to see that something had happened to destroy it.

Liz moaned deep in her throat - a moan of pain.
"Liz, you have to wake up!" Max said, his voice begging. His hand was repeatedly threading through her wet hair, drying it as well as trying to calm her down.
As her body suddenly went stiff, her back arching up Max thought his heart stopped in his chest. He tried to hold her still as her body started cramping.
"No, Liz. Please. Wake up!" he begged his voice hoarse.
The low cries that were erupting deep in her throat was nothing Max ever had heard and he didn't ever want to hear them again. They made his heart go cold and shivers run down his spine. They were like the cries of a wounded animal, being tortured.
He frantically tried to get through to her. He reached deeply in the connection, concentrating hard on finding her. He started sending images of Liz's life to her through the connection, trying to destroy whatever was happening to her with the strongest power he knew existed.

Love.

Her breathing was harsh in his ears, coming quick. Then her body relaxed, and instead she started gasping for air, making sounds as if she was suffocating.
Max had to focus very hard not to get distracted by her sounds of dying, as he concentrated on filling her mind with love. But it was hard as she was obviously suffocating to death right in his arms. He started to build up whatever energy he had inside of him - even energy he didn't know he possessed - and focused it on reaching Liz, on bringing her back to him.

That's when she stopped. Her body relaxed, and her breathing slowed down. Her cries of pain quieted, and she was instead clutching him to her, powerful sobs ripping through her entire being. Max felt the air fill his lungs again (he wasn't even aware of the fact that he had held his breath), and his heart flutter to life again. He pulled her naked body close to his, feeling tears of relief running down his cheek. She was clenching his shirt in her fists, trying to shield herself from the reality in his arms.
"Liz, oh my God," Max whispered. He had nearly lost her again. "I was so afraid I've lost you. God, Liz. I can't lose you. I love you so much. I love you so much."
He started raining kisses over her face, tasting the salty tears.
"Liz, what happened?" he asked.
"I...I felt something," she whispered, the sobs penetrating her every word.
"What did you feel?" Max asked, the fear sneaking its way back into his heart.
"It was so dark..and there was so much fear...and pain...and grief. Max...I think I was experiencing the future."

TBC…