Disclaimer: The text in italics at the beginning is the lyrics to "My Love" by Lene Marlin.


Chapter 16


Please come and find me my love

"Liz, baby, please open your eyes."

I'm ready now to come home

"Get a medical woman over here!! Max, you have to let us look at your injuries."

Please come and find me my love

"No! Get away! Liz... Don't do this. Please, don't do this. I need you."

Let's leave this place

"Did I tell you that we have Emma, honey? Our little angel is back. You have to fight, Liz!"

Let's leave no trace

"Open your eyes. Liz, please open your eyes, love... Liz... LIZ!"
"Max, you have to let us see your injuries."
"Don't worry, honey. I'll make you okay again."
"Max... Max?! Michael, what the hell is he doing?"

Can you hear me my love
I'm shouting in the wind
Can you hear me

"No, Max! You can't do that. You are too weak!"
"Maxwell, you are going to end up dead!"
"Leave us! Baby, don't let go. Liz, stay with me. Stay with me!"

Can you see me my love
I'm drawing in the sand
Can you see me

"Max?! Stop that, Maxwell!"
"No, Max..."
"He is unconscious."
"Do something damnit! They are both dying!"
"I'm sorry..."
"What?! You're sorry?!"

I hope that I'm still with you as you are with me
You always will be

"Isabel, get over here! You, you, you, you and you, sit down around them and form a circle."
"Do you have the healing stones?"
"Michael, it's too late. They are not breathing."

Please come and find me my love
I'm ready now to come home

"Give me the damn healing stones! Max is not going to quit on me like this! Do you hear me, Max? This is not it!"
"There is no pulse."
"Water. Michael, we need water."
"Do someone have a bowl of water?"
"Here."

Please come and find me my love
Let's leave this place
Let's leave no trace

"Take each other's hands. You have done this before, I presume."
"How are we going to be able to heal them if they are not breathing? They are dead."
"Don't you dare say that! They are not dead."

Can you feel me my love
I'm hurting so bad
Can you feel it

"Shut up and concentrate."

Can you tell about my thoughts
I wish that you were here

Do you know it
The time that I've had don't need any more
You're the one I wait for

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It was so quiet.
Even the silence seemed hushed.
Was this death? Was this what it felt like to be dead?

There was a devoid of presence. Like being put in a big plastic bubble where no sounds were permitted entrance. The mind felt numb. Yet, as it was at a loss of feelings, something was awakening. Slowly. Gradually. Like water dripping from a tap, which had not been fully closed.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Soft dark hair. Flowing. Billowing.

Drip.

Deep brown eyes. Laughter.

Drip.

A hand. A touch. Slender fingers. Tears.

And it all came flowing back. The plastic bubble imploded and noise filled the deflating interior.

Lips. Kiss. Arms. Smile.

I love you, Liz.

Liz.

Liz.

I love you so much.

Coldness. Fear. Grief.

Don't leave me!

Liz... Liz?!

"Liiiiizz!!!"
"He's awake."
"Max, lay down."
"Liz!"
"Oh my God. Max! How are you feeling?"

Panic. Fear.

"His pulse is quickening."
"What's happening?"
"Move to the side, Isabel."
"He's going into shock..."

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Agonizingly slowly, he opened his eyes and began blinking repeatedly against the bright light.
"Max?"
He blinked slowly before carefully, numbly, turning his head to the side towards the source of the voice. Isabel was looking at him with red-brimmed eyes. Her hair was a mess and her face carried stains of soot. She looked like she hadn't slept in years.
"Can you hear me?" Isabel asked teary. She was looking at him intently, like he was going to disappear if she let herself blink.
He nodded mutely.
A sob escaped her throat. "How are you feeling?"
Max opened his mouth to answer her, but only a hoarse croak came out.
"Here, have some water," Isabel said, handing him the glass. He emptied the glass greedily before returning it to Isabel.

"What...what happened?" His voice was barely above a whisper due to the strain it took to just formulate the words and have his dry lips and throat produce them.
Isabel dropped her eyes and Max's eyes moved to where her fingers were fidgeting with the edge of the covers. He absently registered tears falling on her hands.
"Khivar showed up," she whispered, "You almost died, Max." She looked up, "You were dead."
But Max had stopped listening after the first sentence.

Khivar showed up.

Khivar showed up.

Suddenly, he couldn't breath. The air in his lungs came out in whizzing sounds as he gasped for oxygen.
"Liz?" he whimpered. Liz had been there, in the middle of the battlefield. Khivar had been holding her and...
"Where's Liz?!" He more or less bolted up from the bed, only to have Isabel force his beaten body back down against the pillows.
"Max, I'm sorry," she murmured.
Max stared at the tears running down her cheeks. What was she saying?
"No!" he cried out and forcefully shook his head. "No. Where is she?"
Isabel brushed her tears away with the back of her hand and quickly laid a comforting hand on Max's shoulder. She suddenly realized how that might've sounded.

"She's... she's in another tent," Isabel clarified hoarsely.
"Is she... is she..." Max took a deep trembling painful breath before thickly asking, "...dead?"
Isabel swallowed back some of the tears. "No." She took a hold of Max's hand, trying to give him some warmth. But he didn't return her squeeze. His hand was just as cold and limp as when he had been unconscious. "But the medical woman can't do anything more. We tried with the healing stones, but they aren't working."
"Take me to her," Max ordered, dangerous determination blazing in his eyes.
"Max, you are too weak," Isabel protested weakly. It was so painful to see him like this. She ached to help him, but she had done everything she could. She could only support him now.
"I need to see her," Max said. He wasn't really asking for her permission. He was already halfway out of bed and even though he'd just woken up after being in a comatose state for two days, he suddenly had an almost inhuman strength. Strength to get to Liz.

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Serena looked up when she heard noise from the other side of the thin tent wall, just in time to see Max appear in the opening.
"Your High- Max?!" she cried out with surprise. Isabel was at his side and he was leaning heavily on her, letting his sister support his still weak body.
"What are you doing up?" Serena asked, glancing at Isabel who just gave her a helpless shrug. But Max's attention wasn't on Serena at all. It was on the still figure lying on the mattress on the floor. He suddenly moved so quickly forward that both he and Isabel stumbled with the sudden change of speed. Max tiredly fell to his knees next to the mattress. Serena shot Isabel a worried look, as Isabel moved away to give Max the privacy he needed.

He could hardly recognize her. Her whole body, even her beautiful face, was covered in white bandage.
"Honey?" he said hoarsely, his hand moving to her hair, which was about the only thing that was the same. He didn't know he was crying until tears started to fall on the bandage of her chest, making small circular spots form on the white covering. His eyes moved down her body and moved up again to come to rest on her close eyelids.
Without tearing his eyes away from her face he whispered, "I want all the details of her condition."
Serena looked at Isabel questioningly and Isabel nodded. There was nothing that could stop Max now.
"She's..." Serena croaked and had to clear her throat, "About 94 % of her body has third degree burns. The rest is second." She paused and took a deep breath as her eyes was fixed on Max's hand moving tenderly through Liz's dark hair. "She has internal burns as well. On the lungs, on her heart..." Serena looked at Isabel again. Should she really continue this?
"What else?" Max asked quietly.

Serena took another deep breath and continued, "On the liver, the kidneys."
There was a pause as Max's eyes slowly traveled down the length of Liz's body before coming to rest on her abdomen. "What about the baby?" Max asked throatily.
"The amazing thing is that the baby seems to be doing perfectly fine. I don't know why, but it appears to be unharmed."
"If we are fortunate, we can keep the mother alive long enough for the fetus to grow into an agreeable size for it to be put in a pod," the physician on the other end of the tent said.
Max tore his eyes away from Liz's face and glared at him. Serena, seeing the murderous look, hurried to continue, before Max could open his mouth.
"She is being kept alive by the healing crystals." Max turned his head and noticed that a large transparent prism was hovering over Liz's head, its creation originating from two bright crystals positioned on both sides of Liz's head.

"What did he do to her?" Max whispered, the anguish dripping from his voice.
Serena dropped her eyes and stared at Liz's unresponsive figure a couple of deadly silent seconds before lifting her head and giving Max an answer.
"He shot a ray of pure energy into her, turning her skin into fire and making her insides heat up."
An anguished groan tore over Max's lips and Serena shuddered at the sound.
"I'm so sorry, Max. We tried to stop him, but everything just happened too fast. We couldn't predict Liz's actions. We had no idea she would do that...that sacrifice."
Max nodded, doomed. Slowly, he lifted his hands and let them hover along Liz's body.
"Max... What are you doing?" Serena asked apprehensively.
"I want to be alone with her," Max said woodenly.
Serena looked at Isabel for support. Isabel stepped forward and put a tentative hand on his shoulder, which he immediately shrugged off.

"Max, you can't do that," she said, her voice trembling with the weight of the sacrifice her brother had to make and the grief and fear of what her brother would do to save his loved one.
"Yes, I can. What good are my powers if I can't save her?"
"Max, you're too weak," Serena warned. She couldn't let him do this. He would get himself killed.
"Leave me," Max ordered, raising his head to stare directly into Serena's eyes. Serena shivered at the pure animalistic possessiveness she saw in his eyes. Unconsciously, she took a step back.
"Max, you could die," Isabel cried. "Think about Emma! Do you want her to lose both of her parents?"
"The Antarian people can't lose their king again," Serena pleaded, desperate for him to understand, desperate to prevent him from sacrificing the happiness of his people.

Max sprung to his feet, his body swaying slightly with weakness and anger. "Damnit! Don't you understand?! Without her I am as good as dead! Without her you have no king. She is my heart, my happiness, my soul, my everything!" His voice softened as he tiredly sank to his knees again, taking Liz's bandaged hand carefully and added in a broken whisper, "She is my life."
"Max, I know that," Isabel said gently, "But think about Emma. You can't put yourself at this kind of risk. She needs you. Do you want Liz's sacrifice to be for nothing?"
Max snapped his head up to Isabel's face. "She wasn't even supposed to be out there! Why didn't you stop her, Isabel? I trusted you to keep her safe!"
Isabel actually snorted, which caused Max's eyes to darken with building anger. "It's Liz, Max. When has anyone ever been able to tell her what to do? Not even you have been able to do that."
"You weren't even supposed to be near the battlefield," Max accused.
"She felt something. She felt that you were in some kind of danger," Isabel said, her voice hardening, "Besides, she probably wouldn't have done something as drastic if you hadn't blocked the connection without telling her you would."

Isabel regretted the harsh words the moment she said them. Knowing Max, he was probably already being eaten up with guilt without needing to have her beat him over the head with the harsh facts.
Max turned his face away from Isabel. Her words echoed in the empty silence.
"There is no need to assign guilt," Serena said calmly and paused shortly before continuing. "But Max, I really think that you should rest before you try something."
"Will she live that long?" Max asked quietly.
Serena swallowed. Considering the damage Khivar had caused on Max's body he needed a long time to recuperate and at best he should heal himself first before having enough strength to heal Liz. But considering the fact that Liz was more or less balancing on the border between life and death every second, time was really a survival factor. Even if she would live long enough for Max to heal her the damage would gradually deteriorate her body with each passing hour. A small legacy Khivar had left behind. But Serena couldn't tell Max that he was racing against time in more ways than one. That would really provoke him into doing something rash.

"No," Serena answered honestly.
Max nodded, his eyes fixed on Liz's closed ones.
"I need to be alone with her," he repeated.
"What about Em-" Isabel wearily protested, but Max cut her off.
"I'm not going to do anything, okay? I just want some time alone with her."
There was a pause as both Serena and Isabel weighed Max's request. Isabel knew from experience that there was nothing that could stand in the way of him protecting Liz and if he had to lie to his sister to do it, he would.
"Max, promise me that you won't do anything foolish," Isabel pleaded.
"I won't, Iz."
"Okay," Isabel sighed tiredly.
She and Serena silently left the tent, leaving Max and Liz on their own.

Max tenderly let his hands move through her hair. It was filled with twisted knots and one side was mixed with dry blood. He realized that it might be his own blood. He was starting to remember the numbness in his own body. He wasn't exactly sure what Khivar had done to him, but it wasn't really of any importance. Liz was all that mattered now.
"Baby..." he whispered gently. His eyes were fixed on her closed eyes as if expecting her to actually open them and he would be staring into those deep beautiful dark pools again. She would probably reprimand him for getting out of bed. Max smiled faintly to himself, his thumbs gently tracing her bruised eyelids.
"You are so brave, sweetie," Max said softly, "But do you have to be so stubborn?" He closed his eyes and fought back the tears. "I'm just gonna check you out, okay?"
He paused for a minute, looking at her covered face, before taking a hold of the covers and gently pulling them down from her body.

Bandages.

That was all he could see. Everywhere.
Max let out an anguished sob. "Liz..."
How could someone do this to her? To his beautiful Liz with her big heart, her warm smile, her twinkling eyes, her playfulness. Her love.

He started taking deep breaths to calm himself down and focus. As his eyes slowly drifted closed, his hands moved to hover on each side of her head.

Pain.

Pain so blinding it almost pushed him right out of the connection. But he fought against it, trying to move pass it. It was so intense that he could barely do that. His head was already throbbing, his lungs aching for oxygen. His heart was beating erratically, in sync with the unsystematic beating of her heart. And he was barely scratching the first layer of their connection.

He worked through layer and layer of pain. Piercing pain. Throbbing pain. Numbing pain. Dull, stifling pain. Then his mind gained clarity, like coming out of a thick mist, and he was able to focus. He methodically went through every millimeter of her body, registering what was wrong and what needed to be done for it to be healed. He forced his own emotions to the back of his mind. They would make it impossible for him to stand this. The damage was extensive, almost complete. There were barely any areas of her body unharmed.

Except her uterus. Miraculously, it was completely untouched. Max mentally inhaled deeply when he felt the pure life force under his fingers, in his mind, of his unborn child. It was alive and it was, as Serena had told him, unharmed. He forced himself to move on. He could feel his energy quickly draining. He lingered some in the warm presence of their baby, before he continued to scan the rest of Liz's body.

He came out of the connection gasping for air. Remnants of Liz's pain mixed with his own feelings of raw fear and panic. He felt completely helpless. His whole body trembled as he carefully laid his head on her stomach. It had hit him just how weak he was. Just looking through her body, which normally barely took any energy at all, had left him completely drained. His body rocked with sadness as the bandage covering her stomach became wet with tears. He could feel her slipping away from him. He now knew the extension of his own injury and with that also came the realization that there was little he could do for Liz.

Max gently stroke her bandaged abdomen, feeling the life tickling beneath his fingers. There might be little he could do for Liz, but he would do it. He would give her every amount of energy he had. Even if it killed him.

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Max quietly moved into the tent. It was illuminated with the soft light from lucidas, randomly placed around the tent area. Lucidas were more like candles than anything else, although they did not burn. Instead they used stones that collected and reflected the light from the Xerios planet outside back in the room.

He gave the guard a short nod and he stood up and left the tent, just as silently as he had been watching over the child.

Max slowly moved towards the mattress, his eyes fixed on the small bundle curled up in the middle of the vast mattress. He felt some kind of peace settle over him as his eyes moved over his sleeping daughter. She actually was back with them, safe. He hadn't had the chance to be informed on how Emma was doing since he had woken up. The only thing he did know about what she was feeling about everything, was what he had been hit with when he had taken her out of the palace. She had been almost catatonic then.

He slid to his knees beside the mattress. She was sound asleep, her arms and legs pulled up close to her chest, making her seem smaller than ever. His eyes fell on her chest. She was clutching something tightly to her chest. He carefully reached out with his hand to move her small hand so that he could see what it was. He barely had the chance to touch the material, though, before she whimpered. His heart froze at the helpless sound and his hand changed direction, moving to her face. She jumped at his gentle touch, but she didn't wake up and soon she settled down under his ministrations.

Her thick black lashes rested against her cheeks, which once had been round and flushed with the red color of health. They were now sunken in, the skin stretched over the cheekbones. His hand traveled to her hair, once bright and soft, now lifeless and tangled up. She was still dirty from the escape and Max briefly wondered why they hadn't cleaned her up. Was it because they didn't want to disturb her, or was it because she wouldn't let anyone near to do it?

A lonesome tear rolled down Max's cheek as his finger began tracing the frown lines on her forehead. She was too young to look so afraid, so restless, especially in her sleep.

How would he be able to explain to Emma why her mother wasn't visiting her? How did you explain to a four-year-old that her mother was so ill that she couldn't walk or even open her eyes? How did you explain that she might never wake up again?

Max brushed away the flow of tears now freely streaming down his cheeks in frustration. His hand came to rest on her small hip.
"I'm here, honey," he whispered, his voice clogged with tears, "You're safe now. You're safe now."

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Isabel walked in later to find her brother asleep on his knees besides his daughter's mattress. His head was resting next to Emma's pulled up legs, his hand curled into Emma's shirt. Isabel swallowed back the tears forming in her eyes and stepped further into the tent, retrieving one of the blankets and carefully spreading it over Max's exhausted body. With one final look she left the tent, letting Max, for the first time in a month, be in his daughter's presence.

TBC…