Author's Notes: Hey everybody! To those of you who have reviewed and emailed me regarding this fic...thank you for your kind comments and interest. I'm really glad that you're enjoying the story :o) Now...on with the show!
How did she…where did she…?
Max couldn't believe what he was holding.
How on earth had Liz ever found this? Why had she kept it all these years and not told him?
He just couldn't believe this…
"Max?" he heard her whispered voice float across the room. Still shocked he slightly turned toward the sound of her sweet voice. Lifting his head to meet her eyes he tries to think of a way to express what he's feeling, but he's lamely left without anything to say.
Watching him from across the room, Liz easily picks up that something is amiss. At the sound of her voice he'd turned slightly toward her, but too much of his back was still facing her, she couldn't see what had him so speechless. Her eyes quickly scan the contents on her desk, trying to find the answer.
Oh God…the picture. I thought I put that away!
Ever since the day Max healed her, Liz had felt the need to be close to him. She'd searched through everything she owned and tried to find anything that would remind her of him. And because she'd immediately thought of that photo taken of them when they were kids, ever since then she'd carried it with her everywhere she went.
That photo was special to her.
"Max?" her voice slightly quivered in her nervousness. "Are you alright?"
She slowly steps toward him until she's standing just behind him. Still unable to say anything, Max simply turns to face her.
"Liz…" he whispers. The desperation in his voice draws her attention downward to what he's holding in his hands. Realization dawns as her cheeks redden in embarrassment and her eyes refuse to meet his. Her secret was out.
"Liz…where did you…how long have you had this?"
Well, he doesn't sound mad. That's a good thing…
"I, uh…I've had it since the day you threw it in the trash," her words come out shakily.
"Since…?" his voice registers his shock. "Liz, I drew this in the third grade. Right after I was adopted."
Nodding her head she answers quietly, "I know."
"You've had this all this time?" his eyes begging her for an explanation. "Why?"
Sucking in her breath she slowly reaches out to finger the paper he's holding. Determined to explain this to him, she musters all her courage and smiles tenderly. "Do you remember when you drew this? The Evans' had just adopted you and Isabel. You'd only been in school a few weeks. I remember thinking, how unfair it was that you were so sad all the time. I didn't understand how you felt, not until the day Mrs. Hardy told everyone in the class to draw pictures of our families for our parents."
Max was captivated by the softness in her voice, and the gentleness of her touch in his hand. He remained completely silent and watched her in amazement as he listened to her speak. Looking down at the drawing they were both holding he remembered how conflicted he felt as he'd colored it years ago.
There were four figures drawn in bright colored crayon. The figures intended to be his mom and dad stood hand in hand at one corner. The crayon lines that were Isabel stood a little further from them, her hand out to meet their mom's. Finally the last figure was his representation of himself, standing alone at the page's center. Above him a blanket of dark black sky and outlined white stars almost seemed to swallow him up.
"This is what you drew," Liz's soft voice crept into his thoughts. His eyes meet hers as he nods solemnly.
"I wanted to go home. I didn't even know where home was. But for some reason, I just knew I belonged…somewhere else," he tries to explain. Nodding her understanding she takes the drawing from him and holds it against her chest. She presses it tightly over her heart as Max swallows the lump in his throat as he watches her reaction to his words.
"I knew you belonged here." Smiling up at him she fights the falling tears she feels slip down her cheek. The look of intensity he bestows upon her at that moment is only bested by the touch of his hand on her skin as he gently wipes at her tears.
"I tossed that drawing in the trash on my way out of class. I didn't think my new parents would like it. Why did you take it?" His voice is deep and husky with emotion.
"I don't know really. I watched you throw it away on your way home, and after you left I reached over and picked it up. I just couldn't let it go. Even though we were just kids, it became important to me because it was yours. And I guess I just really wanted to be able to have something of yours for myself." Surprised by her answer, he grins down at her and holds her face up to look at him with a finger under her chin.
"And why would having something of mine be important to you Liz?" His tone is one of mixed emotion, desperation and longing but not without a hint of playfulness. A feeling of sheer happiness radiates through him when she smiles and rests her hand over his heart.
How did he have this power over her? It was as if everything she felt about him instigated some deeper change within her.
Her lips are just a breath away as she draws small lazy circles on his chest with her finger, the sensation driving him crazy. Raising her other arm she gently strokes the nape of his neck.
"Liz…?" his voice is shaky as he tries to contain the overwhelming urge to press her firmly against him.
"Max…there's something that I've kept to myself for a long time, and now, I just need to say it and get it out in the open, okay?" she says softly, a gentle affection lacing her voice.
Once again unable to find his voice he simply nods his understanding. His eyes lower instinctively to her lips as she closes the small distance between them. Waiting in sweet anticipation, he realizes her intent and a small smile pulls at the corners of his mouth, his eyes drift shut.
Max gently tightens his embrace around her waist and pulls her closer against him as her lips softly brush against his. The whisper of her kiss steals his breath and makes his heart leap in his chest.
This was heaven.
The soft prodding of her lips and the warmth of her body tucked tightly against his, stirs an unfamiliar force inside of him that makes the urge to pull her closer impossible to fight.
Pulling her closer into him his lips close over hers and he deepens their kiss. She whimpers into his mouth, and the soft pleasurable sound wreaks havoc on his dwindling self-control. Drawing her even closer, he moans softly at the sensation of her hand coursing over his back and her fingers moving through his hair. His arms gently pull her flush with his chest and his hands run along the silk of her skin until they're lying at her waist, just underneath her blouse.
His fingers slowly stroking the skin at her back causes her to grasp at his shoulders as she senses a weakness in her knees. Carefully supporting her against him he resumes his exploration of her body until finally one arm supports her at her waist, and his other hand is lost in her hair and gently messaging her head. Using the hand he's positioned in her hair he tilts her head toward him until he's perfectly lost in the sweetness of her mouth once again.
Gripping one another, the intensity of their kiss grows. Totally lost in her, and completely convinced that he's caught in another one of his fantasies, Max savors the taste of her as if its his last. He'd waited years to hold her this way, and now that he had her in his arms, he didn't want to let her go.
Liz was utterly lost to the pleasurable sensations that Max was creating inside her. This was so much better than any of her dreams. The strength with which he cradled her against him was driving her crazy. The only thing she could think of that was more maddening was the way she could feel his heart pounding in his chest and the way his muscles moved beneath her touch. He was so firm beneath her and yet so gentle in the way he touched her.
The whimpering and moaning increases along with the fierce intensity of their embrace, until their minds form a connection through the haze of their euphoria. Suddenly Max gently tightens his hold on her body as he is hit with a wave of unfamiliar images…
He sees himself as Liz had seen him as a young boy, walking away from a school bus with Isabel, their hands entwined tightly in fear the way they often did when they were just kids. He sees the way she'd made notice of every move he made on the playground during their playtime in grade school. Vibrant colors coupled with overwhelming emotions gives rise to another rush of images, as he relived their time in junior high school through her eyes. Suddenly he sees himself back in the 6th grade when on Valentines Day he'd received an elaborately decorated valentine. The shared images that they experienced brought the event flooding back to him now. He remembered how he'd walked into the classroom to find the beautifully crafted valentine lying atop his desk; written fancily over the lacy material were two words: Be Mine. Looking back now, he remembered how that event marked him deeply, and how he'd never really known who was responsible for the cherished object. Now, he knew who'd sent the small treasure that had made him blush that day…it had been Liz.
Suddenly their connection grows stronger as the knowledge he was gaining through their shared images propels his desire to unknown limits. Grasping deftly at her waist he pulls her body even closer against his…but he can't seem to bring her close enough. His lips suckle hers in a desperate attempt to ease the growing ache his body cried release for. But their plea for more intimate contact only managed to heighten their connection.
The maelstrom of emotions that pulls at his mind overwhelms his senses as he begins to feel her projection of the sensations he's inflicting on her body. Pure passion and intoxicating desire emerge most prominently from her mind. The brightness of her rich amber aura permeates his being, until he instinctually feels his own emerald aura merge with hers, and suddenly he's pulled back into her memories. He's hit with images from more recently as he sees himself walking through the halls between classes, pictures of him sitting quietly as he concentrates at his desk in class, and later at the Crashdown. The waves of emotions that accompany those visions make his heart pound. He feels the desire he somehow managed to stir in her flowing in waves.
His skin tingles with warmth in response to what he's witnessed and he releases a breathless gasp as he gently disentangles himself from their kiss. Looking at her tenderly, Max pushes the hair from her face gently. The look he sends Liz nearly causes her to throw away any remaining semblance of control. His smoldering gaze is telling her everything she needs to know, and ever wanted to hear from him.
But regardless, she still needed to hear him promise to stop pushing her away; she was resolved to persist until he did.
"The valentine?" his voice nearly cracks in emotion, "That was you?" Still trying to catch his breath after their mind blowing kiss, he asks her breathless, "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Why hadn't she ever told him how she felt? He'd spent his entire life pining for her, why hadn't he ever known how much she cared for him?
But then he realized something extraordinary that he'd somehow overlooked before. Her flashes told him that she'd recognized him from the first time they saw each other. Just like he was drawn to her the second he saw her in the 3rd grade…she'd singled him out as well.
How and why could they do that?
"I guess for the same reason you never told me how you felt." Her eyes nervously dart back and forth as she searches for his reaction. She wanted to make him see that she was just as scared as he was. "I was afraid you didn't feel the same way. And even if you did, I didn't know that I could ever explain why I felt so strongly that you were the one. I mean…we were just kids Max."
Pausing for a brief moment, she continues to speak more quietly, "Max, the way I'm drawn to you…it's something I've never had an answer for. From the second I saw you when we were kids, my connection to you was instant, undeniable. It's been with me for so long now, that I've just stopped trying to fight it."
Max had spent his whole life waiting to hear her speak to him this way. He could have never imagined that telling Liz the truth about him could ever feel so good. As he looked down into her beautiful brown eyes, he realized just how much he would be willing to sacrifice to keep her safe.
Risking everything, including the normalcy his secret allowed him, was a small price to pay for healing her. If saving her life meant that he would be hunted down for the rest of his life by every single government agency on the planet, then he would gladly live the rest of his life as a hermit.
She was everything.
…But was his love for her enough?
The simple fact of the matter was that he didn't know anything about who he was or why he was here. His life was dangerous, too dangerous. And he loved her too much to ever put her safety at risk.
His overwhelming need to protect her…at any cost…even his own detriment…was too strong. Dropping his head away, he lets his arms fall from her body dejectedly.
"You have to fight it Liz," he barely manages through gritted teeth. He couldn't believe he was saying these things.
Missing the warmth of his arms around her she brings her arms up to wrap around her middle. "Max?" Her confusion and hurt are amplified ten-fold as she struggles to get him to look at her.
This couldn't be the end…they were only finally just beginning…
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