"Liz…I…it's not safe." His voice is small and unsure. So much so that Liz can't help but wonder if he's trying more to convince her or himself that what he's saying is true. Carefully he keeps his eyes from hers.

He could barely manage to say this; if he had to look at her right now he'd never be able to continue.

"Sheriff Valenti won't stop until he's found something; proof that I'm not completely…human. And I just couldn't live with myself if anything ever happened to you. I won't put you in danger Liz. I won't risk you being hurt." A brief moment of silence is followed by his nearly inaudible confession, "I love you too much to ever do that Liz."

Her eyes shoot up those last softly spoken words. She could feel tears collecting as she settles her eyes on his.

His eyes burned with affection for her, but she also saw the fear hidden in their depths. He was terrified that somehow being close to him would cause her pain. Nodding her understanding, but still refusing to accept his judgment, she gathers her strength and tells him in the most confident tone she can muster, "Max, I want to show you something."

Looking deeply into his eyes she smiles tenderly when all he can do is nod in agreement. She reaches out and takes his hand in hers before leading them through her window and onto the balcony. The air held a chill, but the breeze was calm and the stars shone brightly in the dark sky; as if each glimmered in a collective brilliance like a thousand diamonds suspended in the black atmosphere.

Pulling him by the hand she leads him over to a lawn chair, "Here, sit down."

Confused but intrigued, he sits down in the chair and watches as she steps away to look for something. A moment later he watches as she walks back to him; she's clutching a black book against her chest.

Walking back to him, Liz quickly takes a seat beside him before pulling her journal away from her chest and handing it to him. Taking it in his hands he asks, "What is this?"

Averting her eyes shyly she admits quietly, "Max, I've had a lot of time to think since the day you healed me. And lately, what I've thought about most is how you've made me feel. Not just because you trusted me with this truth you've guarded so carefully all these years. But because you trusted in me enough to risk your secret being discovered. I can't tell you what that means to me."

His brown eyes are watching her intently and so she tells him softly, "I want to return that trust Max. And this is the best way that I could think of to do that." Her gesturing over at the book he holds in his hands is meant to alleviate some of her nervousness.

"Since I was a little girl, I've kept a journal. Everything I experience…everything I feel, I write about in that book. And…" her face becomes slightly flushed in her sudden embarrassment, "…a lot of my entries…are about you."

Max can't hide his surprise at her admission. He's somewhat speechless but he also can't suppress the widening grin that's forming over his lips. Bowing his head in an act of irresistible shyness, "I, uh…Liz, I don't know what to say." Gesturing down at the journal he asks, "Are you sure about this?"

Smiling slightly she nods her head, "Yes. I want you to know me the way you've let me know you."

Touched by her honesty and bravery, he smiles over at her and reaches his hand out to cup her cheek. The warm sensation of his hand over her skin causes her to press her cheek more fully into him. Opening her eyes to finally settle on his, she watches as his eyes darken in his growing desire.

How could she ever deny herself this attention? She had to find a way to make him understand. She simply couldn't survive without being this close to him.

Liz can't control the sigh she hears escape her own lips when she feels the soft trail his fingers leave over her skin. His fingers move gently over her cheek and brush a lock of hair from her face. Looking back up into his eyes she smiles tenderly when she lightly touches the journal, "Go ahead. Open it," she mutters quietly.

Her soft words bring him back from the daze he'd experienced while lost in her eyes. Touching her one last time, he lowers his hand away from her and returns his attention to the small book she'd given him. Opening it he settles on a random entry before concentrating on the written words.

This one seemed to be dated just a few weeks before he'd healed her…

August 14, 1999

Today I caught him looking at me again. I didn't mind of course, how could I? He was so shy about it; but the sheer warmth that radiated through to my toes at that look was enough to keep me going for the rest of the week. Oh, how it must feel to be nestled against him. His arms, his chest…I just want tuck myself into his embrace and nuzzle my face between his shoulder and the crook of his neck. I let myself fantasize what it would be like in that spot, and I ache to feel the steady beat of his heart against my breast. Oh gosh, I should join a support group or something: 'Hi I'm Liz, and I'm a Maxaholic!'

Everyday some part of me wishes he'd just forget all about logic, sweep me up into his arms and kiss me breathless. But then I remember that's one of the things about Max that I love so much, the way his logical mind works through even the tiniest of problems. Nothing is insignificant to him, and no one is unimportant.

His is the purest heart I've ever known…

Max was almost breathless upon reading her entry.

These were the things she guarded so secretly and kept only for herself? Liz wanted to curl herself into his body? She fantasized about him holding her? She loved his mind? She thought he had a pure heart?

Closing his eyes he tries to get control of his breathing, "Liz…" he whispers out hoarsely.

Liz Parker was certainly the most precious treasure in his life.

September 25, 1999

I need to find a way to tell him everything. I can't bear hiding the truth about my feelings anymore! I have to tell him. But for some reason, everything I think to say doesn't seem adequate. I've felt so many things for so long, that I'm just not sure there's any one way to explain to him how much I need him. Somehow the words 'I Love You' don't even seem like enough to express the way I feel.

September 27, 1999

… It's been almost a week now since that day in the Crashdown, and amazingly, somehow I've felt incredibly drawn to Max. Like a moth to a flame, I'm just unconsciously connected to him; it's a connection that seems stronger now than it ever did before. In the day, when I know he's far away, and even at night in my dreams: I feel him. I can't control this feeling…this urge to just curl up into his arms and wrap myself around him.

And the more I fight these feelings harbored deep in my soul, the more I realize that I don't want to fight them at all. I want to be consumed by them. I want to be consumed by him… Max Evans.

Max is so completely lost in the words he's reading he doesn't even sense the way his body has begun to quiver.

The things she thought about him were so unbelievable. Never in all of his dreams could he have hoped for a love so honest and pure. He never thought anyone could ever feel that way about him. The wonderful excitement of it all literally stole his breath.

His head was dizzy with need and his heart pounded hard in his chest as if it were ready to explode from all the sensations his body was experiencing.

How could just a few words cause such a physically intense reaction inside of him?

Turning slightly to face her, his erratic breathing is somewhat quelled when he sees the tears welled in her eyes.

"Max? Please say something."