Hi everyone!

I hope you're having a great weekend! Here's my contribution to it.

Roswellgurlygirl15, Natz, jazzypunker, elementalmoon, Charisma

Thank you SO much for leaving feedback!!!


Here's two new parts…

Though I've tried I've fallen
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here and
Tell me I told you so

We all begin out with good intent
When love is raw and young
We believe that we can change ourselves
The past can be undone
But we carry on our back the burdens time always reveals
In the lonely light of morning
In the wound that would not heal
It's the better taste of losing everything
I've held so dear

Excerpt from "Fallen" by Sarah McLachlan



From Chapter 23…

"I'm really sorry to have to ask you this," Liz said quietly, "But do you remember at what time they took her to operation and…removed her heart?"
Max blinked. "Liz, what…?"
"Do you remember the time?" Liz asked again, her voice more persistent.
"About 2 p.m.," Max answered.
Liz hand flew up to her mouth, only partly drowning the gasp which escaped her lips.
"Liz?"
There was insecurity in his eyes now. And concern. Confusion and fear.
"I think… I think… that I was the recipient."




Chapter 24


She had never thought silence could be so deafening, or that eyes could see so much, and yet clearly process nothing. His eyes bore into hers, digging their way into her mind and her heart. There was no escape now. There was still many things unspoken between them, the pregnant silence was only scratching the surface of what was left to say, but the most important things had been revealed. Now it was up to them, up to him, what to do with that information. Would he run? Would he deny it? Would he show understanding?

"Are you sure?" he whispered, his voice so thin and light it was almost lost in the air between them.
She swallowed. "No, I'm not sure. But not too many heart transplants are made…and she had a rare blood type too…. thus increasing the likeliness that I'm…that Tess…that your wife-"
His quiet nod silenced her.
"What…what are we going to do?" Liz couldn't think of anything else to ask. She was just as shocked as he was. There was a big possibility that it was Tess' heart beating inside of her. That she was alive because Tess had died. She had of course always been aware of the fact that someone had died in order to give her life, but this was just too…
"This is just a little…bizarre," Max whispered.
She smiled weakly. "Understatement."
He shook his head in confusion, but the anguish in his face had eased, which calmed Liz some. "I don't know what to feel about this. I… I miss Tess and if there had been something that I could do to have her here beside me right now, I would've. But there was nothing I could do. She would be hooked up to a respirator, not able to breathe on her own and never…never waking up again." He looked up and met her eyes and swallowed. There was prominent guilt in his eyes and Liz had a feeling that his present feelings were making him feel guilty about something. "But…if I had waited. If I had told the doctors to keep her alive, you would've…you would've died…."
The last word was barely audible and he dropped his eyes. He gave a startle when he felt her small hand under his chin, gently forcing his face upwards to look at her.

"Thank you, Max," she whispered. "Thank you." She inhaled shakily and she was sobbing when she continued. "I'm so sorry that your wife died. I'm so sorry that you lost your little boy." The first tears in two years began to form in Max's tears as his eyes were transfixed on Liz's face.
She fruitlessly brushed some tears away, but they kept running, "I'm so sorry you lost your family. But I can't help but be happy that you decided to let go of her that day. Even if I think that… I think that you're still holding onto her, you made the decision that day to give her heart to someone. And because of that I'm alive now. And for some reason we have met." She inhaled shakily and the tears came faster when she watched fresh tears spill down Max's cheeks. "I'm so happy that we met, Max. Because I…I…"
A stone fell from Max's heart. Suddenly everything seemed lighter. The magnitude of what his decision had meant had never really hit him until now. Until he had the woman who was living because of it right in front of him.
Max smiled through the tears, "Tess always did have to have the last word."
Liz gave a teary laugh.
"Don't cry," Max whispered, his hands moving up to brush her tears away.
"I'm so sad and happy at the same time," Liz tried to explain.
Max gave her a sad smile. "Me too." He pulled her close, wrapping her into his strong arms, feeling that his life had begun again as strongly as he could feel her warm body in his embrace.
"Me too," he repeated.

To fall so deep into you
Lose myself completely
In your sweet embrace
All my pain's erased

Excerpt from "Train Wreck" by Sarah McLachlan

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The next day


"Michael just called," Alex sat down opposite his wife at the kitchen table.
"Uh huh," Isabel said, trying her best to sound casual.
"Iz, honey, when are you going to stop doing this?"
Isabel looked up innocently, "Stop doing what?"
"Treat Max like a child."
Isabel's eyes darkened and her body went rigid with the sudden need to defend herself.
"I'm not treating him like a child. Don't be ridiculous, Alex."
Alex lifted the coffee can and started to fill his cup. "Aha, so what's this about making his decisions for him?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Liz. I'm talking about Liz Parker. The sweet woman who evidently caught Max's interest from the second he laid eyes on her. The same woman who helped us find Michelle that day at the mall, remember?"
"Of course I remember." Isabel lowered her eyes to the newspaper on the table. "I don't forget a thing like that. Did Michael tell you that she is sick?"

"So what? Why should that make any difference?"
Isabel's eyes flew up to his, irritation flaring wildly, "It makes all the difference. Why can't anyone see it? Is everyone living in a romantic fairytale? Liz could die any day… What about the people she leaves behind? What about Max? It will destroy him. I know my brother, Alex. He can't go through that all over again. You said it yourself; Max loves completely. It's all or nothing. Doesn't anyone see what a disaster a relationship with a person suffering from a sick heart would mean?"
"I understand your point-"
"No, you don't," Isabel snapped.
Alex reached out with his hand across the table and caught hers. "Yes, I do. But you cannot prevent bad things from happening. You cannot protect your brother from everything."
Tears welled up in Isabel's eyes and she murmured, "It's my fault he's suffering now."
"Excuse me?" Alex frowned. Had she really said what he thought she had?
A tear tumbled down Isabel's cheek, quickly followed by another. "Tess was my friend. I introduced her to Max. I helped them get together. I pushed them together. If it hadn't been for me Max would have just continued to be annoyed by her."
"They were in love, Isabel."
"But if I hadn't pushed it, they might not have found each other and-"

"Isabel, you're being completely irrational. Do you really think that you can stop someone from falling in love? If it's meant to be, it will happen, Iz, and you can't prevent it. Neither can you be responsible for what happens. Everything in life's a risk and if you don't take some your life isn't worth anything."
The tears were now streaming down Isabel's cheeks and frustrated she whispered brokenly, "Why did she have to have a heart disease? I really liked her. I could even see her as a potential friend."
"Does it have to be perfect to be right?" Alex asked.
Isabel looked at him wordlessly and opened her mouth to answer, when her efforts were cut off by Michelle's small body, yet harboring a strong voice, stumbling into their surroundings.
"Mommy! Mommy!"

Isabel quickly brushed the tears off her cheeks and forced herself to smile at Michelle as she came running into the kitchen. Michelle reached out with her arms and Isabel took the hint and lifted her up on her lap.
"Yes, pumpkin?"
"Can I have a puppy?"
Her innocent and sparkling eyes looked at her hopefully and Isabel looked over her daughter's head on Alex.
Alex raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Well, it's better than the pony she wanted last week."
"Alex!" Isabel scolded.
"Mommy, pweeaasee!"
"Honey, we've already had this conversation. You can't have an animal until you're old enough to take care of it on your own."
Michelle's face fell
"But I can make peanut buttew and jelly sandwhises for him."
Isabel fought to bit back her laughter.
"Well, puppies don't eat the same thing as we do. They like meat more than peanutbutter."
"I's can give him my sosages," her nose scrunched up, "I's don' like sosages."
Isabel smiled, tenderly smothering Michelle's morning hair.
"Yes, dogs like sausages, but you have to take him out for walks and you have to spend a lot of time with him."

Michelle's eyes brightened when she came up with an idea.
"I's can put him in Michelle's doll carrich and he can come wif me to Sarah."
Isabel gave Alex a scolding look when he chuckled. He wasn't making it any easier for her to remain serious.
"Dogs have to walk on their own, pumpkin. They don't like to lie in a carriage."
"But…" Michelle pouted, "I's want a puppy!"
"Michelle, let's try again tomorrow, okay," Alex said, winking at Isabel when she gave him a deadly glare, "Maybe your mother will have gotten used to the idea then."
Michelle's face brightened again and she hopped down from Isabel's lap. "'Kay!"
Isabel was just about to make sure that Alex knew what he had coming when Michelle poked her head back into the kitchen.
"How long is 'til 'morrow?"
"You have to go and sleep one time before it's tomorrow," Alex answered.
"Ohhh," Michelle groaned in impatience. Then she shone up again. "Den I's go to sleep now."
"Oh no you don't," Isabel cried out.

Michelle turned to her with an expression of disappointment and confusion.
Isabel rose from the chair. "We are going to Uncle Max today. We have to get you ready."
Alex smiled when he picked up the newspaper.
"And don't think I'm finished with you," Isabel whispered to him when she passed him. Alex smile faltered. Oops, maybe he shouldn't have pushed that much.

-----------------------------------------------------------



It wasn't the sun shining through the windows that woke her up. It wasn't an alarm clock or her cell phone ringing. It was a tapping sound, getting increasingly louder. With a quiet groan she opened her eyes. She felt the bed shift beside her and turned her head to the side. Spread out next to her was Max. They were both lying on the bed in Max's bedroom. Liz with her legs pulled up towards her chest and Max across the diagonal of the double bed.
"Max..." she mumbled.
He was slowly waking up as well, slowly becoming aware of the same tapping sound.
"What is that sound?" Liz asked, squinting in the bright morning light.
The tapping sound ended, to be replaced by another sound, slowly decreasing in sound.
"Max, wake up," Liz tried.
Max opened one eye and peeked at her. He frowned in the light and closed his eye again.
"Max…"
Liz pulled herself up into sitting position and her eyes snapped to the door when the sound was getting louder again.
That's when Max snapped his eyes open and sat up quickly.
"What time is it?" he asked.
Confused, she looked at her arm-watch. "Nine."
"Shit," Max breathed.
"What is it?" Liz asked.
"I was going to-"
He didn't had the chance to say anymore when the door opened and the person responsible for making the quick tapping sounds with her small shoes revealed herself. The little girl frowned and bit her lower lip when her eyes took in the picture.
"Michelle? Where did you go? Have you found…" Isabel showed up in the doorway, "…Max yet…"

Max gave her a lopsided smile. "Hi Isabel."
"Mommy, it's Liz!!" Michelle exclaimed excited, recuperating much quicker than her dumbfounded mother.
"Hi Michelle," Max said.
"Uncle Max," Michelle said, "What's Liz doin' here?"
"Uhm…" Max began, scratching behind his ear.
Liz smiled at him before returning her attention to Michelle. She tried to ignore the looks Isabel was giving her and instead patted the comforter under her.
"Hi Michelle. Can I get a hug?"
Michelle bit her lip shyly.
"Please," Liz tried, holding back a smile.
"'Kay," Michelle agreed and hopped up on the bed, crawling into Liz's arms.
Liz closed her eyes when she felt Michelle's small arm around her waist. Everything seemed different now after what Max and she had talked about before. Josh had been Michelle's age when he had died. He had been just as small and just as innocent.
Max's chest tightened when he watched Liz hug Michelle. Somehow he could imagine what she felt. For some reason he thought that she was seeing it through his eyes, feeling what he felt every time he hugged Michelle.
"Max, can I speak to you." Isabel's resolute voice forced his eyes away from Liz and to his very displeased sister.
"Uhm…sure," Max answered and looked at Liz to ask her if she was okay with them leaving.
"We'll be fine," Liz answered and smiled at him, before he even had the chance to voice his question. "Won't we, Michelle?"
Michelle crawled off Liz's lap and nodded with a big smile. "Yep."


It was with great reluctance that Max left the bed and followed his sister out in the corridor. Isabel shut the door behind them and turned towards Max, her face red with anger.
Pointing at the closed door, she hissed, "What the hell is she doing here?"
"Isabel, it's not what you think. She only spent the night-"
"Well, then it's exactly what I think," Isabel said, her fists clenching tighter at the sides of her body.
"She had nowhere to go. She needed some place to stay," Max continued.
"Oh," Isabel exclaimed sarcastically, "And you just took her in out of the goodness of your heart?"
"Yes," Max answered simply. "Don't you know me at all, Iz? I wouldn't sl… I wouldn't…"
"And you actually believed what she was telling you? What exactly was she telling you?"
"She broke up with her boyfriend and was planning to go to Maria's, but Maria wasn't home and her parents are away on a second honeymoon. She didn't have that much money with her."
"How convenient," Isabel snorted.
"Why are you like this?" Max said irritated.
"Why am I- Max! She's still a stranger! You don't invite strange people into your home."
"She's not a stranger, Isabel," Max said seriously.
Isabel blinked and a feeling of complete helplessness started to spread inside of her when she saw the look in his eyes.

"Oh my God… You're falling in love with her."
To her surprise, Max paled and took a step back. "No, I'm not. But we are friends and friends help each other out."
"Then why were you sleeping in the same bed if you are just friends?"
Max bit his lip to control the anger quickly ignited in him. "I don't have to defend myself. This is my house, Isabel, I'm an adult and I can do whatever I want."
"Stop acting like a stupid baby," Isabel hissed. "I know that you are still hurting, but please don't bury that pain with sex."
Max groaned and lowered his voice, "We did not have sex, Isabel. We are both fully clothed. We were up late talking last night and we feel asleep."
"Uh huh," Isabel said, not believing him. "Max, there's something I have to tell you."
Max sighed and leaned back against the wall. "What is it, Iz?" He just wanted to go back into the guestroom and spend time in the presence of Liz and Michelle.

Isabel lowered her voice, careful not to let anything sip through the cracks in the door to the bedroom. "Liz has a heart disease, Max."
Max's only response was to slightly lift his eye-brows.
Isabel frowned at his reaction. "She almost died. She had a transplant, Max."
Isabel searched Max's face. It was as blank as a window plane.
"She's sick, Max," she emphasized.
"Okay," Max answered evenly.
"Okay?" Isabel's teeth clenched in anger. "That's all you have to say? 'Okay'?!"
Max took three steps closer to Isabel, so that he was looking her directly in the eyes. "Isabel, Liz is the most incredible person I've met in a long time and I'm not willing to let her go. She already told me about her condition, but she also told me that she isn't sick anymore. Her new heart is as good as mine or yours. The only difference between you and her is that she has to take medicine to prevent her body from rejecting the heart. If her past matters so much, then what does that make me? If my past mattered, I would never find someone again. Liz doesn't care about that." Max swallowed at the emotions starting to bubble inside of him at the thought of how Liz had unconditionally helped him, supported him, from the second they first met in the mall. "I want to be there for her like she has been there for me the last couple of days."
Isabel stared at him, her mouth hanging open in shock.
"Max…" she whispered, her voice hoarse, "She can still die."
"So can anyone," Max answered. "If there's one thing Tess and Joshua's death taught me, it is that we have to live right now. Because everything can change so quickly."
"You are not ready for this," Isabel tried. She had to convince him. He was blind. She had to make him see what a big mistake he was making. "You are still grieving."
"Maybe I need someone to help me stop grieving," Max said, "A large empty dark house can be terrifying when you are in pain, Iz."

"Don't settle for Liz just because she has stayed this long," Isabel whispered, "She is trouble."
"I'm not having this conversation," Max said, "Not if you're going to be that way."
Isabel reached out and stopped him with her hand on his arm as he started to walk away.
"I love you, Max. I'm only trying to help you."
"Iz, I love you too, but maybe, just maybe, Liz wants to stick around and then I'm not going to be the one to stop her."



TBC...