Part Five
Max was still lying on the couch, watching early morning TV when Michael emerged from his room a couple of hours later. With a short grunt of acknowledgment towards Max, he shuffled into the kitchen to fix some coffee.
"Hey, man," muttered Michael, as he placed two steaming mugs of coffee on the table in front of the couch.
"Morning," Max replied sluggishly, swinging his legs off the seat to make room for his friend.
"What're you watching?"
"Oh, not much, just some sitcom about a dysfunctional family. Couldn't sleep, you know?" he said.
"Yeah…" Michael agreed half-heartedly. He paused and then continued reluctantly, "Look, I'm sorry I went off at you last night, okay?"
Max bit back a smile at Michael's obvious discomfort at getting the words 'I'm sorry' out.
He shook his head. "Hey, no big," he dismissed, reaching for the hot mug in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled the wonderful aroma before taking a sip. The smell of coffee always made him think of curling up in front of a large warm fireplace with someone special.
Unfortunately, that train of thought brought him back to Liz and the memory of the dream he'd had last night.
He forced himself to remain seated on Michael's couch long enough to drink his coffee and make random small talk with his best friend, instead of doing the one thing he desperately wanted to do right now, which was finding Liz. He managed to make it through about forty minutes – the majority of which was spent listening to Michael moan about the Christmas Nazi, a.k.a. Isabel and express his displeasure over the whole Christmas holiday, especially the notion of buying gifts for everyone in his life – before he couldn't take it any longer and had to leave.
Quickly making his excuses to Michael, he thanked him for letting him crash on the couch. Luckily, his friend admitted that he was in desperate need of a shower and that he had been just about to kick him out anyway, so it was with a sigh of relief, mixed with hope that he would finally get some answers, that he left Michael's apartment and headed back over to the Crashdown again.
The morning breakfast rush was in full swing when Max arrived at the café for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. On his approach, he stopped just outside the front doors, peering inside for a glimpse of Liz.
There she was, dressed in that ridiculous alien-themed uniform, laughing with the customers she was serving. A family – a husband, wife and two young kids. Max's heart skipped a beat in his chest as he observed her laughing and joking with them, making the children giggle at her antics. Today, since it was Christmas Eve, he guessed, she was wearing a Santa hat, complete with alien antennae and tinsel around her ponytail.
Max couldn't help but smile at the picture she made and if it was possible, he fell in love with her all over again. Oh, he hadn't forgotten that he could barely stand being around her lately; but watching her right now, he was able to imagine, even if only for a moment, that he was seeing her for the very first time and his heart swelled.
He must have been standing there longer than he realised, because scarcely a second later, her head whipped round and her gaze became fixed on him through the glass door. His eyes widened in surprise at being caught staring at her and he was sure that he was currently sporting a 'deer caught in the headlights' expression. He was about to turn to leave; a sudden, unexpected wave of uncertainty and nervousness washing over him; but before he could move a muscle, Liz smiled and beckoned him towards her.
Managing a tentative smile back, he sucked in a breath and, gathering his courage, he pulled open the door and stepped inside the small restaurant. Immediately he was hit with the delicious smell of pancakes and coffee. Liz gestured to the counter, indicating that she was going to hand in the family's order and that he should wait for her there. He nodded, walking over to the counter where Maria was pouring drinks.
"Hey, Max," Maria greeted cheerfully as he approached, "long time, no see," she teased. "So, I see you've finally caught up with Miss Christmas Cheer herself over there."
"Yeah," Max agreed, leaning against the counter top as he watched Liz flit between customers on her way to the order window. He frowned. "Wait, what did you just call her?"
"Oh. Sorry. It's just that she's not exactly been in the best of spirits this week. From the way she's been acting, you wouldn't know it was Christmas Eve today."
Max was confused. "What do you mean? She seems perfectly cheerful this morning."
Maria waggled her finger at him in dismay, "See, that's just her little act for the benefit of the customers. The moment she goes out that door," she pointed to the back door leading to the break room. "The smile disappears and she's all miserable."
Max watched with a concerned expression as Liz conversed with the cook through the order window. She seemed pretty normal to him right now, but he could also see that her smile didn't quite reach her eyes as she laughed.
"Hey, she's coming over." Maria nudged his arm. "Go see if you can cheer her up for me."
Max shot her a small half-smile and then turned back to face Liz, who had now reached his side.
"Hey, Max. What are you doing here?"
"Liz, hi," he said, looking around the café for a moment, "I was wondering if maybe we could talk?" he asked hopefully.
"Sure, Max, what's up?"
Max looked uncomfortable for a second, but he carried on regardless, "You know how we agreed to try to be friends again? Well, I think I need a friend right now." Okay. So, he needed more than a friend; he needed some answers from Liz, but he didn't want to scare her off just yet, so he settled for the friends approach.
"Oh, okay," she looked slightly bewildered, but nodded nonetheless. "Well, my Dad needed help with the rush this morning, but I have some time free now before I start my normal shift, so why don't we go upstairs and we can talk?" she suggested, not risking a glance in Maria's direction for fear of her reaction to the fact that she was inviting Max up to her room.
"Okay," he agreed, another small smile gracing his lips. "Thanks," he told her as he followed her through the café towards the break room. She sent him a smile as she pushed through the door and they made their way up the stairs to the apartment above the Crashdown.
"So, Max," Liz started once they reached her room and she had shut the door behind them, "what did you want to talk about?"
But Max wasn't listening. He wasn't doing much of anything, really. The moment he'd stepped through the door into her bedroom and found himself just feet from her bed, he was hit with memories of last night's dream. But now it wasn't so much the 'Liz and Kyle' part that got to him, it was the 'Liz and him, making love in that very bed' part that had him unable to think about anything else.
"Max?" Liz questioned when he didn't reply. "Are you okay?"
Mentally shaking himself, Max snapped out of his daze at the sound of her voice and turned to face her. "Sorry, I missed what you said just then."
Liz frowned, puzzled. It wasn't like Max to be distracted like this. He usually couldn't afford to be preoccupied. "I asked what you wanted to talk about," she repeated.
"Oh, right," he nodded, unsure where or how to start. "Um, you wanna sit down? It might take me a while to say everything I need to," he explained at her confused expression.
"Sure," she mumbled, moving across the room to sit on the edge of the bed.
Max closed his eyes, trying to focus on his reason for being here rather than the fact that he was in Liz's bedroom and that she was on her bed.
"Max, you're scaring me here," she said. "What's all this about?"
"Okay," he exhaled, not looking directly at her, but he squared his shoulders all the same, preparing to tell her what he'd experienced over the past day. "See, something strange has been happening to me since yesterday. I've been getting these…flashes, I guess…and I don't know why I'm having them or what they mean."
He chanced a look in her direction to find her expression had evolved from one of confusion to one of concern, "You're getting flashes? Do you think this is a sign that something bad is on its way?"
"What?" he was bewildered. "Oh. No, Liz. That's not what I mean. The images I've been seeing, they're more…personal…I guess. See, I've been having flashes of…us."
"Us? You mean like you and Isabel and Michael?" Liz questioned, not daring to consider any other possibility.
Max sighed and made eye contact with her. "No, Liz," he spoke softly. "I mean of you and me. Together," he added meaningfully.
"T-together?" Liz practically squeaked.
He nodded sadly. "Married," he added in a whisper.
"Married?" Liz repeated softly in wonder. But then she shook her head; they couldn't get married. Ever. "Max…" she started regretfully.
"Shh, don't," he pleaded. "I'm not trying to…I didn't mean…" He tried again, "Look, at first, I didn't know why I was having them, or if they were even flashes. I thought maybe it was just my imagination or something," he blushed and Liz suddenly understood what he meant by that. "But then, they started changing. They felt so real and we weren't always happy in them; and I thought maybe if I came to you, you might be able to help me figure out what was going on."
Liz could do nothing but stare at him, open-mouthed. Max was having visions about her? That they were married? Now why did that scenario sound so familiar?
"Max," she patted the bed beside her, inviting him to sit down. "What exactly happened in these flashes?" she asked carefully when he complied and took a seat next to her.
Max ran a hand over his face, really not wishing to share all the intimate details with her, especially considering the current state of their relationship; but he knew there was no getting out of it now.
He took a deep breath and started. "The first one happened when Michael and I were at the Christmas tree lot yesterday. We were trying to find the perfect tree for Isabel – you know how she gets at Christmas – when suddenly I had this vision of you and I picking out our first tree together."
A smile lit up Liz's face as she imagined doing that very thing with him. "And?" she murmured.
"And nothing," he replied. "It was over in a second and I just put it down to wishful thinking. I did the same with the second flash too."
Liz leaned towards him slightly in anticipation, "Which was…?"
"A couple of hours later, I was in the kitchen talking to my Mom about New Year's and when she turned back to her cooking, it just happened." He looked away for a moment, savouring the memory of what he'd seen. "It was our first New Year celebration as a married couple and I came home from shovelling snow with Alex and Michael, to find you cooking dinner. Everyone was coming over later – our parents, Michael and Maria, Isabel and Alex – and you were worried that you wouldn't do a good job. I assured you that everything would be great and then we…um…you know…on the counter top."
He sneaked a careful glance at Liz, only to find her eyes brimming with tears. "Oh, Max. That sounds just…perfect."
He allowed a small smile to grace his lips. "Yeah, it was," he agreed wistfully.
"But…?"
"The next one wasn't so great. We were arguing about children. We both wanted them, but I knew it was too dangerous and that having a child was too much of a risk with god knows how many enemies we had out there."
"I'm sorry, Max," Liz didn't really know what she was apologising for – it wasn't as if she'd been there or anything.
"No," he shook his head. "It was a perfectly logical and sensible argument, which was what had me worried."
Liz looked at him, perplexed, so he explained.
"Up until then, I had assumed that I was seeing my own fantasies, but that flash had me thinking; if I was imagining a perfect life with you, why would I see us arguing and unhappy?"
Liz nodded in realisation, but she still didn't understand where he was going with this. "Max, what are you getting at here?"
"I thought that maybe something else was responsible for my flashes, but I didn't know what. I still don't," he added, disappointment evident in his tone. "Anyway, after that vision, I needed some time to think; so I drove out to the pod chamber." At Liz's curious expression, he elaborated. "I like to go there sometimes when I want some time to myself – it's quiet and peaceful up there and no one else but us knows about it. Anyway, I ended up in the Granilith chamber – "
"Chamber?"
"Oh, that's right, you haven't seen it yet," he remembered, momentarily forgetting that he still hadn't discovered how she'd known about it before. "Remind me to take you there after the holidays," he mused, before shaking his head. "Anyway, I spent a few moments just staring at the Granilith, willing it to give me some answers. Obviously, nothing happened, but when I reached out to touch it, I was hit with another rush of images."
He glanced at Liz, but she said nothing and so he continued, "It was really strange, Liz. We were in so much pain and I didn't understand what was happening. I was so confused; and that's when I decided that I had to talk to you about what was happening to me."
"Max," Liz spoke softly. "What did you see?"
"I was weird, we – you and I – were holding each other in the Granilith chamber and I told you that I wouldn't leave you, but you insisted that I had to. I remember that I said something about us not existing anymore, not as we do now," he repeated the words from his flash, looking down at his hands. "We hugged and you told me that you didn't have any regrets. Next thing I know, I'm shoving a long crystal into the Granilith and then I'm sucked into it and I disappear, leaving you all alone."
Liz closed her eyes in disbelief; her heart was beating rapidly in her chest. It could be…he couldn't have seen…oh, God.
"Max," she started carefully. "What did we look like? In the flash, I mean."
Now it was Max's turn to look puzzled, but he answered her question, regardless. "Your hair was short, just above your shoulders and you were wearing all black. I had longer hair – it reached my shoulders as well – I was dressed in leather pants and a leather vest," he remembered. "And we looked older too, Liz. I think I may have even had some grey hair."
He turned back to Liz for her reaction, but was startled to find that her face had drained of colour and she was shaking slightly.
"Liz?" he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, but she flinched and let out a sharp gasp.
"Max…" she gulped. "I um, I don't think what you've been seeing is your imagination…"
His eyes widened, "It's not? So that means you do know something about all this?"
Realising what she'd just said, her eyes widened and she shook her head quickly, "No. I don't know anything, Max." But he wasn't buying it.
"Liz, I know when you're hiding something. What is it? What do you know?"
"I can't. I promised I wouldn't say anything – " she stopped quickly, but it was too late.
"You promised whom?" his tone was suspicious. "And who exactly would you have spoken to about this?"
She sighed, breathing deeply before continuing, "Max, there's something I haven't told you. I couldn't tell you before, but after what you've seen, maybe it's time you knew."
"Knew what?" his tone was deceptively calm, his emotional state only given away by the clenching of his jaw.
Liz sucked in a breath and turned to face him fully, bringing her legs up in front of her and settling more comfortably on the bed. Following her actions, Max moved to sit before her in the middle of the bed and crossed his legs.
"There's a lot I have to tell you and explain to you; and you're probably not going to like all of it, but all I ask is that you hear me out," she said, making eye contact with him.
"Okay…" Max was puzzled. What on Earth could Liz have to tell him and how could it be so bad that he might not listen to all of it?
"Okay," she affirmed, more to reassure herself than anything else. "Well, a few weeks ago, something really strange happened to me; something I didn't even think was possible until that moment, but it happened nonetheless."
"Liz, what are you talking about?" Max interjected quietly, confused by her words. "What do you mean by strange – "
"I had a visitor from the future," she blurted out suddenly, cutting him off.
Max blinked, his mouth dropping open at her totally unexpected statement.
"Sorry," she backtracked quickly, seeing his face. "I didn't mean to just blurt it out like that. Max, are you okay?"
"I um," he tried to form words. "It's just…What?"
Liz couldn't help but give an inward smile at his shocked expression. "One night, a few weeks ago, there was a flash from outside and suddenly someone appeared at my window. It turned out they were from the future and needed me to help them," she stated as simply as she could.
"Liz," Max started carefully, looking at her almost as if she was crazy. "You do know that time travel is against every law of Physics?"
She shook her head. "That's what I said, Max, but it turns out that I was wrong."
"But…you just believed what this…person…told you? They could have been a shapeshifter or something!"
"Max, I trusted them, okay? And in a minute, I think you'll understand why," Max sent her a 'well, go on then – explain' look and so she continued. "My visitor was about thirty years old and was dressed in black leather," she told him. "He had long hair that reached his shoulders and it was greying slightly at the sides," she gave him a meaningful look.
Max was confused for a moment, but then he realised what she was getting at and his eyes widened in surprise.
"But …my flash…that's what I was wearing when…" he stopped, his eyes roaming the room wildly. "It was me?"
Her nod confirmed it. "He…you…used the Granilith to come back in time in order to try and change the future," she explained softly.
"What I saw – the visions – they really happened? I was seeing the future?"
"Not exactly. You were seeing the future we would have lived if I hadn't changed it."
"If you hadn't…" Max was trying hard to fathom what she was telling him. "Liz, what exactly happened when he – I – came back?"
Liz sucked in a breath and prepared to confess the secret she'd been keeping all these weeks.
"Okay. Well, I was standing over there," she pointed to the mirror against the wall, "when there was a flash of light and you appeared in my window. Like I said, at first I didn't believe that it was really you and that time travel was possible, but he told me that if he wasn't from the future, then how would he know exactly what was about to happen? Within seconds, I heard something from outside and there you were, singing to me in Spanish." Max's eyes widened at this and a small blush appeared on his cheeks. "He told me that you spent a week learning the lyrics from Mr. Delgado at the hardware store," she smiled.
"Yeah, I did," Max exhaled. "You know, I still can't believe I did that. It was so embarrassing!"
"No, I'm glad you did," Liz shook her head. "It was really sweet. And if it weren't for the thirty-something version of you in my room at the time, I would definitely have told you that then."
Her comment sobered him up. "So, what happened after that, Liz? Why did he ask you to change the future?"
The smile left Liz's face as she began to explain. "He told me that, in his timeline, you and I got back together and because of that, Tess eventually left town. We were happy together for fourteen years, when your enemies attacked and took over the world. You couldn't defeat them and a lot of people died, including Michael and Isabel." Max let out a gasp, but Liz knew she had to continue before she chickened out of telling him everything. "Of our group, only you and me were left and with the help of someone called Serena, we found a way to modify the Granilith for time travel. You came back to stop the end of the world from happening."
She stopped for a moment to let her words sink in.
Opposite her, Max's mind was whirling. To his ears, Liz's story seemed unbelievable, but in his heart, he knew it was the truth. He had seen visions of the future – images of himself and Liz saying goodbye before he came back. What he didn't understand though, was how they thought he would be able to change what had happened.
"How," he swallowed, "how could coming back in time stop the end of the world? What did he think would change it?"
"He already knew what would change it," Liz admitted. "The reason you couldn't defeat the enemy was because after Tess left, your Four Square was incomplete. Without her, the three of you weren't strong enough to win. So, the plan was to prevent Tess from leaving Roswell and the only way to do that was to give her something to stick around for."
"Which was?"
"You," she clarified. But then she realised how that sounded and added, "Or at least the possibility of you." Max's expression was confused, so she tried again. "His plan was to get you and Tess together. But in order to do that, I had to find a way to make you fall out of love with me."
Max's eyes snapped to hers incredulously. "What? Liz, how can you think that – ?"
She cut him off with a hand on his arm. "It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I did it because I had to; because you asked me to, Max."
"How did – what did you do?"
"Well, first I went to Tess. I tried to set you two up, but it didn't work. You saw me in Whitaker's office and realised what was going on. So, I tried something else. I went to your room and gave you that whole speech about how I didn't want to be with you, which didn't work either. By then, I'd had it. I told him I wouldn't do anything else to hurt you, but he insisted, telling me that only a few minutes before he came back, he held Michael in his arms, dead." Tears welled up in her eyes and a quick glance at Max showed that he was feeling the same.
"So," she continued. "I tried one last thing. I knew you were going to come to my balcony the night of Gomez, so I went to Kyle."
Suddenly Max understood. "And you slept with him, knowing that I would see," he stated flatly, trying desperately not to let his emotions show.
"No, Max!" she shook her head vehemently. "No, that's not it at all. I asked Kyle for a favour – friend to friend – I didn't sleep with him, Max. We set it up to look like I had, so that you would hate me."
"You didn't…" Max couldn't form the words. A look of wonder spread across his face. "You didn't sleep with Kyle?"
"No," she admitted softly. "And it broke my heart to know that I had caused you so much pain. But I couldn't tell you the truth. The fate of the world depended on it."
Max couldn't do anything but nod and take it in. What else could he say right now? She'd finally told him the truth about what happened with Kyle. Perhaps now his nightmares would stop.
Wait a minute. Last night, his nightmare had been different. Could that mean something?
"Max?" Liz bit her lip anxiously as she queried his lack of response.
"The last couple of weeks, I've been having these dreams, well nightmares really, of you and Kyle being together."
"Oh, Max, I'm so sorry – "
"No, that's not what I meant," he stopped her. "Every night they were the same: I would relive the night when I saw you two; but last night, something was different. At first, I saw you and Kyle through the window, but then the scene changed and it was you and I in this bed. I saw us talking, dressed in the same clothes we were wearing that day and then we made love. Maybe it means something," he looked up at her, hopefully.
She sighed, "Max, I didn't tell you the reason that Max came back to that particular time and why I had to change the future then. The truth is that the first time around I still refused to go to the Gomez concert with you, but you wouldn't take no for an answer and the night of the concert, you came to my room to persuade me to go. That was the night we made love for the first time."
Max couldn't describe how he felt to hear those words spill from her mouth. Instinctively, he reached for her hands, gently clasping them in his, "We made love?"
She nodded, suddenly choked up. "We were inseparable after that. We got married a couple of years later and from what I've heard, we were pretty happy for those fourteen years."
Max saw the tears in her eyes, threatening to fall and he reached up caress her cheek with his hand.
Unable to prevent his next words, he spoke, "I want that with you. I want to be married to you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Liz, I still love you."
A lone tear slipped down Liz's cheek as she replied, "I still love you too, Max. But I can't be with you if it means the end of the world again."
He shook his head; his own tears beginning to fall. "I don't care," he declared. "I can't imagine living my life without you in it. We can be together and still prevent Tess from leaving; I know we can. And now that we know about possible dangers in the future, we can prepare for them."
"Max," Liz started, searching his eyes with her gaze, "you don't know how much I wish that could be true, but – "
He stopped her with a finger to her lips, "No; no buts, Liz. It can be true. Together, we can do anything. Please…"
Her eyes softened, taking in his pleading, vulnerable expression and she nodded, an almost imperceptible motion.
Max let out the breath he was holding, a smile breaking out on his face. Without further hesitation, he leaned in, brushing his lips against hers. Liz let out a small involuntary moan, relishing in the taste of him again and wound one arm around his neck, pulling him to her. Her other hand released his and slowly crept up his torso, coming to rest over his heart. Max deepened the kiss, his tongue tracing her bottom lip before quickly plunging inside her mouth.
They drank each other in, trying to make up for lost time. Desperate kisses were placed on every inch of bare skin they could find and they shifted on the bed as Max lowered her to the mattress, savouring every kiss and caress, committing each one to memory.
In a haze of passion, Liz began to inch her hands under the hem of Max's shirt, her hands gently caressing the bare skin on his lower back. Max continued to place kisses over her face, gradually making his way down to her neck. Liz let out a gasp when his lips grazed a sensitive spot behind her ear and in an unrestrained motion; she arched her back, pressing her chest to his.
"Liz…" Max mumbled against her skin. "Oh god, Liz…"
"Liz? Lizzie? Where are you?" The sound of her father's voice from the other side of the apartment startled them.
"It's your father," Max hissed and hurried to scramble off the bed, pulling Liz with him.
"I'm jut getting changed, Dad. I'll be down in a minute." Liz called hastily, glancing between the door and Max. Then she sighed reluctantly," You'd better go, I'm late for my shift and my Dad will have come up here to find me." As Max's crestfallen expression, she added, "But can we continue this later?"
Max's frown vanished immediately and his face broke into a grin. "Sure. How about you come round to mine tonight? My parents will be out doing Christmas things, so we'll have the house to ourselves."
"Okay," Liz bit her lip as she smiled shyly at him. "I'll see you later." She leaned up for a kiss, grinning when Max complied. "I love you," she whispered as they parted.
"I love you too," he replied as he moved towards the window, holding onto her hand until the last possible moment. "I'd better leave through the window; I don't want your dad to know I've been up here with you." He flashed her one last grin before climbing out onto the balcony. Liz watched with a dreamy smile as he descended down the ladder.
Suddenly she couldn't wait for Christmas.
Epilogue to follow...