I don't own Roswell or any of its franchise – although I really wish I did. But Christmas is coming up so fingers crossed, right?
A/N *steps forward hesitantly* Is anyone even still reading this? After a frantic time with a move across country, illness, finding a new job and writer's block, I finally felt a little bit of inspiration and decided to write at least one chapter before the year ends. I warn you that it might disappoint you a little as it's a bit all over the place, but I've been struggling to finish it for over three months now so it is what it is… Enjoy!
Unbetaed Chapter. I'd appreciate a heads up if you find any glaring mistakes so I can correct them, please.
Last Time on TATT: Nasedo's plan to stop Larry and Jen is thwarted by the trio and Tess. Max teaches him who's in charge and Tess is caught in the crossfire. Max uses all his strength to save her and passes out. They head to Tess' house to recuperate. Kyle calls to warn them that the other humans are on their way and aren't exactly in the best of moods…
CHAPTER TWENTYONE
Liz's POV
Liz stood behind a severely agitated Maria DeLuca, as she hammered on the wooden door to Tess' house with enough power to make the house shake in its foundations. While Maria tended to get more and more vocal in her rage, and Alex was more of a surprising verbal kind of guy, Liz went mute. Her ability to speak was already extremely diminished as she waited impatiently for someone to open the goddamned door before she kicked it in!
Finally, Michael's form appeared in the doorway and Liz didn't even give Maria a chance to lay into her boyfriend before pushing the bigger male roughly out of the way and all but running into the Harding residence in search of her own sort of boyfriend.
" Max?" Liz asked Isabel, who'd just appeared on the staircase. Apparently, the beautiful hybrid seemed to recognize the state of mind that Liz was currently in, because she simply pointed behind her up the stairs.
"He's sleeping right now; he's been through a lot."
"I know that," Liz replied, walking by Isabel as calmly as she could manage, while her entire being itched to be close to its bonded counterpart. "I just don't know what he's been through 'cause neither of you have told us anything!"
Before Isabel could reply or even attempt some unwanted soothing, Liz reached the door where she could feel through the bond that Max was sleeping in a near comatose state. Slowly opening the door, Liz held her breath, fearing what she was about to see.
In the next second, she let out a shocked gasp, and nearly stumbled in her eagerness to get to his bedside. Whatever it was that she's expected, this wasn't it. It was far worse.
It was obvious that he'd been through hell and back since she'd last seen him. His face was an unflattering shade of pale that made him seem as though he'd been deathly ill recently. A bowl of water stood on the nightstand and its reddish color told the always noticing Liz that Isabel had probably been up here cleaning blood off of him. She immediately began searching him for wounds, a part of her still female enough to appreciate the muscled chest that her removing the blanket revealed.
To her immense relief, there didn't' seem to be any injuries, and so, Liz sat down, feeling a bit calmer now. She was unconsciously running her hand over Max's ruffled hair as she mentally reviewed what she'd been through these last few days.
The amount of emotions that had run through her in the past few days alone had left Liz more than a little emotionally drained, making her feel fragile and unsure in a way that she'd never before experienced. The always changing flashes of abrupt pain, anger, hate, guilt and even fear had kept the young brunette up at night, leaving her with an eerie restlessness that not even her usual night sky gazing could suppress or soothe.
"What's been going on with you lately, Max?" Liz asked softly, caressing his soft dark hair gently as though her very touch could be painful to him.
"He saved my life today," Tess' voice suddenly sounded from the doorway and Liz moved her head in the direction of her newest friend so fast, that her neck gave an audible crack of complaint.
"Oh?" Liz's eyes took in the sight of the curly haired blonde in silence. It was obvious that Tess had also been through a lot since they'd last seen each other. The soft skin under her eyes was darkened with exhaustion and her clothes were rumbled and dirty. Nothing like the usual impeccable girl she used to be.
"Shouldn't you be in bed or something?" Liz reluctantly stopped touching Max's still unresponsive face and stood up. "You look beat."
Tess sent her a small smile, "Well; even if I needed to go back to sleep, it's not like I could with that ruckus going on downstairs."
A tell tale crash of something – probably porcelain – sounded in that very moment, alongside with Maria's screeching and both girls shared a knowing look; not even needing to see it to know that their tenacious friend was letting all her frustrations out in the best way she knew how.
"Come, sit," Liz looked around and spotted a small chair by the other end of the room, gesturing for Tess to take a seat. "At least sit down and tell me all about what happened. It doesn't seem like I'll get any answers out of Max just yet, and I already know that the other two won't tell me anything unless he gives his permission. I'm telling you, it's like he's their freaking leader or something; it's very annoying."
Liz pretended not to notice the guilty start in Tess when she said the stuff about Max, apparently she was more right than she realized, but she settled down next to Max's side again and patiently waited for the hybrid girl to start talking.
0o0o0
A little while later, Liz emerged from Max's temporary bedroom and walked downstairs to prevent her best friend from outright killing Michael.
The sight of Isabel standing silently in front of a obviously upset, but still gently scolding Alex and Michael holding up a wooden tray as a shield against whatever new object Maria found to throw at him while she berated him for his thoughtlessness, was enough to almost put a small smile on Liz's lips, but she shook off the temptation and told everyone to just stop talking.
Maria froze with a hand raised, clutching an already broken vase at the hollow tone that even Liz could hear in her own voice.
"Liz, are you okay?" Maria seemed to put aside her animosity towards Michael momentarily and turned to fully face her. "You need anything to drink? How's Max? Did he tell you anything? This one," she nodded with her chin at Michael, who'd hesitantly put down the tray, "won't say anything other than it was an emergency. It's not like that's any decent excuse for scaring us to pieces!"
At the last word, Maria threw the vase again and only Michael's lightning quick reflexes saved him from getting the porcelain right in the face.
"Maria, just stop," Liz muttered, rubbing her chest, feeling a slight burn of emptiness that was peculiar after seemingly so long periods of time filled with changing feelings. "I really can't deal with anything more right now."
"Are you okay, Liz?" Alex asked, turning away from Isabel to look at her with concern in his eyes.
"Yeah; I'm just…" Liz sighed, not finishing her sentence. Instead, she looked over at Maria. "Look, I'm gonna head home for a little while and I'd appreciate a ride. Or, if you'd rather keep throwing things like a toddler in a tantrum, I'll just walk. See you guys later," she added as she turned to leave.
"Liz…" Surprisingly, it was Michael that halted her movement and she looked at him over her shoulder. "We...It's not that we don't want you to know stuff."
"I know," Liz replied, and then decided to be a little evil as she continued on her way out of the door, "but I don't need you to tell me what happened. Tess told me everything."
A tiny part of Liz reveled in the shocked faces of the two teenage aliens, while the rest of her just couldn't muster up anything other than sadness. The past few days had exhausted her emotionally; whatever it was that had transpired before Max and the others went after Nasedo, it had been something extremely disturbing filled with bursts of anguish, anger, regret and even desperation.
She managed to put her pettiness behind her; at least a little bit and just continued walking slowly outside. Before she'd taken too many steps down the road, Liz heard Maria follow her and she stopped walking and waited for her best friend to catch up with her. A minute later, the red Jetta pulled up next to her and the passenger seat opened.
"I'm so gonna need to know everything you know," Maria's voice drifted out to Liz.
"It's not exactly a great story," Liz warned, "in fact; it just might make you even more emotional."
"I don't care; I'm sick and tired of just knowing half of things. And besides, I promised Michael I wouldn't go digging into their mysterious…well, mysteriousness; but you never did, so I really want to know."
"Fine," exclaimed Liz and got into the car. She'd just put on her seat belt when the door to the backseat opened and Alex got inside the vehicle as well. She couldn't quite stop herself from gawking at her other best friend and judging from the quick glance she shot Maria, the other girl was looking equally as dumbstruck.
"Hey, I'm just as curious as you two," Alex muttered, looking earnest. "And I'm not gonna stay out on the sidelines while you two run around snooping. We're a team, right?"
Liz smiled sadly, but she couldn't deny that she felt a little bit gratified and sincerely happy that despite her and her friends' obvious feelings for the otherworldly teens; they were still willing to be the group of best friends they'd always been.
"Yeah, Alex that's right." Liz nodded and then quickly told them all about the debacle with Nasedo that had nearly cost not only Tess her life, but all the others as well apparently.
Michael's POV
"Maria, stop! It's insane. You can't go out there, we've already lost too much today!" Michael's voice was raw with barely repressed emotions; Max's grief filled whimpers still echoed inside of his weary mind even after he'd fallen into a horrifying silence.
Maria's once so vibrant eyes met his and she didn't blink as her hands kept fixing some of the weapons that they'd gotten together over the years. "I don't care. Those bastards killed my best friend, Michael. The last thing I said to her was that she was an idiot for risking her life like that; I didn't…" Maria faltered and wiped away a rare tear that had sneaked down her cheek during her words. "I just have to live with being too scared to help her save Max, but I won't live with those horrid people rejoicing right in front of us. I can't!"
Michael knew he sounded too weak; that his evident lack of belief in their overall victory would do nothing for the few survivors left; but like his wife, he just didn't care anymore. "Please…I can't lose you too. You're the only thing keeping me sane. You mean the world to me."
For a split second, Maria's deadened eyes softened a fraction and Michael almost dared to hope, but then her gaze wandered past him and landed on the form of a badly injured Max, cradling Liz's dead body in his still bleeding arms and he knew he'd lost her.
"I'm sorry Michael; but I promise you can tell me what an ass I am when I get back."
Michael shook his head determinedly, "You're not going out there without back up; without me."
"You're all wounded or too exhausted to be of any use to me," Maria objected, but Michael refused to listen to her logic and stood back up from where he'd fallen once they'd heard Max's roar of disbelief when Liz had passed away so little time ago.
"I'm going and you're not stopping me," he stated instead.
Maria sighed and held out her scarred hand to him, "Fine, but first let me take a look at that gash on your forehead; it's gotta be pretty painful by now."
Michael wasn't expecting what she did next; he'd already begun compiling mental checklists of what to bring out to the field himself, but then he felt Maria's soft chapped lips graze his cheek and heard her whisper, "I love you too much to take you with me. I'll kill a few for you too, Spaceboy," before he was forced into staring at Maria's powerful eyes that immediately sent him into an oblivious darkness…
Michael woke up with a jolt; the memory of the last time he'd seen Maria before her death in the original time line catapulted him into instant alertness. His eyes scanned his surroundings like the professional soldier that he still was on the inside and forced himself to take deep, calming breaths even as the information from his quick assessment filtered through his brain.
It was early yet; the sun had just risen and the unfamiliar setting proved to be Tess' place and once, a few moments later, Michael realized that the only real danger around him was giving himself an ulcer he managed to get himself back together.
"I hate those stupid memories," he grumbled, as he got up from the pullout couch that he'd fallen into with a groan of exhaustion the night before. A realistic part of him knew that these last few days that had been full of adrenaline and fear had more than likely been the catalyst for his dream.
And having Maria mad at me always seems to be the ultimate trigger, Michael thought as he went to take a quick look at Max before grabbing a much needed shower. Max was still sleeping off the bone deep fatigue he'd gotten himself into and Michael decided that that was a good thing, considering how much he'd been through both with Hubble and with Nasedo as well.
Once he'd transformed his dirty clothes with his powers, Michael went in search of something to eat. His stomach was making sounds that clearly stated that it didn't even have to taste good, as long as it was edible, he'd be content.
When Michael reached the kitchen a few moments later, he stopped abruptly at the sight of a still slightly weary looking Tess, who was rummaging through the fridge while humming to herself. A quick look at his surroundings told Michael that she was about to cook some kind of breakfast.
Taking a long breath and preparing himself mentally to lose the last bit of negativity towards the woman he'd hated for over a decade, Michael walked over to the counter next to the fridge and grabbed the box of eggs sitting there.
"What kind of eggs do you like?" he asked brusquely, ignoring the jolt his appearance sent through the female hybrid.
What he couldn't quite ignore was the brief look of suspicion and hope that flashed through Tess' eyes and Michael ran a hand through his hair, feeling guilty and defensive all at the same time. Damn, it's like her innocence pierces through me even more after yesterday. She really wants to be a part of us and Maria and Liz were right; she deserves better…Time to man up, Guerin.
Michael finished his internal pep talk and shrugged when Tess still didn't react. "Look, I'm starving and I make a mean breakfast so…again, how do you want your eggs, Tess?"
"That's the first time you've ever said my name and looked me in the eye at the same time." Tess pointed out quietly, and again, Michael could easily spot how his – and his fellow time travelers – behavior had affected her, but then she surprised him by beaming for one small second.
"But I hope it's not the last. Anyway, I like scrambled eggs with Ta-"
"Tabasco sauce, right?" Michael interrupted with a genuine smile. We aliens really do love our hot sauce.
"Yeah," said Tess, looking happy that he shared her taste, "and I also add this tiny dash of vanilla powder; it really gives it a kick like you wouldn't believe."
"Really?" The thought intrigued the always hungry former cook, who immediately went to work. And simultaneously chatting, if not entirely amiably then at least with a new level of comfortableness that relaxed them both and reminded Michael of a time where Tess had been his teacher and friend; something he'd all but forgotten up until now.
0o0o0
Michael stalled for as long as he could, but eventually he had to go wake up Max for school. They couldn't afford to act out of the ordinary and Max Evans was rarely, if ever, absent from school.
"See, that's why it's fun to be me right now," Michael joked, watching with eyes like a hawk how Max more or less staggered out of Tess' house with a hovering Isabel next to him, ready to lend a hand if need be. "I've always been unpredictable when it comes to my schooling so the teachers will only be concerned if I actually show up too many times in a row."
Max sent him a look that clearly told him to keep his mouth shut and Michael grinned; feeling oddly happy now that the tension of the last few days was finally ebbing away. Max was alive and getting better by the second. Tess wasn't a part of the huge conspiracy with Khivar this time around and Nasedo was gone – hopefully for good.
Excepting Maria's annoyance with him, things were great. Now all we have to worry about are Topolsky, Pierce, the Dupes, the Skins and the healing of our old friends before their illness gets them killed…Michael thought, suddenly feeling his earlier tension return little by little at the thought of just how much they still needed to get through before they could live normal lives.
In the next second, Michael shut those frustrating thoughts out of his mind because Isabel had just pulled into the school's parking lot and Kyle stood by his own car, waiting patiently for them. It was obvious to the trained eye that the once dead man turned teenager was dying to know the details of what had transpired over the last twenty four hours.
Michael grimaced once he noticed the shocked expression Kyle's face gained once his eyes landed on Max, because in his experience, no one, not even Isabel was as big of a mother hen as Kyle Valenti…
And I bet it doesn't help his mood that Tess is pulling into the parking space next to us with a big grin on her face, Michael thought with a soundless, but heartfelt sigh as he tried helping Max out of the Jeep without letting the prouder male know that that was what he was doing.
"Come on, Maxwell; Kyle seems to want to chat. Tess, would you mind trying to see if you can calm Maria and the others down a bit when you go see them? It seems like you're the only one they're not pissed at right now."
The curly haired blonde smiled, visibly happy to be asked to lend a hand. "Sure; I'll do my best, Michael."
Michael watched her leave, momentarily ignoring Max's hoarse whispered question to Isabel of why their loved ones were apparently extremely angry, thinking about how much might have been avoided in the other timeline if only they'd taken a moment to really get to know Tess Harding.
And also, Michael smirked briefly, before turning back to the present and a fast approaching Kyle, whose look of patience had evaporated the second Tess' presence had become an issue, I could've gotten that awesome scrambled eggs recipe a lot earlier. Truly a lot of wasted years there.
Max's POV
"…really need to take something more to eat than that pathetic excuse of a sandwich," Kyle's reproving voice washed over Max as he sat, trying not to let his exhaustion show too much during the lunch break.
Even after sleeping for so long, and so deeply that no dreams or haunted memories even made an appearance for once, Max felt truly drained. Realistically he knew he'd had a real close call this time, but as his eyes trailed over the table in the other end of the quad, where Tess sat smiling with Liz, Maria and Alex, Max didn't regret a thing.
This time around, Tess would be a great ally and after what had transpired between them, Max had no doubt that her loyalty for the Royal Four had cemented itself completely.
Now all we have to worry about is everything else, Max sighed and took a bite of the soggy chicken sandwich in his hands, pleasing Kyle who finally turned away to stare covertly at Isabel, who was gazing longingly over at Alex.
Out of the corner of his eye, Max caught the sight of a familiar flash of blonde, and barely managed to keep in a groan of frustration. I completely forgot about her, he thought, his eyes following Kathleen Topolsky's form as she walked quietly through the quad.
"I gotta take care of that," Max murmured, nodding discreetly in the F.B.I. agent's direction. Kyle, Isabel and Michael all turned to look at him with varying degrees of worry clear on their faces.
"We can wait for a few days," said Isabel. "Tess told me what kind things Nasedo did to her place and office to keep her from running back to Pierce."
"Yeah," Michael took over, almost as if they'd rehearsed the conversation beforehand, "according to Tess, Nasedo had her so freaked out that she doesn't even dare breathe out of order so we can afford to take a brief break; recharge and stuff."
Kyle rolled his eyes, "Oh sure, if Tess says so, it must be true. Why don't we just let things be until she figures out her nemesis is gone and begins to contact her boss so he can come and kill all of you in your sleep."
"You're being a bit overdramatic there, Buddy," Michael said, when it was clear that Max wasn't going to interfere with his point of view. "I know there's history there when it comes to Tess, but you gotta understand that that girl isn't the one we knew. In fact she's-"
Kyle held up a hand, looking extremely annoyed, even a little bit betrayed, "If you say she's a great girl, Guerin, I'm going to have to hurt you."
"Stop," Max ordered when Michael and Isabel took in breaths to continue what would more than likely have turned into a massive discussion that would've drawn the wrong kind of attention to them all.
Max turned his eyes on Kyle, who didn't seem to like the look in his eyes and quickly averted his own down to the table, as if he was a small child being reprimanded by a parent. "I promised Tess we'd include her. She's not the one we all knew and if I can see that, you have to at least try to do the same. We came here to make things better and save a lot of lives, so please try and focus on that instead of events that won't happen here."
Max took a deep breath and then looked over at his fellow hybrids, who were watching him intensely, automatically allowing his words to wash over them like they'd done so many times before when their lives had been at stake, "I'm going to talk to Kathleen and see if she's willing to forgive and forget. We could use someone on the inside of Pierce's people; especially now that Nasedo is in L.A with Cal and won't be infiltrating them as originally planned. We need that Unit closed down and ridiculed so it won't gain any more power. I'll debrief you all later."
And with that, Max slowly got up, unconsciously pulling out some of the strength he'd used when going in to battle in the past, forcing his fatigue away as if it'd never even been an issue. He was vaguely aware that his fellow students were eying him with a mixture of confusion and awe, but he didn't care about any of it and just quickly followed in Kathleen's footsteps until he reached her small office and knocked on her door.
He entered when he heard her giving permission and couldn't keep his surprise completely out of his face once he got the first real look of the agent in days. She looked haunted; there wasn't any better word for it.
I wish Tess could tell me what exactly Nasedo has put Kathleen through while we've been busy, Max pondered, feeling a refueled desire to go after the older alien and force him to spill everything, so he could somehow help the pale looking woman in front of him – and keep her from spilling everything to Pierce when she gets the first opportunity. Max added a little cynically to himself, the realistic part of him not foolish or naïve enough to believe she wouldn't try such a thing if she didn't trust them.
In the next second, Max felt like an idiot, because he suddenly remembered the memories that had been dropped over to him from Nasedo just the day before and tried to pull them to the forefront of his mind to go over them in search of any kind of answers.
Kathleen's emotionless voice brought Max back to the present with a small start. "What can I do for you, Max?"
"Do you want to be free?"
The question startled the blonde woman and she had a short moment where she looked like a fish out of water, but then she got her expression under control and Max deemed it safe to continue.
"I've sent Nasedo away for now. He won't be in charge of you any longer and frankly, the way you've been treated disgusts me. I also know that I can't let you go when you know so much about me and mine."
Kathleen swallowed at his words, soundlessly showing her agreement to his words and Max kept on talking, "I'm not a bad person. None of us are out to conquer the earth and make humanity our slaves. In fact, I'm half human and what I know of my original home isn't something that I'm proud of. I consider myself human and all I want to do is to live a normal life with the people I love. If you tell Pierce about us, he's going to torture us all individually; even our human friends aren't safe from that. When he's done, he's either going to kill us or put us in an underground bunker where scientist can prod us until we grow old and die."
It was clear that the fact that Max spoke so calmly about what was in store for him, was something Kathleen didn't like and she broke eye contact to look down at her folded hands instead.
"I…" she started hesitantly before looking back up with sincerity shining in her eyes, "I'm not a fan of Pierce's methods, Max. I joined his crew because he made it sound like a matter of life and death; survival of the species if you will. I know everything about him and even if I give you my word to never reveal anything I've discovered, I don't doubt for a second that he's going to come at you some other way. He's a dangerous man, Max."
Max smiled and sat down gingerly at the nearest chair; unable to contain his exhaustion anymore. "Yeah, well; so am I…"
"I owe you my life," Kathleen spoke softly, looking genuinely thankful despite her time as a prisoner at Nasedo's hands. "I know that most of what I thought about this entire mission is wrong. But I don't want to betray my country either. The people have a right to know, because if you're here; what's next? Who's next? And also," Kathleen's lip twisted into a rueful smile, "I'm scared he'll kill me if I don't report back to him as soon as I can."
"I understand that," and Max truly did. He would probably have done the same thing if he'd been in her shoes, but still; he had his family to protect so he wasn't going to just let the agent go…but he really didn't want to kill her either. I've had enough of killing for now, Max thought, ignoring the flash of Hubble's unseeing eyes as he lay dead on the ground.
"So where do we go from here?" Kathleen's voice hitched a little bit; her fear of his decision unable to be held entirely at bay.
An unexpected solution suddenly struck Max with a clarity that he hadn't experienced in a while. The memory of the last time he'd gotten the same idea fluttered through his mind and made him smile gently.
"I've never tried this before, but maybe I can make the connection go the other way, so you can see, you know that…that I'm still me."
"I have a suggestion that could prove the answer to everything." Max explained further, when he saw that Kathleen looked relieved rather than suspicious – evidently, he'd managed to get her to trust him even if just a tiny bit. "I have this ability to get inside people's heads and see their memories and the way they're feeling and stuff. It's kind of difficult to explain, but I can sort of compare it to the thing that Spock does in Star Trek."
Kathleen's lips twitched into a real smile at the joke, and nodded for him to continue. "I can turn the connection around so that you can see a part of me; see for real that underneath it all, I'm just an ordinary kid." An ordinary kid who's lived about three times, killed and tortured and travelled through time and space to save everyone he cares about, Max's sardonic inner voice pointed out, but Max ignored it with an ease that came with a lot of practice.
To his immense relief, Kathleen didn't look put off by his idea; in fact she looked interested. "And this will help me in deciding whether or not I will remain loyal to you of my own free will?"
Max nodded.
"And if I still want to go to Pierce, what then?"
Max just stared at her, consciously letting his soldier mask fall into place on his face. Kathleen flinched and Max hurried to say, with as much heartfelt regret as he could manage in just a few words, "I have to protect those I love. And if you want me to, I'll protect you as intensely as them."
"Are you going to kill me, Max?" Kathleen's own professional mask slid into place, and Max's respect for the operative gained a few inches. She really is a very brave woman, he thought sadly.
"Honestly, I don't know," Max answered, deciding to speak the truth. "Tess has this gift to make people believe things that aren't real; make them forget…"
Kathleen paled an unseemly shade of beige, leaving her with an unbecoming green tint and Max allowed the guilt to pierce through his chest. He really didn't like ultimatums; it made him feel like he was a bit too much like Nasedo.
"So…I'd forget my family and everything?"
"You'd be a totally new person." Max replied.
There was a long silence that grew in tension with every soft click of the clock on the wall behind Kathleen. Finally, the F.B.I. agent sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly.
"Well, I guess it beats being dead, which is what'll happen if Pierce no longer has any use of me and I know I'd already have died if it wasn't for you and your friends…So; this mind meld thing you're talking about, how does that work exactly? Does it hurt?"
Max shook his head and carefully got back to his feet to walk the last few steps over to Kathleen, who was sitting behind her cluttered desk. "No; but I have to touch you and have eye contact for it to work properly though."
Kathleen nodded and gestured for him to come closer; "Fine, for what it's worth, I really hope this gives me a clear idea of what to do."
"Yeah," Max smiled, reaching out and placing his hands on the blonde's cheeks; reminding him again of the first time he'd done this with Liz so very long ago, "me too, Kathleen. Me too."
Liz's POV
It had now been three days since Liz had stormed out of Tess' house; she hadn't spoken to any of the hybrids since then, except for Tess of course.
It was quite funny really that Tess, who'd only lived in Roswell for a short time had already implemented herself as one of Liz's closest friends. Whereas before it had always been Liz, Maria and Alex; Tess was now a full part of their little tight knit group of friends.
But aside from her, Liz had completely avoided the rest of them; even going so far as making her dad change her shift at the Crash so she didn't have to work with Isabel.
She told herself that she wasn't being childish, that she was just giving them all the space for their obvious secrets that they evidently craved so much, but even Liz's internal lies had a hollow tint to them. The truth was she was extremely tempted to go up to Max a few days before when he'd sat with his sister, Michael and Kyle in the quad eating lunch.
He'd still looked ill there was no better word for it and then he'd walked away without even looking at her, something that had sent a spike of annoyance and sadness through her. And today at school, he'd spent most of the time in the guidance counselor's office along with Michael and Isabel, so she hadn't seen him much and what frightened her a little, even though she barely acknowledged the feeling to herself, was the fact that their connection; their bond was almost silent.
Liz hadn't felt anything substantial from his end since before he'd fallen unconscious after saving Tess' life. And Liz was beginning to feel forgotten and she hated that. Especially since she was still maintaining her silence towards the trio of hybrids, so Max really should have come to her now to explain things or at least tell her that he was okay.
Well, enough is enough; Liz thought as she walked up to her room after her after school shift. She quickly showered to get that fried food smell off of her and changed into her favorite pajamas. I want to talk to him about everything before there's too much distance between us…I want him to trust me enough to let me in on all of his secrets.
Liz smiled a little at the thought, that her almost boyfriend's smallest secret was that he was an alien. Some would probably say that was the biggest one to have, but Liz knew differently. When she'd told Maria a little about her theory of the trio's secrets, the short haired blonde had vehemently agreed, saying something about managing to get Michael to confess at least that much.
She'd thought over her options in regards to get Max alone long enough to talk, and had originally decided to try and send true terror through the bond to catch his attention, knowing him well enough by now to know that he'd drop whatever it was he was doing and come running to her supposed rescue.
Since it was a pretty evil thing to do to someone, Liz had quickly pushed the idea away and tried to come up with something less unethical. Finally, just as she'd spotted Isabel come in for her evening shift, Liz realized that she needed to go simple with this and stop overcomplicating things so much and just go seek him out at home.
Liz finished brushing her hair and sat on the edge of her bed, trying to figure out when would be the best time to visit Max. She glanced at her watch, feeling too restless to do much of anything. In the end, Liz pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a sweater from her dresser, changed back out of her pajamas and wrote a quick note about going for a walk so that her mom wouldn't worry if she poked her head in to check on her later in the evening and found her missing.
A few minutes later, Liz had scaled down the fire escape from her terrace with a practiced ease and was making her way to Max's house to clear the air for once and for all.
About twenty minutes later, Liz reached her destination, rang the doorbell and hit her first roadblock. What do I say if his parents open the door? It's too late for a study session and it'll be too lame an excuse to say I forgot to give him some notes when I'll see him tomorrow in school anyway…
Liz was so absorbed in her worrying that she barely noticed the door being opened and it was only the jolt of pure surprise that flashed through her bond that told her that it was indeed Max who'd opened the door.
"Max! Hi!" Cringing in embarrassment at her loud greeting, Liz looked down at the ground.
"Liz…" the confused surprise in Max's tone was obvious, "what's wrong? Did something happen? Is someone hurt?"
Liz quickly looked up at the sound of growing fear in Max's voice and stepped closer, holding out a hand to pacify him from panicking. "No, nothing's wrong. Don't jump to conclusions, okay Max. I wouldn't show up without calling you if something like that had happened, I promise."
"Oh." Rarely speaking Max seemed to be making a rapid comeback and Liz refrained from rolling her eyes and just sent him a glowing smile that she didn't have to see to know looked fake.
"Anyway, I was out walking and wanted to know if you'd come walk with me? We could talk or something…"
Max was going to refuse; Liz just knew it and was preparing some kind of Plan B, when Max's mother suddenly appeared behind him, smiling widely at her. "He'd just love to; isn't that right, Max?"
Before long, Max was standing next to Liz out on the doorstep, looking a little bit baffled as to exactly how that had happened, while Liz was just happy that most mothers turned into wanna be matchmakers once their kids reached a certain age.
They started walking down the quiet street; the night's darkness only broken by a few lampposts every few feet. Liz kept running through ways to start the conversation, but fell short every time she looked up at Max's blank face.
Finally, Liz had had enough and increased her speed enough to get a little ahead of Max and turned around, stopping him abruptly in his tracks. "Look we need to talk, Max."
"Okay."
"I mean, I know you're probably gonna be against it and- wait, what?" Liz frowned in confusion, it seemed a little too easy to her.
Max shrugged and gestured over at a nearby bench so they could sit down and be comfortable. Once seated next to each other, he straightened up and looked Liz right in the eye. "I owe you an apology."
He continued before Liz could even fully comprehend what he was saying, "I know that I didn't do the best job in making sure that you didn't feel what was going on this last week and I'm sorry if I scared you. We all are."
"I know, but…" Liz trailed off, staring at a piece of gum stuck on the barely visible pavement, not really knowing how to continue now that she'd gotten so far. Max's warm fingers took a gentle hold of her chin and lifted it upwards so he could look her in the eyes.
"I get that you hate that you don't know everything, but please just trust me on this; it would ruin everything if I told you. I want you to enjoy your life and be happy."
What can be so horrible that you don't want to share it with me, Max? Liz wondered silently suddenly desperate for that eerie look in his dark brown eyes to disappear.
"How can I be happy, knowing that you're not?" The soft spoken question escaped her lips without her consent, but once it was out, Liz couldn't make herself take it back. Instead, she just observed every little miniscule movement around Max's eyes that told her clearly that he hadn't expected her to say something like that.
After a beat of concentrated silence, Max closed his eyes for a second and Liz worried that she'd upset him, but then he reopened his eyes and the fire that burned in them roared right through Liz's entire being, scorching her and warming her in places she hadn't even known to be cold.
"Oh Liz," Max's voice was like liquid velvet and his hand on her chin moved to her cheek, caressing the shell of her lower ear in the process. "But I am happy, don't you see that? Every morning I wake up and feel you through the bond, I smile with true bliss. And knowing I'm here with you right now, secrets be damned, that's all I need. I love you more than anything in the world."
Max froze as soon as the declaration left his mouth and Liz felt a quick stab of adrenaline fueled fear rush through their connection before it was squashed ruthlessly from his end. Obviously he didn't mean to say it, Liz realized somberly, even as small dabs of giddiness ran through her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Max removed his hand and now he was the one to look away, staring just as entranced at the same piece of gum that Liz had found so fascinating only moments earlier.
All of a sudden it seemed as though all of Liz's previous thoughts and feelings towards Max's secrets didn't matter anymore; all she wanted was to get him to look at her again. Liz acted before her rational self could charge in and overpower her senses, placing her hands on Max's cheeks and turning his head toward her.
"Liz, what-?" Max sounded so adorably bewildered that Liz nearly laughed, but instead, she just leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a gentle and caring kiss that was very different from the fiery one they'd shared in the cave when they'd reopened their bond.
Liz only allowed herself a brief, chaste kiss before pulling back to stare deeply into Max's widened eyes. Before he could regain his control of the situation, Liz shook his head carefully and said the words she'd longed to say for quite some time.
"I love you too."
The smile that broke out on Max's usually so emotionless face was almost painfully beautiful in Liz's opinion. His eyes lit up with the same fire from before, but this time it was like an eruption from a volcano. His almost childlike joy and overpowering love flowed unchecked into Liz from his side of the bond, bathing her in warmth from the inside out.
It was as if something had been missing and only now found again and Liz couldn't stop herself from matching his emotions with her own.
"Say it again," Max's voice sounded almost begging in his request and Liz couldn't deny him even if she wanted to and she really didn't want to.
"I love you, Max Evans. I love you." Liz didn't get a chance to say anything else, because before she could take another breath, Max had slanted his lips over hers in a breathtaking kiss that very nearly erased every thought from her mind.
As long as we love each other, we'll get through whatever it is that's hurting him so much, Liz thought dazedly and twined her fingers into Max's thick dark hair and when he returned the gesture, wrapping his muscled arms fully around her, Liz didn't think about anything else for a long time. She just hoped that everyone was feeling as wonderful as she was at that point in time.
Kathleen's POV:
"So, Agent Topolsky," the voice was saccharine sweet and full of an underlying coldness that had sent braver people than her running for their lives, "let's see if I got this right, shall we?"
The tall, dark shadow came a little bit closer to the strapped down form of Kathleen, who didn't have to see the man speaking to recognize him as Special Agent Pierce.
"You want me to believe that your disappearing act from your mission was due to the fact that the kids discovered your identity? And then they just let you go? They're vile animals so I sincerely doubt that they have any capacity for mercy."
They have more than you, Kathleen thought exhaustedly, wisely remaining silent. The throbbing pain from the 'session' she'd just endured was enough to keep her on her toes. It would be extremely stupid if she was killed now that she'd gotten so far.
Special Agent Pierce's voice sounded again, bringing the aching blonde back to the present with a bit of difficulty, "I want you to tell me everything."
"I can't tell you anything else than that. They let me go," Kathleen rasped out with a struggle when it became clear that he expected some kind of verbal response.
Suddenly, Pierce's face was right in front of hers, and Kathleen would've flinched backwards if she hadn't been unable to move. The smile on his admittedly handsome face scared Kathleen more than the real torture she knew she was still in for did.
"We'll see about that," his voice still full of fake sweetness, "I will break you and if you can be used after that I will build you back up. You have let me down, Agent Topolsky and I don't like being disappointed. Trust me on this; I will know everything you do before I decide what to do with you."
Kathleen swallowed harshly, her fear sending shivers down her spine. The memory of Max's reassuring voice the last time they'd spoken went through her mind and she focused on that instead of the team of lab coat wearing people that began filtering back in to the small white room she was being kept in.
"Once the pain starts, Kathleen; close your eyes and think of what you're fighting for; it may not be a perfect cure, but it will help you. I swear to you that when the time is right, I'll let you help me kill Pierce. You deserve that."
Kathleen's lip turned up into a macabre parody of a smile and she locked eyes with the nearest torturer. He paled and turned to Pierce, who looked down at Kathleen with a small hint of admiration, not knowing his latest victim was fantasying about the way she would end his miserable life.
Let's hope your plan works, Max, Kathleen managed to think as the first piercing slash appeared on her pale skin and she broke into a hoarse scream.
TBC…
A/N If you liked the chapter feel free to review; if you didn't like it, feel free to review(:
Until Next Time (hopefully it won't be as long a wait next time…)
Ditte Mai