Part 5

I love the time and in between the calm inside me
And in the space where I can breathe
I believe there is a distance I have wandered
To touch upon the years of reaching out and reaching in
Holding out and holding in

Later that night Liz was sitting up on her balcony, in her sweats, writing
in her journal.

It's February 16th. I'm Liz Parker and I've never been happier in all my
life as I am at this moment. Last night, Max as much as proposed to me.
Well, he didn't actually say marriage, but he swore he would be there for
me, and love me, forever. And he gave me a ring. It is the single most
beautiful ring I have ever seen in my life, and it means so much to me.
It's amazing how many things have changed in the past two months. Two
months ago, Max was afraid to let anything happen between us, and now I know
that he is completely dedicated to me. I can see it in his eyes when we are
together. And I know he can see it in mine as well…

Max is the central figure in my life right now. I spend every second
humanly possible with him, and when I'm not with him, I'm thinking of him.
I love him so much, and I cannot wait until the day that we can be
completely together, 24 hours a day, constantly…

"Liz, you up there?" Max called out from down below. Liz stopped writing
and smiled to herself.

"Yeah, come on up, Max!" Max quickly pulled himself up the ladder and over
the wall to meet Liz.

"Hey." She greeted him.

"Hi."

"What happened to your dad's birthday? I thought I wasn't going to see you
tonight!"

"Dad's birthday? Oh, yeah. We finished early, and, well, I just couldn't
stay away." Liz blushed. "So are you still up for Chinese?"

Liz grinned. "Sure. If you want. Let me go get ready. I'll meet you
downstairs."

"Okay."

I believe this is heaven to no one else but me
And I'll defend it as long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
If I choose to would you try to understand


An hour later, Liz and Max were sitting and eating Chinese, laughing and
talking to one another as though they were the only two people in the world.

Liz marveled at the way that Max always managed to treat her like she was
really someone special, like a rare treasure that he was lucky to have in
his possession. The only other person in the world who had ever made her
feel that special had been her Grandma Claudia. Liz remembered back, sadly,
to the day that her grandmother had died. Max had been so good to her that
night. Liz knew, without a doubt, that she wouldn't have gotten through
Grandma Claudia's death without that support from Max. It had meant the
world to her. Max could never replace what Liz had lost when Claudia died,
but he did manage to fill the void of emptiness that she had felt.

"What are you thinking about?" Max asked her, breaking the train of thought.

"Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you."

"Ditto." Max grinned back at her. "So…cookie time?"

"Cookie time." Liz agreed. "Your turn to go first."

"Okay…" Max cracked open his cookie. "To ease your pain you must find your
way home." Max read quietly, his voice drifting off as he processed his
fortune.

"What do you think that's supposed to mean?" Liz asked him nervously. She
didn't like the sound of that. Home… Max's REAL home was light years away.
He didn't even really know where it was. Would he ever be truly happy
without finding his home?

"I'm sure it's nothing." Max responded quietly. Home… Wasn't his real home
with Liz? But this place, this Roswell, wasn't really his home. His home
was in another Roswell, in another place. It was some other world on top of
this one. But did he ever really want to go back there? There he'd have to
live his life without Liz. His life was miserable there.

"Okay, my turn." Liz smiled. "When put to the test you must know your true
love's heart." Liz looked up at Max. "Well that's easy. I know my true
love's heart. There's no one for me except you."

"And my home is anywhere with you, Liz." Max assured her.

They smiled at each other, loosing themselves in each other's eyes. As Liz
gazed deep into her love's eyes, she thought she saw a flicker of
uncertainty. An uncertainty that Liz didn't particularly like. Liz broke
her gaze from his, and looked around nervously for a moment.

"Oh, hey, look! The pool table's free. Come on, Max. I'll kick your butt
again!"

Max laughed. "Don't be so sure about that Miss Parker!"

I know this love is passing time
Passing through like liquid
And I am drunk in my desire
But I love the way you smile at me
I love the way your hands reach out
And hold me near…I believe

Liz was shocked when Max actually managed to give her some competition this
time. The last time they had played he had been a lost cause, but suddenly
he was sinking solids left and right!

Liz sneaked up behind Max and tickled him lightly as he took his next shot.
Surprisingly he still managed to make it.

"Are you cheating?" Liz whispered playfully in his ear. "Now that's just
not fair, spaceboy."

Max grinned and leaned over, kissing Liz deeply.


Later that night, Max had walked Liz home, and they stood on her porch,
kissing passionately.

"Max!" Liz groaned as he devoured her neck. "Oh…Max! I….uh….I have to."
Liz threw her head back to give him more access to her neck. "Ohhh…Max!
It's getting late. I really have to go in."

"I know." Max whispered before hungrily attacking her lips again. His lips
returned to her throat, and Liz gasped at the sensations flowing through her
body.

I believe this is heaven to no one else but me
And I'll defend it as long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
If I choose to would you try to understand

"Why don't you meet me upstairs?" Liz whispered.

Max tore his lips away from her and searched her eyes, making sure she
really meant it.

"I'll be up in a few minutes." Liz gestured towards the fire escape.

Max nodded and headed up to her balcony, silently unlocking her window with
his powers, and crawling inside her bedroom.

A few minutes later Liz slipped in through the door.

"Hi. Everything okay?" Max asked softly.

"Yeah, I just had to convince them that I was going straight to bed."

"We could do that." Max grinned.

Liz smiled at him and grabbed her silk pajamas.

"I'm going to go change." Liz moved into her bathroom, leaving the door
slightly ajar so that they could talk quietly.

Max glanced for a moment at her bed, and then back to the bathroom, before
taking a seat on her bed.

"Liz, I just want to hold you all night. Would that be alright?" Liz
blushed and grinned.

"I've missed that so much." He added quietly.

Liz's head shot up at his words. Did she hear him right? But Max and her
had never slept together, not even once. The only time anything like that
had ever happened…Liz thought back to her time in the alternate Roswell.
No. It just wasn't a possibility. She had to have misheard him.

Liz finished buttoning up her pajama top, and then slipped back out to her
room. Max stood up at the sight of her and smiled.

"You're so beautiful, Liz." She smiled back at him, and ran her hand up his
shoulder, and down the line of his collar to the buttons of his shirt.

"You're not going to sleep in that, are you?" Liz grinned mischievously as
she slowly began to unfasten the buttons one by one, each one revealing a
little more of his strong, hard chest. Finally she opened his shirt up
entirely, and reached her hands in, running her fingers up and down the
ridges of his body.

"Max…" Liz whispered as she looked up into his dark eyes expectantly. He
reached down and took her lips again, their tongues dancing as Max allowed
Liz to slip his arms out of the sleeves, and discard his shirt somewhere on
the floor.

They broke apart again, and Max reached down for the button of his jeans,
slipping them off, so that he stood there just in his boxers. He sat down
on the bed, and pulled Liz down with him, wrapping his arms around her as
they slid beneath the sheets.

"God this feels so right." Max whispered as the two of them slipped away
into the world of dreams.

I believe this is heaven to no one else but me
And I'll defend it as long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
If I choose to would you try to understand

Part 6

Liz woke early, before the sun was even peaking through her bedroom window,
and immediately felt the lack of Max's presence beside her. Her heart
pounded in her chest, and she rolled over a bit to be sure he wasn't there.
Oh no! Liz knew had seen a weird look in his eyes last night! He panicked
again! For a moment Liz was consumed with fear of Max leaving her alone
again, before she heard the sound of someone rustling around in her
bathroom.

Liz gave a sigh of relief before calling, "Max?" in a shaky voice.

"You're up! Sorry, I was trying not to wake you." He called out.

She sat up slowly, letting the sleep drain from her eyes, and looked to see
her boyfriend emerging from her bathroom. He was already dressed, she
observed, as he took a seat on the bed beside her, and began to pull on his
shoes.

"You leaving?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I'd better go before your parents wake up."

Liz nodded. "Good thinking."

Max got up and moved to her side, where he leaned over and lightly kissed
her on the forehead.

"Thank you for last night. It was amazing. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, I'll see you at school."

Max paused to stare at her for a moment. "Right." He said shortly.

For the first time it hit him, hard, that Liz didn't know who he was. She
thought he was the other Max. He sighed softly, sadness rushing over him.
This was something he had never expected… "Bye Liz."

"Bye Max."

Liz glowed as she made her way into the bathroom and flipped on the shower.
Things with Max just seemed to be getting better and better! First the ring,
and then last night! For a night that was intended to be her alone with her
stereo and journal, things definitely took a more positive turn.

She thought back though to that flicker of uncertainty that she had seen in
his eyes during dinner. What was that about? Liz desperately hoped that he
wasn't having second thoughts again. At this point in time, she wasn't sure
she could take another "step back". And then there was that "I've missed
this so much" thing. That was just weird.

Liz sighed and pushed the negative thoughts to the back of her head. It was
stupid to be worrying about it. It was nothing, really. There were so many
depths to Max that she had yet to explore. It's possible he could have been
worrying about Michael or Isabel. And she knew he was still worried about
putting her in danger, even if he didn't let that hold back their
relationship any more. She knew he wanted to protect her so badly.

Liz busied herself with finishing getting dressed and getting ready for
school. She picked up her backpack, all ready to head out, when her mom
knocked on her door.

"Liz, honey? Max is here to drive you to school!"

Liz stopped in her tracks, smiling to herself. He must have wanted to
surprise her! When he left this morning he made it sound like she wasn't
going to see him until class!

Liz opened the door and stepped out to greet her boyfriend.

"Hey! I didn't expect to see you this morning!"

"It's Monday morning, right? I told you I'd pick you up today! Didn't want
to have to wait any longer to see you." Liz frowned slightly. Come to
think of it, she did remember him saying that the day before. He just
hadn't mentioned it since then. That was unlike him.

"Here, I got this for you." Max grinned, producing a rose.

"Oh, thank you Max! You're too good to me!" Liz smiled brightly as she
fingered the silky, soft petals of the rose.

"Come on, let's go." Max said, as he took her hand, slowly stroking the ring
on her finger with love, and led her outside.

The moment the door closed behind them, Max pulled her tightly into his
arms, capturing her lips with all the love inside him. They stood there for
a few moments in each other's embrace, marveling at the feeling of their
bodies pressed up against one another.

Liz felt like exploding! The feel of Max all wrapped up around her, his
strong body pressed up against her petite one, felt so perfect. Her blood
was rushing at a million miles a second, and her heart thudded in her chest,
as she lost herself in the moment.

"I had the best time last night." Liz whispered seductively in his ear. "It
was perfect."

Max smiled down at her. "Wish I could have been there. What did you do?"

Liz stared up at Max in shock. This time she knew for certain that she
didn't misunderstand him, or misinterpret his words or anything. Max really
didn't remember the night before.

"Nothing. Just stayed at home alone." Liz lied quickly, as a cold chill
rushed through her body. She knew that this was her Max. He recognized the
ring a moment before…so it had to be him, right? But if this was Max, then
who did she sleep with the night before. Fear swept over Liz, as Max helped
her climb into the jeep.

What in the world was happening to her?

Part 7

"Isabel! Michael! Wait up!"

Isabel turned to see Liz frantically rushing down the hallway towards them.
She pulled Michael to a stop, and waited for Liz to catch up with them.

"Liz, what's going on?" Isabel asked, concern edging into her voice. Liz
looked really flustered, almost scared. It was really unlike her.

"I need to talk to you two alone. Come on."

Liz quickly made her way to the eraser room, and practically dragged them in
there before closing and locking the door. She turned to face her
boyfriend's family, her panicked eyes meeting theirs.

"What's going on?" Michael repeated.

"Is everything okay, Liz? Where's Max? This is about him, isn't it?" Isabel
questioned her.

"I just really need to know, have you guys noticed whether Max has been
acting strangely lately, or anything like that?"

"No, he's just been normal, Max." Isabel responded immediately.

"You're sure. You haven't seen him do anything that's made you stop and
think."

"What exactly is this about, Liz?" Michael asked, pushing her to continue.

Liz sighed. "It might be nothing. Max has been acting weird around me. At
first it was just little things: an inconsistency in his gaze, things he's
mumbled that didn't make sense to me. But then…" Liz began to trail off.

"What?" Isabel pushed.

"Isabel, where was Max last night?"

"It was our dad's birthday last night. We went out for a family dinner, and
then spent the evening at home with him."

The blood rushed from Liz's face as Isabel confirmed her worst fears. She
should have known that Max wouldn't skip out on his father's birthday. Why
hadn't it occurred to her the previous evening?

"Liz?" Isabel asked gently, "Are you okay?"

"I was with Max last night." Liz whispered.

"What?" Michael asked incredulously.

"But that's not possible." Isabel exclaimed.

"I know! But it was Max. Or someone who claimed to be Max, and looked and
acted just like Max. He showed up at my house around seven, and we went out
for dinner, and then…" Liz paused and blushed. "He spent the night with me."

"I was with Max at seven last evening, Liz." Suddenly it occurred to Isabel
what Liz had said. "He stayed over with you? You didn't…DO anything did
you?"

"NO! Don't worry! We just slept."

"Well that's good," Michael smirked.

"But it wasn't Max…" Liz trailed off. She shivered, as another chill rushed
through her body. Who was it?

Isabel voiced her question. "Who could it have been?"

"Nasedo?" Michael asked.

"Maybe, but if it was, he's perfected Max's personality. Last night I
couldn't even tell that it wasn't him. For someone who Max has never talked
to, he pulled it off pretty well."

"My question is why." Isabel wondered aloud. "Why you, Liz? Why would Nasedo
want to take you on a date? Spend the night with you? That doesn't seem
right to me. And apparently he hasn't approached us at all."

"No offense, Liz, but she's right."

"Well…" Liz started. "Regardless of the questions, we do have a problem
here. There's two Max's running around. Two people who look and act
identical. We have to figure out how to tell them apart."

Isabel nodded. "But how?"

"I should be able to figure it out. The real Max was with you last night,
the fake Max was with me, so if I drop a few hints about last night, and Max
is clueless, then we'll know it's him. Once I have the real Max figured out,
I'll explain what's going on to him. He may have some ideas about how to
handle the situation."

"But what happens if you see the fake Max first?" Michael asked her.

"I'll keep him busy. I don't think he wants to hurt me. He was really sweet
to me last night. I think eventually we're going to need to confront him and
figure out his agenda."

"Agreed."

"Why don't you guys come to the Crashdown this evening? We'll have a group
meeting, with the real Max, and try and decide what to do."

"Okay, we'll see you later, Liz." Isabel said.

"And be careful." Michael added. "We don't want anything happening to you."

"I will." Liz promised.

Part 8

Liz walked into the biology lab, and stopped in her tracks when she saw that
Max had already situated himself at their lab table. He hadn't seen her
yet, and she stood there by the door, watching as he was consuming himself
with setting up for their project for the day. He looked to be completely
focused with checking their equipment and lighting up the flame. Liz
couldn't help but smile at his brow, which was furrowed in concentration.

She felt a small ping in her stomach thinking about the night before. She
knew this had to be her Max...a fake one would never be in class with her,
and she couldn't help feeling a little guilty, as if she had cheated on him,
by sleeping beside the fake the night before. And what's worse was that she
had enjoyed it. It felt right. She couldn't even tell that it wasn't him.
She felt low, unfaithful, as if her love wasn't enough.

At that moment, Max's eyes lifted from his work, and met hers, and he
smiled, watching as she studied him from across the room. For a moment it
was as if no one else existed except for the two of them.

Liz took a deep breath, and began to make her way towards him. She ached
all over, fearing his reaction when she finally would be able to talk to
him, but she knew, in her heart that she needed to be honest with him. Liz
loved him with all her heart, and she owed him that much.

When she reached the table, Max took her hand, and helped her slide her
backpack to the floor. As she took her stool, Max leaned forward and
brought his lips to her hand, lightly kissing the ring nestled on her
finger. Slowly his eyes traveled upward, meeting hers.

"Hi." He whispered against her hand, his lips turning up in the slightest
half-smile.

"Hi." Liz replied nervously. At least she knew for sure that it was him.
Nasedo wouldn't have recognized the ring. "Listen, Max. I need to talk to
you after class. It's really important."

"Is everything okay?" Max searched her eyes with worry.

"We'll talk after class. Just promise me you won't leave my side until
after we've talked. I need to know that it's you for sure."

Max stared at her in confusion. "What?"

"Just promise me Max!" Liz begged frantically.

"I swear to you, Liz, I won't leave your side. From now, through our talk,
or however long you want me here."

"Thank you." Liz whispered passionately.

"Now how about this lab?" Max smiled. "We've got to do something to pass
the time until after class."


The moment the bell rang, Max took Liz by the hand, and led her straight out
to the jeep. It was lunchtime, and some upperclassmen were leaving to go
home, so it was easy for the two of them to slip away without being noticed.

"Touch my skin and tell me what you're thinking
Take my hand and show me where we're going
Lie down next to me look into my eyes
And tell me, oh tell me what you're seeing"

The silence was almost unbearable for Max as he drove them out towards the
desert. He turned his head just slightly and studied Liz. She was sitting
there beside him, slouched down in the passenger seat, as close to the door
as possible. She seemed to have an uncanny interest in her hands as well.
Max frowned. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember her holding his eye
for more than a few seconds since before class.

What was going on with her? Max was getting really worried. She wasn't
acting like herself. Was she beginning to have second thoughts? He knew
that it was a really big, risky step to pledge himself to her, the way that
he did, with a diamond ring and all, but she seemed really happy about it
the other night. Had something changed since then? He couldn't bear to
think about the possibility that it may have been too much for her.

He watched as she stared out the window, her jaw clenched, and her cheeks
pale. There was definitely something wrong. She looked…scared.

Max couldn't stand to see her this way. He had to do something to help. He
didn't know what he could do, but he could at least try!

"So sit on top of the world and tell me how you're feeling
What you feel now is what I feel for you
Take my hand and if I'm lying to you
I'll always be alone if I'm lying to you"

Liz jumped as she felt one of Max's hands slide under hers, and hold it
firmly. She had been so lost in thought that it had surprised her. She
looked up and met his eyes, and he slightly smiled, squeezing her hand at
the same time.

Liz felt a slight relief sweep over her as she reveled in Max's presence for
a moment. He was there with her, and he would protect her from anything
that he could. In a few minutes they would reach their destination, and
then she would tell him everything.

But there was still that little voice in the back of Liz's head that
reminded her that she had betrayed him. And that was unforgivable.

They finally reached the lake outside of town, and Max pulled the jeep to a
stop. They just sat there for a moment, staring out at the sparkling blue
water.

"What's going on, Liz?" Max ventured cautiously. "Are you okay?"

There was another moment of silence before Liz responded. "Max…something's
going on, and it's not very easy to explain, so just, give me a second to
try and explain."

Max nodded. "Go on."

"Okay, last night, you were out with your family, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay… Around seven o clock last night…oh God, please don't think I'm
crazy, because this really happened. Last night, you showed up at my house,
and took me out for dinner."

"WHAT? It wasn't me, Liz."

"Yeah, I know that now, but last night I didn't. Whoever it was told me
that you finished early with your dad, and wanted to still get some time
with me, so you…he…took me out for dinner, and then…" Liz trailed off. She
didn't want to say it, but she knew she had to. Tears began streaming down
her face.

"Then what, Liz?" Max leaned over towards her and gently wiped away her
tears. "What happened Liz?"

"Then he spent the night." Liz whispered, her voice breaking from the pain
she was feeling.

Max stared at her in shock, her words processing in his brain. "What?" He
whispered back.

"I thought he was you, Max. God, he looked exactly like you. He acted
exactly like you. He took me to the restaurant where we had our first date.
There was no way that I could tell the difference. I never even suspected
anything until you asked me what I did last night. I suppose it must have
been Nasedo. Who else could have possibly made themselves look like you?"

Max sat back in his seat, numb from the shock of it all. "He spent the
night." Max mumbled, still barely believing what he was hearing.

"We didn't do anything, Max. Just slept."

"Thank God."

"Please forgive me?" Liz begged through her tears. "Please? I'm so sorry,
Max. So sorry."

Max sat there silently for a moment. God…Liz slept with someone else. How
could she not know it wasn't him? He ached inside… How could she?

"See my eyes they carry your reflection
Watch my lips and hear the words I'm telling you
Give your trust to me and look into my heart
And show me, show me what you're doing"

He turned and looked at her, watching the tears streak down her face, her
eyes filled with the agony of knowing what she had done to him. It tore Max
up inside to see the pain in her eyes.

"God, I wish I could take it back." Liz cried.

Max couldn't take the pain in her eyes anymore. He slid over and pulled her
up against him, and she buried her face in his shoulder, sobs racking
through her body.

"I'm so sorry." She gasped through each agonizing breath.

"Shhh…" Max slowly stoked her hair, and gently pressed his lips to the top
of her head. "It's okay, honey. We'll get through this together. I
promise." Max whispered soothing words to her, as her buried his face in
her hair, pulling her as close as humanly possible.

"So sit on top of the world and tell me how you're feeling
What you feel is what I feel for you
Take my hand and if I'm lying to you
I'll always be alone if I'm lying to you"

"Thank you Max." Liz breathed as she pulled away, slowly pulling herself
back together, as she wiped her bloodshot eyes, and straightened her
clothes.

"Why do you think he's doing this?" Liz wondered aloud. "I mean, why would
Nasedo focus on me? Why not you guys? And if there's a reason for me, then
why is he taking me out, having fun with me, being all romantic. It just
doesn't make any sense, Max! And to be honest with you, it's scaring me
Max. I need to know that you're you, not someone else. It scares me to
know that the next time you pick me up for school, it may not be you at
all."

"I know, Liz. It scares me too, to think that something could happen to
you. No. I won't let anything happen to you, Liz. If I have to, I'll stay
with you every moment, morning 'till night, keeping you safe. I won't let
him get to you, Liz."

"You can't be with me all of the time."

"I can try, though."

"Thank you Max." Liz leaned over and rested her head on Max's shoulder, and
he slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. They sat
there for a long time, just holding each other and soaking in each other's
presence, as they watched the sun go down. Finally, as the stars began to
light up in the sky, Max turned the jeep back on, and they headed back to
town.

"Take your time if I'm lying to you
I know you'll find that you believe me, you believe me
Feel the sun on your face and tell me what you're thinking
Catch the snow on your tongue and show me how it tastes
Take my hand and if I'm lying to you
I'll always be alone if I'm lying to you
Take your time and if I'm lying to you
I know you'll find that you believe me, you believe me"