~Starting Over~

Category: M/L
Summary: A future fic. 10 years after high school, Liz is about to get
married, when Max suddenly re-enters her life.
Background: Uhhh… yes. Spoilers. I mention the Tess thing. If you don't know
who Tess is you may not want to read this. I just put what my theories on
how those spoilers are going to affect the storyline and so on and so forth.
Oh, and in my story Max's parents now know everything. Just so you don't
get confused.
Rating: PG-13
Author: Anne
E-mail: [email protected]
Disclaimer: They're not mine. The characters of Roswell belong to Melinda
Metz, the WB, Jason Katims, and all the wonderful people who we all love for
starting this wonderful story. I'm just borrowing them!

"Okay Liz, breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. All right,
that's good. Now squeeze my hand as tightly as possible. It will help you
relieve some stress. Okay…too hard! Liz! Too hard! Stop! Let go dammit!"

Maria DeLuca looked at her best friend standing across from her. Liz Parker
hadn't changed much in the ten years since they had graduated from West
Roswell High School. She still had the softest brown hair that you could
imagine, and those beautiful dark eyes. Liz was still the kindest woman in
the world, always putting others first, and of course she was a control
freak, but wise beyond her years. She looked a little older now, with the
experiences of her life evident on her face to those who looked closely
enough, especially in her eyes. If you looked deep into Liz's eyes you
could see a deep pain, which hadn't begun to diminish over the years.

"Maria, I'm not sure if I can go through with this." Liz panicked.

Maria smiled at the sight. Who would have thought it? Liz Parker,
completely out of control like this. But then again it's normal for people
to panic and have second thoughts on their wedding day.

"You're going to do just fine, Lizzie! I mean, you and David have been
dating for years! You took the entire relationship at a snail's pace, and
everything has gone perfectly! You two were made for each other."

It's true. The two of them were so right for one another. They both liked
organization and control. It was a trait that came with being a scientist.
That was another thing they had in common, they worked the same job at the
local government science lab. The two of them were completely open and
honest with one another about everything. Well, almost everything. Liz
still had one hidden secret that she had never shared with David, and it was
that one secret which brought up all of Liz's present doubts and fears. She
couldn't stand it. She needed to bring it up.

"Maria…what about Max?"

Maria stared at Liz in shock. There was an uncomfortable moment of silence.

"Oh no, Liz. You are not going to start thinking about him now."

"I never stopped thinking about him, Maria. Just because we don't talk
about it doesn't mean I don't think about it. I think about Max every
day."

" I thought we agreed to stop pining and move on with our lives Liz. And
can I remind you that it was Max who dumped you. He was the one who fell
for someone else…"

Liz couldn't keep the flash of pain out of her eyes at the memory. Tess…
She hated Tess. But she couldn't hate Max for what happened.

"…And he was the one who left forever after graduation without so much as a
goodbye."

"He had to leave, Maria. The government was after him. And he's never come
back because to do so would put him in danger. Everyone in Roswell is after
him!"

"Liz…"

Liz cut her off.

"Maria, I invited him."

"You did WHAT?"

"I invited him, Maria. I sent him the invitation through Isabel. He could
be out there, Maria. Today could be the first time I've seen the love of my
life in ten years, and I'm marrying someone else. Maria, if I see his face
I'm not sure if I can go through with it."

"You have to go through with it, Liz. It's too late to back out! Think of
what it would do to your parents. Think of David. How could you possibly
explain it to him? 'By the way, even though we've been dating for four
years, I've been secretly in love with someone else the whole time, so now
I'm going to leave you at the alter, even though it could never work out
with this guy because he's, well, kinda, sorta, not HUMAN.' Liz, you can't
do that to him!"

Liz stared at Maria. She was right. Liz knew she was right. But she
still was having doubts. What if he came? He wouldn't though, would he?
Returning to Roswell would be suicide for Max. The FBI was probably still
lurking around, waiting for him to come back. And she KNEW the sheriff
would LOVE to grab him and lock him up. Briefly she wondered what would
happen to him if they got him. What would they do to him? She shied away
from that thought. She did NOT want to think about it.

"Liz? Come on, Liz. It's time."

The panic rose again, and the butterflies in her stomach were having a field
day. The huge double doors in the back of the church swung open, and Liz
found herself parading down the isle.

Liz locked her eyes on David in the front of the church. Her groom grinned
at her, but she couldn't find a smile for him within her. Liz knew she was
playing it safe by keeping her eyes locked to his. If she kept her eyes
there, then she wouldn't be searching the audience for Max.

Max. God she was getting married to David, and all Liz could think about
was Max, and how much she wished it was him up there instead. She was low.
The lowest form of life!

Liz reached him, and turned to face David. The audience sat down, and out
of the corner of her eye, she caught some movement in the back of the room.
Liz turned her head slightly, and her breath caught in her throat.

Max Evans stood in the back corner, in the shadows, watching her with an
intense look in his eyes. Liz's eyes met his, and he bowed his head
slightly in acknowledgement before she ripped her gaze from his, and
returned to David. Liz's mind was running at a million miles a second. He
came! He actually came!

Max couldn't help wishing that he could be this guy, that he could be the
one up there standing next to Liz Parker. He wished he was capable of
giving her the life she deserved, but it just wasn't possible. Max could
never do for Liz what a human guy could. He had spent the past ten years
running from the law, never staying in one place for too long. Never really
settling down. That wasn't the kind of life that Liz deserved. Stability.
That was something that David could give her that Max could never even
imagine having.

"He came"! Liz could think of anything else, even as the priest was rambling
on about love and marriage in front of her. "That MUST mean that he still
cares, even if just a little. Max risked his life by returning to Roswell.
Returning to Roswell to be here, to support me on my wedding day. He risked
his life for me again! Oh God. What am I supposed to do now?"

Liz barely noticed the wedding ceremony going on around her. Even with her
gaze locked on David's, she could feel Max's eyes on her. She could feel
his presence. It felt like home, like perfection. It was all Liz could do
to keep from sighing with happiness. She hadn't felt that feeling, the
feeling of Max, in so long. She had almost forgotten how much she missed
it. Almost…

Liz dragged her mind back to the wedding ceremony right as it was reaching
it's climax.

"Do you David Marshall take Elizabeth Parker to be your lawfully wedded
wife, to have and to hold through sickness and health until death do you
part?"

"I do."

"And do you Elizabeth Parker take David Marshall to be your lawfully wedded
husband, to have and to hold through sickness and health until death do you
part."

Liz stood there in silence. What should she do?

"Miss Parker?" The priest prodded her.

"Lizzie?" David asked, pleading silently with his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Liz whispered, tears glazing her eyes.

"Liz?" David stared at her in shock.

"I just can't!" Liz wailed as she turned and ran down the isle, and out of
the church, the tears flowing freely down her face, and stinging her cheek
as she ran as far from there as she could get.

The audience in the church murmured in shock at what they had just seen. If
anyone was so ready to get married it was Liz and David. What went wrong?

Max felt like he had been punched. He slid down against the wall, sitting
on the cold stone floor of the church, trying to collect his thoughts. He
knew he shouldn't have come. By showing his face to her, it was enough to
keep her from marrying that guy. He couldn't help feeling a bit relieved
though, deep down inside. Liz didn't marry him. She may still love him.
He may still have a chance with her. He couldn't imagine how that was
possible, after everything that he had done to her. He had caused her so
much pain. She deserved better than him.

He knew the whole Tess thing was stupid. He never loved her. Even when he
was with her, it was Liz he wanted, but something unexplainable had drawn
him to her, and she had screwed him over big time, exposing him to the FBI,
and almost getting him locked away in a government. Thank God he had
managed to throw them off long enough to get out of Roswell. But that whole
Tess thing had ruined it with Liz. Possibly for forever.

Max turned to find Maria standing next to him glaring at him.

"This is all your fault you know. You just can't let her go, can you? You
can't give her that little shred of happiness that she's been offered.
We've done just fine without you the past ten years, and Liz had finally
managed to let you go, and what do you do? You just show up and pop back
into her life, confusing everything that she's had with you gone."

"Maria, I…"

"I don't even want to hear your excuse, buddy. Now if you don't mind, I'm
going to go find my best friend, who's going to need some cheering up after
this."

Maria turned and stalked away, leaving Max staring after her with his mouth
hanging open. He sighed, and pulled on the hat he had brought to hide his
face on the streets.

"I guess I should head home too before anyone else notices me," he thought
with a sigh, as he stuck his hands in his pockets, and trudged towards his
old home.

Pt 2

"Liz? You here?" Maria called out as she let herself into Liz's apartment.
"Lizzie?" Maria heard a faint whimpering noise coming from the bedroom.
Liz was curled up tightly on the bed, with her knees tucked into her chest,
slowly rocking back and forth as she softly cried her eyes out.

Maria moved towards her friend and pulled her close to her. "It's okay,
Liz. It's okay." Liz started to gulp for air. "Slowly, Liz, breathe
slowly." Eventually Liz began to regain control. She looked up at Maria,
who was watching her very closely."

"God, I can't believe I just did that." Liz whispered. "Poor David. I
probably destroyed him. I need to talk to him, try and explain to him.
God, I'm not really sure if I can explain to him. I probably just ruined
his life. How do you make excuses for doing something like that?"

There was a loud rap on the door. "Liz, can I come in?"

"Well, Lizzie, here's your chance to find out! Good luck, sweetie." David
walked in.

"I'll just leave you two alone." Maria goes off, leaving David and Liz
staring at each other. Liz was still curled up on her bed in her wedding
dress. David had managed to get out of his tux, and he stared down at her
with pain and confusion in his eyes.

"David. I'm sorry. There's no excuse for what I just did to you."

"Liz, if you weren't ready to be married, you shouldn't have said yes. I
mean, I know that you're afraid of commitment. That's why we moved so
slowly from the start of our relationship, but God, Liz, you just ran out on
me on our wedding day. After four years of us, you had to wait until now to
let me know you had doubts."

"I don't think I even realized the extent of my doubts until now, David.
But even if I was unaware, it still wasn't fair to you."

"What wasn't fair to me, Liz? What is it that made you run out on me today?
I always thought that we were completely honest with one another, Liz. We
agreed to that at the beginning. Somewhere along the line you obviously
lost track of that goal."

"No, David. You can't loose track of something that you never had."

"Never had? So what, was our entire relationship a lie? What, was there
someone else or something?"

"Something like that."

"You were seeing someone else on the side? God, Liz, a four year
relationship. Four years of this! How long has it been going on? I never
noticed any changes or anything."

"There weren't any changes, David. I never cheated on you. When we were
going out, I was with you and you alone."

"But you said that there was someone else."

"There is. There was. God, I don't know. All I know is that I'm damned
confused right now."

"What is it that's confusing you so much, Lizzie? You should be able to
talk to me."

"Did I ever tell you about Max Evans?"

"Max Evans? I can't recall ever hearing his name. Is he your other guy?"

"Max Evans was my boyfriend in high school for a brief period of time. It
was the single most passionate relationship of my life. I was, am I guess,
madly in love with him."

"Am? You never told me any of this?"

"It's really painful for me to talk about. I generally avoid the subject."

"I'd really like to hear about this guy, if you're okay with telling me.
You don't have to if you don't want to though."

"No, I need to tell you this. It's the only way I can try to make you
understand what happened out there."

"Okay then."

"Okay. So Max and I went out briefly in high school, and we were madly in
love, but Max was afraid of commitment. He was afraid of getting himself in
too deep with me, so for a brief period of time, in our sophomore year of
high school, we had this on again, off again relationship. It was in one of
our on again periods, when Tess came to West Roswell High. She was this
nasty girl, a real troublemaker, and she had her eye on Max. My Max. She
started in on him, completely aware of the fact that we were dating, and got
really flirty with him, constantly hanging on and around him. Showing up at
his house in the middle of the night, stuff like that. At first Max avoided
her advances, but then he gave in, and he fell hard for her. And he
started ignoring me."

"And you're still in love with this guy?"

"Let me finish. I said that Tess was a troublemaker, and I meant that.
After a few months of them hanging out, Tess set Max up, and he was accused
of a crime he didn't commit. All the evidence pointed to him of course,
thanks to Tess, but it wasn't enough for the authorities to grab him, so
instead they watched him, constantly, for the rest of high school. He
couldn't get them off his back. They were constantly waiting for him to
slip up, to make a mistake. He dumped Tess right after the crime, but she
was always lurking around, trying to screw Max up. It turned out that she
was after Max from the start, and he fell right into her trap."
"The Feds finally got something on Max, the night of our high school
graduation, he finally slipped. Max was always careful, but he had one
weakness. Me. He still loved me, even after the Tess thing, and I still
love him. We've never gotten back together though. He saved my life that
night, again, but in the process he gave the Feds the last bit of evidence
they needed to grab him. He had to leave, or else get thrown into jail, so
he ran. He's been running ever since high school, and he's never returned
to Roswell, because to do so would set him up for the police. There are a
million and one people out there tonight who would still love to grab him."

"Dang, Liz, that's quite a story. And you still love this guy today, after
everything he's put you through? His lack of commitment, and his
relationship with that Tess girl? This is something you've obviously
carried very deeply for a very long time, Liz. What made it pop back up
today?"

"He came to the wedding. Max was there. And I hadn't seen him in ten
years."

David tried to process all of this. It was really quite an incredible
story.

"I'm so sorry, David. I knew where my feelings lie when I got into this
relationship four years ago, and I led you on the whole time. You are an
incredible guy, and you didn't deserve any of it. If I could take it all
back, I would."

"Take it all back, Liz? I wouldn't take it all back for the world. I loved
every moment that we have spent together. We make a good team, Liz.
Whether it's in the lab, or out here."

"We do, don't we." Liz smiled at him.

"David, just because I'm not IN love with you, doesn't mean that I don't
love you. I love you a great deal, and I don't think I could stand it if we
couldn't see each other any more. You've become a huge part of my life
these past four years."

"Not see each other, Liz? Whoa! Don't jump to conclusions. I'm not ready
for life without you in it either. And we're still partners at work. I
don't think that's something either of us can back out of. It's going to
take some work, Liz, but I'm hoping that maybe we can try and become
friends."

"Friends would be nice, David."

"Okay then. And my suggestion to you is that you call this Max guy and tell
him how you feel. I'll see you at work tomorrow, Lizzie." David kissed her
lightly on the cheek before exiting the apartment.

Liz felt a huge relief lifted from her shoulders. That went surprisingly
well. Liz didn't know why she was so surprised. She knew that David was a
great guy. Of course she didn't tell him the entire truth. She left out
the part where Max was an alien who was considered a national threat, and
how Tess was actually an undercover FBI agent who was trying to expose him.
She sighed. There were just some things that David couldn't know.

Now she just needed to figure out what to do about Max. She thought back to
the sight of him in the church, and sighed with contentment. God that boy
looked good! Like her, Max had aged since high school, but not much. He
was still gorgeous, with that thick brown hair, and those incredibly soulful
eyes. And it looked like he had pumped up some more since high school. Not
that he needed it. He was pretty buff back then, but it didn't even compare
to how he looked now. The one thing that Liz did notice though, was
weariness deep in his eyes. It looked as though all the running was
starting to take a toll on him. That and an incredible sadness. It looked
as though he remembered high school in much the same way that she did.

Liz picked up the phone, and toyed with the cord for a moment before finally
dialing.

"Mom? Dad? Anyone here?"

"Max, honey, you're home so early! How was the wedding." Max moved himself
into the kitchen, where he fell into one of the chairs at the table, and
held his head in his hands.

"It was a disaster, Mom. I never should have gone." Diane Evans looked at
her son worriedly. She wiped her hands on her apron, and sat next to him.
Max felt her grasp for one of his hands, and he let her take it.

"What happened, Maxie." Max laughed.

"Mom, you haven't called me that since I was six."

"Well can you forgive a mother for not letting go of your childhood? So
what happened?"

"Liz took one look at my face and left the guy at the alter."

"Well isn't that a good thing honey? She must still care for you."

"I'm not really sure what it means yet. I mean, nothing has changed, Mom.
I'm still an alien, and she's still human. I still hurt her back in high
school. I'm still running from the law. I have absolutely nothing to offer
her. I don't even know what she wants from me."

"Have you tried to talk to her?"

"Not yet, mom."

"Well you should." Behind her the phone rang loudly. Diane answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Diane, it's Liz."

"Hi Liz, how have you been? It's been a while since I've talked to you.
Sorry I couldn't make it today."

"Don't worry, Diane, you didn't miss much. Um, listen, I know Max is there.
Can you please put him on."

"Here you go." Diane Evans handed the phone off to Max. He held it for a
second, staring at it as he moved it back and forth between his two hands.
He had absolutely no idea what to say.

"Hey Liz."

"Hi Max. Um. How have you been."

"Good, good. I've been good. Um. How about you? You doing okay?"

"I'm fine, but I really need to talk to you, Max. About everything. Could
you, maybe stop by later tonight? I think there is a lot that needs to be
said. Face to face."

"I'll be there."

"I'll be waiting."

Max hung up the phone gently. He was going to be going to see her. He was
going to be alone with her. Talking to her. Trying to explain himself to
her. The thing was, he had no idea what he was supposed to say.

Max turned and walked out the door. He supposed that there was no point in
trying to delay it. He may as well head straight over there. He was so
lost in thought as he walked away from his house, that he didn't even notice
his forgotten hat, which he had left on the kitchen table.

Outside the Evans house, three men were sitting in a car, watching Max make
his way down the street. Without his hat on, his face was easily
recognizable.

"That's him, that's our guy." The first one commented.

"Let's grab him."

The three men jumped out of the car, and walked up to Max.

"Hey buddy, how's it going?"

"Fine," Max replied crossly, glaring at the three men blocking his path.
"Is there something I can do for you?"

"You can come with us, easily, without a struggle." Two of the men grabbed
Max by his arms. He immediately struggled to try and escape.

"Or you can struggle, and we can take you by force." The man took out a
baseball bat, and slammed Max hard in the ribs. All Max could feel was
intense pain all over, as another blow took him in the skull, and he was out
cold.

Pt3

Liz groaned as she woke up to her alarm beeping annoyingly across the room.
Her head was pounding, and her throat was dry. She had fallen asleep
crying the night before, and it really didn't help her sleep all that well.
She sighed as she turned off the alarm. 5 am. It was still dark outside.
She sighed, and jumped into the shower.

David and Liz were supposed to be leaving for their honeymoon today, but
since there was no wedding, nor party, she figured that was off too. Today
was going to be a day just like any other. Liz was going to go to work, and
pretend nothing had happened the day before, pretend that Max Evans hadn't
shattered her heart once again.

"Why did he do it?" Liz wondered aloud? "Why did he come back if all he was
going to do was hurt me again? Why did he say he'd stop by last night, and
then totally stand me up? At least he could have told me the truth over the
phone. That would have been better than nothing."

David leapt up from his seat the moment Liz walked through the door into the
lab.

"Liz! Thank God you're finally here! What's wrong? You look awful." Liz
had huge bags under her eyes, and they looked a little red. He guessed that
she didn't sleep much the night before. He wondered if this had anything to
do with that Max guy she told him about.

"Good morning, David. What's going on?"

"We have a huge new project to start on, Liz. We're lucky we didn't leave
today. They probably would have pulled us back in to start on this new
project immediately."

"What kind of a project is it?"

"They brought us a new specimen to study. They don't know what it is, but
whatever it is, it's not human. We're supposed to study it and find out
everything we can about this thing. Molecular structure. Special traits.
Whatever. It's all ready for us over in lab 1."

"Okay then, let's get suited up. What do we know about it so far?" Liz felt
a little stronger as she put on her airtight suit, which looked a lot like a
space suit. They were a precaution they used when studying new species. It
helped them avoid disease spread. Liz chuckled quietly to herself. When she
was a kid, she used to watch the movie "Outbreak" and imagine herself
wearing one of these suits as they went chasing after disease-ridden
monkeys.

At least she had a project to throw herself into. It would help get her
mind off Max.

"Well, it's in pretty bad condition." David replied. "The guys who brought
it in said that it struggled pretty badly. They had to beat it up in order
to take it. It was strong, they said. Really strong. It's brain activity
appears to be a lot more advanced than ours, it can do things with it's mind
that we can't, so we had to give it some of the serum in order to hold it
here. It shouldn't be too dangerous right now."
"Okay then."

"Just remember one thing when we go in there Liz. This thing looks human,
but it's not. It's a very, very dangerous creature, capable of killing us
all, if we underestimate it. We have to be careful here, Lizzie."

Liz nodded. A dangerous project. These kind of things came in on occasion
from the Feds. "Well, what are we waiting for. Let's get started."

Liz headed into the lab, and immediately stopped dead in her tracks as she
stared in shock at the "creature". She was glad that the suit was hiding
her face, for Liz knew that her face was pale.

"What is it?" David asked from behind her.

Liz couldn't find a way to answer him, as she studied Max Evans, strapped to
the examination table, from across the room. He was bruised and beaten all
over, and his arm was bent at a weird angle. It looked broken to her. The
sight made Liz want to cry.

Liz slowly walked over to the man she loved, and gently reached down, and
stroked the hair on his forehead, brushing it slightly off to the side.
She pulled her hand back as he awoke with a start.

Max lifted his head, and studied his surroundings. God, it had finally
happened. There he was, stuck in some government lab. There were two
people in the room, in those weird airtight suits. He couldn't even see
their faces. He groaned. God he was in so much pain. He had never felt
such incredible physical pain. He had always been able to heal himself when
things got too bad, but he tried to do so now, and it wouldn't work. The
pain remained. His powers were worthless.

The pain from his broken bones wasn't what was killing him though. It was
the pain in Max's heart, which drove him crazy. He could deal with the
physical pain, but he couldn't deal with the fact that he never made it to
Liz's house. God, she was probably hurting so much right now. All because
of him, again.

"Faceless enemies," Max thought, studying the scientists. One of them stood
right over him, watching him, while the other was fussing with the equipment
on the table across the room. He decided to concentrate on the one above
him.

"Who are you? What do you want from me? What did you do to me?" Max
croaked out. God he was in pain. It hurt too much to even struggle against
the restraints holding him down.

A single tear dripped down Liz's cheek at the sound of Max's voice. He
sounded so weak. Never, in the 23 years that she had known Max Evans, had
he ever sounded so vulnerable to her. She couldn't take it. She had to get
him out of there.

She looked over at David, who was still organizing the lab equipment. Liz
walked over to the table and quickly knocked the glass sorenge off the
table, and watched as it shattered on the floor.

"Oh, jeez, I can't believe I just did that! I wanted to start with a blood
sample. Would you be willing to go get me another one from the storage
room?"

"Sure. No problem. Are you sure you're okay this morning? I don't think
I've ever seen you break equipment before."

"I'm fine. Don't worry. Just get me that sorenge."

"You'll be okay left alone with it." Liz cringed at the word. She had
never considered David to be closed minded before, but it killed her to hear
David talk about Max like that.

"I'll be okay! Don't worry."

"Okay, be right back." The moment David left the room, Liz rushed over to
Max, and began to unfasten his restraints.

"Come on, I'm going to get you out of here."

Max looked up at the scientist in shock. "Why are you doing this? Who are
you?"

Liz paused and looked at him. "You can't see through this. I completely
forgot." Liz pulled off her helmet.

Love and understanding flashed into Max's eyes, as her face was revealed to
him. She had never looked so radiant to him as she did in that moment.

"Liz." Max whispered. Liz flashed a tiny smile in response.

"I take it you can't heal yourself, can you? Stupid serum. Can you walk?"

Max attempted to get up, but immediately fell back down in pain.

"No," he grunted, "I think there's something wrong with my ankle too. They
really got me bad, Liz."

Liz slipped his arm around her.

"You'll have to lean on me. Put as much weight on me as you can." Max
pushed himself up, and Liz stumbled before finally adjusting to his weight.

"Come on. Let's go."

"Liz! What the hell are you doing?" David walked in screaming.

"I'm getting him out of here, David."

"It's dangerous, Liz. We can't have this thing roaming around free."

"Don't talk about him like that, David. Regardless of what you think, he is
a person too. I can assure you, he's not a threat to anybody."

"It's just a creature, Liz. It's not even human. Just because it looks
human, doesn't mean it is. And what makes you so sure that it's not a
threat."

"Because I've known HIM most of my life. Please David. Trust me on this
one. If the four years of our relationship meant anything to you, please
let me do this. I can't leave him here. Give us some time to get out of
here before you alert security."

"Alert security? What am I supposed to tell them."

"Tell them that he escaped, kidnapped me, and took me with him."

"That could be believable, but Liz, I expect a more complete explanation
later to why you're throwing the biggest project we've been given all year."

"I promise I'll explain later, but we need to get out of here. Thank you
David. Thank you so much." Liz and Max stumbled to the window, where she
helped him out, before crawling out herself. They jumped into Liz's car and
drove off, leaving the government property right as David alerted security
of the escape.

Pt 4

Liz entered her bedroom and slowly approaching the figure lying there still
on her bed. She sat down carefully beside him, watching him cautiously.
Max peeked open one of his eyes, and smiled as best he could.

"Hi."

"Hey Max, how you feeling? I brought you some soup. Chicken soup is what
my parents always fed me when I wasn't feeling well. Of course I was sick,
and not injured, but I thought it might help." She handed him a mug of
soup.

"Thanks." Max took a sip, and looked up at her surprised.

"Um, I mixed in some tobasco sauce for you. I wasn't sure how much you'd
want, so I guessed. I hope it's okay."

"It's perfect."

I take it your powers haven't kicked back in yet."

Max sighed and shook his head.

"Damn that syrum. We need to get you healthy enough to travel. We've got
to get out of Roswell. They're probably out searching for you right now."

"Wait a second. We?"

Liz babbled on, ignoring his comment. "Are Isabel and Michael still in
town? Maybe one of them can heal you?"

"No. Isabel had to work, so she flew out right after the ceremony. I'm not
sure where Michael is. Probably with her. They live together you know."

"Yeah, I know. So we'll just have to wait it out until the syrum wears
off."

"Yeah. Liz…" Max got cut off by a loud rapping at the door.

"Liz, its David. Let me in."

Liz shot a look at Max. "I have to try and explain this to him. He already
knows too much. I have to convince him to keep quiet."

Max nodded, and Liz let him into the apartment.

"Hi." She greeted him quietly.

"So you want to explain to me what the hell is going on? That isn't like
you, Liz. It's not normal for you to throw our research out the door like
that. What was it? Was it because this thing looked human? Because it
isn't Liz. No matter what it looks like, it's not like us. Did you even
bother to look at the background information we were given? It was a
dangerous animal, Liz, capable of killing either of us with a thought. All
I can say, is thank God we gave it the syrum, Liz, 'cause otherwise you
would have been dead the moment you unbuckled those restraints."

"No, David, I wouldn't have been."

"What makes you so damn sure, Liz?"

"Come back here, David." She led him into her bedroom. Max lay still in
the bed. He looked up at David and Liz calmly as they entered.

"It's here? You brought it here? What the hell's wrong with you?" David
asked incredulously, barely believing the sight in front of his eyes.

"Take a deep breath and calm down, David. I want you to meet Max."

"Hi," Max greeted David weakly, grunting at the pain in his ribs.

"Max? As in the Max you told me about yesterday?"

"Yes. This is the Max I told you about yesterday."

"But its, he's, not even human."

"There were some things I left out of the story," Liz told him with a wry
grin. "I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you that I was friends
with aliens."

David laughed. "No, I suppose I wouldn't have believed you, yesterday. But
that was before they brought…him…to us at the lab."

Max spoke up from the bed. "Thank you for helping me escape, David. You're
a good man."

"And you're a damn lucky one."

"David, let's go talk in the other room. Max, I want you to try and get
some rest, okay? I'll be back in to check on you in a little bit."

Max nodded, and watched her go. He felt like crying. David was right. He
was so lucky to have her, but he still didn't understand what he had ever
done to deserve her. She was like an angel, sent here entirely for him,
and no matter how badly he ran her over, she always seemed to be there to
protect him. He closed his eyes, and lay there resting, thinking beautiful
thoughts about the most beautiful girl that he could ever know in the entire
universe.

Liz shut the door softly, and turned to face David.

He chuckled. "So, you're in love with an alien, huh?"

"Yes."

"How did you find out about him?"

"He saved my life. When we were in high school, I got shot in the café on
one of my shifts. I would have died, but Max happened to be there, and
happened to have had a crush on me his entire life. Anyway, he healed me
with a touch."
"David, he's never killed anyone in his life. Yes, he's capable of killing
with a touch, but he never would. He's a good person."

"So tell me the real story. You obviously left a lot out last night."

"Okay. I can do that. After Max healed me, many people began to suspect
that he was…abnormal. The sheriff was constantly watching him, as was the
FBI, waiting for him to slip up. The wanted to catch him doing something
with his powers, but they never did. They sent agent after agent to watch
him. The first was the guidance counselor at our high school. The second
was Tess. She seduced him into trusting her, and then set him up to be
caught by the Feds. Luckily Max figured it out before it was too late, but
the damage had been done, and the FBI watched him more closely than ever."
"On our graduation night, Tess came back. She was sick of being covert, and
she wanted to catch Max before he left for college. They knew that once he
left Roswell they'd never stand a chance at catching him, so she kidnapped
me, and shot me. It was just in the shoulder. Not like the previous bullet
from the café. I could have bled to death, but it would have taken a while.
Anyway, Max, being the hero that he is, came after me. Tess left me out
in the open, and the FBI watched as Max grabbed me, and healed me on the
spot. They tried to take him then, but he managed to get away. He left
Roswell immediately, and he never came back, until our wedding. That's the
whole story. The real story."

David sat on Liz's couch, staring off into space. He was trying to process
everything he had learned in the past few minutes.

"It is quite a story, Liz. I can't believe I never heard a word of it until
now."

"Maria and I don't talk about it. She knew how much I missed him, and she
tried to respect my feelings by avoiding the subject. I thought I was never
going to see him again. That's why I decided to move on, and I accepted
when you asked me out, and when you proposed to me. I didn't expect all of
this to happen."

"He seems like a great guy, but what are you planning to do, Liz? They
think he kidnapped you. They're going to be watching for him everywhere.
He has to get out of here."

"WE have to get out of here. I'm going with him. I can't loose him now that
I've got him back. The problem is that we can't go anywhere with him in
this condition. It's that damn syrum. Without it, he could heal himself
and we'd be out of here in the blink of an eye, but right now he's
powerless. What can you tell me about it? Do you know which one they gave
him."

David sighed. "They gave him the heavy duty one of course. It should last
about 48 hours."

"Is there an antidote?"

"No. There isn't."

"Damn."

"Who knows, maybe his body will reject it quicker. After all, he isn't
exactly human, and we don't exactly know how his systems differ from ours."

"Well, here's hoping."

"I'll do everything I can to keep the cops away from here for the next day
or so. Hopefully by this time tomorrow you guys will be out of here."

"Thank you, David."

"Good luck with everything, Liz. You will keep in touch, won't you? I'm
going to miss you when you're gone."

"Don't worry, David. It may be a while. I don't want them to find us so
soon, but I'll be in touch for sure."
"Bye Liz."

"Bye."

As David exited the apartment, Liz turned and looked at the wall separating
her from the alien she loved. She wished everything was as simple as she
had made it sound to her ex, but she knew there was still a great deal of
stuff that she needed to work out with Max.

Liz flopped down on the couch with a sigh. Where was she going to start?

Pt 5

An hour after David left, Liz peered back into her bedroom. Max was lying
on the bed with his eyes shut. Even from this distance away she could hear
that his breathing was getting raspy. The broken ribs were beginning to
affect his lungs. It didn't look as though he had healed at all. Liz
supposed that made sense. His body's natural reaction to this kind of a
beating would be to automatically heal himself. But Max couldn't heal
himself, so he just wasn't getting any better. In fact, it looked as though
he was getting worse. Liz hoped that he would last long enough for the
serum to wear off.

She chastised herself for that last thought. This was Max. Max was the
strongest person she knew, both physically and emotionally. If anyone could
pull through, it was him. Liz didn't know what she would do if he didn't
make it. Now that she had him, she didn't think she could deal with loosing
him again. Just his presence, regardless of how weak it was, made her feel
better, safer.

Liz couldn't keep the concern out of her eyes, as she moved across the room,
and sat beside him on his bed, taking his good hand into hers, and clasping
it tightly. His eyes flipped open, and he gave her a little half smile.

If Liz had any doubts about why Max came back to Roswell for her, they left
immediately with one look at that smile of his. It was for her, and her
alone. She knew that from the first time she saw it. No one else in her
entire life had ever given her a look like that one, a look which held more
love and adoration than most people found in their entire lives. But Liz
had managed to find it, in this visitor from another planet, who seemed to
have been put on earth just for her.

"Hi." Max greeted her.

Liz smiled back at him. Once again, she was amazed that he was back with
her. What had she done to deserve a gift as great as Max Evans?

"Hey Max. I take it your powers still aren't working."

Max laughed weakly. Even his laugh sounded painful. She could tell that he
was trying so hard to be strong for her. "No, they aren't."

"Um, I talked to David about the serum. He said that it should wear off by
this time tomorrow night. Of course, we don't know for sure about that.
Your body could react differently to it, and reject it sooner…"

Liz's voice drifted off, and he understood what she wasn't saying. It could
take longer too.

"Well, let's hope for sooner then." Liz nodded in response.

They sat there in an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, both of them
needing to talk, but not knowing where to start. Seconds began to stretch
into minutes. Max knew if one of them didn't speak up soon, then they would
never get out what needed to be said.

"Liz?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." Oh God. He was apologizing for coming back! Liz didn't want
him to regret coming back!

"Max, this isn't your fault. It's more my fault then yours. I was the one
who asked you to come back to Roswell. I knew how dangerous it would be for
you, and I still asked. I got you into this. It was the least I can do to
get you out of it."

"I wasn't talking about this. I was talking about everything. I've done
nothing but cause you pain in the tenure of our…friendship. First I played
games with your heart. Kissing you, and taking you out, but then pulling
back at the first sign of trouble. Then I dumped you for another girl. To
this day I don't know what possessed me to do that. And then I ran out on
you, left your life without a word said between us for ten years, before
showing up on your wedding day, and messing with you some more. You never
deserved any of this, Liz. I've caused you outrageous amounts of pain."

"Yes, you did. But I loved you all the same." Max stared at her with his
mouth hanging open. She loved him? She had never told him that before.
Max felt like singing! If Liz Parker loved him, he could do anything. But
how could she love him after all that had happened?

"Why? How could you love someone who's caused you so much harm."

Liz grimaced. How could she explain it to him? Liz loving Max was as
natural to her as birds flying or fish swimming. You can't explain
something that just comes naturally to you.

"Because you're Max Evans. Because I knew the moment that you first touched
me that I would love you forever, and that nothing could ever change that
feeling. Because someone once told me that no matter what we'd go through,
it would all be worthwhile because we'd be together, and I knew the truth in
that statement in my heart from day one. Because we've managed to make it
through every door that's blocked our way. I love you, Max Evans. And
nothing will ever change that."

Liz sighed. It didn't sound right. There was no good way to put her love
into words. But she supposed that explanation would have to do.

Max's heart pounded at her words. He didn't know her feelings were that
strong, still, after all these years. Ironic, that she quoted him in her
explanation. He smiled. He meant those words then, and he still did now.
It had been tough, everything they had been through since then, but it was
okay, because they were together now.

"I love you too, Liz. I've always loved you. I never stopped loving you."

Their eyes burned into one another as they watched each other with a fiery
passion that neither knew they had in them. Liz leaned over and kissed Max
lightly on the forehead, and he squeezed her hand in recognition. They knew
in that moment without a doubt that their love was going to last, that they
would make it through this obstacle, and whatever other ones came up in the
future.

"We should be able to leave tomorrow, Max. Get as much rest as possible
tonight." Max nodded, silently accepting that she was coming with him.
They'd never be apart again.

It took every effort in Liz, to unlock their hands and pull away from Max.
She didn't want to leave him. She wanted to stay there by his side all
night, but she knew that it would help them both in the long run if she
slept on the couch in the front room. They both needed a full night's rest
if they were going to be traveling through the next night.

Pt 6

Max Evans awoke early the next morning, just as the sun was beginning to
peak up out of the sands of the nearby desert. He had slept soundly the
night before, a huge relief having been lift from his shoulders after his
talk with Liz.

His talk with Liz… Max smiled. She loved him! And he loved her with all
his heart. He sighed. He hoped that they'd be able to settle down together
somewhere. He had been on the run constantly for ten years, never staying
in any one spot for more that a year. That was no life to offer her. He
needed to find a nice, secluded town, where no one suspected that their
neighbor might be an alien, and the police wouldn't know his entire history.
Somewhere where they'd be able to start over, find new identities, and
live out their lives together. Max hoped that this wasn't all a dream, that
he would eventually wake from. If he and Liz forgot to be careful, then no
where would ever be safe for the two of them.

Suddenly Max realized something was different. The pain was gone. He
stretched, checked his bones, and chuckled to himself. The serum must have
worn off while he was asleep. He had subconsciously healed himself sometime
during the night. He grinned. There was no sign that he had ever been
hurt. Nothing except his memories remained.

Max sat up, and looked towards the door. Liz was in there, just a few short
steps away. Max got up, and opened the door. For the second time that
morning, he smiled.

Liz was curled up on the couch in her living room. Her hair was completely
mussed up, and at some point during the night her blanket had fallen to the
floor, forgotten there.

The smile slid from his face when he saw her shiver. Max quietly sneaked
over to the couch, and wrapped the blanket back around her, tucking it in
slightly. Even asleep, with her messy hair, and her faces all crunched up,
she was still beautiful. He sat on the table opposite the couch, and
watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful, almost without a care in the
world. Max sighed. It may be a while before Liz felt that peaceful again.

He couldn't resist. Max had to touch her. He gently reached over, and
stroked her soft, soft hair. God she was beautiful. And she was all his.

Liz felt his presence beside her from in her dreams, and as peacefully as
she slept, she then awoke. She kept her eyes closed, just feeling his
familiar presence all around her. When he touched her, she couldn't resist
anymore, and she smiled, and peeked her eyes open just a crack.

"Hi." She whispered.

"Hey." He softly responded.

"Whatcha doing?" Liz asked playfully.

"Watching you sleep. You're really beautiful when you sleep, Liz. You
know, they say that's when you really know how much you love someone, when
you watch them sleep."

"And is that how you felt just then."

"I already knew how much I loved you. That just reaffirmed it for me."

Liz smiled back at him. "Tomorrow night it'll be my turn."

"And every night after." Liz felt a rush of joy at his comment. He wasn't
going to run from her again. A small part of her had been so afraid that he
was going to wake up, and disappear from her life again. Liz then realized
where they were. He was out of bed!

"You're all better!"

"Yup. The serum wore off sometime last night."

"No side effects or anything."

"I feel stronger than I've felt in years. Your presence does that to me."

Liz blushed. Somehow he always seemed to know the right things to say to
her. She supposed that came with being soul mates.

Max looked at his watch. "It's still early, Liz. We should try to get out
of here before the whole town wakes up. It'll be easier to get out without
attracting attention."

Liz nodded. "I'll go pack."

At about 7:00 that morning, Maria DeLuca awoke to a loud rapping on her
front door.

"God, who could it be at this time. Everyone knows they shouldn't try to
talk to me before at least 10 am! What do you want?" Maria shouted as she
approached the door, wearing only her flannel pajamas.

"Maria, it's me! Open up!" Liz announced.

"Liz? What the hell is going on? The police were here last night, asking
me if I'd seen you," Maria opened the door and gaped. Max stood there with
Liz. "Max! What are you two up to?"

"We have to get out of town, Maria, and quickly. We need your car."

"What? Why? My car? You guys both have cars."

"Yeah, but they'll be looking for our cars as we're leaving town. Yours
won't be as obvious. Just give us the Jetta, Maria. You can have my car.
Keep it forever, it's a better car than that old worn out Jetta anyway. I
don't care, really. We won't be back for it."

"You won't be back? Where are you going?"

"Away. Out of Roswell. We'll contact you when it's safe."

"What's going on here, Liz?"

"They caught Max, and brought him to the lab. I broke him out of there, but
if they ask you, he kidnapped me, okay? Anyway, they're going to be looking
for us both. If they find me, they'll find out what I did. If you have any
questions, David will be able to answer them for you, but it's getting late,
and we need to get out of here."

Maria tossed Liz her keys. "Okay, here you go. Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll be in touch. I love you, Maria."

"I love you too, babe. And I'm going to miss you. Take care of her, Max.
Don't let anything happen to her."

"I won't. I promise." Maria grabbed her best friend, and hugged her
fiercely. "Bye Liz."

"Bye Maria. I'll be thinking of you."

And with that Max Evans and Liz Parker ran away together, leaving their
hometown of Roswell, New Mexico forever.

THE END