Part 10

Max clutched Liz tightly to them, as they heard the whisper. Max shivered.
It was HIS voice that he heard. Liz's eyes met his, and she couldn't keep
the fear out of them as she responded.

"Yeah, I'm here. Come on up."


Max had been restless all day. Ever since he had left Liz's house that
morning, all he could think about was how good it had felt to be in her arms
again. He had felt alive! For the first time in months he had felt like
himself again, and it had been a wonderful feeling.

There was just one thing wrong, only one worry that put a slight shadow over
Max's otherwise happy thoughts. He was still reeling over Liz's "see you at
school" comment. It bothered Max that she couldn't tell the difference
between him, her one true love, and the other one, his replacement. He
supposed it made sense though. In a way, they were the same person. They
were both Max Evans. But in a more real way, they were two separate people,
with separate minds and separate bodies. Liz couldn't possibly love them
both. It had to be one or the other, and he had faith that it was him.

After wandering all day, finally late that night, Max made his way back to
Liz's balcony. There was a bounce in his step as he walked, and he smiled
in anticipation of spending another night with Liz wrapped up in his arms.

"Liz, are you there?" Max whispered excitedly, and her response thrilled him
even more.

"Yeah, come on up!"

Max's heart throbbed with anticipation as he made his way up the ladder. He
pulled himself over the ledge, and looked up…

There Liz sat, all wrapped up in HIS arms, and the intense gaze in her eyes
dug right into his heart, making it falter for a moment. Max turned to look
at him, and gave a start. He looked like he wanted to kill him.

"Oh God…" He gasped in shock.

"So why don't you tell us who you REALLY are." Liz stated firmly. It wasn't
a question. She stared at him intently, her eyes ripping into his. Liz was
finally in the presence of both of them, and it was slightly disturbing for
her to drag her eyes from Max to his look alike. It was like looking into a
mirror. They were completely identical in every way. It took all of Liz's
willpower to keep herself from gasping out loud from the shock of it. But
she managed to keep her cool, as she stared down the new arrival waiting for
his response. Liz could feel that both she and Max were tense as they
glared at him dangerously.

"You know what?" Max stated angrily, as he slipped out from underneath Liz
and stood facing the impostor. "Don't even bother. I don't even want to
know what your excuse is. We know who you are. What we want to know, is
why are you doing this? Why her? Why didn't you come after me directly, or
Isabel or Michael? What interest could you possibly have in her?"

Liz sucked in her breath as she watched Max grow angrier, and angrier, his
fists clenched and his eyes flashing. Her heart pounded in her chest as
she wondered what he was going to do. She didn't want anything to happen to
him.

Her gaze switched over to Nasedo, who with each of Max's words also began to
grow tenser. Irritation began to show in his eyes, and Liz once again began
to question what his intentions were. For the fourth alien who was supposed
to be watching out for Max, he sure didn't look like he particularly cared
for him.

"What makes you think that any of this has to do with you?" The impostor
addressed Max furiously. "None of this has anything to do with you. You
know who I am? That's fine. I don't care. As for her? I had every reason
to be with her. I love her. I missed her. My life was empty without her in
it, so I came here to be with her." He turned and looked into her eyes, his
gaze softening with love and remorse. "You mean the world to me, Liz. Can't
you understand that?"

Liz's mind was spinning as she listened to his gentle words, and she thought
back to the time she had spent with him over the past few days, and all the
things that had surprised her. The extent of his pool skills, how easily
she had settled into his arms…it had all reminded her of another time,
another place… She had tried hard to convince herself that it had all been a
dream, that the other Roswell, the other Max had all been something in her
head, but as she looked up at the two men furiously exchanging words on her
balcony, she began to realize that it had been true…all of it. It wasn't a
dream. She had gone somewhere else, been with someone else, and somehow,
that other Max Evans had found a way back to her.

As all of these realizations came to Liz Parker, the two Max's were still
frantically arguing over her.

"You LOVE her?" one of them commented. "You miss her? From when? How long
has this been going on? Have you been trying to take her away from me for
weeks, months?"

"Hey, you were the one who broke her heart! How could you do something so
stupid? I mean, look at her! She's incredible."

"Don't you tell me how to take care of my girlfriend. I love Liz with all my
heart, and I'll do anything for her. Anything!"

"Really? Anything?" Disbelief and amusement flashed through one's eyes.

"Yes, anything." Hatred flashed in his eyes as he angrily stepped closer to
the other one. For a moment, Liz thought he was going to hit him. She had
to stop this!

"Stop it! Both of you!" Liz jumped up and pushed herself between the two of
them. Two pairs of beautifully dark Max Evans eyes blinked back into
awareness, as if just remembering that she was still there. They both
turned and stared at her, in unison, perfectly, lovingly, in Max Evans
style, both focused entirely on her.

Liz groaned in frustration and flopped back down on her chair. Her hands
raked through her hair in frustration, as she stared at her feet, trying to
figure out exactly what to do.

"God, I don't even want to hear you two start again. Please?" She muttered,
glaring at them both as she said so. She looked from one Max to the other
before looking back at the ground and saying. "You're the Max from the
other world, the Roswell where I died in the shooting. He's not the
shapeshifter, he's just another Max Evans, alien extrordinaire."

They both nodded slowly. Liz felt dizzy as she watched them standing there,
looking like mirrored images of one another. She sighed again realizing
that once again she didn't know which Max was which. It was frustrating for
her, and she just plain out didn't know what her next move should be. One
of the Max's made the choice for her, as he took a slight step forward and
started talking.

"Listen, Liz. I didn't mean to come here and cause all this trouble. I
didn't expect to upset you or anything. I just came because, well, I missed
you Liz. My life was nothing without you in it. I needed to be with you
again, even if it was just for a little while. I love you, Liz. I always
have and I always will. I mean it when I say that I will do anything for
you. I left my home, my family, just so that I could be here with you."

Max watched sadly as Liz listened to the other Max, her eyes softening with
every word spoken. His heart was breaking as he watched her, the affection
showing strongly in her eyes. That was it. He had lost her. Somewhere
down the line, he had lost her.

"But Max, you knew from the moment I showed up there that it wouldn't last
forever." Liz stated firmly, taking this Max's arm, and pulling him off to
the side a bit, in an attempt to separate them so that she could tell them
apart. "You knew that eventually I would be going home, and I did. You
knew that I had a Max here, and that we were involved. Did you even think
about my life here at all? You probably don't even know that after leaving
your world, I woke up in my bed, and was told that I had been there the
whole time. I didn't even know if that other world, if you, were real! I
thought it was all a dream. I didn't even know it was real until just a few
moments ago."

Max stared at her, all of his worst fears coming to life right in front of
his eyes. She thought it was all a dream, that what they had never actually
happened? In an instant his heart shattered into a million pieces, and if
Max Evans had thought that the past two months of his life were agony
without Liz Parker as a part of them, he learned a new, more powerful agony
in that moment, as he realized that she didn't need him.

Max took a step backwards from Liz, the pain obvious in his eyes, as he
backed away from the only woman he had ever loved. "I'm sorry. I thought I
was doing the right thing. All I was thinking about was how much I loved
you, Liz, how much I wanted to be a part of you again."

"I know that now, Max, and I understand that, and I want you to know that I
will always remember our time together, and all that you have done for me,
but my place is here, in my Roswell, with my Max."

Max's heart skipped a beat as he heard Liz's words. Did he just mishear
her, or did she just pick him? Maybe he hadn't screwed up as much as he
thought he had, when he let the other Max near her. For the first time, Max
looked at his counterpart, and his heart reached out to him. He couldn't
imagine what it must be like, to loose Liz not once, not twice, but now for
a third time. The pain he felt must be extraordinary. Max took a seat
back on the chair, and tried to make himself scarce, as Liz said goodbye to
him.

"I'm sorry, Max, really I am. But I can't go back there with you. You'll
always hold a special place in my heart, but you need to go back to your
Roswell. It's where you belong. You'll never feel quite right here, just
like I'll never feel quite right if I go there with you. Remember your
fortune from Chinese the other day: "To ease your pain you must find your
way home." You'll never be yourself until you find where you belong Max.
It's not here with me though. We don't belong together, Max."

Max sighed. "I know, Liz. I suppose deep down inside, I've always known.
But that doesn't change the fact that I'll always love you, Liz." He leaned
forward and lightly brushed his lips against Liz's, careful not to deepen
the kiss, because he knew the other Max was watching. "Goodbye Liz. I'll
always remember you."

"Goodbye Max."

Part 11

Liz focused her attention back on Max…her Max…the REAL Max. He lay there in
her chair, his head back, eyes searching the sky once more, a distant look
clouding his eyes. He had been trying hard to shut out the exchange between
Liz and…him…and he had done a good job of it. Now he barely even realized
that it had ended.

Liz circled around and stood behind Max, leaned down, and gently started
rubbing his shoulders. She needed to touch him, to feel his presence, and
only his presence, surrounding her.

Max ripped his gaze from the stars, her touch bringing him back to reality,
bringing his attention back to Liz.

"Come here." He gently asked, opening his arms to her. She took his
invitation, sliding back against him on the chair, allowing Max to wrap his
arms around her and pull her close up to him. Her head was pressed up
against Max's chest, and she sat there listening to his heartbeat. The
steady rhythm was incredibly soothing, and slowly Liz began to calm herself
down, returning to the safety and security of her world as she knew it.

"I can't help but feel sorry for him." Max softly sympathized. "I mean, in
a way, he is me, and I would never want to have to live out my life without
you. I would never wish anyone a fate so miserable and alone. It must be
absolute torture…"

"Yeah, but it is his life Max, and it's something that he needs to come to
terms with. I do feel kind of responsible though. I mean, he was fine
until I showed up and turned his world upside down."

"Don't blame yourself, Liz. It's not your fault. You weren't the one who
pulled the trigger in that diner. It all happened the way it did for a
reason…even in his world."

"Yeah…I know."

They sat there in silence for a while longer, watching the stars shine
brightly down on them, and feeling the warmth and love in one another's
presence. For the first time in a long time, their world seemed quiet and
uneventful. It was a very calming feeling for them.

"Max?"

"Yeah Liz?"

"I can't help but wonder though…how many other Roswells are there out there?
Could there be more than just his and ours? Maybe there are thousands of
them. Thousands of Max Evans', thousands of Liz Parkers, all of them
infinitely different from you and I, but still the same in a lot of ways.
I suppose there could be a human Max Evans somewhere, or a world where you
never came to earth, or one where you get caught by the FBI, and though all
of these worlds, which one is the REAL Roswell? Or are they all real?"

"I don't know, Liz. I really don't. But I suppose anything is possible."

"Yeah…I suppose."

"Liz…do you want me to head home? I mean, he's gone and you're safe. You
don't really need me to protect you right now. It's getting late. I can
head home and let you get some sleep. It's really no problem."

"Max…would you stay? Please? I really want to be with you tonight."

"Okay, I will."

"Thanks. But you're right, I am tired. Why don't we go to bed."

Liz took Max's hand and led him towards her bedroom, where she and her love
were about to spend the first of many nights curled up in one another's
arms.


Slowly Max Evans came to the realization that he was lying in his bed. He
felt like he was waking up from what seemed like a long night's sleep. He
became aware of his body first, lying there in the familiar covers of his
own bed, and next he realized that he wasn't alone. There were voices in
the room talking quietly.

"How are you doing, Isabel?" A strange voice asked.

"I really wish he would just wake up. He's been out like this for days. I
really miss him."

"He'll come back to us Izzy." That one was Michael's voice, Max realized.

"How can you be so sure?" Isabel asked frantically. "You didn't try to
connect with him like I did, Michael! He was so empty. It was like he
wasn't even in there!"

Max's heart ached at his sister's words. How could he have been so selfish
to run out on his family like that? God…he hadn't even thought about what
he was doing to them…

As the feeling began to return to Max's body he realized that his hand was
locked with his sister's, and Max squeezed it slightly, as he painfully tore
his eyes open, looking around his home for what felt like the first time.
His eyes met his sister's tear-stained ones, which were searching his
sharply.

"Max? Oh my God. Max! You're awake!"

"Yeah." Max sat up slowly, groaning as his head spinned. "I'm so sorry Is."

"Don't you ever leave us like that again, Max!" Isabel wailed, pulling her
brother into a tight hug.

"I won't…don't worry. Never again." The pain flashed into Max's eyes as he
remembered back to Liz's ultimatum. 'We don't belong together.' It was
over. Max was Liz-less, now and forever. He needed to pull himself
together, move on with his life. Maybe he could even find someone new.

Max blinked as he looked around the room, realizing for the first time that
he and Isabel weren't alone. He placed faces with the voices he had heard
before. Michael was there…and someone else too.

Max's eyes locked on the petite blonde standing across the room with
Michael, and for the life of him, he couldn't tear them away. There was
something about her…Max didn't know what, but he suddenly felt an incredible
urge to hold her close, and tell her everything about himself.

Max shook his head, as if trying to clear the images floating in front of
his eyes of himself with the new girl.

"Who's she?" Max asked, his voice dazed.

"I'm Tess." She informed him, smiling slightly.

"What? Don't tell me you were never introduced to Tess, Max? She moved
here, like a month ago, and has been hanging out with us ever since!" Isabel
laughed incredulously.

"She's in, like, three of your classes Max!" Michael told him.

"When I heard that you were sick, I wanted to come and check up on you, Max.
You had us all really worried for a while there."

"I'm sorry. I haven't really been myself lately. But that's all going to
change now." Max promised, squeezing Isabel's hand once more."

"Good." Isabel informed him. "Because we have a lot to catch up on. A lot
happened while you were off sulking. Tess here, is one of us…"

THE END! Because this is NOT a story about the gerbil!