The Language of Longing
Part 7-10
“This
sets my heart to fluttering in my breast, for when I look on you a moment, then
can I speak no more, but my tongue falls silent, and at once a delicate flame
courses beneath my skin…
and with my eyes I see nothing, and my ears hum, and a cold sweat bathes
me, and trembling seizes me all over, and I am paler than grass, and I feel near
death…” - Sappho
The sun was beginning to rise when Max, Liz, Michael, and Maria finally made it
back to Max and Liz’s apartment. Max carried Liz into their bed, pulling off
her shoes and tucking her in tight. She barely stirred. Her face was pale and
sickly, and she obviously was in a great deal of pain. While Michael and Maria
fell asleep immediately on the sleeper sofa in the living room, Max laid beside
Liz and watched her sleep. His eyes were baggy and the dark circles of
sleeplessness were beginning to show, but he didn’t care. As long as he was
awake, he could protect her from whatever was killing her.
She
squinted in her sleep through vivid bouts with pain and nausea. Max couldn’t
help but break into choked sobs. He kissed the top of her forehead, which he had
been cooling with a washcloth. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a fleeting
thought occurred:
Dear Lord,
make this baby disappear.
He
couldn’t believe he was saying that about their child, but it was just too
hard for Liz. She just couldn’t go on living like this. The dilemma of their
situation made him cry even harder and more forcefully.
Liz
opened her tired eyes then, moaning.
“Liz,” Max said, kissing her. “Please let me know what I can do to help
you.”
“Just…hold me.” Liz said. “I’m scared, Max.” She crawled into his
waiting arms, crying against his bare chest. He petted her smooth brown hair and
kissed the top of her head.
“It’s going to be all right.” Max said, trying to blindly reassure the
both of them. “At least you’re not throwing up anymore…has your nausea
gotten any worse?”
“Actually, the nausea is going away…” Liz said. “I’m just so,
dizzy…” Her eyes fluttered closed again.
“Get
some sleep.” Max said. “Save your strength.”
“No,
I’m not, I’m not…” She said, “…tired. Just dizzy.”
“Well, do you want me to make you some hot tea or something? That always helps
you sleep.”
She
frantically cried.
“NO!” She screamed. “No! I don’t want tea!”
He
turned around, startled by her frantic screaming.
“Lizzie, honey, what’s wrong? I thought you liked tea.” He said, walking
back towards her and pulling her back into his warm embrace. She curled into his
chest.
“That’s what made me sick, I think…I mean, I drank it and it tasted kind
of funny, but Morgan kept making me drink it, and I was too weak to stop…”
“What?” Max cried, his eyes glowing with rage. “She did what?”
“She
was forcing it down my throat, telling me it would make me feel better, but it
tasted awful, and I tried to stop her…” She said, crying and moaning like a
child.
Max
looked at her with horror. “Morgan was acting so strangely tonight. She stood
in front of the door when I was carrying you out, Liz, she was physically trying
to stop me from leaving with you.”
Liz was
shaking her head. “I can’t put my finger on it, Max…”
“But…”
“Something’s definitely…wrong with her…” Liz said. “She…she…”
“She
what?” Max asked frantically.
“Oh
my God!” Liz said, sitting up in her bed like a rocket, her breath ragged, her
eyes overflowing with tears of pain.
“What, Liz, what?” Max asked, holding on to her.
“I
just remembered something…like it was pushed back in my head and now…it’s
so clear…” Her eyes were wide and glowing.
“What? What is it?”
“I
thought I heard…Tess… calling my name, over and over in my brain…” Liz
said, closing her eyes. “’Goodbye, Liz…Goodbye, it won’t be long
now…’” She kept repeating. Liz shuddered, burying her face in Max’s
chest, trying to get the voice to go away. Max looked down at her, crumbling.
She’s
losing it. She’s having a nervous breakdown. She’s in pain because of me.
Liz
clutched her stomach in pain. “Shh, shh, baby, shh, no one’s ever going to
hurt you…”
Max put
his hand to her stomach, staring at the strange glowing symbol that seemed to be
fading. It mesmerized him. He gently laid Liz back on the bed, soothing her
cries.
“No
one’s going to hurt her. No one is ever going to hurt her.” Liz kept
repeating.
“Lizzie, who’s trying to hurt her?” He asked, laying beside her, nuzzling
into her neck and soothing her with gentle kisses.
“Tess. Tess is going to hurt our baby, Max. I can feel it. She’s hurting her
now.” Liz began crying.
“Tess
is hurting you now? ” Max said. “How do you know?”
Liz
said nothing, but put her hand on the side of his face, and he got a flash.
He could feel
the pain inside of her.
He could
feel the life energy of their child being taken away by something…someone…
Their baby
was dying.
Max looked
into her eyes as they both sobbed.
“No…”
He whispered. Liz put his hand on her belly as she laid back in front of him.
He got another flash.
<<A tiny raven-haired beauty twirling around on the sand.
Liz runs over to her, scooping her up in her arms, and they twirl around,
laughing and playing together.
The little girl is beautiful, she looks like a tiny version of Liz.
He sees himself there too. Liz puts the little girl down and she runs into
his arms.
“Daddy! Daddy!” She squeals in delight as she flies into his arms.
“Jordana, my precious baby girl…” He says, kissing the top of her
head. “You better stop twirling or you’re going to fall down!”
“But I love to fall, Daddy! Falling in the sand is so fun!” She
squeals back.
He smiles, tickling her.
“Daddy stop it! Daddy!” She screams, laughing and squirming out of his
arms.
Liz comes over to them then, smiling.
“Jordana, it’s time for lunch, sweetheart.” Liz said. “Come eat
your sandwich.”
“No, Mommy, I want to play with Daddy.” Jordana replied.
“Aww, come on Lizzie, just a little while longer.” He said, pleading
with Liz on his hands and knees before her. Jordana saw him doing this and
copied him.
“Yeah, come on, Mommy, pleeeeeease?” She asked, smiling sweetly. Liz
squeezed her cheeks.
“Now how can I say no to a precious little face like that? Of course,
you can play as long as you want. Just tell me when you get hungry, ok?” Liz
said, kneeling down to her young daughter’s eye level.
“Yeah!” She said, squealing with delight. “Come on, Daddy, let’s
go make a sandcastle!” Her tiny hand reached out for his and he smiled.
Then it happened.
As soon as Jordana had grabbed his hand, he felt it slipping away.
Tess had appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Jordana and pulling her away
from him.
“Tess! No! Let go of her!” He screamed. Tess flung Jordana into her
arms and raced towards the ocean spread out like a blanket in front of them.
“Tess! Let go of my baby!” Liz screamed, joining him as they fled
towards the water.
But it was no use.
The more they ran, the further Tess took Jordana out into the dark, cold
water.
Then they both vanished.>>
“Tess!”
Max screamed as the flash ended.
Liz looked
into his eyes. “That’s how I know. Max, that scene has been playing in my
mind all night. Tess is doing something to me, to the baby, I don’t know what
it is…” She began crying again, rubbing her tummy.
“Liz, oh
God, baby, I’m not going to let her do this…”
“How are
you going to stop her?” Liz asked pointedly. “You can’t stop her forcing
her way into my body like this.”
“No, Liz, I
will. I will stop her. I’ll do anything.” He thought briefly about killing
Tess, but then he saw a vision of his son. His son would be devastated at the
loss of his mother, no matter how genuinely evil she was. He kissed the top of
Liz’s head, then kissed her stomach. “I’m not going to let her hurt
Jordana.”
Liz smiled. “I think we should name her that too…”
“I think
it’s a beautiful name…” Max said, smiling. Tears came to his eyes. He
couldn’t get the image of his beautiful baby girl being ripped from him by
Tess.
Liz rubbed
the top of his head as he rested the side of his head on her belly. Within
moments, they both had fallen asleep.
* * * * *
Tess
opened her eyes and smiled.
“It
won’t be long now. They are both as good as gone…” She said, smiling to
herself. She looked over at her nightstand, at a picture of she and Max. She
then glanced over to the picture of their son next to it. Using her powers of
manipulation, she moved the image of Adam-Michael over to the photo of she and
Max. It looked like the three had posed for a picture together. One smiling,
happy family.
“That’s better.” She said, smiling. She moved her hands across the photo
and brought it up to her mouth, kissing the image of Max. “Darling, we’ll be
together soon.” With that, she turned off the light and went to sleep.
She
smiled, knowing the plan was set in motion. They had no idea that Morgan was
really Nasedo… and she was growing progressively more successful at breaking
into Liz’s unconscious…getting her to reject her baby… and now, she just
had to break into Max’s dreams, getting him to think about making love to her
again.
“That
should be easy enough…” Tess laughed ominously. “He’s gorgeous, but so
weak.” She chuckled and rolled over, closing her eyes.
“You were standing all alone against the world outside…you were searching for a place to hide…lost and lonely, now you’ve given me the will to survive. When we’re hungry, love will keep us alive.”- The Eagles
Her kinky-curly blonde hair fell down around him, and he loved it.
He gets such pleasure out of hearing her call his name, over and over
and over again…
He feels her hot, open-mouth kisses streaming down his body.
He can feel it coming, and he can’t stop himself.
He has to have her.
He grabs her shoulders, pulling her towards him and assaults her with
the kisses he knows she likes.
He pushes her into the bed and she moans with delight.
Their lower bodies begin moving in unison and he wastes no time
plunging into her.
“Oh, Max! Don’t stop!” He hears her scream.
He’s not listening.
He’s caught up in his own wave of desire.
“Yes! Yes!” She screams, the sound of her voice ripping into him
like a knife into his heart, and tearing up his insides.
“No!”
Max screamed, sitting up in his bed. “No! Oh, God, no!” He rubs his hands
furiously across his face and over his naked body, hoping to wash the
disgusting, dirty feeling still hanging on him from his nightmare. His chest
rose and fell in furious fits of breath, stinging his lungs and making his heart
race like a bullet.
Then he felt
it.
Liz’s
gentle hand touching his face.
“Sweetheart…” She said, her soothing words falling down like a cleansing
rain over his soul.
“Liz,
Liz, oh God, I’m so sorry…” He said, burying his face into her neck and
sobbing.
“Shh…don’t apologize…just rest.” She said quietly.
She knew he
had dreamed of Tess again, and it was tearing him apart inside.
It had
been a week since the night she had almost died, and her pregnancy was already
becoming noticeable. This worried Max and Liz because it seemed her pregnancy
was moving along at an extremely rapid rate. And since this was the first
human/alien baby in which a human was carrying the fetus, they weren’t sure
how long the gestation period would last. Isabel’s pregnancy had gone to full
term- the normal human 40 weeks.
Liz ran
one hand through Max’s hair, which was pasted to his head with sweat. She ran
her left hand down her body and let it rest on her growing belly. Since she was
studying to become an obstetrician, she had some idea about how she much she
should be showing, according to how long she had been pregnant. Their child had
been conceived about ten weeks before, but she was already looking like she was
16 weeks along. At this rate, she would be having the baby in another four
months. Because of their situation, she couldn’t go to the OB/GYN to get
checkups, and it worried her to no end. She knew she should be getting pre-natal
care for the good of both she and her baby. To ease her worries, Max had bought
her seven different pregnancy books and three different essential pre-natal
vitamins. She had been in the middle of reading one of these books when he woke
up screaming.
“Liz,
this one…it was different…”
“Why,
Max? What was different about it?” She placed the book on the nightstand and
snuggled into his chest, their bare stomachs touching. They loved lying together
this way, it made them feel safe with their baby between them.
“It
just felt, so real…like she’s getting close. Very close. Are you having
anymore visions of her?” He asked Liz.
“No,
I haven’t had one since last week when I got so sick… do you think that
means maybe she’s giving up?”
Max
looked into his fiancé’s hopeful eyes. He couldn’t believe they weren’t
even married yet and they were facing all these problems. Their wedding was only
two and a half months away and they still had so much planning to do. “I
don’t think she’ll give up…until she gets what she wants.” He said
quietly, brushing a piece of her auburn hair back behind her ear.
“And
all she wants is you.”
Max
nodded solemnly.
“Well
she’s not going to win, Max. I’m not going to let her. We’re not going to
let her.” Liz said, placing his hand on her stomach. “Do you feel that?”
He
smiled. “Yeah…” His eyes got wide with wonder.
“That’s our baby in there. Jordana- she’s yours and mine. We have to beat
Tess for her. If not for ourselves, we have to help our baby. She’s this
innocent little thing growing inside of me, and I would rather die myself than
see any harm come to her.” Liz said, choking back tears as she remembered her
terrifying vision of Tess kidnapping Jordana.
“Liz…” He said, giving her one sweet but sensual kiss on her waiting lips.
“I love you, so much. I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love
you.”
Her
answer made his pulse quicken, his blood racing furiously through his veins with
so much velocity it almost ached.
“Please make love to me, Max.” She whispered, taking his hand and moving it
from her neck, down the length of her body, finally resting between her legs.
He
didn’t answer her. He let his desire and his longing take over and he ravished
her.
* * * * * *
Two Days Later…
Liz
and Max had taken Michael and Maria to the airport early that morning for their
flight back to California. Their separation would be brief, though. Michael and
Maria loved Boston so much and because of the Tess situation, felt the need to
be close to Max and Liz, so they decided they would be moving there by the end
of the month. They had already found a small apartment in Allston, not too far
from Liz and Max’s place, and only footsteps away from Boston University. They
had gone back to Santa Monica to get their things together and try to sell their
apartment.
Liz
walked into her Bioethics class 15 minutes late, carrying a cup of orange juice
and a bagel. She looked radiant- the pregnancy was making her glow all over and
she was wearing a lavender sundress that showed the slightest hint of her
growing belly. She quickly and quietly found her usual seat next to Morgan and
sat down next to her. Morgan looked over at her and smiled.
“Liz,
are you ok? You’re late.” Morgan said, gesturing to her belly.
“What?” Liz cried. Morgan couldn’t know she was pregnant. How could she
have known…
“Class starts at 8, honey.” Morgan said, smiling. She looked at her watch.
“It’s almost 8:20. Why, what did you think I was talking about?”
“Oh,
nothing.” Liz shook her head furiously, pulling her notebook from her
messenger bag and putting it on her desk. She placed her cup of orange juice on
her desk as well, and sat her bagel on her lap, taking bites every few moments.
“So what did I miss?”
“Oh,
nothing…Prof’s babbling on like he always does…” Morgan said, rolling
her eyes. “Are you ok? You don’t look so hot. Like you’ve been up all
night or something…”
Liz’s
eyes opened wide. Morgan was never this inquisitive, not at 8 in the morning.
They had lived together for two years and both knew the other wasn’t coherent
until about 1 in the afternoon.
“Oh,
I’ve just been a little sick… still getting over that weird flu thing from
last week, ya know?” She said, trying to smile. She couldn’t shake the
feeling that Morgan was acting very strange. Morgan grinned, nodding. They
exchanged a quick glance before both returned their attention to the professor.
“So,
I’d like one of you all to come up here and write out Blackburn’s theorem…
of the probability that a patient who claims to want to die is really telling
the truth…” The professor’s eyes searched slowly around the classroom,
stopping at Liz. He smiled. “Ahh, Ms. Parker. Since you seem to have gotten a
little extra sleep, you should be well refreshed and able to come up and write
out this problem for everyone.”
Liz
grinned sheepishly as everyone in the lecture hall turned around to stare at
her.
“Um,
okay.” She said, slowly placing her bagel and juice back on the desk and
rising from her chair. As she walked down the steps to the front of the
auditorium, she felt dozens of pairs of eyes staring into her. She could hear a
few whispering about her.
“Is
she pregnant?” She heard one girl whisper with a shocked look on her face. Liz
shrugged it off. She didn’t know the girl, so who cared? She finally made it
to the overhead projector and the professor handed her a pen.
“Okay, so the problem is…umm…” She began carefully writing out the
formulas for the Blackburn theorem on the overhead. She looked over at her
professor several times to see him nodding with approval. When she was finished,
everyone clapped, and she looked back to Morgan in terror.
Morgan
was putting something into her juice!
“Calm, Liz, calm, don’t panic…” She said under her breath, steadying
herself.
“Thank you, Ms. Parker. Excellent work. You can return to your seat now.”
The professor said, smiling. Liz began slowly walking up the stairs, trying to
avoid Morgan’s gaze. When she got back up to her chair, Morgan looked up from
her notebook and smiled.
“Great job, Lizzie! You’re going to have to help me with that one, I don’t
understand it.” Morgan said sweetly.
Liz
glared down at her, still standing above her. She picked up her juice cup, and
began to raise it to her lips. She saw Morgan staring at her through the corner
of her eye.
“On
second thought…” Liz said, moving the cup away from her mouth. “I think
you need the juice more than me.” She said, pouring the cup over Morgan’s
head.
“LIZ!” Morgan screamed, jumping up from her seat. “What the HELL is the
matter with you?” Everyone had turned to look back at Liz and her
juice-drenched companion. Morgan raised a hand to slap her, but Liz was quicker.
She grabbed Morgan’s hand and twisted her arm around.
“I
know what you’re trying to do.” Liz said, smiling sweetly. “It isn’t
going to work. You’re never going to get to my baby.” She leaned over to
whisper into Morgan’s ear, while still holding her in a tight grip. “And do
me a favor…tell Tess that she needs to give it up. She’ll never take Max
away from me...”
Morgan/Nasedo’s
eyes widened in fear. She quickly realized who she was dealing with- a mere
human, and smiled.
“Liz,
darling, enjoy your time with Max. It won’t be much longer. Not even with this
mutt child of yours.” She placed her hand on Liz’s stomach and Liz crouched
over in pain. She smiled, grabbed her bag, and walked out of the
classroom, leaving a pile of juice behind her.
“Oh,
God…someone help me…please!” Liz screamed out. Two guys and a girl rushed
over to her and helped her stand back up.
“Are
you ok?” A blonde guy asked her.
“What
did she do to you?” The brunette guy asked her.
Liz
looked around, the room was spinning. She grabbed the girl, who had her hand
stretched out. “Get, my fiancé…Max Evans…he’s in this
building…upstairs…room 306…hurry…”
The
girl looked at her, and then up to the guys in terror. She ran out of the room,
quickly doing what Liz had asked her.
Her
eyes fluttered shut as she struggled to keep them open. The waves of pain
throughout her body were becoming unbearable.
“No,
no…” She sobbed. “This can’t be happening…” The two guys put their
arms around her, trying to stop her from crying. The professor ran up to Liz,
holding her hand and giving her some tissue.
“Liz,
what’s wrong, dear?” He asked, frantic.
She
shook her head in a daze. The two guys looked up at their teacher.
“We
don’t know, sir… that girl put her hand on Liz’s stomach, then she
crouched over…” The brunette guy chimed in.
“She’s in a lot of pain, sir.” The blonde guy piped in. “Stacy went to
go get her boyfriend.”
“Oh
dear.” The professor said, putting his hand on Liz’s forehead. “She’s
burning up.”
“Maybe we should get a doctor or something…” The blonde guy said.
“No!
No!” Liz screamed, her eyes shut tightly in pain and her fists clenched over
the brunette guy’s outstretched arms. “Only Max…he’s the only one that
can help…”
“Liz,
are you pregnant?” The professor said.
“Yes,
yes, I think my baby’s…” Liz said, sobs choking her speech. The
realization that something was really wrong was bringing on waves of fresh
tears.
The
blonde guy looked up at the brunette guy and they looked over at the professor
in terror. They were so sad to be holding a seemingly sweet girl who was going
through such incredible pain.
The
door opened and Stacy and Max ran in. “I got him Liz!” She screamed.
“Liz!
Oh God!” Max said, running over to her and grabbing her from the two guys.
“What happened?”
“It
was her, Max…Morgan…she did something to me…” Liz said, through waves of
pain. “Jordana… she’s dying…”
Max’s
eyes lit up in terror. He scooped her up quickly and ran her out of the room.
“Thanks for helping her, but I’ll take it from here.”
When
Max and Liz were gone, the professor put his head in his hands.
“I
hope she’s going to be ok.” The professor said, walking back to the front of
the auditorium. He grabbed his microphone from the nearby table and sighed.
“Class is dismissed.”
Stacy’s eyes watered. “She looked so scared.” The blonde guy hugged her.
“I
know, Stace.” He said, kissing the top of her head.
The
brunette guy looked off into the direction of the door.
“I
hope he can help.” He added as the class began to gather their things and file
out of the auditorium.
* * * * *
“Do I know you from somewhere? Why do you leave me wanting more? … Kiss me
I’m dying... Put your hand on my skin… I close my eyes… I need to make a
connection… I’m walking on a thin line… I close my eyes… I close my
eyes… Touch me I’m trying… To see inside of your soul… I’ve got this
thing… I want to make a correction… I’m not like this all the time…
You’ve got this thing… you’ve got this thing… Do I know you from
somewhere? Why do you leave me wanting more? … Kiss me, I’m dying… Put
your hand on my skin… I close my eyes… I need to have your protection… I
close my eyes… I close your eyes…” - Madonna
Max
clutched Liz close to his body, racing out of the auditorium and running until
he found a safe place to take her- an unlocked janitor’s closet in the
hallway. He pulled off his jacket and laid it on the floor in the closet, while
making sure the door was locked behind him.
“Max,
Max, hurry… I don’t think…” Liz said, her eyes fluttering with warm wet
tears. He ran over to her and pulled her sundress up just enough to reveal her
small belly. His eyes lit up in horror when he saw what was there…
The
symbol was turning from its peaceful iridescent glow to an ominous black.
“Oh,
God, Liz…what did she do to you?”
Liz
opened her eyes, her entire body violently shaking. “Morgan…she’s Nasedo…she
touched my stomach…and that’s why…I’m like this…it’s her,
Max…it’s her…” She kept repeating.
He
touched her stomach and he got a horrifying flash.
Instead
of the serene white light he usually sees, accompanied by the smiling face of
his unborn daughter, he saw nothing but darkness…like Liz’s insides were
nothing but a hollow cave-and their daughter didn’t exist anymore…
“No,
no…” He screamed. He didn’t waste anymore time. He placed his hand firmly
on Liz’s belly. “Liz, look at me.”
At that
moment, they connected.
**The first time he ever saw Liz.
Seeing her walking through the halls of West Roswell High, before
the day he saved her life.
The terror they both felt at the exact moment Liz was shot.
The exact moment she fell in love with him… looking into his eyes
and seeing her own soul- her own heart.
The pain they both felt in their time apart.
The first time they ever made love.
Max sneaking into Liz and Morgan’s dorm room when Morgan was away.
The night he asked her to marry him.
All their lazy afternoons together in bed, away from the rest of the
world.
Then Tess…and Adam-Michael…and finally…
Their Jordana.
He saw Liz walking towards him in a flowing white gown, carrying
their sleeping baby in her arms.**
Suddenly, the connection was broken.
“Liz…” He whispered, looking painfully into her eyes.
“Max…” She said. He lifted his hand from her hot skin and saw the familiar
glowing silver handprint from when he saved her life that day in the Crashdown.
And the
tiny symbol marking Jordana’s existence was alive and well again.
“Oh,
God, Max, she’s okay! She’s ok…” Liz said, flinging herself into Max’s
arms. He sighed comfortably, showering her with hundreds of tiny kisses all over
her. He then turned his attention to her glowing abdomen.
He
planted one sweet kiss on the symbol and smiled into her skin. “I’m always
here for you, sweetie…I’m sorry you had to go through that…we love you so
much and we will never stop believing in you…”
Liz
smiled through a wash of tears. “Max, thank you…” Liz said. “We would
have died…”
Max
looked up at her then, his big brown eyes flowing with seemingly endless tears.
"You're going to be all right. Both of you." He hugged her to
him like she was going to disappear if he let her go. "Do you want to stay
here for a few minutes or do you want me to go ahead and take you home?"
"Max, you don't have to take me home, you have a big exam in two days, you
need to be in class."
"Liz, that's not important right now!"
"Getting into med school isn't important?"
Max
paused. "Of course it is, but I choose my priorities. And right now, my
family is my first priority."
Liz
smiled up at him. She didn't know what was going to happen to her or the baby,
but she knew deep down in her heart that Max would protect both of them, no
matter what.
* * * * *
Max
held Liz's hand as he drove them home. He thanked God that the day this happened
was the day he had taken Michael and Maria to the airport and had driven to
school. He didn't think he could stand a long train ride home with her. He
wanted to get her home as soon as possible. The ride home was relatively quiet,
mostly because Liz was taking a little cat nap and Max was too enraged to speak.
He
gripped the steering wheel tightly as he pondered his options. If Tess was going
to continue to endanger the safety and well-being of Liz and their daughter, he
was going to have to take matters into his own hands. On the other hand, he
could never kill anyone- especially the mother of his first born child, and one
of his own kind.
Then
there was the matter of Nasedo or Morgan, or whoever the hell he was now. Max
was fairly certain he had gone on to take another human form by now. Max beat
himself up for not putting two and two together earlier. After the incident the
night Liz found out she was pregnant, and all the things she told him about
Morgan's odd behavior, Max should have insisted that they not have contact
anymore- just to be on the safe side. But he didn't listen to the side of him
saying he was just being paranoid, and that almost cost him is soon-to-be-wife
and daughter. He was getting married in like 2 months! They hadn't even begun to
plan or do anything for it. He couldn't believe that all this shit with Tess and
Nasedo was really happening. And on top of it all, they had finals and
graduation in less than 3 weeks!
Max
couldn't take all the pressure and stress anymore. He waited until it was safe
and pulled over on the side of the road once they'd reached the neighborhood of
Brighton, which was about 10 minutes from home. He put his head on the steering
wheel and began sobbing uncontrollably.
The
sound of his sobbing and the feeling of the car's engine switching off startled
Liz out of her sleep. She put her hand on his cheek.
"Sweetheart..." She said, trying her best to calm him down. He looked
into her eyes and she saw an emptiness... fear, rage, pain... it scared her.
Those eyes did not belong to the eyes of her Max. All this stress was making him
change...on the inside too.
Max
began breathing shallow breaths. "Liz..."
"What..." She said, taking his hands into hers. "Talk to
me..."
"I...I...keep having these...feelings, these strong urges..." Max
said, gripping his hands tighter on the steering wheel.
Liz's
eyes grew wider as she listened to the man she loved speaking to her.
"...Urges? To do...what?" She asked, her voice cracking with fear.
"When I saw you lying there, you dying, Jordana...dying..." Max said,
choking back sobs. "...I thought only one thing...I wanted
to...kill...whoever did this to you. So you would always be safe."
Liz
gasped.
"I
know, I know, it's crazy, and stupid, and awful..."
"Max, that's not like you... you could never...kill...anyone."
It made Liz grimaced to even say the word.
"...but if I don't, she's going to kill you, and she's going to kill
Jordana." Max pleaded with her.
"Max, I know you, maybe even better than you know yourself- and you could
never kill anyone, especially the mother of your son." Liz said. "Even
if she is a monster."
"But, Liz..." Max cringed. He was even scaring himself about what he
was thinking. He just wanted her dead. Both of them. She and Nasedo.
"Max. There are other ways we can get her out of our lives."
"Liz, what happens the next time she does this and I'm not there to help
you?" Max said, taking her fingers and lacing them with his. "I would
never forgive myself if..."
Liz
wiped his cheek with her hand. She placed a gentle hand on his cheek where the
tear used to be. "Nothing's going to happen to me. You and I, we're
stronger than hate. We're stronger than evil. We're stronger than Tess."
Max
looked into her eyes. He'd never been so scared in his life. He knew he couldn't
just sit around and wait for Tess to attack Liz again. There was just too much
at stake.
"Let's go home." Liz said, smiling. "I'd love to take a nap with
you in my arms."
Max
tried to smile, but he was terrified. He resolved to call Michael and Isabel
when he got home. He needed their help, now more than ever.
* * * * *
Tess and Adam-Michael's Home
Later that afternoon
"Mommy, can I watch another video?" Adam-Michael asked his mother, who
was pacing in the kitchen, the cordless phone in her hand. Nasedo had just
called her to tell her that Liz discovered that she was really Morgan. Nasedo
also told Tess that Liz was in noticable pain when he last saw her.
"Fine, whatever, Adam...just leave Mommy alone, ok? I have some very
important business to take care of."
"Ok, Mommy. I'm sorry." Adam said, frowning. Tess didn't even notice
the hurt in her son's eyes as he went back to the VCR and popped in a Barney
video. He went back to drawing a picture with crayons. It was of a little boy
holding hands with a man. They both had brown eyes and brown hair. There was
also another woman in the picture he drew, a woman with long brown hair. She was
a lot smaller than the man and was holding the little boy's other hand. Adam
drew little red hearts between the hands. Over the stick figure man was the word
"Daddy", over the little boy was "Adam-Michael",
and over the woman was "Daddy's girlfriend". He smiled as he
drew a sun, and grass, and the horse his mom had promised him and he had never
received.
When it
finally dawned on her that her son was hurting, Tess walked over to the living
room where he was coloring. Her eyes welled up with tears when she saw the
drawing of a girl with long brown hair holding hands with the little boy in the
picture. "Adam..." She said, breathlessly.
"Yes, Mommy."
"Who is that?" She asked, pointing her finger to the dark-haired woman
in the picture. She swallowed in anticipation, knowing exactly what her son
would say.
"That's Daddy's girlfriend. The one holding hands with him at the airport
that day. She was nice."
"Nice, Adam? She barely spoke to you!" Tess said, grabbing the picture
from her son. "You are never to speak of her again, do you hear me? She is
an evil, evil woman! She is keeping you from your Daddy!"
Adam's
eyes welled with tears. "Mommy, why are you yelling at me?" His bottom
lip quivered. "I don't want to live with you anymore. I want to live with
my Daddy." He said, turning over his box of crayons and running into his
room, slamming the door behind him.
Tess
sat on the floor, clutching her stomach. "Oh, God..." She said.
"What have I done? What have I done?" She repeated, sobbing.
"Tessa..." She said to herself, pulling her body from the ground.
"You have to pull yourself together. Your son loves you, and so does Max.
And soon, you will be a family again." She said, smiling. She opened the
balled up picture she had been clutching in her hands and took one look at Liz
and Max's images. Adam had drawn the two of them with big smiling faces and Liz
with a big pregnant belly. How on earth could Adam have known Liz was pregnant?
Perhaps there was a connection already between the new baby and Adam? How could
he have known he had a sister coming? Tess had to stop this. She would never
lose her son to Liz and Max, no matter what she had to do to stop it.
* * * * * *
"A mother understands what a child does not
say."- unknown
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Michael, I've never been so scared in my whole life." Max said,
pacing in the kitchen of their apartment, trying carefully not to wake a resting
Liz in the other room. "Not even when Pierce was torturing me in that white
room...that doesn't even compare."
"Maxwell..." Michael said, unconvinced.
"No, Michael...when I saw Liz lying there, she and our baby...dying...I
felt myself dying inside, too. It was Nasedo. He did this to her. He was
pretending to be Morgan, he prayed on her Michael...he's dangerous."
Michael nodded, trying to understand the gravity of what Max was telling
him. "He said he'd do anything to protect us...and our destiny...to each
other."
"That's not a good enough excuse anymore, Michael! I'm not going to sit
back and wait until he takes Liz and our daughter away from me!" Max said,
the blood pumping through his veins like hot fire. "They don't deserve
that! If Nasedo wants to kill, let him kill me!"
"Max, calm down...we're not going to let anything happen to her. Listen,
we're almost finished packing up here, and Maria can stay behind here for a few
days and close up the place...I'll fly back out there and stay with you guys...I
know you need as much power against them as you can get right now."
"Thanks Michael. But I don't need your help to keep Liz safe. I need you
here to hold me back. I've been having these...urges..." Max said,
clenching his fists.
Michael
raised his eyebrow. "What...kind of urges?"
"After seeing Liz hurt like that today, I wanted someone to pay...I wanted
someone to suffer as much as Liz and our daughter had to suffer. All I could
think about was...killing...Nasedo and Tess." Max said firmly, afraid of
himself for what he was proposing. "I just wanted them dead."
Michael
gasped in anger. "Maxwell, how DARE you! They are our family! Tess is my
sister, for God's sake! I'll kill YOU if you lay a finger on her!"
Max
paused. "She's killing my baby! She's killing Liz!"
"Liz is more important than your family? Your blood? Your people?"
Michael screamed at him.
"Liz IS my family! Tess means nothing to me! She's done nothing but deceive
and trick me since the day we met! She kept my son from me for five years!"
Max screamed. "What is wrong with you Michael? Liz is the best thing that
ever happened to me, and you've NEVER been able to accept her!"
"I
don't have anything against Liz, Maxwell. I don't want her to die...but I think
you need to get your priorities in order, that's all."
"She's two months away from being my wife! She's carrying my daughter! Liz,
Jordana, and Adam-Michael! They are my first priority, they are my family! I
have to save them, I have to have them here with me, safe...they'll never be
safe with her around..." Max said, beginning to quietly sob.
"Never..."
"Maxwell, I know you want to spend more time with Adam-Michael. But are you
really willing to end the lives of Nasedo, who helped save your ass all those
years ago when you were being tortured by Pierce, and Tess, who you used to care
about, used to be involved with, and is Adam's MOTHER? Do you really think he
would ever forgive you for killing the only parent he's ever known?"
Michael cried. "You really have a problem, man."
Max
paused. "I'm...sorry, Michael. I know Tess and Nasedo are important to you.
But I'm trying to make you see that Liz and my children are the MOST important
things in the world to me. And if you want to come out here, that's fine, go
ahead. But don't think you can stop me. If Nasedo or Tess do ANYTHING at all to
endanger Liz and Jordana's lives, I WILL be forced to do
something...drastic."
"Max, are you even stopping to consider what you would be losing by killing
them? Nasedo was sent here as our guardian. What happens if anyone tries to hurt
us again? Like the FBI? Torture? That white room they locked you in? Alien
hunters? Do those ring a bell?" He paused to catch his breath. "And
what makes you think you can even kill Nasedo? If you kill him, we'll just find
him and use those crystals we used to save his life the last time, and you'll
just be back to square one again..."
"Wrong, Michael...that's where you're wrong. Those crystals require all
four of our energies combined. You, Isabel, Tess, and I. And I'll tell you one
thing, I will never do it. Never. And Isabel would never betray me, or
Liz." Max said, firmly. He walked over to the refridgerator and smiled at
the picture they'd received from Isabel and Alex announcing Michaela's birth.
The two of them were cuddling with their newborn and they looked so happy. Max
longed for that to be he and Liz, holding Jordana. It made him sick to think
that it may never happen for them. They may never be able to hold their baby in
their arms and tell her how much she's loved.
Michael
sighed. He knew Max wasn't going to back down from this crusade of his. And he
didn't want to see Max hurt, that was the last thing he could ever want. He knew
there was no use in trying to get through to him. He was just going to have to
try to stop him from doing something that would tear them all apart.
****"The daughter never gives up on the mother,
just as the mother never gives up on the daughter. There is a tie here so strong
that nothing can break it. I called it 'the unbreakable bond'".- Rachel
Billington****
In the
other room, Liz was barely asleep and was listening intently to what Max was
saying to Michael on the phone. She felt torn on the inside. She was relieved to
have him standing up for her against his own people, but she was becoming more
and more terrified at what he was becoming- he was actually thinking about
taking a life. She hated Nasedo, and she hated Tess even more, but she would
never want to see them killed by Max. She wanted their baby girl to be able to
look up to her father as a brave, loving, caring, honorable man. A man who keeps
his promises, respects others, and would never endanger anyone.
*What
was happening to him? *
She
rolled over on her side, her growing belly propped up with pillows for extra
comfort during the night. The warm tears swelled in her eyes as the screaming in
the other room intensified. She tried in vain to keep from sobbing herself to
sleep, but she couldn't contain the pent-up emotion she was feeling.
"God, I'm so confused." She whispered, looking up to the heavens.
"Lord, tell me what to do..." She placed a single protective hand on
her belly, which donned the intriguing glowing symbol that comforted her to no
end. "Goodnight, baby girl. I love you so much." She said, smiling
through tears and kissing her palm, then returning it back to rest on her
stomach.
****After a few minutes, she had drifted off to sleep. Her dream started out so
peacefully-it was different from the beach scene that terrified her so much.
This time, it was from her point of view. She was walking down the aisle, her
father's arm linked with her own. She could fill her eyes brimming with tears of
joy as she looked on both sides of the aisle and saw her friends and family
members looking at her with ecstatic faces.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Max standing at the altar, waiting for her
to join him. His soulful brown eyes matched her own in that they were filling
quickly with warm tears. She smiled at him then, but he just couldn't do
anything but stare at her immense beauty. She looked to Max's left and saw
Michael, the person he always considered to be his brother, standing strong
beside him as his Best Man. Alex was smiling sweetly at her, as Max's usher. He
winked at her. Liz smiled back at him. Liz looked to her left and her heart
filled with love.
It was her best friend Maria as her maid of honor in a beautiful satin lavender
wedding gown, with Isabel smiling at her side. Liz loved Maria and Isabel like
her own sisters, but the sight of the beautiful baby girl in Maria's arms took
Liz's breath away.
Liz didn't have to be introduced to this baby, she knew for certain deep in her
heart that the baby was Jordana. She was wearing a white lace dress with a white
satin headband on her tiny head filled with short, dark brown hair. Liz wanted
to reach out and hold her so badly, she felt this aching in her heart. But she
knew what she had to do first. She looked back at Max with love and pride, and
took his hand.
The moment they joined hands, the scene changed.
She was sitting in a dark, cold room. Her hands and feet were bound together and
she could feel something covering her mouth. She tried to scream out but no one
was coming to her rescue. Tears of terror poured from her face, which was
contorted wildly from crying so hard and so long. She looked to her right and
saw Jordana crying in a crib. She was about a year old, because she was able to
stand up in her crib. She held out her tiny arms and screamed for Liz to pick
her up. Liz's heart broke over and over as her daughter's cries grew louder and
more forceful. Then she heard voices over to her left. They were hard to make
out but then grew more distinct.
Tess and Morgan/Nasedo were walking towards her with big grins on their faces.
"Liz, I told you. I always get what I want." Tess said, walking over
to Jordana's crib, picked her up, and kissed her head softly. She
immediately stopped crying. Liz glared at Tess in anger and tried to scream out,
but she couldn't.
Morgan/Nasedo smiled at Liz. "Oh, isn't that sweet?" She said, smiling
devilishly. "You're probably wondering what I did with the REAL Morgan,
huh? Your best friend? Well, I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you
this...but she's dead, Lizzie. Yup, I killed her."
Liz gasped and she felt her heart break all over again. She shook her head and
tried to mutter the words "No...NO!"
"Yup, and unfortunately, it was pretty painful for her. I heated up her
body to a temperature exceeding 185 degrees farenheit, basically melting
her." Nasedo chuckled. "At least it was quick."
Liz felt like she was going to throw up. She didn't know what was worse- the
fact that Nasedo tortured and murdered her best friend or watching Tess comfort
a crying Jordana.
Nasedo pulled a needle out of his jacket pocket. He smiled as he examined it.
"Sodium chloride..." He began, wickedly. "It's what Dr. Kevorkian
gives to those dying cancer patients. It's a virtually painless death...I'm
going to inject this into your bloodstream and within moments, you will feel a
tingling start in your arm and travel to your other extremities, finally
creeping into your midsection and your vital organs. Then you
will...peacefully...drift off to sleep..." He smiled at Liz. "Our
leader did love you for a long time, Elizabeth. So we decided that you deserved
a more...painless...death than the one your friend suffered through." He
ripped off the gag from Liz's mouth and she screamed out as loud as she could,
trying to wiggle around in the chair she was bound to.
"Please...don't!" She felt herself scream out. Tess started to leave
the room with Jordana, flashing Liz a look of almost sincere apology.
"Tess! No! Don't leave! Don't take her away from me! Jordana, baby, I love
you! Mommy loves you so much!" She cried out. Nasedo got closer and
closer with the needle.*****
"NO!" Liz screamed, sitting up in her bed in a cold sweat. Max jumped
up out of bed as well when he felt her distress. "No! Oh God!"
"Liz, Liz, sweetie..." He cried, grabbing her and holding her tightly
to his body. They laid back and she held on to him so tightly that her
fingernails left white marks in his skin. He smoothed her head with his hand and
tried to calm her cries with a kiss on her forehead.
"Max, it was just, so awful...I can't...I can't talk..." She said,
breaking into fierce sobs.
Max
knew she had another nightmare and he lifted up her nightgown to see if the
symbol had stopped glowing. It was as bright as ever. He sighed with some relief
but was still distressed to know his lover was hurting. "Just relax."
He said, shushing her. She shut her eyes slowly. He put his hand to her belly
and was immediately flooded with images of a wedding, and then the horrific
nightmare of Liz being held by Tess and Nasedo against her will. When the
flashes ended, he looked up into her eyes. "Oh, God, baby..." He said,
his own eyes filling with tears of pain and rage. "I am so sorry...I'm so
sorry you had to suffer through that...God, it's all my fault..." He pushed
his face into her stomach, kissing the symbol and the surrounding skin. "It
should have been me..."
"Max, stop that." She said, lifting his chin to meet her own loving
gaze. "Stop blaming yourself. We're in this together, remember. We're not
going to let anything happen to Jordana."
"What about you, Liz? If I lost you..." He began, shuddering.
"Max, you're not going to lose me." Liz said. "We're going to
graduate, get married, have Jordana, and live happily ever after, okay? Tess
probably sent me that nightmare in my brain to try and scare me."
"She can communicate with you?"
"I
don't know...lately I've been feeling her presence inside me somehow...like her
breaking into my subconscious...getting me to have this nightmares...these
doubts...trying to reject our baby. I'm not going to let her."
Max
took her hands in his own and pleaded with her. "You have to fight it. You
have to, Liz. Do you hear that?"
Liz
smiled. "I'm as strong as I can be, I have you to support me, to protect
me. When I'm with you, I feel invincible."
"That's just it, Liz...I can't be there to protect you all the time. I
can't make sure that Tess and Nasedo are away from you- not if they're breaking
in to your mind like that..." He pleaded, shaking his head at what he just
said. "I can only protect you by..."
"No, Max, no. I'm not going to let you kill them. You are the most
wonderful man I've ever known, and will ever know. I'm not going to let you kill
two of your own kind just so I can sleep better at night." Liz said,
shaking her head.
Max
paused. "I know, I know it's wrong, Liz. But how right is it for them to
target you like this?"
"It's not right, it will never be right, Max. But there are other ways we
can protect ourselves."
"Like what? Run from them? They'll find us." Max said, sighing.
"Max, we don't have to run. We need to stand up and fight them. We need to
take back our lives. You, Michael, Isabel, Alex, Maria and I...we need to
combine our energies, our lives, our souls, our minds...we CAN defeat them. Just
like we saved Michael's life all those years ago, the six of us can save me. We
can save this baby." Liz said, holding his hands and kissing them.
"The six of us, we can do anything, as long as we're together."
Max
gently placed his hand on the side of her face. He couldn't believe how
wonderful she was. She turned her head and kissed his open palm. "Liz...I
love you."
She
smiled. "I love you, Max." They shared one of those deep open kisses
that looked far into each other's souls. All the pain and anger from the dream
Liz had seemed to slip away as Max moved his hands further down her body,
caressing every inch of her hot skin. The longing they felt for each other was
consuming them both. Neither said a word, passion was taking over and language
was just a fading memory. She wrapped her long, slim legs around his back as
they continued their seemingly endless stream of soul-stroking, sensual kisses.
He broked away from her lips and traveled down to her neck, finally resting his
lips on her waiting breasts. She grabbed the back of his head with her hands,
pushing her body as close to his as possible. After a few moments of ecstasy,
she felt a sudden burst of empowerment and flipped his body over so she was on
top of him. She began to deliver to him the same pleasure she had just received.
He couldn't speak, his head swam with so many thoughts, but the biggest one
being just complete awe- how did he ever find this perfect creature? He couldn't
imagine his life without her in it. And at that moment he knew that he would do
everything in his power to protect her existence on this planet.
Even if
he had to kill.