Until You're Resting Here

Category: Focus on Max and Liz (a bit of everybody else)
Rating: Suitable for all ages
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, except for Jill.

Author's note: My very first fan fic. It gets better after this one, I promise. This takes place right after "Destiny".

*************************************

It was a bright and sunny day in Roswell, NM, but Liz Parker’s heart wasn’t in it. She had been sitting outside her room for who knows how long, just staring into space, her journal open on her lap. So far, the only thing she had written down were the date and “I’m Liz Parker… I feel…” She didn’t know how she felt. She doubted she would ever know how to feel again. It had been a week, seven long, endless days since that afternoon in the cave when Max’s destiny had been revealed to him.

Seven days that felt like 7 years. Like 7 million years. She hadn’t seen Max since then. Oh, of course he had called, came by her house, knocked on her window. He had stayed there all night one time, until Liz couldn’t bear to hear him plead no more, and she had called Alex to come and get him. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe he meant what he said when he was telling her that she meant everything to him and was still his destiny as far as he was concerned. The problem was that she DID believe him, she wanted the same things he did. But how could she compete with destiny? And what if she believed him today, and then months from now he realized he had made a mistake, and that his destiny was stronger than his love for her, then what? She’d rather walk away now then to have to hear from Max that loving her was a mistake. Like that time he had told her they had to take a step back so he could regain his balance. It had crushed her.

She had stopped wishing long ago that he had never saved her life. She would be so different now if that hadn’t happened and she couldn’t see herself go back to that person she used to be. But she wanted things to go back the way they were before they had found that communicator. Back to that time when they were together. And happy to be.

She felt tears coming and fought them back. No use crying over it now. It was over. Whether they liked it or not, he had a destiny and they couldn’t stand in the way of it. This was the reasonable thing to do. Max would just have to realize it too. She would try to make things easier for him by staying away. It would also make things easier on her. She would rather die a thousand painful deaths than to have to see Max look at Tess the way he had looked at her.

She felt the tears come again and was actually debating whether to fight them back or let them flow this time, when she heard the doorbell. A few moments later, she heard her mother call her to come downstairs and see who was there. She didn’t feel like it much, but it was probably better than to just sit here and pine over Max.

When she got to the living room, she was suddenly faced with an older version of herself. Well, not quite herself, but there was definitely a resemblance there. “Cousin Jill?” she asked in mild disbelief. “In the flesh,”, Jill answered, “thought I’d surprised you.” Well for a surprise, it was a surprise. She hadn’t seen Jill in over 10 years, not since her uncle Robert, Jill’s father, had died in that accident and Jill had gone to live with her mother on the East Coast. “What are you doing here?”

Jill explained how she was on a cross-country road trip taking her to California where she had a job waiting and had decided to stop in Roswell to visit her long-lost relatives.

“And to hang out with a few aliens, of course!! I bet living here you must see them all the time, don’t you?” she added jokingly.

Liz gave her a small smile. She was NOT getting into that with a cousin she hardly knew, no matter how much fun they had had as children. Instead she said “Come with me, we’ll get you settled in. You’ll stay a few days, right?” She kind of hoped Jill would. Anything to get her mind off Max.

**********

Max looked so depressed. Isabel hated to see her brother that way. She wished there was something she could do to make things easier for him, but she couldn’t think of anything. She had a feeling that just holding his hand the way she used to do when they were kids wouldn’t be enough this time. It made her feel helpless. She hated that feeling.

She also had a bit of a hard time coming to terms with their destiny, but somehow it seemed harder for Max. Isabel and Michael had discussed it and decided that they should see how things turned out before they made any final decisions. They had then met with Alex and Maria, who had agreed to see how events would unfold. They knew they all cared deeply about each other, and whatever would happen, the four of them were ready to face it.

No matter how much she cared for Alex, Isabel couldn’t help thinking that maybe being with Michael wouldn’t be so bad. She knew he would always be there for her. She remembered the dreams, and how happy they all had been in them. She just had to stop thinking of him as a brother, which was easier said than done. He had always been a second brother to her.

Which got her thinking again about her “other” brother. Max’s situation seemed more complicated than theirs somehow. He had finally realized he was their leader, a thing Isabel and Michael had always knew, although subconsciously. And there was Tess, who had been told from infancy that Max was her destiny and was now more than ready to face it, but was unwilling to give Max time to accept it himself. She had been over to Max and Isabel’s house every single day in the last week, all but insisting that they should start acting like a real couple right away. In order to do that, Max had to get over Liz. Isabel knew that Max wouldn’t get over Liz for a long, long time. You don’t get over your soul mate in a week. Tess was either too selfish or too stupid to see that.

**********

Michael finally felt like he had a purpose in life. He knew what he was, he knew why he was here, or at least, had some more indications. The only shadow in this new life was the fact that he could no longer be with Maria. Yes, they had said they would wait to see how things turned out before making any final decision. And yes, he did love Maria dearly. He had never loved anyone like he loved Maria. Probably never would again. But knowing that he belonged with Isabel felt right somehow. He didn’t see himself fight his destiny. He didn’t know how he could. And for the first time in his life, he was actually glad he wasn’t in Max Evans’s shoes.

**********

Max was lying on his bed listening, but not really listening, to his Counting Crows CD for the umpteenth time this week. His music of choice when he was upset. It had been on “repeat” all week. He had hoped the music would quiet his thoughts.

Not surprisingly, these thoughts were of Liz. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He had called her again not 5 minutes ago, leaving yet another message on her machine. She would not return his calls. She would not answer his plea outside her window.

His current line of thinking was that he had to make her see that this destiny thing didn’t mean a thing to him. Well, it meant something, but not as far as he and Liz were concerned. When he had said “It’s the 4 of us, now”, he only meant that he accepted Tess as an ally, someone he could trust to help him carry on their “mission”, whatever that turned out to be. Isabel had told him how Tess had been an important part of his rescue from Pierce, and he was grateful for that. That didn’t mean he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

He understood the thinking of his people, by sending them in pairs here. They must have thought they would be lonely here on Earth. They had been right, pairs or no pairs. But they had overlooked one crucial thing in Max’s mind. They said they had mixed their “essence” with human genetic material, yet had obviously not considered that it would therefore make them new people. No matter who his “essence” had fallen for in a previous life, this Max was part human, and he had fallen for a human girl. He couldn’t deny he had been attracted to Tess, but since learning of her origins, he had dismissed it as some strong residual species instinct or something. From what Isabel had told him of his rescue, he now strongly suspected that Tess’ powers had more than a little to do with the attraction.

He felt a burst of anger toward Tess. How could she hope to win him over by playing with his mind?? In the unlikely event that he had stopped loving Liz and fallen for Tess instead, wouldn’t just knowing that she had invaded his mind to plant thoughts of them together turn him away from her? He didn’t like being played like that. Liz would never do that.

And there he was again. Every thought somehow found their way back to Liz. It had been like that for as long as he could remember. Before he told her the truth about him, he had managed to somehow keep it in check, had managed to think of Liz only a couple of thousand times a day. Since that fateful day, she had been on his mind every single second of every single day. And he didn’t expect it to change.

So he had to make her see. Make her see that no matter what he was supposed to do for his people, he couldn’t even imagine starting to think about it, starting to actually make plans, without her by his side. Without knowing that she was there for him.

He picked up the phone to call her again. He dialed the first 3 numbers then hung up. Calling wasn’t gonna do it. He’d go down to the Crashdown instead.

**********

Liz was sitting in her room, half listening to Jill telling her about her trip so far. Gosh, didn’t this girl ever shut up??

The phone rang, but Liz let the machine pick up the call. She knew who it would be. The message was short : “Please talk to me.” She made a move to hit the “erase” button, but stopped herself. She couldn’t erase something of Max. She knew it was silly, but somehow it made her feel like there was still hope if the message was still there. Jill’s voice rose above her thoughts.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Sure, of course I am,” Liz answered. She hoped there wouldn’t be a quiz on the conversation later.

“So are you, or are you not going to tell me who that was?”

Liz didn’t like the expression she saw on Jill’s face. Like she was salivating at the idea of gossiping and was looking forward to actually make fun of the poor, obviously rejected ex-boyfriend calling. She didn’t know what to tell Jill. She didn’t have to.

“I bet it’s your boyfriend. You caught him kissing another girl in public one night and now he wants you to take him back.”

“If you say so,” Liz said. She wasn’t in the mood. Jill kept on talking, now making up theories about Liz’s love life. Liz tuned her out and tried not to think about Max.

**********

Max entered the Crashdown and sat down at the counter. Maria came over. “Cherry cola?” she asked. “Sure,” he said. He avoided Maria’s eyes. He hadn’t really talked to her either since that day.

“So, how have you been?” he asked her, still not quite meeting her eyes. “Ok, I guess,” she replied, ”but why don’t you ask me what you really want to know?” This time, he looked at her, trying to act like he had no idea what she was talking about, but then thought “why do I even bother”. It was obvious Maria would know what was on his mind, even if he didn’t have that “I miss Liz” look all over his face.

“How is she doing?” he asked, staring at his hands. When Maria didn’t answer right away, he looked up. “About the same as you, I would say from the look of you,” she finally told him.

That wasn’t good. He hadn’t expected Liz to be having parties just yet. He knew this had to be hurting her as well. But he hated to think she was as miserable as he was over this. Especially when she didn’t have to be. Especially when they could still be together.

“Will she be working today?” He wasn’t sure if he was asking because he wanted to still be here if she did, or because he wanted to leave before she started her shift.

“I guess you haven’t heard,” Maria said, “How could you know… she quit the Crashdown. Too many things here to remind her of…” She paused. “She got this job in an office on the other side of town. She started yesterday.”

Max was surprised. But somehow it made sense. With school out for the summer, Liz wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be at the other places they could meet. It made sense but it still hurt.

Max was still lost deep in his thoughts an hour later when someone sat down beside him. A strand of long brown hair on his hand made him look up. He found himself staring at Liz. Well, no, not quite Liz exactly, but there certainly was a resemblance. Or maybe he had been thinking about her so much he was now having visions as well.

“Well, hello there,” the girl said. Max mumbled a reply and quickly looked back down. “My name is Jill Parker, you?”

“Parker?” Max said “As in…” his voice trailed off.

Jill gave him a mischievous smile. “Oh, you wouldn’t be the one who left a message on my cousin’s answering machine a couple of hours ago by any chance, would you?”

“You’re Liz’s cousin? I didn’t know she had any.” He wasn’t sure how to react. It shouldn’t be so complicated. Or so surprising. He did know Liz had a large extended family. Still, that girl made him uneasy. Maybe because she was leaning so close to him. Maybe because she was related to Liz. Maybe because she looked quite a bit like Liz. It was like it was a different version of Liz. Liz, but a bit older. Liz’s hair, but a bit longer. Liz’s mouth, but not quite Liz’s smile. Liz’s eyes, but a different light in them. He had to get out of there.

“Um… nice to meet you,” he said and headed out without looking back.

“Guess I spooked him,” Jill smiled at Maria. “You must be Maria. I’m Jill, Liz’s cousin. So what’s his deal?”

Maria looked at Jill and shook her head. “You don’t want to get into that.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Jill said with a smile Maria didn’t really like. “He seems like a challenge. I’m always up for a challenge.”

Maria thought about insisting but thought better of it and walked away. But she’d surely have a word or two with Liz about her cousin.

**********

“Are all the guys in Roswell so cute?” Jill asked over breakfast.

“I don’t know, who did you see?” Liz was in a better mood this morning. For the first time in a week, she had slept through the night. Of course, she had dreamt of Max, but it was a definite improvement over the last week of tossing and turning.

“A dark-haired gorgeous babe named Max. I believe you know him too.” Liz’s good mood vanished in an instant.

“No, I don’t think the other guys are as cute,” she said softly. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.

Jill looked innocent. “Doing what?”

“You must know we have a history. I mean, he must have told you…”. Liz couldn’t believe her own cousin would do a thing like that. “Get a hold of yourself,” she thought. It wasn’t like Jill was dating Max behind her back. Was it?

“So he IS the one who left that message on your machine. I didn’t even really talk to him. I just thought he was cute. But I suspected he might be the reject.”

“It’s not like that,” Liz said. Max, a reject? Who in their right mind would reject Max? Her, apparently. But it was different. She wasn’t in her right mind. Not without Max. She sighed. It was a classic case of catch-22.

“Then how is it?” Jill was curious.

“It’s complicated…” Liz started. Did she really want to get into that destiny stuff so early in the morning?

Liz’s father walked in just then. “What’s so complicated?” he asked smiling.

Saved by the bell, Liz thought. “Oh, you know, life,” she replied. “I’m gonna be late for work, I’ll see you guys later.”

**********

“So you’re Liz’s cousin,” Alex said to Jill, as the were seated in a booth in the Crashdown later that afternoon.

“It’s seems to be the unanimous opinion, yes," Jill said with a smile. Somehow, all of Liz’s friends had started the conversation that way. “And you’re Alex, best friend of 5 years. And this is Isabel, your girlfriend, and Max’s sister, which makes her my cousin’s ex-future-sister-in-law. We’re practically related. Is everyone confused yet?” She laughed. Alex and Isabel smiled, not too sure how to take the comment about Max. She was joking about it all so lightly. Had Liz said anything?

Jill kind of liked Liz’s friends. They were fun to hang out with. Which made her wonder why Liz was avoiding them. Not just Max, either. She hadn’t seen her talk to any of her friends since she got there. And mum seemed to be the word among the close-knit group of friends. There was obviously something going on, but no one seemed willing to spill the beans to Jill. She hoped she’d get to the bottom of it before she had to leave. She always liked a good gossip. She strongly suspected it had to do with Max’s relationship with Liz (or lack thereof), but maybe it was something else altogether. Maybe it had to do with that Tess girl, who was sitting at the counter by herself. No one seemed to really want her around, though she obviously wanted to be part of the little clique. Interesting. Jill wondered who would be the first to crack and tell her all she wanted to know. Her bet was on Alex. If she could only talk to him without Isabel being there.

No luck today, though. Alex and Isabel quickly excused themselves and were getting ready to leave when Max walked in. Tess brightened up. Max hardly even glanced at her, and sat down in the booth across from Isabel. Only then did he realize he was sitting next to Jill.

“I’m sorry,” he said and started to get up.

“Why, did you do something wrong?” she said tilting her head to the side and smiling at him. He stopped halfway up and stayed like that for a few seconds, before sitting down again next to Jill. Was he blushing? “Oh, he’s too cute,” Jill thought “No wonder Liz fell for him.”

Isabel and Alex looked at each other, wondering if they should leave Max alone with Jill. They didn’t have much of a choice, both of them had summer jobs they had to get to. So unless they took Max with them…

Isabel looked at her brother. He smiled a little to let her know he’d be okay. He was a big boy after all. But it was so like Isabel to worry anyway. It made him feel good. He’d take all of that he could get. It was rare these days.

After they’d left, he noticed that Tess had left too. He was not proud of himself for feeling that way, but he was glad. He wasn’t prepared to deal with her just yet. Not with all the unanswered questions between him and Liz.

He got up and sat on the side opposite Jill. He hoped it didn’t look too much like he was trying to get away from her. He wasn’t sure if he was or not. He was confused when he was around her. He hated that feeling. He looked at Jill. He didn’t know what to say.

He didn’t have to wonder very long. Soon Jill was talking away, and he only had to nod in all the right places. Thankfully, she didn’t talk about Liz too much. Max suspected she knew about them and was glad that she didn’t let on. When he left the Crashdown later, he was actually feeling okay for the first time in days.

**********

Alex’s day of work was almost done. He could already see Isabel waiting for him outside. As always, the sight of her made his heart skip a beat. She was so beautiful. He hadn’t seen her in 2 days but it felt much longer than that. Because he knew there wasn’t much time left. He felt that these days they were spending together were probably their last as a couple. Even though Isabel hadn’t said it in so many words, he just knew. Alex was pretty sure Isabel had not realized it yet. But the fact remained. She was moving away from him to face her destiny.

He didn’t see how he could make it without her, but somehow he thought he would probably be fine. He would just have to think of these few weeks together as an extremely sweet, but extremely short dream. It had all been too good to be true from the beginning anyway. Alex Charles Whitman and Isabel Evans? Give me a break. Who would have believed it?

And even though it hurt him, when the time came, he would let her go. All he wanted was Isabel’s happiness. Even to the expense of his own. “Why do I always have to be such a nice guy?” he thought and sighed. Isabel smiled at him when he joined her outside, and when she kissed him, he forgot everything else.

**********

Max found himself spending more and more time at the Crashdown Cafe. He had thought he wouldn’t go there as much since Liz had left, but he found it somehow comforting to be here, where it had all started between them. Where she still lived upstairs and where she could come in at any moment.

He found it comforting that it was a place where he could get away from Tess as well. After being kind of ignored by him, by Maria, and by pretty much everyone else a few days earlier, she had gone somewhere else.

And for some strange reason, it was also a good thing that it was where Jill was. When he had first seen Jill, he had been uneasy by how much she reminded him of Liz, and not of Liz at the same time. It was hard to explain. It’s like she was Liz, but not quite Liz. At first, it had felt strange. Now, it too was a bit comforting. Like a second-grade Liz, to make up for the real one.

Oh my God, was he really thinking like that? He was obsessing! He had to do something about it before it drove him insane.

Max had a new strategy. He would try to convince Liz that at least they could still be friends. He figured having Liz as a friend, even if he couldn't really be with her, was still better than no Liz at all. Yeah, being with Liz without touching Liz, without kissing Liz, would be better than no Liz at all. The same way Chinese water torture was better than the rack. “It’s official,” he thought. “I am going absolutely mad.”

He ordered a cherry cola, grabbed the bottle of Tabasco sauce, and sat down in a booth by the window. He wasn’t alone for very long.

**********

Liz finished her work day in the office and stepped outside in the bright sunlight. She was making her way to the bus stop to go back home when she caught sight of Kyle's car across the street. He waved at her. She started toward him.

Kyle. That was another thing she'd rather not think about. He had dropped by to see her a few days ago, confused and looking for answers. She couldn't blame him. After all, he had just died.

The fact that Max had saved both their lives had brought them closer than they had ever been. It had obviously affected Kyle in a big way and made him think about stuff he had never thought about. He hadn’t actually came out and said it, but Liz had the feeling he wanted to get back with her. It was like he was just waiting for the right moment to “make an attempt at regaining boyfriend status,” like Alex would say. She didn’t want that moment to come. She didn’t want to get back with Kyle. She didn’t want nobody else but Max. She forced herself to stop thinking about Max. She had heard of one-track minds, but this was getting ridiculous!

She got in the car and said hello. Kyle answered her and then drove in silence. They were almost at the Crashdown when he spoke again.

“There’s a good movie on TV tonight. Maybe you’d like to come over and watch it with me?” he said.

That was the last thing she wanted to do. Give him the opportunity to be alone with her to tell her how he’d been thinking about them. She was fond of Kyle, always would be, but she just couldn’t deal with him right now.

Besides, his taste in movies was really horrible.

She turned to him and tried to think about what to say. “You don’t have to say anything,” he told her. “I can see it in your face. You’re trying to think of a way to let me down easy, aren’t you? Well, ok then. Maybe some other time?”

She gave him a little grateful smile, and got out of the car. “Bye, Kyle,” she said.

“Bye Liz,” he said then drove away.

She stood there for a moment, not sure whether to enter through the Crashdown or come in round the back. She had to see Maria. She pushed the door and came in the Cafe.

She saw Maria busy with customers and started walking toward the back of the restaurant. She could always talk to her later. Her eye caught movement in a booth to her right and she turned to see Jill deep in conversation with someone she couldn’t really see. She moved to get a clearer view of the person Jill was speaking to. She was shocked when she realized it was Max. Her breath caught in her throat. What was he doing there? How could he be there, so gorgeous, talking to her cousin?

Max sensed someone looking at him and looked up to see Liz. He immediately started to get up. She collected herself and quickly turned away, going through the back door of the restaurant and up the stairs without looking behind her. Max followed her all the way upstairs.

“Liz!” he called behind her. “Please just hear me out. Please.”

“What, Max?” she said turning to face him. “You love me? Is that what you want to say? Because I know you do…” her voice broke. She looked away so he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.

“Then why won’t you talk to me?” A thought he had fought to keep off all week finally took over his mind. “You don’t love me anymore?” It was out of his mouth before it had registered in his brain.

There was no way to take it back. There it was. His deepest fear out in the open. Liz looked at him. Is that what he had been thinking? She didn’t care if he saw the tears in her eyes anymore. He had to know her feelings for him would never change.

“How can you even think a thing like that,” she told him, a tear rolling down her cheek. He took a step closer to her and wiped it off gently with his thumb.

“I don’t… I don’t doubt that you love me. Being away from you is driving me crazy, Liz. You know how I feel about you. Please give us a chance. Don’t give up on us just yet.”

“But Max, you heard it like I did… we can’t be together anymore. You belong with… someone else.”

She stopped him before he could reply. “And don’t tell me it’s not going to happen, Max. It’s just a matter of time.” She took his hand away from her cheek and quickly turned away, locking herself in her room without another look at Max.

“Liz!!!” She could hear him outside the door. She leaned against it and broke down. All the emotions she had kept bottled up inside came out at once. She started sobbing uncontrollably.

In the hall, Max had his forehead pressed against the wood of Liz’s bedroom door. Tears were also running down his cheeks.

“This is so unfair,” he thought. Why was a war raging on a planet light years from where they were causing so much misery in the lives of two people who loved each other? What did it have to do with them anyway? “It’s your destiny.” The words were running around in his mind on an endless loop. Destiny. Destiny. Destiny. He hated that word.

**********

“So how are you holding up?” Maria asked. Liz knew there was no point in trying to lie to her best friend. Maria would just see through it.

“I don’t know,” she said. And wasn’t it the truth? “It all feels like a long nightmare, you know?”

Maria knew exactly what she meant. She was living a nightmare of her own. True, Michael and her had agreed to see how things would turn out before they made any decision, but she had felt it when he had held her. He didn’t think their relationship would go on. He was already facing his destiny. Away from her.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. Liz needed her right now, she had just lost her soul mate. Maria wanted to be there for her best friend. But that whole “I’m teflon so it doesn’t hurt me” act was getting tougher and tougher to keep up. Most of the time Maria just wanted to curl up in a corner and die. But she couldn’t let that happen, to her or to Liz. She wouldn’t let that happen.

They were in Liz’s bedroom, eating ice cream out of the carton like they did from time to time, when they needed a serious girl talk. Liz thought she could keep the afternoon’s crying fit from Maria, but Maria had the truth out of her in seconds. She had seen the look on Max’s face when he had left the Crashdown by the back door. She had also seen the look on Liz’s face. You didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

“You want to talk about it?” Maria asked.

“Not really,” said Liz, swallowing a big spoonful of ice cream, along with more tears that threatened to come at the mention of Max.

“It’s not good to keep it all inside,” Maria said concerned.

“I know… I wish it would all just go away,” Maria understood completely. She thought it would be a good idea to change the subject.

“So how about your cousin Jill?” When she saw the look on Liz’s face, she immediately regretted her choice of topic.

“Well, she never shuts up,” Liz started. “I had forgotten about that. Fortunately, she doesn’t spend that much time with me. Unfortunately, she seems to be spending all that time with Max.”

The M-word again. Another spoonful of ice cream.

“I know. But if it’s any consolation, I think he hangs out with her just because she reminds him of you.” She caught the horrified look on Liz’s face. “Or not…” she added quickly.

“And she hangs out with him… because she knows it makes me miserable?” Liz asked.

Maria didn’t like the turn this conversation had taken. She was running possible topics in her mind, rejecting them just as fast, because somehow they all seemed to have to do with Max or Jill or relationships with Czechoslovakians.

Finally, for lack of a better idea, she said “Have you seen the new line of makeup they have at the mall?” Liz was taken aback for a second. Then she smiled. She was grateful for what Maria was trying to do.

They started talking about make-up and fashion, happy to act like normal teenage girls for a change.

**********

Max had been at the Crashdown most of the day, hoping for a glimpse of Liz that didn’t come. He felt horrible about the way things were between them now. Like it hadn’t been bad enough before yesterday’s episode. He didn’t feel Liz was to blame. Whatever had gone down between them, he couldn’t be angry at her. Or at himself. It was this whole damn situation. He was angry at the world. Actually, he was angry at the “worlds”. The so-called advantage of having 2 home planets. Like the weight of one world on his shoulders wasn’t enough.

He had been sitting at the counter all day, yet had not been able to eat anything. Maria had given up trying to feed him and figured he would ask if he needed anything.

When Jill came by later that afternoon, she found him picking at a piece of “Men in Blackberry pie”.

“It’s a wonder you got so big eating like that,” she smirked at him.

Max looked up from his plate and gave her a small smile. “Hey,” he said.

“Oh, it’s worse than I thought,” Jill said. “This calls for major action.”

“What does?” Max looked perplexed.

“I may be new here, but I live in Liz’s house,” Jill said with a knowing smile. Max looked down.

“So, it calls for a major change of scenery and fun new activities. Anything to get your mind off… whatever your mind’s on! What do you say?”

Max thought about it for a second, and was about to decline the offer when he caught the expression on Jill’s face. She seemed so eager.

“Well… I don’t know… what do you have in mind?” he asked.

“There’s this place I know, it’s mostly empty but there are a few interesting things we can do…”

Max was about to say he didn’t think it was such a good idea when Jill laughed. “Sports, that kind of stuff?” she said.

Max was relieved. Had he really been thinking what he thought he had been thinking? He blushed slightly. Jill just smiled at him. Still, Max wasn’t sure. He looked toward the door leading from the restaurant to Liz’s house.

“She’s gone,” Jill said. Max looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“She’s spending a few days out of town. I’ll probably be gone by the time she gets back. So what do you say? Kill two birds with one stone: take your mind off your problems, and make my last day here fun!”

Max thought about it some more. Why not? With Liz out of town, there was no reason for him to hang around the Cafe. He almost asked Jill why Liz had left so suddenly, when he realized what a stupid question that would be. It was like asking him why he had been at the Crashdown all day. That did it. He needed to get out of here, even if just for a little while, for the sake of his sanity.

“Ok,” he said finally. “Where to?”

Jill gave him a broad smile and started explaining where they were going. They left the Crashdown and started driving down the highway in Max’s Jeep. For the first time in days, he noticed the sun in the sky, and the wind on his face. He smiled.

Jill smiled too. “See, there’s nothing like a little fresh air to take your mind off things. How about we start with a little game of basketball when we get there?”

“That’s a good idea, if you think you stand a chance!” Max replied

“Why Max Evans, is that a challenge?” she asked.

It wasn’t too long a drive. Max parked the Jeep outside a barb-wired fence.

“Are you sure this is the place?” he asked cautiously.

“Yeah, it is. I told you it was pretty deserted.”

Max was about to say there was a difference between deserted and deserted, when two men came out of the long grey building.

“This is private property,” the first one said.

Jill looked confused. She looked at Max, who shrugged, then back at the man. “But I was here yesterday,” she answered.

Max said “Look, maybe you got the wrong place. Let’s just get back to town. We can play basketball at my house. I have a basket and everything.” He started back towards the Jeep.

“Not so fast,” the second man said. Before Max could even move, they were on him.

**********

Max didn’t understand what was happening. The two burly guys came down on him and grabbed his arms, making him unable to move. He looked at Jill, expecting her to be in a similar situation. She wasn’t. She was looking at him with a pained expression on her face. A voice rose from behind her, startling them both.

“Welcome, Mr. Evans.”

Max looked to find a dark-haired man looking at him with a satisfied smile. The man seemed only slightly older than him, maybe in his mid-twenties. His black hair was tied in a ponytail. “Good job,” he told Jill.

But Jill wasn’t looking at the man. She was looking at Max. She looked just about ready to burst into tears. The anger he had at first felt toward her when he had realized that she had set him up was quickly being replaced by confusion. If she had brought him here to be caught, shouldn’t she be revelling in her success?

He didn’t get a chance to think about it any further. A blow to the back of the head knocked him unconscious. He was out before he even hit the ground.

“Take him to the back room”, the dark man told the two big guys before turning to Jill. “Congratulations on a job well done, Alia. Once again.”

His smile sent a chill down her spine.

“I’m not doing that ever again,” she said, not quite meeting his gaze. She had hoped her voice would come out calm and strong, but it was quavering, barely above a whisper.

“Of course you will. Because you know that if you don’t, we’ll send you back.”

“A life as a slave here or there, what’s the difference?” she shot back, this time looking directly at him. It didn’t last long, though. His cold stare made her look down.

“Go back to HQ for debriefing," he told her. “And don’t forget to change.” Then he left.

To finish his job. To kill Max. How could she ever forgive herself for what she had done to him? She sighed. “The same way you always do,” she thought to herself. By pretending it had never happened. By pretending she had never met Max Evans. By pretending she hadn’t seen the hurt, the anger and the confusion in his eyes when they captured him. By pretending she hadn’t felt the accusation in his eyes. By moving on.

She extended her arm in front of her and concentrated on changing her appearance. She was to receive another assignment. There’d be no time to think of Max anymore. She hoped.

Her hair shortened and turned blond. She grew a few inches. Her eyes turned from brown to green. As she stepped through the door leading to HQ, she resolutely put Max Evans and his friends out of her mind.

**********

Liz was startled when the phone rang. She had been very concentrated on her book and had actually managed to not think about Max for a whole 15 minutes. She picked up the receiver. She was surprised when she recognized her aunt Sally’s voice. She seemed very upset.

“Liz, I’m afraid I have some bad news. Are your parents home?” she asked.

“No, they’re not, but please, tell me. You’re worrying me.”

“Your cousin Jill…”

“What about her?” Yeah, what about Jill, Liz thought. She had seen her at breakfast.

“She was in an car accident last week in upstate New York. We had her on life-support until this morning. There was no hope…” Aunt Sally’s voice broke.

Liz didn’t know what to say. What could she say? It’s impossible, I had breakfast with her everyday for the past 5 days? Or, I’m sorry aunt Sally, but someone has been pretending to be your daughter right here in Roswell?

So she said “I don’t know what to say,” which couldn’t have been more true. “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.”

“Will you tell your parents for me?”

“Of course.” What she would tell them though, she had no idea. She’d think of something later.

Right now her mind was racing. She said goodbye to her aunt and sat down to think.

Someone who was pretending to be her cousin Jill had spent 5 days in this house. Had spent 5 days at the Crashdown with her friends. Had spent an awful lot of time with Max. Who was she? What the hell did she want? Liz had no idea, and she wasn’t sure she would like the answers.

She bolted from her chair, suddenly struck with a terrible premonition. She went down the stairs 4 at a time and erupted in the Cafe.

“Maria! Have you seen Jill?” she practically yelled

Maria hesitated. “Well yeah, um…” How could she tell Liz she had just seen Jill leave with Max not a half hour ago?

“Was she with Max? Do you know where they went?” Maria didn’t have time to answer. “Can someone cover for you? We have to get Michael, we have to get Valenti. Hurry!!!!”

**********

The world was black. And empty. A big ocean of big black nothingness. Then a few lights. Max thought they were stars. Maybe he was coming home. Then the pain. His head was throbbing like he had been hit with a hammer. Oh, wait a minute. He probably had been.

He concentrated on the swelling on the back of his head, moving the molecules around so that it took back its original shape. He opened his eyes.

The dark man was standing in front of him. “So kind of you to join us, Mr. Evans.”

“Who are you?” Max asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” the man answered. “Let’s just say I’m someone you probably wish you’d never met.”

Max didn’t understand. He had figured he had been taken by the alien hunters again. He half-expected Nasedo to walk in as Pierce and take over the operation. Max figured he’d keep him in a little while for good measure, then work out a way to make Max’s escape plausible.

So if they weren’t the FBI, who then?

The dark man smiled as if he’d been reading Max’s thoughts. “Can’t quite figure out who I am, can you?” he said. “I’ll make it easy on you.”

**********

In the Sheriff’s truck, Liz tried to explain to Michael, Maria, Isabel, Valenti and Tess, who had insisted she’d come along, just what her aunt had told her on the phone, and what it meant. She wasn’t clear herself. No one was sure exactly just what was going on, but they knew they had to get to Max before it was too late. Maria had overheard Jill tell Max about a place on the other side of town. The Sheriff knew of it. Soon, they were speeding along the highway.

**********

Max’s mind was reeling. The dark man’s story was too much information to absorb all at once. That man was one of the leaders of a contingent of aliens sent to Earth with the only purpose of destroying Max.

“You see, after my people took over your planet and killed you, the first time, we figured your kind would try something silly like organize a rebellion, or some kind of revolt. When it didn’t happen, we grew more suspicious and started monitoring an underground movement lead by people who had been close to you and your “government”.

“We followed closely when they built that spaceship and assembled a small crew to take four pods to a remote planet. We were standing in the shadows when their genetics lab made the breakthrough and created the mutant life form, a cross between their race and that of the planet they chose as their secret destination, the life form that would become you. Bet you never really thought of yourself as a mutant, did you?” he smiled. When Max’s expression didn’t change, he went on.

“We watched from the side, but we never let on that we knew. We wanted the slave race to think that they had succeeded. A slave with hope, when it is well controlled, works better than a slave who only wants to die. So we followed the spaceship to this planet. Blended in with its inhabitants. A race so inferior to our own, by the way, that conquering it would be too easy, it wouldn’t even be a challenge. A pure waste of time, that’s why we didn’t bother wiping out the whole planet. This race is on a self-destruction course anyway. But I digress.

“We had to wait for you to make your move, to try and contact your people. Which is what you did a couple of weeks ago. And now all we have to do is pick you up and kill you. An easy mission when you think about it. Too easy, in fact. One could get careless, thinking it would take care of itself, and lose focus. Which is why they sent me. I never lose focus. I could let you live now, and see what you would do. It might even be fun. But it would be careless. People lose when they get careless. So I’ve planned everything to the smallest details. And now you die.”

He raised a hand to Max. There were no visible weapon, but Max knew it didn’t mean a thing. This was an alien being, he could probably kill with his mind, the way Michael had killed Pierce. His mind was racing. He was trying to comprehend all that new information given to him while at the same time trying to find a way out of this mess.

“What about Michael?” he said suddenly. “What about Isabel, what about Tess? If you kill me, they’ll carry on.”

The dark man lowered his hand and looked at him. “Of course, they’ll try. But they’re part human, that’s their weakness. They’ll take some time to grieve, mourn you loss. That’s when we’ll kill them. Give up Max, it’s over.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” said a voice behind him. It was followed by three gunshots. The big guy on Max’s left fell first, quickly followed by the one on his right. The dark man fell last, a surprised look on his face.

“You got careless when you forgot to factor in that the human element could also be a strength,” Valenti finished. He looked at Max. “Let’s get out of here before they send in more people. The welcome back committee is waiting for you outside.” He smiled.

**********

“Max!” Tess said happily. Liz didn’t think she could bear to watch. She started to turn away. A hand on her shoulder stopped her. She didn’t have to look to know it was Max. He looked her straight in the eyes. “I could get lost in those eyes,” she thought. How long had it been since she had looked in those eyes? It certainly felt like a million years.

“You came,” Max said. “You came for me.”

His desire was too strong. He leaned in and kissed her. She didn’t resist. She returned his long, slow kiss.

When they finally parted, she caught a glance of Tess over his shoulder.

“You’re not with Tess,” she said. It wasn’t really a question, but she had just sort of assumed that he would be.

“How can you even think that I could be with Tess, or anyone else, after being with you,” he told her gently.

And she knew he meant it and that he would mean it forever. She didn’t want to be strong anymore. She didn’t want to do the reasonable thing anymore. This was too hard; being away from Max was too hard. And if his destiny ended up separating them for good, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with Max before it caught up with them. Still, she had to ask.

“And your destiny?”

“From what I’m told, I’m the leader. What good is that if I can’t make my own rules?” he smiled. She returned his smile. They had a lot to think about, and a lot to talk about, but for the first time in days, she was actually looking forward to the future.

Max turned away from Liz only long enough to hug Isabel. Then they all piled up in Valenti’s police cruiser and picked up Michael at the front gate where he had been the lookout. Michael looked at Max and smiled.

“It’s the second time I bail you out. Nice reversal of situation, don’t you think?” Max laughed and hugged Michael quickly.

“Don’t get too used to it,” he said, still smiling. “I don’t plan to make it an habit.”

They left Michael to bring back Max’s Jeep and soon were on the way home. Max pulled Liz close to him, until her head rested on his shoulder. He put his arms around her and kissed her forehead. She looked up and smiled at him. He returned her smile.

The ride back was mostly silent. Max was grateful for that. They could deal with the world a little later. For now, he was happy to just be holding Liz again. He felt complete now that she was resting there with him.

The end

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