Title: Our Story Author: Jasper711 Email: jasper7132@hotmail.com Category: M/L Rating: PG (R, NC-17 parts will be labeled accordingly.) Spoilers: None Summary: 4 years after “Own Me” . They’ve all graduated college. Max, Liz, and Noah return home to Roswell. Note: If you’re just stumbling across this, it is necessary to read Own Me first, otherwise you’ll be totally lost. I’m working on archiving Own Me at my fanfic page, but if you email me, I’d be more than happy to send you Own Me as an attachment. A big thank you to Angela for coming up the title. Also, I wanted to say thanks for those that read OM and have followed on to this. You guys almost had me in happy tears. LOL. I’m so happy that you guys enjoyed as much as I did. This part is basically introduction, giving a little information to what has transpired over the four years. Anyways, I’m open to suggestions as nothing is concrete yet, so I’d love to hear your opinions. Part 1 *********** Liz walked up the stairs with slightly wobbly legs as she tried to balance a box in her arms. With calculated steps, she rounded the corner, her body unexpectedly spinning when a certain six year old boy rushed passed her. “Hi momma.....sorry momma!” Liz spun, the box in her hands in danger of toppling over. Just when she thought she was going to crash, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist, steadying her. “I’ve got you.” Max grabbed the box from her hands, dropping it next to the growing pile beside the master bedroom. Frowning, he crossed his arms, giving his wife a pointed look. “I thought I told you not to lift any of those heavy boxes by yourself?” Liz countered his move, raising an eyebrow at him. “And I distinctly remember telling you and Noah, that there was no running in the house?” Max laughed, pulling Liz into his embrace. “I’m sorry. I promise, it won’t happen again. It’s just...” he looked around the room, eyeing their brand new home in awe. “This house is soo much bigger than the apartment, and-” Liz silenced him with another admonishing look, but burst into a fit of giggles. He leaned to kiss her neck, his hands splayed across her stomach. “So, you’re not mad?” Liz grinned, pushing him away. “At Noah? Nope. He’s my baby, but you, you on the other hand...I may just have to hand you a punishment, Mr. Evans. You are the adult after all. You’re supposed to be setting an example for our son.” She poked him in the chest, shaking her head. Max grabbed her hand, his eyebrows waggling suggestively. “Promise?” “Mr. Evans, you are sooo bad.” Max laughed, kissing Liz’s forehead. “I know. Tell you what? How about I make it up to you and start dinner? I’ll even get Noah to help....get him out of your hair for about an hour, and you can relax and take a bath or something.” She threw her arms around him, her lips kissing his. “That’s sweet of you honey, but we gotta start unpacking these boxes. You and I start work on Monday. We can’t just leave this stuff lying around. If we don‘t start now, we‘ll be living out of boxes for the rest of our lives.” She pointed to the unpacked boxes scattered around their new home. Max sighed, knowing that Liz had a point. “Fine. How about I call Michael at the restaurant and order us some dinner to go? Noah and I can go for a drive, and we can come back to get things finished here.” Liz smiled, walking towards Noah’s room. “I love you, baby.” ************** Max grabbed the phone, dialing the number to Blondie’s Bar & Grill. As he waited for someone to pick, his thoughts wandered to how he and his friends got to where they were today. After high school, Michael and Maria tried the college thing, quickly realizing that it wasn’t for them. They had been at a loss at what to do with the rest of their lives, until Courtney had suggested Michael become a chef after having tasted one of Michael’s culinary cuisines. Michael had mulled it over, knowing that he didn’t want to work for someone who just threw orders around. If he was going to become a chef, he wanted it to be under his terms. That’s where Maria came in. After working most of her teenage years at the Crashdown, she had learned a few things about handling things on the management side. Together, the two of them moved back to Roswell and applied for a small business loan. They created Blondie’s, which became quite a favorite among the locals. So for four years, they had launched a successful restaurant off the ground, finally finding their calling. Although they had found much success in their business lives, their romantic relationship stayed the same. The only difference being that they lived together. Max had once asked Michael why he had yet to pop the question to Maria, and the only response he got was, “Why mess with a good thing?” Max had left it that, not mentioning it again. As for the rest of the gang, they had all moved back to Roswell after their graduations. Alex had been hired to work for a local computer company in town, and Isabel had followed in her parents’ footsteps, dipping her feet into the world of law. The two of them got engaged two summers ago, planning on having a wedding the September after they had gotten engaged. But apparently, all the planning got to be too much for Isabel, so she and Alex eloped instead. Who would’ve thought that Miss planner extraordinaire would miss out on her own lavish wedding? Apparently not anyone. But in light of things, Isabel and Alex managed to have a small wedding reception that included everyone. They lived in an apartment, towards the busier side of town, living quite close to Michael and Maria. As for Kyle and Courtney, they were going on four years strong. They finally got engaged after graduation, moving to the old house across the street from the Valentis. After everyone had moved away to school, Amy and Jim ended up with a bundle of joy named Jade. Kyle enjoyed being the older brother to his baby sister. Realizing that he didn’t want to miss any part of her childhood, he and Courtney moved as close to the Valentis without actually living with them. As for jobs, Courtney got hired at Roswell Memorial where she was a pediatric nurse. She was the one that had gotten Liz the lab job at the hospital. So it wasn’t exactly head of molecular biology at harvard, but Liz was fine with that. She was where she wanted to be, with her friends, and most importantly, her family. Kyle recently became the newest sheriff’s deputy, which made him one of Noah’s heros as he got to wear a badge. Max’s thoughts were interrupted as someone finally picked up on the other end of the line. “Blondie’s Bar & Grill. How can I help you?” Max smiled into the phone at the sound Maria’s voice. “Hey Maria, it’s me, Max.” He could almost hear her lips curling into a smile. “Hey Max. What can I do for you?” “Well, I was wondering if I could order a couple of tonight’s special? Liz and I are still trying to get through the rest of the boxes, and well, cooking dinner is not really high on our list.” Maria chuckled into the phone. “Not a problem, hun. I’ll go put in an order right now. It should be ready in fifteen.” “Great. I’ll be by in a few minutes with Noah.” “Kay, see you later, Max.” “Thanks, Maria.” Max grabbed a light jacket for himself and Noah, calling up the stairs. “Noah, let’s go. We gotta go pick up dinner!” The sound of little feet scampering down the stairs, echoed in the house, as Noah called out. “Comin’.” Max held out his son’s jacket for him. “What’d your momma say about running down the stairs?” Noah looked thoughtful for a moment, as he tried to remember. “Momma said to always hold onto the railing, and not to go down too fast.” “That’s right. Now, I don’t want you running down the stairs again, you hear? Your momma doesn’t need anymore stress right now, little man.” Noah looked sorrowful, his head bobbing slowly. “I sorry. I didn’t meaned to make momma upset.” Max smiled at his son, gently ruffling his hair. “I know that little man. And momma isn’t upset. I’m just reminding you the rules.” Liz padded down the stairs, carrying a small load of laundry. “You boys ready to go?” “Yep.” Max shoved his hands into his pockets, waiting until Noah ran to his mother. “Bye momma. Me and daddy will be back soon.” He kissed her cheek, his little fingers curling into her soft brown hair like it always did. Liz smiled at the conviction in her son’s voice. The way he spoke, it almost sounded as if he were trying to reassure her that he and Max wouldn’t leave her alone for too long. “Bye, precious. You be good for daddy. And give Ria and Michael a kiss for me when you see them, alright?” “Promise.” Max walked up to Liz then, his hand cupping her jaw. “We’ll be back soon. Promise me you won’t try to lift anything while I’m not here?” Liz held her hand to her hip, standing up taller. “I’ll have you know, that I am quite capable young woman. I’m 22 years old, Max. Not 62.” “I know, but just promise me? I don’t want anything happening to you while we’re gone.” Liz melted at his words, still awestruck, that after all this time, he still worried about her so much. “Fine, I promise. Happy now?” Max smiled, giving her a peck. “Much. We’ll see you later.” He grabbed Noah’s hand, leading him towards the jeep parked in the driveway. Liz stood on the front porch, waving as she watched her boys drive away. Taking a deep breath, Liz looked around her surroundings, her smile growing wider at the thought of their first home together. Grabbing her laundry, she walked back into the house, shutting the door behind her.